text:
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus
The African wild dog is one of the most threatened carnivores in the world following its dramatic population decline over the past 30 years. On the African continent where it occurs exclusively, it is now the second most endangered carnivore (after the Ethiopian wolf), and the most endangered in sub-Saharan Africa.
As large tracts of land have been taken over for livestock grazing and cultivation, growing human populations have caused wild dog habitat to become discontinuous. Habitat fragmentation, persecution, and prey loss are the main reasons for their dramatic decline across most of Africa, as wild dog populations have become increasingly isolated in fragments of habitat with few human inhabitants. Because they live at very low densities, even 'fragments' of suitable habitat covering thousands of square kilometres do not necessarily sustain viable wild dog populations.
The current decline in the number of African wild dogs may also be partly due to the population dynamics dictated by their social system. African wild dogs are obligate co-operators, and their need for helpers could generate inverse density dependence at the pack level. Declining numbers of pack members will therefore also have a negative impact on the ability of packs to survive under adverse conditions.
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) nucleotide diversity suggests that, historically, wild dog populations have been small relative to other large carnivores. However, population declines due to recent habitat loss have not caused a dramatic reduction in genetic diversity. The genetic variability of eastern African wild dog populations is comparable to that of southern Africa, and similar to levels of variability found in other large canids. Southern and eastern African populations of wild dogs show about 1% divergence in mtDNA sequence and form two monophyletic assemblages containing three mtDNA genotypes each. No genotypes are shared between the two regions. Morphological analysis supports the distinction of eastern and southern African wild dog populations, and it is suggested that they should be considered separate subspecies.
Short introduction to species: Viable, but small populations of wild dogs remain in several countries in southern and eastern Africa. With adequate protection and management, there is no reason why these populations should not survive. The last populations left in the wild occur in the Kruger National Park (South Africa), the Zambezi and Hwange National Parks (Zimbabwe), the Okavango region (Botswana) and the Selous National Park (Tanzania). Packs from these areas occasionally range beyond the borders of reserves, where they are usually subject to persecution, road accidents, snaring and disease (primarily canine distemper and rabies) contracted from domestic dogs.
DISTRIBUTION: Wild dogs were previously distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but they disappeared from 25 of the 39 African countries in which they occurred and currently only about 3 000 to 5 000 wild dogs (600 to 1 000 packs) remain, mostly in southern and eastern Africa where they are confined to a few areas where human population density remains low. Even when they live in well-protected habitats with abundant prey, their low population densities make them unusually susceptible to habitat fragmentation. Most populations, both outside and inside protected areas, may still be declining.
In South Africa wild dogs outside protected areas form a more significant component of the national meta-population than previously thought. Their numbers appeared to fluctuate between 42 and 106 during the period 1996 to 2002. These dogs are most often encountered on the western border of Kruger National Park, in the Limpopo Valley and in northern KwaZulu-Natal. In these areas that are close to the source populations, most wild dogs occur on game ranches with unmodified land cover and low human densities.
MIGRATION PATTERNS: African wild dogs always live at low population densities relative to sympatric large carnivores (those carnivores that occupy the same or overlapping geographic areas). Outside the denning period, wild dogs have enormous home ranges. For example, a pack in Kruger ranged over 80 km2 (50 sq. miles) when denning, but 885 km2 (550 sq. miles) after denning. Wild dog density is negatively correlated with the density of lions and hyenas across study sites in Africa; lions are important predators of both wild dog adults and pups. Probably as a result, wild dogs avoid areas of high lion density, which often are those areas sustaining the highest biomass of prey. Hyenas act as kleptoparasites and steal food from wild dogs, especially in areas of open habitat. Predation by lions and hyenas account for 50% of mortalities in wild dog populations. Intraspecific competition may cause up to 69% of known-cause deaths through infanticide and fights between wild dog packs.
SIZE AND MASS: African wild dogs weigh between 19 and 34 kg (41 and 66 pounds). Females are generally larger than males and they may reach a body mass of 34 kg (75 pounds) while males have an average body mass of 24 kg (53 pounds).
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Males and females are similar in appearance though the females are generally larger than the males. Their total length is about 1,22 m (400 feet, including the tail) with a shoulder height of 65 to 75 cm (2,1 to 2,5 feet). They have large rounded ears and long legs, a bushy tail and shaggy coats coloured black, yellow and white. The colour pattern of each dog is distinct and can be used for individual identification. They are the only canid species lacking dew claws on its front legs.
REPRODUCTION: Wild dogs are seasonal, co-operative breeders and whelping generally occurs during the months of April to September after a gestation period of 71 to 73 days. In southern Africa, pups are born mostly from late May to early June. Pups are born in a den, where they remain for the first three months of life. The mother is confined to the den while nursing and she relies on other pack members to feed her during that time. They deliver food to her by regurgitation; later on, they regurgitate to the pups as well. Some pack members also 'baby-sit' the pups and chase predators from the den, and take care of the old and sick.
Although up to five breeding females in one pack have been recorded, in most packs only the dominant female (the alpha female) breeds and mates with an unrelated male. Reproductive depression of the other females in a pack is the consequence of limited resources, behavioural patterns and endocrine mechanisms. All pack members help to care for the pups.
Females can whelp every 11 months. The litter size varies but, on average, there are 10 to 11 pups per litter, although there may be 20 or more. Pups are born blind and they leave the den for the first time when 3 to 4 weeks old. Weaning, a gradual process, begins when the pups are 14 days old.
Wild dog females cannot successfully rear pups without assistance and in most cases the pack, rather than the individual, is considered the basic unit within the population. It appears that more pups survive in packs where there are more helpers to assist with their care, but this is not always the case.
The pups are sexually mature after 23 months and they start leaving the pack when they are 1,5 years old. They leave the pack as same-sex groups that join unrelated, opposite-sex groups to form new packs. Males disperse later, in larger groups and further than females; these patterns are aimed at inbreeding avoidance and competition for mating opportunities. All wild dogs of both sexes emigrate when in the presence of their opposite sex parent. Despite frequent opportunities, no dogs mate with close relatives.
HABITAT: Wild dogs prefer woodlands or broken woodlands although they are also found on open plains and savannas. They are independent of water.
THREATS: Direct contact with human activity is responsible for over 50% of recorded adult mortality and for packs living on the borders of national parks, mortality may be as high as 92% because of interaction with humans.
Being captured in snares is another important cause of death. In most places, wild dogs are caught unintentionally in snares set for ungulates, although occasionally snare capture is intentional.
Infectious diseases are of limited importance in the decline of wild dog numbers, but they do play a role in the extinction of small populations, for instance, in the Serengeti. Infectious diseases and competition will generally interact because competitors harbour and transmit the diseases that affect wild dogs.
HUNTING TECHNIQUES AND PREY PREFERENCE: African wild dogs weigh 20 to 25 kg (44 to 55 pounds) on average and are social carnivores that hunt in groups of varying size. Antelopes ranging in body mass from 15 to about 150 kg (33 to 330 pounds) are their major source of prey.
African wild dogs traditionally hunt in groups. This type of hunting in social carnivores is considered to have evolved through natural selection for improved efficiency of prey capture, the ability to kill increased prey size and successful defence of the kill against intraspecific and interspecific kleptoparasitism.
Wild dogs hunt primarily by sight and by daylight, either in the early morning, or in the early evening. The pack often approaches herds of prey within several hundred metres, but they select a particular animal only once the chase begins. The pack functions as a hunting unit and the group cooperates closely in killing and mutual defence. Individuals drawn into this group activity are subject to strong discipline during the chase. A regular group leader selects and runs down the prey. They do not run in relays as commonly assumed, as the leader can overtake the fleetest of game usually after 3 to 4 km (1,9 to 2,5 miles) and within 30 minutes after commencing the chase. During the chase, while the others lag behind, one or two dogs run at a distance of 100 m (109 yards) or more behind the leader, and are positioned to intercept the quarry if it circles or begins to dodge.
As soon as small prey is caught, the pack pulls it apart; large antelopes are bitten in the rear and chunks of muscle and connective tissue are torn from them until they collapse because of exhaustion and shock. Juveniles are allowed to feed first after the kill has been made. Not much remains of a carcass after the pack has fed.
After a kill, wild dogs are subject to interference particularly by hyenas (kleptoparasitism). Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are serious competitors for a kill and are capable of driving small packs of wild dogs from their kills. Small hunting groups (1 to 2) are particularly vulnerable to kleptoparasitism because they are unable to fully satiate themselves before the hyenas take over their kills. Intermediate-sized hunting groups may be most effective at meeting nutritional demands over a range of prey sizes. Hunting-group sizes perform best when hyenas interfere with the kill. The extent of time that dogs have access to a kill decreases with increasing numbers of hyenas at a kill, while access time increases with increasing hunting-group size of dogs, and the size of the animals that they killed.
Additional competition for prey is posed by interspecies competition between the three smallest carnivores, (leopard, cheetah, and wild dog) as they favour similar prey species. However, each of these carnivore species has a distinct dietary preference and the interspecies conflict because of this is less than expected. Competition with lions appears less intense, but direct predation by lions on wild dogs is important.
The wild dog's prey preference is dependent on a number of factors but in particular, the mix of prey species in a specific location and this varies between the various regions in Africa in which wild dogs still occur.
Wild dogs generally prefer prey within a body mass range of 16 to 32 kg (35 to 70 pounds) and 120 to 140 kg (264 to 308 pounds), which is abundant and less likely to cause injury when hunted. Females with concealed lambs or calves are most vulnerable. Regardless of the size or the composition of the pack, the mean minimum consumption rate of edible meat is about 1.7 kg (37 pounds) prey per dog per day.
Wild dogs have a strong preference, that varies seasonally, for a number of prey classes. Depending on the region, they select greater kudus (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) throughout the year and though they show little selection between the other prey species they prefer impalas (Aepyceros melampus), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), or Thomson's gazelles (Gazella thomsonii) depending on the region and the presence of the specific species. They usually prefer the young of both impalas and kudus, and males at times of the rut. Prey killed by wild dogs is often in a poorer condition than other animals in the same herd, suggesting that they select weaker individuals when hunting.
In eastern Africa, Thomson's gazelles (Gazella thomsonii) make up 54%, new-born and juvenile wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) 36%, Grant's gazelles (Gazella granti) 8%, and kongoni (Alcelaphus buselaphus cokei) 2% of the prey animals. Thomson's gazelle were killed most often (67% of 60 kills), and their biomass (48% of total) was equal to the combined biomass of the next two most common prey, impala (24%) and wildebeest (25%).
RELOCATION: Since 1954, several southern African institutions have established captive-breeding programmes to ensure the long-term survival of the African wild dog. To aid this, a studbook was assembled to provide genetic and demographic information for the southern African captive populations.
The captive-breeding programme appears to be successful with a positive population growth, a significant lowering of in-breeding and mean kinship, and an increased genetic diversity. However, genetic variability levels appear lower and levels of in-breeding were higher in captive breeding programmes compared with wild populations.
In South Africa, a plan was launched to manage separate sub-populations of endangered African wild dogs in several small, geographically isolated conservation areas as a single meta-population. This intensive management approach involves the re-introduction of wild dogs into suitable conservation areas and periodic translocations among them.
There have yet been no successful, long-term re-introductions into the southern African wild using captive-bred dogs, mainly due to the lack of close collaboration between captive breeding and nature conservation institutions.
Re-introduction of wild dogs into the wild is probably now technically possible, as long as released groups include wild-caught animals. Several past attempts failed because captive-reared animals lacked skills needed to survive in the wild. Ideally, re-introductions should also involve animals of the appropriate local genotype. Social integration before release for wild dog re-introductions and translocations to be successful is important, as is management manipulation of social relationships, which promote pack formation in pre-release holding facilities.
Releases currently planned in the Republic of South Africa will be locally valuable, but will not establish a population likely to remain viable without intensive management in perpetuity. For these reasons, protecting remaining wild dog populations currently represents a better investment than any attempt at re-introduction.
In Kenya, handling and interventions to try to sustain wild dog numbers failed, apparently because of the stress induced by the processes. The numbers declined and resulted in local extinction of the dogs.
THE ROLE HESC PLAYS IN THE CONSERVATION OF THIS SPECIES: Current conservation efforts in South Africa aim to develop a wild dog meta-population through the re-introduction of wild dogs into fenced reserves. Significant scope for increased distribution expansion exists in the Limpopo and North West Provinces. However, efforts aimed at changing extremely negative landowner attitudes towards wild dogs, are necessary to improve the conservation status of the species outside protected areas. Persecution remains the most serious threat to wild dog populations as they are perceived as a pest that kills livestock, or competes with people for wild ungulates in hunting areas. Their reputation as voracious stock-killers has not been justified and while livestock occasionally are taken, losses to farmers seem to be relatively small, particularly when wild prey is available.
Significant potential also exists for conserving naturally occurring wild dogs in situ on ranch land.
The highest priority for wild dog conservation is to maintain and promote the contiguity of areas available to wildlife. Establishing cross-border parks and buffer zones, and encouraging game ranching on reserve borders, will contribute to the survival of the species.
Within this context, HESC maintains a small group of wild dogs, primarily for display and educational purposes.
Comprehensive information about African wild dogs is available in:
Skinner, J.D. and Chimimba, C.T., 2005. The Mammals of the Southern African sub-region. Cambridge University Press.
Further articles of interest include:
Creel, S., & Creel, N. M., 1998. Six ecological factors that may limit African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus. Animal Conservation, 1(01), 1 – 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1367943098001012
Creel, S., Creel, N. M., Mills, M. G., & Monfort, S. L., 1997. Rank and reproduction in cooperatively breeding African wild dogs: behavioral and endocrine correlates. Behavioral Ecology, 8(3), 298-306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/8.3.298
Estes, R.D. and Goddard, J., 1967. Prey selection and hunting behavior of the African wild dog. The Journal of Wildlife Management, pp.52-70.
Frantzen, M. A. J., Ferguson, J. W. H., & De Villiers, M. S., 2001. The conservation role of captive African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Biological Conservation, 100(2), 253-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00046-5
Fuller, T.K. and Kat, P.W., 1993. Hunting success of African wild dogs in southwestern Kenya. Journal of Mammalogy, 74(2), pp.464-467.http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1382403
Fuller, T.K., Kat, P.W., Bulger, J.B., Maddock, A.H., Ginsberg, J.R., Burrows, R., Mcnutt, J.W. and Mills, M.G.L., 1992. Population dynamics of African wild dogs. In Wildlife 2001: Populations (pp. 1125-1139). Springer Netherlands. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2868-1_86
Girman, D. J., Mills, M. G. L., Geffen, E., & Wayne, R. K., 1997. A molecular genetic analysis of social structure, dispersal, and interpack relationships of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 40(3), 187-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002650050332
Gusset, M., Slotow, R., & Somers, M. J., 2006. Divided we fail: the importance of social integration for the re‐introduction of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Journal of Zoology, 270(3), 502-511. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00168.x
Hayward, M. W., O'Brien, J., Hofmeyr, M., & Kerley, G. I., 2006. Prey preferences of the African wild dog Lycaon pictus (Canidae: Carnivora): ecological requirements for conservation. Journal of Mammalogy, 87(6), 1122-1131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/05-MAMM-A-304R2.1
Lindsey, P., Du Toit, J. T., & Mills, M. G. L., 2004. The distribution and population status of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) outside protected areas in South Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 34(2), p-143. http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC117192
Maddock, A. H., & Mills, M. G. L., 1994. Population characteristics of African wild dogs Lycaon pictus in the eastern Transvaal lowveld, South Africa, as revealed through photographic records. Biological Conservation, 67(1), 57-62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(94)90009-4
McNUTT, J. W., 1996. Sex-biased dispersal in African wild dogs, Lycaon pictus. Animal behaviour, 52(6), 1067 – 1077. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0254
Pole, A., Gordon, I.J., Gorman, M.L. and MacAskill, M., 2004. Prey selection by African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in southern Zimbabwe. Journal of Zoology, 262(02), pp.207-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0952836903004576
Scheepers, J. L., & Venzke, K. A. E., 1995. Attempts to reintroduce African wild dogs Lycaon pictus into Etosha National Park, Namibia. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 25(4), 138 – 140. http://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC116980
Woodroffe, R., & Ginsberg, J. R., 1999. Conserving the African wild dog Lycaon pictus. II. Is there a role for reintroduction?. Oryx, 33(2), 143-151.http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.1999.00053.x
Woodroffe, R., Lindsey, P., Romanach, S., Stein, A. and ole Ranah, S.M., 2005. Livestock predation by endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in northern Kenya. Biological conservation, 124(2), pp.225-234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.01.028


text:
Cross-Industrial Convergence for Innovations in Marketing
Dentsu, Inc.
Human Centric Innovation
Dentsu and Fujitsu commenced collaboration to help customers use the power of Big Data in marketing. The partnership aims to enable enterprises to better understand individual consumers in order to transform their marketing processes in the increasingly complex and diversified market. Dentsu and Fujitsu began providing a consulting framework to help maximize customer experience(*1) and establish an effective marketing approach. The collaboration has already assisted many companies, including Shizuoka Gas, in realizing marketing innovations.
Collaborate to maximize the potential of Big Data
Dentsu, Inc. is the world's largest advertising agency and the longstanding leader of the Japanese advertising market. The Dentsu Group is the fifth largest communication group worldwide. In recent years, the company has expanded the scope of its business beyond just advertising. It now supports end-to-end marketing activities for its customers in various industries. For this, Dentsu provides marketing solutions, helping them transform their businesses through establishing communication channels and sustainable engagement processes with consumers.
Today, behaviors of consumers are increasingly becoming more granular. It means businesses have to deal with more diverse data and channels. To maximize value in the changing environments, enterprises must better understand consumers and take effective marketing approaches. The analysis of data from a wide variety of channels is an indispensable tool.
In May 2013, Dentsu and Fujitsu began collaborating on helping their customers use Big Data and transform marketing activities. In many enterprises, information systems departments look after their core and front-end IT systems, while marketing departments are responsible for marketing strategies and promotions. It is crucial that these two functions work cohesively. Leveraging respective strengths in marketing and IT, Dentsu and Fujitsu aim to enable businesses to realize marketing transformation based on deeper understanding of individual consumers. Mr. Gosuke Kato, Director of the Dentsu Business Creation Center, Business Production II Dept., says, "By combining our marketing solutions with Fujitsu's Big Data analysis technologies, we can improve the experiences of our customers' customers and create innovations in marketing."
Jointly developed a framework to quickly understand buying intentions
The cross-industrial partnership, leveraging Dentsu's marketing design knowledge and Fujitsu's IT expertise, has been accepted by many enterprises in a variety of industries including utilities, automobiles, retail and finance. In November 2014, Dentsu and Fujitsu began to provide a consulting framework, bringing together the knowledge and experience developed from various collaborative projects.
This consulting framework begins with analyzing the business data from various departments whithin the enterprise as well as other open data by Fujitsu's Big Data analytics technologies. The results of the analysis are interpreted by Dentsu's panel data(*2), producing effective engagement approaches to maximize customer experience.
A salient feature of this framework is to provide support for the end-to-end marketing process. It starts from understanding individual consumer's lifestyles, preferences and buying cycle, planning the most effective initiative, through to executing the plan and getting feedbacks for further improvement. The framework also allows enterprises to identify a right approach to potential customers who might be overlooked.
Shizuoka Gas wins praise for its marketing innovations
Shizuoka Gas Company, Ltd. used this framework to deliver innovation in marketing. The Japanese government plans to deregulate retail sales of household electricity in April 2016, followed by household gas in 2017. It is expected that incumbent players such as Shizuoka Gas will face tough competition against new entrants from other industries.
To cope with this challenge, Shizuoka Gas embarked on marketing activities that leverage Big Data. The goal is to understand needs of their customers so that the company can enable them to enjoy 'richer and more comfortable lives'. Shizuoka Gas selected Dentsu and Fujitsu as partners that can provide end-to-end marketing solutions using Big Data.
Through the project, Shizuoka Gas was able to grasp the profiles representing its around 138,000 existing customers, as well as their needs and purchasing cycles for the renovation of their houses. With this understanding of its individual customers, the company has taken a new approach according to the marketing process. Mr. Takaaki Sato, the Manager of ICT Promotion, Business Development Department at Shizuoka Gas, commented, "The framework allowed us to change our direction from a mass marketing approach to a customer-centric marketing based on the profile of individual customers we produced from the data."
Shizuoka Gas has developed a new marketing platform through a series of projects, ranging from Big Data analysis to the formulation of marketing plans. The company was awarded the CRM Association of Japan Best Practice Award for its successful CRM initiatives. This marketing platform is expected to help Shizuoka Gas continue strengthening competitiveness and growing its business after 2016, when the retail business of household electricity and gas is deregulated and the competition is intensified.
(*1) Customer experience:
Experiences gained through the interaction with corporate activities. These include not only the quality, function and price of products, but also the values of experiences gained from the pre-purchase process to their satisfaction after use
(*2) Panel data:
Dentsu original data obtained from multiple rounds of surveys about their consumption behavior and media contact to the same target customers
Customer Profile
|Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
[ Published in 2015 ]
Technical data subject to modification and delivery subject to availability. Any liability that the data and illustrations are complete, actual or correct is excluded. Designations may be trademarks and/or copyrights of the respective manufacturer, the use of which by third parties for their own purposes may infringe the rights of such owner.
More case studies
Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
Advanced marketing in the digital era: Rapid integration of dispersed data on customer attributes
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Work style innovation encourages creativity, harnessing the aspirations of all employees
Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Bringing world-famous online games to users much faster with a new delivery platform
Dentsu, Inc.
Cross-Industrial Convergence for Innovations in Marketing
iHeart Studios
New Workflow Helps Grow by More Than 600% in 12 Months
Qantas Airways Limited
Targeting 10% Reduction of CO2e by 2020

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Finding Gratitude in Grief
I love Thanksgiving, even more than Christmas. Each year, my siblings and I gather at my brother's house to stuff our faces, play rowdy games, and just be together. The atmosphere is warm and comforting as we laugh at old memories and make new ones. I don't take for granted that we genuinely enjoy each other's company. While I try to maintain an 'attitude of gratitude' each day, Thanksgiving is a time that I reflect more deeply and appreciate my life to date, particularly how blessed I am to have my family.
This year, however, the reflection is more somber. My family was rocked by the sudden and shocking death of our 32-year-old brother in June. It seemed so senseless. My mind rejected the idea outright when I heard– it just couldn't be true. He and his wife were celebrating her victory over breast cancer. They had a resolve to cherish each other and their three children through quality time together. He was healthy, ate well and worked out. He was so good, why him? After all his family had been through?
In my reminiscing, a memory of him returning from work one day played out in my mind. He entered through his kitchen door and smiled broadly as a greeting. When I close my eyes, I still see that smile. His attention then turned to his three little ones who demanded his attention in their excitement to see him. I remember the sound of his chuckle as he teased and played with them. It was endearing how much he delighted in them. Even they were not impervious to his mischievous nature that made us all laugh.
I find myself getting back into the swing of the daily routine, but from time to time, I catch a glimpse of a picture of him and my heart jolts. It's a reminder that he's really gone. Even as I write this, the tears flow freely. It's still hard to believe sometimes.
So, how can one be grateful in the midst of such a tragedy?
There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. – Unknown
In my heart, I know this to be true. If anything, I feel it more profoundly this year, just how grateful I am. Things matter more, life matters more.
So I give heartfelt thanks for these things:
I'm thankful for Alivia, his oldest. She's sharp and curious and silly. She carries his interest in learning and gardening. She's a spitfire and I know she'll be a force to be reckoned with whatever she decides to do with her life.
I'm thankful for Alexa, his second daughter. She's delightfully impish and I know she'll enjoy his love of practical jokes. Her loving and joyful spirit is infectious.
I'm thankful for Kyle. My brother was so delighted to have a son that he cried at his birth. He's still so young, but I see Steve's contentment and pleasantness in his personality already.
I'm thankful for my sister-in-law, whose strength to carry on is an encouragement to us all. I couldn't ask for a better mother to the children of my brother.
I'm thankful for my siblings, that we can mourn and draw comfort from each other. I'm grateful for the bond and friendship and shared experiences we have.
I'm thankful for the reminder to be intentional about connecting with those you love. When life gets busy and when distance separates us, I heed the voice in my head that says the long drive is worth it, the little note will make a difference.
I'm thankful for the memories and the time I had with him. They urge me to choose to laugh, to love deeply, to be joyful, and to carry myself with the same dignity he did.
Lastly, I'm thankful for the air in my lungs and the purpose in my steps. I'm thankful there is still an opportunity for me to make a difference, to make the things I do count.
So really, he's not gone at all. He lives on in his children, his siblings, his wife, and through our memories of him. He lives on when we make a conscious effort to be thankful for all that we have. And I'm most grateful for that.
Cover Photo courtesy of Matt Lewis via Unsplash
Photo insert was taken of Steven and me in 1989


text:
Holocaust-denying bishop leaving Argentina
Wearing dark sunglasses, a baseball cap and an overcoat, Williamson was seen by a Reuters reporter in Argentina's main international airport as he entered the boarding area. He did not respond to questions.
People accompanying Williamson had been seen at the British Airways ticket counter earlier. On Sunday, priest Miguel Faure of the same religious order told Reuters he believed Williamson would travel to England.
Christian Bouchacourt, the head of the Latin American chapter of the Catholic Society Saint Pius X, confirmed Williamson was leaving Argentina but declined to specify his destination, saying "we want a little tranquillity."
News and comment on church closings and on modern Catholic life throughout the world. The practice of Catholic devotions as a remedy and in reparation will also be encouraged. If anyone has any news on any Catholic Church closures anywhere in the world, pictures and suggested links please feel free to e-mail. Also pay a visit to the extensive archives- also click on labels.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bishop Williamson in baseball cap and dark sunglasses
at 16:51
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: MOVIES 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' Writer Signs With Anonymous Content 10:30 AM PDT 8/2/2013 by Borys Kit FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Getty Images Allan Loeb Allan Loeb has written both comedies and dramas, including "Things We Lost in the Fire" and "The Switch." Screenwriter Allan Loeb has signed with Anonymous Content. The scribe, who was previously without a manager, remains repped by CAA and attorney Sean Marks. Loeb has had an interesting career as a screenwriter. He had been writing specs for almost a decade before his first film, 2007 drama Things We Lost in the Fire, was produced. Then came the dramas 21, which starred Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the high-profile sequel to Oliver Stone's 1987 classic Wall Street. Around that time he switched genres and began making a name for himself in the comedy sphere, writing a string of comedies including 2010's The Switch, which starred Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, The Dilemma, which starred Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, and Adam Sandler's Just Go With It, which he worked on with Timothy Dowling. Other credits include Rock of Ages and Here Comes the Boom. At Anonymous, he will be repped by Michael Sugar and Bard Dorros. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Borys Kit firstname.lastname@example.com borys_kit


text:
Tudor Wheels
Specialist Wheel Refurbishment
Model T Ford Restoration & Servicing
Cars For Sale
Wheel Services
Tudor Wheels of the New Forest are proud to offer a quality and affordable vintage wheel restoration service to the specialist vehicle enthusiast as well as specific and general Model T Ford Repairs, Model T servicing and complete bespoke Model T Builds and Re- builds.
As part of the growing service offering at Tudor Wheels we restore and refurbish vehicle wheels of all types and sizes.
If you require alloy wheel refurbishment, wired or spoke wheel renovation or a steel wheel repair, Tudor Wheels ensures the attention and care to detail needed to help dramatically improve the appearance of your beloved project.
Tudor Wheels of the New Forest, Hampshire offers a 'cottage industry' style service utilising extensive experience to focus on quality and care for your wheel restoration project. A quality service at competitive prices means regardless of the nature of your vintage wheel repair project, Tudor Wheels offers a very attractive service to effectively assist as part of your repair and renovation process for your restoration or on-road project!


text:
beginners Ladies
too Junior
classes Professionals
classes HIT
Never hit a pad before? No problem.
Want to feel safer in your daily life? We can help.
Want your kids to have the skills they need to become strong, confident adults? We're the answer.
No experience when it comes to training or martial arts? Don't worry!
Our classes cater to everyone, no matter how old you are, how to fit you are or what your background is. Martial arts training can bring so many gifts and benefits into your life, and we don't want anyone to miss out!
We focus on basic skills and training that anybody will be able to practice and master – from breathing and stability through to proper techniques and combinations, Toe2Toe is the perfect place to give you the foundations you'll need to begin achieving your goals. Whether it's improving your confidence and making you feel safer, increasing your fitness levels or giving you peace of mind about your child's welfare, we are here to make your goals a reality!
Ladies, listen up!
Martial arts is not just for men who want to hit pads – our classes are run specifically for you and your friends! There's no better way to increase your fitness, develop your self-defense skills and crush those calories than with a group of girls who are just like you!
If you want to improve your fitness levels – everything from your strength and endurance through to your stability, core control, and balance, our classes will be perfect for you. If you'd like to give yourself the skills you can rely on in the real world, then we can help you with that too! Our classes combine high-intensity training with martial arts techniques and exercises that will improve your mind and body – and when you're training with a group of girls like you who are all striving for the same goals, you'll make friends and have a blast while you're doing it!
Ensuring the safety of our kids is vital.
Every parent wants to know that their child has the skills they need to succeed in life and be strong, confident adults! No one ever want to question their child's safety – and martial arts is the perfect way to give your kids the foundations they can use to build happy, healthy lives!
Our Junior Classes are specially run to be friendly to kids of all ages and backgrounds. If your child is looking for a way to get fit, have fun and learn skills that will serve them well for their entire life, then checking out our fun Junior Classes is a must!
Your kids will learn martial arts techniques in a safe environment, and will receive training that will help them to focus their minds and bodies. It's a great way for them to have fun, make new friends and become fitter and more confident in themselves!
For the competitor, the fighter, and the athlete inside of you – this is it.
Our Professionals Classes are a cut above the rest. You want to see gains to your strength, power, speed and endurance, and this is the place you'll get it.
Our classes will test your limits and push your body and mind to new heights. If you want to take your martial arts training to the next level and to really push forwards in your journey towards greatness, we want you in our Professionals Classes. We offer a variety of disciplines and training styles that will complement your previous training and experience – or if you're looking at expanding your knowledge and abilities, we can provide methods of training that will thoroughly challenge you!
Want to be your best? There's no better place to do it. Come and test your worth in our Professionals Classes – see what you're really made of!
It's what you've been waiting for!!
Our HIT Classes (High Intensity Interval Training) are the perfect way to burn fat, increase muscle and make you feel like you're a true champion!
HIT Classes use martial arts techniques as well as a combination of dynamic and high energy exercises to crank up your body's internal furnace and really torch that unwanted fat! HIT Classes are for everybody – if you want to blast your fat, see your fitness levels shoot through the roof and have an amazing time while you're doing it, then this is definitely for you!
Our HIT Classes are short, sharp and sweet – we will get your body in that perfect zone for burning fat and gaining muscle, without long arduous workouts or complicated routines. HIT Classes are fun, dynamic and a great way to get fit! If you want to see real gains to your total-body fitness and have a great time while you're doing it, then come and check it out!!!


text:
Product Description
Model Number: 18005
Catalog Number: 275580
Item Title: Pacific Play Tents Funchute Parachute, 6ft.
Catalog Number: 275580
Item Title: Pacific Play Tents Funchute Parachute, 6ft.
This 6 foot diameter "Funchute" is great for smaller spaces and works great with 3 kids.
Billow it in the air or bounce balls and stuffed animals on top, anyway you play with the "Funchute" smiles and giggles will abound.
Billow it in the air or bounce balls and stuffed animals on top, anyway you play with the "Funchute" smiles and giggles will abound.
- Made of high quality durable nylon with 9 handles.
- Great cooperative group play and helps to build muscle tone.
- There are over 100 different games a child can play using these "Funchutes".
- Develops perceptual, cognitive, motor and academic skills.
- Comes with it's own storage sack.
Little Wonders Special Offers
Through August 31, take $5 off any order over $100. Use promotional code CRAZYAUGUST during checkout.
Through August 31, take $20 off any order over $500. Use promotional code BIGSAVINGS during checkout.
Sign up for our mailing list to receive coupons and information exclusively for subscribers. Click here to join.
Why Buy From Little Wonders?
What Our Customers Are Saying
"I'm not sure of the woman's name who helped me, but I had a very confusing return which she really went the extra mile to help me with. She was incredibly patient and did her best, successfully, to help me A great experience!!"
Susan L., Guilford, CT
- Personalized Customer Service - We do it the old-fashioned way. Call us and a real person will answer the phone. E-mail us and a real person will respond to you.
- Easy Returns - We offer a 30-day no-questions-asked money back guarantee. Read more about our return policies.
- Fast Shipping - We process and ship orders in a very timely manner, often the same day that you place your order.
- Fast & Easy Shopping - Little Wonders is easy to understand and it's very simple to find what you're looking for. Browsing and checkout is a breeze, no need to create an account.
- Small Business - We're not a huge faceless corporation. We're a company made up of 10 people who work hard every day to earn your business. We care.
- Better Business Bureau - We have been a BBB Accredited business since 2005 with a lifetime BBB rating of "A".
Pacific Play Tents: A Brand You Trust
Each season as we create our new line, we try and go back to that time, where our imagination is what dictated the adventure of the day and creativity was the basis for our fun. Each and every new item in our collection is designed to take our children back to a time less stressed, more creative and interactive with each other as opposed to an impersonal electronic device providing our fun. We design each tent, tunnel and play house to be large enough for more than one child to play in, so children learn how to interact with each other, in person, as opposed to some computer screen. Technology is wonderful and it is what has catapulted us to places that as kids we just dreamed of. Talking to someone around the world or sending them an instant message has certainly made our lives more productive, but also less personal.
At Pacific Play Tents, we are dedicated to creating the highest quality; most creative play environments available. Each item is painstakingly tested to insure long lasting playtime fun and safe, creative structures designed to last. Our devotion to this is consistently validated through more awards as Âbest play value and Âtoy of the yearÂ. We have amassed countless letters from happy parents who have shared the various stories of there children finally sleeping in their own beds (due to our bed tent creations) or having hours of fun pretending to be on a creative journey to the land of imagination.We constantly strive to make better, more imaginatively designed products for you and your children to enjoy. This dedication combined with our unparalleled customer service and focus on quality has elevated us to be recognized as the Âbest of the bestÂ.
Pacific Play Tents has continually upgraded our technology to insure the best in service and competitive pricing. We welcome your input, ideas and stories. Take a journey through the land of make believe, connect tents and tunnels together making the never-ending city (each tent and tunnel is inter connective). Share our vision and bring the priceless smiles and far away places to the children in your life. Pacific Play Tents Âwhere only your imagination has limitsÂ
Pacific Play Tents is a privately owned company dedicated to providing children with creative, high quality and imaginative products for indoor and outdoor use. As parents of small children, we have tried to design products that stimulate our children's imagination and teach them how to interact with each other. Unlike video or computer games, playing "tent" allows us to use our imagination and be anything we want - anywhere we want. We have designed all of our tents and tunnels to be interchangeable. Buy two or three different tents and connect them together through a maze of tunnels. You can create your very own city of tents and secret hiding places, winding through your very own space.
Customer Reviews
Be the first person to review this item! Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.


text:
PubMatic has raised $45 million in a new round of funding and CEO Rajeev Goel tells Adweek that companies either go public or get bought. IPO, possibly?
Aretha Swift's kidneys have failed, and none of her friends or family members are a match. Rather than wait on a donor list, Swift, 52, had an idea: Start a fundraiser to buy billboard space reading "You have two, I only need one to live" with the website www.AKidneyForAretha.com. Well, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the right person heard about her efforts. The co-founder of Catalyst Outdoor Advertising got a call from his mom demanding that he help Aretha out. There are now 24 digital billboards (and some non-digital) asking onlookers for a kidney ... and one of them is even in Time Square.
Cannes Lions has received a record 34,301 entries from 87 countries. This is a 19 percent increase from last year.
Who is winning the uprising of Greek yogurt? Ad Age has a chart all about it.
Atlantic Media has hired Taylor Gray as its new vp of global marketing of Quartz, the company's anticipated digital business news brand. Gray has previously worked as vp of marketing and social media strategy at HuffPost and helped develop the Time 100 franchise at Time.
Saatchi & Saatchi Germany is using an iPhone app to recruit new creative talent.
Jonah Bloom, former Ad Age editor turned content strategy lead at KBS&P, is now going to be the chief strategy officer at MDC.
Sung Chang has joined AKQA from Ogilvy & Mather worldwide and will take on the role as creative lead for Verizon Wireless.
Stephanie Fierman has been named MediaCom's first ever worldwide CMO. She has served as senior leadership roles at Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Time Warner.


text:
Our academic programs focus on the interpersonal skills vital to professional achievement.
Atlanta Master of Science (MS) in Health Services Management Courses & Admissions Requirements
Schedule a Visit Apply Now Request Information
Select a different location
Request Information for Atlanta
Admissions Requirements
- A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, a nationally accredited institution approved and documented by the faculty and dean of the College of Health Sciences, or an appropriately certified foreign institution.
- A grade point average (GPA) on a scale of 4.0 as described below. Additional requirements may apply.
- 2.7 GPA for the bachelor's degree, or
- 3.0 GPA for the last 60 hours of coursework (including graduate work), or
- Between 2.0 and 2.7 for the bachelor's degree. Students admitted with a GPA between 2.0-2.7 must enroll in W5096 - Academic Writing within the first 15 week semester and pass within the first 38 weeks.
- A minimum score on an Argosy University pre-approved English language proficiency test is required for all applicants whose native language is not English or who have not graduated from an institution at which English is the language of instruction as specified in Section Five, Admission Policies, "English Language Proficiency Policy."
All applications for admission must be submitted to the Admissions Department. An admissions representative is available to help interested applicants complete the following required documentation:
- Completed Application for Admission Form
- If the basis of admission is an earned bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher (on a scale of 4.0), an official transcript from the degree granting institution
- If the basis of admission is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) for the last 60 hours of coursework, official transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended during the 60 hours of study
Course List
Core Course Requirements — Students Are Required to Take the Following
HM6010 - Seminar in Current Healthcare Trends and Issues(3)
HM6020 - Accounting and Finance for Managers(3)
HM6030 - Business Operations and Economic Principles(3)
HM6040 - Healthcare Organizations and Administration(3)
HM6050 - Healthcare Policy and Analysis(3)
HM6060 - Health Law and Ethics(3)
HM6070 - Health Outcomes and Behaviors(3)
HM6080 - Health Planning and Marketing(3)
HM6100 - Leadership in Organizations(3)
HM6110 - Management and Organizational Behavior(3)
HM6120 - Management Information Systems(3)
HM6130 - Principles of Negotiation and Risk Management(3)
HM6140 - Quantitative Methods(3)
HM6160 - Health Service Management: A Summative Review(3)
Core Course Requirements — 42 Credit Hours
Elective Requirements — Students Choose One of the Following
B6027 - Perspectives in Change Leadership(3)
Alternative elective approved by department chair (3)
- Alternative elective approved by department chair (3)
Elective Requirements — 3 Credit Hours


text:
I got an SMS message a few weeks back from the Health Ministry here in the Kingdom. It was an invitation for health practitioners specially for health professionals who will serve during the annual Hajj to take classes regarding infection (MERS, EBOLA, etc.) control and prevention through Doroob, an online platform for learning. Even though I don't practice my profession here, I still took the classes because we are going to go on vacation soon and the probability of contracting virus during long flights are very high. MERS and Ebola is just too scary to have. I just need to arm myself with reliable knowledge of these viruses to prevent getting them. Plus, these courses are accredited by Ministry of Health so these will count as CME hours.
|Doroob mobile site.
|Doroob mobile site
The courses, their content and presentation, are easy to understand and very informative in PREVENTION and CONTROL of these scary viruses. I'm not as worried and anxious as I was before about these Ebola and MERS. I have to commend the Ministry of Health for creating this online courses. Good job.
I'm just waiting now how to get those CME certificates. :)


text:
Calendar 26 September 2017
ECHA's fifth Biocides Stakeholders' Day will take place on 26–27 September 2017 in Helsinki.
The day will provide all biocides stakeholders with the latest information on the Biocidal Products Regulation and the tools and support available. In addition, participants will have the chance to receive training on ECHA's IT tools.
The focus will be on experiences from companies, ECHA and the European Commission.
The objective is to equip companies with information about their roles and obligations to meet the legal requirements for biocides.
Participation is free of charge.
Helsinki, Finland


text:
UCSB English Department Events Calendar
This page contains instructions for English Department staff, faculty, and research center/initiative representatives who wish to have direct editing permissions on the UCSB English Department Events Calendar.
The current calendar is provided by UCSB Connect (powered by Google). To edit this calendar, you need to have a UCSB Connect/Google/Gmail account and have editing permissions assigned to you by a calendar manager.
Events posted to the calendar will not automatically have a corresponding news/event item posted to the English Department website. Please contact Meg Wilson about any news items or events you'd like to have announced on the Department website.
Steps for Accessing the Shared Department Events Calendar
1. Contact Brian Reynolds and request editing access. Faculty will have access granted to their existing UCSB Connect/Gmail account. Grad students acting as representatives of a research center/initiative will need to provide the Google/Gmail account with which they'd like to receive editing access.
2. Your designated UCSB Connect/Gmail account will receive an email when editing access has been granted.
3. When viewing your google calendar(s), make sure that the UCSB English Department calendar is displayed by clicking it on the left side of the screen.
4. To create an event, click "Create" in the upper left area of the page. Enter the event details. Be sure to:
- Prefix your event title with an identifier for the related center or research initiative (ACGC, EMC, Transcriptions, Lit. & Mind, etc.).
- List the event day and time.
- Make sure that the "UCSB English Department Center Events" calendar is selected from the Calendar drop-down. If it is not selected, no one else will be able to see the event.
5. Click "Save" to save your event.
Once the event is created, anyone who views the shared calendar will be able to see the details of the event and plan accordingly.


text:
Three Levels of Translation Services
All types of document translation personal, medical, academic, technical, for understanding the foreign material
Legal translation and certified translation ready to use officially in U.A.E directories, ministries, officials, courts
Business translation for marketing materials or sensitive documents, website translation, and financial translation
Service in Details
Translation Services
Legal Translation
Best certified legal translation by directories, ministries, officials, courts
NAATI Translation
Best NAATI translation certified by Australian directories, ministries, officials, courts
Document Translation
Document translation all personal, medical, academic and technical
Certified Translation
Certified translation by Dubai directories, and recognized by foreign embassies
Technical Translation
Technical translation helps to increase efficiency across the firm and avoid mistakes
Medical Translation
Medical translation for the pharmaceutical, medical device or healthcare fields
Health Care Translation
Health care translation for the organizations, hospitals, clinics, medical manufactures
Coronavirus Related Medical Translation
Medical translation for topics related to Coronavirus pandemic
Business Translation
Entire business translation for global markets documents, ads, catalogs
Financial Translation
Financial translation service tailored for banking, financial institutions and the corporate
Website Translation
Website translation to reach more potential customers worldwide
Academic Evaluation Translation
Academic Evaluation Translation of all types of evaluations
Other Services
Bilingual Legal Document Preparation
Get your documents ready-to-use for courts, embassies, and government in Arabic and English
Attestation and Notarization
Our legal stamp and signature on the document, then we take it to the Ministry of Justice and have it attested.
Immigration Services
Free consultation and preparation for immigration to USA Canada Australia
Multimedia Transcription
Multimedia transcription including videos, animation, audio files.
Interpreting Services
High quality over the phone and In-Person Interpreting services


text:
Vera Baird writes in today's Guardian that apparent government intervention in the sentencing of those convicted of offences relating to the recent riots is "a sinister attempt to upend the judicial process". We agree with her. The whole purpose of separation of powers is to prevent the politicisation of justice. If we forget that, we're paving the way for a creeping authoritarianism that uses each expression of frustration and outrage it provokes to invade our lives more and more deeply, thereby reinforcing and feeding off itself. Nonetheless, we see another dynamic at play here, one that's not being picked up nearly so readily by commentators.
Every column inch spent debating the sentences meted out to those at the bottom of society is one column inch not focussed on the abuses of power taking place at the top. A culture which allows MPs to murmur 'oh, sorry' for flagrant misuse of expense allowances, enables Vodafone to be let off an estimated £6 billion in taxes, which has still made no real inroads into curbing the excesses of the financial sector, and which is still in the process of figuring out quite how deeply corruption is a part of Rupert Murdoch's relationship with the corridors of power, is fooling us all if it convinces us that the events defining our democracy are taking place in courtrooms, or even on high streets.
Any good conjuror will tell you that the magic lies in directing the attention. Show an amazed audience what you want them to see, and what they want to believe, and they won't even notice the mechanics of the trick going on right in front of their noses. We must be aware enough not to be distracted by the side show and fall for a similar trick.


text:
"Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become." – Jim Rome
Employee Ethics and Standards
Discusses the necessity of ethics, the directive of legislation and guidelines for accepting gifts avoiding conflicts of interest and disclosure also reviews related Knox County Policy.
Performance Appraisals
Describes the purposes of performance appraisals, the components of measurement, rating scales and how feedback is used to promote excellence and winning performance in the workplace.
Effective Interviewing and Selection
Provides an overview for reviewing applications, preparing for and conducting interviews, checking references and making selections.
Team Relationships
Recognize how to utilize the full potential of people (supervisors/co-workers) through improved relationships and a Shared Ownership team concept. Addresses the key elements of team development, team performance and evolving leadership.
Supervision 101
Provides step-by-step instructions for filling vacant positions, administering progressive discipline, and dealing with general personnel actions. Includes samples of required forms.
Learn how to recognize, to respond, and to prevent harassment in the workplace. Reviews federal regulations and Knox County policy.
Customer Service
Learn how to focus on customers and deliver quality service. Includes components of customer service, dealing with customer problems, and evaluating your own service delivery.
Diversity in the Workplace
Recognize the impact of diversity; learn how to manage and use diversity to prepare for a strategic and competitive workforce advantage.
Human Resources
400 Main Street
Suite 360
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 865-215-2321
Fax: 865-215-3242
Benefits Fax: 865-215-2474
Job Openings
Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Department Email


text:
Share a Link to this Message
The link has been copied to your clipboard; paste it anywhere you would like to share it.Close
Dave Jamerson - June 30, 2019
At The Movies: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
From Series: "At The Movies"
Hollywood films hold many valuable truths within them; many of which align with values found in God's Word. During this series, we'll look at some of the most popular movies, discovering many of those truths woven throughout them!
More From "At The Movies"
Powered by Series Engine


text:
Strawberry treat
Add a little sweetness to your brunch or weekend breakfast with this strawberry treat!
- 8 Slices FINN CRISP Organic
- 100g Cream cheese/mascarpone
- 4 Strawberries
- 50g Pistachio nuts
- 20g Basil
This is how you do it
- Slice strawberries and chopped pistachio nuts and basil.
- Spread cream cheese on FINN CRISP Organic and top it with the sliced strawberries, pistachio and basil to make a quick and fresh goodie.
You may also like


text: The best way for you to find out what is involved in home inspections is to to come to a few of our meetings, meet some of the inspectors and let them tell you about the profession. Login on the main page to learn more about the chapter. You will also have an opportunity to get first hand information and discuss our training courses that will be coming up in a couple of months. You will find that our courses are the best in the industry with the most cost effective approach. There are several organizations that you can join in our business, but only ASHI is the nationally recognized name with full recognition across the country as the leading inspection organization. Being a member of ASHI gives you all of the advantages.


text:
Assist America, located in Princeton, NJ is actively seeking an Account Executive to support our Account Services division.
The Account Executive is required to perform sales and service functions for specific client accounts while working with the Client Services Team to achieve corporate goals.
Assist America offers its employees a competitive salary, exceptional benefits, paid training, and paid time off among other benefits.
Core Job Functions Include:
- Sales: Assist sales team with RFP process and encourage additional sales volume from current lines of business. Support sales initiatives through participation in trade shows and finalist presentations.
- Manage client accounts: Take full responsibility for ensuring that customers have all the tools they need to achieve their missions and be leaders in their fields. Provide proactive assistance to clients in strategic planning and product development to meet their business goals. Develop and enhance existing client relationships. Maintain account profitability and assure timely payment. Implement new customer accounts. Provide on-going training to various client constituencies including employers/employee groups. Develop marketing and sales materials as client needs evolve. Participate in the development of department forecasts and budgets, as well as administration of approved budget items. Investigate, recommend and implement programs for continuous quality improvement for both internal and external service delivery. Substantial domestic travel as required to attend trade shows, sales meetings and training/presentations with external clients/brokers/employers/ employees.
- Training: Create and execute extensive training program in the form of on-site and internet-based presentations, conference calls, and CEU courses. Provide resources to 'train the trainer' for client sales force and employer groups.
- Service delivery and customer care: Set and validate compliance with Operations service level standards and Client expectations. Monitor service delivery and provide proactive support to Operations staff. Create and deliver new Client training to Operations Associates as part of implementation process.
- Contribute to Assist America' s growth and Development : Provide input on strategy and direction of business priorities and development. Support and administer approved company policies, mission and vision, and clearly communicate these principles to all associates.
- BA/BS Degree or equivalent industry work experience
- Minimum of 2 years of business experience, preferably in the Assistance and/or Insurance Industry
- Ability to travel
- Knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)
- Strong presentation, communication, organization, and time management skills
This job is open at the following location:


text:
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Kevin Harvick accomplished his first goal at Darlington Raceway - winning the pole. The next one is to win the Southern 500.
Harvick held off defending Darlington champion Martin Truex Jr. on Saturday to capture the qualifying. Today, that gives him the lead pit area that he hopes will keep him out front in tight situations.
"That's really the biggest advantage," Harvick said. "Having that first pit stall if your car is not handling good, it allows you to make up two or three spots if you have a decent pit stop and hopefully keep that track position all night."
Harvick ran a fast lap of 177.730 in the final round, sweeping all three segments of qualifying. It was Harvick's fourth pole of the season and second at Darlington. The last time Harvick started up front for the Southern 500, he took the checkered flag at the track "Too Tough To Tame."
Harvick had long said his team's switch to Ford racers this year would take some adjustment. Gradually, that's happened to the point where Harvick believes his team will strongly contend for a title when NASCAR's playoffs begin in two weeks.
"I knew there was a lot of work that had gone into everything with the switchover," Harvick said. "Mentally, I was prepared for it to go either way. It could've been a lot worse than it has been. We've performed relatively well for the amount of workload and amount of things that have gone into switching manufacturers."
Truex, the series points leader, who has won four times this season, finished with a lap of 177.077 mph.
"Seems like we've been second a lot this year," The said. "It's been a good number for us and hopefully it will be a good one tomorrow night."
It's the seventh time this season Truex has started second. He's won two his four races this year from that spot.
Kyle Busch will start third. He swept the truck, Xfinity and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events at Bristol two weeks ago. Kyle Larson is fourth and Jamie McMurray fifth.
Brad Keselowski heads up the third row in sixth, followed by Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start his final Darlington race in 22nd. Earnhardt Jr. is winless this season and would need an extraordinary late run this week and next to advance to playoffs.
"Our package just didn't have the speed for qualifying," Earnhardt said. "But I think our race stuff is going to be great."


text:
Commissioner's Office
Josh Hilldebrandt, Director of Public and Government Affairs (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Office: (404) 656-6546
Courtney Hall, Public Affairs Assistant (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Office: (404) 656-3505
Coastal Resources Division
Tyler Jones, Public Affairs Coordinator (email@example.com)
Office: (912) 262-3140
Environmental Protection Division
Kevin Chambers, Director of Communications (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Office: (404) 651-7970
Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division
Kim Hatcher, Public Affairs Coordinator (firstname.lastname@example.com)
Office: (770) 975-4223
Wildlife Resources Division
Lacey Creech, Marketing Communications Manager
Email: email@example.com
Office: (706) 557-3324
Sarah Hanson, Marketing Communications Assistant Manager
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: (706) 557-3322
Heidi Ferguson, Communications/Outreach Specialist
Email: email@example.com
Office: (706) 557-3328
For media questions specific to game management, fisheries management, boating and licensing, contact:
Melissa Cummings, Communications/Outreach Specialist
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: (706) 557-3326
For media questions specific to nongame wildlife (including threatened and endangered species) and protected plants, contact:
Rick Lavender, Communications/Outreach Specialist
Email: email@example.com
Office: (706) 557-3327
Law Enforcement Division
Mark McKinnon, Public Affairs Officer
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: (770) 918-6408
News Release List
Our agency issues anywhere from five to fifteen press releases a month on fishing, nongame wildlife, hunting, boating, conservation issues and other topics. To be added to the media press release e-mail list, email firstname.lastname@example.com.
After Hours Contact
Media issues don't always take place during work hours. On weekends and after 4:30 pm weekdays, call the State Operations Center at (800) 241-4113, let them know your name and media affiliation, and ask them to page the on-call communications contact.


text: After 35 years in the business world and moving all over the country, Chris has returned to Cleveland area to take a new path. A Certified Health Coach, attending Institute of Integrated Nutrition, A Creative Insight Journey (CIJ) Coach, Level 2 EFT trained, and a Health Insurance Agent, dedicated to working with people on a mind, body, and soul levels. Also, she is training to also work with children and teens on CIJ concepts. She is excited to bring these tools to young people to have while they navigate the challenges of being teenagers.


text:
More Security Tips for Online Businesses
7: Keep an Eye on Your Employees
We're not saying you've hired any shady characters, but employees are a common source of security breaches — 60 percent of them occur within the company, according to a survey by the International Data Corporation [source: Staff Monitoring]. For that reason, employees should be given access to only as much sensitive information as they need to do their jobs, and no one person should be able to access all data systems. Employees should be required to get permission before they install any kind of software on their work computers. Lock up laptops when they're not in use.
Even "innocent" employees can cause security breaches, so no matter how small your company is, it's vital that everyone is trained on all security issues. Require them to have strong passwords. Using the Internet for personal matters can lead to breaks, so make sure to have a very clear email and Internet use policy. Everyone should know to never open attachments or links in unsolicited emails. Require strong passwords that must be changed at least every few months. Your employees should also be aware that an attack doesn't have to be web-based — hackers have been known to impersonate employees on the phone in order to get passwords and account information out of IT help desks.
6: Be Smart About Smartphones
A desktop computer and a landline used to be all we needed for a solid day of work — simple, effective and fairly straightforward in terms of security. But now it's a completely different story. Sure, many people do sit at a desk all day, but most of us carry around laptops, tablets, USB drives and smartphones, all of which we might use for both professional and personal reasons. This, clearly, is a security nightmare.
Your company should have an official policy that advocates the separation of work and personal phones, as well as terms of use for business phones. Malware can enter at any point, and networked smartphones are a particularly weak point when they're used for personal reasons. They might have better security than a purely personal phone, but when one is infected they can all go down.
And then there's the not-insignificant concern of lost smartphones. A lost business phone in the wrong hands could be a complete disaster. At the very least, all phones used to conduct business should have password protection, whole-disk encryption software and a remote lock-and-data-wipe app. That way, you can erase all the information on a lost phone and prevent anyone else from using it.
5: Do "Remote" Right
The rise of flexible work-from-home policies has been a major trend in recent years, which is generally great for employee morale but not so great in terms of security. It's tricky but obviously crucial to keep up security measures when employees are doing their jobs remotely. The guidelines about smartphones apply here, but you also need to ensure that strong safeguards are in place on all company computers and devices, no matter where the employee is working.
To that end, make sure that anyone who uses the company network from home has a strong firewall system. You should also utilize virtual private network (VPN) software to protect data, encrypt Internet traffic and ensure security on all remote computers. It'll also update software and check for viruses.You can require extra passwords for remote access. Warn employees to avoid connecting to public wireless networks and to never submit sensitive information or perform business transactions on public WiFi.
4: Consider the Cloud
All of these security warnings and instructions might cause a panic in a cash-strapped, struggling small-business owner. Good security is just as important to a 10-person business as it is to a huge corporation, but it's a lot to take on. That's where cloud-based services come in — they're a godsend to anyone who doesn't have the the funds, time or staff to install and monitor security systems. To get this level of security, you used to have to invest in email and file servers and hire at least one IT staffer or consultant.
Subscribing to a cloud service lets you hand over data-security duties to a company that specializes in handling these things. It's also an easy way for employees to retrieve data remotely, although you should definitely control and limit access to the cloud account. Cloud services can monitor employee Internet use.
But also be aware that you can't just sit back and relax when you have a cloud service — they won't make you invincible. You have to cede a lot of control to a third party and trust them to be reliable, which can be an uneasy proposition. Most experts recommend backing up your data to both a hard drive and the cloud.


text: MACSEIS POWERDRY SLASH T-Shirt Line including 10 different color's is tailored to keep you comfortable while active. With its breathable antibacterial cotton layer close to your skin any body-liquid is absorbed instantly. Its POWERDRY function dries this Shirt super fast while wearing to protective your health and enhance your performance. MACSEIS SLASH POWERDRY T-Shirt is available now at your local MACSEIS Dealer.


text:
It was the last great science hero fight, but the energy blast ripped a hole in reality, and birthed the Empire State – a young, twisted parallel prohibition-era New York.
When the rift starts to close, both worlds are threatened, and both must fight for the right to exist.
This is a debut novel for this Author, and despite what the cover may lead the reader to believe this book is about, once they start reading they will discover it is something more. Unfortunately, despite this book having a lot going for it, it didn't quite reach the spot with me.
The reason for its shortcomings for me, all lie with the characters; right from the beginning they seem to be lacking something. The initial character we are introduced to is gone before the reader really has a chance to get to know him, he is replaced by the main protagonist, who is marginally more interesting, but not enough to make the reader connect with him or grab their attention fully. Many of the characters that appear in the book are never written with any real depth and, even though this is explained about halfway through the book, the reader spends much of their time surrounded by shallow characters. The characters have very little substance, not enough to carry a whole book, which is a shame in this particular novel.
Fortunately the setting of the book and the mystery contained in its pages were engrossing enough to keep me reading to the end. The setting is a parallel universe and brings a very steampunk feel to the pseudo-New York 1930's written there with robots, prohibition, super heroes, unseen enemies and robots. This fictional universe is well written and the Author leaves it wide open to the reader's imagination to explore and populate as they will. The overall feeling that the reader will gain from the atmosphere created in the book may well remind them of a Philip K. Dick novel, but which one will depend on how they interpret this novel.
I would recommend this book to readers of the time travel and fantasy genres.


text:
According to a recent report, 2.5 million children in the United States were classified as homeless in 2013. Uncommon Journalism speaks with Center for Social Innovation founder Dr. Ellen Bussak about the factors leading to child homelessness, and the policy changes she believes are needed to solve the problem.
By: James Swift
Last November, the National Center on Family Homelessness, part of the American Institutes of Research's Health and Social Development Program, released America's Youngest Outcasts: A Report Card on Child Homelessness.
Evaluating 2013 data from the United States Department of Education (DOE), researchers determined national child homelessness increased 8 percent from the year before. Thirty-one states recorded increases, with 13 states and the District of Columbia reporting upticks exceeding 10 percent.
In total, the NCFH estimates nearly 2.5 million U.S. children -- approximately half believed to be under the age of 6 -- experienced homelessness during the 2012-2013 school year. The figures represent a nearly 65 percent increase from 2010, when the organization recorded about 1.6 million children as homeless.
NCFH founder Dr. Ellen Bassuk, however, said those results are almost certainly an undercount of the total number of U.S. children who experience at least one week of homelessness throughout the year.
"In many school systems, the way this data is collected is that it's done on a single day," she said. "So the kids who aren't there and the kids who have dropped out aren't counted."
Defining 'homeless'
Under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, all local-level education agencies are required to conduct annual counts of the number of homeless youths attending public schools.
The DOE uses criteria similar to the definition of homelessness outlined by a version of the McKinney-Vento Act reauthorized in 2009. That definition -- which is also used by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Justice and Agriculture -- is more expansive than the definition used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under the DOE definition, children who lack fixed and adequate nighttime residences or live doubled-up with friends or relatives are considered homeless, as are children living in motels, hotels, cars, public spaces, abandoned buildings, campgrounds, trailer parks and bus stations.
The DOE data may be the most reliable available for child homelessness numbers, but Bassuk said their methodology is not without some faults. Many children, she said, may not self-report being homeless out of shame and others may not even know if their parents are the primary lease holders of their residences.
Further complicating things, she said collection data efforts fluctuate not only from school system to school system, but in terms of state-to-state standards.
"A lot of the liaisons end up being generalists and they are not specifically focused, whereas other schools systems that have a little more resources are," the Center for Social Innovation founder said. "Across the U.S., the liaisons don't have standards that are consistent … for example, in Louisiana, there was a tremendous push to identify the number of homeless kids and they have very detailed data, whereas other states have very skimpy reports."
Which states are the worst for child homelessness?
In America's Youngest Outcasts, the NCFH assessed all 50 states, ranking them across four domains: the extent of child homelessness, risk for child homelessness, overall child well-being and state policy and planning.
Well-being measured food security, reading and math proficiency and the percentage of children living below 100 percent of the federal poverty line with at least one chronic health condition. Homelessness risk was determined using a litany of data, including the percentage of children living in poverty, foreclosure rates and the hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Policy and planning rankings were based on total number of emergency shelters, transitional and permanent supportive housing units, as well as whether states have housing trust funds and partnerships with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH.)
Kentucky was found to have the highest population-adjusted rate of child homelessness in the country, surpassing even New York and California. Despite its relatively small population, Bassuk said a confluence of factors put children in the Bluegrass State at an elevated risk for homelessness.
"Foreclosure rates, the number of children living in poverty, the number of children without insurance and the number of female heads-of-households, they're all high," she said. "The state minimum wage is $7.25, which is not a livable wage -- if you were a full-time worker, you could not afford an apartment."
Tennessee was at the bottom in terms of child well-being, while Arizona was rated the worst for child homelessness risks. Wyoming, ahead of California and Arkansas, was ranked worst in terms of policy and planning.
Factoring in composite scores, the 10 worst-ranked states form a contiguous block across the sunbelt, stretching from the foothills of Appalachia to the West Coast. Alabama was rated the worst overall, followed by Mississippi, California, Arkansas and New Mexico.
While Bassuk attributed California's poor showing primarily due to its enormous general population, she said there are a host of common factors that led to the other sunbelt states posting such dreary figures.
"The majority of the population that is homeless is African-American," she said. "There have been a lot of problems with schools, family supports and men having difficulty finding jobs … a lot of these families are female-headed, and the pool of families that become homeless come more from female-headed families."
In these states, Bassuk said politics are also an undeniable factor.
"It's a problem across the aisle, but the states that tend not to support poverty programs or impoverished groups of people," she said, "are republican."
The factors behind child homelessness
In the NCFH report, researchers listed several major drivers for the uptick in the nation's child homelessness rate. Both persistently high family poverty rates and a lack of affordable housing units were cited as primary factors.
"In the late 1980s when I began working in the field, I think there were something like one-in-20 families that were female-headed," Bassuk said. "Now, I think we're down to one-in-five … the pool of families that are likely to become homeless has just exponentially increased."
Single mother families, she said, are at greater risk for homelessness than either the disabled or the elderly. Without high school diplomas or professional certifications, she said many moms are forced into low-wage, service industry jobs, oftentimes without childcare vouchers.
Making matters worse, to afford a two-bedroom apartment without subsidies, Bassuk said single moms earning minimum wages would have to work at least two full-time jobs. With the nation's low-income housing inventory dwindling, she said single moms and their children are at a greater risk for homelessness than ever before.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, she said cities like Indianapolis and Boston had a fairly high number of housing options for lower-income families. However, a lack of renovation initiatives led to a nationwide reduction in affordable units.
"A lot of those units got town down, and many of the old brownstones were gentrified and renovated and became high-rent housing," she said.
Even in states the performed well on the last report card, Bassuk said a lack of affordable housing remains a serious concern. In her home state Massachusetts, she said the number of homeless families living in motels has "exploded" since last fall's study.
"We don't have a national housing authority that will guarantee rehab of these units or guarantee a stock of housing for low-income families," she said, "all while the number of subsidies [decrease.]"
What are the possible solutions?
In 2010, 19 federal agencies came together to publish Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
A 2013 update to the USICH report shows some improvements, with chronic homelessness dropping by almost 16 percent over the three year window. Furthermore, the report found veteran homelessness decreased by a quarter during the same period
A HUD "point-in-time" evaluation from last October also showed a decrease in family homelessness, with the national rate falling approximately 11 percent from 2010 to 2014. The HUD report, however, did not factor in families living doubled up with friends or relatives or in temporary housing.
The most effective means of getting families off the streets, Bassuk said, is rapid rehousing -- a policy that seeks to move families out of shelters and into fixed housing arrangements as quickly as possible.
The inherent problem, Bassuk said, is that programs of the like are only effective if there is already a large inventory of low-income housing in a service area.
"In many places, there is a limited number of low-income housing available to move people out of shelters," she said. "Many times, there isn't a decent stock of affordable housing so you can implement a rapid rehousing policy."
The same way veteran homelessness was curbed by an increase in housing vouchers, Bassuk said she believes more subsidies are needed to combat child homelessness.
"Some of the states have set up these things called housing trusts that are going to be funded through other sources, like excise taxes, but they are not properly funded anywhere in the country," she said. "It's a policy that might work, but what's needed are more housing subsidies."
Faced with numerous challenges -- including a lack of transportation and child care services -- Bassuk said single mothers also need additional supports to maintain housing.
"If they are shallow subsidies, they may only cover a short a short period of time, and families who get into trouble are not going to be able to pay their rent after awhile," she said. "Some deep housing subsidies covering rent for extended periods of time is what's necessary."
The 'package' response
Throughout the nation, Bassuk said there are many exemplary programs focusing on homeless families. Among the best of the best, she said, are the People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia, the Horizons for Homeless Children program in Massachusetts and Minnesota's Hearth Connection.
Not only do these programs work diligently to secure housing vouchers for homeless families, Bassuk said, they also incorporate support services for parents and children alike.
"When a family comes into a shelter, the providers should do an assessment to understand the needs of the family, plus their priorities, goals and preferences," Bassuk said. "While they are in the shelter, and then in transitional programming to get back to housing, what's really necessary are appropriate parent supports, which include attention to maternal depression."
Especially important for homeless families, she said, are trauma-informed services.
"The rates of domestic violence are extremely high, as are the rates of physical child abuse," she said. "In the studies that we've done, which have held up fairly well, 92 percent of the mothers have experienced at least one serious traumatic stress in their lives."
Approximately two-thirds of homeless single moms, she said, have had at least one domestic abuse experience. About a third, she added, enter shelters while fleeing from a violent partner.
While Bassuk said housing vouchers and more low-income units are essential in reducing child homelessness, those aren't the only things needed to keep families off the streets. Additionally, she said at-risk families require parenting supports, trauma support care and targeted services for children.
"There needs to be a full package of services to support these mothers, so they can go back to school and learn some skills so they can become self-sufficient," Bassuk said. "At the same time, there have to be support programs for the children that are developmentally appropriate … the supports for a three-year old are going to be far different from the supports for a 12-year-old."
A wealth of research, Bassuk said, demonstrates the detrimental neurological impact of traumatic stressors, such as homelessness, on the developing child brain.
"The consequences are profound," she said. "At a certain threshold of stress, the long-term medical and mental health outcomes as adults are terrible."
The long-term economic outlook for children who spend long periods of their youth without fixed housing, Bassuk said, are especially grim.
"These kids generally don't finish high school, which sets them up to not be able to earn a living wage," she said. "It perpetuates the cycle of poverty, and perhaps even the cycle of homelessness."
Uncommon Journalism, 2015.


text:
What do you do if you're not happy the your current property manager/agency? Are you sick of staff turnover? Have you ever wondered who is managing our property? Are you getting the most out of your investment? What Happens and When… Changing Property Managers is Easy…
It may be time to transfer to We Connect Property! We specialises in Property Management we have the skills and commitment that will best support your investment.
Did you know you can terminate your current agreement and move across to us without interruption to your tenant or their tenancy in anyway? What many investors don't realise is, switching agencies can be as simple as giving notice to the current agency.
Simply make your decision to let us manage your property and we will organise the entire process for you.
The takeover can be quick and as painless as possible, here are the steps to transfer management:
- You let us know that you would like us to take over the management of your property.
- You need to sign only 2 forms –
– A Termination of management notice (60 days' notice); and
– A Management agreement.
- Once you have signed the above
– We contact your current manager/agency and give them your termination notice;
– We go to the current manager's office and collect the file and keys;
– We check all the paperwork on your behalf;
– We notify your tenants in writing and via phone; and
– We arrange an inspection of your property asap.
- We Connect Property becomes your new management agency.
Are you locked into an agreement?
There are a few ways to get out of the agreement. There are a few scenarios that we can work through, please contact us so we can see what your options are. We will work together to ensure your transfer to We Connect Property is a smooth one and with no disruption to your investment and tenant.
Please connect with us to discuss your property portfolio and see what We Connect Property can do for you.
Download the Termination Form Here and we will do the rest for you.


text:
Codies Bringing F1 To The Browser
Combining the internet with driving can often result in crashing into lampposts or squishing humans. But combining driving with the internet seems to prove significantly less dangerous. Thankfully Codemasters intend to pursue the latter, with a new browser-based F1 project. They're recruiting a team for it now, intending to take the obviously popular license in the oh-so modern direction of playing inside an internet window thingie. Or as Codies even less clearly put it, "an original FORMULA ONE service-based online game."
The game (that currently has no name) will, they say, be "highly accessible". Which is "thanks to an innovative design approach to car control, while offering persistence and depth of gameplay for a mainstream online gaming audience."
Which is intriguing. An innovation beyond steering with the cursor keys? Maybe it'll be QTEs. "PRESS UP, UP, DOWN, UP, RIGHT TO TURN LEFT!" Although possibly not.
Would you like to work on it? Codies' jobs board is currently pulling together a crack team for the task.
Meanwhile, my project – where you hook your car's controls up to a GPS-style screen that displays an F1 race and then use real-world controls to play – is failing to get off the ground. Blah blah, human tragedy, blah blah, school playground. Bloody health and safety.


text:
Events Search and Views Navigation
Events for October 2, 2019
9:30 am
We have three Wednesday morning bible studies and one Wednesday evening bible study for women to be part of. Learn more here ›Find out more
6:00 pm
All middle schoolers (6th-8th Grade) are invited to join us for our mid-week youth group. We play games, talk about relevant biblical topics, and break into small groups to talk about how we apply God's Word to our lives.Find out more
We offer a fun, mid-week program during the school year to provide kids an opportunity to learn about God and connect with their friends. Our program runs September 11th-November 6th from 6pm-7:30pm at OCF.Find out more


text:
This Villain was Headlined on {{{Date}}}.
|Friends, our moment in history has arrived. We all have felt the sting of human hatred, seen the disgust smolder in their eyes, we have grubbled and hidden like beaten animals anxious for a crumb from a master. We have lived too long in darkness and fear. No more! Nature has made us superior. We are the living future of this mighty planet. This world is our world now!
|~ Magneto, addressing the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Magneto is a powerful mutant and supervillain from the Marvel series X-Men and is the archenemy of the X-Men. Despite once being close friends with Professor Xavier, the two became enemies when Xavier championed the co-existence of mutant and human kind working together. To Magento such a system was impossible and he instead championed a violent pro-mutant stance, one which saw humans as the enemy in a genetic war and promoted the idea that mutants should become the dominant species on Earth.
In addition to his traditional role as the adversary of the X-Men, Magneto has fought against several other heroes and villains in the Marvel universe, and also foguht with both the X-Men and other heroes on numerous occasions, even becoming the leader of the X-Men for an extended period of time, all to achieve his goal of protecting mutantkind.
He is the father of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, both of whom were originally part of his terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (later referred to simply as the Brotherhood, as Magneto became a more morally "grey" character).
OriginA holocaust survivor, Magneto was a young boy by the name Max Eisenhardt growing up in Nazi-Germany when he was torn from his parents and sent to a concentration camp.
As an adult, witnessing a rising hatred of mutants, he feared that mutants may suffer the same fate as the oppressed races of the holocaust.
He came to hate mankind for its failure to accept those who are different and became increasingly dogmatic in his views, unable to accept differences in opinion and often seeing mutants that displayed human-friendly views as either foolish or misguided - in a tragic irony Magneto would start to mirror the qualities of those who had oppressed his people and only much later in his life did Magneto finally acknowledge this, having been blinded by his hatred for a large portion of his career.
Powers and Abilities
Magneto, often referred to as the "Master Of Magnetism" has control over the entire electromagnetic spectrum - this manifests most famously as control over any magnetic metal, allowing him to shape it to his will.. however his control is so great that he can also generate force-fields, electrical-energy, amplify his strength to superhuman levels and also manipulate some other forms of energy. In many appearances Magneto wears a helmet specially designed to block out telepathic assaults and even without the helmet has shown some resistance to psychic attacks, of course he is no match for Xavier's psychic powers.
He is also extremely knowledgeable and has shown some degree of resistance to age (though so do many characters in the series).
Goals and Ambitions
"We support equal rights for all beings - but you seek rights above those of humanity, you are willing to threaten anyone that disagrees with you - that makes you no better than a terrorist" ~ Sue Storm (Invisible Woman)
Magneto wants to protect the mutant race from what he views as the inherent evil of mankind, deeply cynical and often merciless he also holds the belief that mutants are superior to humans and should be treated as such - he is also a terrorist who destroys any he views as being a danger to his kind, including other mutants if necessary - however he is not quite as monstrous as some X-Men villains, such as Apocalypse, and doesn't wish to specifically enslave the world, rather shape it into his own vision of right and wrong. To achieve his ultimate goal of protecting mutantkind, Magneto has on various occasions allied with heroes such as the X-Men.
After most of the mutant population was depowered in the comics due to Scarlet Witch altering reality, after failing numerous attempts to reverse this, Magneto joined the X-Men to protect what is left of mutantkind despite the fact he cannot be fully trusted due to his past actions.
- Magneto is a protagonist in Marvel Zombies, as he blamed himself for dooming the Earth due to making a deal with an unknown zombie (rumored to be future Giant-Man) to bring the zombie plague over to lower the number of humans, but not aware of the consequences. He eventually meets his tragic end at their hands, cursing them in his final moments, shouting to his enemies "I hope you choke on me!".
- Magneto was ranked #1 on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Villains list.
- Magneto has often been compared with Malcolm X; conversely, Professor Charles Xavier has been compared with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Magneto crossed the Moral Event Horizon when he ripped the adamantium off of Wolverine's skeleton, the image of which can be seen here: http://marswillsendnomore.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/x-men-25-010.jpg