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Taken and adapted from, "Lent, Past and Present"
Written by, Hermann Lilienthal
Published in, 1895
The earliest name given to this fasting season…
…seems to be Quadragesimal, –the Latin equivalent for the Greek term, or the Quadragesimal Fast, referring to its length. But whether the Quadragesimal Fast was for forty days or only forty hours is a point on which differences of opinion have existed.
Another name given to this season is the Ante-Paschal fast, referring to the fact that from the very first age it was customary to fast before Easter –the paschal feast or pass over.
Still another name is the one with which we are most familiar, is Lent. This name of the season is supposed to be derived from the old English word for Spring 'Lencten, meaning perhaps, the time when the days lengthen."
Now to enter into a more detailed examination we have these three names: Quadragesimal, referring to the length of the fast whether according to hours or days; Ante-Paschal fast, referring to the position of the fast in the Christian year; and Lent, referring to its position in the natural year.
The earliest reference we have to it is in a letter preserved by Eusebius in his Church History. Eusebius, who was born about the year 260 A. D., quotes in his history (Book v. ch. 24) a passage from a letter of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in Gaul, to Victor, Bishop of Rome. The letter was written in reference to the diversity of usage of keeping Easter in the primitive Church, and incidentally the fact is brought out of the observance of Lent. "For the controversy," writes Irenaeus, "is not only concerning the day (Easter) but also concerning the very manner of the fast (the fast before Easter). For some think that they should fast one day, others two, yet others more; some moreover count their day as consisting of forty hours, day and night. And this variety in its observance has not originated in our time, but long before in that of our ancestors." Now Irenaeus, the writer of this letter, was born about the year 130 A. D., and had sat at the feet of Polycarp, who was himself a disciple of John. This is what Irenaeus says of Polycarp: "Polycarp was instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ; and I saw him in my early youth." "I can recall the very place where Polycarp used to sit and teach, his manner of speech, his mode of life, his appearance, the style of his address to the people, and the accounts which he gave of his intercourse with (St.) John and with the others who had seen the Lord; how he used to repeat from memory their discourses, and the things which he had heard from them concerning our Lord, His miracles, and His teaching." And in addition he says, "These things being told me by the mercy of God, I listened to them attentively, noting them down, not on paper, but in my heart."
I am particular to observe this connection of Irenaeus with Polycarp because it gives us a hint how early must have been the origin of a Lenten fast. Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, and Polycarp was a disciple of St. John.
By spiritual descent we might say Irenaeus was a spiritual grandson of the beloved disciple St. John. In this letter to Victor we further notice, the writer says of the observance of Lent, it "has not originated in our time; but long before in that of our ancestors." Now as Polycarp was the teacher of Irenaeus, we may safely say that a Lenten fast must have been observed as early as the time of this teacher, and this teacher lived in the later years of St. John the apostle. Again, if "ancestors " refers back to more than one generation, we have then the Lenten fast referred back to St. John, the teacher of Irenaeus. It seems reasonable and worthy of credit therefore, that some Lenten or Ante-Paschal fast was an established custom at least as early as the beginning of the second century, and perhaps earlier, at the close of the first century in the last years of the beloved disciple himself. The place of institution of this fast, connecting it as we do with St. John, was, we may believe, in the East, in Ephesus and the cities adjacent.
Again, we have evidence of the early origin of the Lenten fast in the writings of Tertullian, who lived in the second and third centuries, and who after his perversion to Montanism, in controversy with the primitive Church about fasts, chides it for keeping only the two days before Easter. We hear again of the observance of Lent by the allusion of the First General Council held in 325 A. D., and the reference to Lent by this Council tends to confirm us in the belief that this season had already been long established. In the fifth canon of this Council concerning excommunication, in order that this discipline may not be arbitrarily exercised, it is advised that two synods be held in a year when questions of discipline might be reviewed. In determining the time when these synods shall be held the canon says, "Let one synod be held before Lent," or, according to the Latinized form of the original Greek, before the Quadragesimal Fast.
After this First Council had concluded its deliberations the Emperor Constantine wrote an encyclical letter to the bishops of the Church urging uniformity in the observance of Easter, and from this letter we indirectly learn of the universal practice of an Ante-Paschal fast. Thus the Emperor writes, "Let your pious sagacity, (the bishop) reflect how evil and improper it is, that days devoted by some to fasting should be spent by others in convivial feasting; and that after the paschal feast, some are rejoicing in festivals and relaxations, while others give themselves up to the appointed fasts." By the year 325 A. D. we may say the observance of the Lenten fast was universal in the Church. Its earliest origin, as we have seen, may reach as far back as to the later years of the apostle St. John; but if this early date be questioned, then certainly to the generation of Christians immediately succeeding the apostle one of whose disciples was Polycarp. We may safely say that a Lenten or Ante-Paschal fast of some kind has been observed continuously in the Christian Church from the beginning of the second century down to our time.
We have already seen from the letter of Irenaeus that there was a difference of usage as to the time of keeping, and also as to the length of the fast. Let us now observe what was presumably the original duration of the fast, and how it has been developed to its present length.
The early historians notice diversity of usage in regard to the fast; still they lead us to think that originally the Lenten fast was but forty hours long, begun about twelve on Friday before Easter, Good Friday, and continued till Sunday morning, the time of our Savior's resurrection. Irenaeus, whom we have already mentioned, refers to this fast as 'the fast of forty hours before Easter.' It perhaps is only right to notice that a difference of punctuation of this passage from Irenaeus gives us a different interpretation, that is, that the fast was of forty days, but the general consensus of modern scholars interpreting with the light of the historical development of this season thrown upon this passage, favors the rendering " forty hours " rather than " forty days."
Tertullian also refers to the Lenten fast as coinciding with the two days, the time our Lord lay in the sepulcher, and his allusion to this period leads us to think that in his day the Ante-Paschal fast was not of more than forty hours in length. We may well believe that the Church, even from apostolic times, observed this season, basing the fast, as Tertullian and others tell us, on the words of our Lord, "The days will come that the Bridegroom shall be taken from them and then shall they fast." Our examination seems so far to establish the view that at the first the Lenten fast extended only over about forty hours.
Without being able to trace the gradual in-crease in length of this season, we notice that by the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century the Lenten fast had greatly lengthened; but even so, though the practice of a fast was universal, there was no absolute uniformity as to its duration. The historian Socrates writes, " One may observe how the Ante-Paschal fast is differently observed by men of different churches. The Romans fast three weeks before Easter, only the Sabbaths and Lord's Days excepted; the Illyrians and all Greece and the Alexandrians fast six weeks; others (the Church of Constantinople) begin their fast seven weeks before Easter, but only fast fifteen days by intervals."
Cassian, another historian, tells us, "Though some churches kept their Lent six weeks, and some seven, yet none of them made their fast above thirty-six days in the whole." Yet, not-withstanding the fact that the various churches had different periods for their fast, they all called it the Quadragesimal Fast. So the name Quadragesimal is by no means proof positive of the belief of some, that the fast was always one of forty days. In fact, as we have just seen, Cassian says none "made their fast above thirty-six days in the whole," and the reason given for this period of observance was that it was one tenth of the year, a tithe of time which should be devoted to God. As Christians tithed their alms so should they tithe their year.
Thus those who kept six weeks reckoned only thirty-six days for their fast, for from the forty-two days of six weeks was deducted the six Sundays, thus leaving but thirty-six days.
Again, those churches which kept seven weeks kept only thirty-six fasting days: for though seven weeks give us forty-nine days, yet all the Saturdays "the Saturday before Easter being excepted" as well as Sundays were taken out; thus thirteen days were deducted from the forty-nine days, which still made the fast one of thirty-six days. It was the Eastern Church rather than the Western which kept a greater number of weeks, because in the Eastern Church Saturday "the great Sabbath excepted" " has never been a fast day, not even in the Lenten season. This accounts for the Lenten fast beginning earlier in the Eastern than in the Western Church, and so lasting through a greater number of weeks, though the actual number of fasting days was the same.
It is interesting to observe the reason given by St. Chrysostom for the exception of Saturdays and Sundays from fasting. "As there are stations," says he, "and inns in the public roads, for weary travelers to refresh themselves, and rest from their labors, that they may more cheerfully go on again in their journey; and as in the sea there are shores and havens for seamen to betake themselves to, when they are in a storm, and refresh themselves from the violence of the winds, and then begin sailing again; so the Lord hath appointed these two days (Saturday and Sunday) in the week, as stations, and inns, and shores, and havens, for those to rest in who have taken upon them the course of fasting in this holy time of Lent, that they may refresh their bodies a little from the labor of fasting, and recreate their minds, and after the two days are past, to go on again with cheerfulness in the journey which they have begun."
But to return to the extension of this season the next advance is to the exact period of forty days which now prevails throughout western Christendom. Who added Ash-Wednesday and the three days following it to the be-ginning of Lent in the Western Church so as to make the season exactly forty days is not unanimously agreed upon by historians. Some say it was the work of Gregory the Great, but others ascribe it to Gregory II., who lived over a hundred years later. " But whichever of these Bishops added the four extra days, they are an addition made to the season sometime after it had been an established usage of the Church to observe a Lenten fast, as Cassian has told us, of only thirty-six days. If the four extra days were added by Gregory L, the Lent fast of forty days would not be earlier than the close of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. If the change was made by Gregory II., then the practice of a Lent fast of forty days does not antedate 715 A. D.
But we may see a reason for the change from thirty-six days " the tithe of the year " to forty days. Forty days is a period that occurs frequently in the Bible as a time of fasting and prayer.
Moses when first he went up into the mount to receive the Law says of himself, " I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights. I neither did eat bread nor drink water." Again he says of himself after he had broken the two Tables of the Law because of the idolatry of his people, "And I fell down before the Lord as at the first, forty-days and forty nights, I did neither eat bread nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned." So too it is inferred by many that Elijah fasted forty days after he had twice eaten of food prepared for him by an angel, " and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God."
Briefly to instance a few more Old Testament examples of this number forty: "This was the number of days God covered the earth with the deluge; this the number of years in which the children of Israel did penance in the wilderness; and the Ninevites had this number of days allowed for their repentance." But chiefly is the parallel found in the life of our Lord, who, led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, " fasted forty days and forty nights." The change then which was made from thirty-six to forty days we may believe was based on the scriptural analogies which have been quoted, and which at the same time made the number of days agree with the name of the season itself "Quadragesimal" a name which notwithstanding the variation in the length of the season in different sections of the primitive Church, was indifferently applied.
It may not be amiss to briefly state how the forty days' fast is computed. Ash-Wednesday to Easter "a period of six weeks and four days" gives us forty-six days, from which number of days are subtracted the six Sundays in Lent, thus giving us the Lenten fast of forty days.
Here too a word may be permitted as to the origin of the word Ash-Wednesday. We have learned that originally there was no Ash-Wednesday connected with the Lenten fast.
This day was not added, at the earliest, until the time of Gregory I., and it derives its name from the custom which was instituted at the time the day was added of sprinkling ashes upon the heads of penitents to remind them of their mortality. Further, as to this practice we are led to believe that ashes were not sprinkled upon all the worshippers, but only on the heads of those who were penitents, and were under sentence of ecclesiastical discipline.


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This was published 16 years ago
Both sides vow revenge as peace plan collapses
The short-lived road map for Middle East peace already seems consigned to history, with Palestinian militants and the Israeli Government vowing to step-up attacks on each other in revenge for this week's bloodshed.
The militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in a joint statement that they were abandoning what was left of their unilateral ceasefire following Thursday's assassination in Gaza of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Abu Shanab.
"We urge all our cells of fighters in Palestine to strike in every corner of the Jewish state," a statement by Hamas's military wing said. Islamic Jihad has also promised fresh attacks.
Israeli security officials have been telling journalists that the killing of Mr Abu Shanab is "only the beginning" of a series of assassinations and other measures in response for a suicide bombing in Jerusalem on Tuesday that killed at least 20.
After the bombing, Israeli reimposed tight controls on Arab movements from and within the occupied territories and sent tanks and commandos to raid several West Bank cities, arresting scores of suspects and killing a 16-year-old bystander in a raid on a pool hall.
Following the killing of Mr Abu Shanab, the Palestinian Authority said the Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, had abandoned plans to arrest key militants and crack down on their organisations, as promised after Tuesday's attack.
Mr Abbas condemned the assassination of the Hamas leader as an "ugly crime", while his government accused Israel of deliberately sabotaging the road map for peace launched in Aqaba, Jordan, on June 9.
The Israeli Government said it was forced to respond to the terrorist attack because the Palestinian Authority had failed to act.
The collapse of the peace plan has so far brought no response from its main sponsor, the United States President, George Bush. But in a sign of Washington's desperation, the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, appealed on Thursday for the Palestinian Authority chairman, Yasser Arafat, to lend his full support to Mr Abbas.
"At the end of the road map is a cliff that both sides will fall off," Mr Powell said at the United Nations in New York.
For the past year the US has joined Israel in seeking to sideline Mr Arafat, who has been confined in his Ramallah office.
Mr Abu Shanab, 51, was widely seen as a thoughtful moderate within the otherwise hardline Islamic movement. The US-educated engineer
and two bodyguards were killed while they were driving from his home to work. At least a dozen bystanders were injured as five helicopter missiles struck his car.
The Washington Post has reported that Mr Bush will sidestep congressional opposition and appoint a controversial Middle East scholar, Daniel Pipes, to the board of directors of the US Institute of Peace.

subset: commoncrawl


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DES MOINES, Iowa -- The parents of a teenager who died in October of 2016 were in court Monday to enter their pleas in connection with her death.
Nicole Finn and Joseph Finn pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn. Nicole Finn is charged with murder, kidnapping, and child endangerment resulting in death. Joseph Finn is charged with kidnapping, abandonment, and neglect causing serious injury.
Natalie Finn died from cardiac arrest in October of 2016.
While the autopsy results for Natalie have been withheld, neighbors who spoke with Channel 13 told of the girl and her siblings asking them for food, and mentioned how thin she appeared.
Authorities say her parents locked her and two of her siblings inside a room of their house.
Since her death, the case has stirred up change within the Iowa Department of Human Services. It has also prompted one lawmaker to propose new legislation that would help avoid cases like Finn's.
Trials for both parents have been set for March 27th. They are being held in the Polk County Jail.


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Club owners are scrambling for help in the down economy, but the key to improved revenue and retention may already be at their fingertips. By collecting and analyzing their membership data, operators can unearth a gold mine of information that can help them grow their businesses.
"If you have the data, you know what to do with the data and you can execute a marketing plan, then you can increase your membership," says Stephen P. Roma, owner and chief executive officer of WOW! Work Out World, Brick, NJ. Roma says that he considers his membership roster as his company's most valuable asset.
Fitness facilities — from small recreation centers to large club chains — often gather reams of data on their members, yet the information often sits untouched on their servers, according to two software vendors. One of them estimates that less than 5 percent of club owners use membership software programs to their fullest potential. The president of another software company says most club owners use 20 percent of their software's functionalities 80 percent of the time. However, another software vendor says that many fitness facility owners did not appreciate the value of the data that they were collecting on their members five years ago, but more club owners today are analyzing information to make better business decisions.
By digging into the data that's available to them, analyzing it and compiling reports, club owners can better understand their members, and as a result, improve their bottom line and boost retention and recruiting efforts, vendors say.
Improving Operations
Data can help in large and small ways. Kelly Bonewald, program coordinator for New Braunfit in New Braunfels, TX, received a request from a member to open on Sundays. Using her membership software program, Bonewald analyzed usage patterns on a daily, weekly and monthly basis before deciding that the facility's low attendance and activity levels on Saturdays did not warrant opening on Sundays.
At WOW, which has 10 locations, Roma captures the following information for each of his 50,000 members: basic demographic data, club usage, retention term, purchases, date the member last used a personal training session and their monthly dues. By knowing this information, Roma can balance his staffing load, he says.
The data from membership management software programs also can help create targeted and effective multimedia advertising and promotion campaigns. Rather than sending a mass e-mail to all members in a club, a fitness facility owner can define a targeted list, such as Pilates class participants, and then send an e-mail only to those members.
Roma uses his membership management software for more targeted marketing, which generally yields a greater response, he says. His club, which markets to current members, non-members and past members each month, crafts specific marketing messages and launches targeted campaigns based on membership data.
"We have always believed that the marketing information we can obtain from our club management software is vital to our marketing plans," Roma says. "Because we know so much about our members, we can design and execute a campaign that is tailored to their exercise habits."
By using this approach, operators also can reduce costs related to direct mail, such as creative, printing, postage and shipping, and also disseminate the message more quickly. Unlike traditional campaigns, which can take weeks or months to coordinate, execute and track, e-mail messages can be sent out in one day.
Member Retention
Membership management software also can help with retention, which is important as the economy forces clubs to get more dollars from existing members, who are becoming more difficult to retain. John Miller, president of Courthouse Athletic Clubs, which has five facilities in Salem, OR, discovered that by mining data, he can create strategic plans for keeping his members.
"A lot of clubs are losing memberships as their members tighten their belts, and that affects all of us in the fitness industry," he says. "In this kind of economy, you must be good at what you do and figure out how to get better. A big part of that is understanding your business, which is all about information."
Since non-use is often tied to cancellation, many software packages allow managers to generate a list of members who haven't worked out in two to four weeks. A club owner can then send a targeted e-mail to these members and encourage them to come back to work out.
Jeff Skeen, president and CEO of Titan Fitness Holdings, has noticed a direct correlation between club usage and attrition rates. Skeen's company owns 14 Gold's Gym clubs in North Carolina and Minnesota and converted all of them to the same Web-based membership management system.
The data within the software helps the managers to identify causes for attrition, Skeen says.
"If one of your club's attrition rates goes from 2.5 to 3.2 percent per month, you may think that members don't want to come because they don't like the product," he says. "If you look at their check-in usage, and it is strong, however, then you can look somewhere else."
In some cases, club owners can even leverage their membership database in order to draw former members back to the facility. Operators who continue to store past members' data in their software program can easily send promotions to former clients.
Using this data, one club operator received a 20 percent response rate on a postcard mailed to all the members who had cancelled over the years. Normally on a postcard promotion, club owners get less than a 2 percent response rate, one vendor says.
Staying connected with former members is vital for a health club, especially as new member sales slow, says Michael Fox, general manager of Energy Interactive Fitness in St. James, NY. By logging the reasons for cancellations into the software, he can easily generate a cancellation report.
"If you don't know who your members are, where they're coming from, what they're like and why they're leaving, then you're limiting your ability as a club to grow and serve your members," Fox says.
By storing information electronically rather than in a paper-based system, facility owners can stay more organized and improve retention rates. Some club owners scan all their member-related documents, such as contracts and health release forms, so they can easily access and retrieve records in their software system.
Shifting from a file cabinet to a software system helped Backstreet Fitness, a 2,000-square-foot, 24-hour fitness club in Lucedale, MS, keep its business on the right track and easily find members' records, says Chrissy Havens, manager.
"The software is one of the most important things that we've spent our money on," she says.
Tracking Purchases
Although it's important for clubs to track when and how often their members check in, club owners must also keep tabs on what members are buying once they're in the club.
With this data, club managers can keep the most popular items on the shelves and not invest in the products that the members aren't buying, Skeen says.
Since many club members don't walk around with their credit cards while they're working out, club owners are making it easier than ever for members to buy products and services, and owners are tracking these purchases with their software programs. Over the years, the technology for connecting members to their billing accounts has improved to the point where at some clubs, members can buy an item simply by scanning their fingerprint, which is tied to their credit card.
By analyzing members' buying patterns, owners are better able to anticipate future and recurring purchases, which is especially important for services such as personal training. In the past, Energy Fitness lost revenue when trying to track personal training appointments through paper cards and a self-created schedule. Now that the club can track this data electronically, Fox and the other trainers are able to better manage the personal training end of their business.
Service and Support
Club software packages can help club operators manage their retention, marketing, billing and activity levels, but with so many options available on the market, owners must decide whether to go with a comprehensive software program or a stand-alone membership management application.
Regardless of which option they go with, many club owners are looking for software training and support for their front desk staff and members. Although the front desk employees normally check in members and ring up purchases using the software, club managers also use the software to run reports on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
After a club owner purchases a software program, some vendors offer live one-on-one training, on-site demonstrations and Web-based training courses. Vendor support played a critical role in Havens' decision about which software package to select for Backstreet Fitness.
"I'm not a computer savvy person, and I set it up and went right into it," she says, adding that the vendor's technical support team was easy to work with.
By building a complete database, analyzing the data to uncover trends and leveraging that information, health club owners can uncover a gold mine of information that could help them grow their business and improve retention and revenue during tough economic times.
Skeen, for one, is sold on the technology used in his clubs' membership management system.
"I've been in the business for 18 years, and I haven't experienced anything like this," Skeen says. "I tell my peers that if they have a good management system in place during a down economy, they'll be much stronger when they come out of it."
Connecting with Members Online
Membership management software is helping club owners stay organized and grow their businesses. At the same time, some vendors offer functionalities that allow club members to log on to specialized areas of club Web sites.
These Web sites are often tied closely with clubs' member management software programs. That way, clubs can still keep track of members' usage of services, while allowing them to book an appointment with a trainer or update their membership information online.
Michael Fox of Energy Fitness says he plans to allow his 700 members to view their membership information, book training packages and access video clips on his Web site this year.
"I think it would be a benefit to our members to have that option," he says.
How to Select the Right Membership Management System
Do your research
To find the vendors of membership software programs, visit Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro's Directory and Buyers Guide and click on the software category.
Look for comprehensive reporting
Although any software package can help a club owner collect basic information about a member, try to look for software that allows deeper analysis and thorough reporting.
Consider ease of use
If a software package is impossible to use, you'll find that most of your employees will not use it to its full potential. Instead, try to look for a software package that offers all the necessary features while still being user-friendly.
Get support
Don't just look for technical training sessions or online resources. Instead, try to find a vendor that will share marketing strategies to help you meet your goals and help you devise custom solutions to meet your needs.


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Alumna: a female graduate
Alumnae: the plural of alumna
Alumni: the plural of alumnus
Alumnus: a male graduate
Badge: The pin of an initiated member.
Bid: An official invitation from a chapter to become a new member
Bid Day: The final day of recruitment when bids are given out.
Big: Each new member is given a "big" brother or sister that acts as a mentor throughout her new member period. The new member is called a little. This bond remains even after the new member has initiated.
Brother: Fraternity brothers are male members in the same fraternity chapter.
Chapter: Each national sorority and fraternity has individual chapters of their organization at different colleges and universities. Also, some groups refer to their weekly meetings as "chapter".
Chapter Adviser: An alumna/ alumni member of a sorority or fraternity that serves as a mentor to a collegiate chapter.
Colony: a newly formed sorority/fraternity organization on campus that has yet to receive their charter recognizing them as a chapter. Colonies have to fulfill requirements set by the college and their national organization before becoming a chapter.
Dues: Fees paid to the organization you are affiliated with. Dues must be paid to remain in "good standing" with your chapter.
E-Board: Executive Board, also referred to in some fraternities and sororities as Executive Council, which includes the elected executive officers of the chapter (i.e. President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, etc).
Formal: Like prom, only better. Typically every sorority/fraternity hosts a formal once a year where each member is allowed one date.
Founders: The founding sisters or brothers of the national sorority or fraternity.
Fraternity Sweetheart: A female who is elected by the members of a fraternity for her dedication and contributions to the success of the chapter over the previous year. She is usually permitted to wear the fraternity letters.
Good Standing: A sorority or fraternity member who has fulfilled all membership obligations, such as paying their dues, maintaining the required GPA, etc.
Greek Alphabet:
This image is from dznewmember.org
Greek Council: The governing body of Greek Life organizations at Penn State Altoona.
Greek Week: A week where all of the greek organizations on campus come together for activities and friendly competitions.
House: Many schools have houses dedicated to each fraternity or sorority. In the literal term, this would be where they live. Penn State Altoona does not recognize fraternity or sorority houses.
Infraction: When a chapter or a chapter member breaks a recruitment rule set forth by the Greek Council.
Initiation: Formal admittance into the sorority/fraternity. The new members participate in a ceremony that marks formal admittance into the sorority/fraternity. The initiation ceremony is secret and rooted in history.
Legacy: A student whose family member (typically brother/sister, mom/dad, grandmother/grandfather but can also include aunt/uncle) is a member of a particular sorority or fraternity. The student is given special membership consideration but not guaranteed a bid.
Letters: The Greek letters of your sorority or fraternity name.
Little: Each new member is given a "big" brother or sister that has been a mentor to her throughout her new member period. The new member is called a little. This bond remains even after the new member has initiated.
Nationals: Every chapter is a member of a national organization that sets policies for the entire sorority or fraternity.
New Member: This is used interchangeably with "pledge". This term refers to the men and women that have accepted a bid to a particular fraternity or sorority chapter but are not yet initiated.
New Member Educator: This is an initiated member of the sorority/ fraternity who will serve as the new member class' "teacher" of the chapter. She or he will be their guide throughout their new member period.
New Member Period: Also known as pledging. The time before initiation where the new member learns about the fraternity or sorority before becoming a collegiate member. It is typically 8-10 weeks long.
Paddle: This is seen as a gift in the world of fraternities and sororities. It is often given from chapter to chapter as a thank you or an honor. It is also given from littles to bigs.
Philanthropy: Put simply, community service. Typically each fraternity or sorority has a nationally and/or locally recognized non-profit agency that they donate time and money to; they refer to this as "their philanthropy".
Pledge: Refers to the men and women that have accepted a bid to a particular fraternity chapter but are not yet initiated.
Pledge/New Member Pin: the pin of a pledge/new member, which indicates their commitment to the organization from the time of pledging until initiation. Some fraternities and sororities require their pledges to wear this pin at all times during this period.
Pledging Ceremony: This is the ceremony to recognize the official commitment to become a new member of the sorority or fraternity.
PNM: Potential New Member. It refers to all incoming women going through the recruitment process before they accept a sorority bid.
Probation: A member of a sorority or fraternity is put on probation if they have not fulfilled part of their membership, such as GPA requirements, financial obligations, or social standards. Typically members on probation cannot vote in chapter elections while on probation among other restrictions.
Recruitment: The official process for new members to join a fraternity or sorority. It is a mutual selection process where the PNM's and chapter chose based on their perfect fit. This period is also commonly called RUSH.
Ritual: Symbolic gestures or ceremonies—often kept secret—performed by only the members of the given sorority or fraternity.
Rush (formal rush): The official process of new members joining a fraternity. It is a mutual selection process where the PNM's and chapter chose based on their perfect fit.
Sister: Sorority sisters are female members of the same sorority.


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Guayaki's Maté - "Carbon Subtracting" Beverage in Biodegradable Packaging
Biodegradable only good if it's being degraded
Biodegradable packaging is a bit like carbon offsetting - of dubious value if it is only a band aid for our guilt. We actually must be biodegrading the packaging to make the premise work. Guayaki, which imports organic and Fair Trade loose Yerba Maté, the Argentinian tea-like drink, was attempting to improve its product's shelf life freshness. But foil, the common choice, is not very eco-friendly. Guayaki eventually chose old-fashioned cellulose film (which also happens to be biodegradable) that is "metallized" with super thin aluminum film. Thus Guayaki says it has perfected a "carbon-subtracting" packaging - biodegradable, and at the same time, the growing the maté soaks up more CO2 than processing, packaging, and transporting the product. So each 16 oz. pouch of maté is "reducing" CO2 573 grams. TreeHugger asked some detailed questions about the Guayaki maté's true capacity for CO2 soak-up and the bag's ability for breaking down in the backyard pile.
TH: How are the bags made?
Guayaki: The bags are made of 2 layers of cellulose films and are printed using water-based inks. The outside layer of the package is transparent cellulose, and the inside film layer is made of cellulose with one side coated by a vacuum deposited ultra thin layer of aluminum. The outside cellulose layer is reverse printed so that the eco-friendly water-based inks are trapped between the layers; this is so the ink cannot scratch off. The metallized side is also trapped between the layers so that the product inside is only in contact with the transparent cellulose layer. Each 16-oz pack of organic, shade-grown and fairly-traded San Mateo Loose Yerba Mate achieves a subtraction of 573 gm of carbon.
TH: How was the biodegradability of the bags tested - under what conditions and what type of internal heat in the compost pile?
Guayaki: All of the materials that the bags are made of have been tested and meet the requirements of ASTM D 6400 and also Vincotte OK Compost Home. According to Innovia, the OK compost home test is conducted at ambient temperature. Tests have shown that the average total time for complete biodegradation of cellulose film is 80 to 120 days for coated cellulose products.
TH: How did you come up with the 71 grams of carbon for the transport...wouldn't the maté be shipped to so many different locations? Or how did you calculate that?
Guayaki: We used a weighted average distance traveled that is based on each distributor's zip code and its percentage of Guayaki total sales. An average distance was assumed from distributor to retailer.
TH: Could you also explain about the carbon profile of the mate - why is the tea-processing so relatively carbon-intensive compared to the transport?
Rob Sinclair, of Conscious Brands (www.consciousbrands.com), - the company that conducted the carbon assessment of Guayaki's supply chain: The greatest journey the yerba mate makes from the rainforest to the consumer is by ocean freight, which has a relatively low per unit distance and mass emissions rate. Tea processing includes two major steps. First it is dried in South America, which is done with biomass, which, although 'carbon neutral', does emit some non-CO2 greenhouse gases which are accounted for. The second processing step includes substantial facility electricity use to mill and package the final product. The emissions rate for electricity in the region where Guayaki packages is below the national average, but, nevertheless, the greenhouse gas impact is comparatively large as seen on the label.
TH: How much aluminum (in grams) would come from the package and how much aluminum would need to be in a backyard compost before the compost composition would change enough to worry about?
Guayaki: According to Innovia, which makes the NatureFlex metallized cellulose, the amount of aluminum applied to each bag is less than .02% of the total bag by weight. Each of the new empty Guayaki bags weighs .4 ounces, so the total amount of aluminum contained in each bag to be composted is less than .00008 ounces, and the conversion to grams = less than 0.0023g. In the Earth's crust, aluminum is the most abundant (8.13%) metallic element, and the third most abundant of all elements (after oxygen and silicon). However, because of its strong affinity to oxygen, it is almost never found in the elemental state; instead it is found in oxides or silicates. In the decomposition process for Guayaki bags, the ultra-thin coating of aluminum oxidizes and turns into aluminum oxide which is inert and non toxic. We did some research to find out if there is a regulatory limit for the amount of aluminum allowed in compost that is sold in the marketplace, etc.., and could not find any information to that effect. More specifically, research indicates that aluminum is not one of the metals that the state of California regulates and tests for in their compost regulatory program. Via: Guayaki
Read more:
Guayaki Announces First Carbon-Subtracting Beverages
Organic Yerba Guyaki
TreeHugger Picks: Best of Brazil and Argentina


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It's perfectly natural for high school kids to be nervous, apprehensive and even utterly fearful of the final exams looming at the end of their semester, as even at this young age these tests have never been more important in securing places in further education or career opportunities. However the good news is that going through this examination period has equally never seen so much support and good advice being available to students, and in this article we are going to look at a number of ways that effective preparation can go a long way in securing a strong set of grades.
Continue reading "How to Prepare Successfully for the Final Exams"


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Genre marriage is a tricky and necessarily subtle business, mostly because different genres are designed to evoke different emotions, and combining two or more genres into one piece of cinema has the potential to wreak havoc on the film's tone, and therefore its overall quality. It's an impressive feat, then, that Na Hong-jin's The Wailing incorporates elements of a mystery-thriller, a slapstick comedy, and a supernatural horror film while still maintaining a singular, coherent identity. I wouldn't say that the film exists as all three of these things at once, but the fact that it even attempts such a broad scope is admirable in its audacity.
Set in a South Korean village isolated from the country's more populated areas, we follow the exploits of police officer Jong-goo as he investigates a string of murders that plague their community. All the victims were killed by family members who appeared to have gone insane and stabbed them to death, and rashes and sores cover the killers' bodies. A mysterious Japanese man has recently moved into town, raising questions about what his involvement in these apparent possessions could be. Things take a serious turn when Jong-goo's daughter falls ill and begins behaving strangely, so he must strive all the harder to get to the bottom of things before his daughter harms herself or their family.
CONTEST: Win The Wailing on DVD and Blu-ray
Despite that disturbing synopsis, the first hour or so of the film's two and a half hours is primarily comedic, with Jong-goo and his equally incompetent fellow officers bumbling into situations well over their heads and engaging in according slapstick shenanigans. The comedy of the situations come across just fine, even if attuned more to a South Korean sense of humor than a North American one, but what is most surprising is that the film's transition into the second act is made all the more jarring by its complete abandonment of its sense of humor. It's not a move that should work, but in one scene the film manages to take a light punchline and shift into a scene of disturbing body horror. From there the film goes full tilt on its supernatural mystery, which is honestly where it is at its best.
More than being about ghostly possessions and the horrific ways in which the supernatural can leave us helpless, The Wailing focuses on paranoia and fear of outsiders and the unknown. The obvious culprit behind the fatal occurrences is the Japanese visitor, but without giving too much away, I can confidently say that you'll be surprised more than once by how events unfold and what is really at play. I cannot as confidently claim that all the elements jell into a coherent whole that makes total and complete sense by the end, but intelligibility is likely beside the point in light of the film's awe and stupefaction at the unseen forces of its villainous presences. By the final scenes, expect to be extremely uncomfortable in the best possible way.
The biggest strike against The Wailing is its prohibitive length, which feels unnecessary considering how much of the film is spent telling jokes that feel at odds with the film's overall tone. The jokes work in the moment and director Na Hong-jin has a miraculous knack from transitioning in and out of comedy seamlessly, but upon reflection those moments seem like padding on a film that is already stuffed with greatness. Variety may be the spice of life, but it is also possible to have too much of a good thing. But if that's your only takeaway from this review, remember that it's because The Wailing is a very good thing.


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This week's interview is with Peter Martin, author of "Crossing the River."
Where did you get the idea for your story?
The original story idea came from musing about where a paladin's fear immunity comes from, but along the way, it transformed a bit. The setting is actually one I came up with to run my Saving The Game co-hosts through, but I think it's just a writing setting now.
Do you plan to write more stories in that setting or with those characters?
Yes, to both parts of that question. I'd really like to do more with my Lantern Knights and show what they do when they aren't battling their own internal demons.
What was the appeal of Sojourn for you?
A chance to get published and a reason to force myself to write.
What was your favorite part about writing for the Sojourn anthology?
Working with the editors. Both were great, but Laura in particular really went above and beyond. I think I went through at least a half-dozen revisions with her before I even submitted my final draft.
That I enjoyed working with them so much surprised me a bit, because I figured it would be like getting a paper graded over and over again. I was very pleased to discover that was not at all the case. I'm incredibly grateful for their input; the story, short though it is, is MUCH better for their oversight.
There's a whole sequence at the beginning I added after talking with Laura, and some of the messages of internal struggle got a lot more frank and direct when Ryan mentioned that he didn't think the river was an imposing enough hazard. That was incredibly valuable,because I didn't want the river to be much more than a convenient symbolic device.
Did you learn anything while writing your story, if so, what?
Yes. That I tend to do my best work when I'm writing material that touches on themes I need to remind myself of. The internal struggles of my protagonist are very similar to my own; writing the story was almost therapeutic.
Is there any trivia or behind-the-scenes information about your story you would like to share?
This particular drum has probably been beaten so much that it's just a loose collection of drum parts by now, but I continue to be impressed by what a joy everyone associated with Fear the Boot is to work with. The contract we signed was incredibly favorable, and Laura and Ryan were great to work with. If you're looking at submitting something to Sojourn 2, don't worry about the human side!
What was the biggest influence on your story?
My own religious faith and studies. I'm a moderate/progressive Christian, and the image of God as a loving, kind figure who desperately wants His wayward children to come home is a theme I've been contemplating a lot in the last few years. Passages like Psalm 103:12 and Isaiah 1:18 were very influential in how I portrayed God in the story.
Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
Thanks to Dan, Laura, and Ryan for making the anthology possible, and thanks to you for doing these author pieces!


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The latest study doesn't look good for black cohosh. Here's the clickativity [1].
Our take: The study was performed by the National Institutes of Health [2] (your friendly government agency), and looked at just over 300 women – so, not exactly a conclusive study. However, size does not always matter – a good study is a good study. The researchers found that women taking black cohosh for hot flashes had a half-episode less per day than women on the placebo treatment. This marginal difference might be enough for some women to take the herbal supplement, but it's not significant enough to pass scientific muster (and that's really a good thing – that's why science rocks).
Black cohosh has been used for hundreds of years and was a traditional Native American medicine. If you suffer from hot flashes and find that black cohosh has helped you, there's probably nothing to worry about as it is a fairly harmless herb (though it can cause headaches and stomach discomfort in some).
The study designers did state that the jury's not out and larger studies need to be conducted.
Mark adds:
About a year and a half ago, a big study [3] was released on echinacea. The report was that the herb did nothing to prevent or alleviate cold and flu viruses. The study was certainly well-designed: participants were locked up dorm-style in a completely controlled environment for the duration of the study. But despite the strict parameters, the scientists forgot something: the echinacea plant has different parts that can be utilized for medicinal purposes. Because herbal supplements are not regulated the same way as drugs are regulated, the type of echinacea in the assortment at your local GNC can literally vary from bottle to bottle. Other studies testing different sources of echinacea have proven a benefit. It just goes to show that "the latest study" is almost never the last word.
[tags] estrogen, echinacea, black cohosh, NIH, National Institutes of Health, cold, flu, virus, remedies, menopause, hot flashes [/tags]


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The Antimicrobial qualities of copper are well known. Man has exploited the inherent antimicrobial properties of copper since the dawn of civilization. It has been demonstrated clearly in many scientific studies conducted over several decades that copper has rapid, broad spectrum antimicrobial efficacy against some of the most toxic species of bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Alloys with higher copper content kill organisms faster but, as a general rule, alloys with >60% copper have good efficacy. 'Antimicrobial Copper' is shorthand for these efficacious alloys.
Erva's copper martin house subfloors are 99.9% pure copper and offer the highest possible antimicrobial effect.
More information is available from Wikidedia. Click on the individual sub floor description for the link to Wikidedia.


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< Back
About 100 desks no longer used by Neenah students will be delivered to students in Liberia through a donation by the Neenah Joint School District to the International Children's Fund (ICF).
The Neenah-based, non-profit organization provides humanitarian aid to desperately poor children and families throughout the world. ICF primarily operates in Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda.
Horace Mann Middle School operations staff member Jared Schmidt contacted ICF to determine their interest in the used equipment. The District delivered about 50 desks to ICF's Neenah warehouse in late June and ICF picked up another 50 desks about a week later. Some student chairs stored at the Washington Early Learning Center were also donated to ICF.
"This is an incredible donation from the District and a nice surprise," said ICF President Lori Fulcer. "We loved the fact the District was very forward thinking and instead of filling up a landfill they thought about how they can help other kids around the world.
"These desks and chairs had been sitting in storage for several years and were headed for a dumpster," said District Director of Facilities/Engineer Adam Krieger. "We're excited to be able to find a positive use for them and impact other children."
This is not the District's first donation to ICF as they have provided sporting equipment and school supplies in the past. Specifically, the girls basketball program has donated several used basketballs and jerseys, while ICF has also collected leftover school supplies in bins at the end of the school year.
"These students do not even have writing utensils and paper in most cases," Fulcer said. "For them to be able to have tools like desks and chairs will do so much for them and their learning. I don't even have the words for how grateful we are."
For more information about the International Children's Fund, visit icfaid.org.


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Hello everyone!
At IBM we want to celebrate innovation, share knowledge on technologies that changed the world and connect to the young talent of our country. To do this, we are organizing an event, Smart Thinkers @ IBM, where will bring together university students in their final years of career and invite you to spend a day with us.
We have a fresh and dynamic agenda to make it one unique experience.
Participants will have the opportunity to see first hand the latest trends in the world of technology and we also want to be a way to take care of and reinforce our young innovators and disruptors, allowing them to connect with each other and with the talent of IBM. In short, a meeting point for unconventional thinkers, the authentic Smart Thinkers.
Call for proposals now open – the deadline to register will end the 30 March.
Candidates can send their CV + Letter of motivation directly to our email: email@example.com.
See more information in IBM Smart Thinkers


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Watters Weekly Garden Classes
Oct 29 – Fall 'To-do' list for a Healthy Yard Get the most out of your landscape this fall with this easy to use checklist of fall care. Bring the color out of the fall gardens, reduce bugs next spring, or simply put you landscape to bed for fall with these easy to use ideas. You will have a better landscape next spring if you do.
Nov 5 – Gardening for Newcomers Learn all the mountain secrets to local garden success. This is an information pack class guaranteed to increase garden blooms and fruit this year. The first 10 students to bring $10 and a soil sample receive a soil test done on sight with advice on how to improve the garden. You will know exactly what to do in the gardens this year.
Nov 12 – Decorating with Winter Evergreens. The autumn colors have dropped leaving the landscape naked and bare. As the last leaf drops Watters winter evergreen collection fills the garden center. Late fall is the ideal season for spotting evergreens trees in the naked spots of the yard. Best varieties, planting techniques, and evergreen care are all included in the class. Watters 'Living Evergreens Indoors as Holiday Decor' is free for each student who attends.
Nov 19 – Wildflowers to Bloom in 6 Easy steps Listen in for free, but the first 10 students to sign up receive a package of Ken's specially blended mountain mix with all the goodies to make them bloom like crazy this spring. Wildflowers can be harder to grow than you think, but not after this info heavy class.
Nov 26 – Decorating with Holiday Tropicals, Poinsettia & Christmas Cactus. The most garden fun is had with indoor tropicals & our holiday plant collection. The first of these festive plants arrive this week just for the event. Cooking the turkey dinner fine, but these plant ideas bring out the kid in even the most avid gardener. Coupons abound for each of the students as we premier this years newest poinsettias, amaryllis and blooming cactus.
Dec 3 Cut Christmas Trees and Greens & How to Force them to Stay Fresh. This is the week the freshest cut trees arrive of the season. We have a new featured tree that last longer than all the others this year. Students learn which trees stay fresh, care and some insider secrets that insure your tree stays fresh until the very end. We have locally designed wreaths, swags and garlands just for the students of this class. Free to all locals with a special coupon just for attending.
As trees drop the last of their colorful leaves our gardens tend to feel naked. It even seems like prying eyes can look right into your home! Not only does your privacy seemingly disappear, but that neighbor's debris pile can be front and center of your view for the entire winter.
The solution to both of these unwanted invasions of privacy is not rocket science. Fortunately, November is an ideal time to plant a wall of living trees! It will grow to block a messy view and to create the privacy you desire.
When you're ready to choose the trees for your living wall of green, read through the list that follows. It is comprised of screeners that do well locally. The list contains the names of evergreens that over the years have performed well.
Free Tree Planting Coupon for Garden Club Members
You buy the Trees, soil, stakes, and the foods to make them grow through winter, and Watters will put them in the ground for free.
Austrian Mountain Pine - This dense pine is easy to care for and is as cold hardy as native pines. Its rich green needles are sturdy and more numerous than those of other pines, with less needle drop in summer. Thick right to the ground and 25' tall, it makes the perfect windbreak while preventing prying eyes from looking in on your private hot tub sessions.
Deodar Cedar - This is the largest of the screening plants, growing to over 50 feet tall and 18 feet wide with long swooping branches of Arizona blue foliage. Growing some 2-3 feet per year, it is one of the fastest growing of the screeners. As with most upright evergreens, this cedar can thrive on low water use, drought conditions, and drip irrigation. Make sure to give it plenty of growing space because this tree is going to need it!
Norway Spruce – Very cold-hardy, this spruce is the perfect symmetrically shaped Christmas tree. Excellent choice for a front yard holiday tree or as a semi-formal accent in large yards. Makes a pretty evergreen background for contrasting foliage colors, flowering shrubs, and/or to highlight the autumn leaf show of other trees and shrubs. Line them up into a windbreak or to hide the lights and sounds along busy streets.
Arizona Cypress - My favorite native evergreen screener is the Arizona cypress. It is like a large alligator juniper in size and color, but grows faster and fills in more completely than other screen plants. Growing to over 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide in just a few years, you can see why this is the number one choice for a planted screen. If you prefer a cypress in rich green instead of an Arizona blue, go for the Leyland cypress. Both trees grow to the same size and have the same water and soil needs.
Juniper - Finally, let's look at the juniper family. Hillspire, blue point, and Wichita are on the extensive list of junipers available at the garden center now. Thriving juniper forests surround us, so you know that junipers are naturals to plant locally. Whichever color and height you like, all grow well here.
(There are more choices for living walls, such as the larger evergreen shrubs and deciduous trees like aspens, but we'll save those landscape tips for another time.)
When adding evergreens to a landscape, there are several essential steps worth your time and energy. The most important requirement for evergreen trees to thrive is drainage. Guarantee that drainage by blending one shovelful of Watters Premium Mulch into every three shovels-full of native earth to pack around the plant's roots. Feed new trees with my specially formulated "All Purpose Plant Food", 7-4-4; the cottonseed meal in this natural food promotes better root formation while maintaining good foliage color. Lastly, water your newly planted trees with a solution of 'Root & Grow'. This water additive tickles the roots of the plant and helps to form the deep root system essential for a plant to thrive.
Book just published!
The Secret Garden: Plants as a Natural Screen is a book in which I go into deep detail about all things having to do with local gardening. Free copies are available for download at WattersGardenCenter.com, under 'tips'.
Until next issue, I'll see you in the Garden Center.


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A girl on the what??? A girl on the ground!
Following my amazing London Fashion Week adventure, reporting for Yahoo Lifestyle as part of the Girls On The Ground duo (feat my blogging buddy, and all-round good egg, The Goodowl!) – I can FINALLY tell you the details behind my tantalising Top Secret hints which I've been leaving all over Twitter & Facebook.
The LFW Girls On The Ground was such a huge success that Yahoo Lifestyle have set up an exciting fashion and beauty project called the Girls On The Ground, a small group of bloggers united in a cause – to create some brilliant fashion & beauty content for you!
I don't want to spoil anything for you, but if you liked my LFW stuff then you'll love this!! (And if you hated my LFW stuff, then hey – there's 5 other Girls who you might like!)
Who Are The Girls On The Ground?
A diverse bunch of fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers, we're students, mums, beauty fiends, stylists, models and accountants (err, guess which ones' me?) and we cannot WAIT to show you what we got going onnnn.
Here's the line-up!
First up is my LFW homegirl Charlotte from The Goodowl – she covers personal style, DIY and home baking over on her blog and is a reeeet laugh. We really bonded over Fashion Week and it is going to be amazing fun working together again!
Next is fellow beauty blogger Annie from EpiphannieA but she covers a bit of everything. A self-confessed Disneyvore, she's got one of the best blog layouts I've seen!
Amy & Naomi.
Double trouble with the lovely duo behind Two Shoes One Pair – their instagram feed is absolutely beautiful and their busy blog schedule makes me feel like such an amateur in comparison! Cannot wait to learn some tricks of the styling trade from these two pro's!
The Teenage Witch! Just kidding – but Sabrina IS bewitchingly beautiful and has a very big cackle! She blogs fashion over at The Young Eccentric and is the model of the group! Beaut.
Finally, my girl Natalie from DiscoveriesOfSelf completes the lineup. We only met properly for the first time yesterday but she is hilarious and I can't wait to talk all things beauty (and blogging!) with her.
Oh yeah, and there's me – Zoe Dubs. HIYA.
Here's my face in case you didn't remember…
So there we go – we are the Girls On The Ground! Like a modern-day blogging brat pack, what will we do? Other than conquer the world? Watch. this. space.
For more pictures (and much better writing) – check out Yahoo Lifestyle: Girls On The Ground Launch Party
To keep up with all the latest news on Girls On The Ground, follow our hashtag #GirlsOTG and keep you eyes peeled over at Yahoo Lifestyle!!
Can't wait to show you more!! EEEeeeeeee! Time for me to go and jump up and down in excitement!
By Zoe Dubs


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The importance of vegetables in our life!
Eating vegetables provides wellness advantages – people who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall nutritious diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for wellness insurance maintenance of your body.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and veggies and vegetables as part of an overall nutritious
diet may reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, including cardiac problems.
Eating adiet rich in some fruits and veggies and vegetables as part of an overall
nutritious diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some fruits and veggies and vegetables,
may prevent cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Eating fruits and veggies and vegetables rich in potassium as part of an overall
nutritious diet may lower blood pressure, and may also prevent developing
kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other
higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
The benefits of eating broccoli
have a remarkable way of offering extensive benefits to your general wellness, and broccoli is no different. When you eat broccoli, you're getting many, maybe even hundreds, of super-nutrients that support maximum, body-wide wellness.
Since our suggested food preparation method for broccoli has always been Fast Sizzling, we are thrilled to review on several latest reports that show healthy gains advantage from the steaming of broccoli versus other food preparation methods.A part of these advantages is a better preservation of supplement C and sulforaphane when broccoli is steamed rather than boiled.
Gabriel Dixon
The benefits of the fitness community!
Why people joining fitness community
Reluctant to be a part of health and fitness community? Don't be! There is a lot of explaining why you should be part of health and fitness community: to get a lean body, to get slimmer, to learn for a competition, or to get inspired. It can be hard to keep motivated on your own, but a health and fitness group and assistance to fulfill your health and fitness training objectives. If you're new to work out, you may feel confused about where to begin.
The benefits of the community
If you choose someone who does not discuss the same persistence for fitness, that can be a diversion or even an obstruction. And if your associate is at a drastically different degree of fitness, or capability you could be organized back, forced too difficult or even injured. Psychological connection. Your workout pal doesn't have to be your best friend, but he or she has to be someone you like and whom you wouldn't want to dissatisfy. Psychologically, if you think like you have a responsibility and dedication toward other people, you are more likely to follow through on that commitment.Being in the community feeling that you are not alone of reaching fitness goals. Keep in mind, whether you're currently working out with your spouse, a friend or a whole passel of fitness friends, there's no need to restrict yourself to just one fitness collaboration. You can hit the gym with your spouse a couple of nights per week, move with a co-worker over the lunchtime time and drive paths with your pattern team for fun on Saturday. The more people you have definitely involved in assisting your fitness initiatives, the more likely you all are to enjoy the process, and the results.I believe that an individual may reach it faster or stay on the path of reaching the goal.
Gabriel Dixon
10 Foods that help the brain focus
These mind products help improve memory, mood, quality and focus and prevent psychological decrease, depression, anxiety and dementia.
There are hundreds of products marketed as "brain products."
And research has revealed that taking the right products can help the mind health and function now and prevent psychological loss of the future.
But picking the right one is an issue.
After all, there are hundreds of individual nutritional value to choose from vitamins, nutrients, herbs, meats, and nutritional value and thousands of mixtures of ingredients.
You can eat meals that develop health, or you can eat meals that produce illness. In the same way, you can eat mind meals that increase your mental faculties, or you can eat those that quite basically foolish you down.
So, which came first the intellect or the healthier diet? While we can't be certain, there is definitely a weblink between diet plan and considering processes. The better you eat, the clearer your concentrate. The more carbs and unhealthy meals you eat, the cloudier your concentrate becomes. So, here are some mind meals to help you get your considering on monitor and increase intellectual efficiency.
- Brain Foods -Walnuts
- Blueberries
- Olive Oil
- Coffee
- Water
- Dark Chocolate or Cocoa Powder
- Peppermint Tea
- Salmon
- Leafy Greens
- 10.Oatmeal
Check out these other foods that have been proven to increase psychological faculties and increase psychological efficiency.
Conclusion : Eating better can improve your focus and energy. So stay fit and continue to have a healthier life.
Gabriel Dixon
My review is fitness magazines are dead?
I feel that there are people who do not like computers and prefer to have a magazine in their hand.
Paper fitness magazines
Reason why I believe paper magazines are still around is because when a person travels by airplanes, bus, taxis, etc they do not have to worry about powering-off or electronic interference. Another reason is due to the dislike of electronic and the preference of having paper reading materials in their hands.
Electronic fitness magazines
In this technology world many people have cell phone , computers, etc. We now have electronic forms of magazines in which we can carry less stuff, when on the move. We can help save our environment by using the e-book or using Nexus. Electronic fitness magazines cost less than the paper form.
Gabriel Dixon
Independent Business Owner
My review Weight Loss Doctor Says "Eat Less", Move More' Is Awful Advice!
I am no doctor or A health professional But I am a health coach with our company This is my disclaimer.
How many people try different weight programs out there to active their health goals. But some are unsuccessful to achieve it due on their body type. Sometimes it can be genetic Or they think I t's easy to do or willing to do the work.
Genetics can be a factor.Most people is in their genetics. Liked the movie "The Nutty Professor" It shows he has self-esteem issues, image issue. Stress issues can cause by their peers like a parent,friends,media,Etc. Most people Gain more weight a stress by eating junk food like chips,cake, ice cream when they about to go to bed. Also movie it shows the effects of self-esteem Issues, what they think to fit in. The media Magazines, Movies, etc. have a big influence in people self-esteem and image. There are some cases in person's genetics they gain more of weight. And there are some Can eat anything I think And not gain a pound duo of their genetics.
The discipline you learn and character you build from setting and achieving a goal can be more valuable than the achievement of the goal itself.-Bo Bennett
This is why people need to see a health coach or some can a health professional what is the best weight loss plan for their body type.
Gabriel Dixon
Independent Business Owner
Break through your obstacles!
I've always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.
Chuck Norris
The 3-day Detox Diet!
Today is it laborious to avoid having toxins and chemicals in our system due to our lifestyles and also the setting. However, our bodies are quite exceptional and are inbuilt such some way on defend itself from these harmful intruders. though our kidneys, liver, skin, and even the lungs usually ought to work a little more durable to separate, neutralize, and eliminate these toxins. once toxins accumulate in our body it causes a unharness of some style of chemical. This may bit by bit change into cancers or alternative chronic diseases of the body.
We need to be selective on what we tend to place into our bodies as a result we will ne'er take it back. Typically ever-changing your modus Vivendi is that the sole approach you'll be able to improve the correct functioning of your body processes. A hospital ward program will be terribly useful in obtaining eliminate body impurities. Like any detoxification program, they're designed to flush out free radicals, increase cell renewal, and strengthen your body's system. Ridding your body of poisons can cause you to feel such a lot higher. Even the 3-day detoxification diet will facilitate in eliminating damaging toxins.
There are several hospital ward diets our there. One should understand that not all hospital ward diet programs are appropriate for everybody. A 3-day hospital ward diet simply could be knowing begin with to check the diet program and it's additionally a milder approach of detoxifying your body. If you're curious about a extended hospital ward program you will wish to consult your doctor initial before you start. this is often particularly necessary if you're thin , underfed or have a chronic malady like cancer, urinary organ and disease, inflammatory bowel disease, iron-deficiency, anemia, furthermore as others. this is often continually an honest plan once considering any form of diet program.
As mentioned higher than, there are numerous hospital ward diets, however, the 3-day hospital ward diet may be a sensible fast begin program toward detoxification. Every morning for the 3 days, drink a cup of heated water and ½ lemon squeezed in it after you rise up. This is often to stimulate your stomach juices. Drink the lemon water rather than your usual cup of occasional or tea. once designing your meals for the day you must embody one cup of whole grains like rice, buckwheat, amaranth, and a minimum of 3 servings every of fruits and vegetables. One amongst the servings of vegetables, at least, ought to be raw vegetables like carrots, celery, or cauliflower. Opt for the vegetables you get pleasure from. You may additionally fix yourself a dish product of fruits and vegetables. However, for dressing your dish, use vinegar or any of the natural virgin oils. Natural oils will embody olive, coconut virgin oils, or animal oil.
In addition to the changes in your meals you'll additionally ought to take 2 doses of a urinary organ and liver tonic over the 3-day hospital ward diet amount. Not 2 doses every day. simply 2 doses over the 3 days you are making an attempt to detoxify your body. You'll be able to select from the subsequent urinary organ and liver tonics: 2 cups of herbaceous plant, a clove of contemporary garlic, herb or fennel tea. alternative decisions embody pure vegetable juice like carrot or beetroot, a medium bunch of black grapes, or 2 cups of parsley or yellow tea. On a routine you'll ought to drink eight glasses or additional of water furthermore. It is a sensible plan to create this a habit anyway. Contemporary fruit juices like apple and orange will be counted as a part of your water intake. And lastly, before you head to bed drink a cup of tea. the complete plan is to extend your fluid intake by ingesting additional water, juices, fruits, and vegetables to flush out harmful toxins and waste.
As a part of your 3-day hospital ward diet make sure to incorporate a 30-minute walk among the program amount. Exercise with any diet is right for weight loss and improved health. once the third day, you'll feel rejuvenated and have additional energy and will have born a number of pounds. you will wish to try to to the 3-day hospital ward diet once more either consecutively or the subsequent month. To own higher health for the remainder of your life, an amendment of modus Vivendi is often higher than a number of days of fast.
Gabriel Dixon
Independent Business owner


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Who would come up with the concept of a government in which all the main parties – from leftwingers to rightwingers – are represented? The Swiss! Switzerland has had this system, a direct consequence of direct democracy, for decades.
In May 2017, a political earthquake shook France: Emmanuel Macron was elected French president, winning two-thirds of the vote in a run-off against Marine Le Pen. Although Macron had won only 24% of votes in the first round, in the second round many voters saw him as the lesser of two evils compared with Le Pen, leader of the far-right Front National. In France, and many other countries, the winner takes it all.
Four months later, the seven-person Swiss Federal Council (government) welcomed a new face after the retirement of Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Burkhalter, a member of the centre-right Radical Party.
Compared with neighbouring France, the election was much less spectacular: only one party was in the running. Nobody challenged the Radical Party's claim to the vacated seat – the question was which of the party's three nominated candidates would fill it.
Concordance, the system of distributing power in the federal council, has existed for decades. Instead of concentrating this power in the hands of one party, as in France, all main political parties are represented in cabinet according to their strength in parliament.
In practice, this means the three largest parties (the rightwing Swiss People's Party, the leftwing Social Democratic party and the Radicals) each receive two seats and the fourth-largest party (the centre-right Christian Democratic Party) receives one.
This 2-2-2-1 formation is known as the Magic Formula. Not everyone, however, finds it magical: in a consensus system of government, big plays are rarely possible – it's all about stability and the lowest common denominator.
The parties play the game not out of love of compromises but purely as a strategic calculation. This is because concordance is directly linked to direct democracy.
Opposition strategy
When the Swiss Confederation was founded in 1848, the cabinet comprised just one party: all seven ministers were from the Radical Party. This was laborious work, since the opposition would constantly use referendums to challenge what the government was doing.
Using this method, the Radicals' arch-enemies, the Catholic Conservatives, managed to block countless government bills, such as the nationalisation of the trains.
In order to get around this, the Radicals were eventually prepared – in 1891 – to free up one seat in cabinet for the conservative opposition. The Catholic Conservatives later got another seat, as did the forerunner of the Swiss People's Party.
Integration of the Social Democrats, who by the first half of the 20th century had the largest share of the vote, took longer. It wasn't until 1943 that they were granted a seat in cabinet.
After a short period in opposition, the Social Democrats got two seats – and the Magic Formula was created. In principle it still exists, with the People's Party, now the largest, having taken a seat from the Christian Democrats.
How to shape policy
But having a seat in cabinet does not mean that a party must support all the government's decisions. Rather, it enables a party to shape government policy so that the party can agree with it.
In most cases the parties in government stand behind the government but give themselves the space in certain issues to take other positions.
In the case of the Catholic Conservatives, sharing government responsibility was a success. Their first cabinet minister, Josef Zemp, helped pave a breakthrough with the nationalisation of the railways – and thus the creation of the Swiss Federal Railways – after his party had vehemently opposed such a move.
Social democracy has also been "tamed" to a certain degree by entering government, although the liberal media had issued warnings in 1959 before the party got its second seat.
Uncertain future
Despite all doubts, the parties at opposite ends of the political spectrum, and those in between, have managed to co-exist. Yet recently the stability generated by concordance has become more fragile.
While in the 1970s the four parties in government endorsed the same line in more than half of votes, today this is the exception. As well as the Social Democrats, it is above all the People's Party that regularly opposes the cabinet view.
In recent years Swiss politics has become more polarised. At the same time competition between the parties has intensified. They face greater pressure to stand out and compromising rarely helps.
The future of concordance is therefore uncertain. While all sides say they are committed to concordance, their interest is waning in consensus solutions. This could lead to problems, since in various areas, such as old-age pensions or corporate taxation, reforms are increasingly urgent.
Succeeding in this in a system of direct democracy will be more and more difficult in an age of disintegrating consensus.
(Translated from German by Thomas Stephens), swissinfo.ch


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Category Archives: Believing in yourself
Let them be?
When do you know when something has come to an end? A career, a friendship or any relationship for that matter, or the place you call home? Our future and career choice is something we are generally asked to think … Continue reading
House Of Cards.
Moving your life to another country can unveil more challenges than expected. Realising so much more about yourself at the same time! Continue reading
Posted in Believing in yourself, Career path, Changes, Moving, Uncategorized 4 Comments


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The Urban Land Institute is a global non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has almost 40,000 members in 82 countries representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.
ULI has been active in Europe since the early 1990s and today we have over 2,600 members across 27 different countries. ULI Europe has a particularly strong presence in the major European real estate markets of the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands but is also active in emerging markets such as Turkey and Poland.
A Message from Olga Arkhangelskaya, ULI Russia Chair
ULI Russia has been active in the Russian real estate market for over 10 years, during which it has been a significant influence on the local real estate and urban development market. Effective and proper development of urban spaces is now a top priority for Russian cities, towns and territories. With its access and exposure to worldwide knowledge and experience as well as contacts with leading professionals in this sphere, ULI can offer the Russian market solutions form the world's leading experts.
ULI Russia holds regular events on topical issues relevant to the urban society, organises property tours of high-tech and conceptual sites, and has served as a partner of the Moscow Urban Forum. The ULI Russia summer and winter cocktail events have proven very popular and attract a high number of top professionals in real estate and urban development.
ULI Russia's plans for the near future include further expansion of activities and presence; including introduction of educational programmes, widening the scope of conferences and round table events, and enhancing our access to the global ULI resources.
We could not achieve these goals without members who play an active role in shaping our programmes and initiatives. If you are interested in becoming more involved with ULI Russia, please e-mail email@example.com.
ULI Russia Updates
ULI Russia Video: Seminar with Denis Sokolov
June 03, 2016
ULI Russia Annual Winter Cocktails
December 10, 2014
ULI Russia Executive Series with Oleg Myshkin
November 13, 2014


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Spelling Book is a educational game for little kids who want to learn English by playing fun game. Education and fun, can it go together? Spelling Book is a new educational English spelling puzzle game that will teach you spelling in an entertaining and challenging way! The game contains a lot of features including global leader board in which you can see points of other people, so do not forget to submit your score at the end of the game to see how is the best in spelling! And after practicing you can give spelling test here.
How to play: There will be shown 4 words on a screen and your task is to mark all the correctly spelled words! Your score depends on your speed! Watch out, you can make max 5 mistakes and there is a time limit of 75 seconds! Will you make it into TOP 20 high scores?


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Massive, uncontained leak at Fukushima is pouring over 710 billion becquerels of radioactive materials into atmosphere
by: J. D. Heyes
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
The tsunami-caused nuclear accident at the Fukushima power station in Japan is the disaster that never ends, as new reports indicate that a wealth of new radioactive materials have been spewed into the atmosphere.
According to Singapore-based news outlet AsiaOne, the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the multi-nuclear reactor power station at Fukushima, announced April 6 that some 120 tons of water that had been contaminated with radioactive substances had leaked from an underground storage facility at the No. 1 atomic power plant site.
Running out of storage room?
TEPCO officials announced the leak late in the day April 5, a Friday, "but said measures to address the problem had not been taken for two days because the cause had not been identified," AsiaOne reported. The company "assumed the water was still leaking."
The Rest…HERE


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Eileen and I recently visited Yarkon and Tel Afek National Park. The park is about a half hour drive from where we live in Herzliya and is located east of Tel Aviv.
The Ottoman Fortress, Binar Bashi, was built in 1571 on the top of the ancient mound of Tel Afek. A "Tel" is actually a specific archaeological feature which is very common in Israel, a place that has been inhabited by people for thousands and thousands of years. Basically a "Tel" is a mound underneath which lay the ruins of previous settlements that once stood on the same spot.
On the eastern slope of the Tel is the British Mandate pumping station, from which water from the Yarkon spring was once channeled to Jerusalem.
On our way out of the park we drove past a parking lot outside the Rosh H'Yam railroad station and found this interesting scene…


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I am tired. So tired. I'm sorry, I'm too tired to think of a more clever way to say that.
I'm running the Memorial Day 10K tomorrow (because I enjoy having my ass kicked — good for your humility or something), but I think I might fall asleep during it. I sort of fell asleep during the Giants game today. The sun was so warm and sitting still was so soothing and zzzz….
My legs have also just been aching, like painfully throbbing, almost constantly. The massive, lower-body-wide pain has been very demoralizing. It's hard to care about biking faster when you just want your hamstring to stop feeling like someone is tearing it apart with their bare hands.
And that's how you end up eating a cinnamon, morning bun, coffee cake with frosting halfway through a 3 hour ride and then wondering why you really don't feel so good now.
Even though it feels debilitating, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for why I'm exhausted. Like maybe starting a new job with a huge company, where you're actually in charge of shit and need to be self-motivated and you have to figure it all out on your own, is kind of stressful. And maybe closing on the condo and needing to move is sort of tiring. [No, we have not moved. We fixed the sink and the lights instead. And by we, I mean some guys.] Oh yeah, and then there's the fact that I've done more training in the last three weeks than in the previous two months.
I was sort of out of training for a few weeks in March and couldn't run for a month and then I knew there was no reason to jam in a bunch of training before Alcatraz if I wanted to be on for it. Which means I had 6 weeks where I didn't crack 10 hours of training.
Which, fyi, mom, is not very much.
So my 12 hours, 13.5, 14.5 and now 16 on the schedule for this week, is a lot in comparison.
Also, I fried my back. Evidently, swimming at noon outside is a recipe for crispy Kelly.
Just so you don't think I'm a total whiner, I did get to ride my time trial bike for the first time in 9 months, which was very exciting. (Why yes, that is SRAM Red on the bike. It is quite nice, thanks for asking.)
Of course, it would have been more exciting like three months ago. But who's complaining.


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It is no small coincidence that Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were fascinated with Oceania, having each heard of the discoveries of Captain James Cook. Captain Cook was the first European to circumnavigate New Zealand. His explorations were acclaimed all over Europe; it is said that when news of his death came to Versailles in 1779, the Queen burst into tears. Later, in her cell in the Conciergerie, one of the few books provided for Marie-Antoinette was The Voyages of Captain Cook, which was said to have been her favorite.
In 1785 Louis XVI commissioned the naval hero La Pérouse to outfit two ships for an expedition to explore the unknown regions of the Pacific Ocean in the wake of Captain Cook. Louis did not want the British to outstrip the French in nautical explorations. The king, who was a skilled amateur cartographer and geographer, painstakingly mapped out the voyage which lasted for three years. The adventurers pinpointed the exact location of previously unknown Pacific Islands. As Catherine Delors has written:
Louis XVI, as I have noted earlier in this blog, was far from the imbecile he is sometimes made to appear. The King was what we would call an intellectual, and had a passion for geography and cartography. He wished to launch a major maritime expedition whose goal would no be not military conquest, but scientific discovery, the correction of existing maps and the establishment of new trade routes, in particular across the Pacific.It is interesting that even amid their misfortunes, the thoughts of the King and the Queen went to the mysterious lands on the other side of the world. Marie-Antoinette, other than journeying from Austria to France in 1770, never traveled (it would have cost too much money) and she never saw the ocean. Louis saw the Atlantic ocean once, but never crossed it; as a geographer he probably longed to explore the ends of the earth had it been compatible with his duties as king. His vicarious explorations of Oceania by means of La Pérouse meant a great deal to him. As mentioned above, it is telling that on the morning of his death he asked: "Is there any news of Monsieur de La Pérouse?" Share
Louis XVI chose Lapérouse to head the expedition (both men are represented in this painting, the King seated, and Lapérouse in his uniform.) The navigator sailed from France in 1785, only four years before the start of the Revolution. He had been entrusted with two merchant ships and a crew of 220 men, including an astronomer, a physician, three biologists, a mathematician and three draftsmen. Even the Catholic priests who were part of the expedition as chaplains were trained as scientists (the two being perfectly compatible.)
The expedition crossed the Atlantic and reached Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America, in January 1786. It later explored Chile, Easter Island, Hawaii (there is still a place in Maui called Lapérouse Bay,) Alaska, California, where Lapérouse found much to criticize in the treatment of Native Americans, Japan, Russia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Tonga, Samoa, Australia...
The expedition seems to have floundered off the coast of Vanikoro, in the modern-day Solomon Islands, in 1788. The disappearance of Lapérouse, his crew and his ships caused much speculation at the time.
Louis XVI himself allegedly asked, on the morning of his execution, on January 21, 1793: "Is there any news of Monsieur de Lapérouse?" I make no guarantees as to the accuracy of this quote, but it is emblematic of the deposed King's personal sympathy for the explorer, and the level of public interest in the fate of the expedition. The shipwreck was not traced until decades later and many questions remain about the circumstances of the disaster.


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- Home
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- Pro-Tec Pager Unit Only
Product Description
Connects directly to Protec System One and will transmit up to a one mile radius when alarm or manual pager is activated.
Monitors the status of Protec System One or manual paing button with different beeping sequences. (Additional pagers available)
Allows a person at the trailer to activate the pager on demand to notify the trailer owner that they are looking for him/her.
For additional protection, you can add a GPS tracking system to locate your stolen trailer, vehicles or equipment. The Skypatrol Asset Protection is a completely self contained system that will enable you to locate your vehicles in real time via the web.


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Lebedev sells stake in Aeroflot; Finnair and union sign new collective agreement
Aeroflot (-3.9%) led European airline shares lower on Friday (10-Dec-2010) on news National Reserve Bank, owned by Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev, sold a 4% stake in the carrier. Mr Lebedev agreed to sell 44.2 million shares in the airline for approximately USD2.50/share. This was reportedly the minimum price NRB had signalled it would accept and below market levels.
Aeroflot's shares fell to their lowest level in five months as a result, ending trading at RBR80.71. Earlier in trading, the carrier had fallen as much as 5.8%. Analysts stated the deal showed renewed confidence in the sector.
See related CAPA Profile: Privatisation and Ownership
Meridiana Fly (Eurofly) (-3.5%) and Aegean Airlines (-2.3%) also ended the day lower.
easyJet terminates relationship agreement
easyJet was stable for the day after announcing that the resolutions proposed at the company's EGM held today were passed by shareholders. Consequently, the relationship agreement with Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the easyGroup has been terminated, the existing brand licence has been amended and restated on the terms contained within the amended brand licence and the company's articles of association have been amended to remove the rights granted to Sir Stelios and easyGroup relating to board appointments, effective immediately.
Finnair and union agree to new collective agreement
Finnair (+0.2%) made a marginal gain after the carrier and Finnish Cabin Crew Union, SLSY, accepted a settlement proposal for a new three-year collective agreement put forth by National Conciliator Esa Lonka. The new collective agreement for Finnair cabin crew is valid through Oct-2013. According to the agreement, the employer cannot lay off employees due to economic or productivity reasons during 2010 and 2011.
Sympathy strikes by other airport workers supporting Finnair cabin crew have also ended. Services were expected to return to normal over the weekend. The strike, which is expected to cost the carrier at least USD20 million, began on 30-Nov-2010 and was over plans to cut rest time between long haul services from 36 hours to 24 hours.
See related CAPA Profile: Industrial Relations
Elsewhere, Lufthansa (+1.2%) also gained, after operations in Germany returned to normal over the weekend, after snow forced the carrier to cancel and delay a number of flights late last week. Dart Group (+1.1%) and Cimber Sterling (+0.9%) were also up for the session.
Europe selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 10-Dec-2010


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I'm an expert at wearing a dress the "wrong" way—if such a superlative exists. Flash back four years ago to an American Museum of Natural History benefit: the dress, a black column with an exaggerated bow at the neck; my take, backward. I thought it looked perfect—was intended to be that way—until someone's offhand comment alerted me to my mistake. Since then, I've continued my rogue styling, wearing dresses and skirts sideways, even upside down (another story for another day). Come spring, however, I'm faced with a worthy opponent. **Osman Yousefzada'**s draped jersey crepe dress is intended to be worn three different ways. There's no way to rebel. "Mutable dressing" is how Yousefzada describes multiple-look creations like this one, available in white, black, and red. "Ideally my work is about creating silhouettes—and you can put that in jersey. You perfect that, and it takes on a different life and color." Creating the dress was the hard part—a feat Yousefzada tackled, with marvelous multitasking results. He's made it easy for us. "When you go out in the evening you don't want to go home and change. This takes the day to evening to another level," Yousefzada says. "You can quickly take off your jacket and turn your skirt into a dress—a couple of dresses."
Perhaps a little instruction is necessary: Look #1: the long draped skirt. Simply pull on skirt and add desired top. Yousefzada showed his white version with a short, loose white blouse with gold loops woven with white fabric at the shoulders. Here, a white T-shirt topped with brown Balenciaga leather jacket and Fendi's superhigh platform boots. Look #2: the strapless dress. Pull up the skirt to morph it into a draped dress. Here, with Prada's studded black suede sandal—and the seven gold bracelets I never take off. Look #3: one shoulder dress. Take the outer panel up over your arm to become the final look. Yousefzada envisions this dress with "some strong gold earring and a gold cuff." Here, over a white Herff Christiansen long-sleeve T-shirt with tan Ann Demeulemeester multistrap wedge sandals, and again the bracelets. "It will look very different on people; it morphs into their sensibility," says Yousefzada. There's no wrong way.


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Holding of defence pension Adalat at pune – satara from 7th to 9th April 2016
A Defence Pension Adalat, 139th in the series of Adalats held by the Defence Accounts Department, is being held at Pune from 7th – 8th April, 2016, followed by a mobile pension camp at satara on 9th April, 2016. The Defence Pension Adalat at Pune – Satara is being organized by the PCDA(P) Allahabad.
The Nodal Officer details for the Defence Pension Adalat Pune – Satara are as follows:
Nodal Officer – Shri Ashish Sen, Sr.A.O.
O/o PCDDA (P) Allahbad
Tel/Fax No – 0532-2421873; 2420330
Mob. No – 09415145879
Email ID – [email protected]
All concerned are requested to take a note of the Adalat schedule and forward their pension related application/queries to the nodal officer under PCDA (Pension). The venue of the Adalat is "Dhanvantri" Auditotium, AFMC, Pune.
The Defence Pension Adalat at Pune is likely to be inauguarted by Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on 7th April 2016.


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(Picture as taken from Mumbai, Maharashtra)Maghi Poornima (also called the Magha Poornima), the full moon day which marks the conclusion of the Hindu month of 'Magh', is considered very auspiscious in Northern India. Today, lakhs of devotees take a holy dip in the sacred waters of Ganges River as part of the rituals of the famous Maha Kumbha Mela.
Further gyan: I have also learnt that the moon appears the largest and brightest on this day.