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New UK Company acquires Oil Exploration Blocks in Ogaden
A new UK-based company, Delonex Energy Limited, two weeks ago acquired oil exploration blocks in the Ogaden basin, in eastern Ethiopia.
Delonex Energy is an oil and gas exploration company focused on sub-Saharan Africa. In a statement issued on August 25, Delenox Energy said that the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines had awarded it an exploration license in the Ogaden basin.
Delonex Energy said it was leveraging its technical expertise, proven project execution skills and strong balance sheet to fast track the exploration and development of hydrocarbons for the benefit of host nations.
Delonex Energy was established in 2013 with an investment capital of USD 600 million dollars led by Warburg Pincus, a renowned global private equity firm based in New York, and the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Delonex energy is headquartered in London, with subsidiaries in UK, India and Kenya.


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Should auld acquaintance be forgot…
I thought the first line to the popular Burns' song Auld Lang Syne would be appropriate on this occasion, which marks my goodbye to this blog.
After more than two years I am closing up virtual shop. Like many bloggers I have simply run out of creative steam, and as I get older it becomes more important that I persue something because I love it rather than because I feel I should. My life is very full and happy, and I simply feel my energy being pulled elsewhere.
I don't know quite how to thank you, everyone who has followed along on my many adventures, and who has encouraged my writing and photography. You have helped make this wee project a great joy. Thank you also for your passion and curiosity for Scotland. I think that together we have shown this wee country a lot of love.
While I will eventually be shutting down comments and other bits and pieces, the blog itself will remain as a point of reference and potential enjoyment for whoever should stumble upon it.
I have no doubt I will someday reemerge in bloggerland under a different guise. If you have enjoyed my writing and would like to be notified of my future creative efforts, please email me at email@example.com and include "Sophia's email list" in the subject line.
I shall leave you with Eddi Reader, who sings my favourite rendition of Auld Lang Syne.
Much love and safe journeys,

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm currently in the third of eight hours I'll be spending at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. As I type this blog post, I'm sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, uncomfortably close to a total stranger, and there is a pile of either sugar or cocaine with ants crawling in and out of it on the floor next to me. The hours on end that I'll have here in Ft. Lauderdale have given me a good minute to think of several things that would make airports better.
- Small "nap time" rooms with a bed and a loud alarm clock/wake-up call, that can be rented on an hourly basis.
- Friendly employees who don't look like they want to kill me.
- Rooms filled with puppies.
- Vending machines that sell deodorant, ibuprofen, and magazines, so that I wouldn't have to go into the same store and face the same employee every time I think of something else I forgot. (Yes, I've been in there three times so far.)
- More electrical outlets. This one should be a no-brainer. Everyone and their great-grandmother travels with, at the very least, a cell phone. Most also have iPods, iPads, laptops, etc. Yet, each gate seems to have half an outlet. If we're lucky.
- A place to store your luggage if you're traveling alone, so that you can avoid the awkward trying-to-fit-in-a-tiny-bathroom-stall-with-a-rolling-suitcase-and-backpack thing.
- Larger bathroom stalls. With doors that open outward. For Pete's sake, this should not be difficult.
- Free coffee.
- Chairs with two armrests between them. Last time I checked, the vast majority of travelers had two arms… yet we're each offered only one armrest.
- Sugar (maybe? still not sure) free floors.
- Quieter loudspeaker announcements.
Any more ideas?


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I have an apology to make. Tim Newton – I am sorry I ever laughed at you for being jumpy about insects and other creatures while we were in Peru.
There, said it. So why?
I am not the most unflappable girl I know. I do not like things that slither, scuttle or jump but I can cope with spiders and creepy crawlies quite well. Having been owned by cats for many years I had got used to dealing with their flapping, scurrying, screaming gifts. I do get startled by unexpected movements but I'm not exactly a nervous-Nancy. In Peru, Tim often made me laugh because he would jump at the tiniest bug (remember the creature in the bananas?) while I found I was able to cope with most surprises confidently. Even when a bat flew towards my flashing head torch in a toilet in Yarina I didn't make a sound. I just dodged and continued to make my water! I later laughingly described it as something out of a slasher movie but it was just a good story, I wasn't really bothered.
Then I moved to Myanmar. At first, it was just the mosquitoes. The tortuous buzzing in my ear at 4am drove me mad. I tried to get the landlords to put up a mosquito net but instead I got new window covers and some of the gaps around the windows stopped up. It didn't work! I have to spray my rooms on a near daily basis and its essential if the maid's been in as she opens all the windows and doors while she's cleaning. I have a mosquito tennis racket thingy (pretty rubbish) and a little machine that I put on an hour before bed that is supposed to neutralize them (also pretty poor.) More often than not, I still wake up half eaten-alive, itching and swearing!
Again, I have to apologise to Tim. When we debated the killing of poor, harmless insects and I accused you of murder, I was wrong. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than squishing the blood-sucking, bitey little bastards. Although if I get a blood-filled female I do gag a bit.
Next came the lizards. I admit I wanted a lizard to act as pest control for the insects. When I finally got one I was pleased and named him Squishy (#Pixar) but I found him difficult to live with. He took up residence in the kitchen and every time I went in there and turned the light on, he would scuttle for protection and I would quietly jump. I learnt to manage this by announcing my presence before entering the room (a mad cat woman trick learnt from years of living with a nervous cat) and being prepared for movement. And it worked.
Recently, he startled me again when I nearly stepped on him in the TV room. Then, on closer inspection, I realized he wasn't moving. On even closer inspection (once I'd got the nerve up) I realized he was belly-up, stone-cold dead, in the middle of the room, almost like he'd had a heart attack mid ceiling-crossing and dropped where he stood. He was unceremoniously binned and removed the next day, poor thing.
Now when I go into the kitchen I still jump, as a new, tiny Squishy has taken up residence in the tiles by the light switch. Oh well, back to square one!
Then there were the bats. Having survived my bat encounter in Peru unscathed, I thought that would be an end to it. However, twice, I have returned home and switched on my bedroom light to encounter a startled bat circling my room like a toy aeroplane on a string. The problem with bats is that they do fly straight at you until the sonar kicks in and they swerve. It takes a braver girl than me to try and dodge that while trying to open windows and provide an escape route for a creature who mysteriously entered the room in the first place. Frustratingly, the first time it happened I called my neighbor in for support but when we returned the bat was gone. We searched my sparse bedroom high and low for it but it had vanished. I'm pretty sure my neighbour thought I was slightly hysterical as I squeaked and dodged my way around the room.
The second time it happened, witnesses were closer to hand, and I was vindicated because the bat did the same disappearing act again. We concluded that it must have crawled through a hole in the wall next to the air-con. Not a very big hole but certainly big enough for a bat. I have since stuffed the hole with plastic bags and am (thankfully) yet to receive a third visit.
The straw that broke the camel's back though, was the mouse.
I had had a dark, mysterious stranger (not the nice kind) visit me for the first time in October. Something moved across my floor, just in my eye line, and entered the kitchen. I wasn't much bothered and assumed that it was Squishy. But then it scuttled into my darkened TV room and peaked out at me from behind the TV stand. Maybe it was the darkness, or the film that I was watching, but I admit it, I was freaked out! I made a fast, girly exit from the room and closed both that and my bedroom door firmly behind me, spending a nervous night in the relative safety of my bed.
After an anxious morning checking behind the TV I decided it was a one off and forgot about it. I was only reminded of it when something similar scuttled at me from under the shoe rack, just before Christmas. Again, my neighbour was nearby but not witness to the reason for my squeak, and again I put it down to Squishy.
It was only when I returned from my Christmas travels that I discovered who my uninvited guest was. The truth is, I may have continued to live innocently alongside the bloody thing for much longer if I hadn't been too lazy to put my things away properly. I couldn't get my wardrobe door to shut properly because of the strap of my rucksack. Instead of dealing with it properly I just kicked it, which resulted in a small, furry bullet shooting out from the pile of bags in there and ricocheting off my foot before retreating under my dresser. I'm ashamed to say that that did elicit a scream from me. Not the stereotypical Tom and Jerry woman, standing on a chair, holding up her skirts scream, but a scream nonetheless. It got the same scream an hour later when it did it again as I put clothes away in the dresser. This time it went behind the headboard, so I bravely stood on the bed and shone a torch down the gap to check my suspicions were right. Yep. I had a mouse.
Since then it has been a running battle to get rid of it. The manager has been slow on the uptake and claimed he couldn't find the hole it used to get in. He has finally put down poison but it remains untouched while the little rascal is getting bolder by the minute.
Last Sunday I was sitting on my bed relaxing, having just returned from Golden Rock, when the creak of my wardrobe door made me look up in fright. Creeping out of the cupboard was the bloody mouse. My 'Gasp. Oh Shit!' sent it running for the dresser, while I huddled on the bed clutching my knees.
During the week, the feeling that I was not alone in the room, has repeatedly wakened me.
Last night I was woken again. This time I distinctly heard squeaking and scuttling. It was dancing the fandango on my dresser and rattling my jewelry on its china dish. I shouted and switched on the light to glimpse the bloody thing streak up the mirror and over the top. I continued to hear rustlings for sometime to come but couldn't bear to go and look. I was too nervous to put my feet on the floor or switch off the light and go back to sleep. If it can get on my dresser, it can get onto my bed. And me! I barely slept for the rest of the night.
This morning, when I was confident I was alone in my room (it had probably sidled past doing the two-fingered salute earlier) I went to get a cup of tea. I ended up cleaning the whole kitchen from top to bottom as I found mouse droppings everywhere. I also found that the devil had scaled my stand-alone fridge freezer in the front room and helped itself to an apple from my fruit bowl.
I admit I don't have it as bad as some. Another neighbour discovered a rat running loose in her kitchen, a third had a cockroach in her bed (the insect kind!), and a friend in Mandalay has rats and snakes to contend with, but I've had enough. Every rustle, creek, and rapid movement caught out of the corner of my eye has my hairs standing on end and a cry on my lips. I'm a walking wreck through lack of sleep and I'm about ready to pack my bags and find a new place to live. I've never missed owning a cat so much in my life as I do right now and I'm annoyed that a rodent has the better of me.
I promise I will never laugh at those who are nervous again. But feel free to laugh at me and my pathetic inability to cope with life in the Tropics!


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Flashback Friday: MotorWeek Tests a 1991 Saturn SL2
Watch this classic MotorWeek video review of Saturn's 1991 SL2 sports touring sedan. "Control design is top notch with everthing well-marked and falling easily into hand," said John Davis. "We loved the crisp, accurate shifter that's as good as anything from Honda."
Vintage Saturn Photos
Saturn has been busy posting a growing collection of "vintage" Saturn pictures dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s over on their ImSaturn website. Included in the album are classic S-Series advertising and plant photos, like this picture of the first Saturn ever built: a medium red 1991 SL2.
Video: Michigan Company Converts a '95 Saturn SL1 into an Electric Car
WILX News Channel 10 reports in this video segment about a Michigan company that is going into business converting used economy cars into electric vehicles. A gold Saturn was shown in the linked clip and others were flashed on the screen as future upcoming conversions. "This model will run anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000," said the station, "but it can be cheaper if you bring in your own car."
GM's 10 Most Significant Cars of the Past 100 Years
Any way you slice it, 100 years is a long time. Few companies have marked such a milestone, but later this year General Motors will clock its one-hundredth anniversary. The company's celebration started last week and it will continue all year long online and at events across the country.
Random Article from the SaturnFans.com Archives
2005 Saturn Preview
With the 2005 model year just around the corner, SaturnFans.com has assembled a list of the rumored changes to each of Saturn's existing models. Look for a more complete - and official - list to be posted online as soon as it becomes available.


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As the second largest school system in Georgia, CCSD is responsible for educating nearly 113,000 students in a diverse, constantly changing suburban environment.
11:30 a.m. - High School12:30 p.m. - Elementary School1:30 p.m. - Middle School
If you have any questions, please contact your local school for more information.
Local School Professional Learning Day
©2017 Cobb County School District. All Rights Reserved.
Legal Information Disclaimer / Accessibility Statement


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Injectable Fillers New Orleans Metairie
Filler for eye bags and cheek augmentation
Cheek and tear trough fillers have become one of our most popular procedures. Although cheek implants are a permanent option, many patients want a non-surgical treatment for lack of volume in the cheeks. Cheek enhancement is one of the best cosmetic procedures for creating a rejuvenated look. A small amount of filler in the cheeks can make a huge difference in making female and male patients look younger. This is a near painless, simple, ten-minute procedure that has major results with virtually no down time. Contact our office now for a comprehensive consultation for facial filler injection.
Lip Filler New Orleans
The filler is injected in the lips, wrinkles or folds. The actual injection only takes minutes. Ice is placed on the lips immediately after the injections. The lips generally swell somewhat, but most patients can return to work the next day. Rarely, some patients experience more significant swelling. For this reason, a first-time filler patient may want to be treated on a day when they don't have important engagements coming up. It is also a good idea to refrain from aspirin and other medications to decrease bruising from filler injections.
Fillers for the Jawline and Jowls
Injectable fillers can be very versatile for filling aging defects on the face and neck. Many patients have jowls and need a facelift, but may not be able to undergo a procedure for various reasons. Many of these patients can benefit from filling the hollow regions around the jowl (pre-jowl sulcus), which improves the appearance of the jowls at the border of the jaw.
Hyaluronic Acid Fillers (HA)
Currently, HA fillers are the most popular injectable fillers in New Orleans and Metairie used by Dr. Sean Weiss for non-surgical enhancements. HA is a naturally occurring material in animals and can be produced by some bacteria as well. Generally, HA products offer 9-18 months of effect and the possibility of longer effects with repeat injections. Some Examples of HA fillers are Restylane™, Restylane Silk, Restylane Refyne, Restylane Defyne. Juvederm™, Juvederm Voluma®, Juvederm Vobella, and Juvederm Vollure.
Other Products
Multiple other materials have been developed with variability regarding duration of effect, risk of complication and overall natural-appearing results. Poly-L-Lactic Acid products (Sculptra™) offer longer-lasting results (up to 2 years) but are not potentially reversible during that time. Hydroxyapatite Products (Radiesse™) are also popular and produce results more than 12-18 months.
Fat Transfer
The transfer of fat from one part of the body to the face for augmentation and filling of wrinkles is used by many experienced physicians and offers the benefit of long-lasting, natural augmentation. Fat grafting by Dr. Weiss allows for larger amounts of material for injection (compared to other fillers), make this a powerful technique to correct the loss of volume commonly associated with the "aging face" appearance.


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• Vertical blinds
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Having trouble with your current blinds? Need replacement vertical fabrics?
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ZE: 908 Acoustic Interface – The simple way to integrate noise measurements in industrial settings
Cirrus Environmental, a leading specialist in the design and manufacture of environmental noise monitoring solutions provide a specially designed acoustic interface, ZE: 908, which allows users to add a noise measurement capability to an existing process control system.
The ZE: 908 is a small, lightweight power supply and acoustic conditioning unit for microphone preamplifiers, it is ideal as a front-end for data logging and analysis systems where a simple and accurate acoustic input is required as an interface between an acoustic transducer and a process monitoring system. The ZE: 908 is ideal for use alongside process sensors that are strategically placed around industrial plants so that environmental impact and efficiency can be monitored and managed safely in real time.
With front panel indicators showing configuration and output status, live noise levels can be displayed and stored using your own system software, eliminating the need to install third party software, where the complexity of extra software systems or security could be an issue.
The ZE: 908 can be used with the Cirrus MV: 200 microphone preamplifiers and MK: 170 outdoor microphone units. With a choice of output signals including; 4-20mA alongside AC and DC voltage outputs, the ZE: 908 is unlike any other conventional sound level meter.
This acoustic interface converts noise levels in decibels into an industry standard 4-20mA output, which can be fed directly into a SCADA-type control system.
With simple mounting and installation, this means the ZE: 908 is ideal for organisations looking for quick deployment of noise measurement inside the workplace environment, for longer term outdoor noise measurement, the MK: 427 NoiseSensor is the ideal solution.
To find out more information please visit: www.cirrus-environmental.com
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Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann L.L.C. Announces New Member
Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann L.L.C. is pleased to announce that Daria B. Diaz has become a member of the firm, effective January 1, 2007.
Ms. Diaz, who is a resident member of our Baton Rouge office, joined Stone Pigman as Special Counsel in 2003 and has 20 years of experience in environmental and energy regulation and litigation. She is a member of the Louisiana and Florida Bar Associations. Ms. Diaz teaches environmental law at the Tulane Law School as an adjunct professor and is past chair of the Environmental Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association. She is a frequent lecturer and author on environmental topics. Prior to practicing in Louisiana, Ms. Diaz worked at the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation where she litigated environmental permitting and enforcement cases.
Ms. Diaz earned her Master of Laws in energy and environment at Tulane University Law School in 1993. In 1986, she received her law degree from Florida State University College of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as Articles and Notes Editor of the Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law. She received her B.A. in Political Science, with high honors, from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1983.
Founded in 1929, Stone Pigman has earned its reputation representing national, regional and local businesses in a full range of litigation and business matters, including corporate, securities, real estate, intellectual property, health care, tax and estate planning.


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Toplink was founded by Mikael Vinberg in 2012 and has been providing free websites and servers since. We do not advertise or sell anything, we just help small organizations and gaming clans with either a homepage or a gaming server.
"Iam putting in around 5000 SEK (800 US Dollar) each year into this project without charging my user's anything. This is my hobby project that i'll hope will grow in the next years!" I need all the help i can get, so iam always interested in sponsorship deals." - Mikael Vinberg
Are you interested in setting up your own free website, please dont hesitate to contact Toplink with your inquiry.
Technical information:
Toplink is running a Virtual Ubuntu server on a Windows 2008 R2 operating system. We are using the Parallels Plesk Control Panel to manage the entire Webservice.
Server specificaiton:
Xeon(R) CPU 3.10 Ghz
10Gb RAM
64Bit OS
Contact information:
Mikael Vinberg
Owner & Founder
(+46) 76 - 311 13 64


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You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image.
The prince was deployed to the South Atlantic with the Royal Air Force just two months ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war between Britain and Argentina over the British-ruled islands.
A war of words between the two governments has escalated in recent months, with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez describing Britain as a "crass colonial power in decline".
Argentina's foreign ministry said William, the second in line to the British throne, was arriving in the "uniform of a conquistador" (conqueror).
London, which rejects Buenos Aires's claim over the craggy windswept islands, is sending one of its most sophisticated warships to the Falklands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish.
Britain's defence ministry said on Thursday it was routine for Prince William to spend time in the Falklands at this stage in his career. The prince, known as Flight Lieutenant Wales in the Royal Air Force, graduated as a search-and-rescue pilot in September 2010, having started his training in Anglesey, Wales.
"(William) has arrived in the Falkland Islands on a routine operational deployment and will shortly take up SAR (search and rescue) duties post a period of briefings and a familiarisation flight," the ministry said in a brief statement.
William, who is married to Catherine Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, will not carry out any royal duties during his six weeks on the islands, it added.
Britain has controlled the islands, about 480km off the southern Argentine coast, since 1833.
In 1982, Britain sent a naval force and thousands of troops to reclaim the islands after Argentine forces sent by the country's then-military junta occupied them. About 650 Argentine and 255 British troops died in the 10-week conflict.
Britain refuses to negotiate with Argentina over its claim of sovereignty to the islands. Prime Minister David Cameron said last month Britain was committed to protecting the islands.


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ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2009) — The remaining ice fields atop famed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania could be gone within two decades and perhaps even sooner, based on the latest survey of the ice fields remaining on the mountain.
The findings indicate a major cause of this ice loss is very likely to be the rise in global temperatures. Although changes in cloudiness and precipitation may also play a role, they appear less important, particularly in recent decades.
The first calculation of ice volume loss indicates that from 2000 to 2007, the loss by thinning is now roughly equal to that by shrinking.
These predictions, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are among the latest dramatic physical evidence of global climate change.
Paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson, professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University, and his colleagues amassed a trail of data showing the rapid loss of ice atop Africa's highest mountain:
• 85 percent of the ice that covered the mountain in 1912 had been lost by 2007, and 26 percent of the ice there in 2000 is now gone;
• A radioactive signal marking the 1951-52 "Ivy" atomic tests that was detected in 2000 1.6 meters (5.25 feet) below the surface of the Kilimanjaro ice is now lost, with an estimated 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) missing from the top of the current ice fields;
• The presence of elongated bubbles trapped in the frozen ice at the top of one of the cores shows that surface ice has melted and refrozen. There is no evidence of sustained melting anywhere in the rest of the core that dates back 11,700 years;
• Even 4,200 years ago, a drought in that part of Africa that lasted about 300 years and left a thick (about 1-inch) dust layer, was not accompanied by any evidence of melting. These observations confirm that the current climate conditions over Mount Kilimanjaro are unique over the last 11 millennia.
"This is the first time researchers have calculated the volume of ice lost from the mountain's ice fields," said Thompson, a research scientist with Ohio State's Byrd Polar Research Center. "If you look at the percentage of volume lost since 2000 versus the percentage of area lost as the ice fields shrink, the numbers are very close."
While the loss of mountain glaciers is most apparent from the retreat of their margins, Thompson said an equally troubling effect is the thinning of the ice fields from the surface.
The summits of both the Northern and Southern Ice Fields atop Kilimanjaro have thinned by 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) and 5.1 meters (16.7 feet) respectively. The smaller Furtwangler Glacier, which was melting and water-saturated in 2000 when it was drilled, has thinned as much as 50 percent between 2000 and 2009.
"It has lost half of its thickness," Thompson explained. "In the future, there will be a year when Furtwängler is present and by the next year, it will have disappeared . The whole thing will be gone!"
Thompson's team drilled six cores through Kilimanjaro's ice fields in 2000 and published their findings in the journal Science two years later. That work established a detailed baseline against which more recent data can be compared.
Thompson said the changes occurring on Mount Kilimanjaro mirror those on Mount Kenya and the Rwenzori Mountains in Africa, as well as tropical glaciers high in the South American Andes and in the Himalayas.
"The fact that so many glaciers throughout the tropics and
subtropics are showing similar responses suggests an underlying common
cause. The increase of Earth's near surface temperatures, coupled with
even greater increases in the mid- to upper-tropical troposphere, as
documented in recent decades, would at least partially explain the
observed widespread similarity in glacier behavior," he said.
Along with Thompson, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Henry Brecher and Bryan Mark, all with the Byrd Polar Research Center, and Douglas Hardy from the University of Massachusetts all contributed to the study.
The research was sponsored primarily by the Paleoclimate Program of the National Science Foundation with additional support from the Climate, Water and Carbon (CWC) Program at Ohio State University.


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Albury Wodonga News
Destinations Around The World Invited to Share in Lexus Melbourne Cup Magic
Australia's most iconic trophy, the Lexus Melbourne Cup, will this year embark on its sixteenth annual Tour, and towns, cities and communities, and organisations around the world are now invited to be part of its journey.
With the Cup having travelled more than half-a-million kilometres on Tour, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) is now seeking bold, unique, and imaginative submissions from people and organisations which want to showcase the magic of the Cup in their community or at their event.
For the first time ever, organisations will have the chance to submit creative videos as part of their application with the best videos to be profiled across VRC platforms.
In 2017, the $200,000 18 carat gold trophy toured more than 30 destinations around Australia and the world providing people with a rare opportunity to connect and engage with a piece of Australian history.
Last year's Tour was highlighted by visits to the indigenous community of Santa Teresa on the edge of the Simpson Dessert, a trip down the Red Centre of Australia on The Ghan and a sojourn to the picturesque Hunter Valley.
VRC Chief Executive Neil Wilson said the 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour will be more ambitious than ever.
"Over the past 15 years, the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour has travelled to an incredibly diverse array of communities across Australia and New Zealand, and indeed the world, providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many to experience the Cup up close," Mr Wilson said.
"This year we are encouraging innovative and creative applications that seek to create memorable events while showcasing our iconic trophy."
Great Southern Rail Managing Director Steve Kernaghan said connecting with the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour helped create a unique experience for train guests and staff.
"The Ghan was honoured to partner with the Victoria Racing Club to carry the Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy across the heart of Australia," Mr Kernaghan said.
"It was a very special event for our 300 guests and crew who enjoyed being part of the celebration in the lead-up to this iconic Australian sporting event."
Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour Ambassadors and heroes of the sport will join in the 2018 journey, as they recall unforgettable moments of the Melbourne Cup and recount their best memories of 'the race that stops a nation'™.
While the winner of the first Melbourne Cup in 1861 received a gold watch, today's three handled 'loving cup' is made by ABC Bullion from 44 pieces of hand-beaten gold sourced from Mt Rawdon in Queensland – the first time the gold has come from this mine.
Successful 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour submissions will be announced in June, while the Tour itself will commence in July.
Applications can be made online up until applications close on Monday 9 April.
The 2018 Melbourne Cup Carnival begins at Flemington Racecourse on Saturday 3 November with AAMI Victoria Derby Day, followed by Lexus Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday 6 November, Kennedy Oaks Day on Thursday 8 November and VRC Stakes Day on Saturday 10 November.
This article archived 15 Apr 2018
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Submit Time:24-12-2013 | Zoom In | Zoom Out
Author:Zhang Gaoli | Source:People's Daily, November 20, 2013, p. 3.
The Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth CPC Central Committee was a very important meeting that was held as China entered the decisive stage of finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The meeting held high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; took Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development as its guide; thoroughly implemented the guiding principles of the Eighteenth National Party Congress; and passed the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Some Important Issues concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform (the Decision). The Decision gives prominence to the theme of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics; adheres to the Party's basic theory, line, program, experience and requirements; steadfastly emancipates the mind, seeks truth from facts, advances with the times and is realistic and pragmatic; fully embodies the firm resolution and great courage with which the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as general secretary is comprehensively deepening reform; and exemplifies the forethought and sense of responsibility it has for making the country prosperous and strong, revitalizing the nation and improving the people's wellbeing. The Decision clearly sets forth the overall goal of improving and developing the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and modernizing the country's governance system and capacity; has comprehensive arrangements for reforming the economic, political, cultural, social and ecological systems and the system of Party building; gives prominent expression to the systematic, holistic and synergistic nature of reform; contains many new ideas, conclusions and initiatives; and has a new blueprint, vision and goals. It is another overall arrangement and mobilization for comprehensively deepening reform, a milestone in the course of our country's modernization, and an action program for comprehensively giving impetus to the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics at a new historical starting point. The Decision emphasizes that economic restructuring is the focus of comprehensively deepening reform, and we must always accord prominence to the decisive role of the market in allocating resources in deepening economic restructuring. We need to correctly grasp the orientation, goals and main tasks of economic restructuring, and constantly deepen economic restructuring. We need to strive to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects; and then build a prosperous, powerful, democratic, cultural advanced and harmonious social modern country; and realize the Chinese Dream of the great revitalization of the Chinese nation.
I. Fully Realizing the Great Significance of Economic Restructuring Being the Focus of Comprehensively Deepening Reform
The Decision states, "Economic restructuring is the focus of comprehensively deepening reform." This is the scientific conclusion and the important policy decision the Central Committee made on the basis of a comprehensive review of our experience in reform and opening up, a correct grasp of the domestic and international situations, and thorough consideration of overall five-in-one (economic, political, cultural, social and ecological) arrangements.
1. Focusing on economic restructuring is an inevitable choice arising from taking our country's basic conditions as our starting point and increasing its overall strength.
Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, we have energetically carried out reform and opening up with great political courage. From the countryside to the cities and from the coast to the interior, economic restructuring has always been the breakthrough point and main arena of comprehensively carrying out reform. Great theoretical and practical progress has constantly been made in economic restructuring that has greatly emancipated and developed the productive forces and spurred enormous successes in economic and social development that have attracted the world's attention. The main reason our country was able to withstand the blows of the international financial crisis and the global economic downturn, overcome grave natural disasters, maintain rapid steady growth of the economy, and constantly improve people's lives in recent years is because we have steadfastly deepened economic restructuring. At the same time, we have clearly realized that momentous changes are occurring in both domestic and international environments, and even though our country's economy is already the world's second largest, our per capita GDP is only about 60% of the world's average, and our development faces a number of prominent difficulties and new challenges. There has been no change in our basic national condition that we are in and for a long time will remain in the primary stage of socialism, no change in the fact that our backward forms of social production cannot meet the people's ever-increasing material and cultural demands, which is our country's main social contradiction, and no change in our country's international position as the world's largest developing country. These three unchanged conditions determine that we must always put economic development first, and putting economic development first and focusing on economic restructuring are two sides of the same coin. This means that we must deepen economic restructuring in order to constantly liberate and develop the productive forces, increase our country's overall strength and increase our international competitiveness.
2. Focusing on economic restructuring is an urgent requirement for adapting to the changing situation and carrying out economic transformation and upgrading.
From the international perspective, we see that global economic growth is slow, the economic structure is undergoing deep adjustments, international competition is heating up, the scientific revolution is gestating new breakthroughs, and the external environment of our country's development is becoming increasingly complex and volatile. From the domestic perspective, our country's development stands at a new historical starting point and possesses many beneficial conditions for maintaining sustained and sound economic development. At the same time, our economy is in a stage in which the pace of our economic development is shifting gears just when structural adjustments are experiencing pains; we face the serious challenge of overcoming the "middle-income gap"; development is not balanced and coordinated and it is difficult to maintain its sustainability; there are large latent risks in some areas, and it is hard to sustain our original mode of economic development. These problems have many causes, but the crux of the matter is that the socialist market economy is not yet mature and there are a lot of institutional obstacles to changing the mode of economic development. Deepening economic restructuring is both a precondition and guarantee for changing the mode of economic development. We must more resolutely, more boldly and more wisely accelerate the improvement of the socialist market economy in order to provide institutional assurances for economic transformation and upgrading and spur sustained sound economic development.
3. Focusing on economic restructuring is an objective requirement for inducing reform in other areas and stimulating five-in-one development.
The productive forces determine the relations of production, and the economic base determines the superstructure. This basic law of social development determines that economic restructuring must come first and play its leading role, and create the conditions and provide the motive force for deepening reform in other areas. Economic restructuring can spur restructuring in other areas like pulling a cow by the nose and thereby resolve deep-seated difficulties and coordinate the deepening of reforms in different areas. At the same time, once reform reaches a certain stage, further deepening of economic restructuring urgently requires carrying out correlative reforms in the political, cultural, social and ecological arenas so that economic, political, cultural, social and ecological restructuring are coordinated and mutually reinforcing. We must steadfastly take economic restructuring as our focus, coordinate it with restructuring in other areas, strive to create a situation in which reforms in one area spur reforms in others, and reform in all areas progresses in concert so as to create a powerful combined force of reform that comprehensively gives impetus to specifically Chinese socialist economic, political, cultural, social and ecological development.
II. Correctly Handle the Relationship between the Government and the Market, Which Is the Central Problem of Economic Restructuring
The Decision stresses that the central problem of economic restructuring is correctly handling the relationship between the government and the market so that the market plays the decisive role in the allocation of resources and the government better plays its role. This is a great theoretical breakthrough and a great practical innovation, and it has the distinctive characteristics of the times and points the way for deepening economic restructuring.
1. Respecting the laws of the market and getting the market to fully play its decisive role in allocating resources
An important and distinctive feature of the Decision is to give the market a decisive role in the allocation of resources. The Decision changes the wording of the role of the market from the former "basic role" to the present "decisive role." This reflects a deepening of our Party's understanding of the laws of the market. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, our country's economic reforms have been centered on adjusting the relations between the government and the market. From a planned economy to a planned commodity economy and then to a socialist market economy, the power of the market has been liberated step by step. As our understanding has deepened, we have in practice placed more emphasis on the role of the market and effectively spurred sustained rapid economic development. It is important for us to realize that the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources is a characteristic of progressing with the times and possesses great practical relevance. For a period of time after the adoption of reform and opening up, our market system and mechanisms were still a work in progress. The market could not effectively allocate resources and required the implementation of progressive reforms. As the socialist market economy constantly improved, the ability of the market to allocate resources and the conditions for it doing so progressively appeared, and all areas of society acknowledged this. At present, there are still many problems: our market system still has flaws, market rules are not all consistent, the market order is not standardized, and market competition is still somewhat lacking. In addition the government has too much power over the market, the government approval process is too complex, and the government interferes too much and doesn't exercise oversight adequately. All this affects the vitality of economic development and the effectiveness of resource allocation. We must not miss the opportunity to intensify reforms, adhere to the orientation of carrying out socialist market economic reform, and give greater respect in our thinking to the general law of the market economy that the market plays the decisive role in the allocation of resources. In our actions, we must greatly reduce the government's direct allocation of resources; promote the allocation of resources on the basis of market principles, market prices and market competition; genuinely change the mode of economic development; and strive to have resources allocated most efficiently and beneficially.
2. Comprehensively carrying out scientific management and getting the government to better play its role
Getting the market to fully play its decisive role in allocating resources absolutely does not mean that there is nothing for the government to do; rather, we must insist that there are things it should do and things it shouldn't. In particular, it should focus on raising the level of its macro-control and scientific management. In responding to the shock of the recent international financial crisis, the governments of all countries reached a new understanding of the role of government, and we too deepened our understanding through experience. To properly plays its role, the government must be adept at bottom-line thinking, deliberate issues from a broad perspective, and thoroughly study major initiatives and problems of a global, strategic and futuristic nature. It must genuinely resolve problems of overstepping its bounds, leaving responsibilities unfulfilled and handling matters that aren't its concern by focusing on building law-based and service-oriented government. The government needs to ensure its macro policies are stable, micro policies are flexible and social policies guarantee people's basic living conditions. It needs to effectively strengthen and improve macro-controls to dampen cyclical economic fluctuations, maintain the stability of the macro economy and spur sustainable development. It needs to provide more outstanding public services and maintain and raise people's living standards so that the vast majority of the people enjoy the fruits of reform and development and share in common prosperity. It needs to pay more attention to ensuring fair competition, strengthening market supervision and preserving market order; create the conditions and environment in which market mechanisms can play their proper role; and enable market players to have more vitality and more room to create wealth, develop the economy and enrich the people.
3. Strengthening coordination so that the roles of the government and market work together like a person's two hands
In a modern market economy, the hand of the market is invisible yet it plays the decisive role in the allocation of resources, and the hand of the government is visible and its main role is to compensate for market failure. Both in getting the market to play its decisive role in the allocation of resources and getting the government to better play its role, we need to make sure the two work together like a person's two hands. The roles of the government and the market are not in opposition to each other, but rather are complementary. It is not a simple question of increasing the role of the market and reducing the role of the government; rather, it is a matter of viewing them as a unitary whole, making full use of their complementary advantages, integrating them organically and creating a collaborative force. We need to clearly demarcate the boundary between the government and the market. The government needs to yield control over everything that is properly a function of the market, give the market a free hand and support it, and refrain from interfering. The government should step in and fill the void in all matters for which the role of the market is ineffective; it should firmly manage what it should manage, and manage it in a proper and effective way so as to avoid problems. The government should be adept at the "negative list" approach to management; that is, it should confine itself to telling the market what it cannot do, and as to what it can or should do, market players should make those decisions on the basis of market changes. The government needs to correctly identify the best point of convergence for market functions and government action, genuinely get the market and the government to make full use of their strengths, and getter a better grasp of the characteristics and advantages of the socialist market economy.
III. Correctly Identify the Major Tasks in Deepening Economic Restructuring
According to the Decision, we need to deepen economic restructuring with the focus on having the market play the decisive role in allocating resources; adhere to and improve the basic economic system; more quickly improve the modern market system, macro-control system and open economic system; accelerate the transformation of the mode of economic growth; more quickly make China an innovative country; and make economic development more efficient, fair and sustainable.
1. Adhering to and improving the basic economic system and strengthening the important foundation for our country's economic and social development
The basic economic system under which public ownership is primary and all the various forms of ownership develop together is an important pillar of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the foundation of the socialist market economy. The public and non-public sectors of the economy are both important components of our socialist market economy and an important foundation for our country's economic and social development. Their property rights cannot be infringed upon, and they both should, in accordance with the law, have equal access to production factors, openly, fairly and impartially participate in market competition, and equally receive the protection of the law. In accordance with the requirements of the Decision, it is necessary to improve the modern property rights system under which ownership is clear, rights and responsibilities are definite, protections are rigorous and transfer of ownership is unhindered; and the property and legitimate rights and interests of all economic entities of all types of ownership are protected. A mixed-ownership system is an important manifestation of our basic system. Non-public capital should be permitted to buy shares in projects financed by state capital, and employees of enterprises in the mixed-ownership economy should be allowed to be shareholders. The reform of SOEs should be deepened and corporate governance should be improved, with the focus on standardizing business decisions, preserving and increasing assets, fairly participating in competition, increasing enterprise efficiency, invigorating enterprises and assuming social responsibilities. We need to make sure that there is equality in rights, opportunities and rules; unreasonable regulations of all kinds concerning the non-public sector need to be scrapped, and hidden barriers of all kinds need to be eliminated. We need to formulate specific methods by which non-publicly owned enterprises can enter areas of franchise operations, and stimulate the vitality and creativity of the non-public sector.
2. More quickly improving the modern market system and creating a development environment of fair competition
Establishing a unified, open, competitive orderly market system is the foundation for the market to play the decisive role in the allocation of resources. Since our country adopted the socialist market economic system, great successes have been achieved in establishing a market economy, but in some areas, market mechanisms need to be improved and the market for factors of production is still immature. To develop the socialist market economy we must set up a platform that enables market mechanisms to fully play their role, allows enterprises to run their own business and compete equally, allows consumers to choose freely and spend their money however they want, and allows merchandise and factors of production to circulate freely and be exchanged on the basis of equality. The Decision states that fair, open and transparent market rules need to be established, a unified system of market entry needs to be carried out, and a negative list needs to be drawn up so that all kinds of market entities can equally and in accordance with the law enter those areas of the market not excluded by the list. We need to improve the mechanism whereby prices are determined mainly by the market, and the market should set prices in all cases where it is able to set them. Price reforms should be carried out in the areas of water, petroleum, natural gas, electric power, transport and telecommunications. Reforms need to be carried out in markets for important factors of production; a unified urban-rural land market for construction needs to be established; the financial market system needs to be improved, and market guiding mechanisms for technological innovation need to be improved. It especially needs to be stressed that finance is the heart of a modern economy, and we need to open the financial sector further both domestically and internationally, improve the multi-level market system, improve the mechanism for marketizing the RMB exchange rate, more quickly marketize interest rates, more quickly make the RMB convertible under capital accounts, resolutely prevent all risks, and effectively guarantee the safe and efficient operation and overall stability of the financial market. These important initiatives are all well targeted, are beneficial for eliminating market barriers, and speed up the establishment of a sound, unified, nationwide modern market system.
3. Accelerating the transformation of the government functions and raising the efficiency and level of government management
Scientific macro-control and effective government governance are internal requirements for making full use of the advantages of the socialist market economy. On the one hand, it is necessary to focus on improving the macro-control system. Guided by state strategy and plans, and using fiscal policy and monetary policy as the principal means, we need to make the process of setting targets for macro-controls and using policy measures more institutionalized in order to constantly make macro-controls more future-oriented, targeted and coordinated. On the other hand, we need to fully and correctly carry out government functions, further decentralize government, decrease the central government's management of microeconomic matters to the greatest possible extent, and firmly eliminate government approval requirements for all matters that market mechanisms can effectively regulate. Management of all economic and social matters that can be handled best at the local level should be turned over to local level governments to manage. We need to deepen reform of the investment system. Except for investment projects that affect national security or ecological security, or relate to state arrangements concerning major productive forces, the development of strategic resources or major public welfare projects, enterprises should be free to make their own investment decisions in accordance with the law. It especially needs to be stressed that the transformation of government functions should focus on coordinating decentralization and strengthening oversight. If powers are to be transferred downward, norms need to be clearly set forth and oversight needs to be put in place so that governance is strengthened, the government operates more efficiently, and law-based, service-oriented government takes shape. We need to optimize the setup of government bodies, configuration of government functions and flow of government work, and improve administrative operating mechanisms so that decision-making powers, executive powers and oversight powers restrain and complement each other.
4. Deepening reform of fiscal and tax systems and establishing a modern fiscal system
Finance is a foundation and important pillar of state governance, and scientific fiscal and tax systems provide an institutional guarantee for optimizing the allocation of resources, maintaining market unity, promoting social fairness and achieving long-term national stability. Reform of fiscal and tax systems is an important element of economic restructuring, and it has wide-ranging effects. Reform of fiscal and tax systems have been constantly deepened and achieved certain results in recent years, but there are still a number of problems remaining: there is an insufficiently clear demarcation between the powers and disbursement responsibilities of governments at different levels; the tax system is inequitable, and the budget management system needs to be improved. In addressing these problems, the Decision states that we need to improve the budget management system; implement a comprehensive, standardized, open, transparent budget system; clear up and standardize items whose major expenditures are tied with the increase of general revenues and expenditures or GDP (generally, they should not be linked); establish a standardized and reasonable mechanism for central and local government debt management and risk warning mechanism; improve the mechanism for increasing general transfer payments; clear up, integrate and standardize special transfer payment items; establish a system for coordinating powers and responsibilities; increase the central government's powers and disbursement responsibilities to an appropriate degree; deepen reform of the tax system; improve the local tax system; progressively raise the proportion of direct taxes; and improve national and local tax collection systems.
5. Improving institutions and mechanisms for integrating urban and rural development, and progressively closing the gap between cities and the countryside
The dual urban-rural structure is the biggest structural problem in our country's economic and social development and the main obstacle constraining the integration of urban and rural development. Our country's agricultural foundation is still weak, and there are still significant disparities between cities and the countryside in the areas of employment, income, infrastructure and the level of public services. In finishing building a moderately prosoperous society in all respects, the most onerous and arduous tasks lie in the countryside. At the same time, we must realize that spurring the integration of urban and rural development and a new kind of urbanization will be a major impetus to future economic development and the biggest source for expanding domestic demand. The Decision stresses that we need to accelerate the establishment of a new kind of agricultural management system and keep family operations as the foundation of agriculture; grant farmers more property rights including the right to hold shares in collective assets, earn profits from them, receive payment for transferring them, mortgage them, use them as collaterals and inherit them; and safeguard farmers' usufructuary right in their house sites; give impetus to the equal exchange of factors of production between cities and the countryside and balancing the distribution of public resources between them, protect farmers' rights and interests in factors of production and ensure that they receive a fair share of the income from the increase of land values; and improve the institutions and mechanisms for ensuring the sound progress of urbanization, coordinate urbanization and the building of a new countryside, and register more eligible rural workers as permanent urban residents to progressively enable surplus agricultural laborers who meet basic conditions to become urban residents. These reform initiatives will effectively accelerate the creation of a new kind of industrial and agricultural relations and urban and rural relations in which industry spurs agriculture, cities bring along the countryside, industry and agriculture benefit each other, and cities and the countryside are integrated. They are also beneficial for enabling all rural residents to equally participate in modernization and share in its fruits.
6. Building a new open economic system and accelerating the cultivation of new advantages for participating in and leading international economic cooperation and competition
The international financial crisis had deep and far-reaching effects; the world order has undergone profound adjustments, and international and domestic situations are undergoing profound changes. Objective conditions require us to consider domestic and international situations together, make full use of both domestic and international markets and resources, simultaneously open up further both domestically and internationally and better coordinate inward and outward flows, spur the orderly flow of factors of production and efficient allocation of resources internationally and domestically, and deepen integration of international and domestic markets. The Decision states it is necessary to relax investment access; unify regulations pertaining to domestic and foreign capital; keep our policies concerning foreign capital stable, transparent and predictable; expand investment abroad by enterprises and individuals; and place enterprises and individuals in the dominant position in overseas investing. It also states we need to continue to engage in bilateral and multilateral as well as regional and subregional open cooperation, and implement a free-trade zone strategy taking neighboring countries as the foundation; expand opening up along our borders; allow key ports, border cities and economic cooperation zones to implement special procedures and policies in the areas of personnel exchanges, processing logistics and tourism; accelerate cooperative infrastructure construction with neighboring countries and the region; carry out the construction of a Silk Road economic zone and the building of a maritime Silk Road; and create a comprehensive multi-level pattern of opening up.
7. Spurring reform and innovation of social undertakings and solving problems the people are most concerned about and that most directly affect their interests
We need to steadfastly carry out reform and development that benefits the people and relies on them, and see that the people receive more of the benefits of reform and development in a more equitable way. We need to steadfastly carry our economic restructuring and reform in the social arena in a coordinated way, put great effort into changing the pattern of fast economic development and slow social development, accelerate the pace of social development focused on maintaining and improving people's wellbeing, constantly find ways to benefit the people and solve their problems, and better promote the development of a harmonious society. The Decision states that it is necessary to spur reform and innovation of social undertakings, deepen comprehensive educational reform, improve institutions and mechanisms for increasing employment and starting businesses, create a rational and orderly income distribution pattern, build a more equitable and sustainable social security system, deepen reform of the medicine and medical and health care system, and establish the most rigorous possible security oversight system covering the entire food and medicine production and distribution process. Reform and innovation of social undertakings needs to ensure that the government fully and effectively carries out its responsibilities while enabling market mechanisms to fully play their role, and also provide diversified services to society and better satisfy the multi-level demands of the people.
8. Accelerating the creation of ecological culture and making development more sustainable
Building ecological culture is important for the wellbeing of our people and the future of our nation. At present, our country suffers from a scarcity of resources, severe environmental pollution and ecological degradation. This spring, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas suffered prolonged intense air pollution and haze over a large area, and this autumn, the three northeastern provinces also experienced intense air pollution and haze. These events alert us that reversing ecological degradation is an urgent matter that cannot be postponed. Our ecological problems are attributable to the extensive mode of economic development China has followed for a long time. We must give prominence to building an ecological culture, properly handle the relation between economic development and ecological improvement, promote positive interaction between ecological reform and economic restructuring, and strive to build a beautiful China and achieve the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The Decision states that we must build a systematic and complete ecological culture system, implement the strictest possible source protection system, loss compensation system and accountability system, improve the environment governance and ecological restoration system, improve the natural resources property rights system and use control system, draw ecological protection red lines, implement a system of payment for resource use and an ecological compensation system, and reform the environmental protection management system. These reform measures are of great significance for accelerating the transformation of the mode of economic development and creating a new pattern in our country's modernization for the harmonious development of man and nature.
Deepening economic restructuring is a momentous task, but it is of great importance for making the country prosperous and strong, improving people's wellbeing and keeping society harmonious and stable. Under the firm leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as general secretary we need to resolutely implement all requirements set forth in the Decision, comprehensively deepen reform, improve institutions and mechanisms, focus on working hard and getting results, write a new chapter in the history of the great cause of reform and opening up, strive mightily to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, constantly win new victories in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and achieve the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.


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Introduction to the key environmental issues
Fashion also has a huge impact on the environment. It requires large amounts of water, energy and land to grow fibres such as cotton. It can sometimes be a thirsty, polluting, energy intensive and a wasteful business. Think about what you want your impact to be on the planet.
Last year the worldwide consumption of textiles reached approximately 73 million tonnes and is expected to grow nearly 4% a year through 2025 (APIC, 2014), yet only 20% of textiles are recycled each year around the world (Soex, 2014). Meanwhile, every ton of discarded textiles reused saves 20 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere and every 1000 tonnes of used textiles collected is said to create about seven full time jobs and 15 indirect jobs. A report from Oakdene Collins (2013) suggests that the future will see possible textile landfill bans coming into play in Europe and we are already seeing many big brands and retailers putting clothing collection points in-store.
The fashion industry is a thirsty business. Cotton accounts for 90% of all natural fibres used in the textile industry and is used in 40% of apparel produced globally. Growing it uses vast amounts of water, and needs extensive irrigation when grown out of its natural environment. The ever-thirsty cotton plant takes over 30,000 litres to create 1kg of cotton. One cotton shirt uses approximately 2,700 litres of water (Water Footprint Network). The Aral Sea has shrunk to just 10% of its former volume, largely through cotton farming. This is regarded as one of the greatest environmental disasters in human history. Huge amounts of water are also used in the wet processing of clothes, such as dyeing and washing.
The Carbon Trust reports that clothing accounts for around 3% of global production of CO2 emissions; this is during both manufacturing and during consumer use. According to Textile World, it takes 132 million metric tons of coal to produce 60 billion kilograms of textiles. Around half of these emissions occur whilst clothing is being worn, washed, tumble-dried, ironed and used, and mostly by North American, European and Japanese consumers. Choosing organic certified materials could help reduce the energy required to make a garment.
An estimated 17-20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment and an estimated 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used throughout the world to turn raw materials into textiles, many of which will be released into freshwater sources (The Guardian, 2012). Even after wastewater has been treated, residual chemicals from the dyeing process continue to be present in water supplies. These residues can be carcinogenic, toxic, mutagenic and have detrimental effects upon human reproductive systems. According to the Pesticide Action Network, cotton uses 22.5% of the world's insecticides and 10% of all pesticides, on 2.5% of the world's agricultural land.
Animal welfare
Animals are used for a variety of products for the fashion industry from fur and leather to wool, cashmere, angora, silk, to down and feathers. Animal treatment is a widely discussed issue in the public sphere. No animal deserves to live in miserable conditions, subject to pain and suffering.
If you are not vegetarian or vegan, there are ways of using animal products for fashion with respect for the welfare of the animal. Avoiding industrial animal farming is a good start but doesn't always guarantee animal welfare. There are also routes for sourcing animal skins and feathers as a bi-product of the meat industry rather than farmed for fashion - should you opt to use animal products. For example, rather than being dumped back into the sea, fish skins can be used to make leather and is a good alternative to using exotic skins like snake and crocodile. You might look for fur that has been produced from roadkill or naturally shredded feathers as opposed to live-plucked.
Optional further reading:
Clothing Knowledge Hub (SCAP, 2015)
Cottoned On (Global Organic Textile Standard, 2012)
Environmental Impact of Fur Farming (Eurogroup4Animals, 2015)
Harmful Chemicals, Natural Dyes (EFF, 2010)
Learn How To Be Nice (Nordic Fashion Association, 2013)
Planet Money Makes A T-Shirt (NPR, 2013)
Responsible Down Standard (Textile Exchange, 2015)
Toxic Threads: The Big Fashion Stitch-up (Greenpeace, 2012)
Valuing Our Clothes (WRAP, 2012)
Water Risk (Sedex, 2015)
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What we do
A Dream to Reality
We cater for men
Know your diamonds
Diamond History
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to find out why?
Diamond History
Ancient texts first refer to the use of diamonds in India from at least 400BC, where they were believed to be of divine origin, and used as the eyes of Hindu devotional statues.. The Greeks believed them to be the tears shed by the gods; the Romans thought they were the scintillating fragments of fallen stars. History has always associated diamonds with mystery, divinity and preciousness. 15th century kings wore them as symbols of courage, strength and invincibility, and as time went on the sense of romance and legend associated with them endured. The tradition of wearing a diamond ring as a symbol of betrothal dates back to 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy. To this day these magical, brilliant, beautiful gems are cherished and valued as symbols of enduring love, constancy, sincerity and innocence.
As old as time itself, diamonds were formed between
3.2 billion and 900 million years ago in the fiery depths of the earth's interior, finding their way to the surface through volcanic eruptions of molten lava.
Today diamonds are mined and produced in countries around the world but it was in the late 19th century that discoveries in South Africa led to diamond mining as a modern industry. The first diamond was found in 1866 when a young boy, Erasmus Jacobs found a stone on the family farm, on the banks of the Orange River. A subsequent discovery in 1871 of a diamond on the Colesberg Kopje led to the diamond rush and the development of the Kimberley Mine. Kimberley became the focus in the 1870s and 1880s of immense wealth, and fierce competition, most notably between Cecil John Rhodes and Barney Barnato. The end result was the birth of the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. Today southern Africa accounts for over half of the world's rough diamond supply.
To transform an unremarkable stone to a sparkling precious diamond takes between hours and months of skilful and artistic cutting and polishing..The stone must be faced in such a way as to reflect and refract the maximum amount of light. The end result is a brilliant marriage of fire and ice brought together in one perfect stone.
Where do Diamonds come from?
Natural diamonds are mined in approximately 25 countries. More than 90% of the world's natural gem-quality diamond production comes from Africa, Russia and Canada. More than 50% of the diamond mining industry comes from Africa and in particular Angola, Botswana, Congo and South Africa.
Australia, Congo and Russia are the largest producers of industrial quality diamonds and the United States is the largest producer of synthetic diamonds. The story of diamonds in South Africa began in December 1866. A young boy of 15 years old by the name of Erasmus Jacobs found a transparent stone on his father's farm on the south bank of the Orange River. History was made and to this day South Africa is a major diamond producer in the world.
Being a major producer of Diamonds has afforded South Africa to build a valuable jewellery design and retail trade. We are proud of our traditions and place as producers and designers of top class jewellery.
Diamond Integrity
There are many issues surrounding the diamond from its origin to cutting and finally it's destination and selling with regards to different social and ethical standards. Included in this are conflict diamonds, corruption and environmental degradation. SASSEENS endorse the strict criteria regarding buying and selling diamonds.
Wikipedia - Diamond
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White Wine Blend
White wine blends include a wide variety of well-known wines. The blending process helps to give many white wines their characteristic flavor profile, or to determine the quanity of wine produced at a given vineyard. Blended white wines can include Bordeaux, Fruilano, or even Champagne, and many blended whites are recognized for their excellent flavor and pairing potentials.
White Wine Blend
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Chateau d'Yquem 2005 750ml
Regular Price: $649.99
Special Price $363.99
1 Item(s)
Minimal Price: $7.99


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MFC with Polyester Laquered High Gloss finish and 2mm ABS Edging
Slab Door Style
Gloss Urbano, Gloss Aubergine, Gloss Lava and Gloss Plumwood.
A distinctive Gloss Urbano door with a horizontal grain that creates a striking linear design. The Designer Gloss range is ultra-contemporary and creates a stunning, distinctive look. Shown here with a handle, or alternatively with an integrated retro handle for handleless design, and mixed with Retro Galaxy Gloss White.
Our kitchens are supplied built up for additional rigidity and easy installation.


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Located on the South Eastern side of the Castle Martin Peninsular, Bosherston with its old church and cafe, has become famous for its lily ponds.They were formed in the 18th / 19th centuries by blocking three narrow limestone valleys to form shallow lakes fed by clear spring water.
As well as being noted for its Otters, waterfowl.and lilies, the ponds are well stocked with Pike, Tench, perch, Roach and Eels. Fishing permits are available at The Olde Worlde cafe, Bosherston, pictured left.
There are lovely walks around the ponds crossing a variety of little bridges as you go, or follow a pathway down to the beach at Broadhaven South
Facilities: Small car park
Cafe nearby
Ye Olde Worlde Cafe at Bosherston


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How to Make It
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pepper, and sauté 6 to 8 minutes or until tender. Add cider and next 3 ingredients, and bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in stuffing mix, and set aside.
Butterfly 1 pork loin by making a horizontal cut (about one-third down from top) into 1 side of pork, cutting to within 1/2 inch of other side. (Do not cut all the way through roast.)
Unfold top cut piece, open, and lay flat. Butterfly and repeat procedure on opposite side of remaining two-thirds portion of pork loin, beginning at top or bottom of inside cut.
Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness using a mallet or rolling pin. Rub pork loin completely with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle both sides evenly with half of Spice Rub. Spread half of stuffing mixture on pork, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Roll up roast, and tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals.
Repeat with remaining pork loin, oil, Spice Rub, and stuffing mixture.
Arrange apple wedges in a single layer in the bottom of a 13- x 9-inch roasting pan. Place roasts, seam sides down, on apples.
Bake at 450° for 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 425°; bake 25 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155°. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes or until thermometer reaches 160° before slicing. Discard apples. Serve pork with Cider Sauce.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing mix.


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Friday, June 20, 2008
Going Back Through
There is a phenomena you run into the longer you do reflexology. Some people call it a "healing crisis'. We call it "going back through". Going back through is the experience of a past illness or injury again. It is a type of deja vu of sorts. I am going back through an old judo injury currently. My achilles tendon was rupture when I was sixteen. I was laid up for quite awhile. And the pain was so bad that they put me on morphine. The funny part is that these "going back through" experiences can be quite dramatic. My "deja vu" was intense starting as an ache and then actually feeling like the injury from the past. The sides of my ankles were deeply bruised. i could hardly walk. Each footstep was like shards of glass ran from my heel to the ankle. But then in 24 hours it had all started to fade. Right now it is a mild ache hardly noticeable. And my ankle feels really loose and limber. Our bodies remember all kinds of injuries, illnesses and accidents but we have an incredible ability to go on adapting to whatever knock us off course. Even though we adjust to the assault the memory is still there. Why then do we revisit these old traumas? My theory is that there is a three part adaptation process taking place. First our bodies try to survive and throw all it's resources to meet that mandate. Next if we can get beyond sheer survival the body has enough resources to start making repairs. If we have even more resources we move into a state of wellness. But if the body is always in a state of "fight or flight" repairs aren't made and things are covered over. They get buried inside. But reflexology frees up energy committed to these old memories. When enough energy is free the body starts it's incredible repair process. It's like the the body intelligently selects a project to work on. And then it methodically sets out to fix what is still broken. The way I can usually tell if it is a "going back through" experience is how long the experience lasts. Even if it is intense at first the duration is much shorter then the original injury. And at the end there seems to be a resolution to what once lurked in the background. And the other clue is that there isn't a triggering event. I didn't twist my ankle or even stress it much with the current situation. I hadn't been standing for long periods of time or walking long distances. Nothing seemed to trigger it. I felt great before it happened better than I had felt in years. Despite the pain I rejoice at these events because I know it is progress. Even though at moments it is hard to figure out if you are moving forward or backward there is a sense that this is a good direction. By putting energy into the healing process, inputting positive messages through reflexology, massage, yoga and so forth we allow that innate intelligence we all have within us to find the best solutions. Kevin Kunz
Posted by Kristie Martin, Relaxation Professional at 3:28 AM
Labels: Reflexology for Life
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|Brian Rogers
Rogers Rabbits
There comes a crisis time in every man's life that he dreads more than a prostate exam, the mother-in-law's 90th birthday party or farewelling a faithful pooch.
For some men, it can occur several times in their lifetime.
It's traumatic, emotional and usually involves a mini skip … it's cleaning out the shed.
There are few places quite as sacred as a man's shed, and at the risk of trotting out sexist and ageist clichés, there's some deep underlying primal instincts driving a man inside his shed.
There's a reason it's called a man cave.
And when we say man, we really mean any human with attachment to their shed.
This is not just men - it could include women (you notice shed starts with "she"), those in the hazy middle and those who have changed, because we live in a modern age when shed ownership and occupation is not the exclusive domain of men.
We need to include trannies because even those who dabble in transmission transplant projects deserve our respect, although they do tend to have a lot of odd gears and greasy parts.
Inner sanctum
Clearing out a shed could be likened to a religious experience. It threatens the inner sanctums of a man's privacy.
Some shed clean outs are completely voluntary. Some anally-retentive and OCD shed owners actually clean out their sheds as they go, in some sort of regular pattern.
These people - and we all know one or two - are close to nervous breakdowns and should be treated with equal amounts of compassion and suspicion, because there is nothing natural about a habitual shed cleaner.
These organised busy bodies have everything in its place, with labels and traced outlines of every tool and implement with peg boards. Some even have a little log book of who's loaned which tool and when the due date of return was expected. They are the deranged garage version of the crazy librarian. But to be fair, they never lose a tool.
Random filing
But most of us are in the category of random shed arranging. 'Organising' would be too strong a word here. Our sheds are ordered according to what falls on top of what. A thing will stand in the corner or against the wall, only 'til some things of greater weight and imbalance cause the whole Jenga pile to collapse spectacularly onto the next pile of crap.
In really exceptional cases, the chain reaction can carry on right around the shed, with the finale being the step ladder toppling onto the wife's car, causing it to buckle in the middle like an English politician attempting to Brexit.
Forced clean out
Other shed clean outs are not voluntary or progressive. They are events forced upon the Shedee, due to unfortunate circumstances, such as moving house.
Shed collapse due to excessive contents, wall pressure, borer, or unauthorised f**king with foundations/structure/overloaded beams/undermining/vehicle strike.
These are traumatic and serious events in a man's life, so if you know anyone going through this, give them all your support and refer to our #shed victims' support groups.
Support group
Recently I was forced into a Shed Re-location Process. I am still in counselling.
And here's a word of warning for anyone facing this crisis.
Do not allow your wife or significant other to "advise" you on what to throw out, because in their eyes, everything must go.
They cannot find a skip big enough or a Salvation Army hungry enough to devour all the prized contents of your shed - things fastidiously collected and salvaged over the decades and some stuff handed down from generations.
Yes, that scythe is ancient and the hay baler is old. Yes, great grandfather did pull it behind bullocks. And yes, their yokes are hanging in the shed in case a bullock team wanders in… and we need to harness it all up again. And no, we don't have any hay paddocks but we might, one day.
And when we do, one of the bullocks will be called Sandra.
Anyway, the way to get around this dilemma is: do it all yourself; have your mates help; or set some clear guidelines for 'Non-Qualified Shed Persons' to follow.
I found the best way was to label each shelf, hook and cranny of the new shed with designated subjects, such as fishing, vehicle, cleaning products, fishing, garden, hunting, diving, electrical, fishing, lube, ropes/chains/whips, fishing and painting.
Then, for the purposes of entertainment, a few other categories such as instruments of torture, fortune-making ideas, bones of enemies, planet-saving inventions and a portal to other dimensions.
Include torture
One of my beloved family members helped for an entire afternoon and either didn't notice those labels or politely refrained from commenting. Sad to say, none of those compartments contained any items except the 'instruments of torture' shelf, which has the 2019 Barenbrug Agriseeds Pasture and Forage Manual, 25th Edition.
I had problems ploughing through those chapters. Very factual but a terrible plot.
Great grandfather and his bullocks would be so proud.


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The next US president is expected to face a record federal budget deficit of almost half a trillion dollars.
The White House has lifted its deficit forecast for 2009 to $482bn (£242bn) up from $407bn.
The budget deficit measures how much more the government is spending than it is raising through taxes.
The slowing economy is reducing the tax take and the government has launched a stimulus plan by making payments to 130 million households to boost spending.
The forecast figure excludes about $80bn of war costs.
The budget deficit is measured from the beginning of October to the end of September.
It is possible that the deficit for 2008 will also break the record of $413bn, which was set in 2004.....


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Investing is all about timing. And Google Inc.'s possible plans, reported in The Wall Street Journal, to start up a venture capital arm seem to be at an excellent point for early stage investing, coming as some funding is drying up in Silicon Valley.
This is a bit of an exaggeration, but the signs are there of a slow down in venture funding, especially at the early stage level. New start-up companies are starting to have a tougher time getting funding. According to the National Venture Capital Association, the dollar value of first-time deals fell 12% in the second quarter, versus a year ago.
The percentage of dollars going into first-time financings is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2004 when 21.1% of total investments went to companies receiving venture capital for the first time. The decline is also a 5 % drop in deals from the first quarter of 2008 when $1.8 billion went into 316 first-time deals, according to the NVCA.
So if Google
Google's reported plans emulate other tech giants in the valley, namely Intel Corp.
Sometimes the more successful startups end up being acquired by their early corporate investors, albeit at a smaller payout for the entrepreneurs had they held out and tried to go public. But in the current environment, where the initial public offering market has pretty much closed up for tech IPOs, that exit strategy might not be such a bad thing.
- Therese Poletti


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Availability: check stock
$82.99 (Check price)
Perfect for pulling up to a pub table in the entertaining ensemble or when stationed around the kitchen island, barstools are always a stylish seat. Awash in a black finish, this piece features four legs with a footrest, offering up some convenience while you sit. Upholstered in tweed fabric with silver nailhead detailing, the backless seat can support up to 275 lbs., and lends an inviting aesthetic to your arrangement. Seat Material: Upholstered Frame Material: Wood Upholstery Material: Tweed fabric Weight Capacity: 275 lb. Base Color: Dark Black
Buy new furniture, No crowds! The best reason to shop online by far. who wants to scrum their way through a crowded store? Set up your laptop and sit with a shortbread biscuit and mug of tea. Bliss. I got this backless bar stool at very low price, which I consider to be super cheap for backless bar stool. For the price, I am happy with my purchase.
I bought several of these backless bar stool to give to friends and family. It seems more expensive than it is. I always point it out and it makes the recipient of the gift feel very special. It is nice! When they go on sale, this is a good gift to stock up on, everyone loves this gift!
I bought this backless bar stool for a dear friend, I was pleased with the execution of this simple, classic backless bar stool which is made even more personal with the words entered. I am sure you will love it, and it will be a reminder of our beloved treasure.
I bought this this product as a New Year present for my daughter. It is as described online. backless bar stool looks good even though I feel it is too expensive. Should come with better packaging for the price.
Rentchler 31" Traditional Bar Stool by Alcott HillReview by Anonymous users
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Qatalum Vacancies – Maintenance Technician
Maintenance Technician – E&I
Deadline for Application
21st November 2017
Job Objectives:
To perform routine (Preventative and Corrective) and specialized maintenance of Port facility equipment under minimal supervision.To ensure compliance to appropriate internal maintenance policies and procedures as well as external regulations.To ensure effective maintenance to maximise equipment reliability and meet KPIs.To work with the rest of the team in meeting the department goals and objectives.
Job Description:
- Act as an effective role as a member of the team in QIP; QPS activities.
- Assist the department in ensuring that all KPIs are met.
- Maintain and monitor the operational efficiency of all equipment to ensure optimum performance and carry out remedial work under direction.
- Assist in the development and implementation of plant preventive maintenance for all equipment to ensure operational effectiveness and preserve company assets.
- Maintain and update field related equipment.
- Attend daily meetings with team technicians and supervisor and plan routine jobs and make sure the job carried out is in compliance with Qatalum standards.
- Participate in the diagnosis and repair of major equipment faults and breakdowns, compile the field data for further technical evaluations.
- Maintain a full service record of all work undertaken on the
- Assist in conduction Root Cause Analysis by interrogating the data in order to determine underlying reasons for faults.Troubleshooting equipment failure and able to resolve equipment stoppages efficiently.
- Ensuring work compliances to standards, tolerances and fits & working in accordance with sound maintenance practices on all jobs both On-Site and in Workshops; includes reading P&ID's, Technical Literature and Equipment Manuals.
- Ensures equipment, materials and tools are on-hand for work execution. Reports resources and time utilized, job scope expansion, rework or deferred maintenance as required; also keeping all tasks & activities logged and up-dated
- Be involved in condition based equipment monitoring.
- Be part of critical equipment groups and be able to work in a cross functional team to improve equipment uptime and reliability.
- Ensuring Electrical/Instrument spare parts availability for scheduled and projected jobs inclusive of spare inventory (physical) checking and stock inspections as well as preliminary liaison with Suppliers and Vendors for proposals etc.
- Understanding of design and operation of equipment,
- Schematics and ladder logic diagrams; PLC, Calibration methods and standards
- Assist in 3rd party inspection, NDT test and calibration of equipment.
- Provide technical support to contract services staff at job site.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed. This is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. Qatalum's Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.
Minimum Qualifications Required
- Technical/Trade qualification in relevant field
Minimum Experience Required
- 5 years' experience in relevant position.
- Industrial/heavy maintenance experience would be preferred
- Experience in Man Machine Interface equipments (MMI's)
- Experience in Fuel Gas System Equipment Maintenance.
- Experience in first line maintenance of PLC related troubles.
- Experience in Maintenance of Ship Unloader, Conveyor system, Material Handling System, Compressor, Blower, Electrical/Pneumatic Actuator, Valve, Motor, VFD, Motor Management Controller, Soft starter Maintenance.
- Troubleshooting and testing of MCC panel and sub-assemblies.
- Calibration of Instruments.
- Installation and maintenance of electrical control systems and instrumentation systems including electronics, programmable controllers, meters, transmitters, hydraulics, pneumatics and a variety of other systems.
please send your CV to email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com.