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By Hans Ebert
You start to think when the first tell-tale signs started to show. Was it the repetition for years of the same two jokes about being on a seafood food diet and where she sees food and wants to eat it, or that other one about how mangoes where women go? Was it the much repeated story of the many years my parents waited to have me, their only child, and the hours she was in labour before I decided to pop out- on her birthday- apparently looking like an…eggplant.
The passing away of Glen Campbell recently to Alzheimer's which leads to full-blown dementia struck home. My mother passed away from this dreadful disease some years ago and it's always been something I've "blocked from view". But as the feeling of mortality finally grabs you by the balls, you try to retrace your steps for some answers, and, perhaps, redemption.
My father kept my mother's condition away from the family for a long time. Too long or else he was in denial. Rightly or wrongly, he was scared of losing his life long partner. One talks about growing old together, but they really went the distance with my mother always being the strong one- the one who looked after the accounts, the house, and who supported whatever life moves they made.
After moving to Melbourne from Hong Kong, a move I really doubt she wanted to make just as I am certain having to leave everything in Ceylon for the uncertainties of starting all over again in that barren rock that was taking shape called Hong Kong, it was living a quiet suburban life, taking Sunday trips on a tram together for hours on end and seeing the occasional friends.
While my father was extremely outgoing and trusting of everyone, mum was more reserved. Later on, she was almost withdrawn- and sad. One vivid memory was her knocking her head with her hand and saying to me, "I don't know what's going on inside here. Maybe, I'm going crazy." And then she laughed and went back to doing the crossword puzzles she loved doing and was so good at solving. No one took any notice of her mood swings and bouts of forgetfulness. My father poured himself a brandy and told her not to be silly. That she was fine.
Again, looking back, we should have seen the signs. But whatever was going through her mind, she kept well hidden under lock and key. It was always about making everyone else happy and making sure everyone finished whatever she had cooked. And her cooking skills were rapidly disappearing.
When my parents came to visit me at my hotel during a trip to Melbourne and mum excused herself to go freshen up and stayed inside the bathroom for over half an hour, I wondered what was going on. Dad had ordered a brandy and dismissed it with a casual, "Don't worry, son, she'll be out soon. Look, her handbag and overcoat are here. She can't go anywhere".
We never saw her come out. Instead of returning to the living room where we all were, she had mistakenly/forgetfully gone through the front door, walked down eight flights of stairs, got onto the street and had just kept walking for hours in the cold until, somehow, she reached a police station near to where my parents lived. There, she introduced herself and mentioned that she was lost. While all this had been going on, hotel security had checked all closed circuit cameras and had come up with nothing. A police search was mounted.
As expected, my father, a good man, but so dependent on the strength of my mother, was a total wreck. I found it too much to handle and left to meet a group of friends in horse racing and numb myself by drinking my worries away. It was the coward's way out. When receiving the call that she had been found, it was just another brick in the wall. What was that good thing running in Flemington the next day? It was high avoidance.
It took my ex wife Trina to actually do something about my mother's condition.
It was she who knew something was wrong, took her for a medical, and found out that, yes, she was suffering from Alzheimer's. She brought my mother home and washed, showered and even cut my mother's toenails as they had grown so long that she couldn't even walk properly. She couldn't fit into her shoes.
We took mum shopping one day, something she hadn't done in years- but only to lose her again while thinking she was in the changing room. Fortunately, this time, she was found quickly. That signalled the time to escalate change.
While my father was crying that he couldn't live without her, Trina, along with a cousin living in Melbourne, whom I still have to thank for everything he did, made plans to move mum to a respite home where she would receive all the attention that was long overdue.
It was an incredible show of strength and love from my ex wife who told me, "I made a promise that your mum will leave here with dignity". She kept that promise. When dementia had taken over and mum was moved to hospital, what always made her eyes come alive was when Trina would walk into the room. I doubt mum knew who and what was around her, but she definitely recognised Trina though she never ever recognised the fact that we had divorced and that our daughter was no longer the little girl she once knew.
I've always wondered what my mother must have been thinking just lying there in bed, totally helpless and remembering what had happened when she was fifteen, but with no recollection of yesterday or today. She was just killing time. When those friends only she could see and communicate with called her home, it was again Trina and my cousin who made all the funeral arrangements. I had better things to do. Like watch the races at the bar at Crown.
The funeral was a funeral, I made an off the cuff speech with my offbeat sense of humour keeping the truth at bay, made small talk with friends and relatives and then hosted a dinner for a few friends and whatever family was around. My dad ordered a few brandies and later learned to cook and how to live alone with himself until he suffered a heart attack at 94 and left with no pain. I was never able to say goodbye to him, and which he kept asking me to do as time was running out. I was busy at that time trying to outrun my own demons from hell.
It's recently struck me just how much we mourn the passing of celebrities, but never look inwardly at our own lives, the people in them, and the life lessons we've learned.
We seldom think how a disease like Alzheimer's affects us and many close to us. Maybe it's affecting us without us even knowing it. After all, Alzheimer's is meant to be genetic. So, keep writing, keep creating and be careful what you turn into priorities.
Trina and I speak to each other, but not nearly enough. I wish we did as we didn't really talk meaningfully when together. But maybe so much water has flowed under the bridge that it will only be small talk to keep from opening up old wounds.
My daughter hasn't spoken to me in five years whereas her daughter has no idea I even exist. I can't really call her my "grand daughter" as there's only a void there. That hole is beyond fixing. The rain has been allowed to not only come in, but wash away the past, present and any future that might have been left. That's life and it's something you accept and move on by removing the stumbling blocks.
Life is also revisiting those times where closure is needed. Hopefully, I find. It just might be the key to happiness and the difference between living a lie and living a life.
#Alzheimer's #family #parents #life #Hongkong #Melbourne


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This 120′ Broward, SIGRUN, is one of the finest well equipped raised pilothouse motoryachts ever built by Broward. Her rare on-deck master and 23′ wide beam is amongst various custom upgrades which make this vessel very unique and in a class by herself. Her green hull was painted in October 2011 and her oyster awlgrip house was painted in Oct. 2010 reflecting her impeccable maintenance program. Offered for the first time for sale by her commissioning owners, SIGRUN boasts of improvements and design by a very experienced yachtsman and the original build Captain. She accommodates up to ten guest in a five stateroom layout with two VIP staterooms below and an on deck master stateroom. Powered by reliable 3412 Caterpillar engines, SIGRUN has an exceptional range holding 13,000 US gallons of fuel while maintaining a cruising speed of 17 knots. The Northern Light 55KW generators are enclosed in sound shields and are capable of independently powering the entire vessel very quietly. This vessel is truly "TURN KEY " and is a must see!
Please visit this link: http://vrtour.virtualsinc.com/company/yachts/426 and take an intimate virtual tour of SIGRUN which illustrates her elegant interior and deck space.
SIGRUN is located in Boca Raton, FL., and available for private inspection. Please contact Raymond Young at (954)658-2693 for further information.

subset: commoncrawl


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Its true to say that the Abingdon Sprint wasn't hugely enjoyable. Unfamiliar track, unfamiliar car and the all too familiar rain. Fantastic shake down and an opportunity to learn both driving and running the car without having to drive miles. But not really enjoyable as such.
So I signed up for the new competition car test day at Curborough in May. The weather for this was perfect, and I was somewhat surprised to see a Porsche 962 in the paddock when we arrived. This was apparently being shaken down before the Spa classic and is right up there on my list of favourite cars.
Driving the RF84 on a warm, dry, day was a revelation. It was quick, grippy and responsive, and I managed to put in about 30 laps, mostly on the figure 8, ordinarily a seasons worth. By the end of the session I really wanted to know what my times were like, but being a practice session I was never going to find that out.
Shelsley Walsh/MAC run a sprint on the Curborough 8 – so I signed up for that. And apart from anything else it would be good practice for my HSA Formula Ford debut which is planned to be the Owen Motor Club Graham Hill Sprint. Nice event that one.
Anyway weather for the MAC event was perfect. But it did mean that keeping the temperature under control was a new skill to learn. Basically I went from turning the engine off when it was looking like it was getting too hot, to turning it off when it got somewhere near the right temperature. And restarting seemed OK without the boost battery, which was lucky given the Curborough startline arrangements.
My target was to beat my best Panda time – I'd been driving that for 4 seasons so had extracted the maximum from it. Needless to say the FF still felt like a new experience. Especially in the dry. I was more than happy with my first timed run – 69.6s – more than 7 seconds faster than my best ever Panda time. The picture below may go some way to explaining why..
On my second run I messed up the gearchange on the way to the first corner, and overdrove trying to recover. But my first official run was timed at 67.92s – best part of 9 seconds faster than my Panda PB – really happy with that. With more to come, I'm sure. (When I got home I was really happy to read that the HSA record is 66s.). On my final run I was held for an age, and the clutch must have overheated as it then started dragging and the car moved forward. Not great start to a run, but I'd have taken 68.6 at the start of the day.
At present I'm not familiar enough with the car to comment on the handling it being so different to the car I've campaigned for the last 4 seasons. But gearing is another matter. That seems all a bit wrong. I'm up to 3rd for the first corner, down to 2nd at the Molehill, but then I do the whole figure of 8 bit in second. On the finishing straight I do get to 4th but only as I cross the line. Seems to me that I need lower gearing in 2nd 3rd and 4th for Curborough.. Might have to investigate how to achieve this.. but its a big ask by the next event.
Pictures, as is often the case here, by Derek Hibbert.


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I'm super excited to share with you about a conference coming to the Southeast for MOMS, MENTORS, and MINISTRY LEADERS!
It's BETTER TOGETHER, a conference by The M.O.M. Initiative and it's for women of ALL ages and in ALL seasons.
It's a conference for you!
Being a mama isn't easy and kids don't come with instructions… and sometimes we just need to step away from things to refuel and be refreshed.
And being a ministry leader can be daunting, and at times, we need to just get away and get our batteries recharged and gain a fresh new perspective that will fire us up to keep on keepin' on!
SOMETIMES…we just need a weekend to laugh together, cry together, and discover you're not alone in your journey. BETTER TOGETHER is a weekend to connect with women just like you….moms, wives, single moms, moms in blended families, divorced moms, moms of teens, moms of toddlers, grandmas and ministry leaders.
With powerful keynotes from moms and ministry leaders just like you, and over 40 breakout sessions that are taught by experienced leaders and include a wide range of topics such as:
- When Motherhood Should Come with a Training Manual
- You Can't Be 1/2 a Mom (for moms in blended families)
- Social Media Wise Parents
- Bully Proof
- Balancing Life and Ministry
- Fight for Your Family
- The Making of a Mom
- Lord, Help My Marriage
- Building a Top Notch Team
- Reaching the Hard to Reach Child
And MANY MORE BREAKOUTS that will meet you right where you are!
You'll experience an amazing time of worship with The Journey Worship Band, you'll learn, you'll share, you'll grow in Christ… and as a mother… and as a mentor… and ministry leader.
Expect to have fun, meet other moms, find hope and encouragement, and laugh…a lot!
- Great worship with the live band
- Lots of giveaways!
- Late Night Bash with the M.O.M.s on Friday night!
- Lots of opportunities to shop in the Exhibit Hall!
- 15 Minutes with M.O.M. appointments where you can meet a M.O.M. and chat about what is on your heart
- Lots of breakout sessions (over 40) to help you in your mom journey, your mentor journey or your ministry journey!
- Panel Talk on Saturday with some of YOUR questions answered by the M.O.M. team!
Here's the details:
When: July 31st – August 2nd, 2014
Where: Trinity Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida
How Much: Only $49 ($39 for tickets purchased before 12/1/13 & groups of 10 or more)
How: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
More Info: Click here for more information
Seating is limited so you will want to get your tickets now and invite your friends!
You'll be empowered, encouraged, refreshed and refueled…ready to fulfill your God-given calling with the confidence of knowing you don't have to take your mom journey alone.
Don't miss THE Southeast's MOM conference of the year, BETTER TOGETHER by The M.O.M. Initiative…
Because we are ALL better together!


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I decided to get a little personal in my blog post today… Tomorrow we will be celebrating the 5th birthday of our precious little doglet, Miki. She has become our family member, our daughter, and we are so in love with her. Little Pupins, you are the best thing in our lives and we love you! Happy 5th birthday!
Miki as a puppy, and my favorite photo of her taken to date.
Her first night with me.
Another favorite, which took lots of patience and cheese…
Miki as our flower girl last August (next 3 photos courtesy of Brian Kent)
Recent favorite shots from our family trip to Yosemite
And, Silas is going to kill me, but…
Happy Birthday Munk! 🙂


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Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Ibrahim Moustafah and Jordan Boyd
Published by Vertigo Comics
Release Date: March 1, 2017
It's a brave new world out there, and it's made from the blood, guts, and murders of the people. Jordan spins a freshly grounded thriller in this limited series with a chilling opening from beginning to end.
From the get-go, Savage Things pulls no punches in it's nature of being twisted with a cause. We're introduced to our pair of eyes for the journey, Abel as he'll later be named. It's a kid like intro all things considered that takes a swerve off of the rails the moment he gets back home from burning something in a field.
It's all rendered hauntingly by Moustafah and Boyd, the expressions, shadows increasing the grimness of what's going on, everything is in place. The colors throughout really help sell the first issue. Nothing is overly saturated and brightness is dimmed to the absolute minimum.
Jordan provides a bleak world and outlook with his world of highly trained monsters and the dialogue mirrors that sentiment. Abel is just a kid and speaks matter of fact about staring potential death in the face. It reads like a much sharper Deadly Class introduction with a more murderous intent about causing chaos around the United States of America.
We're further introduced into an equally sadistic and terrifying support cast and the villain of the series(?) via flashback to the birth and display of the Black Forest monsters. The dulled colors and background help to highlight the expressive characters and increase the tension of Jordan's speeches.
Never has a test that causes for twenty bodies to be killed before you can move on been unnerving especially with our protagonist smiling about it. There's a game afoot in the present day that's kicked off with a cleaner version of a scene from one of Jordan's previous works The Strange Talent of Luther Strode.
Suffice it to say, the past never truly stays buried and the monsters are out to play and they have no problem hiding their calling card. It's violence not for the sake of it, but to showcase just who Abel has going against him…because he too can exact this level of pain and suffering on the public.
The final pages catch us up to the present and we're treated to an extended sequence of Abel cleverly evading a SWAT team on a city street. It plays out like any thriller chase scene with the predator outsmarting and hindering the prey at every turn. Abel is levels above those tracking him and Jordan reinforces this notion doubly so when the guns come out to play. Moustafah delivers a quick and deadly fight scene that involves the environment showcasing just how outclassed the rest of the world is compared to Abel and from the looks of what's to come…he'll need it and maybe an ally or two along the way.
Savage Things doesn't hold back from what it's set out to do. It's cold, calculating, bloody, demented, and mature like your favorite late night show on HBO. Jordan has the perfect art team for this dark and mysterious world of clandestine organizations and monsters set out to destabilize everything we hold dear. I don't think this series is looking for redeemable characters to save the day, these are bad people doing bad things in the name of saving the day. If this limited series can keep this first issues's sparks of intrigue, brutalness, and deadpan humor then I believe Savage Things will go down as a phenomenal story. Vertigo has a winner with Jordan and his Horror-Spy Thriller.
The Verdict: 10/10


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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An affidavit filed in a slander suit against Syracuse University and basketball coach Jim Boeheim said the wife of fired assistant Bernie Fine had sex with players, and several people associated with the program knew about it, including Fine.
In the affidavit, Bobby Davis, a former ball boy with the men's team, said he was present on several occasions with basketball players when he heard them speaking of having sex with Laurie Fine. Davis said players joked about it and it seemed to be an openly known fact that Laurie Fine had sex with basketball players.
A lawyer for Laurie Fine said the accusations were "disgusting."
After Davis and his step-brother, Mike Lang, accused Bernie Fine of molesting them when they were boys, Boeheim vehemently defended his longtime friend and assistant coach.
He said Davis was lying to cash in on the publicity generated by a sexual abuse scandal unfolding at Penn State University. The Hall of Fame coach later backed off, saying he based his defense on loyalty and two previous claims of abuse against Fine that authorities could not substantiate.
Boeheim apologized after a third accuser came forward at the end of November and a years-old audiotape surfaced of a phone conversation between Davis and Laurie Fine that some have interpreted as Laurie Fine acknowledging Davis was abused by her husband.
In December, Davis and Lang filed a slander suit in state court.


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The Great Migration of wildebeest, zebra and other plains game in search of fresh grazing between Tanzania's Serengeti and Kenya's Masai Mara is the largest overland migration in the world involving over 1.5 million animals.
Catching up with the Great Migration is a spectacle on many people's bucket list. The first image that comes to mind for many may be the river crossings, particularly the dramatic crossing of the Mara River, the last obstacle before reaching the Masai Mara (July-September time). However, being on the Serengeti's southern plains in the early part of the year for calving is another excellent time to see the migration .
The migration is not one super herd but a collection of herds moving in different directions and at different speeds. The herds move in search of fresh grazing and so their progress is dictated by rainfall. With rainfall becoming increasingly erratic the path and timings of the migration has become a little more unpredictable in recent years but you can expect to see the migration in Tanzania for around 75% of the year and in Kenya for 25%.
The annual cycle is punctuated by a number of key events – calving being one of them.
Calving season on the Serengeti's southern plains
The migration arrives and stays on the Serengeti's southern plains and on the edges of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area between January and March annually.
During these first few months of the year the wildebeest are grazing on the nutrient rich short grass following the short rains in November. This is the perfect arena for giving birth to their young – the grass is still low enabling them to see predators more easily, and the new shoots are soft and full of goodness, thanks to the fertility of the volcanic soil in this region.
Remarkably virtually all the wildebeest calve within a 3 week window which usually falls between late January and late February. Around 8,000 calves are born each day at the peak of the calving season.
Compared to the rest of the year, the herds are fairly sedentary while they feast and calve so this is an excellent time to observe them.
Predator density at this time on the southern plains is said to be higher than anywhere else in the world. Many predators also raise their young at this time, with young wildebeest the perfect target for young cubs learning survival skills.
What to expect
-Epic views – short-grassy savannah studded with rocky 'kopje' outcrops – sometimes punctuated by the occasional Serengeti leopard or cheetah.
-Noise! Wildebeest have the nickname 'gnu' and this is the sound you will hear.
-Fabulous wildlife sightings with the chance to see predators and predator/prey interaction – short grass means good visibility.
When should I book if I want to visit during calving season?
If you have your heart set on a specific week, particularly in February and around school half term, then you should try and book a year in advance – camps are small and it is high season offering good weather and excellent wildlife sightings so the earlier you book the more likely you are to secure your dates and preferred camp.
If you are flexible then 6-9 months in advance is ideal.
Where to stay and for how long
We recommend lodges around the Ndutu area in the first three months of the year.
There are a number of excellent mobile camps including the Serian Mobile, Lemala Ndutu and the Asilia mobile camps. Sanctuary Kusini, Lake Masek Tented Camp, Ndutu Lodge and the new Ndutu Kati Kati tented camp are permanent options in this area. Depending on the position of the herds and the timing of your visit we also recommend the high quality Lemala Ewanjan and the excellent Elewana Pioneer Camp in the south-central area.
2-3 nights at one camp is the minimum amount of time we recommend – you could easily stay longer. It is great to combine a stay in Ndutu with a camp in the south/central or central area of the Serengeti for a contrast (these areas have excellent resident wildlife), or how about combining your Serengeti experience with a visit to other parks on the Northern Circuit? (Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire).
Tented camps are very comfortable offering walk-in tents, ensuite bathroom and an outdoor seating area. Camps vary in size, luxury and budget.
You can expect a 7 or 8 day safari trip to Tanzania including the Serengeti to cost anything from £2,040 per person plus international flights (Small Group Escorted Tour) to over £4,500 for a luxury private safari. (Please note: during the migration months these prices rise).
What will the safari day look like?
Custom safari 4×4 vehicles are used to view the migration. You rise just before dawn, and have a snack before heading out with your professional guide on your morning safari for 2-3 hours before returning for a hearty breakfast in camp. In private concessions you may head out with a picnic breakfast.
If you fly-in to your camp, camp vehicles are usually shared with other guests (there are a few exceptions). If you are enjoying a drive-in safari with a private vehicle and driver/guide then you have the luxury of your own space.
You have the day to relax at camp, enjoy lunch and view wildlife as it comes and goes. Some camps offer additional activities during the day.
After a light afternoon tea you depart on the afternoon game drive, usually at about 330pm until sundown around 6/630pm. In private concessions your vehicle can stay out beyond sundown and you can night drive. It is also possible to off-road in the private concessions of the Serengeti.
Can I combine a migration trip with the beach?
Yes – December to March offers lovely weather for the beach, and good water visibility for diving/snorkelling. Zanzibar is the most easily accessible destination from the Serengeti and offers a wide range of lodges.
Here's an example luxury bush and beach combination.
Sample trips
See our Tanzania page for inspiration.
For Migration safari inspiration specifically please click here>>
By March the plains have usually started to dry out and food is depleted so the herds start to move north and west on their epic journey to Kenya, pausing only as they reach the rivers that block their path.
This is the next phase of the migration…
If you are thinking of a wildlife holiday to Africa please contact us on 01603 964 730 or email firstname.lastname@example.com
You can find further information about the sub-Saharan destinations we visit on our website.


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I LOVE this pillow!!!!!!!!
Ever since I visited Sweden during December a few years ago, I have loved Swedish Christmas decorations, which use lots of candles, hearts, lights, and the colour red—not to mention the Julbock [Yule Goat]!
Bring a bit of Sweden into your home this holiday with this pillow that features the Julbock, Dalahäst [Dala horse], hearts, and the Swedish crown. The pillow would add some festive whimsy to your bed, couch, or armchair.
Posted on
Category: Etsy Item of the Day
I LOVE this pillow!!!!!!!!


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How can I find eBooks?
You can search for eBooks in the same way that you search for print books, using title and author information on the Library Catalogue or Discover.
An eBook will have an Electronic Resources link. You can use this link to access the eBook on or off-campus.
You can use the Library Catalogue to search for eBooks only. To do this, select Electronic Resources from the drop-down menu below the search box.


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Free shipping on orders over $99
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Notify me when this product is available:
Every cereal is an excellent source of essential nutrients - all of your vitamins, minerals, amino acids, healthy fats and fiber in one complete meal.
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Native American Indian Ways, Wisdom, History and Culture
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
The Mashco-Piro
One of the most isolated indigenous tribes in the Americas:
Posted by
Malcolm Gault-Williams
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
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Friday, August 02, 2013
Sarayaku Victories
Thanks to the support of Amazon Watch and others, a delegation of 80 leaders and community members from Sarayaku traveled to Quito for a series of events celebrating their historic victory for justice and indigenous rights at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
Read "Amazon Justice" for a summary of last week's events.
In Quito, they held a press conference and a series of public events including a screening of the award-winning documentary,
Children of the Jaguar
produced by Sarayaku filmmaker Eriberto Gualinga and Amnesty International. The full-length feature documentary documenting Sarayaku's struggle was just released last week.
Watch and share it today!
While the screening of
Children of the Jaguar
was taking place, word began to spread that the government had deposited over $1 million USD into their bank account. This was a cause for celebration, as it was one of the orders of the IACHR sentence. The Ecuadorian government has also translated the sentence into Kichwa and Shuar, publicly posted it, and conducted indigenous and human rights training with military officials. The government has also committed to removing the explosives that the CGC oil company had left behind after abandoning its efforts to conduct seismic testing. The schedule and conditions for removing the pentonite will be determined by the community.
What the government has not done, however, is apologize publicy in Sarayaku. The community is pushing for the apology to come from President Correa himself, which has become a contentious issue. Sarayaku is also calling for the right to "no repetition" – meaning that Sarayaku should not have to go through similar violation of rights again, nor should their indigenous neighbors in southern Ecuador threatened by the 11th Oil Round. We'll keep you updated on what happens next and how your support can continue to make a real and powerful difference in Sarayaku and in all of the indigenous communities defending their territories in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
AW Support for Sarayaku
GPS units to demarcate their territory
Video cameras to capture the oil company and military actions
Video capacity training to produce documentary films
Satellite phones to communicate with their partners and international allies
Setting up radio tower in community to allow access to internet
Coordination of international delegations to oil company meetings
Communications support during international delegations
Accompaniment during IACHR hearings
For over a decade, with the help of many financial donors, Amazon Watch has supported the people of the Sarayaku and have made a difference. From providing the satellite radio to alert allies when the oil company and military were invading their territory, to providing Eriberto with his first video camera and then supporting his training in video production, to accompanying their long battle at the IACHR, to finally celebrating this historic victory. We continue to stand with Sarayaku as they seek a public apology from the President and to ensure that what happened to them, never happens again.
Please consider becoming a member of Amazon Watch and supporting their work:
Posted by
Malcolm Gault-Williams
Friday, August 02, 2013
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Name: Carter Bleclic
Position: Sailing Staff and future USCG boat driver
Hometown: Betterton, MD
Education: Guilford College
Years at Echo Hill: Camper 2003-2011 & Counselor 2012-2014
Echo hill has helped raise and mold me into the person I am today; it's a safe haven for me to learn and grow as an individual. It's a place that provides shelter from the judgments of the outside world. I truly appreciate Echo Hill's ability to stay constant in my life and provide the same energetic, accepting, and adventurous atmosphere every summer. Not only am I able to spend every summer sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, I am able to do so with the closest friends I'll ever have.


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An American sergeant was stationed at the Snowcap in Antarctica in December 1986.
He and Tito were responsible for apprehending the First Doctor, Ben Jackson and Polly Wright when they were found outside the base. He later guarded them in the tracking room and told Ben and Polly about the recent space missions.
A short time later, General Cutler sent the sergeant, Tito and Joe out to investigate the Doctor's "hut". The sergeant found he couldn't open the door, and sent Tito and Joe back inside to get a welding torch.
However, while they were gone, three Cybermen appeared. The sergeant at first thought it was Tito but soon realised that he was wrong and began to fire at them with his gun. Unaffected by the bullets, one of the Cybermen killed the sergeant with a blow to the neck. (TV: The Tenth Planet)


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Hello Duolingo-folk, 9+ years after I wrote this! Let me know if you need further clarification in the comments below.
All about Da! "Da" is mostly translated as "of", but it has a very specific use all to itself. Keep an eye out and you may just find a future post about "de", which is another word often translated as "of".
Basically, "da" is used to relate some quantity to some type of thing. In a phrase:
- X da Y = X of Y
X is some quantity and Y is a type of thing. The phrase shows that you have X amount of Y. X must be a quantity and Y must be an indefinite type.
So X is easy, it could be a bunch, a little, a dozen, a litre, a box, a lot, a flask, you get the idea!
What's Y though? What's indefinite? The answer is, Y must only be a type of thing, a concept of a thing, it can't be a particular group of things. So in the title "a clutch of eggs", Y is eggs. Eggs is indefinite. "Eggs" does not refer to any particular eggs at all. It's just talking about the concept of eggs. Then with "da" we take some portion of this type of thing, eggs.
- skatolo da ovoj = a box of eggs
If we're talking about certain eggs, and not just the general idea of eggs for Y, then "da" cannot be used!
- Mi ŝtelis skatolon el viaj ovoj = I stole a box of your eggs
Here Y is "your eggs", those are particular eggs, not just the concept of eggs. Therefore, "da" cannot be used!
Additional notes:
Numbers are quantities, but they are allowed to directly refer to nouns, so you don't need a "da":
- Mi havas du ovojn = I have two eggs
- Mi havas skatolon da ovoj = I have a box of eggs
The exception is when you've got a number that in noun form (ending in "o"), then it acts like a grouping:
- Mi havas milionon da ovoj = I have a million (of) eggs.
This is because a noun cannot describe another noun I believe!
If X is an adjective (a-word), it is allowed to directly describe the noun (Y), so you do not use "da":
- Mi havas multajn ovojn = Mi havas multe/multon da ovoj = I have a lot of eggs
Why is it possible to say "glaso da vino" and "glaso de vino" ?
Because they mean different things!
Following from a couple examples from the PMEG:
"Glaso de vino" is more like "wine glass" – a glass in which wine was present, or is usually present. And "glaso da vino" uses "glaso" as a quantity, it's a glass-sized amount of wine, or a glass full of wine, a "glass of wine".
In such cases, "da" and "de" answer different questions:
- How many soldiers are there? – Grupo da soldatoj (A group of soldiers)
- What kind of group is that? – Grupo de soldatoj (A group of soldiers)


text:
It's easy. You only need four things to take advantage of LTE:
- A compatible SIM
- Device
- Plan
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We have been providing customers with LTE SIMs for over a year. If you have an older SIM and you are not sure if it is LTE, you can come by the Digicel Flagship store, and if needed we will give you a new one for free.
We offer compatible phones for free on new LTE Postpaid Smartphone Plans. If you want assistance try our web chat or visit us in store.


text:
If you're like me, you have a rather massive selection of KQ-issues by now in your collection. You may also know the Wicked Fantasy-articles by Jess Heinig and John Wick that reimagines the classic fantasy races in a dark, unconventional way. Well, today, I'll check out the first 3 offerings of Wicked Fantasy, starting with
Wicked Fantasy I - The Reign of Men
This pdf is 32 pages long, 1 page editorial, 1 page cover, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisement, leaving 28 pages of content, so let's check this out!
John Wick's Wicked Fantasy seeks to redefine the traditional races of fantasy and add new twists to the tired old tropes. So, what has been done with the humans?
Rules-wise, they get +2 to a physical and +2 to a mental attribute, +1 to will saves (and further +1 every 5 levels), humans count as having each member of their party having their teamwork feats, can choose a skill as an additional class skill, and gain advantages based on their hometown - both in skills and a +2 favored terrain (hometown). They can also rally their allies - when a human threatens a critical, they can grant rally bonuses to their allies - I think that these should be morale bonuses from their fluff.
There's a focus there on hometowns and that makes for the true central focus of this product: It introduces us to a nation, the Reign of Men. Essentially, the humans in this product stem from an unique cultural background inspired by ancient Greece and the Roman Empire - devoted to philosophy, the central force of will and the betterment of their whole species is the focus of this reimagined mankind. The cities of the reign are detailed in intriguing detail and several gazetteers out there should take at look at this: The cities not only influence the bonuses humans get from their race, but also make for an intriguing, cool setting. On the other hand, though, the entwinement of the race and its fluff also makes it somewhat harder than usual for such supplements.
The pdf also includes 9 new feats, 6 of which add effects/expand the rally ability, with one being a sufficiently powerful capstone feat. The feats per se are ok, but use some strange mechanics: Inspirational rally, for example, lets allies make a melee, ranged, touch or ranged touch attack against a foe if you succeed at a check. This action-granting by criticals is uncommon and VERY powerful and generally not exactly standard - its emphasis on luck of the player to make use of the feats and the new human's signature ability focus on luck is problematic in my book.
The pdf also includes two new archetypes: The Philosopher (cleric archetype) gets a modified skill-list, 5+Int skills per level and two new godless domains. The Palantine, a variant archetype of the paladin that gets an intelligent horse, reliefs instead of mercies and an aura granting bonuses to will-saves to allies. I really liked both archetypes and the twists they gave the old classes.
The pdf, however, also includes a list of "appropriate" classes for the Reign of Men - all classes from the APG, UM and UC but the cavalier are banned per default - that's lame. No new tools for cavaliers (though the an alternate archetype of the Palantine could have been easily inserted), no Inquisitors (WHY??? The new human almost SCREAMS Inquisitor to me...), no oracles in spite of the Greek/Roman fluff and its ease of tying in etc. That's just sad.
Editing is rather good, I noticed only a couple of glitches. Formatting is somewhat non-standard - e.g. asterisks are used to represent multipliers, when usually, "X"s are used. Layout adheres to a used-parchment look and the 3 pieces of full color artwork are nice. The pdf comes fully bookmarked, but without a printer-friendly version, which is a minor bummer. This pdf is somewhat hard to rate - on the one hand, it's an awesome gazetteer of an alternate human realm that feels distinct and different from almost any other one. Its attention to detail is nice, its fully detailed system of government is awesome. Unfortunately, the crunch feels somewhat wonky in comparison, its focus on critical hits to make unique rallies is too reliant on luck/crit-range builds. The second signature ability, the hometown-based feats etc., are unfortunately very much tied to the respective hometowns, making integration into an ongoing campaign/ established campaign setting rather difficult. The new archetypes and the concept of a godless humanity, driven by its collective force of will and the ideal of human advancement is awesome and something I'd love to see expanded upon. On the other hand, though, the lack of support for APG, UM and UC is disappointing at best. As a racial supplement, the reign of men fell somewhat flat of my expectations, as a gazetteer of an unconventional nation, it works just fine. Mechanics-wise, I wasn't impressed by the pdf. In the end, the pros and cons mostly even out for a nice purchase, but not a stellar one. My final verdict will thus be 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for the purpose of this platform.
Next up:
Wicked Fantasy II - Orks: Children of Pain
This pdf by John Wick Presents is 26 pages long, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC/prelude, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement and 1 page SRD, leaving 21 pages of content, so what exactly do we get with these Orks (yeah, with "k", just like in German!)?
You have probably read the Wicked Fantasy-series of articles in KQ, but just to be sure: Wicked Fantasy centers on a new takes on classic fantasy races, a reimagining so to speak. An example would be the Uvandir, genderless (but male-looking), eternal dwarves who can toil all day and night, never starve etc. In this pdf, we get an expansive take on the Orks in the vein of a widely-expanded ecology-article.
The reimagining of the race essentially makes the Orks what you've come to know: An evil race, created by evil gods. Orkish doctrine, for ages, had them consume their foes to take in their strength and worship pain - until they evolved. For which foe might offer more strength than one's god? In a feat of unheard-of racial uprising, the orks stormed their god's sacred hall, vanquished their pantheon and ate them, thus gaining their strength. (Though some sages speculate that some orkish gods may have escaped...)
Thus, via the divinely-infused bloodlines, Orks changed and diversified and had to deal with the lifting of the red haze of rage, for now, they encountered a state of mind as of yet unknown - free will.
The nomadic tribes have made tentative peace with the other races, as they seek to understand the powers their newfound freedom and the darkness of their ancestors blood offer them. Depending on the bloodline of one's ancestors, special abilities and dispositions are available to the green-skins. 6 of these divine bloodlines are included.
The Orks can also create so-called Feth'Ork-creatures by feeding animals and beasts their blood in order to mutate the critters into allies and negate the loathing regular animals exhibit when encountered by Orks.
I mentioned the worship of pain as well and it defines Orkish culture to this date - their sacred scars, the Va, all come with their stories and knowing these has to be earned. More importantly, 5 masochistic feats enable Orks to harness the power of pain and actually get stronger via hurt, pain and punishment. I really loved these feats and while they seem to be kind of powerful, the steep price they demand is worth the benefit. 3 feats are focused on the divine bloodlines and we get a new mystery for the oracles, the so-called blood mystery, which essentially provides the tribal shamans and makes for a neat piece of writing. We also get a new archetype for barbarians and one for bards, the latter being rather interesting, as it focuses on insulting foes and bolstering allies via epic story-telling, thus hearkening back to our own world's intricate webs of poetic allusions displayed in saga-literature and Heian romances like the Tale of Genji, to quote only two.
Editing and formatting are good, though not stellar: I did notice about 7 glitches on my first read-through and an additional pass at editing would have been nice, as some of the extensive bookmarks consist of only one letter. layout adheres to a 2-column standard and comes in full-color, with a parchment-like background and neat pieces of artwork. I really liked the writing, which makes this pdf rank among the most compelling ecology-articles I have ever read. On the other hand, though, I feel that some of the pieces of writing like the feats could be more concisely-written: I had to re-read some of the feats before I got how exactly how the crunch is supposed to work. Were I to rate only the quality of the writing, I'd settle for a higher rating, but as presented the glitches and minor hick-ups just accumulated and thus I'll settle for a final verdict of 4 stars.
and then there are
Wicked Fantasy III - Haffuns: Seeming Servants
This pdf is 28 pages long, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC/prelude, 1 page advertisement, 1 page front cover and 1 page SRD, leaving 23 pages of content, so let's check this out!
Halfings are not exactly a sexy race and have often been neglected in fantasy - recently, 4 Wind Fantasy Gaming released a nice supplement and now Wicked Fantasy reimagines the Halfling-race.
Perhaps the one factor that makes halflings problematic, at least for me, is that they don't essentially fill a crucial role in most fantasy settings. Haffuns are different. Ever since the dug up from the ground, escaping some undefined threat on the other side of the world, and immediately were able to communicate with the humans, they have ingratiated themselves into human society by their uncanny virtues.
Haffuns gain +2 to Dex and Wis, are small, get a bonus to hearing-based perception, professions depending on their family and temporarily learn just about every language. And then there's Talda, the "Seeming Way" - essentially the ability to blend in the background, this art not only makes the Haffuns the perfect butlers, it also makes them potentially creepy.
Creepy? Yes, for the Haffuns tend to adopt human families to serve them and woe to those who dare threaten the Haffun's family - they take any means necessary to protect it, preferably without making the people they care about even aware of their accomplishments. And then there are the homeless ones, essentially a halfling mob. Have I mentioned a kind of Halfling-pride movement preparing for war/open conflict with the humans? Or the fact that 20 legendary Haffuns grant their names and several abilities to their people, overseeing them as a strange shadow council?
That's not where the race stops, though: Another interesting twist is the halfling's secret, unknown language, one of many secrets the tall ones know nothing about. Another, not widely known one, is Ghuva, the giving curse. If you look a Haffun in the eye and really wish for something from the bottom of your heart, he/she has to try to fulfill your request or suffer from penalties. If they fulfill a request, the recipient gets a neat +2 bonus to attack for 24 hours.
There are 5 new feats, 3 of which enhance the Talda-abilities of the Haffuns - all of which ROCK. And then there's the new Jorsha archetype for the cleric - essentially a spirit shaman, they can see the departed souls - which is quite important, for the Haffuns tend to secretly link the souls of their departed to the houses in which they died.
Finally, there's the new Butler-class: The Butler gets d8, 6+Int skills, bonuses depending on the ancestor's name, up to +10d6 sneak attack, 3/4 BAB, good fort and ref-saves and access to a total of 30 special marks - a butler's marks help him take care of his family, taste and see from a distance etc. - this class utterly ROCKS and makes for a stellar alternate to regular roguish halflings.
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to a 2-column full-color standard and the piece of good full color artwork rocks. The pdf is fully bookmarked, but no printer-friendly version is included in the deal, which is a bummer. Formatting features some minor non-standard uses of signs, but nothing too jarring.
Not only is the reimagined halfling awesome, it's easily inserted in any campaign setting and essentially comes with ingrained seeds for not only an adventure, but a whole campaign of conspiracies, be the benevolent or malign, on behalf of the Haffuns. This pdf ROCKS and in fact made me immediately want to introduce them into my campaign. Even better, you don't have to get rid of Halflings in order to introduce Haffuns to your setting - they easily work as another race! Seeing that mechanically, I didn't have any significant gripes, the potential of the race, the imaginative fluff and brilliant ideas like the Talda and Ghuva, I'll practically have to settle for a final verdict of 5 stars + endzeitgeist seal of approval. Go check these out - halfling secret agents rock.
As always, thanks for reading my ramblings!
Endzeitgeist out.


text: (Adds Shanghai closing prices, updates London prices) MELBOURNE/BEIJING, Dec 18 (Reuters) - London copper prices fell for a third straight session on Tuesday as concerns that global trade ructions would cool economic growth were compounded by signs of rising supply, but low inventory levels limited losses. Growth concerns have been weighing on the industrial metals sector, including copper, ANZ analysts wrote in a note, adding that prices had been knocked by news that Vedanta Ltd was closer to being allowed to restart its 400,000 tonnes per year copper smelter in India. "The market is focused on an upcoming economic policy meeting in China, with expectations of further stimulus to domestic growth," the bank added, referring to the Central Economic Work Conference taking place in Beijing. China's refined copper output rose by 7.6 percent year-on- year to 768,000 tonnes in November, its highest level since June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. FUNDAMENTALS * LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped by 0.3 percent to $6,103.50 a tonne as of 0709 GMT. The most-traded February contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell for a fourth day, closing down 0.4 percent at 48,930 yuan ($7,100.36) a tonne. * XI SPEECH: Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Tuesday for the unswerving implementation of reforms on Beijing's terms but offered no new specific measures in a closely watched speech marking 40 years of market liberalisation. * TRADE: The United States has welcomed Chinese concessions since the two declared a trade war truce in early December, but trade experts and people familiar with negotiations say Beijing needs to do far more to meet U.S. demands for long-term change in how China does business. * COPPER STOCKS: Offering price support to copper, stocks MCUSTX-TOTAL on the LME stand at 121,800 tonnes, having last week dipped below 120,000 to the least in more than a decade. * ZINC: The metal used to galvanise steel was the only gainer in the London base complex amid thin pre-holiday trade, adding 0.8 percent to $2,560 a tonne. The premium for cash LME zinc over the three-month price CMZN0-3 bounced back to $50.50 a tonne on Monday after hitting a two-month low of $26 a tonne on Friday, indicating tightening supply. * NICKEL: The global nickel market deficit widened to 19,600 tonnes in October from the previous month's revised deficit of 9,000 tonnes, the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) said. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS * Asian share markets sank on Tuesday as heightened worries about a slowing global economy sent Wall Street stocks skidding to their lowest levels in more than a year. PRICES BASE METALS PRICES 0716 GMT Three month LME copper 6102 Most active ShFE copper 48910 Three month LME aluminium 1936.5 Most active ShFE aluminium 13740 Three month LME zinc 2554 Most active ShFE zinc 21025 Three month LME lead 1929.5 Most active ShFE lead 18210 Three month LME nickel 10985 Most active ShFE nickel 90610 Three month LME tin 19155 Most active ShFE tin 146200 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 134.88 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1644.04 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 110.38 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 1648.83 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1729.06 ($1 = 6.8912 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE and Tom Daly in BEIJING; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)


text:
July 17, 2007 – Premier, a U.S. healthcare group purchasing organization, announced that it has extended its agreement with Medrad Inc. to provide vascular injection systems and related disposables used in CT, MR and cardiovascular (CV) imaging for an two additional years, in order to provide Premier's 1,700 hospital members and more than 46,500 other healthcare sites with continued access through 2011 the line of vascular injection systems.
The contract includes Medrad's complete portfolio of injection systems, including the Stellant CT Injection System with DualFlow, the Medrad Avanta Fluid Management Injection System for improved cardiovascular imaging, and Spectris Solaris EP MR Injection System for advanced MR studies.
For more information: www.medrad.com and www.premierinc.com


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About VVRS Australia
Product code / model no: VVRS BW5 – Buckwheat Grain
Product name: Organic Buckwheat Grain
Min Order – 1 X 20" FCL
The whole buckwheat grain with the outer husk intact. (This product is milled or packaged in a factory that also produces products that contain gluten) USES: Sprouting or home milling, which will make whole meal flour with full nutritional value intact.
NAME: Organic Buckwheat Grain
COUNTRY ORIGIN: Australia
INGREDIENTS: Organic Buckwheat
MANUFACTURING METHOD: Cleaning and Grading System
COLOUR: Dark Brown
FLAVOUR: Buckwheat flavour
MOISTURE: Max. 13%
Product is sourced from Australian growers who have declared their crops to be free of genetically modified organisms and must meet VVRS strict receival standards. VVRS products are certified by ACO P41, USDA NOP 4086PNOP*, OFC 0456 and HACCP FSAU02/915 and are free from infestation and mould.
*USDA may not be applicable to some batches of this product.
20kg, (Poly bag), 5kg (Calico)
54 x 20 kg bags to a pallet
210 x 5kg bags to a pallet
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION per 100g serving
Energy 1475kg (351cal)
Protein 13.2g
Fat, total 3.40g
-saturated 0.74g
Carbohydrate, total 61.5g
-sugars 1.00g
Dietary Fibre 10.0g
Sodium 1.00g
This analysis may alter slightly depending on growing and climatic conditions. Other testing available at buyers expense.
VVRS Buckwheat grain contains no egg and egg products, crustacean and their products, fish and fish products, peanut and soybeans and their products, tree nut and sesame seeds and their products, milk and milk products, meat and their products, birds and their products, fruit and their products, mollusc and their products, yam and their products, mustard and it's products, added sulphites, preservatives, added flavours or colouring.
There are no known risks associated with the handling or processing of this product. Post harvest grain is cooled by night aeration for 14 days in silos then fumigated with Carbon Dioxide to a level of 37.5% for minimum 10 days. Once the grain is cleaned, processed and packaged it is stored in cool rooms at a maximum temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. These rooms are dry and free from toxic chemicals, odours, insects and rodent infestation. It is recommended that product be stored under constant cool, dry conditions to maintain optimum freshness. No responsibility is taken for product if stored in humid, hot, dusty or infested storage. Our recommended shelf life for this product is 24 months after the production date but we will accept no responsibility for infestation once product has been accepted into the customer's storage facility.
Information in this specification is reliable to the best of our knowledge and belief, but it is the user's responsibility to determine in the user's application and conditions the suitability of any material for a specific purpose, including consumption, and to adopt any precautions as are necessary prior to use. This product is milled in a factory which also mills products containing gluten.


text:
Delaware River Report / Conditions October 29, 2013
Ended up being cloudier than expected yesterday, which made the Olives very happy, as well as the trout up and eating them. They started a bit later on the West Branch, more towards 3 or so, but kept going until past 5. The Lower Main (below Buckingham) picked up a bit earlier, as the water temps were a bit warmer down that way. We're cooling off a bit today, with temps not quite hitting 50, and a good amount of cloud cove, so I'd expect the bugs to hatch a bit later in the day again, and likely continue on a bit more into the evening as well.
Isonychia bicolor – Iso – Slate Drake – #12-2XL, #12
Stenonema species – Various Light Cahills – #14
Pseudocloeon species – BWO – #22 – sporadic
Ephemerella lata – Dark BWO – #18
Current Flow Conditions:
|West Branch at Stilesville, NY
|737 cfs @ 54º
|West Branch at Hale Eddy, NY
|828 cfs @ 53º
|East Branch at Harvard, NY
|101 cfs @ 41º
|East Branch at Fish's Eddy, NY
|279 cfs @ 43º
|Mainstem at Lordville, NY
|1,160 cfs @ 47º
|Beaverkill at Cooks Falls, NY
|134 cfs @ N/A
|Cannonsville Reservoir Level & Release
|68.5% – 760 CFS release


text:
Sen. John McCain: "What we need to do is understand Vladimir Putin for what he is: a murderer and a thug." https://t.co/fghiXF80be pic.twitter.com/2NSRi8cgO2— CNN (@CNN) February 9, 2017
Translation: We must go to war with Russia. And with every other "thug" running a government Conclusion: We must go to war with most of the world's nations.
Let's see. On Election Eve and shortly after the election, who was relentlessly beating the drums for war with Russia, and then trying to bully Pres. Trump into making an enemy of Putin, and bringing about World War III?


text:
By Dr Doris Ruth Eikhof, School of Management
Dr Doris Ruth Eikhof, University of Leicester School of Management discusses the findings from the latest report stating that the UK is 'deeply elitist'.
Upper class elites rule the UK, holding key positions in politics, business, law, media, education and arts and culture. A report by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission released this week documented that what the country does and thinks is determined by those educated in private schools and Oxbridge, an 'old boys network' that working class men and women find it difficult to break into. Shocking, yes, but hardly new and hardly surprising. As Niall MacKenzie of Strathclyde Business School commented, 'in other news, water has been discovered to be wet.' Half a century of initiatives to broaden access to education, arts and culture, and thus jobs and careers, have aimed to reduce elitism in the UK. Some of those initiatives even make extremely successful TV viewing: Channel 4's 'Educating Yorkshire', for instance, made the nation's heart go out to youngsters struggling for a decent start in life. Identification with the working class is so de rigeur in Britain that the middle classes especially do not dare speak their own name.
With all that initiative, empathy and attention, how come Britain is still, as the report puts it, 'deeply elitist'? A key problem is that those who decide about appointments and promotions favour candidates who look and talk like them, who went to the same schools and universities or who are friends and friends of friends. That, too, is neither a new nor a surprising finding. But what is less looked at is why decision makers rely on class, Oxbridge degrees and personal networks for recruitment. They do so because, both consciously and unconsciously, they regard them as signs that an applicant will do a good job. One's class, education and social capital send 'signals' to a potential employer about skills and productivity. These signals become all the more important the more costly a wrong recruitment decision would be. Hiring the wrong candidate for call centre position no 87 is less of a problem than hiring the wrong senior judge or cabinet minister.
To "break open" Britain's elite we need to make it less necessary for decision makers to rely on class, Oxbridge degrees and personal networks for recruitment. We need to make sure that those who decide on recruitment know what skills are actually required. As an HR Officer I have worked with countless line managers who had no idea what exactly the job on offer entailed – and who promptly defaulted to signals that reproduce elites. We need to have an education system that really educates for what life after school and university requires. The UK suffers from a huge skills mismatch between what employers want and what the education system delivers. We need to make sure that our university degrees correctly signal which skills a graduate brings. It is a great irony that in order to widen access to higher education the UK has ended up with such a cacophony of degrees that employers, unable to make sense of it all, default to easy signals such as an Oxbridge degree. Will these three steps forward be easy to make; will they eradicate elitism altogether? Unlikely. But they will go a good deal further than trying to get working class graduates into upper class networks. We don't need to break the networks, we need to remove the incentives to rely on networks.


text:
Hey Mostly Peoples
I thought I would post a link to a whole bunch of my retro Videos here, Games, Board Games, Card Games etc...
Hope you like it
Bad Dudes (NES)
Battleship (BG)
Pokemon Card Collection (TCG)
Mouse Trap!
Also this Month we're adding:
Pog (BG Kinda?)
Monster Party (NES)
Nightmare on Elm Street (NES)
And a movie review
Very excited to share it all with you <3
BTW if you'd rather not click a whole bunch of links the YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/ChokedVideo/
-Nostalgia Bros.
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This is the sixth and final part of the Mancunian Way, a BBC documentary series about Manchester and its music. Listen to the previous parts here: Part 1: The Punk Revolution, Part 2: The British Beat Boom, Part 3: Factory Records, Part 4: Mainstream Hit Makers, Part 5: The Haçienda.
In the 90s, while everyone in Manchester was still dancing to the sound of the best DJs in the world at the Haçienda, something unexpected happened. Anthemic stadium rock made its return, with the rise of the biggest band that ever came out of Manchester: Oasis. In this final part of the Mancunian Way, Mark Radcliffe nostalgically chats with Noel Gallagher about the early days of Oasis and tells the story of other bands that kept guitar-based music evolving in the rest of the 90s, such as The Doves, Badly Drawn Boy and Elbow.
Listen here:
Download Link (right-click > save as):
The Mancunian Way – Part 6


text:
The Group meets the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month from 1PM to 3PM at Bridgeport Recreation Center (across from Arnold Palmer Country Club).
Meetings are open to Village Residents and Guests who have Villages issued guest passes. The Group has presentations, program information and discussions in detail about topics that are related to Science and Technology.
All Village residents are welcome to attend the Meetings.
Speakers are residents who have an interest and background in a particular field and share their knowledge with the group. Questions and comments are always welcome.
Speaker Topics are broad. Examples of specific fields: Topics
Events and Activities: A listing Of Interest includes George Erickson's new book contributed to our members FREE.


text:
Treating Mom to Breakfast
If you'd like to treat mom to a fancy breakfast this Mother's Day, why not make Eggs Benedict? The classic dish is a stack with a toasted English muffin, slice of ham or Canadian bacon, and a poached egg topped with a velvety Hollandaise sauce. Some folks shy away from making a homemade hollandaise sauce, but my recipe for blender hollandaise is easy and foolproof!
Folks disagree on the source of the original recipe for Eggs Benedict and for whom the dish was named. But I think we can all agree that it's the perfect recipe for Mother's Day because the name "Benedict" is derived from "benedictus" which means "blessed" – and anyone lucky enough to have a loving mother in their lives truly is blessed. So I call this recipe "Eggs Benedictus."
If your mom is classic, make the traditional recipe. If she like to try different things, make the variation with Matcha Hollandaise – then curl up together and read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham! As explained below, in order to make sure that all elements of the dish are ready at the same time and served warm, you partially cook each, then reheat just before serving.
"Eggs Benedictus"
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Red Tabasco Sauce
½ cup butter
Salt and pepper
1 English muffin, halved
4 pieces Canadian bacon
2 jumbo eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Chopped chives, for serving
1½ teaspoons Matcha – Japanese powdered green tea, optional
Blender Hollandaise: In a blender, combine 3 large egg yolks, fresh lemon juice and 2 shakes of Tabasco red pepper sauce. Melt the ½ cup butter, and set aside to keep warm while preparing the rest.
Toast the English muffin halves until partially cooked, but not yet brown. Keep them in the toaster to stay warm.
Heat the Canadian bacon – either in a pan or in the microwave – cover and set aside to keep warm.
Poach the eggs: In a small saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a simmer. Add ½ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons white vinegar (to help set the eggs).
Crack each egg into a separate ramekin or small cup. Gently drop each egg into the simmering water then cover the pan. Let the eggs poach for 5 minutes.
While the eggs are poaching, finish the hollandaise sauce. With the blender running slowly and the top plug removed, slowly pour in the melted butter. Be very careful because the sauce will splatter (you might want to keep a kitchen towel nearby). If you are making Matcha Hollandaise, blend the matcha powder into the egg yolks before adding the melted butter.
Finish toasting the English muffins, and reheat the ham, if necessary.
To serve, place an English muffin half on a plate, top with a couple slices of Canadian bacon. With a slotted spoon, carefully remove a poached egg from the water, and stack on top of the Canadian bacon. Spoon a good helping of hollandaise sauce on the egg and top with chopped chives, and salt and pepper to taste.
Matcha is a powdered green tea that is becoming increasingly popular. Its herbaceous flavor and beautiful color adds an interesting touch to many recipes – add it to everything from creamy salad dressings to white chocolate fudge! My favorite is Matcha Jobetsugi, available from Harney & Sons Fine Teas in Millerton NY (www.harney.com).


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It must have been one heck of a party. As the story goes, during the presidential race of 1876, New York socialite and heiress Jenny Jerome held a campaign function for candidate Samuel Tilden at the famed Manhattan Club. Miss Jerome, soon to become Lady Randolph Churchill and mother of Winston, requested a special cocktail be created for the event.
What the staff devised consisted of rye whiskey, Angostura bitters and Italian (sweet) vermouth. Like a spark to tinder, the cocktail swept through New York society. The drink that we now know as the Manhattan literally became the toast of the town. It's said that financial mogul J. P. Morgan drank the cocktail every evening after a full day of trading on Wall Street.
The Manhattan's current revival has everything to do with the drink itself. It is about as suave and delectable as a cocktail gets. It's smooth and aromatic and has a thoroughly satisfying flavor. Unlike the Martini, which is more of an acquired taste, the Manhattan possesses a nearly universal appeal and doesn't require enduring a learning curve to appreciate. While a relatively straightforward concoction, there are a sufficient number of components in the drink to devise genuinely singular and innovative signature Manhattans. Learning how to tweak these various elements is at the heart of the creative process.
While it's true that few cocktails will transcend the popularity of the Martini, it's equally true that few cocktails will ever taste better than a well-chilled Manhattan. The choice is yours: Follow the crowd or find soul-satisfying bliss.
Check out these tips to making a great Manhattan:
• Stirred or Shaken? The decision whether to stir or shake is not as clear-cut with the Manhattan as it is with the Martini. Traditionally, a cocktail constructed of only an aperitif or fortified wine and a distilled spirit would be stirred gently in the mixing glass until the ingredients have reached serving temperature. As is the case of the Martini, the proper serving temperature for a Manhattan is around 37EF to 38EF. The basic ingredients are sufficiently close in specific gravity as to not require shaking to ensure that they fully integrate.
But vigorously shaking a Manhattan is gaining acceptance, possibly because the principal ingredient is bourbon, a stalwart and hardy spirit that thrives when shaken. Bourbon's deep rich color prevents any semblance of "bruising," an affliction associated with a shaken Martini. Another consideration is that shaking a Manhattan will result in a bit more water going into the cocktail, not a bad thing when working with whiskeys.
• Uptown Vermouth. Mastering the Manhattan requires the use of high-quality vermouth. There are perceptible differences in quality between the various brands of vermouth. While it may be inexpensive, vermouth is a complex aperitif wine, one that is difficult and laborious to make well. Suffice to say, the better the vermouth, the better the resulting Manhattan.
When in doubt, fall back to the time-tested brands, such as Italian Martini & Rossi, Cinzano, Stock, Noilly Prat and Vya Preferred California Sweet Vermouth. They are immeasurably better than the rest of the field and have a marked impact on the quality of the finished drink. Taking shortcuts with a cocktail like the Manhattan invariably nicks the final product.
• The Aperitif Difference. One of the appeals of the Manhattan, like the Martini, is that it accommodates a great deal of creative latitude. When exploring just how versatile the cocktail is, consider substituting another type of aperitif wine for the vermouth. An excellent jumping off point is using one of the two grand dames of the category, Dubonnet and Lillet. Both brands are available in two styles: rouge and blanc. Ideally suited for use in signature Manhattans, the rouge version is made on a base of premium red wine and infused with a proprietary blend of herbs, spices and peels. The wine is fortified with grape spirits to an elevated strength of 19% alcohol by volume.
Those with adventure in their soul may want to try substituting the vermouth with Pineau des Charentes. Pineau des Charentes is a French aperitif made from a blend of unfermented grape must and Cognac brandy. Most varieties of Pineau are crafted from the grapes Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard, with occasional Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Montils. The mixture is aged for at least 18 months in oak barrels. Pineau seems created specifically with the Manhattan in mind. Its natural sweetness is expertly balanced by the acidity and increased alcohol percentage.
• Fortified options. Fortunately for the Manhattan-adoring public, there are more fortified wines that can be drafted into service. In fact, the roster of possible contestants includes some of the biggest, most famous names in aperitif wines.
Port is a sensational replacement for sweet vermouth in a Manhattan. On the whole, ports have supple, velvety textured bodies, wafting, fruit-laced bouquets and ideally balanced, flavor-laden palates. They are especially well suited for pairing with whiskeys and brandies. The Port of Manhattan is a specialty cocktail made with tawny port and a splash of Chambord, both of which ideally accentuate the woody, smoky character of the featured bourbon.
Sherry is another stellar fortified wine tailor-made for use in gourmet Manhattans. It is produced in the district of Jerez de la Frontera, the famed wine-growing region in southern Spain between Cadiz and Seville. Illustrating Sherry's versatility is the Spanish Manhattan, an elegant cocktail made with Fino Sherry instead of vermouth. The nutty character of the Sherry makes it perfectly cast in a supporting role.
Madeira is a celebrated fortified wine often featured as a modifier in specialty Manhattans. While considered a sweet dessert wine, there are dry styles of Madeira as well. Made in Portugal, the wine is blended and aged in Soleras, similar to how Sherries are produced. Madeiras are typically fortified with grape spirits or brandy.
• Tapping the spirit world. There are numerous reasons to promote top-shelf Manhattans, not the least of which is the axiom that the better the whiskey, the better the resulting Manhattan.
One of the objectives when devising a signature Manhattan is to present a specific brand of bourbon in a creative vehicle that best enhances its characteristics. For example, the Italian Manhattan does a superb job showcasing the Maker's Mark Bourbon. This small-batch whiskey is highly aromatic and an ideal candidate for use in a gourmet cocktail. The recipe substitutes Disaronno Amaretto and several dashes of cherry juice for the sweet vermouth. The nutty almond flavor of the amaretto highlights the smoky, caramel flavors in the whiskey.
Nowhere is it written that you are confined to only using bourbon in your specialty Manhattans. Lacing a whiskey or brandy with a fortified wine is a model for success, and it has spawned numerous variations made with an array of different spirits. One example is the Quebec Manhattan, which is made with Canadian whisky, dry vermouth and several dashes each of Amer Picon and maraschino liqueur.
An early variation of the cocktail is the Prohibition Manhattan. It is made with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and orange bitters. The Irish Manhattan is constructed using Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth and a healthy dose of bitters.
• Modifying with liqueurs. An innovative way to alter the character and personality of a Manhattan is to modify it with a liqueur. Mixology is replete with successful examples. The New Orleans Manhattan is made by first swirling the inside of the chilled cocktail glass with Frangelico. The excess is discarded, and the Manhattan is poured in. The Frangelico adds a delightful nutty aroma and flavor to the cocktail.
The Satin Manhattan is a chic cocktail made with sweet vermouth, Grand Marnier and whiskey, while the Blue Grass Blues Manhattan is a blend of dry vermouth, Blue Curaçao, bitters and bourbon. Other liqueur options include using Chambord to make a Raspberry Manhattan, Benedictine D. O. M. in the Preakness Manhattan, Kirschwasser for a Danish Manhattan and Yellow Chartreuse in the Biscayne Manhattan.
• Muddled results. As generations of Old Fashioned enthusiasts will attest, bourbon and muddled fruit taste sublime. In the pursuit of a genuinely delicious Manhattan, don't overlook the creative option of muddling fruit such as oranges, lemons, cherries, peaches, apricots and tangerines into the cocktail. The selected fruit should be placed into a mixing glass and muddled; the liquid ingredients then should be added. The bitterness from the pith and the sweetness of the juice make marvelous additions to specialty Manhattans and add greatly to the drink's production value.
• Ending credits. The garnish on a Manhattan is a stemmed maraschino cherry. When devising a specialty Manhattan, however, creative latitude goes with the territory. Make sure that the garnish you choose complements the taste and enhances the appearance of the cocktail. Possibilities include Amareno cherries, brandied cherries, orange wedges and lemon or orange twist spirals.
Little did the staff at the Manhattan Club realize the revolution they were fomenting when first they laced rye whiskey with vermouth. More than a century later, mixologists still are following suit and crafting timeless classics by pairing spirits with delicate fortified wines in the form of gourmet Manhattans. Vive la révolution!


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Rose Gold Revival
The jewellers is predicting that popularity for rose gold jewellery will continue to increase over the summer months, as brides follow fashion trends and opt for rose gold over platinum, which has typically been the preferred choice among brides to be.
Parkhouse Cardiff General Manager Michael Schito said, "We've seen a huge increase in sales of gold this year, particularly with rose gold pieces and wedding jewellery. It's really interesting as our sales have been heavily focused on platinum and white gold in the past, at one stage everyone was opting for platinum so it's lovely to see more colour coming through.
"Gold isn't as expensive as platinum but it seems to be less about the cost and more about a return to a more vintage appeal with the rose gold jewellery. It's a bit more traditional. Rose gold also works well with coloured stones, which is going down well with the more adventurous brides, and is generally very flattering to most skin tones."
To make 18ct rose gold, about 4% silver is added to 75% gold and 21% copper to give it that warm rosy tone. Which makes sense really when you think that copper has been a popular interiors trend for some time and fashion often follows suit.


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Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry has withdrawn from the upcoming FIBA World Cup, he announced on social media Monday.
The five-time All-Star underwent a procedure to repair an injury to the tendon in his left thumb following this past NBA campaign and hasn't been cleared to return to play.
Lowry was present at Team USA's recent training camp in Las Vegas but didn't participate in any basketball-related activities. He was a member of the United States' gold-medal squad at the 2016 Olympics.
The 33-year-old was a key component in the Raptors' title run, averaging 15 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.9 boards during the postseason.
Lowry enters the 2019-20 NBA campaign on an expiring three-year, $100-million contract signed during the 2017 offseason.
The Americans will hold their first practice in Los Angeles on Tuesday at the Lakers' practice facility.
Lowry's absence leaves the United States with 15 players remaining for 12 World Cup roster spots.


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Yes this is my top drawer of my desk. Full of essentials for my work and life. It was an unplanned snapshot of exactly how it is today. The sticky notes seem to take precedence, but in there you can see such vital items as pens, paper clips, scissors, highlighters etc. There are always some random things too – the wire that doesn't appear to attach to anything in particular and the purple earphones that nobody likes.
How do we prepare ourselves for life and for our life in the church? It can be hard to be resourced correctly. Sometimes it can feel like we are way off target. When we ask ourselves "How am I going to ensure I have what I need?"; sometimes the answer is straightforward. For a fried egg, we need eggs, a frying pan, some oil and a spatula. For a walk in the rain, we need good shoes, a waterproof and maybe a map so we don't get lost. More complex parts of life need more thinking about, more planning and, often, more experience to really feel fully prepared for.
This is true for our mission as a church – there can be so many formulae, blueprints, projects and visions, that we end up not having a clue which resources we actually need. For the next part of this blog, we will be looking at 12 Mission Essentials. From the beginning of 2018, we will take one essential each week and see where it takes us. We will explore it and try to see how it can enhance our mission together. They are intended as a provocation and encouragement to action. There may be some lightheartedness along the way, but our mission as churches is a serious one. Here we will try to ensure that we have the resources that we need. Are you ready for the journey of Christian mission? In your community? In your church? In your life? Well, for that journey, we may need some of the following Mission Essentials:
- A Good Idea
- The Meeting
- Stationery
- Prayer
- Social Media
- Words
- Food
- A Good Ear
- The Plan
- The Arts
- A Destination
- Trust
Maybe you'll join me on the journey? I hope so, as feedback and a discussion is always welcomed. Have a great Christmas adventure, and see you in the New Year.


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At Lotus Advisors we align our clients' interests with our own to ensure win-win results
We understand the value of finding and keeping excellent tenants while maintaining your property to the best standards to protect & preserve your property values
Management fees are only charged when rent is collected, we only make money when we make YOU money
No profit incentive on repairs ensuring that all repairs are completed with your interests at heart
We leverage our contractor relationships to your benefit by passing the savings on to our clients
Clients & tenants have 24 hour online access to their account information
Dedicated Property Manager oversees each property
Dedicated Account Manager is responsible for each account
We value ALL of our relationships with our clients, tenants & vendors!
Property Types Managed:
- Single family
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Management Services include:
- Advertising and marketing
- Negotiating and executing leases
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- Monthly & year end statements- View sample
- 24/7 Access to online statements, repairs, receipts & more
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All prospective tenants are extensively screened to find and secure stable stewards of the home. All tenants must submit a full application and agree to complete background check including :
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Info about Fair Housing & Reasonable Accommodations for Service Animals
Prospective Tenants
All background checks are completed by professional independent third party company


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December 2014
A $1-billion project on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is one of the latest projects secured by China State Construction
CHINA State Construction Engineering Corporation-Middle East (CSCEC ME), the main contractor and a key investor in the Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah development, has completed 30 per cent of the construction work on the $1-billion project at The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE.
The project is being spearheaded by Skai Holdings, a Dubai-based real estate investment company, which indicates that the development is on track to open as planned in 2016.
CSCEC ME has now begun structural works on Level 14 of the 16-storey building. Work has also commenced on the fit-out and mechanical electrical and plumbing (MEP) works.
Yu Tao, president and CEO of CSCEC ME, comments: "This is a landmark project for the China State team in the Middle East. With almost a third of the construction completed on Viceroy Palm Jumeirah, we are on schedule to open to guests in 2016."
He adds: "Dubai's tourism and hospitality sector continues to perform well, and with a clear vision and dynamic strategy led by the government and fully supported by the private sector, we expect continued and sustainable growth over the mid and long term."
On his part, Nabil Akiki, CEO of Skai Holdings says: "Completing 30 per cent of the Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah marks a milestone for us and our partners, and further demonstrates our pledge to complete the project on time and to the highest standards. We have worked very closely with CSCEC and with our operators Viceroy to create a hotel and residence that is both luxurious in its feel and practical in its concept."
Once complete, the luxury residential and hospitality project will offer its guests 477 spacious rooms and suites and 222 signature Viceroy Residences with breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea and Dubai's dramatic skylines.
The property's attractive location, situated at the base of Palm Jumeirah, is just 15 minutes from the city's downtown centre and minutes away from major tourist and business attractions such as the Dubai Marina and Dubai Media City as well as the newly opened Dubai Tram.
Viceroy Dubai Palm Jumeirah will feature services and amenities created especially for the mix of business and leisure guests expected to frequent the hotel and residences, combining business services and amenities with a true resort experience. The hotel will be home to numerous spectacular dining venues hosted by world-class chefs and a modern spa. A beach club and a 100-m-long pool will also be complemented by children's clubs, entertainment and sporting activities.
Established in 2007, China Construction is China's largest construction and real estate conglomerate and biggest building work contractor. The company has gained recognition for undertaking super high-rise, grand scale, cutting-edge and novel projects and has built up a great number of landmark projects in China and around the world.


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Is there anything more to Twitter than a popularity contest for borderline sociopathic losers who can't hack friendship in the real world? The answer, amazingly, is yes, but it's just as well to admit that much of the appeal of joining the twitts (some say twitterers, but we're going with twitts) is to amass vast numbers of followers-slash-friends whom you've never met and amass alleged social capital. As a twitt you could follow Sarah Brown into the hitherto secret recesses of her world. And witness her stand against Italian veal. And, like, pretend she's your friend. Result!
On the plus side, it is incredibly easy to become a twitt: it's free and easier to register for than, say, M&S's flower delivery service. Twitter isn't for the verbose: Marcel Proust could never have tweeted. You get 140 characters to say whatever you want — eg "remind me why I'm doing this again?". These 140-character blurbs are called "tweets".
You follow other people whose daily minutiae you might be interested in, and when they tweet, it shows up on your page. When they follow you, your tweets show up on theirs.
Why do so many bother? As the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman noted in his book Liquid Love, the sense of belonging or security that the so-called liquid modern (that's you, twitts) creates consists in being cocooned in a web of messages — SMSs, emails, or tweets. Feeling connected makes one feel less anxious about social ostracism. In the Twitterverse, the number of your followers, like a website's click-through rate, demonstrate online wantedness and potency. No matter if such social capital is more apparent than real.
Better yet, you can connect with celeb twitts. How lovely to follow leading twitt Stephen Fry and read, say, his 140 characters on checking into his hotel (plus his snap of the view from the window). God bless Fry and his desire to fill the blank interstices of his every moment with online yipyap about, you know, stuff: he and others (Demi, Snoop and — this is hilarious — Coldplay) thereby allow us to go cyberstalking without the risk of prosecution. Do you want to receive this intimate message from Davina McCall — "OK. I'm going to try and make myself go to sleep. night night peeps"? Maybe you do. Thanks to Twitter, now you can!
Aren't there — for the love of tweet — better reasons for Twittering? There are. It offers the comfort of strangers: in the Twitterverse everybody is — so the people I follow tell me — much kinder than they are on social networking sites such as Facebook. You can market yourself. You can organise tweetups, to meet like-minded people. If you're creative, you can ask others to help you come up with ideas.
When all else fails, Twitter can be a source of news. The big — and trivial — news rises to the top of the Twitterverse. Michael Jackson, Gaza, Mrs Slocombe, Mumbai — all have been big in the Twitterverse this year. Not bad for a service that launched three years ago and that was never aimed at having such global clout. That said, by this time next week Twitter could be as forgotten as Second Life. Remember Second Life? Me neither. – guardian.co.uk


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"Wild Hunt!": Two citizens of the Wild Lands, on the edge of the dangerous Glowing Swamp, spot a trapped Ratsputin crying for help. When they try to aid him they are lured into a trap by the twisted rat-man--who now sports a hook for a left hand.
- You mean, this is Captain Kerk? What -- he sign on for a five-year mission to boldly go where no man has gone before?
- — Superboy
Superboy (Volume 4) #66 is an issue of the series Superboy (Volume 4) with a cover date of September, 1999.
Appearing in "Wild Hunt!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Adam Winterbourne
- Doctor Canus
- Dubbilex
- Guardian
- Lady Tawna
- Mickey Cannon
- Nosferata
- Serling Roquette
- Tuftan
- Dabney Donovan
- Gene-Gnome (First appearance)
- King Shark
- Ratsputin
- Sacker
Other Characters:
- Captain Kerk (First appearance)
- Llarry (First appearance)
- Llouise (First appearance)
- Professor Forest (First appearance)
Synopsis for "Wild Hunt!"
Two citizens of the Wild Lands, on the edge of the dangerous Glowing Swamp, spot a trapped Ratsputin crying for help. When they try to aid him they are lured into a trap by the twisted rat-man--who now sports a hook for a left hand.
Superboy flies the Whiz Wagon back to the Wild Lands, taking Dr. Serling, Mic Cannon, Prof. Forest, and Col. Adam Winterbourne. They land in Roam, which is surprisingly vacant, and are soon set upon by a band of tiger warriors, led by a gorilla guard. King Tuftan emerges and calls off the Royal Guard, scolding them for not recognizing Superboy. The new captain of the guard is named Kerk--hence, he is Captain Kerk as SB points out. Queen Nosferata is not happy to see them back, but agrees to throw a festival on their behalf nonetheless. Tuftan has been down since he became king, but with the return of Superboy and his friends his heart is made light for a while. Serling talks to Tawna about democracy as Winterbourne corners Sacker. He demands that Sacker pay him back for enslaving him by showing him the spot that Sacker captured him. Sacker refuses, since Winterbourne had been found on the edge of the Glowing Swamp, a dangerous taboo place where all the Wild men fear.
Superboy, ever fearless, decides to head up an expedition out to the Swamp. King Tuftan, Tawna, Winterbourne, and Captain Kerk will all go along. Tawna warns Serling to keep her eyes on Nosferata.
Back at Cadmus, Guardian has a little chat with Dabney Donovon. Dubbilex cannot read the madman's thoughts, but that's because Donovon created him--and installed the failsafe that Dub could not read his mind. Dub can read the mind of Guardian and is disturbed to hear Guardian thinking hateful things about the DNAlien. Such thoughts have been frequent in all the staff lately. Suddenly, Dub hears a voice and sees a minute being calling himself the Gene Gnome who tell them that they have much in common.
In the Wild Lands, at the edge of the Glowing Swamp, Tuftan and Tawna pick up the scent of Ratsputin and track him to an old ruin. They corner the rat-man there--but he is not alone. King Shark emerges from the swamp and scoops up Superboy in his jaws.
- King Shark appeared last in Superboy (Volume 4) #32.
- No trivia.
See Also
- Discuss Superboy Vol 4 66 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the Superboy series
- Images from Superboy Vol 4 66
Recommended Reading
- Superboy (Kon-El) Recommended Reading


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Boosting GM
Letter published in the Times, 12 March 2012
Entrenched attitudes make Europe out of step with its competitors, who take advantage of more efficient farming methods
Sir, Congratulations on your thoughtful leading article on GM crops in Europe (Mar 9). This issue encapsulates so much about current attitudes to scientific and technological progress. Rather than think how our farmers can become more productive and make their contribution to food security in a world of 9 billion people, our (largely scientifically illiterate) political elites are swayed by the green lobby's emotional arguments.
Such entrenched attitudes make Europe increasingly out of step with its competitors. We try to stop the clock on the continuing trend towards more efficient farming while farmers in Asia and the Americas avidly take the best technology on offer. We set unachievable targets for renewable energy while China forges ahead with building new power stations to run factories in sectors we can no longer compete in.
Not only do our elected leaders need to do more to drag Europe into the 21st century, but we need to make sure they don't try to return us to the golden age before the Industrial Revolution.
Martin Livermore
Scientific Alliance Cambridge