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Early LifeEdit
Ellen lived in Village Bridge her entire life. With the exception of a few trips to Lacunosa Town, she never ventured outside of her hometown. She recently went on a vacation to visit her aunt and uncle in Accumula Town, though her parents had to stay behind in Village Bridge because of their work. This trip to Accumula Town made Ellen highly curious of the world outside Village Bridge. As her vacation drew to a close, she tried to convince her parents to let her walk home, so that she could see more of the world. Her parents eventually agreed, on the condition that Terry, their family pet Herdier, accompany her to protect her on her journey.
Shiny Beast GroupEdit
One day in Accumula Town, Ellen saw a trainer passing by with a multitude of foreign Pokémon following him. Ellen's Solosis, Solo, sensed that the trainer had one more Pokémon with him -- an incredibly powerful one -- that he was keeping in its Pokéball. Struck by curiosity, Ellen later tracked the trainer down. The trainer introduced himself as Ryan Sanders and explained that he was in the Unova Region with a powerful Entei on a special mission. Seeing this as an opportunity to explore the rest of Unova, Ellen insisted on joining him. Ryan at first refused, but then accepted after seeing Solo's surprising power. The two later met up with Sonja Baron, Chloe Hikari, Ray "Orange" Hakuda, Thomas Solson, and Justin Icewater, who were in Unova with a female Raikou to find the criminal known as "Black", as well as to prevent dimensional disturbances in the area with the help of a group of Shiny Legendary Beasts.
As the group approached Striaton City, they met Plasma Agent Evan Tierra, who challenged the group to a battle. The group fought, Evan one by one, each person fighting one of the Plasma Agent's Pokémon. Ellen fought Evan's Swinub with Artemis. After the battle, Ryan's friend Alex Lockwood joined the group with a male Raikou.
After spending the night in Striaton, Thomas and Justin decided to leave the group. The rest of the travelers journeyed to Nacrene City, where Ellen encountered a Purrloin that stole an apple from her. Terry chased after the Purrloin, but the cat-like Pokémon got away. Afterward, the group was attacked by a swarm of Swoobats that were fleeing from a 'bruja.' Realizing that the Swoobats had come from Castelia City and that the 'bruja' was likely still there, Ryan, Evan, and "Orange" teleported into the city while Ellen and the others walked. When the group reunited in Castelia, they found "Black." They chased after the criminal, who revealed himself to be Zach's brother. After "Black" seemingly killed Zach, Maddison Hayes showed up, explaining how she had planted bombs throughout the city. She then kidnapped her sister Sonja along with Ellen, taking them to the top of Coeur Tower in the heart of Castelia.
In Coeur Tower, Hayes tied up the two girls, leaving her Bronzong to guard them while she worked on completing her final bomb. The Ford Agent explained that she was sending a message to Team Rocket and Team Liberty -- that their war was affecting other regions like Unova.
Finally, Ryan, "Orange," and Evan arrived at the top of the tower, where they battled Hayes in an attempt to rescue Sonja and Ellen. During the fight, Kyle Eston, who had left the group just before Ryan and Ellen had joined it, returned to help stop Hayes. Alex arrived late, too, crashing through the window with Raikou. However, after listening to Hayes' reasoning for the bombing -- to send a message to Teams Rocket and Liberty that their war affected regions even as far away as Unova -- Unovan native Regis Naser turned on the group and sided with the Ford Agent.
After a long and difficult battle, Hayes retreated, leaving the group alone at the top of the tower with her final bomb completed. The Shiny Suicune sacrificed her life to help the others escape the tower before the bomb detonated. Shocked by the destruction of Castelia, the group headed to Nimbasa City to recuperate.
After they rested up, the group saw "Black," who had escaped to Nimbasa, attack Blair, Whitlea, and N, reverting Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem back to their stone forms. The group followed "Black" to Route 16, where he stole Plasma Agent Summer Shirayuki's Oshawott. Ryan and Alex then took off after "Black," leaving the rest of the group behind. After watching Zach's battle with Burgh, Ellen flew with Sonja to Black City, where Evan was correcting a misunderstanding between Ryan and Alex and two Plasma Agents, who believed that Ryan and Alex were trying to steal the Oshawott.
Evan then brought the group to Plasma Castle for a meeting with the Sages. After the meeting, Blackskull, Ethan Gold, and Richie Eston from Team Liberty joined the group. The next day, Ellen saw the same Purrloin she had met in Nacrene. Terry chased after it, with Ellen chasing after Terry, but they eventually found themselves cornered by a pair of thugs that the Purrloin had angered. Ellen tried to fight off the thugs herself, but eventually Solo had to return to the Pokémon Center to bring the rest of the group to help. The others in the group quickly chased the thugs off, but when Ellen went to see if the Purrloin was okay, the cat-like Pokémon scratched her and then ran off. Ryan and the rest of the group took Ellen to the Pokémon Center to get her arm bandaged up and then, after a brief snowball fight, continued their journey.
On Unova Route 14, Ellen found the Purrloin lying unconscious on the side of the road. Worried, she picked up the Pokémon, put it in an empty Pokéball, and rushed it to the Pokémon Center in Undella Town. The Purrloin woke up halfway through the Poké Center treatment, but Ellen stopped it from running out the door, explaining that she had captured it. The Purrloin was not too fond of being captured, but nevertheless decided to stick with Ellen, who nicknamed the Purrloin Chrono. However, because of their past experiences with him, Ellen's other Pokémon, Terry in particular, were still wary of Chrono.
Seeing as Christmas was just a few days away, the rest of the group decided that they should get Ellen home in time for the holidays. They managed to get her to Village Bridge the day before Christmas Eve, and decided to spend Christmas at the Burks' house.
On Christmas Eve, they discovered that Ellen's father worked for Déoza, a weapons company that has connections with John Ford. The revelation left Ellen scared and confused, but some guidance from Entei helped to calm her. The group left for Dragonspiral Tower on Christmas Day, leaving Ellen in the care of her parents. After a discussion with her father, Ellen decided that although she agreed with Ford's ideals, she disagreed with his methods. That night, she and her Pokémon ran away, hoping to reunite with the group at Dragonspiral Tower. However, she barely got past Opelucid City before Palkia, summoned by Evan, teleported her along with the rest of the group (which was currently fighting "Black" on top of Dragonspiral Tower) to Plasma Castle in Black City.
At Plasma Castle, Zach was able to summon Kyurem from the God Stone, but when "Black" and Zach's father showed up, Zekrom and Kyurem were fused into Black Kyurem. A corrupted Zach and Black Kyurem fought against Evan, Seth, and Palkia. The battle moved from Plasma Castle to the area over Accumula Town, and Ellen could only watch the battle unfold on the news.
By the time Zach was finally defeated and Black Kyurem was separated, the Six Sages of Team Plasma demanded that the Liberty and Rocket agents leave Unova at once. Determined to help them defeat the Ancient Darkrai, Ellen accompanied them in their exile.
Battle Against the Ancient DarkraiEdit
No longer welcome in Unova, the group teleported to Team Liberty's base on Four Island, where they prepared to battle the Ancient Darkrai that had covered Sinnoh and Hoenn in darkness. Before the battle, Evan used his power as Hero of Space to grant Ellen limited powers of Space. With this power, Ellen could essentially see the world how Palkia saw it, and could use this ability to help her Pokémon narrowly dodge attacks.
Once everyone was ready, Ellen joined Seth, Evan, Klim, and many others that had been part of the Unova group in traveling to the Sinjoh Ruins where the Ancient Darkrai had set the stage for their final battle. When they arrived, the Darkrai began to summon Sombra, the Alpha Darkrai. Then the Darkrai split up to fight the members of the Team Liberty strikeforce. Ellen and Ryan found themselves facing Seven. During the battle, Artemis evolved into a Mienshao.
By the time they managed to defeat Seven, Sombra was nearly free. Nine arrived to speed up the process, unleashing the Alpha Darkrai from his prison. Ellen fought valiantly alongside the others. However, just when they thought they had finally defeated him, Sombra absorbed the other Darkrai (except for Five and Nine) into his essence, becoming a monstrosity.
Overwhelmed by the powerful Darkrai, Ellen and her Pokémon fell into the Dark Void. However, even from the Void she was able to lend some energy to Seth, the Hero of Time, who ultimately sacrificed himself to defeat Sombra once and for all.
Upon the defeat of the Ancient Darkrai, Team Liberty and Team Rocket leaders announced a ceasefire as both sides struggled to recover from the destruction the Darkrai had wrought. Wanting to do all she could to help, Ellen followed Ryan to his hometown of Fortree, which had been badly burned in a fire. During the peacetime, Solo evolved into a Duosion. This evolution split Solo's mind in two, causing him to constantly second-guess himself. To reflect this sudden change in personality, Ellen changed his name from Solo to Duo. Also around this time, Ellen celebrated her 10th birthday.
After six months, Fortree was nearly restored to its former glory. One day, Ellen was approached by a young man who introduced himself as Tyler. Upon seeing that Ellen was having trouble controlling her Purrloin, Tyler offered a spicy Pokéblock. Ellen explained how Chrono had always been troublesome and that she hadn't seen any improvements in the past six months. The two discussed possible reasons for Chrono's behavior, then Tyler urged Ellen to keep trying, assuring her that she had great potential.
The term potential reminded Ellen of the words Maddison Hayes had used to describe her back in Castelia. That night, everything Ellen had tried to forget about her adventures in Unova and battle against the Ancient Darkrai returned in a series of nightmares: Maddison Hayes at the top of Coeur Tower, the terrifying form of Sombra, and the revelation that her father's company Déoza has connections with John Ford. Ellen was also worried about her failure to bond with Chrono and her newfound frustration with Duo.
The following morning, Ellen went for a stroll with her Pokémon, trying her best to forget the nightmares. However, she soon walked in on a battle between a Seviper and a Zangoose. The Zangoose attacked Chrono, who had been hiding in the tall grass planning to scare Ellen, having mistaken the Purrloin for the Seviper. While Ellen watched the wild Pokémon battle with worry, Chrono struck back at the Zangoose. The wild Pokémon were displeased at the cat interrupting their battle and hurled Chrono over the edge of the cliff and into the river.
Without thinking twice, Ellen jumped after Chrono, diving into the river and rescuing him. Soon after she caught up to the Purrloin, however, they both fell over a waterfall. Terrified, the rest of Ellen's Pokémon followed her.
Ellen's JourneyEdit
The Berry Lady's WisdomEdit
When Ellen awoke on a beach, she found the rest of her Pokémon huddled around her, except for Chrono, who was still unconscious, suffering from the effects of the Seviper's poison. With all her berries washed away by the river, Ellen picked up the Purrloin and trekked into the woods, hoping to find someone or something to help cure Chrono.
By evening she came to a small home that belonged to an old woman known as the Berry Lady. Using her knowledge of medicinal herbs and berries, the Berry Lady fixed a remedy for Chrono's poisoning, then offered to let Ellen rest there for the night. Upon hearing Ellen's story about her troublesome Purrloin, the Berry Lady suggested using a Tamato Berry to "domesticate" Chrono by making him more friendly at the cost of his speed in battle. When Ellen seemed hesitant about more or less forcing Chrono to like her, the Berry Lady told her of a woman in the far-off Kalos Region who could read a Pokémon's memories. She did not know where in Kalos this person lived, but pointed Ellen toward Sootopolis City, where she could find the memory woman's cousin, a Kalos noble who had recently taken up residence there.
The next morning, Ellen left the Berry Lady's house and traveled east, hoping to make it to Lilycove, from where she could take an underwater ferry to Sootopolis. However, she hit rough waters earlier than she expected, for she had to pass the island graveyard of Mt. Pyre. Working together with her Pokémon, Ellen built a raft out of trees and vines to cross the waters. However, as she approached Mt. Pyre, a dark fog drifted in, caused by the mountain's resident Ghost Pokémon.
When the Ghost Pokémon sprang their ambush, Ellen tried to command her Pokémon into a counterattack, but found that the battle against six enemies at once was too chaotic for her to try and make sense of. Longing for the strategic minds of those who had traveled with her in Unova, Ellen quickly found herself overwhelmed. Sensing her trainer's plight, Artemis moved to Ellen's side and pointed out that the Ghost-Types were not attacking maliciously, but were simply toying with them.
Realizing that the entire attack was essentially a mean-spirited prank, Ellen called on Chrono to come up with a plan to out-prank their enemies. Putting his mischievous nature to good use, Chrono commanded the rest of Ellen's Pokémon to launch a series of attacks that annoyed the Ghost Pokémon so much that they eventually retreated, lifting the fog and banishing Ellen and her Pokémon from the mountain.
Although Ellen was glad that her Pokémon had all been able to work together to make it out of the situation, she couldn't help but wonder about the questionable morals of their strategy.
The Gardener's ContentEdit
Upon landing at the shore north of Mt. Pyre, Ellen and her Pokémon quickly made their way east, hoping to catch the last ferry out of Lilycove. Along the way, however, Terry found a Tailow that had become wedged between the bars of a metal fence. Ellen and her Pokémon quickly worked to free the Pokémon.
A humble gardener by the name of Arddwyr revealed himself to be the Tailow's trainer. He gratefully thanked Ellen for her help, and offered to make her a warm bowl of soup. Although Ellen was anxious to get to Lilycove, she was also eager to see that the Tailow recovered, and agreed to go with Arddwyr. The gardener showed her to his humble abode on the outskirts of Lilycove. While he prepared the soup, he told Ellen of how his son had been very sickly and died when he was around Ellen's age. His wife had been completely devastated. It took her many years to finally show signs of recovering from her grief, but the nightmares caused by the Ancient Darkrai undid all that. She was so overcome with misery that after the Darkrai were defeated she grew deathly ill and died soon after that. Ellen expressed her condolences to the humble gardener, who responded that although his family had been thoroughly destroyed piece by piece, he had been able to start anew with his foundling Tailow. Arddwyr stressed to Ellen that family is the one thing that matters most.
That night, Ellen debated whether or not to use the Tamato Berry the Berry Lady had given her. After long hours of mental debate, she ultimately decided that she couldn't grow Chrono's trust by going behind his back. Nevertheless, she kept the berry with her in reserve.
The next morning Ellen headed to Lilycove to take a submarine-ferry to Sootopolis. Along the way, she was stopped in her tracks by a wild Absol, who gazed straight at her, as if trying to warn her of something. The encounter disturbed Ellen, even moreso when she realized that no one else seemed to have seen the Disaster Pokémon. No one else, that is, except for Amelia Zann. The mercenary spy explained that people only see what they want to see, and that because they didn't want to see the Absol, they ignored it. Amelia then went on to question Ellen's views on the border between good and evil, instead claiming that there was only a boundary between evil and more evil. Although Ellen stubbornly affirmed the truth of her ideals, Amelia left her with more questions than answers as she boarded the submarine-ferry to Sootopolis.
The Noble's ContemptEdit
Upon arriving in Sootopolis, Ellen visited the home of the Kalos noble the Berry Lady had referred her to; a relatively easy task considering the noble's mansion took up a sizable chunk of the rocky wall surrounding the city. The nobleman, named Rugissement, took a liking to Ellen's determination and insisted on dragging her on a tour of his absurdly expansive (not to mention expensive) mansion. Along the tour, Rugissement lamented how his home had been damaged during the Ancient Darkrai invasion and insurance had refused to pay for repairs.
It wasn't until they had reached the noble's massive library that was purely for show and served no practical use that Ellen finally managed to ask about his cousin, the woman who could read the memories of Pokémon. Rugissement admitted that he had lost touch with his cousin, but said that she had been in Anistar City last he'd heard. Upon hearing that Ellen was going through all this trouble for a disagreeable Purrloin, Rugissement suggested that Ellen simply replace Chrono with another feline Pokémon. Furious at the thought, Ellen stormed out of the mansion.
While eating lunch on one of the city's many cliffs, Ellen thought over what Rugissement had said and realized that Evan had given her Maturin in a similar fashion. The thought troubled her, but Maturin assured her that he bore his old trainer no ill will.
Ellen was still sitting on the cliff when Zach recognized her. Surprised to meet a friend in such an obscure place, Ellen quickly introduced herself to Zach's companions, Olivia, Dahlia, and Aspen Seaton. Ellen quickly saw that although most of them were family, the group did not get along all that well. Aspen seemed insistent that Zach's actions in southeast Unova made him some sort of monster, while Olivia fiercely defended Zach and Dahlia, while siding somewhat with her sister, just wanted the arguing to stop. All the while, Aspen's Lucario, Aria, read Ellen's aura and found her to be not nearly as innocent as her age would have one believe. Eventually Ellen decided to accompany Dahlia and Aspen to their aunt Kiri's house, while Zach trained with Olivia.
After Ellen unintentionally eavesdropped on Zach and Olivia confessing their love to each other, the entire group went out for pizza. However, even a simple meal could not go by without incident. Olivia's Sneasel attempted to steal a slice of pizza from Zach's Lucario, which prompted Chrono to steal the Sneasel's half-eaten slice. Aria noticed and used her aura powers to grab the Purrloin in a mental vice grip. It took many people and Pokémon to break up the rising tensions, and Ellen feared her Pokémon may have just made enemies among their new friends.
The Groudon IncidentEdit
Ellen was awoken early the next morning by an earth-shattering roar. The entire city shook as Groudon burst out of the ground and began wreaking havoc in the city. Ellen, Zach, and the Seatons worked together to try and stop the monstrous Legendary from completely crushing Sootopolis. As they fought, four trainers from Sinnoh flew in to help: Dack Majors, Luke, Madison, and Tower Tycoon Palmer. As the group of trainers fought off the colossus, a Gardevoir, Rapidash, and Noivern appeared to hinder their efforts. Madison's Froslass summoned a hailstorm to try and cut off Groudon's source of sunlight, but soon after the Heatran that Dack had captured used Magma Storm, causing fire to mix with the ice raining down from the sky.
Amidst the chaos, Ellen noticed a scrawny-looking Eevee dart into an old abandoned building whose roof had started to collapse from the ongoing battle. Fearing for the Pokémon's life, Ellen ran in after it. Aspen followed, not wanting Ellen to become trapped in the unstable building as well. They found the Eevee pinned by a fallen support beam. The wild Pokémon swiped Ellen away fearfully, and it was only with Aspen's help that the young girl managed to free the Eevee. By then, the building had caught fire from the Magma Storm. With the stairs blocked by the flames, the two trainers had no choice but to jump out a second-story window. Duo was barely able to catch them with his telekinesis, but Ellen and Aspen still landed hard amidst the city's wreckage.
Meanwhile, the Rapidash, Gardevoir, and Noivern had been defeated, and the gathered trainers and Pokémon managed to deal a finishing blow to Groudon. However, once the Groudon was defeated, it reveal itself to be a Ditto belonging to Hannah Wright, Dack's partner within Team Rocket.
Although Dack caught up to Hannah, she managed to escape, but not before revealing her aim to launch an attack on Celadon City with the army that she had at her disposal now that she was a Rocket Executive.
Armed with the knowledge of Hannah's next target, the group decided to teleport to Celadon in hopes of preparing for the coming battle. Ellen wanted to help, but realized that she had been away from Fortree for a long time, and that Ryan was probably worried about her. Brightening, Ellen said that she would find Ryan and bring him to help the group fighting in Celadon.
AppearanceEditEllen has light auburn hair and brown eyes. She is somewhat small for her age and wears a light-pink shirt and Capri pants.
Ellen is kindhearted and lighthearted and has a childlike innocence. However, because of this she is very naive, yet also curious. She grew up with her Pokémon and is thus extremely close to them. Although she cannot speak to Pokémon, it is not hard for her to understand them, even when she has had very little bonding with them.
Upon learning about the Liberty-Rocket War and witnessing the extreme measures taken by Ford to end the war, Ellen became convinced that there was a more peaceful way to stop the fighting. She is determined to help bring about that peace without resorting to violence like Ford.
"You have potential, little one--the same potential that Ford felt in me when we first met." -- Maddison Hayes, to Ellen
"Why pick the lesser of two evils when you can choose good?" -- Ellen, to her father on the destruction of Castelia
"You have your whole life ahead of you. But never forget the one thing that matters most: your family." -- Arddwyr, to Ellen
- At nine (now ten) years old, Ellen is the youngest Rise of the Rockets character.
- Technically speaking, Jamie Arthur is younger than Ellen, only being five years old. However, as a clone, Jamie has the appearance of being in her twenties.


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Judicial reform – Corruption management – Top down, bottom up, or fashion accessory?March 12, 2015
Many, many years ago when commenting upon one or another government of the day's latest "anti-corruption campaign" and further skip full of unimplemented legislative scripture, crafted in the belief that it was some form of magic that would instantaneously solve the problems without any further effort, it was pointed out that the sacking of the entire judiciary would simply lead to a collapse of the legal system, notwithstanding the removal of a few decent and respected judges along with a barrel full of bad apples.
Moving forward in time to the present, the same problem still presents itself. To simply sack, or lustrate, 60%, 70% or 80% of the current judiciary en masse would collapse the judicial system. Current, pending, and yet to be brought cases would either stop, be further delayed, or face a queue far in excess of timely legal remedy/recourse.
The goal, however, remain the same – as thorough a cleansing of the judicial system as is practicable, and the management of institutional corruption thereafter.
Thus there is a need to approach the cleansing and reform of the judicial system in a thoughtful manner.
Judges Vovk, Kytsyuk. Volkova & Tsarevych have just been suspended from duty for 2 mths by High Qualifications Commission of Judges #Ukraine
— Nikolai Holmov (@OdessaBlogger) March 10, 2015
As the above tweet states, two days ago four Kyiv judges were suspended for 2 months whilst they are investigated for allegations that at the very least would be perverting the course of justice, and at worst complicity in actual crimes.
The judicial suspensions occurring only after the Rada had voted to remove their immunity – lest we forget Rada MPs, judges and the President still enjoy immunity (and impunity) through constitutionally granted inviolability. There is, however, a question to be asked as to why the High Qualification of Judges were not the driver behind asking parliament to vote to remove these judges immunity, rather than the other way around. An attempt at self-cleansing would project a far better perception, considering the political control that still exists over the judiciary.
The recent Rada vote to remove the inviolability of MPs and judges currently sits with the Constitutional Court, awaiting its nod of approval – and that nod is not likely to be swift until a clear legal procedure to impeach a president is also submitted, thus balancing the removal of inviolability of the executive powers.
Regardless, these judges are now under investigation – very good – but it's also disappointing that it happened in Kyiv, and not somewhere in the provinces prior to confronting these particular individuals in the capital. Once again, just as with the "new police force", everything is perceived as being Kyiv-centric. Not the best of perceptions to project, particularly when "lustration" such as it has been within the provinces, has consisted of little more than the quiet, early retirement of aging "low-hanging fruit" and a thinning out of the rank and file.
There is a real requirement for the "reformers" the get out of Kyiv and demonstrate change in the provinces, as clearly the provincial patriarchal structures and fiefdoms are going to need "assistance" to change their ways beyond the pressure local civil society and media can bring. Big regional scalps are required.
Anyway, society and the reform-minded are faced with the prospect of a somewhat slower cleansing of the judiciary than was hoped for – and indeed inferred by the current coalition government. The wrongly projected impression of a steamrollering over corruption, is now clearly seen as having far less steam than the political class portrayed (again) – even though there still appears to be some momentum (in Kyiv, if not so much in the provinces).
Not all the Ukrainian judiciary is corrupt of course – despite myths to the contrary. However, questions arise as to how best utilise the 20% – 30% of decent and ethical judges within the Ukrainian judicial system vis a vis those that will (eventually) be rightfully lustrated – as well as those that will (wrongly) manage to make it through the lustration process and survive in post – particularly so if the "inviolability" issue stalls, or indeed fails to become reality.
How best to employ this scarce ethical resource from a "top down" management perspective, that will optimise the benefits to the Ukrainian constituency?
Naturally great care should initially be taken in the replacement of those judges eventually lustrated, insuring not only that the replacements are ethically robust and appointed purely on merit/ability, but also monitored once appointed to insure the corrosiveness of corruption does not erode their sense of professionalism.
A role perhaps for those 20% – 30% of judges who are indeed decent in a mentoring/self-policing?
Should those of society subjected to the judicial process be allowed to nominate the judges that hear their case, thus a natural gravity toward the 20% – 30% of judges that will provide a "fair hearing", and a subsequent societal shunning of the corrupt judges that slip through any lustration as a result?
How would that effect the timeliness of justice being served if all cases gravitated toward those judges seen as "fair"? How does a newly appointed "fair" judge earn that reputation if all cases gravitate to the "tried and tested, fair" judiciary? Why continue to employ or pay judges that society shuns by choice?
Would it not also mean the nefarious gravitating toward the corrupt judges too?
Would it therefore be wiser to stuff the regional Courts of Appeal with the judges that have a good reputation for being ethical and fair, thus ultimately allowing for due process and unbiased/uncorrupted rulings as a result of numerous appeals? Are the 20% – 30% of ethical judges, better employed undoing the wrongful and corrupt rulings of the rest?
How does that deter the corruption in the first place if there is an undue reliance on the Court of Appeal? Should it therefore be a procedural norm that any regional Appeal Court ruling that overturns that of an original ruling automatically triggers an investigation by the High Qualification of Judges and/or the Prosecutors Office to ascertain any corrupt practice, or simply whether there is a difference of legal interpretation that led to the overturning of original verdicts?
Alternatively, should these 20% – 30% of ethical judges be employed in specially created "corruption courts"?
Another question worthy of asking, is whether there are an equal amount of prosecutions for offering a bribe, that equates to those prosecutions within the institutions of State for those that accept them? It is a s much a crime to offer/attempt to bribe an official in Ukraine as it is for an official to accept a bribe. Therefore, for every corrupt official busted for accepting a bribe, it follows there should also be prosecutions against those that offered/paid it.
Would there be a noticeable decrease in the bribery of officials if both briber and the bribed faced prison sentences, large fines, and the confiscation of the bribe itself? Perhaps, perhaps not – but until both sides of any bribery transaction consistently face prosecution, we will never know. As this case from two days ago displays – the official has been caught accepting a bride and will be prosecuted – the briber is simply not mentioned at all. Why?
As prevention is as important as prosecution when it comes to any crime – and bribery and corruption is no exception – it is perhaps also necessary to robustly educate society regarding its basic rights and responsibilities – insuring society is also aware of the consequences of offering a bribe, how to report one if coerced, how to say "no" (and there are ways of saying "no" without having to say "no"), and for those within the system, a confidential whistleblower mechanism – if necessary to an external and independent body.
In short, as part of an anti-corruption policy, should society not be bombarded with anti-corruption education in the same way that it is for about carrying and using condoms to fight sexually transmitted diseases?
Also, as it is patriotic fashion to have the Ukrainian flag displayed in car windows, or to have a blue and yellow ribbon adorning ladies handbags (at least it is in Odessa), then perhaps one of the urban centers in Ukraine will launch another visible campaign that will become a meme nationwide – a different coloured ribbon, wristband, lapel badge etc., that overtly proclaims the conscious decision to neither pay, offer or accept a bribe, and report any such incident if it is forced or offered.
Such an overt display may well make many current practitioners within the State institutions think twice before trying to solicit a bribe – particularly so if the meme is perceived to bring about numerous prosecutions nationwide.
Likewise those who habitually offer bribes may curtail that activity should their peers start to be prosecuted when approaching government employees wearing anti-corruption fashion accessories.
Whatever the case, and there are numerous methods of prevention to consider, somewhere in the mix of prevention, education and prosecution is the answer to a definite reduction in bribery, coercion and corruption – not only amongst the judiciary but across the entirety of the State institutions. It is an issue of corruption reduction and management – eradication will never happen.
Continually writing more laws will not magically cleanse the judiciary in and of itself, any more than it will any other State institution. Lustration, even if attempted in a meaningful way (which remains to be seen over and above the low hanging judicial fruit), will not be entirely effective either.
Whilst the "top-down" anti-corruption policy may be partially effective (or not), the "bottom-up" can overload the system by insisting upon being issued protocols rather than paying bribes – and then challenging them in front of the 20% – 30% of ethical and fair judiciary eventually – if the said protocols are not statute barred due to the untimeliness of an overloaded system anyway.
The question is where it is strategically best to put the decent and ethical judges that exist in sufficient depth that they can effectively assist in curbing corruption within and without of their own ranks, whilst educating the Ukrainian constituency in its basic rights and responsibilities – and also making it the fashionable meme to say – or wear – "No".

subset: commoncrawl


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Emotional Processing and Memory Evaluation in Epilepsy Patients
Epilepsy is a relatively common neurological disorder diagnosed when individuals suffer from repeated unprovoked seizures. Estimates of prevalence rates vary, but it is generally considered to be about 1% of the U.S. population. Of the patients diagnosed with epilepsy, about 60-70 percent are diagnosed with complex-partial seizures, and of these …


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Focus Gallery: Fragments of Everyday Life—Dennis Crayon Solo Show
Dates: June 1 – 27, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 5-8pm
Arlington, VA – In June, the Focus Gallery features a solo show of contemporary realism works in oil by artist Dennis Crayon entitled "Fragments of Everyday Life." Addressing the theme of this month's show, the artist says, "I paint fragments that look both fresh and new, and also show some ravages of time and place. I do this by combining contemporary composition with classical painting techniques and trompe l'oeil, which surprises viewers with what's real and not real."
Crayon also notes "I like to paint fragments. I can trace it as far back as when I went college. But it really took hold in 2009 when I was able to go to Pompeii for six weeks as part of a college archeological dig. I was there purely as an artist who wanted to see the ruins first hand."
The Arlington Artists Alliance Gallery
Crystal City Shops @ 2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202
PR Contact:
Kat Jamieson, Marketing Chair
Arlington Artists Alliance
A Nonprofit Organization Serving and Supporting Arts and Artists in Arlington County
Elisabeth Hudgins, President
The Arlington Artists Alliance is supported in part by the Arlington Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Commission for the Arts and in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, Gallery Underground and Studios Underground are supported by Vornado/Charles E. Smith and Crystal City Business Improvement District (CCBID). For more information about the Arlington Artists Alliance members, exhibits, and programs, visit www.arlingtonartistsalliance.org


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Hi there, long time no see… It's been well over seven months since I last wrote a blog post, which has been niggling away at the guilty corners of my brain. I doubt this has been any cause for concern for anyone other than myself (I won't entertain any notions of a devoted readership), but going AWOL for this amount of time probably deserves some sort of explanation.
- I got a new job. And not just any job – THE job! In December I started as a PA at what is termed as the World's Biggest Selling Fashion Magazine (I'll leave you to Google that yourself). All jokes about similarities to The Devil Wears Prada aside, my new role is demanding, entertaining, exciting and tiring, which hasn't left much energy for the whole writing thing.
- I lost my motivation. It's no secret that many blogs are started in the hopes of turning a hobby into a career, and I won't hesitate to admit that such a thing has been a long-held dream of mine. Moving into the publishing industry, and especially into a company that is so well-known, gave me a certain degree of complacency and therefore a lack of motivation to write for myself.
- A lack of inspiration. Over the last couple of years, my blog has definitely been more focused on the trials and tribulations of dating. Just before Christmas, I got dumped and took several months to get over it, which resulted in a lack of interest in dating and therefore a lack of writing material. Plus, I was probably getting a little too 'all men are bastards let's just mock them' – hardly a positive outlook on future relationships! I'm happy to report that I'm now back in the dating game, so watch this space…
- A lack of energy. So far, 2015 has been BUSY! Off the back of the aforementioned break-up, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to 'be more dog', aka say yes to doing more, go out more, see more, be more active. Which has resulted in hectic weekends, busy week nights, a lot more time spent in the gym, and a general motivation to spend less time sitting alone in the house. The downside to this has been that the rare times I have had a few hours at home, I've wanted to sleep, eat, shower and watch Netflix, which isn't exactly conducive to attempting witty blog posts each week.
So there you are, mea culpa. Time for me to buck up my ideas, ingest more caffeine and get the writing juices flowing again. See you soon!
Charlotte x


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Scalable Taxonomies
In working on enterprise taxonomy projects, the issue of scale always comes up. "Scale" is a word that gets tossed around a lot but what does it really mean for taxonomies? How can taxonomies scale? What do organizations need to think about when considering requirements for taxonomy scale? We've found that the best way to […] Read more »


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As Brits, we are a nation of chocolate lovers, with chocolate being eaten, drunk, used in beauty products and even worshipped across the country! While anthropologists have dated the earliest use of cacao to Olmec and Mayan civilisations in 1000 BC, chocolate is very much an indulgence that is stamped in the future of UK production.
Having recently enjoyed great success in the chocolate export market, the UK boasts some top, innovative brands, with up-and-coming companies such as Duffy Sheardown, Cocoa Runners and The Academy of Chocolate bringing the humble chocolate bar into the 21st century.
The top five countries purchasing UK chocolate are Ireland, The Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland, with big brands capitalising on the opportunities Brexit provides.
Tips for your sweet export success
Nestlé, one of the UK's largest confectionery producers, is a wonderful example of a great export strategy, having seen a huge rise in export figures over the past year. Currently, 17% of stock from their York facility is exported overseas, with the brains behind KitKat and Aero having enjoyed a £50m investment over the past five years.
Understanding the need for a tailored, holistic strategy, Nestlé work with multiple websites, PR messages and marketing styles, giving each country bespoke attention. By doing so, Nestlé exist as a staple brand across the globe, encouraging competitors to follow suit.
The following three tips have been used as a catalyst for export success by some of the biggest players in the confectionery industry, but they can be adapted to suit any company exporting their goods and services overseas.
Research the target market:
Taking time to delve into the culture of the country you are looking to export to is a must. By defining ways in which your product can complement their market, you will ensure the best chance of market success. From size and pricing to packaging and promotions, it is essential that you put your target market first.
Localising marketing and PR material:
By localising marketing material and having the presence of a native point of contact in the target market, your content is not only engaging a wider audience, but it shows consumers that your brand speaks to them on a cultural level. By encouraging brand awareness in different countries, such an approach will be sure to expand your products' reach.
Translating websites and social media content:
The food and drink industry has shifted dramatically over the course of the past decade, having to incorporate sophisticated technology into their online presence. And with so much brand exposure coming via the internet and social media, confectionery companies are investing in the translation of their content when exporting overseas, tailoring their websites and social pages to defined target audiences.
Brexit and the future of British chocolate exports
Though in a time where the conditions of international trade are uncertain, chocolate exports have soared, having grown substantially in Q3 of last year as a result of the weakening of the Pound.
Food and Drink Federation (FDF) says:
'Growth is likely due to the strong reputation of UK food and drink manufacturers abroad, promotional efforts by Great British Food Unit and Food and Drink Export Association, and growing competitiveness oversees as a result of the falling of the pound'.
Following an FDF survey, 70% of those asked thought confectionery export would not be affected by the Leave vote, with many brands and governing bodies excited to see what the future holds for the confectionery market.
If you require assistance with your sweet export strategy, be sure that we at Wolfestone can help. With a long list of professional translation services at hand, we can help plan the export of your product, giving it the best chance of international consumer adoption.


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Wow! I can't believe 2010 is already coming to an end! This year has been pretty eventful for our family and since I didn't send out a Christmas card this year I figured I would sum up our year on the blog.
We welcomed Levi into our family on June 2nd of 2010. He has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He is almost 7 months old and he is slowly discovering how to sit up and move around.
Ella turned 2 in June. She is our curious, adventurous child. She is as sassy as ever and one of the happiest children you will ever meet! She tries very hard to keep up with her older siblings, and does a good job holding her own. We just love her!
Tori turned 3 in May. She started Preschool in September. Over the past year she has changed so much. She is so smart and she has a wonderful imagination.
Landon turned 5 in January. He started Kindergarten in August and he LOVES school! He has adjusted beautifully to all day Kindergarten and is doing well, he even earned an award in November for reading. He continues to be a great big brother and son.
Jared started his 4th year of grad school this past August. He is doing well and getting closer to finishing. He is still a Seminary teacher and started his second year of teaching in August. He loves working with the youth but isn't so in love with the early hours.
This year has been a great one for me (even though I spent the first half of the year pregnant). It is crazy for me to watch my kids grow up and to experience the changes in our family that come with our kids getting older. I have been busier then ever since Landon started school. I try to help out in his class twice a week and I am part of the school's (very small) parent organization.
We look forward to the new year and everything it brings, and we wish you all a happy New Year too!


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Oklahoma Teacher Shortage
Posted by
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - More than 800 emergency teaching certificates have been issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Education in an effort to address the state's teacher shortage.
On Thursday, the State Board of Education approved 157 additional certificates allowing applicants who haven't completed basic higher education and training requirements to immediately enter the classroom. The board approved 685 emergency certificates in July and August, bringing the new total for the year to 842 certificates.
The Tulsa World reports that the agency also announced Thursday that it's launching a 60-member Teacher Shortage Task Force to study and recommend potential solutions to the statewide problem.
The shortage is sparking a debate over teacher pay levels in Oklahoma.
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
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EZJ official review of Cheech & Chong Rolling Papers
Posted by Smokey Joe on
EZJ official review of Cheech & Chong Rolling Papers
There is 4 Sku in the line up the paper is thin and translucent. The four packs tested were KS & 1 1/4 Bleached and KS & 1 1/4 Hemp. I found the paper rolls very well on the tool and the glue at the ends was fresh and not curled up. We had a little more problems with runs than what we feel a top end paper should allow. The biggest reviewer issue was the bleached paper really overpowered the taste of the medicine, instead of inhaling flowers it was a mix of fumes...not a fun paper at all. The Hemp paper version was comparable to Raw quality and it's nice that you get 50 sheets in the pack.
This is a mid level paper really at best. They seem have put as much attention to its website www.cheechandchongpapers.com as it did in finding the best quality paper to source all this branding on. With so many other premium quality papers on the market the bleached are not worth it given the high price of herb. I would go with the Hemp as they are a good as a Raw and you get 50 per pack.
Cheech & Chong Rolling Papers 3 stars on the Hemp
2 stars on the Bleached paper..
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- Tags: ***, Paper review, Three stars


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Mistakes Made When Dividing Marital Assets
Dividing marital assets during divorce can be one of the most challenging and convoluted aspects of your divorce. It isn't as simple as "I want the car, you keep the house." Few people take into consideration the cash value of an "asset" and in the end, end up with a liability instead of something of value.
For example:
Carrie and Ed are getting a divorce, they are both age 54. They have two assets to divide, a money market account valued at $120,000 and a 401K valued at $120,000. Carrie has been out of the work force for a few decades and is interested in the 401K fund believing that it will mean more security at the time of her retirement.
Their divorce is finalized, Carrie gets the 401K and Ed gets the money market account. Eighteen months later Carrie decides she wants to buy a home. Carrie plans to use money from the 401K as a down payment on her new home.
The problem? There is a penalty for early withdrawal from the retirement plan. Any withdrawal she makes will impact the principal Carrie was counting on at age of retirement.
Ed and Carried walked away from the marriage with assets that were valued the same BUT the money from Ed's asset can be used without penalty or loss of principal. Meaning his asset, in the long run was more valuable than the asset Carrie chose.
Something Carrie and her attorney should have taken into consideration when splitting marital assets such as money market accounts and retirement funds.
More Articles:
The Financial Impact of Divorce: There is More to it Than Splitting Assets
Assistance for Low Income Single Moms
Will Your Career Survive After Divorce


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The best thing about children is their innate innocence. They see the world very differently. Everything is extraordinary adventure. Every experience is magical. Every day is an exciting journey. The world is pure because they are pure.
A couple years ago, I met an American girl at the Keio Plaza in Tokyo. Her face is now a blur and her name forgotten but over the years her passionate account of when she visited the Theater 360 at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo always remained with me.
She said that when the walked on the glass bridge and saw the evolution of life, she just stood there and cried because it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. The happiness that pulsated through her body was transcending. I skeptically listened and told myself that she probably has a degree in theater with a major in drama. I dismissed her yet somehow her vivid tale was tucked away deep in my memory perhaps because I secretly hoped that it was true.
This weekend almost two years after we accidentally met I finally decided to visit the Theater 360. It was a beautiful spring Sunday in Ueno. The air crisp and the sky was painted a magnificent blue. I entered the automated glass doors, paid 600円 ($7US) and then proceeded to the queue of people waiting to enter the Theater 360. I perused the crowd, made up of parents and eager children, young couples and grandparents patiently holding their grandchildren's hands and then myself, the cynic.
The usher made an announcement, silencing the room, and then I cautiously entered the glass bridge, scanned the now blank beige room that in an instant it turned a blinding black. Then it began.
The 360 Theater came to life. In that very moment, I knew she was right.
For the first time my life, an elusive dream has somehow come true. I was flying. I was truly flying, over a tropical forest smiling at the world below, floating over an African safari, swimming freely into the depths of the open sea, reveling in its breathtaking beauty. I was Peter Pan, the lost boy in Never Never Land. My skin no longer had wrinkles, I had no worries, the weight of the world was lifted off my feeble shoulders. I was once again that bright-eyed, inquisitive five year old who saw the world full of possibilities.
My eyes welled with tears as I smiled the sincerest smile I had ever smiled. I was overwhelmed with an unexplainable type of happiness. I quickly glimpsed the little boy next to me who was tightly holding his fathers hands, shocked at what he was seeing. The couple in front occasionally kissed each other and I realised that everyone of us in this room had not a single thought except the unbelievable happiness that enveloped us.
In those fifteen minutes I felt as if I had finally found the utopia I had been searching for since my birth. It was the happiness of a first kiss, the euphoria of a first child, the unparalleled of happiness of the sincerest "I love you."
It ended too quickly. The room morphed back into its original beige state. As I was about to leave, I turned back, looked at the now empty room and smiled, thankful that I had experienced the most amazing thing ever.
Jenson recommends: Visit the National Museum of Nature and Science, and remember that buried deep within all of us is an innocent child who always sees the world full of limitless possibilities.
– Jenson


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Legends take time
Become part of Lagavulin's two hundred year story.
The biggest
Become part of Lagavulin's two hundred year story.
This is an intense, roaring bonfire of a malt. Like a driftwood fire at dusk, their wood-smoke envelopes you, banishing the wet and the cold with maritime notes, salt and an unexpected delicacy reminiscent of lapsang souchong. Not for nothing is this regarded as the definitive Islay, and for many, the definitive Single Malt Scotch Whisky.Discover the Flavour Map
From the rugged Hebridean isles
Miles and miles of peat bog in the west of the island provide the raw material which imbues the barley with that distinct smoky flavour. Not to mention the rich peaty water that runs down the brown burn from the Solan Lochs and into the distillery. In case you haven't figured it out, the smoky, peated Lagavulin is seen as the ultimate expression of this region.


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| 19.4°C Dublin
THE Government has promised that 2013 will be the "year of recovery", as Ireland's six-month EU presidency gets under way.
At a ceremony to mark the start of the Irish EU presidency, Taoiseach Enda Kenny vowed that the Irish EU presidency
would bring "new hope" to people in the midst of the economic crisis.
"We all know too well here in Ireland the huge sacrifices the crisis has meant.
"The people of Europe and Ireland need to know and need to see there is progress being made. That there is a next step to recovery," he said.
The Government is promis-
ing to push strongly for a deal on Ireland's €64bn bank debt during the six-month EU presidency, while also being careful to ensure that progress is made on other vital EU issues such as setting up a banking union. It will also look for a deal on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
There are high expectations at EU level for the Irish presi-
dency, given that it is the seventh time the country has performed the role.
But the budget for the presidency is due to be at least €33m less than the €110m extravaganza in 2004, which saw meetings held in five-star hotels such as Dromoland Castle in Clare and Ashford Castle in Mayo.
As part of the opening ceremony, Mr Kenny reviewed the
Defence Forces Guard of Honour and the Defence Forces Band played Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' – the EU's anthem.
He also watched as school children released some of the 40 blue balloons they had been given to mark the 40th anniversary of Ireland joining the then European Economic Community.
The organisers had provided extra long string to allow children to hold on to the biodegradable balloons after receiving complaints from environmental groups about discarded balloons posing a threat to animals and sea creatures.
But some of the children were so excited that they let their balloons float off into the sky anyway.
Dublin Castle was, of course, where Michael Collins arrived by taxi in 1922 for the handover of power by the British authorities to the new Irish Free State. In the same location, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore vowed that the State would regain its sovereignty from the troika during "the year of recovery" in 2013.
"As we become the first country in the eurozone to exit the EU/IMF programme, Ireland can and will be a success story for Europe again," he said.
Mr Gilmore would not be drawn into whether he felt German Chancellor Angela Merkel was negative in predicting that the eurozone crisis was "far from over".
"We have a very full agenda on pressing ahead with digital single market and trade agreements that have to be negotiated. All of that is about getting the European economy to grow," he said.
While Mr Gilmore sensibly had a warm coat for the ceremony, Mr Kenny opted to manage without one in the biting cold yesterday. So, too, did the brave schoolgirls in the award-winning Methodist School choir
who travelled down from Belfast to sing 'An Irish Blessing' during the ceremony.
Much more suitably attired for the weather was Junior Minister Lucinda Creighton, who was wearing one of the 8,000 official Irish EU presidency scarves that will be given to delegates. They have been manufactured by a small Clarebased company, Aine knitwear, which has been able to increase its workforce from three people to four due to the state contract.
Ms Creighton said it would be a very cost-effective presidency because almost all the events would take place in state-owned venues in Dublin.
"It's an investment in Ireland's reputation, it's an investment in trying to pursue an agenda at EU level that matters very much to Ireland and to Irish people," she said.
The simple but effective flagraising ceremony in Dublin Castle was not a crowd-puller, however. Politicians and dignitaries almost outnumbered the 100 or so members of the public who turned up.
Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty afterwards accused Mr Kenny of failing to point out that the economy was stagnant and that young people were leaving in droves to find work abroad.
"His fine words about hope, possibility and confidence ring hollow when we remember that last year he spoke about stability and progress and we have seen neither," he said.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy – January 9
This will be Mr Van Rompuy's first visit here during the Irish EU presidency.
EU Commissioners – January 10
Every European Commissioner will be arriving in Dublin, including European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers – January 17-18
Justice Minister Alan Shatter will be among the EU justice ministers discussing plans to have our Criminal Assets Bureau working with similar agencies in other EU countries to stop criminals hiding assets abroad.
Ecofin – April 12-13
Finance Minister Michael Noonan will attend a meeting of his fellow EU finance ministers – with the banking union and a bank debt deal all expected to be on the table.
EU-US informal meeting April 17-18
There are hopes of reviving the talks on an EU-US trade deal. It could boost gross national product by up to 2pc on both sides of the Atlantic if agreed.
Digital Agenda Assembly – June 19-20
Experts and professionals from the digital world will converge on Dublin.


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Recent Posts
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Don't Buy W2P in a Bundle!
More money is made on W2P by iron hawkers (and the consultants they bring in) from naive PSPs than one might think. The art of bundling services such as W2P to accentuate and thus increase profits of the overall deal … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged bundle, bundles, conventional print, digital press, glad handers, HP Indigo, IGEN, inline coater, integration, iron, iron hawkers, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nexpress, portal, price and turn, print service provider, process, PSP, salesperson, substrate, W2P, web to print Leave a comment


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Hoyt, Charles H(ale)
- Gerald Bordman
(b Concord, NH, July 26, 1860; d New York, NY, Nov 20, 1900). American librettist, lyricist, and producer. He studied law and worked on a western cattle ranch before becoming a writer for the Boston Post. He then began to write plays, achieving success with A Bunch of Keys (1883) and A Rag Baby (1884), the latter of which was produced by Tony Pastor. Both works were farce-comedies. Though in Hoyt's hands these rather simplistically conceived shows, with their thin plots and their reliance on existing musical material, were transformed into recognizable musical comedies; he wrote full-length librettos and assigned a single composer to write a basic score (though still allowed for the traditional practice of interpolating of songs). He also preferred to write on American subjects. In collaboration with such composers as Edward Solomon, Percy Gaunt, and Richard Stahl, Hoyt produced a series of popular shows which included ...


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Love Thy Neighbor
Dear Bianca's Kids,
I am making a Christmas wish for my deserving neighbor. My neighbor/friend is always doing her best to deal with a horrific situation. She has had to endure the antics of an abusive husband/father for far too long and has finally been able to set herself free of him. I am so happy and proud of my friend. She would never ask for help but I have had to feed her children on more than one occasion and it breaks my heart. There is no planned Christmas for her two beautiful children as they can barely eat these days. Needless to say she is not receiving any child support from her husband. My wish is for a gift card to Shoprite to fill her fridge for Thanksgiving for her and her children and to hopefully, get a couple gifts for these traumatized kids. This would not only begin to heal my friends heart but will remind her that although she has been surrounded by hate for so many years, there is still so much to look forward to in this world.
Thank you,
MLT (name redacted by Bianca's Kids to provide confidentiality)
MLT, like they say "it takes a village" and you are part of the village that is caring for this family. Thank you for Loving Thy Neighbor. Your wish is granted! This family received a $100 ShopRite gift card to pack their fridge for Thanksgiving along with a $200 Wal-Mart gift card to help mom shop for her children.
Leave a Reply.
August 2020


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MO BarThe Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, The Landmark 15 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong
MO SOUND-BITES Presents Gui Boratto
Hong Kong, 24 November 2017 – The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong announces its fourth series of MO SOUND-BITES electronic music event to be hosted MO Bar on Friday 8 December 2017, presenting Gui Boratto, from Brazil, a titan of tech-house and minimal techno.
Gui Boratto, an electronic music producer, is the talent behind some of the genres' finest albums in recent memory. From Chromophobia and Take My Breath Away to III and The K2 Chapter, all released on the revered Cologne-based label Kompakt. Gui Boratto is consistently one of the most interesting electronic music producers. On stage, Gui uses a laptop equipped with Ableton Live, a JazzMutant Lemur, a monome and an Akai APC40.
Now, with four full-length albums under his belt, guests attending the event can expect remixes and productions for Massive Attack, Bomb The Bass, Pet Shop Boys, Goldfrapp, Moby, amongst others, Gui Boratto is launching his own music label: D.O.C., distributed by Gui's mother label Kompakt, a platform which intends to put out timeless music. Most recently, his remix work is showcased in London Grammar release of new single 'Big Picture'.
The exciting evening will be supported by SCHARRE/KOMPAKT, Tokyo, and small&TALL soundsystem, who will weave together tracks, loops and effects to create a unique, hypnotic, multilayered, deep and groove-based house-meets-techno sound.
MO SOUND-BITES electronic music series is another music concept pioneered by The Landmark Mandarin Oriental kicked off in March 2017 where Autograf from Chicago was invited. The second MO Sound-Bites saw Com Truise from New York while the third one with Alex Metric took place last Friday 10 November. On its fourth series of the year, MO Sound-Bites presents Gui Boratto on 8 December 2017. Doors open at 9pm. Early bird Tickets on sale now at Ticketflap at HKD275 per person. Regular tickets at HKD300 per person. Tables for four are available on limited basis at HKD2,500 including four tickets. Listen at www.mosoundbites.com. For enquiries please contact MO Bar at +852 2132 0077 or email@example.com
About Gui Boratto
Born in 1974 in São Paulo Brazil, Gui Boratto, architect, musician, composer and producer initiated his career in the advertising sector in 1993. From 1994 until 2004 he performed various works for countless record labels both national and international, such as EMI, Virgin, Irma, BMG, Edel, Vidisco, ZYX, among others.
It was 10 years of honest and competent work for consecrated artists such as Pato Banton, Garth Brooks, Steel Pulse, Desiree, Mano Chao, Gal Costa, Chico Buarque, Fernanda Porto, Kaleidoscópio, Leila Pinheiro, and many others.
Gui Boratto is A&R and one of the owners, with his partner and brother Tchorta, of the Brazilian independent label, Megamusic, distributed by Trama.
From 2005 he began to dedicate himself to his own productions and compositions, displaying to the public an authoral and more personalized side to his abilities. With countless licenses with respected European labels, such as Plastic City, Circle, Kompakt, Audiomatique, among others, Gui Boratto has managed to appear in the chart and playlists of people like Michael Mayer, Tiefschwarz, Steve Bug, Phonique, Martin Landsky, Hernan Cattaneo, among others.
About Us and Our Partners
Jason Swamy
Jason has over 18 years of entrepreneurial experience in the electronic music space, during which he has worn many hats: DJ, promoter, talent buyer, booker, booking agent, club owner, curator, festival producer and creative director. Founder of marketing agency, Do What You Love, he has influenced the electronic music world in both America and Asia. Jason is best known for his role as co-founder and creative director of Further Future, a technology lifestyle driven festival, and Wonderfruit, Asia's first family-friendly sustainable lifestyle festival, and was responsible for bringing Ultra Music Festival to Macau/Hong Kong and Manila.
Visual System
Visual System (VS) is a collective of artists from various disciplines (image, sound, plastic arts, programming, design, architecture), created in 2007. Positioned at the frontiers of art and design, they draw their creative inspirations from cinema and architecture. Their world-renowned sound and light projects are guided by a vision of the media in the city of tomorrow. By playing with new technologies, VS uses light and sound as a spatial and spectral tool.
KEF was founded in 1961 by ex-BBC electrical engineers, Raymond Cooke OBE (1925 - 1995). Keen to experiment with new materials and technologies, he created sound equipment with superior acoustic quality able to reproduce recordings as natural as the original performance. From the very beginning, the pioneering inventiveness of KEF was undeniable, and audiophiles around the world continue to revere the company for its innovative, high-performance loudspeakers.
Don Julio 1942®Tequila
Celebrated in exclusive cocktail bars, restaurants and nightclubs, the iconic Don Julio 1942®Tequila is the choice of connoisseurs around the globe. Produced in small batches and aged for a minimum of two and a half years, Don Julio 1942® Tequila is handcrafted in tribute to the year that Don Julio González began his tequila-making journey.
Dom Pérignon
Dom Pérignon's commitment to vintages is absolute. Each bottle of Dom Pérignon is a true act of creation, made from only the best grapes. The champagne's intensity is based on precision, so inviting, so mysterious. Each Vintage has three Plénitudes, and embodies a complete faith in the Power of Creation that Chef de Cave, Richard Geoffroy, has never failed to renew. Coupled with a bold sense of playfulness, Dom Pérignon inspires the greatest creators in the world.
About The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
Intimate, contemporary and ideally placed in the vortex of Hong Kong's financial and luxury shopping districts, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong sets the standard for personal service and stylish sophistication. State-of-the-art technology compliments alluring interiors in spacious rooms and suites, each one a tranquil retreat for business and leisure travellers. Chef Richard Ekkebus helms the kitchen at two Michelin-starred Amber restaurant and world renowned musical talents play in the unparalleled exclusivity of MO Bar, equally popular on weekends for its indulgent weekend brunch. Escape Hong Kong's urban bustle at The Oriental Spa with rejuvenating Yoga and Pilates plus the pure pleasures of exclusive facials, body treatments and award winning Signature Treatments. For more information and reservations visit www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark.
About Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world's most luxurious hotels, resorts and residences. Having grown from its Asian roots into a global brand, the Group now operates 29 hotels and eight residences in 19 countries and territories, with each property reflecting the Group's oriental heritage and unique sense of place. Mandarin Oriental has a strong pipeline of hotels and residences under development, with the next hotel opening planned in Doha. Mandarin Oriental is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.
For further information, please contact:
The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
Gladis Young (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Director of Communications
Tel: +852 2132 0082
Carolyn Lee (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Assistant Communications Manager
Tel: +852 2132 0086


text: The first piece in my Wizards series "SAGE" is complete! This particular illustration was definitely one of those incredibly stubborn pieces that just refused to be finished. Multiple times throughout the latter half of the painting, I was ready to simply quit the thing and gloss over areas I knew needed more attention than they had received. I realized that the only way this character's persona of mad obsession would communicate itself was through the surrounding elements. The objects around him actually ended up being a much greater challenge than his portrait as there was a multitude of textures, surfaces and patterns present, all of which needed to be made convincing. The open book full of mystic runes was actually quite enjoyable to depict as I pretty much created the characters as I went along and they came out much more archaic than I expected. I've created a postcard of this image as well- my version of a Christmas card- so look out for this fella, he might just end up lurking in your mailbox!


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Sitting in my dentist's chair this morning, I heard the new ad campaign from "SaveOurEnvironment.org, A National Coalition for the Environment," a.k.a. the big mainstream green lobbying groups.
In standard political marketing procedure, the ad, titled "Get Working with Clean Energy," failed to disclose who its sponsors were.
Much worse, however, is that, if you happen to know the first thing about reality, the ad signals the death-by-suicide of mainstream environmental politics:
Clean energy sources not only provide real solutions to today's energy mess, they also are essential to solving global warming and will create millions of jobs. Reducing global warming emissions from today's energy industry will require a substantial shift in investments from the polluting, insecure energy sources of the past to the clean, sustainable energy sources of the 21st Century. That investment not only holds the potential for reduced energy costs and will reduce global warming emissions, but it will spur huge growth in green jobs—making the new cars we need, insulating homes, building a smart power grid and new power sources like wind turbines, and producing clean fuels from America's heartland.
Fortunately, many of the technologies we need to transition into our clean energy future already exist, and deploying them can build a stronger economy. In fact, achieving a clean energy economy through green solutions and industries such as wind power, solar power, building retrofitting, mass transit, fuel-efficient automobiles, and cellulosic biomass fuels will create high demand for jobs, in addition to those that already exist.
This is a huge shitpot of lies and extremely wishful thoughts. What clean fuels of the 21st century? What cellulosic biofuels? What fuel-efficient automobiles?
"Clean fuels" do not exist on anything like a scale and a geothermal efficiency level sufficient to replace even a fraction of the petroleum, natural gas, and coal we now use.
Cellulosic biofuels remain an early and expensive laboratory experiment, and are commercially unavailable.
Driving cars — i.e. 2,000+ pounds of highly processed metals and plastics — as the primary means of getting around town is like slicing bread with a chainsaw. "Fuel-efficient automobiles" is an oxymoron.
Growing corn to make moonshine to replace gasoline is as hopeless as it is recklessly wasteful of Earth's remaining supplies of water and agricultural land.
Nonetheless, here's come the corporate greens, peddling this disgusting, sad, predictable raft of fictions.
Conclusion? Goodbye to the sponsors:
Environment America
Environmental Defense Fund
League of Conservation Voters
National Audubon Society
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Pew Environment Group
Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists
You are now unequivocally part of the problem.


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Almost any retiree would love to have an extra $200 in his pocket each month. Although financial planners have almost always recommended that homeowners make an effort to be debt-free by the time they reach retirement, it's not always an achievable goal. When you know you'll have to drag your mortgage with you as you retire, securing a lower monthly payment can make a big difference in helping you make ends meet on a fixed income. Refinance your mortgage now to lock in a lower monthly payment for the duration of your mortgage.
Pull each of your credit reports and check them for errors, such as accounts that don't belong to you or indications of late payments when you know you paid on time. If you find any, follow the instructions on the credit report to dispute each error before proceeding with your refinance. Having a high credit score is one of the keys to getting a low interest rate that will help decrease your payment.
Gather interest rate and closing cost quotes on refinances from several lenders, including your current lender. You may get lower closing costs by sticking with your current lender, so take this into consideration as you compare rates and total costs.
Get monthly payment quotes on mortgages of several lengths and compare these to decide what length of mortgage to get. Keep in mind that a longer repayment term means you'll have to take the mortgage further into retirement. However, it also has lower monthly payments, which will be easier to make and may even allow you to put more money in your retirement accounts before you retire.
Call the loan officer at the lender you selected and let him know what length of mortgage you want. He will start preparing the paperwork for you.
Sign and return all paperwork as instructed by your loan officer. This will also include sending copies of documents like your tax returns and pay stubs as proof of income.
Tidy up your home, particularly on the outside, before the appraisal. The appraised value of your home must at least equal the amount of your refinanced mortgage for the loan to go through.
Items you will need
- Tax returns from past two years
- Proof of regular income, such as pay stubs
- Refinancing before retirement is much easier than refinancing after retirement because you have proof of regular income. After retirement, you must show Social Security checks, pension payments and retirement account withdrawals, which are less likely to help you qualify for a refinance.
Photo Credits
- Photos.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images


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Today's buyer no longer looks to salespeople straight out of the gate for information. No offense, but sales is among the least-trusted sources of information. We took a look at the incredibly, in-depth report just released by HubSpot, the State of Inbound 2017.
This report shows which sources of information buyers rely on and trust when making purchase decisions.
Clearly times have changed. No I'm certainly not saying that sales is obsolete. I'm suggesting that sales needs to rethink the way they sell. Here's why.
Why buyers don't need salespeople
More than just a trust issue, buyers don't rely on sales for information because they can find the information on their own easier and faster than reaching out to a salesperson. In fact, a 2014 study showed that 81% percent of buyers research purchases online before they buy.
With the ever-increasing amounts of data available on the internet, consumers have become more knowledgeable. They've also become very busy. Information is available 24/7 so a buyer can find answers on his or her own time.
Technology evolves, buyers evolve… now sales needs to evolve?
What did you think would happen?
How sales orgs are impacted
The latest HubSpot report, State of Inbound 2017, also shows the increasing challenges sales teams have seen over the last couple of years.
What is more difficult to do in
sales compared to 2-3 years ago?
It's obvious salespeople agree on the challenges they've seen increasing over the last couple of years:
- Getting a response from prospects
- Closing deals
- Identifying good leads
Did you know that 47% of buyers viewed between 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep? (Demand Gen Report, 2016) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
What sales orgs should do about it
This self-educating consumer trend certainly impacts the sales team and its processes but, it doesn't have to. As buyers and buyer journeys evolve, so too shall the salespeople. Here are a few recommendations to help make your sales team's lives easier:
Get chummy with the marketing team.
Yes, I'm serious. Align the sales and marketing departments (Smarketing, if you will) and the organization will see a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of the marketing efforts. The long-running rivalry between sales and marketing is a thing of the past (and if one still exists in your organization, that should be the first thing you tackle).
How to align sales and marketing?
Start with Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Most teams don't work well together because they don't typically understand what the other team is doing or which team is responsible for what. Having SLAs can clear the air and begin helping bridge the gap between the two (hopefully, former) adversaries.
The State of Inbound 2017 reported that organizations with a Service Level Agreement are 3 times more likely to have an effective marketing strategy. This graph shows just how ineffective marketing strategies are based on the alignment of the sales and marketing teams.
Based on how you characterized your company's marketing and sales relationship,
do you feel that your marketing strategy is effective?
Make it easier for sales and marketing to work together with an integrated workflow. It's not as simple as getting a lead from marketing and sending it straight through to sales to contact them. Incorporate lead nurturing and lead scoring then get your sales CRM platform and marketing platform to play nicely together. Sales needs to know exactly when a lead should be contacted from marketing and marketing needs to know that sales is going to contact them as soon as they're qualified.
Hire one more salesperson… your website
Your website should be the strongest salesperson on your team. People don't want to call someone at your company to get the information they're looking for. Make sure it's on your website and easily accessible. **Tip: Align your content with the buyer's journey – buyers in the awareness stage are looking for information about their problem, whereas buyers in the consideration stage are looking for solutions.
Target (and engage) prospects across multiple channels.
38% of salespeople say getting a response from prospects is more difficult than it was two to three years ago. Of course it is. Buyers don't want to be bothered; they're looking for information online and on their own time.
Once a buyer has determined what they need to solve a problem, they'll reach out to the companies they've decided they want to work with. You just want to make sure you're one of those companies.
How? Instead of reaching out to prospects and giving information they're not ready for, provide information when and where the buyer wants it. Multi-channel marketing tactics help make sure your information is included in all that stuff the buyer is researching. If your name keeps popping up on all the resources that help the buyer make their decision, guess who they're going to think of first?
What are some of the different channels?
- Website – Make sure your site not only has the information people need to help them solve their problem, but make sure they can find it. Your website should be so easy to use that you're almost embarrassed by its simplicity. Test it. Change it. Test it again. And if you need help with this, just ask!
- Social media – all the fantastic and valuable information you put on your site needs to be shared via your social media channels (and shared again by your followers).
- Video – it's a sign of the times, my friend. Video is what people are looking for. Humans digest information from videos far faster (and easier) than a 2,000-word blog post. If you're worried about SEO, don't be. There are ways around that (think: transcribe services).
- Interviews – Publish discussions with your buyers' influencers via blog posts, videos and podcasts. Bonus: those influencers will also help get the word out on your publication.
- Email – no, it's not dead. This is still one of the strongest methods of engagement and channels for delivering value. I'm not talking about emails from you, the salesperson, reminding a prospect that the offer is still on the table. I'm talking about emails offering tips to make your prospect's life easier.
Be more service oriented
Winning over the hearts of your customers will encourage them to spread the word! A buyer trusts nothing more than word of mouth referrals from other buyers.Allow your salespeople to take on roles of "trusted advisor" to your prospects and customers instead of focusing so much on sales. No longer can we compete on price; consumers are looking for value and quality service. Offer your knowledge, your advice… be their yoda.
Many sales leaders are changing their pay structure to include service-focused targets. As an example, consider rewarding based on account renewals. Most customers aren't going to renew if they're not happy.
When in Rome…
There is certainly no reason to think sales is over and done; the profession is just going through a shift, albeit a very big one. Unfortunately, those that don't keep up with a buyer's changing preferences will be the ones left not hitting unreachable targets.
So instead of forcing your 10-year old sales and marketing strategy to work, rethink your approach and give buyers what they want, when they want it. Work with your marketing team to get the information to buyers and through the right channels.
OK, so not exactly "Rome" but this was better.
And don't worry, we'll talk to the marketing team too…
Want to download the full State of Inbound 2017 report? Click below.


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I did a photoshoot with Alloy Images at The Vertitude over Valentine's Day weekend and I had a blast! I was nervous as this was a fast, "flash shoot" but I'm really happy with my photos! You couldn't tell I was nervous at all, right? Joe and Iris are super friendly and efficient and all around awesome. Totally pro with an eye for our pole-dancer lines. YAY!!
This shoot for me was all about self-love. Accepting and loving the body I'm in. It's tough sometimes and like everyone else I'm overly critical over "flaws" that aren't flaws at all. I want this set to remind me of the powerful and amazing body I'm in. To fall in love with myself and all of the opportunities and fun that pole has brought into my life.
New year. More love. Let's do it!


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This is the second part of the Mancunian Way, a BBC documentary series about Manchester and its music. Listen to the first part here: The Mancunian Way – Part 1
The second part of the Mancunian Way takes us back to the 60s and the British Invasion, which was the starting point of a new era in pop music. Heavily influenced by american Rock 'n' Roll and RnB, a new scene appeared in the – at the time – alcohol and drugs free local clubs of Manchester. New british bands that quite surprisingly took over America at a time when US music dominated the airways. They were only to be challenged by another british band from a rival city: The Beatles from Liverpool.
Listen here:
Download Link (right-click > save as):
The Mancunian Way – Part 2
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