Split (1)

train · 162k rows

content stringlengths 219 1.01M	content_length int64 235 1.01M
DO I KNOW YOU? “I am fascinated by the fact that disruption creates more than it destroys,” states Perttu Pölönen Good News from Finland English People My Career: From start to Finnish Five from Finland Education Food/Beverage Investment/Finance English People My Career: From start to Finnish Five from Finland Perttu Pölönen feels that the disruption to our living conditions that the pandemic has generated creates more than it destroys and affects our values and ways of thinking. Image: Julia Bushueva DO I KNOW YOU? “I am fascinated by the fact that disruption creates more than it destroys,” states Perttu Pölönen Tuomas Koivisto The first couple of months of 2020 were busy for Perttu Pölönen. Dozens of speaking events saw him zig-zagging around Finland, and his first book, Tulevaisuuden lukujärjestys (Curriculum for the future), was published and proved so popular it has sold 10,000 copies and is already in its fifth edition. And then COVID-19 happened. His calendar quickly emptied. Rather than rest on his laurels pondering what could have been, Pölönen pressed forward with his intention to expand his audience. He has laid out plans to start producing videos and podcasts on the themes of his book, which aptly include bringing together the skills required to persevere in an unprecedented future – curiosity, creativity, compassion and open-mindedness among them. Soon, an English-language version was on the cards, so too was a global roll-out. The English book, Future skills, came out this year, as did Perttu’s inspirational follow-up to the first book, Tulevaisuuden identiteetit (Future identities), where he explores new ways of building an identity for the 21st century. Perttu is an inventor, composer, keynote speaker, futurist, visionary and author. Image: Perttu Pölönen Such fleet-footed pivoting comes natural for the 26-year-old. His career path so far includes the titles of inventor, composer, keynote speaker, futurist, visionary and author. His book details this career manoeuvring, from successfully launching the MusiClock mobile app in 2015 to being named among the 35 Innovators Under 35 in Europe by MIT Tech Review and studying exponential technologies at Singularity University, a think tank located at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. Last year, Perttu received the Finnish Changemaker of the Year Award. After MusicClock, he co-founded 360ED, a company developing augmented reality applications for the education sector in Myanmar. His most recent focus, that of a public speaker, has been about sharing the various insights and learnings he has gleaned from his rapidly accumulating experience. And now the world is gripped by COVID-19. The future of encounters, human aspects counterbalancing technological advancements, disruption, the changes exponential growth is bringing – how does this all look through the lens of the pandemic? First things first: your first book has been a huge success in Finland. Where did you get the idea for it? There is so much hype around technologies and how they affect the future of mankind. There is nothing wrong with this and I find this kind of reasoning interesting as well, but what I find even more essential is to think about the elements that do not change. I like to encourage people to think about things that will be the same 30 years from now. It is seemingly difficult, as it needs a completely different kind of reflection, but finding these kinds of constant aspects in life is extremely valuable especially now, when uncertainty is gaining ground. Pölönen underlines the fact that the more things change, the more some things stay the same. Image: Perttu Pölönen While I was in Silicon Valley and the better I got into that world of tech, the more it started to scare me. Societies are constantly undergoing changes as a result of exponential technological developments. I began to think that societies should develop in a more humane way to counterweight the technological advancements. We have seen that it has not necessary been the case and that technologies may enslave or have adverse repercussions, even if the intentions were good. I realised that we need to attend to basic and fundamental matters, and thus I felt the urge to do my bit on behalf of the general good. On this basis, I started to evaluate the role of human beings in the future. The questions I was pondering, such as what is left for us after major technological breakthroughs, what kind of skills are required and what is our everyday going to be like, gave me an idea to further a humane approach to the future, and so I began to write. I choose a book as my medium because I felt the necessity to bring forth my thoughts in a form that is easy to decipher even for people who do not have a direct relation to the future and technology-related themes. Therefore, all the tech jargon was left behind as well, but being an easy-to-read publication doesn’t mean it’s less profound. There is a tip that sounds almost prophetic in the coronavirus age: ‘Don’t waste a good crisis – there you have a great opportunity to learn something.’ What are you trying to say here? No technology is good or bad per se, Pölönen says, but it is a matter of how it is utilised. Image: Perttu Pölönen The core message I am getting at with the phrase, through humour, is that even though every crisis is different, they can sensitise our growth as persons. In other words, when something critical has happened, it has happened for a reason – something has caused it and, thus, there is a great opportunity to learn from our mistakes. In relation to this current crisis, the lesson is to evaluate whether we want to go back were we came from and simply try to recreate everything. Alternatively, we could go back to basics, shuffle the cards properly, reshape it all and come out as better persons at the end of all this. You write that while the world is global, it is developing exponentially and unpredictably. This has become crystal clear in these times. But where is this exponential growth eventually leading us? Advanced technologies are already everywhere and keep evolving exponentially, but, for humans, it has been difficult to get a solid grasp of the scale of the growth. Societies before the internet evolved steadily and locally for tens of thousands of years, and then the era of internet, not developing locally or linearly, has revolutionised our way of life and our understanding of time and place in just a couple of decades. The COVID-19 outbreak has, at the least, shown how connected the world is, how global matters are evolving in leaps and bounds and what exponential growth really feels like. We should evaluate our learnings and experiences of this crisis to better understand the changes exponential technologies are causing. This way we can try to prepare ourselves for the future rather than trying to derive future from the past, which is impossible by definition. Pölönen has given talks all around the world. Image: Perttu Pölönen Where does exponential growth lead us? It is very difficult to think very far into a future that is unprecedented, where the evolution of technologies only accelerates and unexpected twists such as a pandemic can rapidly change the direction of development. Even if we were good at predicting breakthroughs in technology, it is hardly possible to predict changes in human behaviour. Yet this is exactly what we should focus on. Living in the midst of all this technology requires us all to consider what makes our lives meaningful and what qualities in people will be emphasised. I am optimistic that people are giving more thought to the humane skills that I consider to be vital for mankind. Another topic you emphasise in your writing is disruption. You underline that it is not just a buzzword detached from reality but its recent popularity reflects a more positive connotation than previously. What does disruption mean to you and how does it relate to the current global crisis? Disruption emphasises the idea that previously gained success does not guarantee prosperity in the future. In my view, this explains some of the major trends in the changing world well. In the big picture, I am fascinated by the fact that disruption creates more than it destroys, and I find it interesting that disruption can interpolate relative strengths. A big shock, like this pandemic, creates new rules for the economy, it provides novel opportunities, means and winners. For instance, already established companies shouldn’t be worried that much about competitors in their field, as they should be more concerned about individuals or small groups of coders and programmers working enthusiastically in their basements. Those are people capable of fabricating entirely new solutions and innovations that can shake the very foundations of the business mind frame. One would say that times change and we with time, but humans tend to change only when coerced. For instance, most people don’t act and alter their behaviour when facing climate change to the needed extent, because the effects aren’t tangible in their everyday lives – as opposed to this pandemic, where the imperative to react was immediate. I like to think that one learning from this pandemic disruption is that we are becoming less stubborn and thus are able to change our behaviour proactively before future outbreaks wholly hit the fan. Your career path so far is quite unique. How has growing up in Finland affected it? I have ended up from one opportunity and place to another in a natural yet unusual way. While I am a classically trained composer, my MusiClock invention brought me to the business world, to Silicon Valley, and the learnings from there led me to Myanmar. After that, I have been sharing the knowledge I have been privileged to learn myself by doing presentations all over and through the book as well. When looking back at this journey so far, I realise how outstanding my start in life has been just because I was born in Finland. What I am saying is that it is pretty awesome how I have been given the opportunities and plenty of time to try and do the things I have done, because the basics are secured and functioning in Finland. Another way Finland has affected me is nature – Finnish nature is invincible. I was born and raised in the countryside, and my parents still live in my childhood home. When I visit them, the freshness, space and timelessness nature gets me every time. Nature also thrills with its simplicity. I am fascinated about the simplicity in the way that art responds to time and society. In our time, everything around us seems to be hectic, and, in response to this, my music is seemingly simple. I like doing things properly. If something is done, it should be clear in the sense that situations where there are five cross-linked things on top of one another should be avoided. This is the overtone in my music as well. You have been taking part in various initiatives all around the world, from Silicon Valley to Myanmar. What has been your most exciting experience so far? There are many incredible educational experiences that I am happy I have been part of. I see the several months-long think tank programme at Singularity University as a certain turning point in my life, and I feel indebted to that institution. In the programme, there were some eighty participants from every continent and from different fields of expertise. While I was the youngest of them all, the lot was a great source of inspiration for me. It was a very educational programme where we went through technologies and global challenges. Admittedly, many views there were quite biased, but it just made it a conveniently provocative environment, which helped me to develop my critical thinking tremendously. As a whole, I am grateful how awakening an experience it was and how much it has helped me to widen my view of the world. Our project in Myanmar [360ED], which I started together with Hla Hla Win, who hails from Myanmar and whom I got to know in Silicon Valley, has been another indelible eye-opener. It showcases how technology can really produce good, constructive changes and developments in fields that have long been facing the same static problems. In Myanmar, and many other developing countries as well, the textbooks and other education materials tend to be worn out and often severely outdated. To tackle this issue, we started to digitalise learning materials and established an augmented reality platform where these materials are easily accessible, customisable and updatable as needed. What has made this possible is that almost everyone in Myanmar now has access to the internet and to knowledge with their smartphones, which was a virtually non-existent device just a decade ago. This project made me realise that no technology is good or bad per se, but it is a matter of how the technology is utilised. Finally, you already have many feathers in your cap professionally, but what was your dream profession as a child? In my childhood, I dreamt of becoming so many things, from an astronaut to a lumberjack. And in my youth, I kept trying many new things and ended up having different kind of phases. First, I was a really avid athlete. I even won the Finnish under-15 championship in triple jump, and it was supposed to become my profession at one time. When I was in secondary school, I went through kind of a hippie phase, where I had dreadlocks and I wore a poncho-looking Nepalese long cloak. At the age of 13, I had already discovered composing and pursued that path more seriously alongside all other activities, and eventually music won me over. It is entertaining to take a trip down memory lane thinking about all these phases from time to time. One thing is that I have never been working for anyone else than for myself. I founded my first company to develop MusiClock at the age of 18, and I have been my own person ever since. Article originally published in April 2020, updated in June and November 2021 Related news DO I KNOW YOU? “Once you choose hope, anything is possible,” says Mia Kemppaala DO I KNOW YOU? “Music has been a great form of self-expression for Finns,” says Kaisa Rönkkö Health Technology Finnish circular solutions continue to sustain a future approach Finnish scientists break down problematic plastics with microbes High technology Finnish companies augment all kinds of experiences All the positive headlines about Finnish startups, SMEs and innovations gathered together and delivered to your inbox. We are a service that covers positive and globally interesting news topics related to Finnish businesses and innovations.	15,749
In 2012, New Jersey anti-folk/punk outfit Crazy & The Brains released a handful of songs as part of a split EP with The Disconnects. While C&tB’s xylophone heavy take on the Ramones’ ‘Oh Oh I Love Her So’ was their best track on that particular release, the band’s self-penned material had its own ragged charm, similar to ‘Don’t Need Snacks’, their own EP containing odes to Lindsay Lohan and Saturday Night Live. 2013’s ‘Let Me Go’ recycles a few numbers from those previous releases – including a couple of the band’s best – but the unheard tunes within the sixteen tracks certainly aren’t without their enjoyable moments. Continue reading → Support This Site If you love what we do, please help us continue with the price of a small coffee! Archives Select Month December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009	2,826
Being a retired corporate attorney and philanthropist, Franci Neely worked in various capacities at the Gusman Godfrey, L.L.P. law firm. Despite having multiple offices around the major cities in the United States, Neely loved working in Houston, Texas office. She was able to travel to Europe with some of the attorneys and even visit China. She has focused her time on arts and culture since she retired. At the Houston Cinema Arts Society, she assisted the theater with their fundraising efforts and donated back to a couple of other charities. She has constantly searched for good causes that would benefit her community and others worldwide through NGOs and non-profit groups. Franci Neely also plays a role in the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and has played an important role in ascertaining that the museum continues to benefit Houston and Texas. Neely has been a Houston Cinema Arts Society member since her retirement. Also, she serves on the Moody Center for the Arts (MCA) board and the Menil Foundation as member. As a lawyer, Franci Neely helped with various charitable organizations. She donated her time and money to organizations that were in need. Neely believes that charitable organizations are essential for those who donate and receive the donations. She has a passion for aiding others and thinks one should help others to get back what is due to them. She feels you should donate to those who have less than you and are in need. Franci Neely is a tireless worker and is confident that people will believe in her work. Franci Neely formed her Foundation to help people and provide a mechanism to help others. The Foundation’s mission is to issue grants to charitable organizations in need. Neely’s vision is to assist children and families who have difficulties. It is to help individuals and not to harm them. It is to assist communities in need and particularly those that are disadvantaged. Franci says she has financial advisors who are skilled and who are accountable. She reviews the records periodically to ensure no wrongdoing, tax fraud, or conflict of interest. Neely has a team of professionals she trusts and can depend on to complete her work and assist with her research.	2,255
A lawsuit filed in state superior court Monday on behalf of two restaurant owners, a skin care business, a woman who was fined for violating quarantine after travel and Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, is asking the court to declare the governor’s emergency powers invalid. Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency powers were extended until February following a vote by legislative leaders and members of the Public Health Committee. Republicans voted against extending the governor’s powers but were overruled by Democrats who held the majority of the votes. The plaintiffs are represented by Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, and Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, who have filed other lawsuits challenging the governor’s executive orders. The complaint contains two counts: the first asserting that the COVID-19 pandemic does not fall under the category of a civil preparedness emergency as defined in state statute, and the second that Connecticut’s low hospitalization rate means the governor’s extension of the public health emergency declaration is invalid. The governor’s powers to suspend legislation and regulations comes under the civil preparedness emergency statute, which defines a “major disaster” as “hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm or drought, or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, explosion, or man-made disaster in any part of this state.” The lawsuit states that the governor has not identified any of those incidents to warrant a civil preparedness emergency declaration. The statute definitions indicate that the governor may declare such an emergency under the civil preparedness and public health emergency section. The lawsuit contends that the civil preparedness emergency declaration did not meet the statutory criteria. The second count regards the continuation of the public health emergency despite the low numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. The complaint cites data published by the State Department of Education and the Department of Public Health showing the hospitalization rate as .3 per 100,000 people in August, just before Lamont declared an extension of his emergency powers on September 1. “DPH’s own published data make clear that the risk of contracting COVID-19, the risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and the risk of dying from COVID-19 in Connecticut from COVID-19 are very small,” the complaint reads. Graph presented in court complaint based on numbers from the CT Dept. of Public Health The public health emergency statute says the governor’s powers will end when there is no longer a “substantial risk of a significant number of human fatalities or incidents of long-term disability.” “Since the Defendant’s original declaration of public health emergency on March 10, 2020, the prospect of COVID-19 posing a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to Connecticut’s residents has reduced to the point that makes the Defendant’s continued usurpation of the Legislative Branch’s constitutional powers to modify and/or suspend statutes and/or regulations completely meritless,” the complaint reads. The business owners claim they have been harmed by the governor’s closure of non-essential businesses and the delay of the governor’s phased reopening plan. Based on hospitalization rates, Connecticut should have entered into its third reopening phase, but Lamont has held back, citing upticks of coronavirus in other states. The complaint also cites the governor’s travel restrictions, which levy a fine against people who do not quarantine following travel into Connecticut from particular states and resulted in a fine against one of the plaintiffs. The governor announced more fines on Monday for people who violate his orders regarding the use of masks and social gatherings. Rep. Mike France is also a plaintiff, arguing that the governor’s emergency powers have usurped his legislative powers. This is the fifth such lawsuit filed challenging the governor’s emergency declaration or his executive orders. Roxy Nail Salon filed a lawsuit challenging the governor’s quick about-face on allowing nail salons to reopen at the same time as hair salons. The governor pushed back the reopening date for nail salons by two weeks but allowed hair salons and barber shops to reopen. Another lawsuit filed by a variety of businesses, including Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, in his capacity as a realor, challenges the constitutionality of Lamont’s closure of businesses deemed non-essential. Two other lawsuits challenge the State Department of Education’s mask requirement for students returning to school. Marc E. Fitch is the author of several books and novels including Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science and Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot. Marc was a 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow and his work has appeared in The Federalist, American Thinker, The Skeptical Inquirer, World Net Daily and Real Clear Policy. Marc has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Connecticut State University. Marc can be reached at [email protected] September 15, 2020 @ 1:23 pm In reality all the representatives in Connecticut should join in this case, but politics being what they are I would expect every republican to join. The fact that they do not shows their lack of leadership qualities and they should be removed from office at the next election. I applaud the plaintiffs involved in this and wish them success. The economic fate of this state depends on it reopening as soon as possible and many of us have reached the end of our patience when it comes to having our constitutional rights superseded. September 15, 2020 @ 5:08 pm Woohoo, YES! Illegal seizure of power and control. WE the people disagree! September 15, 2020 @ 5:17 pm It’s about time that “King Ned” be put in his place. The Democrats are cowards and won’t stand up to him for the rights of the citizens. September 15, 2020 @ 6:53 pm I knew from the moment that these mandates started to go into effect that it would eventually devolve into a full blown culture war, and it has, not just here in the U.S. but in other countries as well. I have never abided by these absurd guidelines since the beginning and I never will, not for one second. I don’t capitulate to dictatorial mandates being perpetuated by an opportunistic politician who is running the state unilaterally without the input from the legislature. The numbers no longer justify this insanity. September 16, 2020 @ 4:08 am I am happy this process has begun. The Federal Court determined PA’s Governor’s actions were unconstitutional voting the First and Fourth Amendments, so I hope the same is found with these lawsuits. September 16, 2020 @ 1:10 pm This guy is overreaching his authority. The last time I checked, we still have rights as Americans. No one should have the ability to use executive authority so that citizens can be controlled. Debra mckenna September 16, 2020 @ 5:47 pm When the law doesn’t apply to the lawmakers, we’re not being governed, we’re being ruled. September 16, 2020 @ 7:57 am Lamont has to go! Reopen CT now!!!! September 16, 2020 @ 9:24 am Connecticut needs to reopen ALL the businesses. September 16, 2020 @ 1:24 pm Enough of this looser Lamont and his cronies! He needs to go and so do ALL the Democrats running this dump of a state!!! Time to move out!!! September 16, 2020 @ 2:28 pm The ill-conceived emergency powers give to the governor must end, the execution there of has been nothing short of capricious, unreasonable, and ineffectual with a strong overtone of political corruption. I did not elect representatives to Hartford so you could abandon your responsibilities to the whims of a ne’er do well NY carpet bagger and his panel of unelected crony “Experts” on whom we can blame the deaths of 4465 CT citizens and the third highest death per thousand population in the US. Seems to me, doing nothing would have had as good a chance of preventing these deaths as anything these “experts” thought to do. Only, if we had done nothing, there would be an economy left and countless businesses would still be functioning and more importantly, generating much needed taxes. Governor Lamont and the Ct state assembly have failed us. September 16, 2020 @ 4:39 pm We should be thanking the governor for our low numbers of COVID. Because most of the citizens in CT adhered to his executive orders lives were saved. The states that have relaxed their rules or never implemented restrictions are seeming their numbers go up drastically. Why would we not want to protect the lives of our senior citizens and people with compromised immune systems? Are we so shallow that only our comforts matter and not the greater good of society? September 17, 2020 @ 11:01 am Ct has the 4th highest death count in US Jackie. Nothing to be thankful about , rather he should be condemned. September 16, 2020 @ 9:32 pm I absolutely support a mask mandate. It is the only PROVEN preventative to COVID besides complete isolation. You wear a mask to protect others. It’s simple science. It’s not forever. September 17, 2020 @ 10:58 am This isn’t about mask wearing Kara September 19, 2020 @ 11:08 am November 18, 2021 @ 2:53 pm THank you and masking should be optional! CT needs leaders not followers. September 26, 2020 @ 8:41 am If you continue the mask mandate, continue to keep healthy people isolated, continue to close businesses, continue to to prevent churches from operating, you are not allowing the virus to run it’s course, JUST LIKE WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE WITH VIRUS OUTBREAKS! The science now shows a very unlikely chance of dying from this virus, even if you are over 70 but still healthy. Do your research instead of being sheeple and destroying our state. September 17, 2020 @ 12:16 am I’m done seeing small businesses close their doors forever! All because of your agenda! You are acting in an extremely selfish manor fueled by your hunger for power that is clearly being demonstrated and abused! Humble yourself King Ned. September 19, 2020 @ 9:28 am King ned and his cronies have made up the rules for us and did enough damage to this State. Since when is our government a dictatorship from a self serving tyrant? And I thought Malloy was bad… September 19, 2020 @ 11:01 am This idiot shouldn’t even be GOVERNER, never mind trying to make LAWS. Everyone is laughing at this clown. trying to fine people for not wearing masks, we should all get together and fine him for looking like a slob, we hardly ever see HIM wearing a mask…goes to a 9/11 memorial service with shirt opened, no tie, hands in pocket, etc. etc. real pig, no respect at all…We guess he never read the book. ” How to be a Governer !” He believes he’s GOD…what a JOKE…….He can NOT make laws period….Get that Lamont !!!!!OOPS, my computer hates spell check, sorry everyone…. September 19, 2020 @ 11:15 am Again Daryl…thank you, some people just don’t read facts…..she must have voted for Lamont… October 19, 2020 @ 9:48 pm Governor Lamont has done a terrible disservice to the people of CT. His power grab is unconstitutional and needs to be checked. The separate & equal branches of government are fundamental to our democracy. November 6, 2020 @ 7:15 am This is what happens with you have ONE party rule! The democrats control everything unchecked! December 28, 2020 @ 3:22 pm based on the statutes Sec 28-9 and 19a-131a, i cannot see how governor lamont’s renewal of the march 10th state of emergency is legal. The renewal specifically includes the civil preparedness emergency which the statute limits to 6 months and does not give him the authority to renew. Further, if the legislature meant for the governor to have a renewal option they would have allowed for such option as they did in the public health emergency statute found in Sec 19a-131a. given how closely tied the statutes for these two different types of emergencies are (one statute references the other), the ommission of a renewal option in 28-9 is a glaring indication of intent. The governor usurps the power of the legislature and the free loaders amoung legislators are doing nothing about it. these representatives are to be commended. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Related Posts By Ken Girardin June 23, 2022 Good Government,Policy Brief INTRODUCTION About 124,000 Connecticut government employees belong to a labor union.[i] These include teachers, state agency employees, police officers and SUMMARY Governor Ned Lamont, on April 1, asked state lawmakers to ratify tentative agreements with 15 state government unions that	13,376
We understand how difficult it can be to be away from family. Our goal is to keep families together. Contact us at Meneses Law to get your petition started. A United States citizen has several options for petitioning for family members when using the I-130 application. But before starting this family-based immigration process, it’s important to define which relatives are eligible based on your immigration status. As a green card holder or lawful permanent resident, you can petition for the following family members: spouse As a U.S. citizen, you can petition for the following family members: Unmarried children under 21 Married children over 21 Parents (if you are 21 or over) Brother/Sister (if you are 21 or over) To apply for residency through marriage, the applicant must be legally married to a permanent resident or citizen of the United States. Those who are in a domestic partnership or have been married only through the church do not qualify. Legal documentation through the court is necessary. Both individuals wishing to proceed in the residency application must be single or divorced prior to marriage in order to qualify. Any previous marriages, including those entered into in another country, must be dissolved completely and recorded in the civil registry. There are two types of residency through marriage: permanent and conditional. This will be determined by how many years the couple has been married by the time the beneficiary is issued residency. In order to be approved, the individuals must show that their marriage was entered in good faith and for love. They should be able to prove the validity of their marriage. Following are some examples of documentation that show a bonafide marriage: mortgage or lease showing their names, joint bank / credit accounts, birth certificates of children in common, and declarations attesting to cohabitation from family and neighbors and wedding photos. The process of applying for residency begins with the filing of an I-130 application. Those beneficiaries who last entered the United States with inspection and are married to a United States citizen are not required to leave the country in order to obtain lawful residency. If the beneficiary has not entered the country legally, they are required to return to their country of origin in order to be interviewed at the United States Embassy within that country. There is the 245i exemption to this law which allows certain individuals who were petitioned by an employer or family member prior to May of 2001 to obtain their residency in the United States. A legal consultation with a practicing and licensed immigration attorney, not a notary public, is highly recommended. Each case is unique and requires in-depth legal analysis to ascertain the right strategy. If you are a U.S. citizen engaged to a non-citizen who is living abroad, there are options available to help them obtain permanent residence here in the U.S. The K Visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows the fiancé of a United States citizen to enter the United States so the couple may wed. The K Visa process requires two parts. First, the application must be filed for approval within the United States. Next, the fiancé will be required to interview at the United States Embassy within their country of origin. In order for the petition to be approved, both parties must be free to wed, have met in person within the last two years and have the intention to marry. Apply for a Fiancé Visa — this allows your fiancé to enter the U.S. for 90 days, during which time you must get married	3,699
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Friday was the deadline the Attorney General’s Office gave to Mayor Steve Benjamin to rescind his mask mandate for schools or face legal repercussions. READ \| Here are the temporary SC laws related to COVID-19, schools, masks and vaccines To date, however, no lawsuit has been filed against the City of Columbia. The Attorney General’s Office says they are weighing their options. Attorney General Alan Wilson says there has been no movement on the decision to file a possible lawsuit yet. Ealier this week Wilson told Mayor Steve Benjamin he had until August 13 to rescind the mask ordinance. In a letter sent to the mayor, the attorney general said the city’s ordinance goes against state law. He said he hoped he and the mayor can resolve the issue before legal action was taken. Mayor Benjamin fired back saying he fundamentally disagrees with the attorney general’s opinion and that the city’s government has the constitutional authority and responsibility to preserve the lives, safety, health, and welfare of the city. SC AG says Columbia school mask mandate ‘violates state law’ Close AG stands by deadline for City of Columbia to rescind mask ordinance Richland One School District released their mask guidance policy yesterday saying they “strongly encourage” students to wear masks. WIS called the district to ask if the schools inside the city limits were going to make masks mandatory, which would align with Mayor Benjamin’s orders. A spokesperson for the district, Karen York, said their protocol states masks are strongly encouraged. She also said they have called a special school board meeting to talk about face masks. That board meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Monday. Copyright 2021 WIS. All rights reserved. Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article’s headline. River Bluff teacher arrested after gun found in car Midlands school district put on “Fiscal Watch” by S.C. Department of Education Newberry County man charged with 10 counts of human trafficking, possession of a firearm, and other offenses	2,203
In the days running up to the gig, Stoneswatchers staked out their hotel, their rehearsal ‘room’ (disused Glenside Mental Hospital, not that there’s any shortage of clientele, just that funds are a bit short apparently). Adelaide Oval October 25, 2014 Women (mostly over thirty) were seen cluttering up clothing shops, shoe shops and perfume shops (just in case) in more than usual numbers, so I expect there will be an unexplained spike in retail spending graphs in the week before the Stones play in your city. We got a call to tell us they were soundchecking at Adelaide Oval, so she raised herself from the sick bed and we lurched off. Missed most of it (the broadsheet announced it was going to be between 6 and 8pm, so the band, notoriously public-shy when not onstage, turned up at 4. We heard echoey versions of a few songs, the best of which was Happy and Sympathy for the Devil. Then we thought we’d amble down to watch the limos leave (Audis), which we did - surprise! As the limos approached the rickety gate (it’s Adelaide) one window was wound down. Mick Jagger! He looked friendly, glad to see us; and it was a generous, thoughtful gesture. That all changed as the crowd hungered forward; the security guard leapt forward and Jagger sank back into his chair looking worried, if not alarmed. There are two photos which reached us, the difference is palpable. Fans in large greedy groups are bloody dangerous. I expect the guard would’ve needed a change of undergarments. You can’t blame the Stones for hiding out, not really. Everyone has a barrow to push with this band. It won’t stop until they’re dead, too many fogeys have long memories. Like some old, deluded actresses, some females simply shouldn’t have been stalking the Stones. Mind you, the younger lasses should know better as well. They’re only human. Would you lust after your great-grandad? I like the Stones, but I have not only never seen them, I’d never really considered going to see them. Not because their songs are bad (they’re not) but because I figured it’s too much money when I have other things to spend it on. Then the tickets went on sale and she had to go and I had the money (thanks ATO) and then we had tickets. Good ones, apparently; not quite VIP but $500+ each so, I figured, we’d be counting Keef’s nostril hairs… And so to the gig. Huge anticipatory excitement in our household, much dancing about and bellowing of old favourites. Her, I’m afraid. I wasn’t that excited, also rather too much other stuff has been happening. I was more curious and interested, which, given the cost of the tickets (general admission was $80, which I thought was good) means I was in a serious minority. Generally when the burbs empty in this town before a gig (50,000; never seen so many people awed by themselves as part of a crowd. There’s a learned anthropological thesis waiting to be written about how we are affected by things on a large scale, however meaningless the achievement. Bob Short..?) the town packs solid for about four hours before the gates open. You knew ACDC were in town by the hordes of swollen, sloppy bikers, wanna-be’s and low-level thugs getting hammered all down the streets near the gig. The RH Chilli Peppers have a similarly distinctive crowd. People took their time getting to the gig. Families lay under the oaks and Morton Bay Figs, yabbering cheerily, clutching their merch bags (T-shirts $50, which is current industry standard, and programmes $30, ditto - I expected the prices to be higher) and I was reminded of the Royal Show. A nice family day out. If the bad boys live long enough they turn into the establishment the young all loathe because it doesn’t swear enough and isn’t relevant to now. No, the Stones have long been irrelevant to the zeitgeist; their most extraordinary moment as far as I can see is ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’, released at a time of massive civil unrest throughout the Western Powers (particularly in the USA where a misguided military situation was exacerbated by the threat not of being dragged off to join the war, but to be forced to make the decision, ‘do I study or do I accept the draft’? And let’s not forget the cauldron of thoughtless violence caused by the more forceful (if not militantly communistic) members of the civil rights movement (and the opportunists who egged it along, and the stubborn guardians of justice who weren’t guarding justice but ‘the way things are’)… Cities burned; ‘Satisfaction’ was one of several emotive rallying points of the 6ts; another was The Temptation’s Ball of Confusion, released just before the opening of the Black Panther trial; Yale University had a night of almost-boiling-over violence which, thanks to the most intelligent policing I’ve ever read about, did not result in a bloodbath. So now the Stones represent ‘the way things are’. And that’s fine; the crowd are happy, all pleased to be there, there’s food which … no, it was greasy and salty and not especially nice; the beers are a bit expensive but you expect all this at a big one-off event. Another chap who has represented ‘the way things are’ is Jimmy Barnes. By now you may have twigged that I was in far more of a minority than I’d realised. Hadn’t considered… oh, shit. I was told I should’ve brought a book. I promised I’d keep this short. I’ve tried hard to avoid seeing Barnes live. I dislike the music; and it’s ever-present in this town. Nothing against the man, nor his fans. I find Chisel to be fairly dull, and Barnes to be quite ordinary. But I loved his first solo single, Little Bit of Daylight. However, supporting the Stones can’t be easy. You’ve got a small area to work on, it’s still daylight and people are wolfing nuggets, pizzas, burgers and chips (no gravy), finding their seats, and seeing people they haven’t seen for years as well as people they work with, so it would be hard to project anything against that. The band have a few lights, but about half (if that) of the PA power, and there’s a huge gap between the stage and the Jagger Walkway (so if the support band tries to commandeer the Jagger Walkway they’ll break their neck). However, the fact that Barnes is on means the crowd sort themselves out and stampede into the stadium, realising that It Can’t Be Too Long Now etc; because he’s an Adelaide favourite (apart from me, it seems) before long the crowd are singing along and jigging about to old favourites, many of which I am cursed to recognise and know most of the blasted words. But. But, but, but. I was hypnotised by one man on that stage. One man who was utterly Into It, Plugged In and fucking wonderful. Lachy Doley. Organ and piano. The mix sometimes buried it, but by fuck he was good. Seek Lachy Doley the man out. Lachy Doley has his own band. Lachy Doley. Lachy Doley. Lachy Doley. Ok. So we wait in the sun for the next hour and a half or whatever it was (I heard James Brown’s I Feel Good three times - a tribute given Jagger was able to take some of Brown’s moves and incorporate them into his own act), I was told I should’ve brought a book twice more and eventually the lights go down and … well, the entrance music is pretty damn huge. Big fuckoff lights. And a sound system worth over $12 mill and clean as a whistle and I want one. Ah, ok, where’s the fucking band? We have problems here, I guessed we might but… okay. I’m not used to big gigs like this. The Stones is a huge, complex enterprise, a business, so they sell the tix closest to the stage for much, much higher. So, if you’re me and spoiled by being up the front of a gig most of the time you’d kinda expect not to be in the situation that Moshtix use as advertising (deep crowd, hands, heads and blackness and above it in the distance some light and stick figures; I assume this means that the gig experience for most people is about pretending that discomfort and hiding in a crowd is somehow comforting). Well, I was wrong. I spent two and a half hours balancing on bits of my feet I never knew I had, craning to see the tiny figures on a stage half a soccer pitch away in between the Bald Bloke, the Shaggy Bum Bloke and the Older Growly Bald Bloke. Having to constantly switch focus from not being knocked over (all seating was enforced; no standing or movement in the aisles. I felt a bit like I was in Gilliam’s film Brazil) was weird; very short dark to very bright and miniscule. Yes, they have huge and very effective video screens, but … I wanted to see the band. I’ll get the dvd (the Hyde Park DVD is, I think, better than Shine a Light). So I did everything possible to see the band, and ignore the video footage unless absolutely necessary. If you’ve not seen them, Jagger is one of the most accomplished showmen and it’s a right joy to watch how he works. Springsteen, Pop, Cave, okay? And he’s concentrating fearfully all the time, you can see it. This may come easily after many years of practice, but Jagger works his butt off and it looks gruelling. Whatever he makes from this tour he’s earned the hard way. He doesn’t run quite everywhere, but he moves at a fast clip around all three runways, imprecating at us, sometimes setting up call-and-responses, sometimes doing that extraordinary foot-shimmer. By the way, Jagger is 71. And although the band pace their show, two hours and a half hour encore (and probably more if you really want it, see below), well, he may have slowed down from twenty years ago, but not by bloody much. Around the 90 minute mark I thought he looked a bit tired. Then Jagger got his second wind. Think what you like about the man, but you have to admire his drive and determination. Some clot was overheard saying the band “were adequate for their age”. One wonders how many hits that clot has written, or how many millions the clot has made from music… Fuck, 71. That in itself is brilliant, and worth the price of admission. Cab Calloway was still going at 78, I know that. But even so. Fuck. Oh, and this must be the first and second times Jagger’s been booed in a long time. I think it was after the second song, Let’s Spend the Night Together (impossibly vulgar at the time, now a twee or quaint ditty, lacking the fresh innocence of, say, I Wanna Hold Your Hand) (snigger), that Jagger let the band sort themselves out, came forward and made a carefully calculated comment “So you’re all Crows supporters then?” Delighted, half the crowd roared approval, interrupted almost instantly by a savage booing… “Oh, so you like Port Power as well?” Nicely timed. The cheerers now booed and vice versa. “I thought you’d all like each other, given you share the same stadium”. Not sure what all that was about but people seemed to feel strongly about it. Jagger made several more comments about Adelaide - they’d been here for about two weeks - and how well they’d been treated. Fibs - maybe - about how Ronnie ate crocodile, Keef had a pie floater and Charlie had a frog cake (poor sod). When Jagger said they were thinking of moving here you could hear 25000 creaky hearts go all wonky. ‘Get a little bungalow in Fullarton’. Ah, it’s a joke. Deadpan style. Rather good. Actually, despite all the professionalism and MAJOR EVENT STATUS, it was easy to see the real men behind it all. The camaraderie between the members, Wood taking hasty drags, the way Jagger would take the spotlight to cover the hasty instrument swapping and roadies scurrying about behind him in the dark. There were a few mistakes, quickly covered; Keef’s radio mike fell off his guitar at the beginning of Satisfaction (fixed within seconds) and some hi-vis carpark attendant made his way onto the stage, cavorting and heading straight for Jagger (what did I say earlier, can’t blame them for wanting privacy) before being tackled, bundled off and hopefully buried alive. Twat. It might seem, from the list above, that it’s a lazy scamper through the back catalogue, but the band have put considerable thought into the arrangement and structuring of these versions; there’s a chunky soul feel to the live band, balanced intelligently and delivered with panache, power and professionalism, allowing the Seventysomethings time to gather themselves between songs. My favourites tonight? I thought you’d never ask. JJFlash (I first saw Jagger on a bw tv in a tiddly jockstrap. I thought he was obscene. Brilliant). I particularly enjoyed Doom and Gloom and Out of Control - clearly I’ll have to get hold of those; these newer songs are damn good. Happy was a highlight, as was Can’t be Seen; both sung by the rather shy Keef Richards. Gimme Shelter I particularly enjoyed, a stand-out version, and Like a Rolling Stone (apparently Adelaide’s most-requested song). Midnight Rambler and several others - including You Can’t Always Get What You Want I thought went on a bit too long but hey, it’s a spectacle, and you can’t help but admire it all and get carried away. Mick’s harmonica duet with Mick Taylor in Midnight Rambler was a total wig-out. As I said, they gotta pace themselves. So the other musicians get a run-out. Mick Taylor, Lisa Fischer; hugely talented in their own right. The night’s highlight had to be Sympathy for the Devil (mammoth drums, video, smoke and lights made for a very convincing Hell). Satisfaction was brilliant; history, selfishness and savagery all at once. The Stones were always a bit dubious of the lovechild generation, and quite right too. Some of the Adelaide variety (and their often unfortunate offspring) sported their credentials, but most looked sober, wore dull colours accompanied with the sort of shit haircut we get to when we can’t be bothered much anymore. Er, yes, that’s right, a bit like mine. A word on encores. Most bands factor one in, sometimes two. But if you make enough damn noise after one, and two, you might get more. Stop taking bloody selfies. If you really want the band to come back, don’t stand there expectantly. It sounds like nothing back there. They came out for the encore, probably because it is written in the script. After the bows by the band and their hired musicians (some of the latter looked surprised), then the group bow, they buggered off into the gloom. The amps were left on, and the main lights above the stage facing the crowd… I got the feeling that if we’d have bellowed a bit they might’ve come back on. Then the huge lights flashed on and off: the signal to the stage crews to shut it down. They were damn good. Many of their songs which are old favourites I don’t like that much. Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger project like no other band. Without the huge rep and the huge stage… well. Seeing the Stones should provide fresh determination to young musicians - this is what your music could be. I doubt the crowd had ten percent under 25. Should you go if they’re heading your way and there are tickets available? Sure. Everyone around me was rapt. Delighted. A chum (apparently in the video live feed truck) texted me about how AWESOME THEY WERE. But I was always in the minority here. And even I was impressed and enjoyed watching it (apart from the pain in my calves and feet). But get a seat in the stands and - take binoculars. You know that chatroom slugline? Cannot be unseen? Leave your comments Post comment as a guest Email (Required): Type the text presented in the image below. Not clear? Reload Captcha Your comments are subject to administrator's moderation. Sort by Oldest First Sort by Latest First Subscribe with Email Keith did not make a mistake at the start of Satisfaction.....he stopped to pick up a pair of glasses left as a result of the scuffle with the space invader....nothing to do with radio equipment. Hi Stuart. Well, I did say I was teetering on my toes to see the band. It'd be damn bright up there, he'd need his shades on to see! No, Keef doesn't make mistakes with his guitar. You would've had a better view on the screens; of course his radio mike didn't drop off. All I could see was a miniscule black dot and the sound stopped for half a second. Adelaide Oval's capacity is a bit bigger than most English Premier League stadiums, which most routinely fill every week. No wonder there are so many squabbles - if not brawls - in English pubs over refereeing decisions. Mind you, much of the brawls are more or less because we are us and we hate them; Bob Short recently related seeing a pubload of Millwall supporters tipping a busload of rival supporters onto its' side. Hmm. I may have digressed here	17,220
Expense management is a crucial part of every business activity. It helps businesses to reduce their operating expenses. The key benefit of using expense management software is the reduction in errors resulting from human error. It also helps businesses in decision making. With expense management software, businesses can get useful information regarding cost estimates, the average time taken to deliver certain projects and so on. This enables businesses to make better decisions regarding their projects and reduces risk. An automated expense management system is a computer program that streamlines the employee expense management process. The software eliminates the need for physical paper, reduces the level of time wasted on expenses and reduces the risk associated with errors made by employees. The use of this system results in improved work flow and greater employee efficiency. In addition, it increases profitability. Studies have shown that an automated expense management software system results in an increase in productivity, reduced costs and increased profit. Certain features of the software are explained below. A professional services automation system provides several ways of tracking expenses. The most common way used by companies is the direct method, which includes recording the value of each employee's time spent on each expense and the value of each completed project. Expense tracking in the finance department involves recording expenses related to cash advances, accounts payable and other loans. Companies may also choose to track expenses under the services, products and/or consumer segments. Another important feature of an efficient expense management software system is the use of paper receipts. Many companies, for example, have adopted electronic paper receipts, which reduces the number of errors made in managing expenses. Electronic paper receipts eliminate the possibility of employees writing down the date and dollar amount of an expense. They also eliminate the possibility of an errant employee adding or subtracting a certain dollar amount from an expense. Since the introduction of online transactions, it has become easier to keep track of all employee expenses. Online transactions allow you to enter the cost per item group, such as supplies, and then store the information for a later date. Online transaction expense management software helps you save time by automatically generating receipts when items are purchased. It keeps track of the total cost of items purchased, including shipping and handling fees. This will allow you to enter the total cost of items the employee purchased for online transaction. The receipt generated will help you determine if the total cost was greater than the value of the item purchased. With a high quality expense management software program, it is possible to generate and print customized expense reports, as well as print checks. The custom expense report can be tailored to meet specific requirements, including special payments, tax reports and records for employee retirement contributions. You can also create custom reports for employee performance awards, performance bonuses and employee referrals. These types of reports can be printed off of a single report template, allowing you to generate several reports in one location. Some expense management software programs are capable of uploading information directly to spreadsheets or databases for users to use. Other programs are capable of uploading information directly to web servers, allowing your employees to view and print off the expense reports that they need. A good program will allow you to view the entire accounting database, as well as export data to excel. Certain programs will even allow you to upload your information directly into an accounting package so that your employees do not have to download and open a spreadsheet. Expense management refers to the entire process of tracking employee expenses and communicating these expenses to the necessary parties. In today's business world, expense management is especially important because it enables you to manage your company's total budget. When you track employee expenses, you are able to ensure that you are controlling your organization's budget. A good expense management software program will not only allow you to review your organization's expense reports, but will also allow you to update spending plans and check on your organization's cash flow. Using a quality expense management software program will help your business achieve greater profitability. Create a site with This website is built with Strikingly. Create yours today! This website is built with Strikingly. Create your FREE website today! We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.	4,878
Selling books is like solving a puzzle. I love puzzles. There is something so satisfying in taking what looks like ill-fitted pieces that make little or no sense separately, and putting them together to create something amazing. It is problem solving at it's core. I take that same approach in helping authors sell more books. Give me your broken pieces and let me help you sell more copies of your masterpiece. February 9, 2017 NOTE: I wrote this a few months ago and for some reason, didn’t click publish. Not sure why. My position at work was recently eliminated. Scary, right? Someone even pointed out that this was especially scary given my age. Great. Hadn’t thought of that. I’m sure there are studies about the emotional turmoil you go through when you lose (Not a fan of this term since I didn’t lose it, it was taken from me.) your job. Like grieving there’s sadness and disbelief, followed very closely by anger and resentment. Then comes acceptance. I blew through the stages in a matter of days. No kidding. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened to me. But I’m different. Still a Daughter of the King, but today I trust Him completely. Still, in trusting that God has my back and is my provider, still there is that why? I know God didn’t demand that my company eliminate my job. But He did know it was going to happen. I kept telling my husband that I felt like something big was coming and that God was calling me to Him to prepare. So that when it happened, and this was so awesome, I wasn’t afraid. Not. At. All. Not afraid of how I would feed my family. Not afraid about the bills. Not afraid about heating the house this winter. Not afraid about Christmas. Not afraid about what was coming next. Nope. In fact, I am excited! The Bible tells us in Jerimiah 29:11 that God had a plan and purpose for our lives and that is NOT to harm us. Jesus told that we would have trouble in this world but that he has given us His peace (John 14:27). God’s word tells us not to be afraid – 365 times! Who am I to argue with the Bible? First, before my many titles – wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, employee – I am His. I am so much more than a worldly label. This world is temporary. My home is in Him.	2,274
Businesses and companies are often afraid of innovation because they view it as risky. Urko Wood, Founder and Innovation Guide of Reveal Growth Consultants, Inc. shares an unusual approach to innovation called the “Jobs to Be Done.” The real problem is defining the problem. Notes from the Show Urko Wood has been the founder and innovation guide at Reveal Growth Consultants for 10 years. He helps businesses and companies of all sizes achieve growth through innovation. Today he shares an unusual approach to innovation called “Jobs to Be Done,” an approach pioneered by Tony Ulwick, CEO and Founder of Strategy where Urko worked for seven years. In innovation today, there are a lot of miscommunication and problems that arise because we often believe customers can’t tell us what they want. Urko emphasizes the importance of understanding and defining the problem through the customer's perspective. Growth cannot be achieved without a properly defined problem. When working on defining the customer’s problem, Urko focuses on a few major questions. What are they trying to get done? What are the criteria they are using to measure success? What are they struggling with? When you have a market that shares the same jobs to be done and you can help that group of people get that job done better, you can be confident you will be valued in a unique position in the marketplace. A simplistic look at the “Jobs to Be Done” approach, revolves are these steps: Redefine the market from the customer's point of view. Not what solution do you need but what are you trying to accomplish and having trouble with? Find opportunities to solve the concerns that have been discovered. This can be done through qualitative interviews or interviews in unique groups based on the jobs to be done to create surveys. Find a compelling unmet need. People don’t hire things they don’t have a need for. “A customer’s need well-defined is half satisfied”. This is the most crucial part of growth and innovation for all businesses. You can find out more about Reveal Growth at their website and contact Urko Wood through his Linked In or email. How to get crystal clear about what your clients want. The danger of thinking you know what the problem is. Growing a core market versus a new market opportunity. Where the opportunities for innovation and growth are found. Transcribed by AI Susan Tatum 0:37 Welcome back to the stop the noise Podcast. I'm excited today to have our special guests Urko Wood on the show Urko is a founder, he's an experience consultant. He's a business writer, who's built an really impressive career helping businesses of all kinds of sizes, find opportunities for growth, mainly through innovation. So he's he is what he's, for the last 10 years, he has been founder and innovation guide at Revealed Growth Consultants. And as I said, he's a contributing writer. He writes about innovation and growth strategy for the Business Journal. So I think we're really lucky to have him with us today. And we're going to talk about a unique approach to innovation, called jobs to be done. And we're going to dig into some common mistakes that companies make with innovation and how to get better at it. And I'm really looking forward to this. So Urko welcome to the show. Welcome. Thank you, Susan. Good to be here. It's good to have you here. So you heard my introduction. And I'm curious, when you meet a new prospect, or you meet a new person, how do you explain what you do? And how on earth to do that. Believe me, it's been challenging, but here's what I say now you can tell me if it works. You know, how a lot of businesses launch new offerings that nobody wants to buy? we fix that problem. And we do that by helping them our clients turn innovation and growth into a repeatable business process. So would it be would it be fair to say that a lot of companies are missing a really tremendous opportunity to grow because they view innovation as being too risky? Yes, I think that's a very astute observation and accurate and not something people are aware of. Because, you know, it's, there's a wonderful quote, I have to paraphrase it by a word, Professor Russell Ackoff, who said, essentially, if you have agreement about a problem, and disagreement about the solution, well, you have a problem. But if you have disagreement about the problem, and disagreement about the solution, you have a mess. And I think that's a pretty good description of what's going on in innovation today, because, unfortunately, there's been a lot of misbeliefs, probably the number one, the chief misbelief causing the most mischief. And I shouldn't say it too lightly, it's, it's, you know, billions of dollars are lost, because people think customers cannot tell us what they want. And that's not true. People can tell us what they want if we ask them what they want to accomplish, rather than asking them for product or service specifications. But that simple little confusion leads people to generating ideas, trying to test them and resonate, which isn't good science. It's trial and error, it's guessing. But if you can solve for the customer need first and get clarity about what exactly are they trying to get done? How do they measure success? And where do they struggle in their effort to get that job done, given their current product or service solution? That's critical information that drives it drives success again, and again and again. But see, most people don't know what kind of needs or customer inputs to obtain. So of course, we're gonna have confusion and a mess. You know, what's really interesting about that, even outside of the realm of innovation is that we're trying to teach sales people to do exactly what you just said, to understand what the prospects challenges are. What the problem is, before they start talking about features and functionality. And if I'm hearing you correctly, you're saying, Hey, we forget all the great ideas. Let's understand what the issues are first. Exactly. You know, I've heard I've done some lectures, and I had one senior leader say, this is exactly what I learned in leadership training back when I was a junior executive. I said, What can you say some more? What are you referring to? Well, we were doing problem solving and leadership skills with this consultant. And she asked us a question, and a bunch of us started jumping into solutions. You said, whoa, whoa, we haven't defined the problem yet. And I said exactly. I mean, this actually is a big problem in all, communication. We presume we know what the other person is talking about. We presume we know what the word they used means to particularly with customers. And we're often wrong There's often a big disconnect and communication. And you can't afford if you're in charge of an innovation program or your company's growth, you have to differentiate through new and improved offerings. And you better get crystal clear about what your customers want, and not spend time and money speculate because there was a word confusion or some other kind of speculation. So there's something there's a certain way to, there's the right questions to ask. And then there's a way to ask those questions, isn't there? So that you're not? You're you're not leading with your own interpretations and screwing up the results. Yeah, there's always going to be some social desirability bias. And that is, what you're referring to is people want to appease, they want to be approved of by the interviewer they want to be liked. But there, there are a lot of ways to minimize that we often do individual interviews, instead of group interviews, takes away the group dynamic, which is a big part of social desirability bias, you have to make a safe place, you have to make sure you really are a non judgmental person, and they can trust you with their confidential often, depending on what the nature of the product is, it can be often shame filled, you know, difficult emotions. But if you know how to do that I have a stake in it. I have a master's in Psych and a master's in marketing. So that's helped me some, but anybody that's empathetic, that is emotionally intelligent can create a safe place for that person. And it can be it can be like therapy, in that case. So you can do it in a way that's actually really exciting for them, and they're eager to explore the issues with you, if they know this is anonymous, this person is safe, and I'm not going to be judged. So then when does this? When does this come into play? When you're when when you said when your clients, they're looking for ways to grow? Beyond acquisitions, and the usual go get some more clients. And they call you in to help identify what they should be doing and how they should be doing it? Well, you know, it's happens. It's a little different for different companies. One thing that is probably most common is we're looking for new revenue streams, we're looking for new, we want to create new revenue streams. So there others say, hey, we have a core product, there's a lot of competition. There, they don't say can we leapfrog I can help them leapfrog the competition with this approach, we can get into that more later. But so nailing a core market or I should say, but a core job, you grow a core market by nailing a core job to be done. That's what a core market is. Other jobs that are important and unsatisfied, are new or potential new market opportunity. So maybe I give an example. So it's a theoretical. There's an accounting firm here in central Ohio, their regional they're in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, elsewhere. And a lot of new entrants were jumping in to the market and low balling what the two key offerings they're 85% of most accounting firms revenue, which is tax and audit, and you can't really differentiate on compliance work nobody wants to spend more money for a particularly good audit or a particularly good, you know, tax work. Now, maybe that's maybe I'm wrong. But that's that's generally true. Conventional wisdom. They've told me this on compliance work. So they're having difficulty hidden there both revenue and profit goals with all these new entrants low balling their fees. So they came and said, and we had talked, I had met the managing partner at a conference and talk a little bit so she knew a little bit about what I do. And I met with the partners. And first thing we want to do is redefine the market from the customer's point of view. This is an essential thing that most people don't even think about. You know, we're we typically define markets according to the product or service that we deliver, and maybe the size of the market based on the historical revenue that that category we're in, has generated. So you might say the accounting business has generated, you don't know what the right number is, but 10 billion in the US, based on accounting services being provided in the past year, that'd be a pretty normal kind of conversation. But and that's good for an historic look backwards, you know, for an accountant, and that's a great thing. CFOs do a lot of great work with accountants. But if you're trying to create something in the future, that you can be confident people will want. You need a forward look that has no tie to any current product and or historical revenue, so that a lot of people say, of course, that's impossible. Well, it's not impossible if you redefine the market from the customer's point of view, they don't care about my solution or yours, they care about getting their jobs done. So that's the foundational premise of jobs to be done the innovation approach. People buy products and services to get their jobs done. Just like we hire people to do jobs, doctors, carpenters, help with a move, we hire people to do jobs. We also hire products and services to do jobs. We hire drills to make holes, we are vitamins to improve our health. We are podcasts to gain information. To help solve a problem Yeah, to solve a problem or be entertained or make a ride, commute more interesting there all kinds of things that people do. But if you redefine it as a group of people who share the same job, or jobs to be done, that's a great market definition for innovation. Because if you can, if you can help that group of people get that job done better than current offerings, you can be confident you will have a valued and unique position in the marketplace, which, as somebody who does differentiation, those words probably resonate. That's a good old Michael Porter from like 30 years ago on what his strategy and that most pithy one I've ever heard about what his strategy, he says is a value that it's creating, forging a valued and unique position. And what we're doing is helping our clients forge a valued and unique position, sometimes one feature at a time, but who cares if you do 10 features, and you create a value and unique position for that feature to get that little thing done. And a bigger job you have, maybe it's a 1% 2% improvement with each one of those features, you can have a breakthrough products without any big deal. You know, it's not a big new product, but they execute on on 10 or 15 things so much better the product is overall a breakthrough. So the same thing would be true a service as well. Yes, yes, absolutely. A lot of people usually in the service arena will say, Well, does this work for services? And it's a great question. And the answer is absolutely. And the reason it does is because again, customers don't care about our solutions, they don't care if it's a product or a service, if you're helping them get their job done. They don't care. Give them a service that works. Give them a product that works. Usually it's a little of both these days, but what they want is my job getting done. And it's um, so it's, it's a matter of identifying the things that are keeping them from getting that job done. Yes, that's often, that's often a big part of core growth, I was mentioned, there's core growth, driving revenue and core growth, which would be a market share increase in revenue growth. And that would be the strategy there as what is impeding them from getting this job done better. And taking, removing those things, removing those barriers, and that's part of what we do in our interviews is find out, where are they struggling? Where are they trying to get done? What are the criteria they use to measure success? And where are they struggling? Those are the three key pieces of information at a simple level. But there's also like I said, I didn't finish that example, it may not come back, I think it does help flash out the idea a little bit about jobs to be done. There are a lot of companies who are just looking for new revenue streams as that accounting firm was And so and I was getting to the defining the market, the reason it's so important to define the market before you do anything, is because you want to know well, who are we going to talk to for the interviews? And what is the what are the boundaries? What's the job conversation going to be with these target customers? So in talking with the partners, we realize their target customer, customers are CEOs and CFOs it midsize privately held companies. So that's a nice definition of their target customer group. Yeah, that's, that's they have a lot of people they'd love to have as clients in that target market but that's who they currently serve. Correct. Yes. So I interviewed 24 CEOs, 24 CFOs, on their behalf Excuse me, 24 total 12 CEOs, 12 CFOs, 12 non customers and 12 current customers. And since when you look at an accountant, this is a rich group of about 130 , 160 employees, about 20 partners, and a lot of different skills. So when you think about what's the capability that they can bring to the table. It's really any finance or accounting related job to be done. So the so that's how we framed the boundaries of the interviews in the market exploration. So I would, I would go to that CFO or CEO have back in the day when we did face to face. And sit down and say, I'm interested in understanding all of the important, unsatisfied tasks, I sometimes use the word use the word synonym tasks, because I don't want to confuse them with HR jobs. They're very important to you in the course of your work, very important these tasks to get done. But and forget about what solutions I know that my client has introduced us. But this could be something you get done with an internal accountant or a software solution, or a tax attorney. That's all separate and distinct. Today, I strictly want to talk about what are the tasks that are really important in the course of your work, that are finance and accounting related, that are not getting done to your satisfaction. And they start rattling them off, and I start exploring, I start taking them down, there's a certain word format, that can't be imported, particularly if we go into surveys. So this is probably worth just mentioning, you can do these things qualitatively. And I do a lot of them. And there's a lot of directional value, there's a lot of learning. GB Qs. This, this was a public case. So it's not a big deal to mention their name. They went on with the results from just equal to to build two new internal practice areas, because they saw some of the key jobs that their target audience wanted to get done, were closing the books, and other internal cost accounting issues. So it was plus, well, let me just stop there, because that led to the one service area called financial performance improvement. So that was a new service line. And that was very good. The partners loved that, because they wanted to give their associates different career paths. So they had two new service lines, just audit and tax now. And they also recognize they had a budding succession, you know, planning succession, turnover and leadership practice. But that became that was clearly one of the things that we heard a lot too, so they had confidence to move forward on that. But when you get a market view, using jobs to be done, with no solutions attached any of these statements like we want to, we'd like to prepare for succession, we're not pleased, there are a lot of financial issues, because there's an equity transfer, we're not sure how to do it, or, you know, we had so and so help, it wasn't very helpful, we're not really there yet, we postpone you know, you hear those problems. But because the job statements are framed in a way that doesn't have any solution language in it. you know, like, close the books or whatever, you have the option as the leadership, looking at this, the findings from the qualitative only, in some cases, to say, well, we always my job is to lead them through this conversation, to select which of these opportunities are attractive to you, based on your opportunity. And based on your ability, I should say, to address them, and when the market will develop criteria, it's quite easy to do rate them, and we'll get a ranking. And some of the top rankings will be things that they as an accounting firm that delivers their services through people, you know, on site or through the phone or through the, you know, spreadsheets, it wouldn't be, they wouldn't win. Because we're not competing. One of the great things, interesting things leaders often see and go that's very interesting is that the markets a lot bigger than they think, because we're not defining it by their product or service category. So an accounting firm does not compete only with other accounting firms. They compete with anybody or anything that is helping their target customers get those financial and accounting jobs done. And that includes tax attorneys, Turbo Tax and other tax fraud, software products, internal accountants, all of that is a secondary issue. We shouldn't be injecting that into the conversation until we get really clear about which opportunities are attractive. And of course, they're not going to pick something to pursue with an in with a build decision. You know, this is where we talk about build or buy. Build something internally based on our succession planning expertise. One of the partners was already doing it. It's really blossomed since then, or do we want to buy and they said, Yeah, we want to buy a cybersecurity firm because that's another problem that we're hearing from our customers so they, it gave them great clarity and confidence to go out and buy a cybersecurity firm that's now part of their firm. It also gave them courage and confidence to do a joint venture with a temp accounting firm, which has become a temp CFL Firm. they want to do the sort of the fractional CFO services, they've partnered with an employee benefits firm. So they recognize, these are all jobs that their target customers are trying to get done. It doesn't have to even be even be related to financial and accounting, the way the project was initially framed. Those are any important unsatisfied job that their target customer is trying to get done is a potential opportunity for them new market opportunity for them. So they are in a certain way, at least in this example, identifying the target market in a somewhat conventional manner. Because you just did CEOs CFOs at midsize firms Well I'd say, for that half. Yes. But But what I'd say unconventional, is we're not talking about product or service at all, in the definition, right, you're gonna go in and, and try to understand them better. Understand well, even more precisely, I mean, that's, that's often the language that we use, but I would encourage people to be more specific and say the job they want to get done, because we don't need to know about where they went to college, what papers they read, what their demographics are, that is extra. Now, that's important in order to access them to know where do I find these people. That's an important part of marketing, but not an important part for innovation. That's a very important distinction. People don't I don't hire the Wall Street Journal because of my demographics. I hire it because I want to be up to date on certain news in the world. And with business, I love reading about how companies are dealing with certain issues, I want to have that kind of ability to talk about those things. when the occasion arises, I want to learn how people are doing strategy and innovation. So those are the jobs that no other paper I know of in the world does as well as the Wall Street Journal. That's why I hire it, to get my job's done. So that get us through. So I know that the jobs to be done is like a four step process. And I think you just covered those four. why can cover their three to high level, they're really I use six when I'm with my clients just because they're ready for it. I use it as an intro to keep it simple. But I'm happy to break it out as much as you want. Well, I'm just I just what I really wanted was just summarize that really what you're saying is, take a look at your market from your customer's point of view, which is what we're hearing here is not what solution I need. But what I'm trying to accomplish that I'm having trouble with? Very well said. Yes, exactly. And then you're going to find the opportunities that exist in helping them that you can help them solve for the things that they brought up. That's correct. And you can do that with qualitative interviews alone, as I mentioned, or and if I may just inject one thing here, that is if if you have a complex project, like I helped, can am off road vehicles, BRP, big company, nine different vehicle platforms, over 70 different models, they wanted to upgrade their entire vehicle line. And you can't do that with interviews, it's there's too much going on. I mean, it just take 1000 interviews or something, to figure out how to all the different things that get upgrade. But with jobs to be done, we can simply talk to a representative sample and each of those nine groups, so they're nine different vehicles. So we call that one group, when we interview them, uncover all the things that they're trying to get done with their vehicle from you totally utility vehicles, like you see on golf courts, or, you know, for different university management, all the way to high end, do riders and racing, side by side vehicles. So that, and Thy are different very different and a bunch of hybrids in the middle. But people are trying to get different jobs done. So we'd figure out what are the jobs this, this group is trying to get done. That's the objective there and the survey, then we put those neat statements into an online survey. And that's where you start getting, you start revealing the natural segments of opportunity, meaning people have preferences right now, you don't want to impose a segment scheme on people you want to say based on what they're trying to get done, and how they evaluate their success with their product. How do people fit together? Or are they different? That's jobs based segmentation. So it's a much more robust, more predictable way to do segmentation and to uncover opportunities. So you can do it the total market level, you could do it at different segments level or group level. But that that's where there's the surveys can the three benefits of the survey is you get statistically valid ratings on every need statement because people will be asked, How important is it to you that you're able to do X? and on the same need statement, they'll also be asked, how satisfied are you with your current ability to do X? It's a five point Likert scale. And if it's a five on importance, and let's say it's a two on satisfaction, there's an algorithm where you can see what the population score is. And you can put every one of the neat statements in a nice little two by two, I would show this to if I had thought about bringing it but it's a nice little two by two, where you have on the x axis, the horizontal, you have important and unimportant, so highly important is to the far right, not important, it's almost is that the the cross with a y, and then the y is the vertical is highly satisfied and low satisfied below that. So you have four quadrants, and it's only those that rate as highly important, or I should say important and unsatisfied, that are actually opportunities for innovation growth. If they're unimportant, then why waste your time? That's major in the minors, right? if it's highly satisfied, and unimportant, still unimportant. And actually, that might be an opportunity to remove functionality and complexity, if it's over satisfied. People may feel like why am I paying for all this functionality, it's unimportant. So that's one of the first things we look for, when we find things fall into that quadrant. And then the top right, if you have, if you're with me on the visualization, this is highly important and highly satisfied. And that's sort of the table stakes in that if you want to do something new, the market is currently satisfying those important needs. And they're very important for a startup or for something new because you have to hit those metrics for parity. And we don't want to be at a competitive disadvantage, because you weren't aware of them. So you definitely want to know them, but you're not going to get any differentiation, you're not going to rise above the noise, meaning parody. So the only ones that will give you a differentiation, and they will do it in a repeated manner. That's why I use those words, repeatedly create a valued, unique position. And that's those that fall into highly important and unsatisfied. So maybe you can give me a link to one of those charts that we can put in the show notes that people can see if they're, if they want to take a look at that, you know, what, when what as a former marketing person, what I'm hearing what I'm thinking, when I'm hearing you talk about this, these conversations in this research is Oh, my God, you're halfway or more than halfway to getting your positioning, right. When you do come up with these solutions, because you you're you've done the right things in understanding what's important and needed by your buyers. I love that yes, to build on that it's sort of like you've heard maybe the old adage that a problem a well defined is half solved. You know, I like to use a version for us, which is a customer need half well defined is half satisfied. And what that means is when we go into ideation, so after we go through all of this, we have a short list. And maybe I could come back, maybe come let me come back to the four steps i this will tie in together with the four steps, we started saying redefine the market, from your customer's point of view, find the opportunities in their market, those are their unmet needs. And an unmet need is an important unsatisfied need, the more important and less satisfied your need is, the greater the opportunity for innovation and growth. So find their unmet needs, because those are your opportunities for innovation and growth. And you need to find a compelling unmet need if you want to create compelling new value, there is no such thing as creating compelling new value without an already existing compelling unmet need. A lot of people think that Steve Jobs created a new market and new needs or Henry Ford or you know, pick your famous knew the world case. And that's that's a confusion between solutions and needs. People only hire products and services because they have a current, important unsatisfied need. Now cut people come like Steve Jobs did brilliantly with a solution that never existed before. And suddenly people buy it. And so they make a market in terms of financial remuneration for that product. But there are always people who had the job of wanting to listen for the iPod, let's say. People wanted to listen to music remotely. Back with the Walkman and same thing with a Walkman. Sony did not create a market need the need existed, they created a market of products that address an unmet need. They found the need Yeah, you put on higher things that they don't have an important unsatisfied need for it. Well, this has been this has just really been awesome Urko I'm sure that the audience has taken a lot away from this. I know I have and I think they probably will have some follow up questions for you. What's the best way to get in touch? Well, thank you. It's been fun. My website is revealgrowth.com. And my email is urkowood@revealgrowth.com and of course I'm on LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook as well.	31,509
Lions are men and women who volunteer their time to humanitarian causes in their local and world communities. By conducting service projects and raising funds, Lions strive to help those in need, wherever need exists.The Lions motto is ''We Serve''. The Coloma Lions have been very active in the past year. In December, the Lions distributed bags of candy and fruit for the Christmas Party for the children of Coloma. They packed and distributed Christmas Food Baskets to the needy and Christmas Fruit Baskets to the elderly. In February they held a Fisheree on Pleasant Lake that was very well attended. The weather was perfect, the fish were biting, and the annual Radar Run attracts a good crowd every year. The new favorite that was added a few years ago is an Ice Volleyball Competition. The club sponsored an Easter Egg Hunt in April at the Coloma Community Park that was attended by hundreds of eager children. The children searched for packet of candy wrapped in aluminum foil. Special packets included a plastic egg with a special number in it that could be traded for a stuffed animal or a huge chocolate bunny. The weather was much better this year, and the children had no trouble filling their buckets. During the spring, summer, and fall the Coloma Lions held periodic road cleanups along their assigned section of Hwy. 21. An average of 10 members show up for each cleanup and fill many garbage bags with the refuse thrown out of passing cars. New officers were installed in July at the annual steak fry. What's Nearby? Waushara Area Chamber of Commerce © Copyright 2022 Waushara Area Chamber of Commerce . All Rights Reserved. Site provided by GrowthZone - powered by ChamberMaster software.	1,834
As of 2008 all UK businesses must enrol eligible workers in a compliant workplace pension scheme, for support in doing this and ensuring you and your employees are making correct contributions to the scheme, our experts are on hand to help. No matter the size of your business, our professional accountants can help and support your needs. Please leave this field empty. Bookkeeping Frequently Asked Questions What exactly does a bookkeeper do? Bookkeepers, or bookkeeping clerks, are often responsible for the general ledger, which is all of the business accounts. Sometimes they may only be responsible for part of the accounts or business ledger. All transactions will then be recorded, most simply in two parts, credits (income) and debits (costs). They will provide reports for managers which may include financial statements for the quarter or year. Why does a business need bookkeeping? All businesses are legally obliged to record all their transactions for tax purposes. Whilst there is no set way to do this all expenses, purchases and sales should be recorded. Please be aware that if a business does not keep appropriate records, or books, and then they file an incorrect tax return, they can pay a higher rate of tax and a fine of up to £3000 to HMRC. As a business owner you will already be aware that good bookkeeping is essential in the running of any business. When your books are up to date, as a business owner, you can make decisions and improve the profitability of your business. This can only be done with accurate bookkeeping that lets you know how much cash is available, how much you owe to suppliers, and if any customers owe you money. When should I hire a bookkeeper? It is a good idea to hire a bookkeeper when you decide to start your business. The reason many advise this is so that you can avoid any bookkeeping errors right from the start, therefore avoiding any errors or which may later involve penalties from HMRC. Why use us for your bookkeeping? Using us for your bookkeeping allows our professional accountants to remove one of the more time demanding issues involved with managing your company, and quickly provides you with accurate information on where you company stands financially and how much resources you have available to boost profitability in your business. Not only do our professional accountants remove this headache, they provide more services besides, including: Our professional accountants will review your business and select the most appropriate, and easy to understand, bookkeeping method for your business. This will vary from business to business, but it will provide you the information in a straight forward, easy to understand format tailored your business and needs. Our professional team of accountants will ensure that your books are kept accurate and up to date. Our accountants have years of experience in bookkeeping which enables them to enter all data accurately, which will then be double checked to ensure there are no errors, meaning your tax return at the end of the financial year will be accurate and you will incur no penalties from HMRC. Moreover, if HMRC does choose your business to investigate you will be able to provide full and accurate records for them to inspect, provided all the information given to us has been correct. Our professional accountants can help by looking for ways to save you money in tax. With the years of experience that we have in bookkeeping, we will have someone who specialises in your field and knows where those savings can be made. When spotted early enough these savings can be large, meaning more money for you to use to expand and increase the profitability of your business. This service is also available to you should you choose it, if you would like to hear more about our accountancy services please click here. We have a team of dedicated, professional bookkeepers who have years of experience in this field. Whatever your business they will find the best method for displaying your books in an easy to understand format, which will allow you to keep up to date with your business finances. Moreover, our bookkeepers have worked in this field for a long time, and so may spot areas in which your business may save money in taxation. What do I do now? To take full advantage of, and hear more about our bookkeeping services, fill out the contact form today. Can I do my own bookkeeping? Yes, you can. Outsourcing your bookkeeping to our professional accountants help to alleviate one of the more stressful parts of running a business, however you can also complete your books on your own and there may be some advantages to this. It can save you money. For many small businesses, especially when they are just starting, it may make sense for them to save money by completing their own books. Completing your books, yourself can provide you with real time information on how your company is performing. This is because you may be completing your books more regularly, perhaps daily or weekly, whereas we will be doing it monthly at the most regular. For you this means that you will have a much clearer idea of where your finances stand, and who you paid that money to, or who owes that money to you, instead of having to remember once a month who that supplier was at the start of the month. When doing you own bookkeeping you are more aware of how much is being spent on any given day, this may lead to you realising quicker ways to save money or invest it to increase the profitability of your business. How much will it cost me? Each business is different so unfortunately there is no fixed fee for each companies bookkeeping services. You will need a solution tailored to your business needs. Contact us now so our professional accountants can give you a free, no commitment quote. Are there any hidden charges for your service? No. Our services to you are worked out on a fixed fee. Charges for our services will be made clear to you before you decide to engage us to manage your books. Why not contact our team now for a free quote from our accountancy team? Do I need to VAT registered? No. However, all business in the UK are legally obliged to register for VAT if your turnover is higher than the annual registration threshold. In some cases, it can also be advisable to register for VAT as this yield other benefits for your business, we are happy to discuss what those may be with you. Do I need to register for Pay as You Earn (PAYE) Payroll? If your business has any employees at all you should enrol in the PAYE system. Even if you are the only employee and act as both director and employee it's important that you have contacted HMRC and registered with the PAYE scheme and continue to make all RTI submissions. Even if you only outsource your work, and so use sub-contractors, as you pay yourself you must be registered with this scheme. Is accountancy and bookkeeping the same? Bookkeeping put simply is keeping accurate financial records for a business. The most notable difference between bookkeepers and accountants is that accountants are expected to analyse and interpret the data and provide ways in which you can save money, bookkeeping does not do this. Do I need a bookkeeper if I have an accountant? Accountants and bookkeepers do very different jobs in the businesses they work with. Bookkeepers keep their client’s general ledgers up to date, which may include daily data compilation, ensuring accuracy in the accounts, ensuring the accounts are easy to understand and accessible by categorising it appropriately, and generating general financial statements. Whereas accountants analyse the data, look for ways to save money in taxation, and prepare tax returns. Should I outsource my accounts or hire a bookkeeper in house? If you choose to hire a bookkeeper in house you will also have to become their employer, and this may not suit you as it will create more work. As an employer you will have to pay their National Insurance and Taxes to HMRC. You will have to provide holiday and parental cover and produce their payslips. If you choose to outsource to us then all this extra work will be taken away and placed with us, and our dedicated team will be able to take care of your accounts and work to ensure no errors are made.	8,314
If it weren’t for Internet support forums, I’d never know the stories of other epileptic people. Guilt lifts through catharsis when you realize that so many of the things you blamed yourself for were really none of your fault, or not as much of your fault as you–as I–thought. I’ve read versions of my own story so many times, often nearly verbatim. Many of us wallow in retail, like me. I went from studying political theory to selling granny panties. Computer coders find themselves coding whether you want fries with that. I’ve been ashamed and angry at myself for years. But I realized, we can only make informed choices on how to act when we have all the facts. I have focal epilepsy and wasn’t diagnosed until age thirty (2018). Up until then, I thought I just had epic panic attacks on steroids. It wasn’t obvious because I don’t have tonic-clonics. I was afraid of it happening in public because I was terrified I’d not be able to escape a room and collapse. I have a license but have never driven alone and haven’t driven at all in thirteen years because I am afraid of blacking out for a few seconds while driving. I’m borderline agoraphobic. My fear of seizures caused me to cramp my life and miss out. I was even afraid of how I looked during episodes. But restricting my life out of shame and secrecy only led to more lies and shame and secrecy—and missed opportunities. When I left class or work early, I would lie and say I was having a migraine because I thought it held more social cred than panic attacks. Grad school was a waste because I didn’t take advantage of anything that it had to offer. I commuted by train to my school in New York City. Being deathly afraid of having a “panic attack” on a city street or in school, I spent all my mental focus and energy on getting from Point A to B to C and so on. Survive the train to Grand Central. Get out of Grand Central alive. Get to the bus stop without collapsing in the middle of the avenue. Ride the bus without being a victim of the knock-out game. Get to school, park my ass somewhere safe until class. Get through class without fainting. Now run as fast as I can to the bus stop to catch the express. It is possible for some people to ward off seizures with fierce concentration but the energy drain involved in this almost makes it the same difference. I can’t remember if I had a seizure at my grad school; I don’t think I did, actually, although short stories I wrote during that period featured students having these episodes. I know I had them in college and at work. If my life hadn’t revolved around my fear of these episodes, I could have put my energy into writing papers and attending lectures and conferences, or applying for teaching assistant jobs. By the time I finished my master’s, I no longer had any energy to continue. I had hoped to earn a Ph.D. and become a professor, but lack of money, concentration, and passion put an end to my academic career. I was losing my ability to comprehend texts and write creative research papers. My acceptance letter to the Ph.D. program, what I had dreamed of for years, was dead on arrival. It felt cold. And by then, I wasn’t in love with the subject anymore. I couldn’t have cared less about contemporary thinkers. And there are probably five tenured jobs open in the entire country at any given moment anyway, so good luck with that. I am not writing these things for sympathy, only to be candid. That was the life of an undiagnosed epileptic. It messes up your plans, kills your memories, tangles up your self-esteem and mental health. And then the drugs make you stupid. But read this post in a matter-of-fact, even optimistic tone. Why be optimistic when I’ve done nothing but languish in retail for years now? Because I have finally realized the need for acceptance, acceptance as a principle of life. I can’t point to my college self any longer and demand, why can’t you be like her? Why are you so damned slow now? I’m going to leave the post here because I have more to say on this topic but don’t want this to become a twenty-page essay. Related Posted in Uncategorized epilepsygraduate schoolmental health ‹ PreviousI went from 6.6% to 1.5% to 18.1% above minimum wage. Next ›My reflections meandered once again. 44 thoughts on “Where I was all those years” thoughtsnlifeblog says: August 15, 2021 at 6:17 am Hugs. I see a brave and ambitious Soul, gifted and talent, that has achieved a master and PhD ( even if you don’t have it, you were and qualified for it). With the challenges of health ( undiagnosed) , that stupid social cred we face in our 20 that just stops so much potential. But, it is never too late, never. Our young age, and pain, physical or emotional stop us. But even though you have gone through much and so much fear. I see a very accomplished Soul, bright, clever and full of potential. So go for your dreams, evaluate your dreams, they may be different now. There is no social cred or timeline that is set. Set your timeline and cred, your own free will, and go for it. Your blog is a beautiful platform to share your story, your learning, your teaching , your thoughts, at your pace that allows for health issues, and space. I think you are amazing. And you have achieved a lot on top of health issues and fears. See your greatness LikeLiked by 2 people August 15, 2021 at 8:59 am Thank you so much, Bella. Each and every word of yours lifts me up. I have had a shift on perspective over the last year and a half which is helping me realize that I can reevaluate things from other angles, that even if one path is closed, there are still many others. I used to be very rigid about this, believing that things have to be done a certain way and certain requirements must be met. I’ve learned a lot about the need for positivity, flexibility, faith, and not being so afraid. Any success I have, though, I have to credit my support system, the people in my life. I’m very fortunate that way. BTW the Ph.D. would’ve taken another six years so I had a long road ahead before earning it, although I’m grateful I at least was admitted. Anyway, thanks again for your kind praise, I have spent a lot of my life beating myself up and it’s taken time to learn how to appreciate kind words. LikeLiked by 2 people thoughtsnlifeblog says: August 15, 2021 at 9:40 am Welcome. As you said in your post, others people stories are so similar to yours, even verbatim. I get the beating myself up, and life should be like xyz… and that I always say was my 20’s. Life gets harder as we get older, but life gets easier as we get older and wiser. Wiser is the learning, flexibility and adaptability to life. I am sure you will be true to your potential. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 9:38 pm I like how you say life gets harder as we get older, but easier as we get wiser. I can see a difference from my twenties. Things don’t feel like the end of the world, things I used to flip out over barely make an impression. It’s a relief, actually. LikeLiked by 1 person thoughtsnlifeblog says: August 17, 2021 at 12:34 am It is a funny thing, but our 20’s really- our headspace. Sometimes I wonder if its a female thing too. 🤔 LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm Let’s blame our hormones. “I didn’t mean to kill him! I have PMS!” “Oh okay, you can leave then.” LikeLiked by 1 person thoughtsnlifeblog says: August 17, 2021 at 5:27 pm LikeLiked by 1 person August 15, 2021 at 11:32 am There was a doctor in Fort Worth. Well, back up. A musician I knew started feeling bad. Really bad. He went to the doctor, she ran some tests, said she’d call him. She did. He asked her what it was, and what he should do about it, and she said, If it was me, I’d go buy a bottle of tequila and take it and a shotgun into the woods. In your case I’d call confusion masquerading as “mindfulness” of your situation and unworthy of either tequila or a shotgun. There is no shame in illness. I have this. I might swallow my tongue or bite Mrs. Jones, but it’s nothing personal. okay? We all spend way too much time wondering what is wrong with us and how we can fix it back to “normal.” Which is a complete waste of time and energy. Like Gus the dog, we should take our meds, take a nap and go look for a tennis ball and someone to throw it. Who or what we were is gone. There is no understanding it, partitioning it, justifying it, labeling it… There is only where do we go from here with what we have to work with. Nice that you’re pondering it, but I’d bet all this self evaluation is about as beneficial as watching Gomer Pyle reruns. You’re a Catholic. As the man said ,”Count your fucking blessings.” LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 9:58 pm I dunno, I think self-analysis can be beneficial when we use what we’ve figured out about ourselves. It’s useless when we don’t learn. I agree 100% that we must ask where do we go with what we have. That’s a step up from what I used to be and has taken years, more than it should have, to realize. I’m an introvert, and I live in my head. Change occurs more slowly in the inner world than outside. Maybe I secretly enjoy the endless ruminating about myself. Or maybe not so secretly. No, that’s only half too, because pointless ruminating is indeed not beneficial and is in fact detrimental to progress in life and general happiness. There is a balance between thinking and action. I think. LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 7:05 am I am an introvert who lives in my imagination. I would be living under a bridge or dead by now if I hadn’t discovered vocational theater. A way to be myself in public situations without taking them seriously. All of the personal discovery journeys are long but once we learn we inflict a great deal more pain on ourselves than is really there it gets a lot easier. LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 4:21 pm Now this is a revelation–Phil’s an introvert. What is vocational theater? LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 5:53 pm Like all class clowns and overly “cool” guys. LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 6:30 pm Anonymole says: August 15, 2021 at 12:26 pm Yeah, any longer and I’d have started nodding off. (Kidding.) That’s the trick of the serial: spoon feeding works if you give them only a few bites. “If you’re good, I’ll give you three more bites tomorrow.” Seems you could have used a friend during your school commutes. What of the others you found online? Any that you connected with? Fictionalizing your bustle through Grand Central could be a fun write/read. Or on the train. What about a full-on seizure where your fictionalized self wakes up in the basement of the subway… Some pasty-skin guy is spoon feeding you, your arms and legs are tied. You have another seizure and wake up in a pool of blood, the arms of the chair are broken away and Mr. Pasty is lying there, blood still oozing from the gouge on his neck. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 9:44 pm I don’t get this–whenever people suggest I fictionalize something, it always involves violence and gore. I must give off a very strange vibe. I do like your scenario, however. I won’t steal it from you in case you need it next month. With online support stuff, honestly just reading stuff and knowing I’m not nuts and all our neurologists really are stupid is enough to satisfy me. I am fortunate that I had someone waiting to pick me up at the station when I got back. At school I had a friend from Chile who was having her own struggles, so we struggled together. Grad school is nothing but unnecessary mental turmoil inflicted on you by these pygmy wannabe philosopher professors. I am not bitter about academia at all. LikeLiked by 1 person Anonymole says: August 17, 2021 at 2:26 pm Once a story idea is released it cannot be used again… LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 4:27 pm Fifty Shades of Gray fanfiction (itself being fanfiction) says otherwise. LikeLiked by 1 person Anonymole says: August 17, 2021 at 6:57 pm I jest, of course, nothing new under the sun. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 11:43 am Well written! This thing about epilepsy, I couldn’t explain it any better than you could. I didn’t hide it because I was/am used to telling people about my hearing loss, so of course I told them about my epilepsy. Your focal epilepsy sounds similar to what they called mine, PNES, psychosomatic non-epileptical seizures. Basically, pseudo seizures. Triggered by anxiety. I never knew when it would happen, because unbeknownst to me, it wasn’t neurological, it was anxiety that induced them. And I didn’t have a handle on the anxiety. As a result, work was extremely difficult, not just because of the hearing loss, but also because of the seizures. So I know exactly what you meant when it can control your life. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 9:49 pm Hey Joe, nice to see you. Glad to see a fellow epileptic here! Focal seizures and anxiety attacks have massive overlap. I have read your posts about PNES. Yours started as childhood absence seizures, right? I didn’t have those, I just started getting the deja vu when I was around twelve and then it escalated badly in college into the panic attack style ones. You reach a point where you don’t know where anxiety ends and the seizure begins. And stress can bring it on, too. Getting a diagnosis was such a relief, to be able to put a name to it. It relieved a large portion of my anxiety. It’s always exciting, what can I say. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 9:54 pm I’m VERY glad that you found out your diagnosis. It was a game changer for me. Yeah, I had childhood seizures aka petite mal epilepsy, but I have no clue when it changed over to PNES. The anxiety covered it up well. But I’ve only had two seizures since I found out and that was three years ago. Yeah, I found your posts, and got caught up reading. My phone wasn’t telling me when you were posting, I found you in my spam folder! Love your style, keep it up! LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 10:14 pm “Game changer” is definitely a great way to describe it. Having a name for something gives you some power over it. BTW I’m glad you found me in the spam folder! Er, I mean glad I’m glad you found my posts but not that they were in the spam folder . August 16, 2021 at 10:17 pm LOL Yes, me too! LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 6:31 pm Bummer of a story. At my site, I try to keep it on the up-and-up so viewers don’t get downcast. It’s amazing how words — even written words — can affect one’s mood. Still, they’re also a cathartic form of therapy so it’s a balance of sorts. You can keep it bottled up and suffer, or you can share and hope others benefit as well from the sharing. Hmm … yeah, well, I’m doing okay so I’ll just keep the bad days bottled up until they pass. Just my personal choice. LikeLiked by 1 person August 16, 2021 at 10:07 pm I don’t intend to be a bummer. I do my best to emphasize I’m not fishing for sympathy and I hate when people think I am. I do however cherish when other people take the time to bitch. Complaining on your blog is different than in real life, I think. In real life, I think it’s better to keep things to yourself and only share them with one close person who understands you. I like bitching about work but I don’t like to bother people with heavy-duty stuff. I prefer to let them talk. People think you’re a great conversationalist when you do that, by the by. On a blog, people can skim what you wrote or click away altogether. You’re not holding them hostage. I am grateful for every commenter and everyone who reads, but I don’t hold it against anyone if they don’t. August 17, 2021 at 8:42 pm Alright, that’s sensible, Hetty. The persuasive power of blogs is an incredible tool, we can agree on that. LikeLiked by 2 people August 17, 2021 at 11:28 pm Indeed I am an eminently sensible human being. LikeLiked by 1 person Roy says: August 17, 2021 at 10:01 am I actually can NOT relate, and it feels insufficient to offer sympathy–“thoughts and prayers”–but I know you and others with the same condition who adapt and keep going, which I admire greatly. I keep coming by to see how you’re doing, and I enjoy your writing, both content and style! I hope you have a good day today. OH and I guess I could offer a little wisdom from someone who is older by a factor of some unnamed cardinal number, and it’s not much: it almost doesn’t matter in one small, specific way, because happiness and those various things that we think add up to a “good life” really only consist of moments, here and there, and we all get that–if only we would notice–and in between, we just do whatever it is we need to do. So, again, here’s to good days. LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 4:26 pm Hey Roy. I appreciate your well-wishes and your stopping by. I hope you’re having a good day as well. You are right about the little moments. One thing that turned depression around for me was keeping a gratitude journal. I thought it was the dumbest thing but I tried and I’ve kept up with it for almost two years. I do it every night and record four to six things, no matter how I have to scrape the barrel for something tiny. This is most necessary on the shittest days. LikeLiked by 2 people August 24, 2021 at 3:27 am This might actually be the best review I have seen for the notion of keeping a gratitude journal. I too, have thought it sounded like the silliest idea, but it’s not as if I have made great strides keeping my depression in check by doing anything else. You may have just convinced me! LikeLiked by 1 person August 24, 2021 at 11:22 am And remember, the secret is no “buts,” “even thoughs,” or “excepts.” Don’t say, “I am grateful I went to yoga today, even though I’ll always be a lardass.” (NOT saying you are–it’s the sort of thing I used to say to myself.) Just say, I’m grateful I went to yoga today. LikeLiked by 1 person August 24, 2021 at 7:24 pm I get it. I too am very used to disclaiming my successes and happiness. Then I’d get accused of needless self-deprecation and I’d be like, “no, this is just disclaiming for accuracy”, etc. I appreciate the expert tip LikeLiked by 1 person August 24, 2021 at 7:36 pm Yes!! I love how you worded that–“disclaiming for accuracy,” as though someone’s gonna call you out for not telling the whole horrible truth about yourself. I hope the journal thing could work for you. LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 7:36 pm Acceptance is key to everything in life, and I’m glad you’re exploring that. I, too, am trying to explore acceptance in the various parts of my life, at the very least to move on and better my situation. I can’t do that if I dwell on my problems. I appreciate your candour for this post, and I’m glad you wrote about it, because you do it so well. It’d be a shame if you stopped writing and depriving the world of your words. Thanks for this post! LikeLiked by 1 person August 17, 2021 at 8:38 pm Thanks, Stuart. I’m glad you understand the points I’m trying to make. Sometimes we just have to think our way through things to help us understand them better so we can move on, having put it all to rest. LikeLiked by 1 person August 20, 2021 at 6:25 pm Some rough life passages indeed, Hetty. Praying much growth and joy this year and beyond for you. LikeLiked by 2 people August 20, 2021 at 7:40 pm Thanks so much, Mitch. It’s nice to see you. Your prayers are appreciated. LikeLiked by 2 people Pingback: My reflections meandered once again. – Who the Hell Knows? August 24, 2021 at 3:34 am Oof. Such excellent writing, and such a difficult story to share. Honestly, getting to that place of acceptance is probably the highest level of achievement, I’d argue even higher than a prestigious PhD or impressive-sounding career. (I can’t speak to the former, but I have the latter and can confidently say that does absolutely nothing with respect to getting to self-acceptance). LikeLiked by 1 person August 24, 2021 at 11:25 am Thanks for understanding my points. JYP. These worldly achievements can be nice, but don’t do a damn thing unless we respect ourselves first. And if we do that, we put them into the proper perspective in our lives. LikeLiked by 1 person September 12, 2021 at 4:48 am “I’ve read versions of my own story so many times, often nearly verbatim” How strange. And here I am another one! I bought a telescope when 16, becoming extremely passionate about astronomy and space exploration. At the same time though I was struggling with knee problems and being a naturally active person, that made everything more difficult and my choices weren’t necessarily what I would’ve taken. I studied astrophysics at university and my initial plan had also been to do a PhD and just work in that forever. Then my knee recovered through surgery, time and exercise, and I became less and less passionate about the degree itself and was lucky to get it over the line in the end. But I got the Master’s degree. I went on a 3 month trip in the states, couchsurfing with strangers. Then I came back and got a job in…retail! For 18 months. At university I’d got really into computer programming, and after getting bored with retail I got a job doing that. But instantly regretted it because sitting in an office is not for me, and I’d already learned that at university. I simultaneously re-injured my knee though. Anyway long story short by the age of 30 (2018) I’d been struggling and struggling and hit a wall, and with my knee problems terminable there was no way to resolve the conflict. That was also when I discovered ADHD and mental health stuff in general, then OCD, then autism. The parallels I have with this post are ridiculous. In my own way, I could also never reach the same cognitive heights as before because exercise for me was like putting on glasses for my brain. And now OCD and PTSD are making me slow and dumb. I would also write 20 pages to list all the things I related to here lol, but: “I have had a shift on perspective over the last year and a half which is helping me realize that I can reevaluate things from other angles, that even if one path is closed, there are still many others” This made me happy to read! Because I’ve also been going through that realisation and self-rediscovery. It was on a similar timescale too, though it continues. That’s what it’s all about! You aren’t your circumstances or what you’ve done in the past— they make up who you are but the ability to reinvent is one of the most powerful qualities you can have. And it’s an act of great humility and dignity. And that’s what comes across— you are dealing with this with great strength and dignity! P.S. you have a huge talent for writing, you could potentially write an awesome book about your experiences with undiagnosed epilepsy. LikeLiked by 1 person September 12, 2021 at 6:39 pm Dang Robin we really do have some scary parallels! Barely getting over that MA finish line. Physical/mental pain or illness can really sap your energy for life when you’re just busy dragging your ass from day to day. It wasn’t my knee, but my foot that I hurt that’s screwed up a lot for me physically. And then I’ve suffered from the anxiety and depression…. It’s funny you mention writing about the epilepsy, I have found that when I write about it I usually get a polite F you, get over it. Not from everyone of course. If you look above, a fellow commenter named Joe Valente gets it. I think you understand what I mean when I talk about being affected by a misbehaving brain even if you don’t have epilepsy. Thanks for understanding so much! I am always happy to see your comments.	24,740
In your overall risk management strategy, proper risk assessment and data tracking will lead you to the correct risk mitigation strategy. Regardless of the strategy you decide upon – risk acceptance, risk avoidance, risk reduction or risk transference – it is important that you implement that strategy in a durable and sustainable way. At this stage of risk management, policies and procedures play a substantial role in introducing and upholding your mitigation strategy. Each of the four central risk mitigation strategies is designed to address risk in a different way. You likely use all of them already and use them in different combinations at the same time to reduce your risk to an acceptable level. The role that policies and procedures play here is in giving organizations a formal basis for moving from their current to their target state of lower risk. Policies and procedures work in tandem. Policies are more high-level, outlining principles and requirements. They set operational boundaries for your organization to reduce the amount of risk you’re exposing yourself to, such as limits on financial responsibility. Procedures address the lower-level processes – the day-to-day activities. They outline the appropriate way these daily processes should be undertaken, dispelling confusion and reducing risk. Depending on which risk mitigation strategy you choose to implement, policies and procedures can help during this process in several key ways. Training Employees and Increasing Awareness of Risk Once you’ve identified the risk and developed a method for managing it, creating official policies and procedures helps to introduce this strategy to your employees. More than that, it also outlines the methods they need to take to adhere to the strategy and gives their actions a directive. They will have clarity regarding why they must change their procedures and what the goal of adjusting SOP is: reducing risk. For instance, if through assessment and evaluation, you have determined that building safety violations are putting your business at greater risk of noncompliance or potential injury, you can employ a strategy of risk reduction. By implementing policies and procedures that train employees on understanding the inherent risks and identifying hazards, you will be able to increase your ability to locate and address violations before they become a serious issue. Policies set a clear standard for safety in the workplace, and procedures outline a standard method for recognizing and reporting issues. Policies and procedures can also be used to make employees aware of information regarding a strategy of risk transference. For instance, if employees are putting themselves and the organization at risk, it may be necessary to purchase some type of insurance. A policy can clearly outline the minimally required insurance that will successfully mitigate risk, and accompanying procedures can outline the proper method for obtaining coverage and keeping that information on file. Regardless of how you plan to address your risk, policies and procedures are an important mechanism for making everyone aware and setting a standard for how the organization as a whole will deal with it. Setting Operational Boundaries and Prohibiting Activities Another invaluable way policies and procedures help is through their ability to set boundaries or restrictions. This is especially important to the success of a risk avoidance or reduction mitigation strategy. Sometimes, the best course of action to ensure you aren’t at risk is to avoid situations where it exists altogether – a strategy of avoiding risk. To help enforce this strategy, policies are essential to setting definitive rules for your employees outlining what they can and can’t do. For example, if your organization would like to avoid the risk of a sexual harassment lawsuit, you may put policies in place that direct employees of how to avoid risky situationsb such as prohibitng employees from meeting with their direct supervisors outside of work hours. Policies and procedures can also restrict or set limits on activities your employees conduct in order to reduce risk. If you are a shipping company, for instance, you may choose to restrict the amount of time or distance drivers can be on the road in a strategy to reduce the likelihood of an accident occurring due to exhaustion. By setting a clear policy, there will be no misunderstanding the operational boundaries you intend your employees to maintain in order to achieve a state of lower risk. Well-written policies and procedures can help management set performance standards that are clearly stated, measurable and attainable. This ability to put better controls in place and lay out a method for enforcing them is an important aspect of managing project or departmental risk and having a successful mitigation strategy. Improving management controls can help achieve several objectives: More assurance that projects will have the intended outcomes Resources are used appropriately Laws and regulations are adhered to Relevant information is collected, maintained and reported on The role that policies and procedures play in creating a more effective management landscape is in developing a network of processes that properly address risks that could affect the achievement of operational goals. For example, this could mean putting procedures in place that direct the gathering of information to reduce the risk that it is inaccurate or mismanaged. For resources, policies and procedures should outline what resources are considered valuable – such as data, people, systems or finances – and the appropriate processes for safeguarding and maintaining them. Policies and procedures should establish practical controls through the creation of SOPs, plans, systems or other methods that encourage employees at every tier of management to uphold organizational objectives. Risk and Policy Management in One Suite of Products Risk management and policy and procedure management are closely linked. Once you have done the work of assessing risk and specifying a risk mitigation strategy, policies and procedures are an effective way to assure that strategy is followed through. To make this entire process – from initial risk assessment all the way to training employees on new policies – as straightforward and sustainable as possible, ComplianceBridge has developed a suite of products designed to help your organization. ComplianceBridge Risk allows you to quickly build assessments that utilize a variety of question types including multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, yes/no or risk rating. You can also weigh your questions for improved scoring and introduce conditional, follow-up questions. The system handles distribution and collection of assessment results. You can even monitor these results in real-time as they come in. To best leverage your experts, you can divide your assessments and assign different sections to specific individuals, groups or departments in your organization. Through in-depth reporting and analysis, you can gain very targeted data about potential risks. ComplianceBridge’s flagship product, ComplianceBridge, gives you a powerful system equipped with the tools to create and manage your policies and procedures with ease. With a central location to edit and review new policies, document creation and revision is easy. Once a new policy or procedure has been approved by organization stakeholders, automate dissemination of new materials to affected employees. To improve comprehension, new policies and procedures can be accompanied by quizzes that test their understanding of the content. Results for these quizzes can also be monitored in real-time. You can use this data to measure compliance and the success of your risk mitigation strategy. Policies and procedures play a valuable role in managing risk. To learn how you can not only identify risks in your organization but take steps to address them, request a demo with complianceBridge today! Find out more about ComplianceBridge’s Policy & Procedure Software, as well as its Risk Management Software by watching a two-minute demo. Where did you hear about us?*	8,516
Morgana Square a beautiful model of granny’s square that has an incredible look. Any work done with this beautiful square will give a special touch to the decoration and sophistication as well. The delicacy of this work can compose several pieces such as rugs, table runners and much more. Incredible and stylish drawing attention for its beauty. They are those wipes made from crochet. This type of work has attracted attention and in the most diverse types of drawings it has been a great success. This is a crochet that can be done easily and that when joining the pieces gives a very beautiful and charming result. This type of work is highly valued because it requires dedication and patience when making the pieces. In general, this square washcloth has a design in the center that helps to give a very special style to the work, making everything much more beautiful. This recipe is simple and has a very nice square result. It is worth investing in pieces like this to compose your products for sale. It may seem difficult when looking at work, but it is easier than it looks. In this tutorial shared here it is this drawing in the center that gives the incredible highlight. But, but with dedication you will be able to create beautiful pieces using this technique. Morgana Square a beautiful colored square that has an incredibly beautiful end result. Perfect to make the environment very cozy. Comfortable and beautiful it is very easy to do. This craft technique is very useful for decorative pieces that help with the look of the house in comfort, leaving everything very elegant, like this blanket for sofa and bed. With beautiful color it is a perfect piece to decorate the environment for having beautiful colors. The blanket suggested here has different colors. It is just a suggestion the choice of colors is up to your taste and according to your decor to make the environment very cozy and charming. A simple job, but it has a worthwhile result. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Recent Posts Ck Crafts is a site that belongs to everyone who loves to sew with passion, either with their hands (by hand) or with the most models and types of sewing machines on the market. Our site is pleased to bring you the best content from authors of several blogs and of course exclusive content from us. Each content here contains the proper credits and direct links to the author's site, so do not miss and always follow the best content on the net for you and all lovers of ckcrafts.online	2,720
The Campsite and the barns in the Cwm Rhaeadr Forest are managed by Carmarthenshire Area Scout Council. The site is visited by Scouts from all over the UK and is a Greenfield site which has minimal facilities but is in an ideal location for Scouting activities and where the young people can enjoy the outdoor world at its best. Further details can be located via the Scout Association web site as well as details about young people or adults, joining and volunteering your help as leaders or helpers. We will take up references and ALL Adults will be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau as a matter of course under the Scout Associations Child Protection Policy. There has been a Scout Group in Llandovery since at least 1925, if you know it was any earlier then we would be delighted to have more details from you. Scout Counties and Areas all over the UK are busy compiling historical records about Scouting and you may be able to help bridge that missing piece of history when you were a leader or a Cub or Scout, contact your County Archivist with your story or look for friends on Scouts Re-United on the Scout Associations web pages. The nearest Scout Group is the lst Llandovery Scout Group whose HQ is close by Ysgol Rhys Prichard in Llandovery. There are Beaver, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts sections there. By the way, many of you say to us in joke – DYB, DYB, DYB and DOB, DOB, DOB. Do you know what that means? It is short for Do Your Best (DYB) and the reply by the Cubs is we will Do Our Best (DOB). We do not use those terms any more and have not done for decades but at least you will know its proper meaning now. Enjoy and appreciate the forest as generations of Scouts have for at least the past 25 years and leave nothing but your thanks and your light footprints. From a tiny acorn to a mighty oak was Baden Powell’s dream for our young people. One person can make a difference. Please help Scouting to help your son or daughter and young people develop by supporting Scouting back in your local community and of course if you would like to help us to make a difference locally we would be pleased to hear from you. Local people can provide local Scouting with support from other experienced adult learners. Scouting Values are still the same and are needed today in just the same way. Area Commissioner : Comments are closed. Site created and maintained by Proudly powered by WordPress. Weaver by WeaverTheme.com This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More	2,743
I don’t believe what Daddy told me an hour ago. He’s not checking on things at the dairy. He’s out trying to find Mama. I’m sure of it. Daddy knows I refuse to turn twelve without her. My legs move so fast, I almost forget Mama ran away. But my feet remember what Mama and Betty Beauty Bedford, her used-to-be bestie, told them months back. “Right, left, right left, up back,” they’d chanted. Beauty had inhaled a ciggy from its ruler-long holder. “Pivot your knees, Emma June. Knock them together then point them out. You too, Carla,” she told my used-to-be. “And for Pete’s sake, move your arms. Let everything flow! Dancing takes away all your worries.” Now, the Charleston ends. Victor Victrola’s needle ch-ch, ch-ch, ch-ch’s searching for something that’s already been used up. Like my memory at the end of carnival night. And Beauty was wrong. Worries still thump my insides. Big Chief Tablet glares at me from the kitchen table. I tell it to shut up, that homework can wait till I’m good and ready. Extra careful when I plant the needle a different Recording, I turn the crank again. The green and yellow squares of our sitting room rug melt together as I spin, and my braid pings one shoulder then the next like two different suitors asking to be my dance partner. My skirt puffs up like a wild mushroom, and it’s swoosh seems to say, “Everything will be right again, Emma June.” “How do you know that when I can’t even remember?” I yell. Then I jump up and down trying to stomp out my stupid. Excerpt from The Moonshine Thicket by CD-W NOTE: For those of you who have been reading excepts from this novel, thank you! This excerpt if the beginning of the novel. I hope you liked it! Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) authors, books, Daily post, Daily Prompt, family struggles, historical novel, History, The Moonshine Thicket, truth, writers, writing	2,084
In the months after September 11, the human toll of the terrorist attacks began to be fully realized. Congress created the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund to compensate surviving victims and families still reeling from loss, while convincing them to forego lawsuits. And it fell to attorney Kenneth Feinberg to figure out the monetary value of victims - from busboys at the Windows on the World restaurant to Wall Street traders. Since then, Feinberg has gone on to run compensation funds for other national tragedies, most recently the Orlando nightclub shooting. We invited him to our studios to talk about the lessons he learned as special master of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Kenneth Feinberg, good to have you here. SUAREZ: At the very beginning when you agreed to take the job, did you understand the full ethical, legal, emotional, moral scope of what you had agreed to do? FEINBERG: No. It was a tsunami. I never had any appreciation of what it would be like and what I would go through in compensating about 5,300 victims and their families. Explaining the numbers was relatively a straightforward task. Empathizing with people, trying to understand what it was like if you were in their shoes - that was debilitating and that took an emotional toll on me, on my staff and on everybody associated with the program. SUAREZ: Could you have hidden behind the office of the special master, made your calculations, offered your packages without that high-touch approach that you decided to take? Some of those contacts with grieving family members must have been grueling. FEINBERG: It was grueling, but you can't hide. If you hide, you're defeating the congressional purpose of encouraging people to join voluntarily into this fund. And the only way you do that is by walking into the lion's den, meeting the families, telling them what you can do and can't do under the law, brace yourself for what you're going to hear. But we got through it. As you know, Ray, 97 percent of all the eligible families who lost a loved one - they came into the fund voluntarily. We distributed over $7 billion - all taxpayer money. But it was a grueling 33 months, I must say. SUAREZ: You've done it now with other diverse losses of life from fatal flaws in General Motors' automobile ignitions to a lone shooter at Virginia Tech to bombings near the finish line of the Boston marathon. Did the experience after the 9/11 attacks teach us some things that we had to learn how to do? FEINBERG: The substance of the 9/11 Fund is a precedent for nothing. You'll never see another 9/11 Fund. I didn't see public money being spent on victims after Katrina or Oklahoma City or the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. In these other programs, what's unique is you find a way to allocate limited funds and get them into the hands of victims on the relatives designed to give them some degree of financial stability. SUAREZ: You touched on this briefly before, but I want to return to it. How has the experience changed you? FEINBERG: You become very, very fatalistic. Young people come to me all the time with their resumes saying this is what they're going to do two years from now, four years from now, six years from now. I tell them don't plan so far ahead. Life has a way of changing the best laid plans. You may think you know what you're going to be doing a year from now or two years from now. I don't think I plan more than two or three weeks ahead because everybody gets curveballs one day or another. SUAREZ: Kenneth Feinberg administered the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund as special master. He joined me in Washington. Good to talk to you. Proud Sponsor of WBFO NPR Buffalo, What's Next? \| Weekdays at 10am In the wake of Buffalo's recent tragedy on the east side, WBFO brings you a program that unapologetically confronts what led to the shooting. Celebrate the Holidays with Buffalo Toronto Public Media We have a great line-up of fall and winter holiday programming on our stations! From Thanksgiving and Hanukkah to Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve, enjoy a line-up fit for any and every celebration this season. Get the latest news and those driveway moments delivered directly to your inbox every weekday morning by signing up for the WBFO Newsletter: The WBFO Daily. Thinking about selling your car, boat, motorcycle, truck or other vehicle? Donate it to WBFO instead. WBFO The Bridge The Bridge connects music lovers with music makers and engages in the community, supporting musicians, venues, and listeners. Basically, it’s college radio for adults.	4,851
You just spent the last 45 minutes helping your son take a bath, brush his teeth, get his pajamas on, and read a bedtime story. You've done the whole dance of kiss and cuddle goodnight. You head downstairs and get cozy on the sofa next to your husband and... "Mom? I can't sleep." Seriously?!?! Tell me you've been there. Two-thirds of parents report some kind of sleep-related challenge with their kids at least a few times each week, according to Parents Magazine. When kids don't get enough sleep, they can't focus, get hyperactive, don't learn as well and they crave sugar. If you have a preschooler, he should be getting 11-13 hours of sleep. Kids age 5 - 12 years should be getting 10-11 hours and teenagers need 9-10 hours of sleep. Not getting enough sleep happens to us ALL the freakin' time. But. We are taking action. My husband just found this cool tool that has been helping the entire family wind down for the Sandman. The Casper Glow Light is a soft light that won't emit any... Last week, I spent the weekend with one of my mentors, Chalene Johnson, at her Marketing Impact Live conference. I’m giving you the inside scoop on what I thought her biggest messages were for online business owners. It's more fun to watch! Click the photo to get a more inside scoop about lessons learned at the event. I found Chalene Johnson a few years ago from her podcast “Build Your Tribe.” She makes talking about business super fun and entertaining, so I kept listening and started to love her. My husband and I went through her program on creating a life you love, and I remember her live event was the first time my husband and I had spent the night away from the kids since our third was born. It was heaven! So fast forward, I’ve been following her for a while, and have been learning a ton about marketing from her. I had no idea at first that she created Piyo, Turbokick and sold her programs to Beachbody and is an infomercial queen. Do You Know How to Keep Your Kids Busy When You're Working From Home? I love sharing screen-free, creative play ideas for your kids. Today I want to share the backstory of WHY I’ve been doing this. Because I think it can help you. So - first off - let’s get your kids set up with a Play Present activity because I want to talk to you. Let’s keep them busy with some Stained Glass Coloring. Stained glass coloring books are different because they’re printed on this beautiful translucent paper with heavy black lines. When you hold them up to the light, the colors shine brilliantly and boldly. The lines are heavy, so it’s easier to stay in the lines. Kids love the different texture of coloring on something other than regular paper. You can use paint, markers, felt-tip colored pens, crayons or all sorts of combinations of those to make it even more fun and exciting for your kids. The pages tear out so you can tape them to a window or do other sorts of crafts with the finished... Bedtime Stories: How to Go Beyond Just Reading Another Book Today I’m sharing how to make storytime more fun for you and your kids. I’m guessing your bedtime routine with your kids involves storytime. Am I right? If you’re saying no, maybe it’s because you think your kids are “too old” for bedtime stories, right? Wrong. Even when your child can read well, it’s important to still read together aloud. It helps with pronunciation and getting words into their brain, it also associates reading with pleasure and together-time, and allows you to talk about and analyze the story together. You should be incorporating more stories into your child’s life, not less and not just at bedtime. 1. You are literally teaching your child to THINK when you are telling stories. All conceptual thought depends on us creating or remembering pictures in our head of what we are thinking of. When you are thinking of a dog, you have in your... The 5 Most Influential Creative Parenting Books I Read in 2018 Click on the photo to watch the video version Now that our youngest has turned five-years-old, I finally have time to read again! So many great books to choose from, here are my favorites from last year that have helped with my parenting: Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne When we dreamed of having kids and a family, most of us had visions and dreams of us all sitting around laughing and enjoying family time together. The reality is, our daily lives disconnect us from these moments because there’s too much of everything. Too much stuff, too much information, too much speed, too many activities scheduled, and too many choices. This book is a reminder of the importance of creating calm and rhythm into our children’s lives. It actually became a goal of mine for 2019: to create a calm, soothing environment for our family. How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims I agreed with most of the reminders of this book, it’s basically stop... One of the things I miss most about pre-kid, single life is the ability to spend a few hours window shopping at the mall and choosing just the right outfits that fit my personality and lifestyle. I used to love wandering through and noticing all the seasonal themes and decorations, grabbing a snack at a kiosk and trying on fun new clothes. The reality is to make time for this now means giving up precious morning alone time while all three kids are in school or calling in a favor to my husband and have him watch all three kids while I spend our money. Ha! When the kids were really small, I decided to try a subscription box where they pick items out for me and send them to me based on a style profile questionnaire I fill out. While this doesn’t give me the satisfaction of physically going to the mall, spending time catching up on fashion in magazines or online and trying on outfits, it saves me a good three to four hours of time at least! How to Create A Vision Board With Your Child Don't you love setting goals? I'm inspired all the time by leaders who explain how wonderful it is to have goals and how much more successful people are when they make them. Did you know not many of us actually take the time to write them down? Shortly after the birth of our second child, my husband and I went out on a date night and he started asking me all sorts of questions, like "Where do you see yourself in five years?" and "What's next for you?" I remember being so frustrated he would ask me questions like that when I was in survival mode with the kids. Of course, he didn't understand, but for a few years, I didn't have time to think about anything other than the kids or food or how to care for them. I was either with them or trying to stay awake. Sleep was so precious and I wasn't getting enough. After that brief time, I got back to goal-setting and it's always served me well. Lots of my friends would tell me they created vision boars. I remember thinking they were kind... What to Pack for Soccer A couple of years ago, my husband traveled a ton and I was in charge of bringing all three kids out in 100-degree weather for soccer games on Saturday mornings. That first year, it was all about the snacks. I think I ended up feeding all the younger siblings at the same time as my own kids, so I brought lots of snacks, chairs, the soccer stuff and all three kids in the wagon after parking a third of a mile away. As the kids have gotten older and I’ve gotten more practice, we have streamlined these outings to make them much easier and more fun! Dad is in charge of taking all three of our kids to soccer practice on his own this weekend, so I’m supplying him with everything he needs for a successful outing. Keeping little ones busy in the hot sun all morning isn’t easy! Here’s what to stock up on to make sure you are set up for success. First off, of course, each child should be dressed in their soccer uniform, socks, shinguards,... 3 Ways to Get Your Child to Stay in Bed at Night You made it through the early years of either sleep training or lying in your child’s room until they fell asleep, right? So why is your big kid constantly coming down or lying in bed awake until all hours of the night? When our oldest started preschool, it was like as soon as he got into bed his brain became alive. He built his best creations our of Duplo Lego or Zoobs when he was supposed to be sleeping, asked many intriguing questions and would even cry because he couldn’t get tired enough to fall asleep. The fact was, he was overtired and we tried everything to correct it - switching up the bedtime, creating a more soothing routine, we even got our the essential oils and massagers. When he was in 1st grade, I found this great book and we read it together. It has helped him understand it is his job to help his body relax and there are many ways to do it. There’s also a game in the book that really helped our 3-year-old... How to Stay Healthy When the Kids Are Sick Flu season has been really tough this year, especially in our neighborhood. All three of the kids have been sick on and off for the past six weeks. My husband has been traveling and has stayed healthy using a few of the tricks I’m about to share with you. I stayed well for the past year, but it finally got me this season! Isn’t it hard not to get sick when the kids are cuddling up next to you and at the same time sniffling, sneezing and coughing all over us?! When I feel a little less than 100% I go into attack mode to prevent the spread of germs. First, I clean and sanitize the main community areas of the house. I change out all the towels and give all family members their own hand towel in each bathroom. I wash our throw blankets in our living room. I’ll wash bedding if I have time, but definitely all pillowcases. I wipe down light switches, door knobs, faucet handles and remotes.	10,167
When I came to realize that I was trans, the first thing I wanted to do was change my name. I announced my name change on social media two years ago, but it took a great deal of time and expense – and a court hearing – to change my name and gender on all of my identification documents. (I still haven’t changed my birth certificate, as my home state requires surgery for that.) During this time, I carried ID that still listed my birth-assigned gender and, as many trans people refer to it, “dead name.” Whenever I used a credit card to pay for a purchase, I had to sign that name that I no longer related to. I could deal with that; I had no choice. But what I couldn’t deal with was a clerk reading that name off of my card out loud. “Thank you, Miss Deadname. Have a nice day.”* I knew they were just being polite. I knew they had likely been trained to do this. It did not lessen the impact. Being misgendered can feel like anything from a pinprick to a punch in the face, but it almost always hurts. I’m writing about this now because Sam Dylan Finch blogged recently about Starbucks outing customers by reading their names off of their debit cards. On Facebook he mentioned that several former Starbucks employees told him this was company policy. I usually pay cash at cafés so I haven’t experienced this, but as mentioned above I’ve definitely been deadnamed by grocery clerks, and once by a door guard at a bar. Reading someone’s name aloud in this manner is an invasion of privacy. And it’s not just an issue for trans people. Many cis people go by different names from what’s printed on their IDs; a nickname or a middle name, for example. Now, if a man named John Joseph Doe goes by Joe and is called John by the barista, it might just be confusing, or slightly embarrassing. But say a woman who is going through a painful divorce still has her husband’s last name on her card. Is it worth risking traumatizing her at the grocery checkout by reading that name out loud, in the interest of “politeness?” When this sort of topic comes up, people will inevitably complain about “political correctness.” But the issue here is treating people with respect. It’s just as polite to say “Thank you, have a nice day” without sticking a “Miss Deadname” in the middle of that sentence. The consequences of offending a customer who expects a more formal form of address are minor compared to the consequences of inadvertently outing a trans person. Keep in mind that sixteen trans women of color have been murdered this year. Respect our privacy. Ask us personally for our names and pronouns if you need to know them. Don’t just assume we all go by what’s printed on a corporate or government-issued piece of plastic. * I should clarify that I changed my entire name, not just my first name, when I transitioned. Being referred to by my previous last name is painful for me. 2 thoughts on “Privacy and deadnaming” August 17, 2015 at 6:30 pm Just a tip for others on signing. You’re not required to sign your name. For a while my signature was a stick figure cat. I’m considering going back. August 17, 2015 at 6:31 pm I know, but I still had to see that deadname on my credit cards every time I used them, and clerks where I shopped saw it too. I was really glad when I got new cards issued.	3,515
Tuesday morning, July 27. I received a phone call from Anthony Clement, the principal of Harriet Gibbons High School. As those who follow this blog know all too well, Harriet Gibbons HS was the former Street Academy of Albany, my old high school. It’s also the former alternative high school that was shut down earlier this summer by the cold-blooded bullies at the Albany City School District. And don’t think I haven’t forgotten that. Or the dates each and every one of you board members are up for re-election. Principal Clement and I have talked in the past, and he knows what I’ve done in terms of trying to recover Street Academy / Harriet Gibbons’ history and what that school meant to Albany’s inner city community. And when he spoke to me today, he said four words that I thought I’d never hear again – four words that, upon their utterance, would keep the Albany City School District from destroying the last great vestige of my school history. “We found the trophy.” The “trophy” he referred to was the 1981 Answers Please trophy. The championship trophy in 1981. Left to right - Answers Please host Tim Welch; a representative from the Junior College of Albany; and some dorky kid whose name escapes me. On Answers Please, if you happened to win three weeks in a row, you retired undefeated and your school received a special championship trophy from the Junior College of Albany. After our third win – a 150-60 triumph against St. Mary’s of Hoosick Falls, who at the time had just won a local basketball championship – we received the trophy. This was the culmination of what our school was able to accomplish. That trophy was on display at Street Academy’s old campus on Clinton Avenue for years and years. Then the school moved to the Adult Learning Center building (the old Albany High School Annex) on Western Avenue. Then the school moved to the Our Lady of Angels campus on Sheridan Avenue. Then the school moved to the Carnevale’s Supermarket building on Watervliet Avenue. And somewhere along that time, the trophy was packed in a box and moved. And moved. And moved. And like the titular prize in Raiders of the Lost Ark, it was moved for the sake of moving, and disappeared. While attempting to recover the history of the high school, as part of my online tribute site of the learning institution, I always asked if anyone knew where the trophy was. There were efforts to find it, but it didn’t turn up. Until this week. Wednesday morning, July 28. I drive over to the 75 Watervliet Avenue campus. Principal Clement is running late. A maintenance worker lets me in the building. He’s already spoken to Principal Clement, so I’ve been cleared to enter the building. I am directed to a storage area in the main office. And there it is. The championship trophy our school earned in 1981. I pick it up. The columns holding up the trophy start to sway and wiggle. The nuts and bolts that held this thing together all those years are coming loose. One of the internal rods slips out; I catch it before it falls to the floor. I find an empty storage box and gingerly place the fragile trophy inside. Principal Clement has found some other items that might be of interest – photographs of school graduations and proms; videotapes of graduation ceremonies; a 2005-06 yearbook (the last year the school operated as a 9th through 12th grade high school). I gather them up and, with the help of the maintenance worker on duty, we place the treasures in my car. The maintenance worker carried the videotapes and photo books to my Saturn Ion. I carried the trophy. It’s the Stanley Cup rule. If you haven’t won it, you can’t touch it. I make a few calls around the Capital District to find a trophy repair shop, but the companies that I knew made trophies, such as Broadway Marketing, are no longer in the individualized custom trophy business. I wasn’t going to bring it to a bowling pro shop and have them cobble together parts from old bowling trophies to restore this award. And there’s no marking or brand name anywhere on the trophy that indicates where the original trophy was constructed. I did some online investigating. And, thanks to an internet search, I found a website called TrophyKits.com. For a few dollars and a few moments of my time, I can do the repairs on the trophy myself. Eyeballing their online catalog, I ordered some replacement 13.5″ interior bolts, some gold nut caps, some felt base dots, and several “check rings.” The parts should arrive in a week or so. In the meantime, I’m going to start scanning in the photographs so that they can be preserved; I’m also going to convert the graduation videotapes to DVD’s. Already, on one of these VHS tapes, I found the dedication ceremony that was held when the school’s name was changed to Harriet Gibbons High School. Once those have been digitized, I’ll let anyone who needs copies of those particular graduation years know how to obtain copies of same. There’s an old saying in oral history. You must tell the story, so that future generations will know. And once you know, you can’t un-know. And no matter what the Albany City School District thinks of my old high school, I will not let them “unperson” its existence. I just won’t. Reddit Related 1 reply to Recovering the Trophy – and Restoring it D357 says: August 1, 2010 at 9:01 am OMG…you’re worse than Al Bundy talking about his football career. Comments are closed. Please enter your email address, and you can follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.	5,832
A journey of learning about Amateur Radio, from my own beginnings, to helping my kids learn about it. Complete with a view point of a new Ham, and lessons to help a person get up to a technical class license or beyond. Also contains other interests, including programming Android, Unity, and Python. Saturday, July 27, 2013 So, you can understand Morse code, now what? I've been working on Morse Code, and I'm starting to make some good progress. I'm about half way through the character set, and most of the time it's easier to learn the next character than the last one. I'm even starting to notice that the 20 character, 10 word speed sometimes seems slow, and I'm almost though the alphabet. I'm starting to see a date where I learn Morse Code completely, and I've been asking myself, then what? I've been collecting information from my club and others, and wanted to share it all with you. Before you go on the air, I would practice a few different types of training than just code groups. Try some plaintext training, or maybe some call signs. Expanding your ability to catch information will help you to work better. Also, don't forget practicing with different tones, I know I've been using a higher tone than is usually used on the air, and I'm very sensitive to changes in the tone. It's something I should work on for sure! The first step is to purchase a straight key. The higher end ones will make a difference in the long run, but any one will do for the time being. The straight key will not include a method to plug it in to anything. It will just have the key. Essentially, it acts like a switch, you will have to connect it on the other end. I recommend that for now, you just connect it to your radio, and practice without transmitting, until you are convinced you can transmit your call sign at least. So, how do you connect it to your radio? Asking around, virtually everyone makes their own cable to connect their radio to the keyer. What do you need to do this? First of all, look at your CW port on your radio. Most likely, it is either a quarter inch stereo plug, or a 3.5mm. Buy a blank connector, at Radio Shack or similar. The next thing you will need is a cable. The best cables to make this happen are known as dual conductor cables. Recycle an old stereo cable, or otherwise find one, and you'll be good to go. Plug it in, hit the CW mode, and see if it works. If it does, congratulations! You are ready to start practicing! Start practicing, working at first at being slow to transmit, but accurate. Listening to morse code quickly is important to breaking certain barriers, but it's not as important for transmitting. Keep practicing, until you are ready to go on the air. For your first contact, try to talk with an Elmer, possible with a second way of talking to them as well. Keep practicing until you are better able to work, and try talking to other people. Keep practicing for at least a few minutes every day. There might come a point where you want to enter a CW contest. There is an excellent program called Morse Runner that can help you to practice your CW in a contest skill. It allows for practice working a pileup, QRM, and even dealing with a poor operator (Lids). Give it a shot, this will allow you to practice in a more realistic environment!. Bottom line, keep practicing, looking for new tools, and having fun. And good luck! Posted by Ben P. at 5:00 AM Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) I post weekly updates on my projects at the Old Ham Media Google Groups site. Please sign up there to never miss an update! I have a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering. I have always wanted to work with space technology, and found the student satellite program at the University of Arizona where I studied. There I became introduced to Ham Radio, initially earning my Technician license. More recently, I have become interested in emergency communications, and in general DXing, earning my Amateur Extra license.	4,187
Hundreds of skin conditions affect us. They can be chronic and have similar symptoms. It can sometimes be challenging to tell them apart and manage them properly. Those who suffer from chronic skin conditions know that they can only do so by working regularly with a dermatologist, treating them regularly, and paying attention to their lifestyles. Some of these skin conditions start in childhood and continue into adulthood. They can be permanent but will not always be present. One of the most common skin conditions is eczema. What is eczema? Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is an inflammatory skin condition that causes skin irritation, redness, blisters, and inflammation on the skin’s outer layer. It is mostly an inherited condition and can be triggered by coming into contact with irritants like makeup products, detergents, feathers, etc. Despite the observable symptoms, eczema is not contagious hence it cannot be spread from person to person. Officially, there is no cure for eczema. Eczema is linked to a weakened immune system from having bacteria contact causing a reaction in the body. People who suffer from eczema have skin that is dry, scaly, and itchy. The affected areas are usually seen on the face, hands, knees, and inside of the elbows. In some cases, they bleed and crack. There is conventional therapy on eczema, but many people find it not working for them. Home remedies have been sought, and honey is found to be effective on wounds and blisters. It has antibacterial properties that can heal and help in maintaining the moistness of the skin, which is what eczema-induced blisters need to keep from breaking and causing more pain. Honey is particularly considered as an alternative for eczema. What is eczema honey? There are plenty of treatments, including moisturizers, prescription medications, and a host of alternative options for eczema. And honey, beyond its milk and tea-enriching powers, has become a sought-after treatment for eczema patients. However, there are many types of honey, and the kind that skin experts and celebrities use as eczema remedy is of a different variety than the one you have in the fridge. This type of honey is called manuka honey. It is produced only in Australia and New Zealand by bees that pollinate the native manuka bush. Manuka honey is considered as eczema honey for its capacity to soothe and moisturize rough, dry skin – tell-tale signs of eczema – making it a natural emollient. Aside from its effects on the skin, this eczema honey is a preventive treatment. It has antibacterial properties that reduce the spread of bacterium common with eczema. It also affects dozens of pathogens and other microbes that cause disease and worsen eczema. Many companies have started selling creams, cleansers, and other skin-care staples with manuka honey as a key ingredient. These products, other than those from Eczema Honey and other brands, are not designed specifically for eczema-prone skin but for improving skin in general. Eczema honey products are hot on the market, but if you don’t want the price tags, you can also make your own at-home recipe. History has proven the health benefits of honey. The first recorded use of honey for its healing properties dates back a thousand years ago by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was also a popular treatment for wounds during the First World War, which can be attributed to its antibacterial quality of honey. Eczema is caused by our skin making contact with bacteria, so honey defeats eczema by fighting the bacteria and keeping the skin moist while it heals. Manuka honey has even more nutritional and immune-system enhancing abilities than raw honey. So the answer is yes, at least to many eczema patients who have tried honey to treat their skin. Eczema honey is a potent medicine with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, which effectively combat eczema and prevent an outbreak. Eczema thrives on a weakened immune system, and manuka honey has the capacity to reverse this by boosting the production of immune system molecules called antimicrobial peptides (AMP) in our body. These molecules improve healing and reduce inflammation. Of course, more research is needed to understand exactly how honey treats eczema. But if you don’t have any honey-related allergies, there is no harm in trying eczema honey as it is a natural moisturizer and can also improve the skin’s complexion overall. Topical infections such as like staphylococcus which can be triggered by eczema can be fought and prevented by the anti-bacterial properties of honey. It also heals other illnesses triggered by eczema such as sore throats and digestive illnesses. It strengthens the immune system so there’s less lesions and other illnesses. It hydrates the skin keeping it from breaking. It prevents the infection from spreading through its viscosity which provides a shield around the infected area. How to treat eczema with honey Raw honey can be used to treat eczema lesions, but it is best to use manuka honey. There are several products that treat and filter manuka honey to make it free of potential contaminants. To treat the affected areas, simply dab some eczema honey onto the patches to relieve it of dryness and itchiness. The honey will seal in the moisture and ensure nourishment on the skin. Here’s how you can properly treat eczema using manuka honey: Wash your hands. Put gauze or a bandage over the eczema patches with honey. Let the dressing stay in place overnight. In the morning, gently remove the dressing and clean the area. The key to using eczema honey is to not leave it on your skin too long. It can cause irritation on the skin that is already stressed by eczema. Make it a point to read the instructions on the label and clean the patches of eczema before applying an eczema honey product on your skin. Also, be sure you are not allergic to honey and best not to use it if you have very sensitive skin. In case you can’t find any eczema honey products, you can make your own honey-based soothing cream. Essential oils, shea butter, or aloe can make for good extra ingredients because they make the cream less sticky and add to its moisturizing elements. As a soothing and cooling cream As a makeup remover Most frequent questions and answers Can you buy eczema honey in stores? Manuka honey is a rare find since manuka bushes are a native only in Australia and New Zealand. There are several products with manuka honey as a key ingredient that you may find online for shipping or on store shelves in the United States. One such product, Eczema Honey by Eczema Honey Company, is available at CVS Pharmacy near you. Are there side effects to using eczema honey? Generally, honey is safe for use and is well tolerated by most people. But for those with especially sensitive skin, there might be setbacks in using honey other than as a sweetener and as a kitchen staple. The potential side effects include: Allergic reaction especially for people allergic to honey, pollen, or bee stings Skin infection from using raw honey which may have bacteria Skin irritation from leaving eczema honey on too long. Since honey is viscous and sticky, it can attract dust or microbes which may irritate the skin. If you experience discomfort, or any signs of skin irritation like increase in redness, swelling, or itching after topical application, wash the affected areas immediately. Baby eczema is quite common. Its first signs usually show up before your child turns two years old. But even so, there’s a great possibility that our babies can outgrow this skin condition, given that it is regularly treated and they receive the right nourishment. With that said, babies should not be treated with harsher creams and medicines that are only applicable to adults. A baby’s skin is softer and more sensitive therefore it will not react well to harsh chemicals and ingredients found in treatments for adults. Even grown-ups can have bad reactions to treatments they’re prescribed for. Eczema honey is organic and is free of the harsh ingredients found in some medical remedies. It is definitely safe for babies and gentle enough for their delicate skin. Using eczema honey is a gentle approach as it is just as effective and potent a medicinal treatment as prescribed ones. Eczema honey, when applied directly to the affected areas, can relieve dry, itchy symptoms. Because it moisturizes the skin, boosts the immune system’s ability, and has natural antibacterial properties, eczema honey does a lot to fight the outbreak. There is a lot more to be investigated about honey, and the recent research indicates that eczema lesions can effectively be cured by the application of honey. Its potential to be an official eczema treatment is still being explored. Keep in mind that honey is an alternative remedy, and it is not a for-all solution. If you find that your symptoms don’t improve after using honey, see your doctor for other recommendations.	9,266
If there ever was a rapper i think that is capable of getting a slapping charge, it’s this guy. I am not reviewing his music today, I am simply using it as evidence. Stupid. Sounds like some kids that just felt like testing out their mic. Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.	409
Being truly a specialist residential builder for decades, we’ve developed a large amount of house programs with numerous styles as well as very budget this is certainly inexpensive. Our home programs come in all forms, sizes and scale and designs, you best in order to select any of the breathtaking home programs that suited. Individuals who will be working all of them tend to be make an effort to create some new and special styles that give our fresh look everytime with us all of. They’re pleased with the influence that is good our work has actually for society. The main thing for thousands of people across India are coming let me reveal that that which we offer is in fact beautiful residence programs at extremely cost this is certainly affordable. So that you can work make sure the quality this is certainly most useful of your solution we works with the neighborhood building. We with your staff that is entire give to make certain that our organization can get its method this is the obtain the most of customer. Trust us we have been expert in producing good interior design to outside styles being really change from the motif this is certainly common. Here, you are getting only household that is contemporary such as all features of current world, as well as we’re able to develop various kinds of styles for considerable communities. Low Quality Small House Design Houses are not only speaking of sizes, beauty, freedom or convenience. It’s more than just how it seems or what it’s manufactured from. Cost actually matters. Anyhow, every household is just a ownership this is certainly precious home owners. Its relevance is based on exactly how we value it and exactly how we’ve transformed the house into a house. Whether you’re downscaling into a household this is certainly pleasant building a stride in to a simple living, low quality tiny home design is likely to be of benefit. To put it another real means, it will cost less to build and use fewer products. This particular residence will probably be friendlier to your environment also to your budget also. Small houses appears precious. They’ve been undoubtedly element of an increasing environment that promotes living this is certainly renewable. The choice of a spending plan this is certainly reasonable home design centers around efficient utilization of area which also help looking bigger. Numerous designers and architects have actually understood approaches to changing tiny home into amazing and living area this is certainly well-equipped. And yeah, they look adorable too when you look at the optical eyes of many. Whilst the area is tiny, it can be designed with powerful connections that are outdoor may help it to appear beautiful. And due to the size and cost incorporate in construction, a volume that is great of will discover it very reasonable. The beneficiaries, low income people. Inexpensive and budget this is certainly reduced household design frequently features available concept flooring programs. They can additionally provide a living room plus an kitchen this is certainly available. In the side that is positive low-cost does not suggest poor of materials to utilize. You can have your product furnished with exemplary method this is certainly architectural really. There is a lot more that a spending plan that is reasonable house design could possibly offer. Every-where you look today, tiny houses are trademark. Simple household is residing that is wise. There are a full large amount of homes and plans that don’t lose any things in design and appearance. Currently, solitary storey homes become one of the more well-known alternatives of numerous residents. You appear around and you also shall see lots of bungalow houses which can be enormously popping every-where like mushrooms. The house this is certainly featured have actually today is really a affordable stylish and stunning house design which will match many people, essentials, and lifestyles. Extremely, the majority of the homely houses we come across around are smaller houses. Many people opt to once begin living tiny they find that there are numerous advantageous assets to downsizing. Normally, an inferior residence prices less, therefore, preserving some cash to blow for other house that is essential. The house in feature is just a one storey home design which will fit to match families that are many limited funds. Small as it may appear, this residence that is tiny gorgeous and trendy in its own style. The system appears within a cozy environment that offers living that is healthier. Similarly, this device will offer you convenience and freedom to your grouped family members like any various other home. Actually, it isn’t always the scale that counts, however the benefits that a homely household brings into the family. It is little however the functions and workmanship is larger than its dimensions. Why don’t we check always the next simple attributes of this model household. little available porch by way of a separate roofing this is certainly level wooden door and glass that is few with blue frames set up in proper locations for ventilation reasons	5,388
EXXON Lockout Exxon Beaumont locked out USW Local 13-243 on May 1st from a series of issues. Our local as well as all the other oil bargaining USW locals within our district are collecting donations for the 650 workers impacted at Exxon Port Arthur Local 13-243. Please keep in mind as school resumes there are 650 families faced with school supplies and clothing needs. Read More... Log-in Member Access **If you have requested a log-in to the website please check back and try to logon periodically. You will not receive an email when access is approved. Requests are verified against the seniority list for your group multiple times a day and access is approved. Read More... American Labor "All that harms labor is treason. If any man tells you that he loves America [but] he hates labor, he is a liar." President Abraham Lincoln History of the Labor Movement This is a brief history about the fights and struggles the Union brothers and sisters endured before us to provide the Benefits and Voice in the workplace we enjoy today. If we dont know how we got to this point how can we understand the importance of protecting it. Not one thing was given. Click on the links below to view the video: part 1 of History of the Labor Movement part 2 of History of the Labor Movement USW Local 13-1 Website Privacy Disclaimer: This Website, and any contents or web pages attached may contain confidential information, including information that is legally privileged. If you are not a member of USW Local 13-1, you are hereby notified that any entry into this site or disclosure, copying, reproduction, distribution or use of any of the information contained in or attached to this site is strictly prohibited. If you have any knowledge of attempts to enter this site wrongfully, please immediately notify us via e-mail. This system contains privileged and confidential information and is intended for the exclusive use of USW Local 13-1 members and officers. Only authorized USW Local 13-1 members or specifically authorized personnel are permitted access to this system. Any unauthorized use of this system is unlawful, and may be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties. All access to this system is monitored and may be used as evidence in court. If you are uncertain of your authorization status please contact us. Non-Member List!!! If you see any of the employees on this list in your area, please take the time to talk to them about the importance of joining the Union. Solidarity is the key to remaining effective when bargaining with the Company. Richard Gardin - Operations Read More...	2,612
Jay Tabb is a recently retired career Senior Executive and Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as well as a former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) infantry officer with over three decades of national security and law enforcement experience leading strategic programs, managing organizational risk, and overseeing global security solutions. Currently the Senior Vice President of CRC’s Global Security Division (GSD), Mr. Tabb provides domestic and international security solutions for government and commercial clients. Mr. Tabb has extensive real-world experience managing risk and defending the U.S. and its allies from myriad threats, including both physical and cyber national security vectors. He continues this service through his leadership of the GSD. Prior to his current role with CRC, Mr. Tabb served nearly twenty three years in the FBI, culminating as the Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch where he led a global workforce over 8,000 personnel with an annual operating budget of $330M. Since joining the FBI in 1997, Mr. Tabb held a variety of positions, including service as an operator on the FBI’s elite counterterrorism unit, the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), and leadership of several special purpose counterterrorism units. Other key assignments included leadership of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Washington DC, Commander of the HRT, Deputy Assistant Director in charge of counterterrorism operations for the FBI, and Special Agent in Charge (SAC) for the FBI in Washington State. As the SAC, Mr. Tabb managed the investigation and apprehension of members of an international hacking group, as well as a sensitive counterintelligence operation involving the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle. As an operator with HRT, Mr. Tabb received the FBI Medal of Valor, as well as two FBI Stars for heroism and critical injuries received while operating in sensitive counterterrorism missions abroad. Other awards include the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for his leadership during a prominent global counterterrorism investigation, and the Exceptional Service Medal from the Director of National Intelligence for leadership in a sensitive counterterrorism matter. Mr. Tabb’s military service included over seven years an infantry officer in the U.S Marine Corps, including several command and staff billets and command during combat operations in the Middle East. Molly Amman, Retired FBI Profiler Senior Faculty, National Command & Staff College Recently retired FBI profiler Molly Amman is an internationally recognized expert in targeted violence threat assessment and threat management. She served in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) at Quantico, Virginia, as a behavioral profiler and the program manager for BAU’s multiagency Behavioral Threat Assessment Center, which studies and engages in targeted violence assessment and management. Ms. Amman’s case work principally focused on school and workplace violence, threatening communications, public figure threats, domestic terrorism, stalking and extortion, active crisis incidents such as riots and hostage scenarios, and more; she has extensive experience with both ideologically motivated and personal grievance-oriented offenders. Ms. Amman participated in creating the FBI’s workplace violence prevention program and has extensive policy-writing experience. She has also served on faculty at the FBI Academy, led a Joint Terrorism Task Force, and coordinated assets for crisis response & management, intelligence, and federal investigations during major special events such as Presidential inaugurations and professional sports championships at the FBI Special Events Management Unit. Ms. Amman also completed numerous long-term overseas deployments to further US and allied threat mitigation and anti-radicalization efforts. She was nominated and a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for her work on a significant crisis. Ms. Amman is now engaged in private practice threat assessment and management, focusing largely on workplace violence, stalking and threats, and domestic extremism. As a recognized leader in the field, she serves as the national Certification Chair for the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). She conducts training around the world and has authored various publications on topics related to threats, targeted violence, and law. Ms. Amman has a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Drake University and practiced law prior to joining the FBI. Fred Farris, Chief of Police, City of Goddard, KS Senior Faculty, National Command & Staff College Fred Farris began his career in 1990 with the Kansas City, MO Police Department and served several assignments before moving the Lenexa, KS Police Department in 1995. During his time with Lenexa PD he worked Patrol, Traffic Enforcement Unit, Directed Patrol Unit, supervised the Directed Patrol Unit, was tasked with building the agency’s first Training Unit and was a member of the agency SWAT team for 20 years. He served as Investigations Division supervisor until his retirement in 2017. In 2017 he retired from Lenexa PD and accepted a police chief position with the Goddard, KS Police Department, a rapidly growing suburb of Wichita. He served as the Training Committee Chair for the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police (KACP) and on the Board of Directors for the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center during his time in Goddard. In September of 2021 he was appointed as the police chief for the Gladstone, MO Police Department, a community in the heart of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Chief Farris is the Board of Directors President for the Heartland Tactical Officers Association, a member of the International Law Enforcement Forum, a member of the IACP, lifetime member of the KACP and a member of the IACP Patrol and Tactical Operations Subcommittee. Senior Faculty, National Command & Staff College Dr. Prohaska is a nationally sought-after public speaker for numerous law enforcement and public safety entities, presenting on topics such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Post-traumatic Stress Injury, Suicide Awareness, Prevention, and Response, Chronic Stress and Resiliency for First Responders and their Families, and the psychological components of Commander Leadership and Mental Health. She has been a featured speaker for the FBI National Academy Associates-Kansas/Western Missouri Chapter, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, MidAmerican Regional Council, and Central States Law Enforcement Executives Seminar. Dr. Prohaska’s specialty is in Officer Involved Shootings and other critical incidents that fall outside of the scope of normal daily first-responder activities. She is Force Science Certified and has sub-specialty training in working with individuals with major medical repercussions from their duties, particularly Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury. Her primary work is in consulting with police departments regarding a variety of personnel needs, as well as functional and operational needs or challenges that have a psychological component. Her other work is centered around assessment including New Hire Evaluations for police and public safety entities, Fitness-for-Duty, and Promotions/Management Readiness Evaluations. She also engages in assessment and treatment planning evaluations for individuals in public safety positions with severe trauma reactions and other psychiatric disorders and collaborates with the employee-patient and agency to find the best fit for appropriate and high-quality care for the employee-patient. Prior to Dr. Prohaska’s current endeavors, she has been intimately involved in the development, training, implementation, and maintenance of over two dozen peer support teams across a three-state area. And she has consulted for over nearly 50 peer support teams as well. She has also been involved in critical incident response education and planning for both the public and private sectors. In addition, she primarily served in inpatient hospital units at the University of Kansas Medical Center, including, but not limited to, the Trauma, Intensive Care, Physical Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Burn Units. She was then hired on as clinical faculty where she worked at the University of Kansas Cancer Center addressing the psychological and neuropsychological needs of patients undergoing cancer treatment. In addition, she has worked for multiple public safety entities across Kansas and Missouri, independently practicing in police and public safety psychology. In 2016, she founded Insight Public Safety and Forensic Consulting, LLC. Dr. Jennifer Prohaska graduated with her Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology in 2012 from the University of Kansas and completed her residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center in neuro-rehabilitation psychology, specializing in traumatic injury, life changing medical illness, and terminal illness. Education and Training Coaching & Mentoring Assessments Public Safety Business and Corporate Executives Commissioners Powered by PSLMS	9,526
Twitter stops enforcing its COVID misinformation policy Honorary member of Buckingham Palace household resigns after repeatedly asking Black woman where she “came from” A new use for dating apps: Chasing STDs 2022 WWE Survivor Series WarGames live stream, how to watch online, start time, card, matches Implementing 30-day post discharge medication reconciliation using FHIR November 15, 2022 There will be no golden escalator this time, but neither will there be mocking guffaws or can-you-believe-this eye-rolling. As Donald Trump is expected to kick off another presidential campaign tonight, the world has changed rather drastically since his first. Whatever else is thought of his attempted comeback, it will not be dismissed as an implausible joke. Seven years ago, he was seen as a buffoonish reality TV star willing to say outrageous, even racist things to get attention, only to upend the political world with an election win that proved the doubters wrong. Now he is the head of a movement that has dominated the Republican Party for years. Yet with subpoenas and recriminations flying, his hopes to replicate the surprise of his 2015 announcement appear more problematic. If few really took Trump seriously back then, everyone does now, both his core supporters who see him as their combative champion and the critics who view him as an existential threat to American democracy. The defeat of so many of Trump’s allies in last week’s midterm contests and the failure of Republicans to run away with an election that they should have easily won if history were a guide have raised questions about whether he is at a moment of weakness. One of the main signs that Trump has lost political clout is that conservatives have shown they are more willing to criticize him. As my colleagues Lisa Lerer and Reid J. Epstein wrote, “there are signs of another Republican effort to inch the party away from the former president.” Republicans have flocked to television shows to declare that there is no single leader of the party anymore. “We’re not a cult,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media outlets have increasingly lashed out at Trump, branding him “the Republican Party’s biggest loser.” The scope of Trump’s troubles was reinforced yesterday. They are not only political but legal as well. He faces possible contempt after failing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. Unsealed court briefs documented the fight over government papers that Trump took when he left office, while a congressional report outlined how foreign nations spent lavishly at his Washington hotel while he was in office. His once-deferential vice president, Mike Pence, who is releasing a memoir today, said in a new interview that Trump had been “reckless” on the day of the Capitol riot. Trump is also no longer the unquestioned presidential front-runner, according to surveys conducted since last week’s disappointing midterms for Republicans. They show he faces serious potential competition from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cruised to a landslide re-election victory in Florida, should he choose to run. A YouGov poll showed DeSantis leading Trump among Republicans, 42 percent to 35 percent, while a survey by the Texas Republican Party indicated that DeSantis led among Republicans there with 43 percent to 32 percent for Trump. Other surveys by the conservative Club for Growth showed DeSantis leading in four states. But critics have counted Trump out before and lived to regret it. As The Times’s Michael C. Bender wrote, the former president still commands the loyalty of “a solid and devoted core of conservative voters” who appear “ready to follow him wherever he leads again — even if into defeat.” The Trump of 2022 has far more tools at his disposal to announce his presidential run than the Trump of 2015 did. Back then, his team felt compelled to pay extras $50 each to show up for the now-famous escalator ride to the lobby of Trump Tower. When he labeled immigrants from Mexico “rapists,” Republicans denounced his attack, and they scoffed at his vow to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Today, the Never Trump establishment wing of the party is even less powerful than it was seven years ago, while the former president has vast financial resources and the experience and the network that come from two national campaigns. He also still has that animal cunning that has allowed him to overpower so many Republicans who defied him. It may be instructive to remember that Trump somehow kept hosting that show of his, “The Apprentice,” on air for 14 years, replaying essentially the same story line over and over again as the audience kept coming back for more. So when he takes the microphone at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida tonight for his “special announcement,” he is determined to script another season of conflict and drama in hopes of being renewed. For more A 22-year-old student is in custody after three University of Virginia football players were killed in a shooting. Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 people, the largest cuts in the company’s history. Three women and a man were found dead at a house near the University of Idaho. The police called it a “crime of passion.” Restaurants are packed and masks are vanishing, but Covid has not gone away, leaving Americans struggling to find a new balance. Tens of thousands of academic workers across the University of California system are striking for higher pay. Roberta Flack, known for hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” has A.L.S. and can no longer sing. We have the tools we need to transition to clean energy, but we need to do it faster, Bill McKibben argues on “The Ezra Klein Show.” A Democrat’s win in a red-leaning Washington congressional district shows that Republican extremism has a political price, Michelle Goldberg says. Naomi Biden, President Biden’s granddaughter, will be married on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend. And while it may not have the stakes of, say, a meeting in the Situation Room, planners are treating the details of the wedding as though they were highly classified, The Times’s Katie Rogers writes. Nine presidential children have wed on the White House grounds, most recently Tricia Nixon in 1971, whose ceremony was a relatively public affair, with a front-page photo in The Times the next day. Naomi Biden will be the first presidential granddaughter to wed at the White House. The rarest of White House weddings happened in 1886. That was when the president himself, Grover Cleveland, married there, with John Philip Sousa leading the band. (No press was allowed at that one.) PLAY, WATCH, EAT What to Cook Previous post LOOK: Jimmy Butler blocks Devin Booker’s potential game-winning shot to lift Heat over Suns Next post Post Politics Now: McCarthy seeks to corral votes for speaker as GOP nears House control – The Washington Post A new use for dating apps: Chasing STDs (Eric Harkleroad/KHN illustration) Heather Meador and Anna Herber-Downey use dating apps on the job — and their boss knows it.... November 30, 2022 WASHINGTON — Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader, on Tuesday disavowed one of the country’s most prominent young... November 29, 2022 Dow tumbles 400 points as Covid protests in China put investors on edge Oil comes off lowsOil turned positive on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate crude rising $1.14, or 1.5%, to $77.42 per... November 28, 2022 Amazon Cyber Weekend deal: Get this cooling weighted blanket for just $64 while you still can Luna via Amazon Amazon's Cyber Weekend sale is on now. The sales event includes deals on American Girl, Bose, Anastasia... November 27, 2022 Irene Cara, the Academy Award-winning singer who performed the electric title tracks in two aspirational self-expression movies of the 1980s,... November 26, 2022 With record covid cases, China scrambles to plug an immunity gap Comment on this storyCommentA coronavirus outbreak on the verge of being China’s biggest of the pandemic has exposed a critical... November 25, 2022 Previous post:LOOK: Jimmy Butler blocks Devin Booker’s potential game-winning shot to lift Heat over Suns Next post:Post Politics Now: McCarthy seeks to corral votes for speaker as GOP nears House control – The Washington Post	8,823
April 11, 2017 attorney, car accident, collision, crash, hurt, lawyer, pain, personal injury20 Commentscervanteslaw What should you do if you're in a car accident? What should you do if you're in a car accident? When it happens, injuries may be severe and emotions high. However, there are important things to do at the scene of the... Recent Posts What to do if you are involved in a car accident. Stephennaw on What to do if you are involved in a car accident. Stephennaw on What to do if you are involved in a car accident. Stephennaw on What to do if you are involved in a car accident. April 2017 Copyright © 2017, Cervantes Law. Responsible Attorney is Christopher M. Cervantes, licensed to practice in Texas & Massachusetts. Contact: 100 State St Ste 900, Boston, MA 02109. Disclaimer – The settlements and results above are only a sample of cases represented by our office. Each case is different and the amount of a potential resolution of your case will vary considerably depending on a substantial amount of factors. Some case results were worked in conjunction with partnering law firms.	1,146
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value. Frequently Asked Questions Why isn't my .pdf isn't printing correctly? Contact me directly with your concern about printing quality and I will reformat to best suit your computer and printer Custom and personalized orders Yes! I'd be happy to put together a custom study guide for your next big exam if you provide me with the subjects you are learning. Turnaround time from the day you place your order to receiving your order (up to 3 pages of custom notes) is usually about 2 weeks. Pricing varies. Where are my study guides? If you don't see your study guides in your email after payment is confirmed, it may be in your spam folder or could have gotten sent to an email you no longer use. If you logged into your etsy while checking out, they can be found under your orders but if you checked out as a guest, they would have been sent to the email you checked out with. Please contact me if you need help locating your guides! Can I return my purchase? I do accept returns/refunds for non-digital, non-custom items. Initial and return (if I create a shipping label for you) shipping costs are not refunded. Item(s) must be received in resalable condition to be eligible for the maximum refund. If you would like to return an item, please contact me within 7 days of delivery of your purchase and ship the item(s) within 14 days of delivery (proof of return shipment required such as tracking number). By purchasing any physical shipped item from my shop, the buyer agrees that it is the buyer’s responsibility to provide the correct shipping address and that the address is a safe place for packages to be left by the shipping carrier (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc). If there is an obvious error in the shipping address, I will make every attempt possible to verify the address and give the buyer opportunities to correct the address (through both Etsy messages and email). If no response is provided from the buyer in a timely manner (about 72 hours), the order will either be shipped to the address provided or cancelled. Cece’s Study Guides will not be held liable for any packages that are misdelivered, delivered to a provided (but incorrect/previous By purchasing any of my products, you agree to the following terms/conditions: All content is property of Nurse Guides LLC. Replication and distribution of this document is punishable by law and is only licensed to an individual user. Buyers are not allowed to distribute, copy, share, or transfer the products to any other individual/entity. You agree that products produced by Nurse Guides LLC & Cece's Study Guides DBA are educational materials & should not be used above your certified or licensed scope of care. Information contained within these materials may differ from material taught at your nursing school. If so, defer to your nursing school’s faculty/staff instruction first. These products are not to be used as medical advice.	3,095
On Tuesday, we cut and pasted his verse in his Bible notebook. He reviewed them all week and recited them on Thursday. I brought out Parker’s China kit so he could try making Chinese characters. Parker had fun making Chinese characters. He even created a family tree. First, we read The Tale of Tea on our Epic app. Afterwards, we created a tea lifecycle and Parker designed his own teacup. Though it was a bit late in the month, I still wanted to review our calendar. I printed a copy of our September calendar worksheet and brought out A Child’s Calendar. We read our September poem and I gave Parker his worksheet. Parker added dates, holidays, and birthdays on his September worksheet. I set out back to school themed books in the beginning of the school year. We’ve been so busy with our study on China, that we barely read any of them. We better get a few books in before I set out our fall selection of books. Unfortunately, we only read Froggy Goes to School, but we’ll leave our “Back to School” theme another week. Truth be told, I wanted to do this activity when we read about the esophagus, but the supplies were buried too far back in the vloset. This week we reviewed peristalsis in the intestinal track. I wasn’t going to miss it again. I retrieved the tube and marble from the closet and Parker helped demonstrate the contracting and relaxing movements.	1,476
As Sweetgreen expands to new locations, the fast-casual chain is using OOH, community marketing to ‘generate trials’ This story was originally published on Digiday, Modern Retail’s sibling publication As the country opens up again and Sweetgreen continues its expansion into new markets, the fast-casual salad chain is starting to invest more in out-of-home advertising. Doing so is meant to “amplify the marketing we’re doing online,” according to Nathaniel Ru co-founder and co-CEO of Sweetgreen. “With Sweetgreen being a bit bigger, we have restaurants open now in Florida, Texas, Atlanta [soon] and Colorado, those are all new markets for us to market in and that’s been the focus,” said Ru. “[We’re working to] tell our story in existing markets but also in some of these places that are new to Sweetgreen.” Currently, the chain, which is based in Los Angeles, has 121 locations in New York, California, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Colorado and Florida. With Sweetgreen’s first Atlanta location opening next week on Tuesday June 8, the chain is employing OOH in the city for the first time. At the same time, the chain recently unveiled a rebrand and partnered with tennis superstar Naomi Osaka; new OOH ads in various cities featuring Osaka touting her new salad bowl and the rebrand. It’s unclear how much more the chain is now spending on OOH overall versus other channels as Ru did not break out how Sweetgreen spends its media dollars. In 2020, Sweetgreen spent $223,000 on media, down from $751,000 in 2019, per Kantar data; those figures exclude media spending on social channels as Kantar does not track social spending. As far as the chain’s marketing strategy for expanding into new markets, Sweetgreen uses a “combination of a lot of community marketing” as well as digital and OOH, noted Ru. “We do a lot of work with our retail teams on the ground and encourage a lot of our team members in the restaurants to be great marketers themselves along with digital marketing and a lot of OOH.” Previous community marketing initiatives have included going to farmer’s markets in new areas to spread the word that Sweetgreen was opening in the area as well as hosting events like the Sweetlife Festival, a music festival that was previously held in Columbia, Maryland and hosted the likes of Blondie and Grimes, among others. “As we scale it’s important to continue to show up that way while also having that added layer of social media, OOH and things like that,” said Ru. “What’s really important for us is how we can generate trials via word-of-mouth, community and grassroots marketing. We don’t want to lose that as we get bigger.” Focusing on community marketing and building affinity for the brand rather than a singular product makes sense to Nik Sharma, DTC investor and advisor and founder of Sharma Brands. “It’s really about going toward this concept of building a movement which can then create a platform for them to do anything,” said Sharma, adding that community marketing will typically come from the brand marketing budget rather than performance marketing. “Building a movement is tough to do, but doing so can be a defensible moat to Sweetgreen [competitors like Just Salad or Chop’t]. It creates a platform for them to build on.” The chain is still balancing what it can and can’t do with regard to in-person community marketing events. “As things open up, we have plans to do tastings in restaurants before opening — people love that, being able to taste the menu before we’re open and hosting events that way — so we’re starting small,” said Ru. “Once people feel more comfortable we’ll do more of that.” Aside from community marketing and OOH, Sweetgreen has also changed up its approach to marketing this last year by building an in-house agency. The chain’s in-house shop now has 26 full-time employees working on creative, brand production and social media. “We wanted to do it so we could almost market at the speed of culture,” said Ru. “To continue to tell our stories that are still connected to culture and do it faster.”	4,265
There is accounting for social impact enterprises and then there is social accounting. What’s the difference? Why does it matter? Accounting for Social Enterprises The practicalities of accounting for social enterprises are going to be dependent on the legal structure and status of your social enterprise. Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit? are you a B-corp? are you an LLC that is choosing to operate as an enterprise with a social enterprise social impact model? Find an accounting professional who is familiar with the type of Continue reading → From Attorney to Media Company CEO: Sarah Wilkerson August 10, 2018 by Anna Blanch Rabe No comments Sarah Wilkerson forges her own path: Attorney to Media Company CEO Sarah Wilkerson’s story starts out in a way that is all too familiar. Professional military spouse is hindered by the different state licensing rules and looks for a career alternative. Finding something creative she makes a new career for herself. But in the case of Sarah Wilkerson, an attorney who found that practicing law while her active duty husband served in the JAG corps was near impossible, there’s a successful twist, she’s now the Continue reading → Why I care about the Handbag I carry #bagsonamission November 20, 2017 by admin No comments This post contains affiliate links. I am a brand Ambassador for R.Riveter. I have received products in exchange for my role as as a brand Ambassador for R.Riveter. Labels have never meant very much to me. I wore a uniform all 13 years of schooling, and then I joined the Army and wore a uniform. I really didn’t like non-uniform days growing up. I didn’t have stylish clothes and hated trying to figure out what was “in.” For a long time I didn’t carry a Continue reading → Interview Questions: good, bad, and ugly February 14, 2017 by admin No comments The art of writing interview questions is not on their face, complicated, but you would be surprised how often non-profit organizations (and social impact businesses alike) leave themselves open to litigation and to quizzical looks of “did you really just ask me that” to “you do realize you can’t ask something that, right?” when it comes to questions hiring committees are asking of job applicants in the interview setting. So, let’s start with the ugly; or the please, for all that you care about your Continue reading → February 1, 2017 by admin No comments PRESS RELEASE Anna Blanch Rabe to Join United Way of Otero County, Inc Board of Directors Alamogordo, NM – Anna Blanch Rabe & Associates announces that their Chief Executive Officer, Anna Blanch Rabe has been elected to the United Way of Otero County, Inc Board of Directors as part of their Annual General Meeting on 30th January 2017. Michelle Brideaux, Director of Marketing & Fundraising for United Way of Otero County said “Having a strong, active and diverse board of directors is critical to the Continue reading → Checklist of items to take to your next presentation or speaking event December 7, 2016 by admin Presenting on behalf of your non-profit organization, social enterprise, or socially responsible business can be as easy as stepping up and waxing lyrical. But sometimes, you may need to think through some contingencies. Here is a checklist of items to take your next presentation or speaking event. Note: affiliate links are included in the checklist – but only for products and services we use ourselves. You can download the list as a printable below! CHECKLIST Business cards – Bring more than you will need, along Continue reading → November 28, 2016 by admin 25 comments Making a living and making your community a better place to live have a wonderful symmetry. My goal, as a speaker, a writer, and a consultant, is to serve those who lead social enterprises, non profits, and those who are building businesses where their desire for a profit exists intertwined with their commitment to build a strong, vibrant community, with high quality communications strategy, advice, content, and execution. Personally, I seek to live a life of meaning and adventure! Not a Pedestrian Life! As part Continue reading →	4,227
Intrinsic value is the calculated value of the company and may differ from current stock price. If intrinsic value > current price, price increase is expected in the future to reduce the gap and vice-versa ROE vs FD rates Fixed Deposit rate is a virtually risk-free rate where the investor assumes almost no risk on their investment. If stock's long term average ROE is lower than this rate, investors are better off investing the amount in a FD Stock has not been able to generate better return on equity than bank FD A dividend is the distribution of reward from a portion of company's earnings and is paid to its shareholders. Good dividend returns indicate good health and outlook for the company Stock doesn't offer attractive dividend returns Entry Point High demand for a stock increases its price. If the price is pushed up to a level which is not justified, then it's considered to be in the overbought zone, which is not a good time to buy the stock Good time to consider, as stock is not in overbought zone ASM and GSM lists are measures to safeguard investors against volatility and unjustified stock prices. Pledging holdings means taking loans against held promoter shares. Stocks in ASM/GSM list or with high pledged promoter holding should be handled with caution. Unsolicited tips are sometimes circulated to manipulate the market. Beware of these stocks	1,422
Posted in Art, Writing, tagged #Artist Mary Chamie, #Experimenting with art#, #Fine Arts, #Mixed media, #Oil painting, #Value of Design, #watercolor#, #Writing about Art, Abacos, Portland Art on November 7, 2022\| 2 Comments » Art is my muse. From art, I receive an endless supply of inspiration. While I like to think that I an in charge of the creative process and am inspiring the painting, I am finding instead that the creative process of art is actually inspiring me. Here is an example. The idea of painting a bird series started when I was doing a small watercolor on one of those commercially produced blank watercolor cards that I planned to send to a friend (Perspective 1). Unexpectedly, this small watercolor painting on a greeting card became a source of inspiration for an exploratory series of paintings experimenting with alternative media. At first I asked, how might this painting have looked if I had used oils instead of watercolors? When I first noticed the birds, they were running as a glorious team in front of ocean waves softly rolling into the beach, the birds hurriedly capturing their meal of tiny fishes and bugs from the sand as the waves rushed back to the sea. It was a few hours before winter sunset on the Abacos islands. The birds and I were standing on the beach in the sharp shadows and strongly contrasting light of early dusk. As I stepped closer to them, the birds fearlessly continued to shift back and forth with the waves, their legs moving quickly and in unison. It was fascinating to watch them perform with such measured uniformity of step. When I walked a bit too close for their comfort they started to skitter away. And it is that particular moment, when they shifted their attention, that I wanted to paint. After completing the small watercolor sketch (Perspective 1), I decided to try again in oils on canvas, this time with greater attention to the late afternoon ocean colors, but still using a similar structure for the painting, resulting in Perspective 2. This oil painting reflected more stillness with most of the movement being from the waves washing against the shore while the birds stayed in position enjoying feeding time while small waves washed over them. I decided to try the painting again and increase the commotion in the picture. To do this, I started by preparing a background of wet-on-wet watercolors on paper. Once this dried, I then watercolored over it and also used ink to complete the painting. The resultant painting called Perspective 3 is below. It did have the desired feel of commotion while also adding new lines and shades of interpretation. Moving on, I tried again, this time asking, can I replicate this painting using a digital arts package such as Procreate? I started by using a photo of the same wet-on-wet watercolor background that was used for painting Perspective 3 and super-imposed graphics over it. The birds were superimposed over the photo as were shades of color and selected lines. This was experimental on my part and was a first attempt at actually using digital arts for a painting . Here is what happened (Perspective 4). It struck me as odd that the only way I could produce Perspective 4 was to print it out, or I would have no physical evidence of my art piece. But that is the nature of digital design. I also did one piece that was digital only, just for fun and it is Perspective 5. This time I focused attention to the birds’ positioning, letting the motion be implied by the waves . Finally, I returned to the physicality of oil paints and canvas and tried the same idea as an abstraction and this is what happened. I continued to keep a similar structure in my mind while attempting to tell the story of the birds through color variations, brush movements and paint textures. My goal was to leave the feeling of moving water and birds without actually painting them as objects, resulting in Perspective 6. This was also a challenge for me as I have struggled to reach all the way to abstraction and beyond impressionism. This time I think I made it. Perspective 6: Oil painting on canvas,” 22’ x 28” What did I learn from all these variations on the same painting? What I learned is that the perspective that I take affects the outcome more that I ever might expect, even when the goal or intention of the painting is roughly the same. As an analogy, if I were writing a story and I choose to write it in the first person, or the third person, it changes the orientation of the story. If I choose this actor or that actor to play the part in a play, or make a remark, the perspective of the story subtly shifts. If I choose these words over others, the entire mood of the short story may change. The resultant stories that we tell or write have their own lives, independent of the writer’s or the story teller’s original intention. This is true, as well for art. I believe that this is why it feels so daring to paint and why sometimes people may initially shy away from trying it. It is because each piece of art has a life of its own. It is because of what we may reveal in the process and may not necessarily expect. Perhaps we don’t even initially know this is going to be the painting we have in mind. But now that it is completed we see it as a real and independent construct that may, perhaps, be scrutinized by others, reinterpreted and possibly shared in new ways. It is very daring to go through this creative endeavor, almost always resulting in further development and inspiration. Art remains my muse. Pandemic Art – Home Schooled Child Recently, I took a challenging course offered by the Oregon Society of Artists via Zoom called Mind Boggling – 2D Collage offered by Poca Kim. The strategy of the art course is to learn how to take an artist’s earlier paintings and artwork and make them into new art by cutting them up and designing a collage. Poca Kim brings excitement and humor into the room while she works with us to develop our collages. For the class, I chose to cut up several watercolors of nature scenes that I had completed and then reshaped them into a collage of a child playing an instrument. I chose this theme for my collage because owing to the coronavirus pandemic, children are staying home. School is often canceled, or attended only on-line. Children’s play is built around what they can find in their homes to play with, as they cannot play with others so easily owing to social-distancing. I wanted to build a collage based on this idea, using several watercolors that I had earlier painted of nature scenes. Having prepared the collage of the dancing child, I then decided to have the child be a type of “Pied Piper”. Pandemic Home School Child Looking at what happened during this class, I personally prefer the painting that I have called “Pandemic Home School Child” to the final painting that I did for the course called “Pied Piper Child.” I prefer the roughness and chaos of the “Home School” painting which is more in line with the chaos and playfulness of kids. This does not mean that I needed to stop at one point in this class project rather than going to the next. Each stopping point is providing a kind of wonder of its own. Classes are supposed to make us think, and consider new options to our art goals. Here are some of the things that I learned from this very interesting collage class. First, the technique of using my old painting for collage pieces was very different than cutting and using other artist’s work or magazine art to make a collage. There was a personal touch to cutting up my own paintings as I remembered making the marks. Second, while cutting up my art pieces and moving them into the collage, I also considered my previous work as it related to color, shape, brush marks and line choices, without thought to the final illustration for which they were originally used. It amused me that even after the paintings were cut up and moved around, they still looked like my personal work to me. I liked the idea that these earlier works resulted in useful images for the collage. It taught me that the lines themselves, the color choices, the movements of the brush across the paper all had subtle meanings that reached beyond the simple original illustration. Third, using the collage as a starting point made up of pre-constructed materials encouraged me to creatively move beyond old paintings and discover new value in their colors, lines and brushwork. Fourth, I focused very steadily on the composition for a considerable amount of time, freely moving pieces about to fashion my idea, before moving on to the painting itself. The activity of working through my compositional ideas via a collage left everything open and optional, shifting the composition again and again, as long as I did not glue anything down. I think the concept of abstract art is starting to take shape in my mind more clearly through this collage and I want to work on it further. Having completed this first assignment for the class, I am thinking of doing this collage-painting again, but this time even more abstractly, using acrylics. This new goal is leaving me a bit stumped at the moment, but with time, I think that I will figure it out. Taking this course with Poca Kim has made me ask, how does one’s mindset shift meaningfully from the art of illustration to that of abstract art, or vice versa? What role does structure and composition play in all of this? I am finding that physically moving the composition around meaningfully via the collage is one way to consider this important question.	10,076
He allegedly apologized to white victims while purposely shooting Black shoppers. That's one of the details in the new federal complaint against the white gunman charged in last month's mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo. Today, the Justice Department announced multiple hate and weapons charges in that massacre, which left 10 people dead and three wounded. Attorney General Merrick Garland spent the morning with victims' families and said the country had a, quote, "legal and moral obligation to pursue justice." NPR's Cheryl Corley has been following the case since the shooting occurred and joins us now. Hi, Cheryl. PFEIFFER: Cheryl, this suspected shooter is 18 years old. He's already pleaded not guilty to state murder charges and domestic terrorism. What is different about these federal charges? CORLEY: Well, you know, this really focuses on the racial aspect of this mass shooting and that it was motivated by hate. They really doubled down on that. There are 26 counts in all, 10 of them for hate crimes that resulted in the death of 10 African Americans, three more hate crime counts based on the injury of one more African American and two white individuals and several more counts that were related to using a firearm to commit murder. PFEIFFER: The attorney general described some of the evidence gathered by law enforcement. Tell us some of those details. CORLEY: Yeah. The complaint talks about how the accused shooter, Payton Gendron, selected a target in a zip code that really had the highest percentage of Black people close to where he lives, that he selected the Tops supermarket because it had a high percentage and high density of Black people, that he made a map of the inside of the Tops store and decided the best plan for the attack and really that he just visited the store often, including a day before the shooting and also a few hours before. They also charge he committed the attack in an effort to inspire others to carry out similar racially motivated attacks. So Garland says on May 14, the shooter arrived in body armor with loaded - with a loaded rifle and targeted as many Black people as he could find. MERRICK GARLAND: At one point, he aimed his rifle at a white male Tops employee who had been shot in the leg and injured. Instead of shooting the white employee, the gunman apologized to him before continuing his attack. CORLEY: Yeah. So the DOJ really made the case for just how methodical the shooter was about picking a place and about the people that he wanted to kill. PFEIFFER: Cheryl, how likely is it that the shooter will face the death penalty as a result of these federal charges? CORLEY: Well, these charges bring a penalty of either life in prison or the death penalty. And the attorney general was noncommittal about it. He declined to say whether the death penalty would be pursued and only that the department would follow proper legal procedure and consult with the families. But the investigation continues. The attorney general has promised to be relentless. Family members say that's what they want. My colleague Michael Mroziak at member station WBFO was on hand in Buffalo when Garnell Whitfield spoke with reporters after meeting with the attorney general. He's a son of the eldest victim of the shooting, and he says it's not time to talk about the death penalty, that all that he and the family members want as a result of these charges is justice. GARNELL WHITFIELD: We're looking for him to prosecute this case and to leave no stone unturned, like they said, to make sure that anybody associated with this guy or white supremacy, that we pull the covers off of them. PFEIFFER: And, Cheryl, very briefly, this grocery store Tops was so important to this community. Has anyone talked about how this community moves on? CORLEY: Not yet as far as the supermarket is concerned. It's still an open question about when it will reopen. PFEIFFER: That's NPR's Cheryl Corley. Cheryl, thank you. Cheryl Corley is a Chicago-based NPR correspondent who works for the National Desk. She primarily covers criminal justice issues as well as breaking news in the Midwest and across the country.	4,339
Specializing in dispute resolution, Ms. He has represented many difficult and complicated cases across all four levels of the court system and has obtained many favorable judgements in the Supreme People’s Court. She has accumulated extensive litigation experience and has handled many successful cases in areas including real estate cooperation development, land use rights assignment and transferequity interest transfer, valuation adjustment and equity interest repurchase, financial investment and guarantees. Ms. He has been a perennial legal counsel to many government authorities and large state-owned enterprises. She has also participated in local legislative projects including the Regulations of House Expropriation and Compensation on State-owned Land of Qingdao (Draft) and the Regulations of Qingdao West Coast New Area (Draft). In addition, Ms. He has represented many administrative litigation cases. In particular, one of the administrative penalty revocation cases represented by Ms. He was selected as a 2016 typical administrative case by the Shandong Supreme People’s Court. Education Ms. He obtained her Master of Laws at East China University of Political Science and Law in 2008. In 2009, Ms. He was admitted to practice law in the PRC and she is a member of the Administrative Law Committee of the Qingdao Bar Association. JunHe is the only Chinese law firm to be admitted as a member of Lex Mundi and Multilaw, two international networks of independent law firms. JunHe and selected top law firms in major European and Asian jurisdictions are “best friends.” Through these connections, we provide high quality legal services to clients doing business throughout the world.	1,786
Does Chanel have sales? This is one question luxury products bargain hunters often ask. Chanel has ruled the luxury fashion scene since the early 1900s when designer Coco Chanel opened up a hat store for her designs, thanks to the loans of a wealthy businessman. Today, the Chanel brand with its iconic “C” logo can be spotted as a bag on the shoulders of celebrities, influencers, and lucky fashionistas, as well as a scent the form of its signature Chanel No. 5 perfume, along with other creations of fashions and beauty. While Chanel products are recognizable to nearly any eye with a knowledge of fashion, not everyone can afford the price tag of a Chanel item. The brand will easily run you almost $3,000 for one of their small bags. Some may hope for a sale or discount to pop up so they can get their hands on this luxury. Luckily, Chanel does have a very small sale about twice a year, but it may not be what you expect from a sale. Chanel’s bi-annual sale features seasonal bags with a very small discount. The sale usually only features a few styles, and the bags on sale will still run you about the same as one of their full-priced classic designs. With this in mind, the sale may only be a benefit to you if you’re interested in one of those specific styles of seasonal bags. Another chance you may have to get a Chanel bag at a steal is by purchasing it duty-free at an airport retail location. To get a bag, sometimes up to 20% off, at the airport, you need to fit the rules of duty-free shopping. Additionally, not every airport has a Chanel retail location and the ones that do usually only have seasonal styles. However, if you qualify to score a bag this way, it is probably your best bet for a Chanel bag on sale. When Does Chanel Have Sales? When Does Chanel Have Sales? Does Chanel Ever Go on Sale? Does Chanel Have Black Friday Sales? Does Chanel Have Gift Cards? Does Chanel Offer Financing? Does Chanel do Payment Plans? Does Chanel Have Afterpay? Does Chanel Have a Lifetime Warranty? Does Chanel Fragrance Ever Go on Sale? Does Chanel Give Discounts? Years ago, Chanel used to hold sample sales where fresh styles and samples were offered at a discounted price. With the rise of their popularity, they no longer do this, simply because they know people will pay full price for their bags regardless. The bi-annual sale mentioned previously occurs twice a year at the end of peak seasons, usually in June and December. These sales offer minimal styles of bags, clothing, and accessories at a small discount. Again, these styles are often chosen from leftover seasonal designs, so you’re unlikely to find a classic style from this event. Does Chanel Ever Go on Sale? Chanel boutiques host a sale about twice a year at the end of peak seasons. This usually occurs in June and December. In this sale, you can find seasonal styles of Chanel products like bags, clothing, shoes, and accessories for a small discount. The styles are usually only from overstock seasonal items, so don’t be disappointed if you cannot score one of their classic designs from this event! Does Chanel Have Black Friday Sales? Chanel does not have a Black Friday sale. They have a small sale of select seasonal designs usually in both December and June. However, do not expect to see a sale code for Chanel in Black Friday circulars. Since this luxury store does not have trouble finding customers to pay full price for their products, they do not run sales on Black Friday. This marketing tactic helps them uphold their prestigious reputation. Does Chanel Have Gift Cards? Not sure what to get someone who loves luxury fashion? Chanel does offer gift cards online. You can purchase a physical gift card to be mailed to you or an e-gift card delivered via email. If you order your gift card ahead of time, I would recommend opting for the physical gift card since it comes wrapped in Chanel packaging and includes 2 free samples. If you have enough time to wait for delivery, this option is way more luxurious than the e-gift card. Both the e-gift card and physical gift card allow you to include a personal message as well. Does Chanel Offer Financing? Chanel does not directly offer financing on its products. You can get financing on other sites that claim to sell Chanel products, but you risk the chance of buying an inauthentic design. Sites like Rebag offer Affirm, which allows you to pay in segments rather than in full. Does Chanel do Payment Plans? Chanel does not offer payment plans for their bags, but there is a way to score it for their beauty products. If you shop through a site like Feelunique, which is an authorized seller of Chanel beauty products, you can choose Klarna as your payment method, which allows you to pay for your purchase over segments in the span of a couple of months. Keep in mind Chanel is only offered on this website through the UK. Does Chanel Have Afterpay? Afterpay is a service that allows you to pay for your purchase in segments over an 8+ week period on many retail sites. This helps you finance your purchases if you don’t want to spend the money upfront. Chanel does not currently offer Afterpay as a service. They want customers to pay for their products in full, and due to their prestige and luxury, rarely have an issue finding people to do so. Does Chanel Have a Lifetime Warranty? Chanel does not offer a lifetime warranty on their products, but they have introduced a 5-year warranty on handbags and wallets with chains. This warranty begins on the date of purchase, so save your receipts. The service recently began in April 2021. The warranty gives buyers coverage on repairs, hardware, and other destructions that are included in the plan, as long as you can show proof of purchase from a Chanel boutique or the official website. Does Chanel Fragrance Ever Go on Sale? Chanel is very well known for its fragrances, especially the beloved Chanel No. 5 perfume. Directly through Chanel fragrance boutiques, it is very unlikely to find a sale on products. However, that may change depending on different authorized retailers of Chanel perfumes. Overall, it is unlikely to find Chanel fragrance at a discount. Does Chanel Give Discounts? It is very unlikely to find a working discount code for Chanel. However, there are a couple of ways to get a discount at Chanel. Chanel employees get 30% off most products, so if you have experience selling luxury retail, it may pay off to apply to Chanel. The other way to get a Chanel discount is to visit their outlet location in the Woodbury Commons section of New York. The location offers a very limited selection of items, usually seasonal, at a small discount. As a prestigious brand, Chanel has the luxury of being able to sell its products for a full price nearly all year round. They do not have to depend on sales to bring in customers, as their reputation does that for them. However, there are a few ways to try and get your hands on an Authentic discounted Chanel bag. If you use these tips in the article, you may be one of the lucky ones rocking a new Chanel! Recent Posts link to Is Equate a Good Brand? Is Equate a Good Brand? Is Equate a Good Brand? Before we delve fully into this question, it's important to provide some background knowledge about this brand. The Equate brand sometimes tends to generate some... Best Style Trends is committed to providing information that will make it easy for you to make the best choices for your beauty, fashion, and lifestyle needs. Advertiser Disclosure Beststyletrends.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.	8,233
STAYING UNAFFILIATED Frisco mayor Maher Maso believes teachers should remain objective in their classes. PHOTO COURTESY OF FRISCO FIRST With the Texas primaries wrapping up this March and gubernatorial candidates Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott going head-to-head in the race to be Texas’s first new governor in 14 years, it’s only natural for History Department Chair Steve Kramer to discuss elections and politics in his classroom. Politics can often be a touchy subject for students at Hockaday. More often than not, however, there is no way to keep the politicking outside of the Hocka-bubble. Within the Hockaday History Department, there are varying views on the role politics can play in the classroom. Often, the study of economics and history closely intertwines with that of politics, and teachers find themselves on different ends of the spectrum regarding how open they are with their political ideologies. While some teachers are quite frank about their political opinions when teaching, others are more discreet and prefer that their students not know their political preferences. Upper School AP Economics teacher Joni Palmer prefers not to bring her opinions into the classroom when teaching economic theory and policy. “My philosophy is that I hope to give students the tools so that they can analyze the problems, the policies, the solutions that are proposed on their own,” she said. While Palmer feels strongly about certain issues, she’s careful not to let her students know how she feels. “I spend time thinking about even the words that I choose when I’m talking about certain policy measures that align themselves with politics,” Palmer said. “I think even the way you present a topic, even down to the way that your voice changes or the way that you ask questions could lead students in a certain direction.” History Department Chair and Young Democrats Club sponsor Steve Kramer is one history teacher who is very candid about his liberal views, not only in Young Democrats meetings but also in his classes. “There are times when for whatever reason I will go on what I would call a rant,” Kramer said. In both Kramer’s AP U.S. History, AP Modern European History and U.S. Government classes, he said he still encourages discussion, dissent and exploration of beliefs. “In my eyes, a teacher should play devil’s advocate no matter what the student’s position,” Mayor of Frisco Maher Maso said. Maso said ideally teachers should not state their views, but they especially should not become very defensive of their position. “In Government, for example, I will state my views, but then I’ll say, ‘Now those are my views and they may not be right,’” Kramer said. “So I try to encourage kids to come up with their own views.” While the degrees of openness vary among teachers, one thing remains constant: all teachers want the girls to be able to express their views comfortably, in an informed manner that allows for varying levels of discussion. “Ideally, I think leaving opinions out of the classroom would be a good approach,” said senior Anna Herbelin, co-founder of the Young Independents Club. “Teachers should still have the right to express their beliefs, but every belief should be taken with a grain of salt.” Palmer said she tries her very best to always tell both sides of every story, both possible economic theories and historical interpretations. “What’s interesting about economics is that two different economists can look at the same problem and the same data and come up with two noticeably different solutions,” Palmer said. “And the question is always: how is that possible?” For example, one issue Palmer’s class looked at was the Great Depression and the nation’s emergence out of it. While one economist theorizes that the New Deal had the greatest influence on America’s recovery, another argues that it was World War II and its demand for labor and production that sprung the U.S. out of its worst economic crisis in history. “In a lot of ways, I think that my own political opinion might sway the way that students think about the problems,” Palmer said. “And I really want them to think about it on their own.” Adrian Martinez, who substituted for Palmer when she was on maternity leave in September and October, had a starkly different approach to teaching economics. Martinez was very upfront with his conservative political views before teaching the class and made sure the girls knew how that would influence his presentation of information and policy material. “I don’t believe that you can fully segregate your personal beliefs from the material that you’re teaching,” he said. “It is inevitable that your views will ultimately influence your teaching.” Martinez doesn’t think his views did much to influence the students and their political preferences, but in fact, stirred up even more discussion in the classroom. “Hockaday students are very independent-minded and strong-willed. I don’t think my powers of persuasion would convince them to go one way or the other in two months,” he said. “Part of it was even getting students riled up and stirring discussion.” Often, the most vocal students in Martinez’s class were the liberal students. Martinez said they asked very tough questions and challenged him on several economic theories and solutions. “Those girls responded very well, and it made for some very lively discussion,” he said. Martinez said he did have one student who was a little more wary of his political discussions intertwining with the way he taught economics but that it didn’t detract from her overall experience and how much she participated in the class. “I really don’t think that my politics inhibited students, and I certainly hope it didn’t,” Martinez said. Half smiles for “Smile” In the midst of the Halloween season, horror fans crave a production that serves a scary good plot, spine-tingling suspense and an uneasiness... Melody Hu • November 10, 2022 During the holiday season, students each have their own unique ways of celebrating. Different backgrounds, cultures and religions can create... An upscale evolution from the Christian Girl Autumn fad’s infinity scarves and skinny jeans, this season of fall fashion has ushered in a series...	6,462
Life passes us by in the blink of an eye. They say the older you get, the qui cker the time goes. Turns out…”they” were right. Where does the time go? It doesn’t discriminate either. Whether you’re happy, miserable, sick, sad, etc… In the moment, it m ay feel like eternity. But eventually you’re looking back and thinking, “what the hell? When did I get here?” Breathe. Just breathe. It’s so easy for us to get caught up in life that we forget to enjoy living. Especially how fast paced everything is now. I feel like we are walking zombies with our smart phones. We just haven’t started eating brains yet. I wish I could say that these last few years have taught me how to not sweat the small stuff. This is something that I still have to work at every day. I’m better than I was but I still have a long way to go. Every now and then I get a natural rush of complete gratitude for being alive. Whether it’s being outside on a beautiful day riding my bike and feeling the wind on my face, looking up and seeing a beautiful sky, or finally riding a kayak for the first time since my cancer diagnosis and taking in all the beauty around me. I’m a Pisces which is a water sign. I feel at my most peaceful when at water. I had the most amazing girl date with my friend, Jessie, floating down Rainbow Springs on a spontaneous whim after my terrible navigating skills. My rowing skills were much to be desired since it had been so long but all you need is a willing partner. It’s the little things in life that make life so wonderful. Something I always try to stress is that we’re not promised tomorrow. We’ll never know when we’re going to run out of time. This will be my first Thanksgiving in three years that I haven’t been incredibly ill. Last year, in addition to my sickness, my mother was going through chemo. “It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.” I’ve always been an artistic person. Growing up and in college, it was dance. After that, I started my makeup artistry career. Once cancer struck and I wasn’t able to do anything, writing was represented to me. I’ve always had to have a creative outlet. As I was going through some old documents in my computer, I found this little gem. Something that past Pre-Leukemia Michele wrote titled “Michele’s Life Lessons 2013.” It was a letter to myself with 10 lessons I had learned up to that point. “As this year comes to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on 2013. I feel that life has so many lessons that it is constantly teaching us. We have no choice in the matter. But perhaps we should be thanking it, for we would never grow and become better than what we are… …I would like to share a brief list of some of Michele’s Life Lessons. This is for future Michele to look back on and to realize, “Yep, we’ve already learned this one.” And for her to add on more that she continues to learn. One thing in life that’s a sure thing is realizing you will never have all the answers.” Expect the worst but hope for the best. Go out of your comfort zone and do things that scare you. People will disappoint you. 9 out of 10 times it will be the people you least expect it from. The solution? Get over it. Smile as much as you can. It makes you happier and more attractive. Don’t forget about the power that music holds. It can brighten any mood and make things seem not so bad. Be active on a regular basis! This will add so much quality to your life. There is someone out there way busier than you that works out regularly. You have to make it become a part of your life. Drinking will never fix anything. The problem will still be there afterwards. Giving increases your quality of life. This was written on 12/29/13. Just three weeks before going into the ER. I still agree with these. Some are a bit harsh, some laughable, and some even ironic. I can’t say that music made cancer seem not as bad but I certainly still believe in the power of music. As such, I leave you with this song that is so emotional and can be interpreted in many different ways. I like to think it’s an ode to life and love. I will live up to my past wishes and add on to this list. My first addition being to ‘Stop and Smell the Roses.’ I wish that for all of us this week as we go into the Holiday of being Thankful. Remember to smile often, love more, pray harder, and laugh as much as you possibly can. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Related Filed Under: Featured, Fighting Cancer I'm a makeup artist and cancer blogger. www.BeTheMatch.org saved my life. Before I got sick, I didn't even know the organization existed. After I got sick I found out there was no adult donor in the registry anywhere in the world that was a match for me (a riskier cord blood donation was my last chance). Please visit their website and join the registry for free to save a life like mine. Comments Carla says December 27, 2016 at 11:11 pm I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your blog. My husband and I are both under 40 and have cancer. I certainly can relate to many things you have posted. Thank you for sharing your experiences. It inspires me to want to do the same. Michele Mann says December 30, 2016 at 1:28 pm I’m glad you found my blog. I have found it to be very therapeutic throughout my journey to share and be completely honest. During that time, it just so happened that it started to inspire people which was just an added bonus and gave me purpose during a very dark time. So if I’m understanding correctly, you both have cancer right now? I am so very sorry. I can certainly relate since I was still recovering and my mother/caregiver was diagnosed with breast cancer. What kind of cancer? Carla says December 30, 2016 at 2:55 pm Hi! Yes, my husband has multiple myeloma and had his bone marrow transplant in May 2016. He’s in remission. I was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma over 10 years ago and just now started to take systemic treatment (just a pill) instead of skin-directed. So we have been through the mess of doctor visits, waiting for results and praying for more time. I’m 38 he’s 39 and we have 2 boys (9yrs and 5yrs). I absolutely love your recent pictures-the cocoon pics are so beautiful!! I’m also thankful you introduced me to Be the Match. David was his own donor so we didn’t have to face that problem but going through the transplant process was such an eye-opener. The people and technology needed was astonishing. I’ve been wanting to raise awareness and funds for orgs just like that! Still reading through some of your posts tear it’s like you’re writing my every emotion during those times! It really is so well done-thank you again for this and congratulations! Happy New Year!! Hey-2017! You better be good to us!! Michele Mann says January 7, 2017 at 3:05 pm Oh my goodness, you both have your hands full. It’s always crazy when hearing of others stories of fighting, survival and endless dr’s. I do hope your husband has been taken as well as possible to the transplant. All of that and with your boys, I’m so sorry it’s been like that for you and for so long. Thank you for the compliments on the pictures…that was a wonderful day. I’m glad you now know about Be The Match and can spread the word about it. It also brings me happiness that you can relate to the blogs. That is most certainly one of the reasons why I write them! You’re so very welcome. I hope 2017 brings you and your family some good news and less and less dr’s! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Yes, add me to your mailing list. Δ Home ·	8,094
Lake Forest residents will have candidates for Alderman in Ward 1, 2 and 4. The Caucus Committee voted to put forth three candidates for another term, and advance a new candidate. The Caucus Committee has previously vetted, voted for, and supported the incumbent candidates. These candidates were endorsed by the registered voters of Lake Forest on January 25th, 2022. Cast your vote for these candidates in our municipal election on June 28th, 2022. Early voting begins on June 13th, 2022 at Lake Forest City Hall. Ward 2 - Ted Notz (2nd Term Election) Ward 3 - Jim Preschlack (3rd Term Election) Ward 4 - Eileen Looby Weber (2nd Term Election) Nancy Petrick Novit has been practicing law since 1986. She graduated from St. Lawrence University, and earned her Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in 1986. She worked as an Assistant Public Defender from 1986 – 1990 in the Office of the Cook County Public Defender. In 1990, she founded Novit & Novit LLC with her husband, focusing on real estate, business, and trusts and estates law. Today, Nancy is a general practice attorney. Nancy terms off of Lake Forest's Zoning Board of Appeals this spring after six years of service. In this position she streamlined the approval process for homeowners to make changes to their properties. Now homeowners start with the Zoning Board so any required variances are defined prior to design input before petitioners go to the Historic Preservation Commission or Building Review (if applicable) for approvals. Prior to this, homeowners often had to go back multiple times before various boards. Nancy and her husband Kent moved into Ward 1 with their two young daughters 29 years ago. Nancy served on the First Presbyterian Preschool Board, was on numerous District 67 & 115 committees, volunteered with Ragdale, Infant Welfare Society, I Have a Dream of North Chicago, The History Center of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, and is currently the Treasurer of the League of Women Voters. Nancy helped keep the Gorton Center open and running when financial concerns threatened to shut it down. She helped analyze and change the financial structure, program efficiencies, leases and room rental agreements to help return Gorton to financial stability. Nancy is eager to meet new residents, greet familiar faces, and help those in Ward 1 address matters concerning the City. She is excited to collaborate with her fellow City Council members to continue building upon the City’s long history of strong fiscal management and community engagement. Edward “Ted” U. Notz Jr. is a senior relationship manager with Associated Bank’s commercial real estate group in Chicago, helping institutional real estate developers, investment funds, and service providers with their financing needs. Ted is a lifelong Lake Forest resident, growing up in Villa Turicum and graduating from Cherokee, Deerpath and Lake Forest High School. He returned in 1998 to begin raising a family in the H.O. Stone neighborhood with his wife and fellow Lake Forest native, Tiffany Edwards. They have two children, a 22-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son, who both have gone through Lake Forest’s public school system and have been active in the community. Ted was appointed in October 2019 to serve as Ward 2 Alderman and has been actively involved with city affairs over the years, serving as chairman of the Building Review Board, on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Lake Forest Caucus, Historic Preservation Foundation, and several ad hoc committees, including the Laurel Avenue Redevelopment Commission. He has held senior leadership roles at First Presbyterian Church and has served on the board of the Lake County Community Foundation. Ted’s interest in public service began as an undergraduate, with internships with the Lake Forest city manager, on Capitol Hill for Illinois’ 10th District Congressman, and in The White House in D.C. He graduated from Denison with a BA in political science and DePaul with an MBA. Ted deeply appreciates the invaluable contributions Caucus, city staff, and resident volunteers make to ensure Lake Forest functions effectively and efficiently, preserving the cherished characteristics of the community while making sure it is positioned to be relevant into the future. Jim Preschlack took office May 2018 as Third Ward Alderman. He first came to the community with his family in 1977 and has called Lake Forest home base ever since. Jim received a BA in Economics from Hamilton College and an MBA from the University of Rochester. In 1998, Jim moved back to Lake Forest and married his wife Paula Lillard Preschlack, who also grew up in town. They currently reside in the Knollwood Club with their two teenagers, Stanley and Lillard, and their standard poodles, Louis and Pippy. Jim worked as a management consultant before and after business school with Accenture, Arthur D. Little and KPMG Consulting, where he specialized in helping companies define and implement large scale transformational change programs. In 2016, Jim co-founded InFlow Partners, a boutique business accelerator based in Lake Forest that helps early stage companies develop "go-to market" strategies, acquire new customers, and raise capital to scale their businesses. Jim has been active in the community, volunteering for the Lake Forest Caucus, the Historic Preservation Commission as a member and as its Chairman, the Vestry of the Church of the Holy Spirit, and Beacon Academy, a Montessori High School in Evanston. Jim serves as the Chairman of the Public Works Committee, City Host of the Lake Forest Collaborative for Environmental Leadership, and is a member of the Environmental Sustainability Committee and the Finance Committee. Eileen Looby Weber was born and raised in Lake Forest. She pursued a bachelor’s degree in Horticultural Production & Marketing at Purdue University. It was her love of flowers and working with people that led Eileen to join Lake Forest Flowers. She earned an MBA at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management while continuing to manage the business. As a member of the Society of American Florists and American Academy of Floriculture, Eileen teaches hands-on floral workshops and demonstrations at Elawa Farm, Evanston Art Center, and many North Shore Park Districts & garden clubs. She began her City Council Role in 2020 after serving on the Cemetery Commission, Waukegan Road/Settler’s Square & Route 60 Corridor Working Groups. Eileen chair’s the Civic Beautification Committee and is a member of the Environmental Sustainability Committee. She is an active volunteer for the Church and School of St. Mary, a member of the Junior Garden Club of Lake Forest and Purdue Agriculture Alumni Board of Directors. Her past volunteer service includes the LF-LB Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Past President of the Lake Forest Caucus, Past President of the Amberley Woods Condominium Association and Board Member/Committee Chair of Carmel Catholic High School Board of Directors. Eileen and her husband, Brian, have two sons, Michael (6) and Edward (3). When not at the flower shop, you can find her gardening, playing golf, or with her boys in the community she adores. Posted in Alderman. ← Apr. 1, 2022 – Volunteers…	7,556
I did some dyeing today, sticking to the warm end of the color spectrum, focused on red and orange. I use Jacquard Acid Dyes, which come in powder form, and which I mix up into strong solutions, ready for mixing (specifically, I mix 1 tsp of powder into 8 oz of water, to make a solution of each of my dye colors). When I am ready to dye, I usually start with small, test amounts of both dye and fiber, trying out several color mixes until I am satisfied with my results, and then I scale up the process to dye a larger batch of yarn. Here is my dyepot on the stove, in the process of dyeing some recycled merino yarn (a light fingering weight) from a light brown color, into a deep red. My main goal, however, was to test several dye mixtures on two lace-weight yarns: silk and mohair. I plan to make a top of some kind out by knitting together these 2 yarns, and I wanted to dye them 2 similar colors that would meld well. So I stuck with shades of orange, red, dark red, and ended up with a purple too. This first swatch shows what my original knitted test swatch looked like (I knit it first, they dyed it afterwards). The top section is the mohair knit by itself, the middle section is the silk lace knit by itself, and the bottom section is the two yarns knit together. Here are the 4 dye test colors, in little hanks, and then knit up into a test swatch, mixing different colors of silk and mohair to achieve pretty cool effects – from subtle to quite variegated. It was interesting how the silk and mohair each took the dye up quite differently, so the same dyebath could yield quite distinct results, depending on fiber. I think the results are magnificent – the silk sparkles through beneath the saturated and fluffy mohair, in spectacularly vibrant colors. So next I have to choose which colors to go with, and dye larger quantities, then design the top (long sleeves, short? cowl, or v-neck?), and knit it up. Also, if I have left-overs from the eventual top, I will finish the above swatch into a matching scarf! Now the most difficult part: decisions! Hello - I'm from Vancouver Island, Canada, but I live and work in Edinburgh, Scotland. I am co-founder and designer at Tin Can Knits - www.tincanknits.com	2,303
A peak’s prominence, also known as topographic prominence or relative height, is a measure of how distinct a peak is from other peaks. It’s defined as the vertical distance between a peak and the lowest contour line surrounding that peak and no higher peak. Prominence is a popular metric for peaks for two reasons: 1) it’s objective and relatively easy to calculate, and 2) higher prominence peaks are more likely to be interesting with higher independence vs. peaks with lower prominence. Note that prominence is not the same thing as a peak’s vertical drop, which is usually extremely difficult to calculate because a peak’s base elevation can be highly subjective. Instead, peakery shows vertical gain for specific routes up peaks. Prominence ranks are calculated only for peaks with known prominence. Note that since many peaks in peakery still have unknown prominence, the ranks are subject to change as new prominence info is added. About peakery awards Log successful summits on peakery to earn awards: Peak Badges: Earn a special badge for each unique peak you summit. See all of your badges on your Badges page. First Ascent Award: Only 1 available per peak. Goes to the first peakery member to log a successful summit of a peak. Snag this award and the peak will forever bear your name. King of the Mountain Award: Only 1 available per peak. Summit a peak more times than any other member. Beware: this award can be lost! Summit Steward: Summit a peak at least 5 times to become one of its Summit Stewards. As Steward of a peak, you’re encouraged to keep that peak’s info up-to-date on peakery and spread goodwill on your future climbs up the peak. Did you take a good photo of this peak? peakery features 1 photo of each peak - ideally one that: shows the mountain as a whole (not just the summit or views) is at least 1920x1440 dimensions and max size 10MB We'll select the best photo to feature. If your photo isn't featured, it will still be added to the full collection of photos for this peak. Thanks for contributing!	2,108
Open in app Write Published in · Aleksandar S. Sokolovski, the co-founder of SCI BI One of the perks of running a coworking space is the opportunity to constantly meet new, interesting people and be surrounded by brilliant minds. These people are what shape our space and make this job exciting and unusual. In just over a year of Coffice’s opening, we’ve met so many people from different sides of the world. We’ve had members from the Netherlands, Germany, UK, France, Romania, USA, Canada and even India be part of our vibrant family. Each and every one of them unique in its own way with its own remarkable story to tell. So we thought why not share their amazing stories with our community and try to capture a bit of the magic that makes Coffice such a special place to work from. Our first story covers the journey of a brilliant software engineer and founder of data science solution startup with headquarters in London and a branch in Skopje. Aleksandar S. Sokolovski is a graduate of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University with degree in computer science and a master degree in software engineering. Here he talks about data science, things that influence his work on daily basis and tools he uses to constantly learn and improve. Coffice: What made you do what you’re doing today? Tell us your journey Aleksandar: Hi I am Alex, Co-founder of Science for BI (data science solution startup), based in Europe. From my alma matter I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Science in Software Engineering and later on I got my Master’s from the University of Sheffield (MSc in TIE — Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship) it was a hybrid programme in Computer Science and Business Administration, intended for future manager of tech / service / internet based companies. Later on I got few certificates including my pending certificate in Executive Leadership from the University of Cornell (eCornell since it is officially online certification programme). From my work experience, I got my first job one week after my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science as a teaching assistant at the University in Macedonia (I was the first generation of Computer Science students in my country) I worked at the University for about 5 years, then I went to work for a telecommunications and internet provider for about 3–4 years. We officially started our company Science for BI in 2015. From my personal life I am techie, MMO gamer and Sci Fi geek. I get my inspiration from reading tech, data science (data native) and AI articles, from research papers, and from talking to people and exchanging ideas. I still write research papers and still visit online courses to learn all that is new in my field of work. While I was at the University I worked on many science and research projects (and still do), most of the certificates are because I found something interesting I go to the course, and I find that when you know you are going for the certificate you study more. Most of the certificates were for me not because I need it for some project or work application. The latest Coursera course in 2015 for R programming and data science toolkit I only took it to see how much that course will help my team to better understand data science, and Coursera and other educational platforms are great I believe. I personally believe in knowledge sharing and my business degree thesis back in 2009 was investigating the value and potential of web tools in educations. It was my believe at the time that online educational platforms that offer blogs, forums and access for everyone will become major educational contributors in the next 10 years, I was wrong they became popular sooner (Coursera,MIT OpenCourseWare, etc). 3. Who has influenced your work the most? My work is mostly influenced by trying to create 99%-100% open source solutions, because of my personal motto that knowledge should be free and shared. We are trying to have 99–100% open source solutions and all will be on git. The application I most use is Slack and our own build task manager SOPHIE, plus Git and its wonderful management webadmin page and the git slack integration. We do use MEAN JS this is mostly used for our parnters or customers frontend apps, our backend apps that do the data science AI part use R (The R Project for Statistical Computing) with BSD and few times Ubuntu servers. I find BSD and its file system is one of the best, since Ubuntu started using it in the latest versions I like what I see. We started using Ubuntu server and CoreOS cause of our partners, but Linux compared to BSD had the advantage of having bigger and more active community at least in the last few years, but BSD especially PC BSD will always get my “vote” even compared to any Linux distro. I used GNOME as main Desktop env, but when I started using Linux Mint I moved to Cinnamon with PC BSD ver. 10, but I respect what BSD is doing with Lumina desktop, I guess people will say it is still buggy, but it can become a great PC BSD desktop environment in some later version of 10 or version 11, I use Lumina on the PC BSD Virtual Machine for testing. In the past few months I am kinda looking for a good data visualization tool, but it must be open source, so I can change it however I like. For now good options we use are SVG, D3.js (under BSD Licence) and Dygraphs charts. JS (last two under MIT Licence). This web page is a great source for information related to Open Source and Open Source Solutions and how to use them. I can say R on PC-BSD with Firefox Browser since that is what I use daily for 90% of time, but my favorite open source system has to be our own slack add-on task manager named SOPHIE. We named it after my sister and Dena’s favorite cousin Sophie. We used slack to do managers for few years, but after new years we moved to SOPHIE, it is still in beta, but we plan to put the entire code or 99% of it on github, it might not be the exact version we are using, but the version will work and anyone can download it and use it and change it for themselves as they want. We use Slack for everything ( for most of our internal and partners communication) and SOPHIE is the greatest and most useful tool we had ever build. My dev team also uses Github and the nice integration with Slack, I get progress report on Slack, about recent project without the need to logged in to Github. And SOPHIE puts it all nice and tidy together so I can see the progress the way I wanted when I wanted. I personally have a MacBookPro 15 2014 model (Apple has superior hardware compared to other vendors for laptops I have MBP from 2008 that still works) I used OS X (I prefer open source operating system always), but I have dual boot with PC BSD. At work as everyone else I use System76 Oryx Pro laptops with Linux Mint (but I have PC-BSD as well). Linux Mint is very easy to use even for the non tech people, plus it has great support for games, games are great when you have some free time at the office. I personally believe as team leader that it is not how much time you are at work that counts, it is important how much you work and how much you can get done. I don’t want people sitting at the office 9 to 5 doing nothing, it’s better to work only 4 hours but really work, and play games for the next 4 hours if you have the time of course. We don’t have official policy for work hours, except when we have meetings, and everyone is responsible for his / her time, if you don’t do the work in the morning do it in the afternoon or later. In the past year I did a lot of traveling across Europe I spend more the 50% of the time in different city so I feel like Entire Europe is my home. When I build my first personal AI (or some form of narrow intelligent AI), because it reduced my time that I had to spend on everyday repetitive tasks and it increased my personal free time. 5. If you had the chance to collaborate with a brand or an individual, what or who would it be? The Open AI company and the entire team lead by the Founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Open AI is developing 100% open source solutions and knowledge sharing. For me they are the coolest company currently and I have great respect for the work they are doing at the moment. 6. Best advice you’ve ever received. The best advice I got was to: Look for a great group of people to work with every day, not just a company with a big name. It turned out great for me at least, I would always trade a great job offer for a chance to work with innovative people who like what they do, not just because they have to do it. My personal motto is: “Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life”, and from my personal experience in the past few years while being data scientist I would say that this is so true. My experience with Coffice is a great one. It is one of the best places to be as an entrepreneur, freelancer and techie in Skopje. You can always meet new people exchange ideas, it is very inspirational for me as data native, plus it reminds me of the university days when you meet new people every year. In the years to come even if we get a big team of 50-100+ that would not fit in Coffice I probably would still come in Coffice and still use it as an inspiration and to meet the new techies in Skopje. As we embark on this journey of ours, we hope that Coffice stories will be able to inspire, connect and motivate you. We’re so lucky to have the privilege to create a community where everybody thrives and collaborates with each other. If you liked this story, there are plenty more to follow. Make sure you don’t miss our journey and follow us across our social media or sign up for our newsletters.	10,119
I find that in the World Cup the teams I root for are generally out after the first round. Other than the U.S. I like Denmark, Ghana, Netherlands and Belgium. I'm not a big fan of how much influence the refs can have over the match, but I suppose that can be the case in any sport. Nov 22, 2022 at 10:02am Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia today is a shocker. I just wish some underdogs make it to the finals. Watch Ecuador, Senegal, Ghana. Of course Netherlands is always a favorite of mine, Portugal, England and Germany. Nov 22, 2022 at 10:31am Saudi Arabia's win is one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Then Tunisia holds Denmark to a 0-0 draw. Not a good day for the favorites. Nov 22, 2022 at 12:06pm The goalie for Tunisia made a couple of remarkable saves. I can't figure out when it's considered a handball either, because it looked like Tunisia had a handball in the box, but it wasn't called. I think it would be much more entertaining without offsides, IMO. Nov 22, 2022 at 12:13pm Beautiful to see the Iranian team refusing to sing the anthem. I'd gladly trade the endless coverage of Trump with more coverage of the brave Iranian women and their male supporters. Nov 22, 2022 at 12:41pm jfinnegan said: The goalie for Tunisia made a couple of remarkable saves. I can't figure out when it's considered a handball either, because it looked like Tunisia had a handball in the box, but it wasn't called. I think it would be much more entertaining without offsides, IMO. Without the offside rule, you just get strikers standing around in the box waiting for the ball to go their way, classic goal-hanging, it's boring as heck. I think they got away with that handball because it seemed to bounce off the player's chest first and he wasn't attempting to use his arm to hit the ball, but yeah, there's a lot of ref discretion involved with handball calls. I'm looking forward to France v Australia this afternoon to see if the underdog stories keep coming. Nov 22, 2022 at 1:31pm ridski said: Without the offside rule, you just get strikers standing around in the box waiting for the ball to go their way, classic goal-hanging, it's boring as heck. I think they got away with that handball because it seemed to bounce off the player's chest first and he wasn't attempting to use his arm to hit the ball, but yeah, there's a lot of ref discretion involved with handball calls. I'm looking forward to France v Australia this afternoon to see if the underdog stories keep coming. That would be nice. I still haven't gotten over the Henry handball that wasn't called that knocked Ireland out of the World Cup. I suppose you're right with regards to offsides. Maybe don't let them hang down there. I didn't think it should have been called a handball, but I have seen players called for less than that. The last couple of matches were pretty sloppy. Very few good crossing passes and set pieces. Nov 22, 2022 at 2:46pm Sadly it looks like France are just playing the better football right now. Here's hoping the Aussies can pick up some energy for the second half. Nov 22, 2022 at 3:49pm It looked good for ten minutes. France has a lot of talent, plus the Aussies were poorly defending. The 1st goal by France it looked like 3 guys were wide open to head the ball. Nov 22, 2022 at 3:50pm ridski said: Sadly it looks like France are just playing the better football right now. Here's hoping the Aussies can pick up some energy for the second half. Fairly certain you are originally from England. ”France are.” Americans would usually say “France is.” I have a coworker who is from South Africa and uses the same tense. Is it odd to you that we’d say “France is?” To me, France is one country, hence “is,” rather than “are.” Please explain. Nov 22, 2022 at 4:00pm France has (have?) way too much talent for Australia today. But Australia still has a good chance since Tunisia and Poland ended in a draw. Nov 22, 2022 at 4:19pm jimmurphy said: ridski said: Sadly it looks like France are just playing the better football right now. Here's hoping the Aussies can pick up some energy for the second half. Fairly certain you are originally from England. ”France are.” Americans would usually say “France is.” I have a coworker who is from South Africa and uses the same tense. Is it odd to you that we’d say “France is?” To me, France is one country, hence “is,” rather than “are.” Please explain. France is a country. The team, however, consists of 11 players who are playing very well indeed Nov 22, 2022 at 4:32pm jimmurphy said: ridski said: Sadly it looks like France are just playing the better football right now. Here's hoping the Aussies can pick up some energy for the second half. Fairly certain you are originally from England. ”France are.” Americans would usually say “France is.” I have a coworker who is from South Africa and uses the same tense. Is it odd to you that we’d say “France is?” To me, France is one country, hence “is,” rather than “are.” Please explain. Nov 23, 2022 at 8:15am I haven’t caught all the details of the game but I can report Gold Coasters (that is, Queenslanders/Australians in the State of Queensland who live around Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta etc) were pretty disappointed in our team’s performance. Losing to France made it worse for them. (being born to a French mum, in Victoria, I really didn’t mind who won as long as they played their best and played fair) Nov 23, 2022 at 9:11am jimmurphy said: ”France are.” Americans would usually say “France is.” Where do you stand on the Miami Heat, the New York Liberty or the Philadelphia Union? Even Yanks can be divided on are/is after team names like those. Nov 23, 2022 at 9:32am ridski said: Nov 23, 2022 at 9:48am Japan looking formidable this morning. Nov 23, 2022 at 10:07am That was a very entertaining match. Germany isn't the same without a Schweinsteiger on the team. Nov 23, 2022 at 1:02pm Spain just trounced Costa Rica. That was painful to watch in the end. Nov 23, 2022 at 1:18pm jimmurphy said: ridski said: Sadly it looks like France are just playing the better football right now. Here's hoping the Aussies can pick up some energy for the second half. Fairly certain you are originally from England. ”France are.” Americans would usually say “France is.” I have a coworker who is from South Africa and uses the same tense. Is it odd to you that we’d say “France is?” To me, France is one country, hence “is,” rather than “are.” Please explain. The legendary '20s running back Red Grange was the commentator on college football games in the '50s and '60s. He was popular with fans, though his grammar and syntax were far from perfect. Once, someone was pointing out Red's more common mistakes to his broadcaster partner, such as his habit of saying "The team ARE coming on the field." Red's partner defended him, telling the critic that the plural form was how they said it in England. The critic snapped back, "Yeah? Well Red didn't go to Oxford. He went to Illinois." Nov 23, 2022 at 3:40pm I know some of you watch Bluey, just as some of you know how good a few of our actors, production folk, music legends etc are. Have you heard of Jimmy Rees? The Guy Who… Nov 23, 2022 at 6:01pm Japanese fans stayed after the game with Germany to clean up. Bravo! Nov 23, 2022 at 6:04pm joanne said: I know some of you watch Bluey, just as some of you know how good a few of our actors, production folk, music legends etc are. Have you heard of Jimmy Rees? The Guy Who… Nov 24, 2022 at 9:00am Jaytee said: Japanese fans stayed after the game with Germany to clean up. Bravo! Japanese fans do this every tournament. The world is a better place for Japanese fans. Nov 25, 2022 at 7:05pm Decent result for the USA against favored England. However, the USA must win versus Iran to advance. Nov 25, 2022 at 9:42pm Edited yahooyahoo said: Decent result for the USA against favored England. However, the USA must win versus Iran to advance. While both teams played well, the US midfield shut us down every time, leaving us with few chances. Despite the result, it was an entertaining match. USA should do well against Iran, but as it's playing at the same time as the the England v Wales game, I won't have a chance to watch it. Nov 26, 2022 at 6:42am My neighbours are really enjoying the Tunisia v Australia game I can hear every fumble and missed goal as if I were in their living rooms Nov 26, 2022 at 6:43am Edited Nov 26, 2022 at 5:31pm Nov 26, 2022 at 7:09pm Speaking of Wales, Ridski, I believe commiserations are in order as we beat them in the UK? Or am I confused again? There’s too much Big Sport on at the moment for me to handle in the untimely heat (expecting yet another day over 90°F and it’s not yet full summer)	9,283
I liked A Mighy Wind but Best in Show is funny and i do love dogs both films have almost the same cast like all of their films got to go with Best in Show. A Mighty Wind is funnier and I don't like dogs...so this is easy. I guess to me A Mighty Wind is where the guest mockumentary becomes OVERstuffed with talent. Like, what does Parker Posey even have to do in this movie? And Jennifer Coolidge’s character is funny but she has what, two scenes? And has absolutely no impact on the other people or the way the concert unfolds. Best in Show utilizes its ever-so-slightly-smaller cast better, and reveals the ridiculousness of their characters with a sharper satirical edge.	723
Facebook Contest is an essential source for Entertainment Marketing Assessment to find the audience engagement rate. Millions of people and Businesses connect on Facebook; Contests help to build a bridge among your targeted customers by interacting with the people interested in your service. You can get the active customers by overwhelming your business drive in your audience by running contests on Facebook and giving something away. To attain better results, you can go through paid promotion by purchasing Facebook followers from Flymesocial available in the market for profile endorsement. A Facebook Giveaway helps to generate immediate traffic, increase your following, and create a large number of leads. Benefits of a Contest on Facebook Every business owner is a promotion builder, probably focusing always on getting new likes and fans for their Business. Getting fans is one of the benefits of hosting a contest on Facebook. Establish the contest based on your business goal with the estimated expense depends on the brand. You can get a tremendous reach for your brand at less cost within a short period of promotion. The primary contest to run is a giveaway. People are admired by a desirable prize and let them act on your choice. The action can be as simple as scattering the likes or as concentric as producing a video. BeardBrand conducted a seven days contest on BeardOil product, and it has done as well. They generated excitement about the brand using well-framed content and posting the videos and images to the fan page received better responses quickly. Every Business must concentrate on the kind of contest they implement based on the targeted goal. You expect a contest with a high entertainment factor to showcase your brand's personality. You need to set a contest idea in types for your business nature. The main objective of running contests on Facebook is to get new Subscribers and Sales Leads for your Business. It isn't effortless sometimes to come up with a Facebook Contest Ideas; an idea must be in a form to captivate your audience and make interested people generate leads on the products you sell. There are different types of Facebook contest ideas you have to define with. #User Generated Content Contests #Fan Vote Contests #Quizzes and Assessments Instant game contests offer an immediate conversation with your fans instantly and make them engage automatically if they know already. That experience will last in participant minds and highly memorable. You can make the contest easily that require to submit basic information to qualify by your fans and many tools available for it. #User Generated Content Contests The user feedback about your brand is highly valued than the other credits. It rates at the top for the audience to have considerations on the launched product. The user can share their experience on what products they love with their friends under no cost. A voting contest of your products helps to get a high spike on your brand visibility. You can try hosting a contest with comments given by users as fans submit images, videos, and feedbacks for which other fans vote on the winner. #Fan Vote Contests The fan page contest helps your followers to get post their ideas about your products. This will make your audience feel valued. You can ask the fans to have a prediction about upcoming products, features, and views of your brand. Getting feedback from fans will increase engagement as it utilized fan submission. #Quizzes and Assessments This contest is workable by including a fun factor to engage existing fans. One of the main reasons people like quizzes is to participate in promotions. This is one of the ways to create buzz around the campaign. Pick the winners based on the assessment criteria and list in your blog info to increase user intervention. Heyo is a social contest platform to run group deals. It is pinned to the top contests due to the platform is simple, adorable, and intuitive to use. It has very simple pricing. It offers a full-featured free trial over seven days. Its contest technique highly focuses on building your email list, and it has a higher ROI magnitude than others. A Wishpond is an incredible app for all contest type helps building an adorn campaign in a moment with several templates for better promotion. It allows you to create Facebook, Google, and Retarget Ads from its segment. Highly benefited from the lead generation process with the best service cost and helps in reports and analytics information of your contest. It is featured as a go-to tool for running Facebook contests and one of the most comprehensive creators with several forms. It helps to promote your contest using QR codes, also run campaigns in parallel across different countries with formatted contents based on locations and gives more control over your campaign. Agorapulse acts as an avid Facebook advertiser works smartly in their reporting system. Is has a centralized Facebook management and analytics dashboard and enables you to set up Facebook contests easily. It is smarter than the above two ones, Wishpond and Shortstack. It has a competitive price for high features, you could get more benefits from a good CRM. At last, we have WooBox, a popular option for running Facebook contests. It also similar to Wishpond can create Facebook ads directly from your woodbox account and has a good selection of different promotion types are compatible price based on Facebook audience size and pages. Note: The contest builds the best way to increase engagement in your Business when it's done properly. When your business page attains new and relevant fans gradually supports to increase comments, shares across the different networks to withstand your brand constantly. Author Bio: A dedicated, detailed and capable research social media blog writer with six years of experience. Extensively published in social media marketing technologies, with related expertise in Digital Marketing. I am passionate about digital marketing and have extensive experience in Keyword Target SEO techniques, Visual Content Marketing, and branding. I am looking for creative marketing opportunities in the Texas area and would like to collaborate with the right Informative forum for user search experience and make them exploit. You can subscribe to my blog. If you would like to keep up to date with my posts, you can follow me on twitter.	6,586
Having played golf from my early 20’s On and off I decided that now in my 50’s it was time to get some consistency in my game. After asking around some friends in the UN Golf Club Dylan was recommended to me....... “he’s a little bit different in his approach” I was told. I have always been of a similar attitude that if you’re going to pay for someone to teach you how to improve, you should listen and be prepared to try anything with an open mind. Dylan’s approach is indeed not your orthodox golf tuition (read his book and you will understand why) but he has quite honestly revolutionized my game. For the last 6 years I have enjoyed a golf pilgrimage to the Algarve with a good group of friends and for those 6 years I haven’t won a thing.... after 8 lessons with Dylan last year and a good few hours practicing his techniques on the driving range, I won two of the three days golf on our annual trip. I have continued to have lessons with Dylan and am currently enjoying my golf more than ever. We dont copy movements and positions to throw a ball. We practice to throw the ball and the positions and movements come by themselves. In DylanGolf that is how we learn. Just like any other sport we play, Would you copy these positions on these photos to learn these sports? Click here to see photos Book I wrote: Buy on Amazon “Every so often you come across a golf book that truly delights in the way it takes you on a journey of learning, self-discovery and wonderment much like the classic Golf In The Kingdom by Micheal Murphy” “I loved the book and was disappointed it came to an end. Congratulations on producing a quality piece of content that will be around for generations to come.” “I enjoyed the read a lot. I thoughts how you presented insights in a conversation was good. How you pulled thoughts from Greek history was also well done.” Michael Hebron - World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame Coach and Author of seven acclaimed Golf Books. “I enjoyed your book. I couldn’t put it down.” “I found it fascinating. Couldn’t put it down.” Kendal Mcwade is the founder of Instinctive Golf Coaching and works closely with Tour PGA professionals fo over 30 years. “A breathe of fresh air, fascinating.” Dr. Karl Morris is Europe's leading Performance Mind Coach and teacher of 6 Major Winners including Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke. “It takes a special kind of mind to put ideas like this to print. I really believe you have produced a classic read here.”	2,657
ELKHART, Indiana – A tree sapling with roots in Mennonite and Ukrainian history will find its home on the campus of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, on Friday, June 3, 2022. The sapling is a clone of a daughter of the ancient Chortitza (Kor-teet’-zah) Oak, a 700+-year-old oak tree located near the original village of Chortitza along the Dnieper River near Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. The original tree — a giant landmark measuring 118 feet (36 meters) in height — was a beloved gathering place for Mennonites of the Chortitza Colony (or Old Colony), which was established in 1789 as the first Mennonite settlement in Russia. According to the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Cossacks who lived in the Chortitza area until 1774 considered the oak to be sacred because of its great age and wide branch span — 142 feet (43.3 meters) in diameter. “We are excited to join several other communities across the United States and Canada that have descendants of this famous tree that holds historical significance for many Mennonites,” said Janeen Bertsche Johnson, MDiv, Director of Campus Ministries, Alumni Director and Development Associate. “As we plant it on our campus, we acknowledge our connections to the people of Ukraine — past, present and future.” Bertsche Johnson noted that acorns were gathered from the Chortitza Oak — an English oak (Quercus robur) — during a Mennonite Heritage Tour in 1997, a few years after the tree had begun to die. A seedling from one of the acorns was planted in March 2002 near the Swiss (Volhynian) Mennonite Memorial west of Moundridge, Kansas. AMBS alumnus Lyle Preheim of Freeman, South Dakota, took cuttings from that tree and grafted them onto bur oak saplings, creating trees that are genetic clones of the daughter tree in Kansas. The sapling to be planted at the seminary is one of these clones, donated to AMBS by Preheim and his spouse, Lois Janzen Preheim (MDiv 1979). Friday, June 3, 2022, events in connection with the tree planting: (All times are Eastern Daylight Time) 5–5:30 p.m.: Planting of the sapling on the AMBS campus between Lambright Center and Waltner Hall; Lyle Preheim will speak about the grafting process 5:30–6 p.m.: Dinner featuring foods from trees in the Lambright Center Dining Hall ($10/person; registration required by May 26) 6–6:20 p.m.: Presentation on the Chortitza Colony by Walter Sawatsky, PhD, AMBS Professor Emeritus of Church History and Mission, in the Lambright Center Dining Hall The tree planting, dinner and presentation are open to the public. For those attending the dinner, payment ($10/person) and registration by May 26 are required. Register for the meal Parking is available in the parking lot near Lambright Center. Participants may bring lawn chairs if desired for the tree planting time. The tree planting will take place rain or shine. —AMBS release Added June 9, 2022: See a photo of the planting of the tree Chortitza Oak sapling to be planted at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: Friday, June 3. A tree sapling that is a clone of a daughter of the ancient Chortitza Oak will be planted at 5 p.m. EDT on the AMBS campus in Elkhart, Indiana. The original tree, located in Ukraine, was a beloved gathering place for Mennonites of the Chortitza Colony, the first Mennonite settlement in Russia (1789). The June 3 tree planting will be followed by dinner and a presentation on the Chortitza Colony by AMBS Professor Emeritus Walter Sawatsky, PhD, in the Lambright Center Dining Hall. The events are open to the public; for those attending the dinner, payment ($10/person) and registration by May 26 are required. ambs.edu/chortitza	3,738
During a layover on the planet Sands (UPP E363613-7 Amber Zone, Gas Giant), the players are contacted by Jae Bussi, an elderly parolee. He has information suggesting his former ship, The Grand Illusion, was never recovered after crew was captured. Jae is offering Cr 10,000 each as payment for recovering a special coin collection onboard, as well as a percentage of any special cargoes recovered. Much of the terrain between the starport and the The Grand Illusion site is desert. Water is very scarce, but thankfully the temperature is not dangerously hot during the day. The starport town of Khaliggh is home and company town to a few thousand persons, most of which are Terran. The Lang Corporation runs titanium mining operations near the meager starport facilities, and is for all intents and purposes, the government on the planet. They maintain an efficient security force (a mechanized battalion equipped at TL 8), but generally leave people alone, as long as they stay clear of their mining operations. The Grand Illusion is hidden in a canyon 200 km away from the starport. The canyon is the site of early attempts at mining on Sands, which eventually were abandoned due to dangerous wind conditions which caused numerous mining ship accidents. This provided the crew of The Grand Illusion with a perfect hiding place. This graveyard of ships is in a region claimed by a native race called the Ssorin. The ship itself is non-operational, but a combination of battery and solar power operates the traps on board. The ship is largely empty, other than a few odds and ends of gear strewn about, and a coin collection, and several thousand credits, which are both in the ship’s safe. The coin collection is, in truth, not worth much except for sentimental value. It belonged to Jae’s son, who was also killed during the capture of the crew. Or so Jae says… While once a pirate, Jae is far too old to be traipsing around the universe. He will pay the characters the Cr 10,000 he offered upon completion of the operation, and will throw in a bonus if the coin collection is returned to him unharmed. The money, as well as the coin collection is in the ship’s safe. To safeguard against the players attempting to rob him, Jae informs them that there are plenty of traps on board, and that he is fully capable of protecting himself by using them. He will pay a bonus of Cr 2,500 for retrieving the collection, and will allow the characters to leave the area in their own transport, and will use the ship’s small podship to make his exit. Jae will accompany the PCs to The Grand Illusion and will risk being injured by the traps right along with them. In reality, it is not the coins, or sentiment, but the display case which is the real treasure. Well-concealed within are ten Cr 20,000 certificates. An Appraise roll will arrive at a figure of Cr 1,000 for the collection, and Jae will look sorely disappointed. A player might be able to notice and discover the hidden certificates on a roll of 10+, with DRM of Forgery skill. As an additional possibility, there is the ship. If all traps are removed, there is still some value there, if the PCs choose to claim it or salvage it, and if it can be restarted, and if the authorities do not identify it as a pirate ship from 32 years ago… If Jae is hit by any damage from the traps, or through encounters with the Ssorin leading up to the time he departs, consider any results of him being critically wounded, or dying to be just light or moderate wounds, so that he can still effect his escape. Should the players try to cheat him in any way, he will use his knowledge of the ship’s traps to aid in his escape. An extremely challenging situation might arise depending on how the PCs treat the Ssorin. Rumor has it that the Ssorin are seeking mercenaries and spies, and would like to see the Corporation suspend mining operations in the Holy Areas, or better yet, leave the planet entirely. To the Ssorin, the Holy Areas tend to be thought of as such due to the concentration of high grade titanium ore. The PCs might be approached to assist in another rebellion. The Lang Corporation will be a tremendous opponent in this struggle, and the Ssorin have little to offer as payment, except for the locations of untapped titanium veins well away from their Holy Areas. There might be time for the PCs to exploit the knowledge before Lang completes a new survey of the planet… The Ssorin (minor race): The minor race native to the planet Sands is called the Ssorin, or “Sanders”. They are a tall, well-muscled reptilian race, and they are highly aggressive. They are more active during daytime than at night. During daytime, they wear little except a loincloth. At night, they don hooded cloaks to protect against the chill of night. Depending on the actions of the PCs, the Ssorin might be encountered during their travels to the canyon, after activating one of the traps aboard the ship, or as they are leaving the area, at the discretion of the Referee. The Ssorin are a native TL2 race, but with advanced metalworking abilities. They are armed with a variety of weapons including primitive firearms, crossbows, and large, strangely-curved swords called “Blaades”. A Blaade is a well-made titanium alloy sword, handcrafted by the Ssorin. Treat as a Broadsword for damage, but as a Cutlass for weight and fatigue. Ssorin tactics are limited to small-unit night infiltration raids, and daytime mass wave assaults. There was a Ssorin rebellion 5 years ago. Perhaps 5,000 Ssorin were killed, along with nearly 900 citizens of Sands, mostly Lang miners or security troops. The official Lang stance is currently “live and let live”. It is easier and less costly in lives to pay off the Ssorin with trinkets, tools, alcohol, and minor tech items, than to go through another bloody time of hostilities. The Lang Corporation typically pays the equivalent of about Cr 500-1000 in goods to the Ssorin for returning any “lost” persons unharmed. A small cost, considering how things were a few short years ago. If encountered under circumstances other than #10 on the List of Traps (below), use these rules for how many Ssorin are encountered. Daytime groups of Ssorin will consist of 6D6 individuals, and they will be highly aggressive. Give them a +1 DRM to all to hit rolls. One quarter will be armed with ranged weapons. Individuals with ranged weapons will fire once, then charge. All others will simply charge. The Ssorin do not take prisoners during the day. It is their Holy Time, and that is their Way… Nighttime groups of Ssorin will consist of 1D6+3 individuals. All Ssorin have an inherent skill of Nighttime Stealth +2. At night, all Ssorin will be armed with ranged weapons, and will use them first over melee weapons. They will fire once and then retreat to reload, and then fire again. They will only engage in melee if trapped with no retreat. If they can retreat, they will do so. Negotiations with the Ssorin are only possible at night. About 1 in 8 individuals speak enough Standard to trade or ransom “lost” people at the starport. Credits are worthless to them, but they like metal coins, weapons, tools and alcohol. The Ssorin might take prisoners at night. Ssorin often collect a reward for returning “lost” people to the starport. The authorities play along with this protection racket, knowing the Ssorin outnumber all other inhabitants of the planet by nearly 20 to 1. PCs taken prisoner will be returned to the starport mostly unharmed after 2D6 days. If the party wishes to rescue any captured PCs, the Referee will have to determine the outcome. The population of the Ssorin on Sands is approximately 1 million. As they are not citizens, they are not counted on the official census. There is a central underground “city”, with dozens of tunnels branching out from it. These help the Ssorin achieve surprise. Ssorin gain a favorable +2 DRM to both surprising others, and being surprised themselves, while on the planet Sands. Traps aboard the ship must be located and then disarmed. The path to the safe is: Cargo Bay, Engineering, Common Area, Bridge, Safe, for a total of five traps. For those traps known to Jae, allow a DM of +2 to the rolls to find and disarm. If the same result is rolled more than once, re-roll until a unique result is obtained. Traps work differently than a normal attack with a weapon. Roll damage to each individual, not as a group. Roll D6 for which specific trap is encountered. 1. An electrical trap is triggered. This trap is so well hidden that it cannot be disarmed. Roll vs. DEX to avoid. Players who fail take 1D damage to STR, DEX, or END at random. 2. Scorch marks can be seen in this area. Roll vs. INT to locate the trap. Several liters of hydrocarbon fuel are pumped onto the floor in this area and blow torches ignite it immediately. Roll 8+ to disarm, DRM +Engineering skill. If the trap is not disarmed, players take 2D burn damage to END. Jae knows about this trap. 3. Structural beams on the ship have been rigged to collapse and impale intruders. Roll vs. INT to locate the trap. Roll 10+ to disarm, DM +Mechanical skill. If the roll is failed, each character takes 3D6 damage, which can be reduced to 1D6 on a roll equal or less than DEX. 4. A utility ‘bot has been reprogrammed to “clean” intruders with a pair of monofilament swords, rather than brushes. Roll vs. INT to locate the trap. Roll 8+ to disarm, DM +Mechanical skill. If the roll is failed, the ‘bot is activated. The ‘bot attacks twice per turn. The monofilament swords are good at defeating armor. Use the DRMs of a laser rifle to hit, and apply 2D6 damage to each target if it does hit. A character might dodge by rolling DEX or less. The ‘bot is poorly armored, however and can be reduced to one attack after applying 10 damage, and can be permanently destroyed after 20 hits of damage. Jae knows about this trap. 5. A shotgun trap flips down from the ceiling and fires point-blank at a random PC’s face. Roll vs. INT to locate the trap. One character, selected at random, is hit with a 4D6 attack from a shotgun. Roll vs. INT to dodge, and take 2D6 damage. Jae knows about this trap. 6. Roll vs. INT to locate the trap. Roll 2D6 for 9+ to disarm, DM +Gunnery skill. If the disarm roll fails, the turret on The Grand Illusion comes to life, and auto-targets something in the vicinity. Roll 2D6. On a result of 2-7, random wreckage is targeted. There is no immediate danger to the PCs, however there is a chance that the Ssorin heard the attack, and are responding. On a result of 8-11, the party’s vehicle or ship is targeted. On a result of 12, the ship’s lasers fire randomly, but are stuck at an odd angle, and continue to fire until shut down. Again, there is a chance the Ssorin will investigate. Follow the initial roll for the turret firing, roll 2D6 again. The Ssorin will investigate on a roll of 8+, with DRM of +2 if the earlier roll was the “12”, where the turret fires until it is shut down. If the roll for Ssorin to appear succeeds, determine the number of Ssorin which appear as above, doubling it if the second roll was a “12”. Related Leave a Reply Cancel reply Archives Select Month May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 April 2020 October 2019 September 2019 June 2019 October 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014	11,685
MANILA — “Mom, have you heard of the UP Manila student who committed suicide because she couldn’t pay her tuition?” “Yes, I was almost in tears when I saw it in the news. She reminded me of you.” This was the conversation that my mother and I had last March 15 when news came out about this UP Manila Behavioral Sciences freshman. She could have been any other UP student; she could have been a friend of mine; she could have easily been me. Many students are in the same case as hers, in danger of stopping school for a while because they cannot afford it anymore, but she chose to end everything. There are rumors that she was not on good terms with her family and that her being forced to be on leave of absence only triggered her to commit suicide. Some are blaming her parents for lack of support, moral and financial. Even if this is true, we cannot ignore the fact that Kristel is a victim of the system. I remember my first time submitting an STFAP (Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program) application. I had to answer a lot of questions and submit documents supporting my answers like my parents’ Certificate of Tax Exemption and Certificate from the Assessor’s Office that we do not own any property. I was relieved when the results came out because I was assigned to Bracket C, with a tuition of P600 per unit. I was excited to explore the university during the Freshman Registration period. I somehow envied the other students because they were accompanied by their mothers but I understand that it would be better if I went alone because we would have to spend more for the bus fare if my mother went along with me. I was about to pay my tuition when the cashier told me that paying in installments was not allowed unless I avail of the student loan. It was a shock to me that this university – the premier state university – required full payment during enrollment while other private universities and colleges allowed installments. The amount of my assessed tuition and miscellaneous fees back then was about P11,000 and I only had P3,500 in my pocket so I had no choice but to proceed to the Student Loan Office. Since then it has been my routine every enrollment period to go to the Student Loan Office first before paying until I discovered this blue form or the Appeal for Late Payment which would allow me to pay all fees until the end of the semester. It became problematic for me and my parents during my second year in UP when I received a notice that my name was to be purged in the class list in two days unless I settle my accountabilities. Another problem back then was my dorm fees. My mother and I were crying when we were talking on the phone. This was the time that I’ve convinced myself that I wouldn’t be back next semester. She apologized to me for giving up and there is no more that she could do for me and I told her that it’s okay and I understand. Little did she know that it was really not okay and I cried to sleep every night thinking that this would be my last semester in UP. Then a miracle happened, my mother called me and told me that my cousin who is a UP graduate wants me to go their house in Kamias st. in Quezon City and she’s asking how much I have to pay. My orgmate also visited me then in my dorm and gave me an envelope with money to pay my dorm fees. The money was from all of my orgmates who chipped in when they heard about my problem. Our dorm manager then offered me the position of student assistant for the next semester so that I will only have to pay for the lodging fee plus I get a salary. The next academic year was better for us because I was assigned to Bracket E1 (free tuition and miscellaneous fees). I even got myself a part-time job as a tutor to lessen the burden of my mother. I am not blaming Kristel for giving up. What happened to her only made me think that I am lucky. If only a miracle also happened to her, she would still be with us today. This should serve as an eye-opener for the UP Administration. Implementing a “No Late Payment Policy” was very inconsiderate to think that this is a state university that should cater to the needs of the underprivileged. The fight is not over yet, we will finish this for you and for all of us who believe that education is a right not just for those who can afford it but for everyone. Share This Post You might also like: Gov’t workers renew calls for higher pay despite Marcos Jr.’s apathy to their plight After 13 years, kin of Ampatuan massacre victims continue to call for justice Felix Razon March 21, 2013 at 11:58 am · Edit Citizens or odinary human beings in a civilized society do not have to pay for education. This is part of what a civilized society means: everyone shares or participates in the educational process without paying anyone. It is what sustains humanity, civility.	5,045
"If any accused war criminal at an airport is fair game, then there are a lot of people in DC and Northern Virginia who better start traveling by train or ship" “Raining down drone missiles on a guy in plain sight at a civilian airport just drives the cowardice home further” Editor’s note: An imperfect but decent enough article, an example of the best we’re going to get from the mainstream. As long as it’s antiwar and does more good than bad I’ll take it. Some exceptionally well-written sections. Donald Trump drastically escalated the United States’ ongoing conflict with Iran on Thursday night by ordering the assassination of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani with an airstrike on the Baghdad International Airport. It takes what was arguably already a war (with an economic blockade and regular skirmishes with Iranian proxy forces) to a straight-up shooting war. Events like this bring out the absolute worst in the American foreign policy community. Many conservative writers and thinkers, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton, the Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran, and Commentary‘s Noah Rothman, openly cheered this Putin-style cold-blooded murder of a foreign statesman [Name one example of Putin ever assassinating a foreign statesman?]. Other more supposedly nonpartisan commentators uncritically parroted Trump administration assertions that Iran was planning something bad. Every top Democratic presidential candidate except Bernie Sanders was careful to foreground that Soleimani was a bad guy before condemning the assassination in their initial comments. The truth is that Soleimani was not all that different from any of about five dozen current and former American politicians and bureaucrats — if anything, he was considerably more restrained about the use of force. Yes, he was involved in a lot of bloody wars — but so was every American president since 2000, and besides half the wars he fought in were started or fueled by the United States. It’s just another instance of America’s gigantic hypocrisy when it comes to war. As writer Derek Davison explains, Soleimani was no ordinary general. He was more like a cross between the American vice president and the secretary of state — one of the two or three most famous and powerful people in Iran behind Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Soleimani commanded the Quds Force, a Special Forces-type operation supporting Iranian allies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and many other countries. American hardliners hate him mainly for supporting Hezbollah and Hamas, and for arming insurgents who fought the American occupation of Iraq. Incidentally, as recently as September 2015, Trump plainly had no idea whatsoever who Soleimani was. Indeed, as Mehdi Hasan writes at The Intercept, when Hugh Hewitt asked him about the Quds Force, he thought Hewitt had said “Kurds.” So yes, Soleimani has fueled a lot of nasty conflicts and killed a lot of people, directly or indirectly, many of them American soldiers — though it’s worth noting also that much of his recent effort has been dedicated to fighting ISIS (with great effectiveness, by all accounts) in a tacit uneasy alliance with U.S. forces. Yet even the worst of Soleimani’s record pales in comparison with the most blood-drenched American warmongers. If Soleimani deserves condemnation for arming Iraqi insurgents, then George W. Bush and Dick Cheney deserve 10 times as much for starting the war in the first place. It was a pointless, illegal war of aggression [But if it was a war of aggression wouldn’t that make arming the “insurgents”, as Soleimani actually did not do, praise-worthy?] sold on lies that obliterated Iraqi society and killed perhaps half a million people, almost all of them innocent civilians. (Our own Soleimani, General David Petraeus, was connected to the operation of Iraqi torture dungeons and paramilitary death squads during the fight against the insurgency.) If Soleimani deserves blame for helping Bashar al-Assad brutally defeat Syrian [jihadi] rebels, Henry Kissinger deserves 10 times as much for orchestrating the bombing slaughter of perhaps a quarter million Cambodians and paving the way for the Khmer Rouge genocide that killed 1.7 million people. If any accused war criminal at an airport is fair game, then there are a lot of people in D.C. and Northern Virginia who better start traveling by train or ship. Indeed, the Quds Force itself was originally created during the Iran-Iraq War, which was started by a heavily U.S.-backed Saddam Hussein in 1980. A million Iranians died in the grueling eight-year conflict. And the reason the Islamic Republic exists in the first place is because the United States and Britain toppled Iran’s fledgling democracy in 1953and installed a brutal dictator. It is not exactly hard to understand why Iran — like about every other country in the Middle East — keeps some brutal, hard people like Soleimani around. It’s a violent, unstable neighborhood, and war is an unavoidable reality. And no country is more responsible for that fact than the United States. Chauvinist American commentators always presume America has the best intentions, and that the American military is composed of saintly warrior-poets [Where as Trump knows swathes of the American public are actually perfectly fine with far more bloody-minded US “warriors”. ]. The reality is that the lumbering American colossus has unleashed a Thirty Years’ War-level of violent chaos all around Iran for no good reason at all. We are ruled by a president who recently reversed the demotion of a guy turned in by his own fellow soldiers for war crimes — namely, gleefully murdering helpless prisoners, old men, and little girls for sport. The apparent fact that the Soleimani assassination was carried out by drone strike at a civilian airport really is the perfect capstone for the last two decades of lunatic American violence. Nothing deflates the hysterically macho chest-thumping self-image of American warmongers than the fact that for the last decade and more the signature U.S. method of killing people has been a robot plus a gamer in a box 10,000 miles away. Raining down drone missiles on a guy in plain sight at a civilian airport — built at vast expense with U.S. money, by the way — just drives the cowardice home further. Nothing gets the armchair generals more fired up than vaporizing somebody who can’t defend themselves or fight back in any way. But as Davison writes, there could still very well be serious blowback from this assassination. The Iraqi government, which is teetering on the edge of collapse, was enraged at this contemptuous violation of its sovereignty, and will likely move to expel all U.S. forces from the country. There are a dozen places Iran could strike back — either at overextended American bases, or by disrupting oil shipping, or by a swarm attack on an American carrier group, or some other way. The United States is so powerful that it has been able to get away with decades of pointless atrocities. One of these days it will pay for its imperial hubris. That day may be quite soon. Source: The Week […] The Empire Is Guilty of Everything It Accuses Iran of Doing by Ryan Cooper on January 7, 2020 at 11:52 […] Mary E says 2 years ago After the deaths of Soleimani and his Iraqi counterpart (who was just as important to Iraq as Soleimani was to Iran), the ‘ball’ is in Iran’s and Iraq’s court…who knows what kind of plan they will come up with to exact revenge on the ignoramous in the White House..but they will! It may take weeks or months, but it WILL happen! The road is now closed to the US in international diplomacy circles…it has spent its wad, so to speak. Rowdy-Yates says 2 years ago The Empire Is Guilty of Everything It Accuses Iran of Doing That is purely Jewish. It is said that a Jew would scream “Anti Semite” while he hacks a person to death. ‘Accuse others of what you yourself is doing’ is right up there with the ‘Bigger the lie… They think every American is stupid. Unfortunatley, they’re about 35% right. A US backed Saddam Hussein who they later killed, started the Iran Iraq war using chemical weapons given by the US against all CW rules. Now the US acts like the never used a CW – Hussein had no possible way of making any nukes couldn’t even enrich any gramm of uranium. Any pea brain knew it. John Rourke says 2 years ago “So yes, Soleimani has fueled a lot of nasty conflicts and killed a lot of people, directly or indirectly, many of them American soldiers ” and where were these American soldiers killed? Oh You mean the American foot soldiers in Iraq and Syria..aka ISIS and Al-Qaeda and the other myriad of groups under the direction of the US..I am curious as many Americans say Soleimani has killed American soldiers..no links,no info..just the statement as if it’s true because they said so..but where and when?I’m not saying he didn’t kill any..quite possible..but usually it’s the Americans bombing the militia’s…must be some CIA spooks on this forum to fill me in where. As to what occurred with Japanese-Americans during WW II, I suspect Trump will order indefinite detainment or immediate, forceful deportation for Iranians. This can’t be the stimulus for why the FEMA camps were built, is it? The Jews have spoken. Mary E says 2 years ago We suspected all along that those FEMA camps in the deserts of the US were not for americans endangered by foul weather or war…but for those who are of a descent of a country the US would be at war with….but keep that on the back burner for a while…. Just don’t forget the impeachment and how important it is to Americans!!!! I don’t know if all of them have desert locations. I don’t have that info. An impending economic crisis without an adequate solution likely to take out at least 300 million Americans, I have thought of them as mass cemeteries–though without proof. Just wondering about the sub-title to this article. Does this mean that maybe, FINALLY, these wind bags might FINALLY target some of the scum refered to in the subtitle? Probably Not. So far not even one of them has been hit. That is why this situation now exists. Nothing it seems is gonna change that. They won’t fight back. We just aint gonna get to watch that cuz they won’t do it.	10,629
Rishi Sunak leaves the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister after winning the… Rishi Sunak leaves the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest. (AP Photo/Aberto Pezzali) Sunak takes over as UK prime minister amid economic crisis by: JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Posted: Oct 25, 2022 / 04:09 AM EDT Updated: Oct 25, 2022 / 03:14 PM EDT Rishi Sunak leaves the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister after winning the… Rishi Sunak leaves the Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest. (AP Photo/Aberto Pezzali) by: JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Posted: Oct 25, 2022 / 04:09 AM EDT Updated: Oct 25, 2022 / 03:14 PM EDT LONDON (AP) — Rishi Sunak became Britain’s third prime minister this year on Tuesday, tasked with taming an economic crisis that has left the country’s finances in a precarious state and millions struggling to pay their food and energy bills. Sunak, who is the U.K.’s first leader of color, met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, where the monarch officially asked the new leader of the governing Conservative Party to form a government, as is tradition. Sunak clinched the leadership position Monday, seen by his party as a safe pair of hands to stabilize an economy sliding toward recession — and stem its own plunging popularity, after the brief, disastrous term of Liz Truss. Her package of unfunded tax cuts spooked financial markets with the prospect of ballooning debt, drove the pound to record lows and forced the Bank of England to intervene — weakening Britain’s fragile economy and obliterating Truss’ authority within her party. In one of his first acts, Sunak announced he would retain Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt, appointed by Truss to steady the markets two weeks ago amid the turmoil. His removal would have set off new tremors. Sunak — at 42 the youngest British leader in more than 200 years — acknowledged the scale of his challenge as well as the skepticism of a British public alarmed at the state of the economy and weary of a Conservative Party soap opera that has chewed through two prime ministers in as many months. “I fully appreciate how hard things are,” Sunak said outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing Street residence. “And I understand, too, that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not daunted.” Sunak immediately set about appointing a Cabinet, aiming to put his stamp on the government while bringing in people from different wings of the Conservative Party. He removed about a dozen members of Truss’ government, but kept several senior figures in place besides Hunt, including Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who resigned last week in a move that helped trigger Truss’ downfall, got her job back. A leading light of the Conservatives’ right wing, Braverman is charged with fulfilling a controversial, stalled plan to send some asylum seekers arriving in Britain on a one-way trip to Rwanda. Sunak also brought back faces from the era of Truss’ predecessor, Boris Johnson, including Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Cabinet veteran Michael Gove. Sunak aims to assemble an experienced Cabinet whose competence can erase memories of the missteps and U-turns of the past months. But the right-of-center party’s divisions over immigration, relations with Europe and other big issues, remain deep. Allies of Truss and the scandal-plagued Johnson who have been sidelined or demoted from government can now nurture grievances from Parliament’s back benches. “This is not a fresh start. It’s the same Conservative cabinet of chaos,” opposition Labour Party lawmaker Rosena Allin-Khan said on Twitter. When he was Treasury chief, Sunak became popular with the public by handing out billions in support to shuttered businesses and laid-off workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. But now he will have to oversee tax hikes and public spending cuts as he tries to bring inflation and government debt under control. A wave of strikes over pay that has already seen walkouts by railway staff, telecoms workers, garbage collectors, lawyers and dockworkers is likely to spread. Acknowledging “difficult decisions to come,” Sunak tried to draw a line under the chaos that engulfed Truss and Johnson. He said his government “will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.” Opponents already depict Sunak as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people because of his privileged private school background, previous career as a hedge fund manager and vast wealth. Much of Sunak’s fortune comes through his wife Akshata Murty, whose father is the billionaire founder of Indian IT firm Infosys. The couple is worth 730 million pounds ($826 million), according to the Sunday Times Rich List. In April 2022, it emerged that Murty did not pay U.K. tax on her overseas income. The practice was legal — and Murty soon agreed to relinquish it — but it looked bad at a time when millions of Britons were struggling to make ends meet. Sunak’s victory is a remarkable reversal of fortune just weeks after he lost to Truss in a Conservative election to replace Johnson. Sunak was chosen as Conservative leader on Monday after becoming the only candidate to clear the nomination threshold of 100 lawmakers. Sunak defeated House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt — who keeps that job in his government — and Johnson, who failed to rally enough support for a comeback bid. Next Sunak has to prepare for a budget statement, scheduled to be delivered by Hunt on Oct. 31, that will set out how the government plans to come up with billions of pounds (dollars) to fill a fiscal hole created by soaring inflation and a sluggish economy — and exacerbated by Truss’ destabilizing plans. Truss announced her resignation last week and departed Tuesday after making a defiant public statement in Downing Street, seven weeks to the day after she was appointed prime minister. Truss offered a defense of her low-tax vision, saying she was “more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the problems we face.” She leaves a Conservative Party trailing the left-of-center Labour Party in opinion polls. Sunak has at most two years to turn its fortunes around. There does not need to be an election until the end of 2024, though public pressure to call an early poll is growing. Jill Rutter, of the Institute for Government, said Sunak’s task was to show the Conservatives “are capable of governing in a fair way in the national interest.” “If they continue to look like a party that is incapable of making decisions, incapable of making those decisions stick, then they will probably deserve to be punished by the electorate next time round,” she said. Follow all AP’s reporting on British politics at https://apnews.com/hub/british-politics Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.	7,446
Shaffy Bello Akinrimisi is a woman of many parts. She’s not only a musician; she is also an actress making waves in Nollywood. Shaffy stormed the music scene with a bang in 1997 when she featured in Seyi Sodimu’s popular song, Love Me Jeje. Since then, she has appeared in several English and Yoruba television series including movies such as Eti Keta, The Score, Tinsel, When Love Happens, Gbomo Gbomo Express, Taste of Love, It’s Her Day, Ovy’s Voice, Hire A Man, Battleground, Light Will Come, and Twisted Twins among others. In this interview, Shaffy speaks on her plans of going back to music and reveals lessons life has taught her. Enjoy it. You featured in Seyi Sodimu’s popular song, Love Me Jeje, how much of the Love Me Jeje do people get from you? You still get a lot of love from me but it is the ‘jeje’ part that I don’t know. I am still who I am. I have grown as a person, professionally as a singer and actor. I think when you get older, you would get wiser and if you know better, you would do better. I have grown as a person and some things that I know about myself now, some things I am very sure of myself, some things that I know that I wouldn’t do again or some things that I know that I haven’t done; now a different person has evolved, but the true nature of who I am, and my character hasn’t changed. Do you have any plans of going back to music? Music is still part of me. It will never depart from me. It is a matter of finding that right time. I still have the nudge in my heart to still do something great about music, but there has to be time for it. It is not the time now. Any other thing your fans should expect from you? They should keep watching me. One of the things in an individual’s life is growth, and I think for every one, even if I should tell you that I am not doing music any more, in another year, I could decide that I want to do it again. One of the things I know as a human being is that you have the right to change your mind. So, even if I do tell you that I want to do it, I have the right to change my mind that I don’t want to do it anymore. But for now, there is no time for that because I am concentrating on this aspect of my life as an actor, studying to be a director and producer and doing bigger things in Nollywood. When I feel that I want to take a break and go back to what I love to do, which is music, I will do it. But it is not yet time. What attracted you to the new movie, Lara And The Beat? It was the name of the producer that attracted me to the movie. The producer is known for good movies, and when you see such producers doing good works with great reputation in the industry, and when you are invited, you have to honour their invitation. When they sent me the script, I read it and knew that I had few scenes but I didn’t mind. But then, I wanted to do the movie. For me, it’s not how many scenes you have in a movie but the impact you can create with one scene. If you are an artiste, you shouldn’t say because you have only one scene, you would not feature in that movie. Your one scene may actually be the scene that really makes an impact in the movie. Which part of the movie thrilled you the most? I would say all the themes in the movie are of great interest to me. Anything that you want to train your children on, this movie will educate the child. It talks about the simple things of life, such as relationship with people. It is a movie that teaches about character and lessons of life. You’re a mother and actress, how do you combine both effectively? Everything is all about setting your priorities right. What’s more of a priority at that time was my children. I have to be there for my kids, but my children also respect me for what I do. If I have to work, I have to work for them. The beautiful thing is that I have grown up children. You can’t compare me with actors that have children who are still very young. My children are grown and I can be on set for some weeks or months and all we need to do is talk on the phone or do video calls. Technology has made it easy for me to communicate with them. Although, I live in Nigeria but they live abroad. It’s easier for me now but when I was much more younger in raising my children, I had my priorities and what was important to me at that time was my family. What do you do when you’re not working? When I am not working, I listen to music. I love reading and travelling. I am an Oprah (Winfrey) fan and any book she recommends people to read, I do buy and read. What’s the secret of your good looks? Just take care of yourself, and when you do it, your body will thank you for it. I think the biggest thing is to feel good, forget the outlook; it’s the inner layer that is more important. When a woman is happy, fulfilled and feels that she is driven by her purpose, people will see that, and that is the beauty that we see. Looking good helps and there is no reason why every woman should not feel good. I buy made in Nigeria fabrics and give them to my tailor to sew for me. I do fix my hair to look good and presentable. People should not be ostentatious in their appearance but look good and decent enough and always make first impression right. The outer look is important but the work that you do inner is more important. Seek God and honour Him in your life and you will radiate His presence. What is the most challenging role that you have ever played? All the roles that I have played were challenging but the most challenging role was in Ovy’s Voice, which was also fun. I enjoyed the role. I have had to play a 70-year-old grandmother in a film, and with all the make-up, and it was very challenging because I needed to sound older, and that was challenging. I urge directors and producers to give artistes more challenging roles in their movies. They should not stereotype the actors; they should not always think that an artiste should always play a particular role that he or she is known for. What are your dream roles? I am still pregnant as an actor and I want to give birth to good characters. What lessons has life taught you? Been an actor has taught me so many things. Fame doesn’t bring you happiness. Unfortunately, on social media, people put the good days in the best days, and one of the things that I urge young artistes is to let them know that their self confidence matters. When you follow me on social media, I choose the pictures that I put there. Pictures are filtered to make me look good and make you see the good side of me. We all have goods times and bad times. Don’t ever think that the pictures (of actors) that you see on social media are who we are. Been an actor has shown that people want to place me on a high pedestal and they want to see artistes as heroes. We are not heroes but artistes. The heroes are the mothers, the teachers in public schools, and single mothers and fathers, not the artistes. It doesn’t make us heroes but everyday human beings. But if you want to channel me to be that super hero, just know that I am human and mistakes will come. Life has taught me that all that glitters is not always gold. As a person, I seek for more peace and humility. I am always driven to have inner peace and would rather be happy and fulfilled. How would you advise celebrities who bring their personal issues on social media? Shaffy has chosen to always be private with her private life, but my work life on social media is what I am working on. The pictures that you want to see, the characters that I play in movies or when I am on set, I present them on social media. But what happens in my home I am not going to put it out there. So, my private life will remain private. What’s your opinion about our indigenous music? I love our indigenous music. Hardly would you hear me listen to Western music. I keep in touch with our pop culture, I am young at heart, and so I am always in tune with pop culture. At the same time, I am proud of where our music is, even though; we have a lot of work to do. Related Posts 25th November 2022 Cover 25th November 2022 Cover Breaking: Gospel singer Sammie Okposo is dead 25th November 2022 Next Post NYSC: PDP demands Adeosun’s sack, prosecution over alleged forgery Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Diri begs FG to shelve plan to shut down PAP Anambra North 2023: Stella Oduah best Senator we’ve ever had – Opkoko community Edo Police Command rescue 14 kidnap victims Cheshmi’s late goal sends Iran to 2-0 win over Wales 25th November 2022 By Billy Graham Abel, Yola The Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Friday, presented a budgetary proposal...	9,359
We love our life at Equinox Village. The staff is outstanding, always bending over backwards to help in any way. Our apartment is spacious and light filled. Being on the ground floor means we have a patio and a garden. The menu choices are extensive and the food is excellent. There are many activities to keep us active and involved. Fellow residents are friendly and welcoming. Did I say we love living here??The Lees I have lived here at Equinox Village since my apartment was built, and have never ever regretted the move! Having been in the real estate business for 40 years, and built or renovated and lived in 12 homes, I was ready for no more home maintenance responsibilities! BEST move I ever made! No worries, terrific staff, wonderful food, still enjoy close by skiing, summer club, made life-long friends, as well as all my local buddies! I travel all over the world without worrying about my home, which by-the-way is spacious, high-ceilinged, sunny, with beautiful views! Come and visit! I cannot give enough raves to Equinox Village! The staff is remarkable....friendly, helpful, supportive. The apartments are a nice size,the meals are excellent. Everyone who lives here agree that we all made thebest decision, ever, when we chose to live here.Carol Gordon Within the past year, we moved from our home in Manchester a couple miles up the road to Equinox Village.. In retrospect, it was the best move we could have made at this point on our life. Among so many positive features the club-like environment with large apartments; exceptional, caring staff; excellent food, and convenient location have all contributed to this conclusion.Don and Nancy Burd My mother was fortunate to live at Equinox Village for almost seven years. She was extremly happy there! Her apartment was spacious, with a full kitchen, laundry room, a beautiful view and lots of natural light. She adored her neighbors and all the other residents and made some very dear friends there over the years.The staff is wonderful, many of them have been there since the beginning and they go above and beyond every single day. Places like Equinox Village are hard to find, filled with warmth, a gracious staff and a group of incredibly interesting, and active residents. There are art shows, wonderful holiday events and unexpected daily treats! It's a pleasantly formal atmosphere with a nod towards comfort. The dining room is open for lunch and dinner and the food is very good! Many options, daily specials and over the years I've watched the healthy offerings increase with the overall changes in the way we eat nowadays. The soups are excellent!! And no one misses Sunday brunch!Kirt Sampson is the CEO and he impresses me again and again with the balancd way that he runs things. Most recently, his preparedness during the pandemic was weeks ahead of our nation! My mother chose to live Equinox Village, and I couldn't imagine a nicer home for her. The apartments are spacious, with a beautiful view. The staff is friendly and caring, going out of their way to help the residents. The food is excellent. The Village also offers wonderful activities for the residents—holidays dinners, art exhibits, books groups, and more. The location is convenient, close to grocery, pharmacy, restaurants, shops, and medical care. I am grateful Mom is there. We are very happy that our decision to move to Equinox Village has worked out so well. Our apartment is spacious and gives us marvelous views of both the Taconics and the Greens as well as all the action at Maple Street School.We knew many of the residents before we arrived and have made many new friends in the last year and a half.We have found the staff to be extraordinarily caring and capable of anticipating when we might like help. We enjoy having dinner in the dining room every night, generally with a group of friends.We have settled in well.Emy and John LaVecchia	4,087
'The last two weeks in August is maybe 50/50 at best, there could be a decent operation in place but we don't know' Comments By Invalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. More info We have more newsletters A leading Irish travel agent has said that the summer holidays situation is "very disappointing to be truthful". Europe's Green-Cert is about to get the go-ahead while the Government has given some hope that foreign holidays will be back by the end of the summer. But speaking with the Irish Mirror, the CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association, Pat Dawson, isn't so optimistic. He stated that travel agents around Ireland might be seeing the majority of bookings being made from September onwards. When asked if agents are expecting to be busy in August with the prospect of international travel returning, he said: "Not really. Not really and I'll tell you why. "Obviously, we want everything to open safely but we can't risk August because the fact is that you'll remember last year, we had to deal with refunds and cancellations. "Earlier this week, Aer Lingus cancelled all of their flights up until the 18th of July, they're all gone now. "What we're saying to people at the moment is that if the public is booking trips, they're not booking with travel agents for August because we're telling them, 'we can't risk your money to book August because there's no certainty about August.' "The last two weeks in August is maybe 50/50 at best, there could be a decent operation in place but we don't know. "What we're saying to people - although there's many that booked September, October, November - and what most people are telling us is, 'okay, look, I'm really not going to risk it, it's going to be 2022.' Cork's Kino cinema hits the market with €700,000 asking price Firefighters bust through flames to rescue occupant in Cork city "It's an individual decision but the vast majority of travel agents around the country are selling from September onwards and we are scared to sell August because of the clients getting into trouble with their money. "Our job is to find the clients money, that's our responsibility and that's why they book with a travel agent, to take care of them. "So we're looking at September and of course, then you have another issue with Cork airport, which is crazy. They're closing down for September, October, November, to do up a runway which should have been dealt with before now. "The most pent-up demand will be September, October, and even November, so the whole thing is very disappointing to be truthful." At present, because international travel is deemed to be a higher risk activity, any decision on lifting restrictions on non-essential international travel will be considered at the end of June. John Spollen, Director at Cassidy Travel, believes that there is a growing demand among consumers to book a foreign holiday and that confidence levels surrounding the safety of airline travel is quite high, especially as more people get vaccinated. However, Mr Spollen has also said that more clarity from the government is required. "People have been at home, and they've been playing it safe," he explained. "Now that they're starting to get vaccinated, that confidence is growing and they're ready to start getting out there and planning their dream trip again. "People want to travel. They just need to know they can, so there has to be more clarity from Government as to a pathway forward. "The vaccination rollout has increased confidence about booking travel, which has given rise to inquiries and bookings for the latter half of this year and 2022—lots of pent-up demand. How soon can I travel is the key question? "We are an island nation; we love to travel, we love the sun, and indeed the snow! And yes, there is pent-up demand. Two-metre rule for pubs and restaurants 'set to be cut in half' as changes for June reopening emerge Cork resident gets supportive follow-up after neighbour leaves testy note about 'adult activity sounds' coming from their apartment "As the world grows accustomed to hygiene protocols and other particulars of travels, more and more people are considering and booking that much needed holiday and trip. "The customer continues to be at the heart of what we do. However, people are cautious and are also conscious of countries' rates and their opening updates. So our enquiries are reflective of that." Given the lack of a date for reopening non-essential travel, there's a degree of risk surrounding any booking that's made now but as mentioned previously, consumer confidence is still quite high. However, Mr Dawson has reiterated the risks of booking a holiday that's non-refundable. He said: "What we would say to anyone looking to book a holiday - obviously, we'd like them to book through a travel agent - but wherever they're booking, make sure it's refundable. "If you're booking a flight, cruise, or particularly accommodation - many people booked accommodation and they're stuck with it, they pay via credit card and the money is gone - so whatever you book, make sure you can get your money back. That's the most important thing. "Do not book something where there's a cancellation fee or anything like that. we don't want a repeat of last years situation. Last year, we saw people book holidays themselves and they lost money because they were not refundable. People lost thousands. "If you book something, book it so it's totally refundable. That's very, very important. Your travel agent will not book anything that's not refundable, they will not do it. That's my very clear message to the public." Given the fact that they're one of the busiest travel agencies in Ireland, Cassidy Travel are experts when it comes to holiday bookings and their Director is urging holidaymakers to understand the various international restrictions and healthcare rules that are in place. Mr Spollen is also expecting a sharp rise in holidaymakers flying to countries that will partake in the EU Green Cert policy. "Everyone needs to take heed of restrictions in the countries they are travelling to and still listen to health guidelines. Check your passport, too, if it needs to be renewed," he said. He added: "When our Government confirms the reopening of international travel, for sure there will be a rush of bookings. "The expectation is fares on prime dates to specific destinations – especially those confirmed in any green zone will also rise as consumer confidence gains momentum, demand will get stronger, and holidays prices will increase. "But there's still a long way to go, and I think there will be lots of great deals and steals for travel later this year, as competition for a smaller pool of travellers will keep pressure on prices. "Next year may well be a different story; however, for travel in 2022, our product team have been working on exclusive deals with all our partners, and at present, we have some excellent deals with low deposits, but they will not last forever." During a virtual press conference earlier this week, Leo Varadkar said that he expects the EU Digital Green Certificate to be in place by mid-June, with member states then having six weeks to adopt it. The CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association believes that when Ireland fully adopts the Green Cert protocols, there will be a massive increase in the number of tourists to other EU countries that also abide by this travel policy. Mr Dawson was also critical of the fees that are currently being charged in Ireland for a PCR test, which he believes are extortionate when compared to other EU countries like Spain. "There will be yeah, there's no doubt about it. It also has to do with the vaccination and if people had a Covid or PCR tests," he said. "One thing on the PCR tests and antigen tests. A PCR test in Ireland is about €160 to get. In Spain, it's €50. "It is scandalous what's going on. Essentially, it will only suit rich people, this PCR testing. The government or somebody needs to do something about that - there's nothing being mentioned about it. "The medical people can talk about antigen testing and all the rest of it but imagine being charged €100 more in Ireland for a PCR test than Spain or other countries. What a ripoff." With more countries beginning to open their borders and encourage foreign visitors, there's a growing sense that Ireland is being left behind as travel around Europe begins to become more common. "This is all positive. But again, there must be a pathway. After all, we are the in EU, and our most popular destinations are in the EU, such as Portugal, Spain and Italy. Some countries in the EU, such as Portugal, Germany, and Austria, have already opened up for tourism this week," Mr Spollen explained. "There is both optimism within the EU and a recognition that the tourism industry is critical to many countries. Indeed to Ireland as well. We welcome a broad agreement to a seamless approach to travel within the EU. Further afield, it is less clear at this moment." As a board member of the European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association - which represents 70,000 travel agents in Europe - Mr Dawson fears that Ireland is being left behind, mainly due to a lack of clear communication and direction from the Government. He said: "For months and months, the travel agency and aviation industries have asked for a clearer pathway out of this. The Taoiseach says one thing, the Tanaiste says another, the Minister for Health says another thing, the CMO says another thing - there's no clear route as to when we're going to get going. "Now, if there was a timeline and if something happened, we can always change it. But the other big worry is the EU Covid certificate. "The Europeans are certainly moving on that and they're moving ahead. In Ireland, we don't know who's in charge of this? We don't know what department is in charge of it - is it the Taoiseach's office, is it Heath, is it Transport? I mean, who do you talk to that knows what's going on? Overall, there'll be more jobs lost if the pathway is not forthcoming, that's for sure." Winner of Travel Agency of the Year 2020, Cassidy Travel has been operating since 1985, but the last 12 months have been unlike anything that has come before. While bookings are not surging yet after a year of cancelled plans, there are certain destinations that are already emerging as popular hotspots for tourists in 2021. "While the demand is there and people are wanting to get away as soon as they can, there is increased confidence for booking holidays for later this year and 2022," said Mr Spollen. He added: "We have experienced the most significant surge in bookings for departures for late 2021 – Lapland, the Canaries Islands and Dubai. "In 2022, a substantial uptake in Luxury Honeymoons' bookings to Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, and The Caribbean. And family holidays for summer 2022 again, there is pent up demand for cruising, so we see bookings here as well. "We do not want to build false hopes; then again, with both the Irish Government and the EU rolling out the vaccines in such a robust way, we believe that the market will recover relatively quickly, at least to Europe. If we see demand in late summer, we think it will be Portugal, Spain, Canaries, Italian, and city breaks!" With outdoor dining set to resume on June 7 and the prospects of indoor hospitality returning in July, the remaining set of restrictions apply to international travel, indoor team/group sports, and mass gatherings (football matches, concerts, festivals etc). While those sectors are still waiting on a green light, Mr Dawson does believe that there's a renewed sense of confidence and hope in the travel agency sector that international travel will resume - Mr Spollen agrees on that too. "What I can say is that interest started to pick up when the Taoiseach made his address a few weeks ago - maybe six to eight weeks ago - he said that we might get summer out of it. Grandmother jailed for repeatedly refusing to wear mask in shops as she 'only answers to God' Irish holiday makers could be flying by July says Health Minister "And we definitely got a spike but whenever the Taoiseach, Tanaiste or Minister for Transport says something good or bad, it affects the whole customer mood," Mr Dawson said. "And most certainly, there has been more bookings for September, October and further into 2022 but remember, we are moving a lot of people now that were booked last year to travel. "They paid money to change their plans to this year and now we're going to have to shift them again. "With the non-essential retail reopening, we have seen an uptick and a buzz around. We were always open for calls during the lockdowns; however, our travel shops are now open." With 10 travel shops situated throughout Dublin and the ability to offer flights to over 200 destinations, Cassidy Travel can effectively gauge the level of interest among the Irish public. While there are still question marks about travel, they're confident that the overall picture is improving. "The general inquiries and bookings have surged in the past month, thanks in no small part to an increase in requests from customers receiving vaccination shots or are now waiting on their second," Mr Spollen said. "The vaccination rollout has increased their confidence about booking travel, which has given rise to inquiries and bookings for the latter half of this year and 2022—lots of pent-up demand. How soon can I travel is the key question?" Like many industries and sectors around Ireland, simply reopening non-essential international travel won't fix the issues that the travel agency sector have experienced over the last 14 months. While Mr Dawson is grateful for the financial assistance, he says that it will still be needed after the industry reopens. He said: "I would say there have been maybe five or six travel agents closing, which is very small. It's still very sad but we got decent government aid. "We've got the wage subsidies and we're now speaking to the government to continue the CRIS until the end of the year Because we've had no business now for about two years. "If any of those aids are stopped by the government, there will be 50 travel agents closed by the end of the year. "That's the problem and we told the government that if it wasn't for the aid that we are getting, there would have been a lot more closures and that they must continue those aids until the end of the year." Mr Spollen echoed this sentiment and also called for a clear and decisive roadmap to lift the restrictions on international travel. "The Covid-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the Irish travel sector. As a company, we have been around for over 36 years, serving our customers; we call on the Government to provide a clear and decisive roadmap and timeline to lift restrictions so that travel business can ramp up their operations and recover from the pandemic. "The demand for travelling is there; clients are more philosophical than last year once we have clarity on travel rules. Until that happens, we need our Government to provide continued support for the industry to protect our customers, staff, and businesses," he said. You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. WeatherRules on whether schools should close as Met Eireann put Ireland on snow noticeHere's the guidlines around whether or not schools should close during the cold snap Met Eireann issue notice for Ireland as Arctic airmass to bring snow They added that official weather warnings may be issued over the coming days Cork weather: Freezing week ahead as Met Eireann gives exact day snow will fall on Ireland We're in for a bitterly cold few days across Cork as an Atlantic airmass bites A TikToker user shared the way he prevents mould from building up in his home and got thousands of responses Fermoy rape victim was found hypothermic in derelict house after alarm raised by friend she called A 39-year-old man appeared before a special sitting of Bandon District Court in west Cork on Saturday where he was charged with the rape of the woman at Castlehyde in Fermoy on November 19th last Roy KeaneRoy Keane's reaction to England goal against Senegal at World Cup leaves fans dividedSome poked fun at Keane's reaction, and others defended the legendary soccer star as a "true professional" Cork weather: Freezing week ahead as Met Eireann gives exact day snow will fall on Ireland We're in for a bitterly cold few days across Cork as an Atlantic airmass bites Over 300 Cork residents all set to become Irish citizens Minister Brown welcomed our new citizens and said they'd always have a home in an Ireland that 'strives to be safe, fair, and inclusive for all' Bad Sisters actress Sarah Greene says she's Irish but 'more importantly from Cork' after New York Times refers to her as British The Glanmire native and former Cork Person of the Month has been getting great praise for her part in the show Rules on whether schools should close as Met Eireann put Ireland on snow notice Here's the guidlines around whether or not schools should close during the cold snap WeatherRules on whether schools should close as Met Eireann put Ireland on snow noticeHere's the guidlines around whether or not schools should close during the cold snap Met Eireann issue notice for Ireland as Arctic airmass to bring snow They added that official weather warnings may be issued over the coming days Cork weather: Freezing week ahead as Met Eireann gives exact day snow will fall on Ireland We're in for a bitterly cold few days across Cork as an Atlantic airmass bites A TikToker user shared the way he prevents mould from building up in his home and got thousands of responses Fermoy rape victim was found hypothermic in derelict house after alarm raised by friend she called A 39-year-old man appeared before a special sitting of Bandon District Court in west Cork on Saturday where he was charged with the rape of the woman at Castlehyde in Fermoy on November 19th last Roy KeaneRoy Keane's reaction to England goal against Senegal at World Cup leaves fans dividedSome poked fun at Keane's reaction, and others defended the legendary soccer star as a "true professional" Cork weather: Freezing week ahead as Met Eireann gives exact day snow will fall on Ireland We're in for a bitterly cold few days across Cork as an Atlantic airmass bites Over 300 Cork residents all set to become Irish citizens Minister Brown welcomed our new citizens and said they'd always have a home in an Ireland that 'strives to be safe, fair, and inclusive for all' Bad Sisters actress Sarah Greene says she's Irish but 'more importantly from Cork' after New York Times refers to her as British The Glanmire native and former Cork Person of the Month has been getting great praise for her part in the show Rules on whether schools should close as Met Eireann put Ireland on snow notice Here's the guidlines around whether or not schools should close during the cold snap Roy Keane's reaction to England goal against Senegal at World Cup leaves fans divided Some poked fun at Keane's reaction, and others defended the legendary soccer star as a "true professional" Refugees Welcome rally draws crowd in Fermoy after earlier protests Organisers say most locals were 'horrified' by the small protests that targetted families arriving at a convent in the town - they include a number of Ukranian women and children fleeing the war Met Eireann issue notice for Ireland as Arctic airmass to bring snow They added that official weather warnings may be issued over the coming days Fermoy crowd sing 'cheerio' to anti-immigration activists who turned up at 'Refugees are Welcome' demo 'Fermoy is a town where we look out for each other, where we live out the values of community, solidarity and connection every day' Watch: famous YouTuber explains how we got the ORK in Cork Airport Cork Airport Sadly for Cork - Cordoba in Argentina got first dibs. Rules on whether schools should close as Met Eireann put Ireland on snow notice Here's the guidlines around whether or not schools should close during the cold snap 'I just couldn't get over it, places that I used to get for around €230 that'd be split between myself and someone else usually, were looking for something like €560, €600 plus' Met Eireann forecast subzero temperatures for Cork as snow on cards for parts of Ireland 'Current indications are that it will stay very cold through the remainder of the week and for next weekend too'	22,069
Coca-Cola has unveiled the Real Magic brand philosophy and platform that invites people to celebrate the magic of humanity. The Real Magic platform includes a new design identity for the Coke Trademark, including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar anchored by the Coca-Cola logo. The Hug logo is inspired by its representation on Coca-Cola’s packaging and lifts the curved Coca-Cola trademark on bottle and can labels to provide a visual signature. As part of the Real Magic campaign, Coca-Cola will conduct a series of activities geared towards engaging consumers especially during the festive season. There will be mall activations, discounts and offers on products, which will lead to festive season which will culminate in a Christmas caravan in select locations across the country. Speaking at the unveiling of the Real Magic platform, Debra Mallowah, Coca-Cola Vice President for East and Central Africa said, “Real Magic brings out a visual presentation of Coca-Cola’s brand history and is a way of embracing every day extraordinary moments that help to make the world we are living in a better place. It encompasses every element of the Coca-Cola brand. As part of our global strategy, Real Magic invites consumers to celebrate everyday magic moments of humanity.” The platform refreshes the brand’s commitment to unite and uplift people every day with renewed relevance for the world we live in today. The platform also acknowledges the many contradictions experienced as new generations find harmony and human connection in a virtual and divided world. “If you look back at most of the campaigns we have launched globally, our mission has been very consistent and clear, spread happiness and bring joy to our consumers. We believe the new brand philosophy will resonate with our consumers all over the world; that we can all experience real magic in real moments when we come together. The intent of this campaign is to provide a simple and intuitive navigation system that carries across all Coca-Cola variants, while simultaneously celebrating the Coca-Cola logo,” said Diego Recalde, Vice President Marketing, Coca-Cola Africa Operating Unit. Related Posts Wendy Cherop is the second winner of a fully paid trip to Qatar to watch the 2022 World Cup Richard Mureithi June 16, 2022 Debra Mallowah, the Coca Cola EA VP has urged people to keep safe as they celebrate over the holiday season Grace Matheka December 17, 2021 Coca-Cola rolls out Christmas caravan in Mombasa in readiness for the festive season Segun Ogunsanya begins new role as CEO at Airtel Africa Grace Matheka October 5, 2021 The Coca-Cola Foundation’s RAIN initiative provides clean water to more than 600,000 people in Kenya Facebook [aps-get-count social_media=\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"facebook\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"]Fans Archives Select Month November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011	5,770
Breakfast and lunch will be included. Drinks (water, coffee and tea) will also be provided throughout the day. Complimentary headshots will be provided to all attendees! Raffle prizes being given out throughout the day! With rapidly changing times and today’s highly interconnected and increasingly complex world, the defining characteristics of a leader in today’s world have also demanded a change. The hierarchical model simply doesn’t work anymore, and it has been replaced by learning organizations that are filled with knowledge workers who don’t respond to “top down” leadership. In response to these changes, a new generation of leaders is reshaping the best-led global companies. Their approach is not shareholder, customer or employee first; it is people first. Modern-day leaders view leadership as more than the behaviors, traits, and styles of individuals; they view leadership as a property of any social network. No longer solely the domain of those “in charge,” leadership is something in which everyone participates. Our Modern-Day leaders distribute their leadership powers to those who have the will, skill, ability and desire to lead. Come join us for a day full of learning, sharing and networking as we engage in discussions around what it actually takes to be a Modern-Day leader and the various facets of leadership.	1,356
South Korea last week approved $8 million in food aid to North Korea, in response to what U.N. agencies say are the worst harvests there in a decade and severe food shortages affecting 40% of the North's population. Despite the South Korean government's insistence on separating the aid from politics, the donation is widely seen as having the political goal of improving inter-Korean relations. With nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in limbo, South Korea is eager to nudge the North to return to the negotiating table — and humanitarian aid is one way to do that. Seoul was quick to point out that U.N. sanctions targeting the North's nuclear programs allow for humanitarian assistance and that the Trump administration is on board with it. Even though North Korea requested the aid from international aid organizations and South Korean food will be distributed through those groups, Pyongyang was not impressed with the donation. It called the gesture — the first from Seoul since 2015 and the first under the administration of President Moon Jae-In — "non-essential" to ties between the two Koreas. Aid agencies and politicians often trot out a Ronald Reagan quote: "A hungry child knows no politics." The idea is that nobody wants civilians to starve, even though their rulers' policies may be responsible for that hunger. And so governments and aid agencies must deliver humanitarian assistance. The donations will be delivered through the World Food Programme and UNICEF. They will include nutritious food and medicine for infants, children and mothers at hospitals, nurseries and orphanages. But the aid carries risks. One is that the aid is based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Another is that the aid will be diverted away from the intended recipients. In addition, the money a regime saves on buying food may be used on weapons. And the aid may delay reforms and perpetuate a system that distributes food inequitably. To determine what kind of aid is needed, in April, teams from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) fanned out across 12 counties in 6 of North Korea's 9 provinces to assess whether the country has enough food. (A similar survey was conducted last November). They spoke to farmers and officials and visited grain stores and nursery schools. That's not easy in North Korea, where aid agencies' access is often restricted. The survey found that abnormally high temperatures, drought in some areas and flooding in others severely reduced the 2018 fall harvest of grains including rice, wheat and soybeans, leading to food insecurity for 10.1 millionof North Korea's 25.5 million people. North Korea's government is calling the droughts the worst in nearly four decades. That's not nearly as bad as the mid-1990s, when up to 3.5 million people starved to death, largely due to economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support following the collapse of the USSR. But the survey did find that the country will have a shortage of 1.36 million metric tons of food. Most North Koreans get food from government rations of basic foodstuffs such as rice, and those rations were cut down to 300 grams (approximately 10.6 ounces) per person, per day, compared to 380 grams (approximately 13.4 ounces) over the same period last year. "When we were talking to household members especially with housewives, they were always reporting an incredibly low consumption of proteins," recalls Mario Zappacosta, a Rome-based FAO senior economist who co-led the survey in North Korea. Meat, fish and eggs are rare in many North Koreans' diets. Many survive on rice or potatoes and kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage dish. "There is a really poor and monotonous diet. This [finding] was really remarkable," says Zappacosta in a phone interview. The international sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. in 2006, in response to North Korea's nuclear weapons testing, also have an effect. Although they are aimed at the North's military, not civilians, they make it hard to get machine parts and gas needed for efficient mechanized farming. "With the reduced availability of fuel, we saw people using oxen, but also doing [ploughing] by hand," Zappacosta says. Besides government rations, food is also distributed through networks of farmers' markets, and this was a blind spot in the survey, as the teams could not get access to those markets. "Market visits are highly recommended to fill this information gap in future assessments," the survey report said. But Zappacosta says findings were cross-checked against other data, such as satellite photos of farmland, and while there might have been a small margin of error, as for the "order of magnitude, we're quite confident." Zappacosta notes that the WFP does monitor the distribution of food aid to ensure that it's reaching its intended recipients. And this is something that donors insist on. But he describes his own agency as a "technical institution" that avoids making policy recommendations or prescribing reforms. Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and editor of the blog NKEconwatch, which follows the North Korean economy,notes that while the food situation in North Korea looks bad, it comes following a decade of increasing harvests and agricultural yields. These are due in part to limited agricultural reforms launched by Kim Jong Un. "Farmers getting stronger incentives, being able to decide more about their own production, getting to keep more of what they farm — these things have almost certainly played a role in making agricultural production go up," he says. Silberstein argues that the food shortages are less about how much food is produced than about how it's distributed. And the distribution, he says, favors Pyongyang, where politically loyal elites can now nosh at a growing number of Western-style cafes and fast food outlets. "North Korea's food shortages aren't about external shocks from the weather, or from sanctions. They're about a system. That's it," he says. Silberstein adds that the international community has sent the North food aid for some two decades — but food shortages "are going to keep happening as long as fundamental changes aren't put into place." Food shortages are also due to the government's spending priorities, Silberstein says. Despite the famine, Pyongyang has money for vanity projects, like beach and ski resorts, and of course, weapons systems. "If you can manufacture nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles clearly you can import enough food to make up for the shortfall in the harvest. There is no doubt about it." Silberstein also points to the government's longstanding policy of trying to be self-sufficient in agriculture. That's unwise, he says, as the mountainous country has very little arable land, and would be better off exporting manufactured goods, and using the earned money to import food. Corrected: June 8, 2019 at 9:00 PM PDT A previous version of this story referred to kimchi as a "Chinese cabbage dish." It is best known as a fermented food made with cabbage, often of the Chinese variety. But it is a Korean dish. Anthony Kuhn is NPR's correspondent based in Seoul, South Korea, reporting on the Korean Peninsula, Japan, and the great diversity of Asia's countries and cultures. Before moving to Seoul in 2018, he traveled to the region to cover major stories including the North Korean nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster.	7,628
Well, that little white stripe between the two pink ones is technically the halfway point, but I spent so damn long on that second pink one I thought I was never going to finish. But the nice thing about that enormous pink stripe is it was big enough and tedious enough that now I feel like each row is actually gaining a bit of speed. I not only got the pink one finished, but got a good chunk of the way into the next white one, and anticipate finishing that one today. Now that I’ve got to this point, and was able to lay everything on the bed for a photo, I’ve realised this blanket is much, much larger than I’d planned. And it’s even two rows shorter than planned, because somewhere I miscounted the size of a stripe, and the totals on my chart come out to 248. I wanted it to be 500 rows from corner to corner, but oh well. I know now I can probably get away with 400 and still have a usable blanket for two grown adults. Or the next one, I can just use a smaller hook, but I’m not sure if anything smaller than the 5mm would even be comfortable without also changing the yarn weight. Though I have been wanting to do a blanket in wool, and then deliberately felt the hell out of it, but the thing that’s holding me back on that is the outrageous price it would surely be. Especially since I have no idea how to pre-determine how much yarn I might need, and bought an excess of everything so I could improvise and write down my totals as I went. I want to try to get this thing done as soon as possible though, so I’m going to laser focus on it so I can move on to the next project I want to do, which is also going to be heavily improvised and probably require me to buy more yarn despite being buried in it already. Previous post This pink stripe is going to be my death October 1, 2022 at 11:19 am Blanket’s looking great! I should really get back into knitting, my physical rehab doctor would be thrilled. I dropped off this corner of internet for a while because a depressed lizard and his crazed twink have been living rent free in my head to the point where the fam is going to be treks for Halloween but I’m glad you’re doing what’s best for yourself. October 2, 2022 at 3:14 pm I have been trying to figure out who the lizard and his twink are all day. But yeah, this corner of the internet has been insane and I’ve decided to just carve out a little cave for myself and stay here for a very long time. « This pink stripe is going to be my death \|\| This site is currently undergoing a massive overhaul. Links will be broken, and pages may be missing or not where you expect them to be. If you are unable to find something, you can contact me using this form.	2,729
September 17, 2022 One of the most vital aspects of a successful Drug rehab program is making use of psychotherapy. This strategy to Drug treatment uses one-on-one sessions to help people type via their experiences and emotions. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/271234/20220131/how-technology-can-help-you-get-rid-of-your-drug-addiction.htm makes use of numerous strategies to assist patients recoup more effectively. Many rehabs additionally take advantage of group therapy, which gives individuals the chance to develop close bonds with other individuals fighting with the same addiction. These relationships can assist individuals proceed their sobriety after they have completed therapy. When individuals are going through therapy for their dependency, they are usually unsure of just how to spend for the treatment. They might be able to get aid from their insurance coverage plan or via monetary help from friends and family. However, the cost of therapy and also the time dedication required for soberness can make quitting cold turkey a tough task. In this case, it is best to seek assistance from an expert that will certainly help them make the right decisions as well as help them accomplish soberness. Residential treatment is an excellent option for a lot of clients. This kind of program promotes growth and adjustment by getting rid of the addict from his or her comfort zone. It also makes certain that the addict has a strong assistance network in your home as well as is surrounded by a substance-free atmosphere. Nonetheless, regression is exceptionally unusual at a domestic rehab. Outpatient rehab is an alternative kind of Drug rehab. These centers offer the very same services as inpatient rehabs, yet clients participate in set up treatment sessions throughout the week. This form of rehab is a terrific selection if a person can continue working or looking after his/her family while in therapy. This program is less extensive than domestic rehabilitation, but it still offers the required devices for sobriety. Many drug abuser also deal with mental wellness problems that make them turn to drugs to cope with their signs and symptoms. Furthermore, these signs and symptoms usually intensify the effects of the drugs on their overall wellness. For that reason, dealing with both conditions is important to accomplishing recovery. https://postheaven.net/eddy072kenyatta/this-article-described-the-drug-addiction-healing is essential to look for the help of a physician in order to help clients deal with these problems. One more key part of addiction rehab is using therapy. Treatment helps customers recognize their emotional triggers and also develop healthy coping mechanisms. It additionally helps customers comprehend the impacts of their activities on their body and also brain. Moreover, treatment can help customers determine the imperfections in their actions and also thoughts. Through this, they can transform their negative behaviors and also thinking patterns. Finally, a good rehabilitation will certainly offer a tailored program for every individual. It will certainly provide treatments to deal with the physical, psychological, social, and also psychological requirements of each patient. It will certainly additionally be versatile, which is very crucial throughout the healing process. It is necessary to find a center that specializes in treating the specific needs of its people. Dependency is a massive trouble in the united state, and also lots of drugs are highly addictive. Dependencies can result in extreme psychological, physical, and psychological illness. Dependency is an outcome of a mix of biological and also ecological factors. While there are some protective elements that restrict the risk of dependency, others can raise the possibility of addiction. For instance, people with damaging childhood experiences go to a higher danger for reliance. These individuals are likewise more probable to take part in high risk actions. Behavioral therapy plays a major role in treating addiction. It includes the use of medication to curb desires and also stay clear of regression. Furthermore, lots of clients in therapy programs are additionally given support system. Several studies have actually revealed that specific therapy techniques can assist individuals conquer their addictions. Nonetheless, it is essential to keep in mind that the success price of a medication rehab program is dependent on the details addiction and also the conditions of the individual that needs it. The period of treatment is another aspect to think about. http://bennett0214tyler.xtgem.com/__xt_blog/__xtblog_entry/__xtblog_entry/28816671-what-should-you-anticipate-from-a-drug-dependency-healing-program?__xtblog_block_id=1#xt_blog takes longer than outpatient care. People receiving medication-assisted therapy for a minimum of 90 days are more likely to attain positive results than those who have much less extensive treatment. People that receive therapy for 3 years or longer have a much reduced opportunity of regression. A medicine rehab program will certainly assist individuals conquer dependency as well as go back to a healthy and productive life. With support and also therapies, these programs will certainly help a person develop self-confidence and develop favorable life modifications that will boost their lives. These may include cooking well balanced meals, taking part in a sober neighborhood, as well as finding tranquility as well as appreciation in their life.	5,861
Lee Sustar argues that the uproar about Russia in U.S. politics today is a sign of deeper disorientation caused by a power shift in the world economy. Share on Facebook Email this story Reddit THE POLITICIANS sounding off about Russia's influence in the U.S. election last year could be correct. Given the many documented contacts between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russian officials, operatives of the Kremlin may indeed have attempted a massive intervention in a U.S. presidential election. If true, that would be a remarkable turn of events just 25 years after the U.S. prevailed over the former USSR in the Cold War. But the debate about Russia is also a vehicle for a wider, multisided faction fight in the U.S. political establishment. This struggle involves not just the two main political parties, Republicans and Democrats, but the most powerful institutions of the U.S. state, including the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon and the State Department. At issue isn't just whether Trump leaned on Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the election, but how the U.S. should respond to its imperial disasters in Afghanistan and Iraq, the failure of the economy to fully overcome the devastation of the Great Recession, and the rise of China as both an economic and military rival of the U.S. There's a domestic dynamic, too, of course. The Democratic Party, still reeling from Hillary Clinton's disastrous America-is-already-great presidential campaign, is using Trump's Russia scandal to cover up for its own political crisis. For the Democrats, it's more convenient to point to Putin's alleged role in Trump's victory than to acknowledge that the candidate of their party had a deadening, status-quo message that couldn't turn out the party's most loyal supporters. IT'S NO surprise that alleged Russian involvement in the elections would lead to a political crisis in the U.S., as Trump opponents of all stripes seize on the allegations to try to weaken a man they see as a destabilizing and dangerous in U.S. politics. But the hypocrisy is rather staggering. Washington's outrage over supposed Russian meddling in U.S. elections comes more than a century after the State Department and the Marine Corps began changing regimes and rigging votes in Latin America. "In the slightly less than a hundred years from 1898 to 1994, the U.S. government has intervened successfully to change governments in Latin America a total of at least 41 times," wrote historian John Coatsworth in ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America. "That amounts to once every 28 months for an entire century." The U.S. took its election meddling around the globe after the Second World War, though its operations became a bit more discreet as the U.S. carried the banner of "democracy" during the Cold War. But the efforts were just as systematic as an old U.S. Marines excursion in Honduras. Political scientist Dov Levin of Carnegie Mellon University calculated that the U.S. intervened in presidential elections in other countries 81 times between 1946 and 2000. One major focus of U.S. electoral meddling was Italy, where the Communist Party was by far the biggest political organization following the Second World War. With the collaboration of U.S. labor union officials, the CIA orchestrated major interventions in Italian politics from 1948 into the 1950s. And the U.S. is still at it. The government-funded National Endowment for Democracy--a supposed NGO that includes the foreign policy arms of the Democratic and Republican Parties, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO--recruits and trains political operatives in a number of countries, doing "in the open what the Central Intelligence Agency has done surreptitiously for decades," wrote John Broder in the New York Times. DONALD TRUMP alluded to the sordid history of U.S. foreign policy when he challenged Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's characterization of Putin as a "killer." "There are a lot of killers," Trump said. "We have a lot of killers. Well, you think our country is so innocent?" Media commentators were taken aback over Trump's willingness to normalize Putin's repression. The Russian president has overseen not just military intervention in Ukraine and Syria, but the imprisonment of political dissidents and a clampdown on press freedom. And if there is no conclusive proof that the Russian government was involved, some 36 journalists have been killed in that country since 1992--and Russian law enforcement has been uninterested in pursing these cases. But in mainstreaming Putin, Trump isn't just possibly returning a favor to a prominent backer. He's trying to import Putin's strongman behavior into the U.S. to further his own political agenda of economic nationalism, militarism, severe restrictions on immigration and a law-and-order crackdown on civil and political rights. Does this political convergence mean that Trump is a Putin puppet? Certainly it's hard to keep track of the dizzying number of Trump-Russia connections--from former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's paid appearance with Putin at an RT television party in Moscow, to current Attorney General Jeff Sessions' meetings with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign, to Trump consultant Roger Stone's contact with the Guccifer 2.0, the alleged Russian hacker supposedly behind WikiLeaks' publication of Democratic National Committee emails. Then there's Trump's extensive business ties to Russia--the details of which are only partly known. But even if the most lurid allegations about the Trump-Putin bromance turn out to be true, the furor over Russia represents much more: An emerging debate about how the U.S. should respond to its imperial challenges--especially its economic and military decline relative to China. THE DEBATE is an agonizing one for the U.S. ruling class, for obvious reasons. The Republicans can complain about the weak economy of the Obama era, but can't entirely avoid the fact that a GOP White House oversaw the shattering financial crash of 2008. And the Bush-era neoconservatives can't speak too loudly about Obama's failure to prevent the rise of ISIS, since it was their wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that created the catastrophe in the first place. The captains of U.S. industry cashed in on globalization--for example, Apple used the rise of Chinese manufacturing to produce the iPhone, becoming the world's most valuable company in 2016. But China benefited more. China's annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached $11.4 trillion in 2016, a tenfold increase since 2002 and closing in on the U.S. figure of $17.9 trillion. By contrast, Russia's GDP for 2016 was just $1.23 trillion. For the U.S. capitalist class, it isn't hard to see which country is the main international competitor--even if the titans of the U.S. tech industry are reluctant to undertake a trade war with a country that's critical to their supply chain. This created a political opening for Trump and his "make America great again" campaign. Economic nationalism could appeal to the middle class and sections of workers hit by job losses and a decline in living standards, while also attracting sections of capital unable to tap in to the global marketplace or facing competition from imports. The nationalism also appealed to Pentagon hawks--both the ideological elements who built careers on hardline politics and the opportunists preparing for lucrative post-military lives as executives with defense contractors. And after Trump actually made it to the White House, there are the former Goldman Sachs executives on hand to ensure that Wall Street can keep making money despite the chaos in the Trump West Wing. THE TRUMP administration is a highly unstable operation, with new fissures opening up all the time. But at a moment when the U.S. ruling class is confused and disoriented, Trump can fill a vacuum. The Russia question, a relic of the Cold War from the last century, may give the anti-Trump political establishment a useful weapon. But to Trump, his adviser Steve Bannon and their inner circle, an alliance with Russia makes ideological, political and military sense. After all, it was the Obama administration that began looking to Russia to impose a settlement in the Syrian civil war. The Trump White House wants to build on the relationship with Russia to enable it to focus on China, something Obama's supposed "pivot to Asia" failed to accomplish. If this means turning a blind eye to Russian intervention in Ukraine and other former states of the ex-USSR, that's a price the new administration is willing to pay. The fact that Putin's authoritarianism dovetails so nicely with Trump's makes matters easier. Easier that is, until the results of the investigations into Trump's Russia ties come in. Trump, having denounced the FBI and the CIA, and accused the Obama administration of wiretapping him, has launched a fight with the institutions of the "deep state"--the permanent government rooted in the intelligence and national security agencies and the Pentagon. Leaving aside Trump's highly questionable tactic of fighting several powerful agencies at once, there is an underlying logic: An attempt to shake up the national security state in order to bend it to an aggressive, nationalist agenda. That program is reflected in Trump's proposed budget, which would savage social spending in favor of a 10 percent increase on a further military buildup--what Trump called a "public safety and national security budget." What comes next is anybody's guess. Further exposure of the Trump crowd's connections with Russia may force others to follow Flynn out of the White House and even to jail. On the other hand, Trump and Bannon could box in their critics in the national security establishment by confronting China--perhaps over North Korea's weapons program or through a Japan-China showdown over territorial waters. Before taking the reins in the Trump White House, Bannon predicted that the U.S. and China would fight a war within the next 10 years over islands in the South China. "There's no doubt about that," he said. Trump and Bannon's pitch to the U.S. military and national security apparatus is straightforward: Russia is a has-been power that can be afforded minor concessions to seal an alliance. The U.S. must instead gear up for the greatest imperial challenge it has faced since the Second World War--the rise of China. Stick with us, they say to the generals and the spies, and you'll get an endless stream of money and rising political clout. So far, the generals--if only to judge by the record number occupying top positions in the administration--seem to be preparing to carry out the program. Because in the end, "making American great again" isn't just a Trump campaign slogan. It's the driving force of U.S. imperialism, and it has been for more than a century. An unlikely turn of events has, for now, focused the debate on Russia, the main U.S. competitor of the last century, and the outlandish figures around Trump. But Washington's rival of the new century is China, and that's the focus of the Trump administration's drive to revive U.S. imperial power and increase its war-making capacity. Share on Facebook Email this story Reddit Further reading Donald Trump’s new cold war rivalry with China has put Chinese foreign students at U.S. universities squarely in the crosshairs. By a federal worker Will labor learn the lessons of the shutdown? With the threat of another shutdown coming later this month, federal workers and their unions have to get ready for another fight. Who shut down the shutdown? It wasn’t the Democrats, but federal workers, who finally put real pressure on the Trump administration to reopen the government. By a federal worker No more food banks, we need paychecks Hundreds came out to protest the government shutdown, holding up empty plates to symbolize the workers who are going hungry. By a federal worker With Trump’s lockout entering its fifth week, federal workers need to look for solutions to bring the government shutdown to an end. Further Reading Donald Trump’s new cold war rivalry with China has put Chinese foreign students at U.S. universities squarely in the crosshairs. By a federal worker Will labor learn the lessons of the shutdown? With the threat of another shutdown coming later this month, federal workers and their unions have to get ready for another fight. Who shut down the shutdown? It wasn’t the Democrats, but federal workers, who finally put real pressure on the Trump administration to reopen the government. By a federal worker No more food banks, we need paychecks Hundreds came out to protest the government shutdown, holding up empty plates to symbolize the workers who are going hungry. By a federal worker With Trump’s lockout entering its fifth week, federal workers need to look for solutions to bring the government shutdown to an end. How struggle sent a killer cop to jail For the first time in more than 50 years, a Chicago cop has been found guilty of murder while on duty — thanks to a movement. Getting organized for a socialist future If capitalism is a system presided over by a ruling class, then our side needs an organized and systematic alternative to turn the world right-side up. After a decade in exile, militaristic foreign policy extremists have returned to power under Trump--and they're driving toward a catastrophic war. Intersectionality is defined in very different ways, but the concept as developed by Black feminists can help advance Marxist theory and practice. Jen Roesch The occupation heard around the world Five years ago, Occupy Wall Street erupted onto the political landscape--and gave voice to the class anger brewing beneath the surface of U.S. society. Previously published by the International Socialist Organization. Material on this Web site is licensed by SocialistWorker.org, under a Creative Commons (by-nc-nd 3.0) license, except for articles that are republished with permission. Readers are welcome to share and use material belonging to this site for non-commercial purposes, as long as they are attributed to the author and SocialistWorker.org.	14,782
Delegates from Russia, Iran and Turkey lead talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan, where U.S. involvement is minimal compared to other recent attempts to end Syria's civil war. The main players in Syria's long-running civil war are meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, Monday for talks that were arranged by Russia. The discussion seeks to bolster a cease-fire agreement that hasn't ended violence in Syria, but officials say they don't expect a breakthrough. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura is playing a role at the talks, which will run through Tuesday. As the meetings got underway Monday, Russia's Tass news agency reports that Russia, Iran and Turkey plan to sign an agreement to "create a trilateral mechanism" that will enforce the cease-fire that was reached at the end of December. "The talks are the latest of many in Syria's nearly six-year civil war, but they're unusual in that they do not have significant presence from the United States or the United Nations. Regional powers Russia and Turkey, with backing from Iran, arranged the discussions. The talks are meant to build on a recent cease-fire, although representatives of the government stress they don't have high expectations for a breakthrough." The American ambassador to Kazakhstan is at the talks at Russia's invitation, the AP reports. The news agency adds, "For the first time in internationally sponsored talks, Syrian armed groups — not political — are leading the opposition. Thirteen rebel factions, including from the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, sent delegates." As the talks in Astana begin, the U.N. is launching a conference in Helsinki aimed at supporting Syrian refugees and delivering humanitarian aid to some 13.5 million people in Syria. From Moscow, NPR's Lucian Kim reports that the Kremlin has sought to depict the talks as complementing the U.N.'s attempts to end a crisis that it says has affected more than 22 million people. "Russia says the main goal of the talks in Kazakhstan is to firm up a cease-fire that went into effect at the end of December," Lucian says. According to Tass, Russia and its partners in the Syrian talks say they'll also support the upcoming U.N. talks between the two sides of the conflict; those sessions are scheduled to be held in Geneva on Feb. 8. Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.	2,530
With the dust settled again there will be rise in rape cases. Why are we Indians so selective about our intrication to the details. We do not follow as we preach. On saturday 24th October, 2020 many Indians followed this tradition of inviting 9 girls to their home and feeding them. It is an old age tradition that is followed across India. We Indians cherish it. We celebrate Navratri with huge pomp and glory. Today was the day when the idols of Ma Durga were immersed in water and we bid adieu to her. Have we asked her to take our sins away? Can she do that? I ask you to answer that but on the other hand everyone will now go to eid then chhath puja then diwali and many more. But the question remains the same. Are we doing enough? There have been many hathras styled events and many worse than that. Have we learnt our lessons no. What is it that we don’t understand? The fact that we are so self obsessed and our ego gets the better of us. It is tough for us to accept girls the way they are. How and when will this end. As you write I want you to understand the exhilarating pain of every Indian woman. She is looked upon, teased, asked to lose weight and whatnot. Think for a second if your entire life you are dictated to this, to do that. How will you feel? The dust settles there. I do not agree. There will be some reposts on instagram, some of you will add relatable images on your instagram story or you will share this article on whatsapp. That is not enough? What I want you to do is become more human and less devil. Be courteous to your fellow women folk around you. Start talking and lend an ear. Do not judge and don’t try to come to conclusions. If she wants to go and cry let her cry but don’t force her to do things. We are a nation of 130 crore and if we take it upon ourselves to look after each other then such miscreants will automatically be punished. We just have stopped harbouring them and I just don’t want you to be a passive reader. I want you to rise and in a time bound manner make this a better place. Just start helping others. That is all I ask. Stand for what is right and don’t justify wrong things. Even when a woman is abused on social media and you try to ignore those comments section then you are no different. I will not so that they will transform into Maa Kali and kill the devils. I will say that remember that they are the one who give lives. They can take it away also. Don’t test your patience. Be courteous to everyone and follow what your heart says. Aurat word in itself means life. Give life and pounder the cream. Never will you feel alone if you help others and remember it is the greatest joy to keep the creator of life happy and smile. Up Next Gudi Padwa – All you need to know Don't Miss You may like Traditional wear for girls is always a heads up! His post is winning hearts all over the internet!! Click to comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ culture Published on October 15, 2021 By Dussehra: Victory of Good over evil, is celebrated on the 10th day of month Ashvina. Victory means Prabhu Rama over Ravana in famous hindu epic Ramayan. Also it means the end of Durga puja and Ramlila. In Ramayan, Ravana kidnaps god Rama’s wife Sita, as god Rama & Laxman cuted of the nose of ravna’s sister surpanakha. So to claim vengeance on them Ravana kidnapped sita. To get back maa sita Prabhu Rama and Laxman faught battle against Ravana with the help of hanuman, Subriv & other Vanar sena. In this battle Ravana’s brother Bhibishan also helped god Ram against Ravana . At the end of Prabhu Ram wins the battle and rescues Maa Sita. Thereafter this victory is celebrated by burning the statue of Ravan, Kumbhakarn, his son Meghnath. Dusshersa is a climax of long day celebration of Navratri. The nine days of Navratri is the time to reflect on oneself, observe silence & practice fasting. Fasting cleanses the body of toxins and silence purifies speech & mind. What does Dasehra means Das means ten and hara means take away. Which came after Navratri means nine nights if darkness. On each day of Navratri we pray to that form of goddess durga to take away that darkness of ignorance within us. After that on tenth day on the occasion of Dasehra we burn all the evil, bad things, thoughts, bad habits inside us in that fire in the form of Ravna as evil inside us. Ravana is not the demon or evil, you yourself are one. In the battele of Ram and Ravana, god Ram had been invoked Durga May to help him win the battle against Ravana. We also should invoked Durga to help us in gaining back our Sita. Sita? It is awareness inside is which has been traped in maya surround us. To make our soul clean and pure we have to burn the evil in the fire by fighting and winning battle against evil. many evils and negative aura lives within us, we should overcome this with good things. This is what Dasehra symbolise. It is a supreme festival of Hindu culture with true meaning. Furthermore it also symbolize the feminism as the battle is to bring back maa Sita from the Ravana. Whenever person crosses his limit, go beyond it and try to hurt marayda of stree. She will transform into Durga and will punish that person to death. Rama won the battles and the light and happiness spreaded. its our choice, either we want to be Ravana & get entrapped in the worldly pleasure or want to Rama (A spiritual being).To symbolise and to aware Dashera is celebrated do its called, Dussehra: Victory of Good over evil! culture Published on April 21, 2021 By Ram Navami celebrated as the birthday of the lord Ram. It is celebrated in the festival of spring (Navratri), the 9 days long festival of the Navratri comes to the end with the celebration of the epic festival of Ram Navami. He is particularly important to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, as the seventh avatar of God Vishnu. The festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the waxing moon in the Hindu month of Chaitra. Beautiful thing about this festival is, people this holy occasion by observing fast, reading Rama’s legendary stories and chanting the mantras. Not only people so this things but they also decorate the house and temple. The visit the lord Vishnu temple and worship him. This year people can’t visit the temple due to the deadly virus, but surely they will stay at home and pray for the betterment of the current condition. According to sources, the muhurta for ram Navami madhyahna will begin at 11:02 am and end at 1:38 pm. The Navami tithe will begin at 12:43 am on April 21 and end at 12:35 am on April 22. It is believed that lord ram was born during madhyahna period or the middle of the day. Significance of Ram Navami celebration: As per Hindu mythology, Lord Ram is the central figure in Ramayana and was born to Queen Kausalya and King Dasharatha in Ayodhya. Ram Navami is celebrated to mark the descent of the Vishnu avatar of Lord Ram on earth. Lord Ram is mentioned not in the ancient Hindu scriptures, but also in Jain and Buddhist texts. This is how we can celebrate Ram Navami at home: Clean a nice place or the mandir at home. Lord Rama is the main deity worshipped during Rama Navami, so place a photo or an idol of Lord Ram. Along with Lord Rama, Mata Kaushalya, King Dasharatha, Sita and the three younger brothers of Lord Rama – Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna are also worshipped. Hanuman Ji, the biggest devotees of Lord Ram must be worshipped on is auspicious day. Involve all members of the family in the Ram Navami puja. Traditionally young girls in the family put teeka on the forehead of all in the family. Ganga jal, roli and aipun are sprinkled on the gods, and then rice is showered on the deities or photos of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman Ji. After prayers, everyone perform the aarti and bhajans are sung. Finally, prasad is distributed among all family members.	8,363
by Sofie Lyeklint \| Mar 5, 2014 \| EU and International, Guest blogs, Property, Mortgages, Pensions, Investments and Money Reeling Eurozone economies and recovering giants are all banking on China’s next move. In the wake of George Osborne’s visit to Beijing last year, a Treasury press release noted that Chinese students make up the largest group of foreign nationals in UK schools and universities. The UK is also the number one destination for Chinese investment in Europe, attracting nearly £2 billion in the last year alone and more than 600 Chinese businesses who now have a presence in the UK. According to the Chinese language property portal juwai.com, 63 million Chinese people have sufficient wealth and income to purchase international property. Along with other Chinese language property portals such as soufun.com, juwai.com is saturated with prime property listings in first tier UK cities and in other Eurozone locations. According to the international property portal, Propertywire.com , improved trade relations between the UK and China along with an increasing number of Chinese children being educated in top schools here are among the key factors driving Chinese investment in prime central London property. The company behind Soufun.com organises overseas purchasing tours for Chinese seeking to buy properties and a chance to live in the EU. Juwai.com also hosts extensive information on whether buying a house will lead to permanent residence in the respective jurisdictions. Conversely, the English language version of the same site is cleverly marketed to overseas property agents eager to break into the Chinese market. Is this a win: win situation for everyone? Martin Chavez is a real estate professional who has lived and worked in Beijing for over 8 years. We were colleagues in Beijing and I called him up as I was very keen to hear his thoughts on this matter. To my surprise, Martin’s first thought was: “Sofie, this topic isn’t very fresh.” Unbeknown to many people in the UK, outbound property investment has already been talked about in China for two or three years. Martin said: “I first came to China in 2005 and have since noted that things change at a faster pace, especially economical change which, unavoidably in first instance, affects the lighter areas of society, such as fashion, pop art and overseas travel. Every 3 years, there seems to be a change in the population’s taste and buying patterns.” The growth in outbound property investment According to Martin, this change has been gradual and largely driven by foreign travel becoming more and more widespread. Most urban Chinese with decent salaries have now had holidays abroad in for instance Europe, the United States, South East Asia and even in exotic destinations such as the Maldives, United Arab Emirates and South America. Despite controls, travel to Japan and Taiwan is also on the rise. As Chinese people become well-travelled they also become increasingly influenced by global trends (this was definitely not the case when I left China in 2008). Similarly, Chinese private investment tastes have changed in recent years. “The bubble has already burst on the numerous touzi gong si (or investment companies) that popped up all over town. They would rent a top floor in the best buildings in Beijing or Shanghai. Within a year they would already be gone. People are now are now looking for more stable investments overseas and I have made quite few outbound investment referrals to the US and Europe. Chinese investors could easily get higher yields in Chinese second and even third tier cities, such as Ningbo or Wuhan, than they could ever dream of in the US or in Europe. So the outbound property investments are not driven by rate of return alone.” Martin said. Without state-backed pensions, health care or education, the Chinese save almost half their income as a hedge against personal misfortune. Risk averse investing is then the preferred method of capital growth. They also feel that security overseas is higher and is not turning a blind eye to lingering corruption, political and financial instability in mainland China. If anything would happen in the mainland, money could diminish or even evaporate and many wealthy Chinese worry about how to get their money out of China if China ever returns to times of political turmoil. Economic crimes, such as bribery and embezzlement, and crimes against national symbols and treasures, i.e. theft of cultural relics, are all capital offences in China. Investing overseas is a good way to not lose your head. Corrupt government officials and other crooks aside, changing lifestyle choices, emigration and education are commonly cited as the main driving forces behind the increase in Chinese investment in foreign property. Perhaps they are planning to send their sons or daughters to be educated abroad. 85% of China’s wealthy now want to educate their children abroad and over 60% of China’s wealthy are engaged in overseas investment or immigration. “Not to mention gaining mianzi (or face), the mere fact that you can boast to your friends about owning prime real estate in London or the US something that is highly sought after” says Martin. The sociological concept of losing or gaining face is a fundamental characteristic of Chinese society and culture. It is an abstract concept which can best be described as a combination of social standing, reputation, influence, dignity and honour. In Chinese culture, you can liu mianzi (or grant face) which means that you give someone a chance to regain lost honour. You can also shi mian zi (or lose face) or zheng mianzi (or fight for face) which is similar to the western concept of “keeping up with the Joneses”. You can also gei mianzi (or give face) that is, show respect for someone’s feelings. Causing someone to “lose face” means that they have been lowered in the eyes of their surroundings. Conversely, “gaining face” raises their self-worth. When I first arrived in China I was oblivious to these subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) codes of conduct. Over time I began to understand and appreciate how the concept of face dictates social interactions. It naturally follows that this concept would also greatly influence the Chinese’s investment patterns. London is seen as the Centre of Europe Top that off with top to toe brand wear, a kid in a private high school overseas and a golden visa to boot and you are at the very least keeping up with the Wang’s. It is clearly not the UK’s financial (or meteorological) climate that has led to a 500% increase in Chinese inward property investors to the UK in the past three years. Many Chinese property investors have been coming to London because they see it as the centre of Europe. Others already hold US properties and want to diversify their investment portfolio. In UK prime locations, the land in itself is so valuable that it is a safe investment in turbulent times. Coupling that with the pound staying low which in turn has made London properties fantastic value for foreign currency buyers. Overseas property investments not only ensure a (relatively) good nights’ sleep but also adds a great deal of mianzi (or face). Greece and Cyprus currently offer fast-track permit processes for purchases of at last 250,000 euros and 300,000 euros respectively. Portugal’s programme has a minimum of 500,000 euros. This is significantly less than the UK, which requires an investment of at least £1 million for Tier 1 (Investor) visas. Governments in Cyprus, Greece, Portugal and Spain are courting wealthy Chinese homebuyers. Depressed housing prices and a chance to obtain a golden visa is being sold to Chinese investors. In Portugal, half a million euros will give a Chinese investor a good return on their investment as well as enjoying EU benefits they don’t have in China. For instance, the visa will allow for their children being educated in Europe. Some visas also allow buyers to live and travel freely within Europe’s borderless Schengen Area. As with the UK, the Euro has steadily decreased since 2010, making it more affordable for foreign buyers. Cashing in on EU Passports Malta has recently been at loggerheads with Brussels as they offer a full EU passport to investors. Malta has decided to sell passports (and European Citizenship) for 650,000 euros to non-EU residents. This is without any prerequisite whatsoever, not even residence in Malta. Unsurprisingly this has angered MEPs who debated the issue on Wednesday on 15th January 2014. Regardless of what their motivations or ulterior motives are, Chinese property investors will continue to flock to Europe. So far it appears to be focused on London and other first tier cities. Chinese buyers have tended to focus on the prime residential areas, such as Kensington and Chelsea and along the River Thames, in upper price bands and in new build high-rise flats, rather more than on the resale markets. However, this is likely to change over time as the first tier markets become more saturated and Chinese investors become more familiar with second tier cities. I have lived in Brighton for two years and it is incredible how often I overhear conversations in Mandarin when I am out and about. We should definitely watch this space. Author Recent Posts Solicitor at Engleharts Solicitors Sofie has recently joined the firm and heads up the Employment department specialising in all aspects of employment law. She has a particular interest in Tribunals and drafting employment contracts, staff handbooks and settlement agreements. Sofie also works closely with our Commercial Property and Residential Property departments specialising in Collective Enfranchisement, which is flat owners entitlement to collectively purchase their own freehold, the Right to Manage and Lease Extensions. She is committed to reaching the best commercial outcome for our clients. Sofie speaks fluent Swedish and Chinese and graduated with a Chinese & Politics honours degree from School of Oriental and African Studies in 2005. She then spent a few years living and working in China before returning to the UK to qualify as a solicitor. In her free time she enjoys scuba diving, boxercise, running and travelling. She can be contacted at +44 (0)1273 204411 or by email to sofie@engleharts.co.uk Latest posts by Sofie Lyeklint (see all) Zero Hours’ Contract Interview - February 19, 2015 New Changes to Holiday Pay and Commission – Euromillions, anyone? - October 9, 2014 Work/Life Balance – Flexible Working - July 8, 2014 Related posts: When the Chinese burst on the scene, will you be ready? There has been a 500% increase in Chinese inward property investment to the UK in... It’s all happening in Asia Originally posted on 10 Jan 2014 I read today an interesting item from Clifford Chance... ‘Big Four’ accountants’ face US suspension over China audits The Chinese market is enormous. It’s tantalising. But there are difficult issues that emerge every... Guest Blog: The rise of the Chinese middle class The other day I was talking to Sofie Persson, a solicitor with Engleharts Solicitors in... Accountants, Auditors and Other Professionals (147) Employment (59) Lawyers (118) Miscellaneous, Tax, Business and Management Issues (192) Property, Mortgages, Pensions, Investments and Money (31) Recent Posts Mysteries Galore June 6, 2022 Information about Telephone and Internet Banking November 15, 2021 Information about Falls: Why they happen and how to avoid them November 15, 2021 Information about the Autumn Budget 2021 November 15, 2021 Information about Running a Club Lottery or Raffle November 15, 2021 Diabetes, Painless Glucose Testing and More November 12, 2021 Information about Blood November 12, 2021 The British High Street November 11, 2021 How effective was medieval medicine? November 11, 2021 Superstitions November 11, 2021 Archives Select Month June 2022 (1) November 2021 (11) October 2021 (31) June 2021 (12) May 2021 (24) April 2021 (2) November 2019 (1) June 2019 (2) May 2019 (2) April 2019 (1) June 2018 (1) March 2015 (7) February 2015 (9) January 2015 (4) December 2014 (7) November 2014 (9) October 2014 (13) September 2014 (14) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (21) May 2014 (22) April 2014 (6) March 2014 (20) February 2014 (66) January 2014 (163)	12,567
Below is a collection of feedback received from guests since we took over the running of Belle Vue in Spring 2017. We had a very enjoyable week at Belle Vue Gîtes. We stayed in La Chouette - it was clean, spacious and very well equipped. The facilities at Belle Vue are excellent - heated pool, hot-tub and games in the garden were used every day. The location is very good - about 30 mins from La Rochelle, 10 mins from supermarkets and 2 mins from boulangerie. Jon and Carine are excellent hosts too - very friendly and keen for everyone to have a fabulous holiday (which we did!). We really enjoyed our stay, it's a lovely place! It's a beautiful property. Perfect for children with it's large garden and enclosed pool and games areas. Lots to entertain grown ups and children alike. Carine and John are very friendly, hospitable and helpful hosts. We would love to return there one day (the sooner the better!) We loved staying at the gite and in particular the garden, pool and friendly atmosphere. It was great to be able to relax as our boys had a whale of a time, playing outdoors, staying up late and making new friends. The gite itself was comfortable and well equipped and made a great base for exploring the area. We just wish we'd had more time to explore more beaches and try some of the local restaurants. Belle Vue is a snug home from home. It is compact but has everything you need and is set in a lovely garden with orchard. The owners of the property are fantastic and make you feel very welcome. They are there to answer any questions you have and help you out in any way they can, nothing is too much trouble. Our family loved the pool, hot tub and made use of the bikes and badmington set. I would definitely recommend this property for a relaxed week away Had a lovely week in La Campagne in early June. The bijou gite had excellent facilities and is an ideal base for seeing the many delights of the Vendee. We really enjoyed the beautiful pool and extensive outdoor space. Jon & Carrine made us very welcome and we would definitely return if visiting the area again. Highlights of the week were trips to Green Venice, La Rochelle and I’le De Re. June 2018 - La Campagne The Belle Vue Gites were ideal for our holiday as a large family of 21, including 11 children. The accommodation was great as it enabled us each to have our own 'space' whilst also allowing us to eat together at the large table in the BBQ area, with the smaller round tables nearby for the children. There was plenty of activity available in the form of a lovely swimming pool, large safe garden (within which the children loved to play 'hide and seek') and which provided shady spots with deckchairs and small tables and chairs for our use. There were also around 10 bicycles of various sizes which nearly everyone used at some time or another, in particular to fetch the bread and croissants first thing in the morning. Jon and Carine are a lovely couple who were very helpful and gave us brochures and suggestions of things to do and where to visit. I would thoroughly recommend this place for a holiday with family or friends. I stayed with my family in Rossignol for one week. We had such a wonderful week there. The gite was very comfortable and well equipped and Carine and Jon were very welcoming, friendly hosts. We loved the garden and got a lot of use out of the swimming pool & play equipment and the grandchildren were greatly impressed with the hot tub. There are good beaches not far away for days out. We enjoyed ourselves so much we immediately booked again for next year. We absolutely loved our stay at Belle Vue. Although we had the smallest of the gites we really liked it and would definitely stay there again - you can eat your breakfast looking into the garden orchard and it is very peaceful. The children loved their little bunk room and playing in the garden and pool/hot tub, so we spent several days just relaxing on site. Carine and Jon and their children were great hosts - extremely friendly and helpful - and the gite was spotlessly clean which I mention because it's not always the case and we appreciated it. We had a lovely week at one of the gites here, La Chouette. Jon and Carine, the new owners, were lovely and made us feel at home. The gite was very well equipped and clean, excellent amenities and well furnished, and with local information provided. Jon and Carine were on hand to offer advice about places to go to. Our two children loved playing with their children, and the others who were staying in the other 3 gites. Excellent facilities which have recently been renovated. Would definitely recommend! Thanks for a lovely stay, we really enjoyed staying here and would come again.	5,153
OT – 1:17-18 Jerusalem pleads for help, but no one comforts her. Regarding his people, the LORD has said, “Let their neighbors be their enemies! Let them be thrown away like a filthy rag!” “And the LORD is right,” she groans, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands. None will listen but the Lord The result of rebellion is sure & devastating Who can heal it? The wound is too deep! NT – 9:1-4Jesus went on to say, “I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!” Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain. No one else was there. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance changed, and his clothing became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly process could ever make it. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. NT Flash Points: “See” the Kingdom, means see And seeing gives “authority” to be the least, and servant of all That’s when you get so fed up with other ‘drivers’ that you imagine putting a figurative plow blade on the front of your car (or Bible). reason to resist – hint: Not Edifying! Therefore, not fruitful.	1,338
During the opening plenary of the 2nd annual meeting of the Placemaking Leadership Council (PLC) in Pittsburgh, Salin Geevarghese of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) delivered an impassioned plea: “We need places and spaces that restore human connection when there are so many factors going against these connections,” he explained. “We need a movement—one that is rooted in change not just for places, but for people as well.” Placemaking is at its heart collective and community-centered—it offers a wealth of resources and avenues for ordinary citizens to become active agents in the shaping of their built environments. This grassroots movement is a powerful, powerful thing, particularly in a time when economic elites and organized interest groups seem to be the only folks with any real impact on U.S. government policy. One thing is certain, though, after the Pittsburgh meeting: The call for Placemaking—for healthy, safe, vibrant Places for everyone—is growing louder and louder, and it is reverberating in communities worldwide. Since its April 2013 inaugural meeting in Detroit, Michigan, the PLC maintains its commitment to bringing together community advocates, national and international organizations, scholars, city leaders, artists, and thought leaders in order to address these issues and build a common agenda for Placemaking. With a membership base that now exceeds 700 people (and counting!), the rapid growth of the PLC mirrors trends that are happening within the Placemaking field more broadly. This year, PLC members from across the globe convened in Pittsburgh for two days to determine the best approaches for building a broad coalition around this new international social cause. Throughout the meeting, it became more and more clear to us that Placemaking is indeed a movement, and we are all at the frontlines. In the second of two plenary sessions at the 2014 Pittsburgh meeting, panelist Tyler Norris of Kaiser Permanente pointed out the importance of becoming multilingual as Placemakers. “Whatever your North Star is,” he said, “whatever your mission, we have one common strategy—Placemaking.” Indeed, the constellation of issues united under the banner of Placemaking is vast, and the 2014 meeting was organized around nine of these core agendas: Streets as Public Places Place Governance and Local Ownership Equitable and Fair Communities Building a Culture of Health Community Creativity and Local Talent Even though—or because—members of the PLC represent vastly different organizations and interests, Placemaking is the common strategy that is fueling even the most unlikely of collaborations and public/private partnerships. These partnerships were the focus of the second of two plenary sessions in Pittsburgh, entitled Why Placemaking Matters: Making the Case & Building a Base. Here, representatives from four vastly different organizations shared with us their pioneering programs, why Placemaking is inherent in their mission, and how they are advancing this agenda on local, regional, and national scales. What do Southwest Airlines, the National Association of Realtors, and Kaiser Permanente have in common? What unites AARP and Main Street? Placemaking, of course. Indeed, with Placemaking at their center and despite their vastly different “North Stars,” each of these organizations has partnered with PPS to launch groundbreaking initiatives that link issues of health, housing, preservation, economic development, community building, downtown revitalization, transportation, and sustainability. Below is a highlight reel of each of these projects/partnerships: In April 2014, Southwest Airlines launched their first official Placemaking program, Heart of the Community. Through a multi-year partnership with PPS, this corporate grant program encourages local volunteerism and empowers communities across the country to reimagine, revitalize, and redesign their public spaces. Southwest provides grants through numerous corporate philanthropy programs—they work with the American Red Cross, for example, and support a variety of environmental and disaster relief programs—but they wanted to do something different. After speaking with employees at all different levels and in each of their national locations about social issues that they would like to see addressed, Southwest found that responses consistently revolved around a single idea: people wanted to make their own communities better places to live. After an initial meeting with PPS, Southwest set up an informational webinar for its employees about Placemaking, which generated tremendous interest. Recognizing the vital role that public spaces play in our communities, many of Southwest’s employees immediately pledged to volunteer in their own cities on various Placemaking initiatives. That interest is echoed throughout their 90 plus passenger cities. The 2015 call for applications generated nearly 40 responses by multi-sector partners with ideas for revitalizing and reimagining the most important public spaces in their cities. Heart of the Community represents a pivotal moment in the Placemaking movement, and the program allows Southwest Airlines to work on very local scales while still advancing a national cause. Another initiative that centralizes the importance of Placemaking is AARP’s Livable Communities program, which began in 2005 and focuses on improving the quality of life for older adults by promoting the development of safe, accessible, and vibrant communities for everyone. In order to stay healthy—physically, socially, and emotionally—people need an environment that supports mobility and promotes active living. A breadth of research shows direct correlations between our ability to age well and our connection to the community. Nonetheless, we often design our communities in ways that create barriers to maintaining this connectivity, particularly for older adults. Transportation planning has not been integrated into land use planning, for example, so we have housing that is disconnected from services or community life, streets and sidewalks that are unsafe for walking, and roads that have been built for cars not people. AARP works for policy change in housing, transportation, and land use, and it has championed “Complete Streets” at all levels of government. These are issues that affect not just the aging population, but also the entire community. Livable Communities brings all of these challenges together in a comprehensive framework and requires stakeholders that wouldn’t otherwise interact to come together to think of common solutions. It also integrates key issues that are essential to Placemaking. Indeed, “the age-friendly city” is a locus where built environment issues (housing, transportation, outdoor spaces and buildings) and social environment issues (community support and health services, communication and information, employment, and social inclusion) intersect. Placemaking matters to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in some very practical ways, since vibrant communities and great places to live in inevitably leads to good business for realtors. Holly Moskerintz outlined this formula succinctly: Vibrant communities create desirable neighborhoods, desirable neighborhoods help grow real estate markets, and Placemaking helps to create these desirable neighborhoods. NAR introduced their first Placemaking Initiative in 2012 with a pilot project in Michigan, where they worked with the Michigan Association of Realtors to implement “Lighter Quicker Cheaper” strategies in a Lansing neighborhood. After the success of this project, NAR rolled out a nation-wide community outreach program, which provides technical and financial assistance to help state and local realtor associations initiate Placemaking activities in their communities in areas such as affordable housing, walkability, green building, and sustainable transportation. Along with funding Placemaking projects through micro-grants and “Smart Growth” grants, NAR has formed valuable partnerships (with PPS, Team Better Block, and Main Street, for example) and has published a range of resources, including an extensive Placemaking Guide as well as a blog and a series of webinars and presentations. The National Association of Realtors has learned that Placemaking can be undertaken by anyone in a community, but what is often needed is someone to take the lead or initiative. Who better to do this than Realtors, who are already deeply engaged in their communities, and who are likely to know where to focus efforts to improve a place most effectively. As an integrated health delivery system, Kaiser Permanente (KP) has a great stake in maintaining the health of their members and in the health of the communities they serve. The bottom line as a nonprofit organization is that they do better when people are healthier. “From a healthcare perspective,” as Total Health Partnerships Vice President Tyler Norris observed, “there is nothing more important than Placemaking.” Placemaking is about a sense of belonging, and KP's research suggests there is no greater predictor of a person’s health status than having a sense of belonging. To create this, we need places that are inclusionary, welcoming, and joyful. When we have access to safe places in which to be physically active, and when we have access to healthy, fresh, local food in our communities, we are actually addressing two of the three most important things we can do for our overall health—“Eat healthier, move more, find joy.” Since the burden for treating preventable chronic disease is plaguing the physical and fiscal health of the nation, KP recognizes the need and value of investing in the thing that creates good health to begin with—place. In every visit that one of the 9.5 million members made to one of KP’s clinicians, patients are asked how many days a week they get moderate to vigorous physical exercise. “If our doctors are telling people they need to walk, run, dance, or bike but they’re not creating environments that make it safe and possible to do so,” Norris explained, “then we’re creating a demand for which there is not an adequate supply.” The health sector must lead in Placemaking, which is why Kaiser Permanente engages numerous national partnerships to help connect patients with safe, convenient, affordable community resources that support walking and physical activity. National Main Street Center The mission of National Main Street Center is to create better, stronger, and more vibrant places in America’s downtowns and commercial districts. In the 35 years since its establishment, the organization has provided over 2000 communities with an organizing framework that enables them to become active agents in the revitalization of their downtowns. Using the “Main Street Four Point Approach,” their Placemaking formula has four core components: (1) Organization, which ensures that there is always one person “on the ground”—a Main Street manager who is responsible for recruiting volunteers, creating partnerships, and connecting with local government; (2) Economic Restructuring, which is the heart of the program. Main Street serves some of the most distressed areas in the country, with 61 percent of the communities qualifying for the low/moderate income census tract, so bringing people and jobs back to these areas is paramount; (3) Design, which is a key part of this restructuring process, focusing on building restoration and the creation of better streetscapes and transportation structures; and (4) Promotion, which considers ways to draw people downtown. In concluding the panel discussion, Patrice Frey, National Main Street Center’s President and CEO, posed a challenge to the group: “Placemaking—for the sake of creating better environments for people—is an incredibly powerful thing,” she acknowledged, “but we need to make more explicit links between Placemaking and better economic outcomes.” This will make it easier to show policymakers why this work is worthy of their support and investment. Partners in Place While steering AARP’s Livable Communities program at the state level, Senior Advisor Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur has recognized that no single issue is going to “capture the day,” as she explained during her panel presentation. It may not be aging that gets Placemaking on the agenda, she admitted, it might instead be health, travel, or economic development. But, as Placemakers with a common goal, we need to be “nimble enough to jump when the opportunity presents itself (…) we need to move forward together to make the changes that make truly great places for people to live.” Here at PPS, we could not agree more, and balancing our individual commitments with this collective “nimbleness” is the very heart of the PLC. PPS honors each of these partnerships, and we continue to be inspired by these forward-thinking individuals and organizations that are centralizing Placemaking and recognizing its potential for transforming…well, everything. As this panel so strongly affirmed, and as Kaiser Permanente’s Tyler Norris reiterated near the discussion’s close: “The [Placemaking] movement already exists. It’s happening. It’s everywhere. We’re all in this already and the real question is how do we shine a light on it, celebrate it, hold up the stories.” We were thrilled to celebrate and share so many of these stories at this year’s meeting of the PLC in Pittsburgh. It is heartening to know that despite the many institutional challenges that continue to stand in the way of so many determined Placemaking efforts, and even in the face of “all the factors that are working against [restoring] human connections,” to echo Salin Geevargheese’s opening comments, change is happening, and we are all a part of it. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. Here is some highlighted text from the article. Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system. Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system. Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system. Bulleted List Item 1 Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system. Bulleted List Item 2 Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.	15,863
We’re only a week into February 2019, and it’s very clear that energetically things have changed considerably. Much more to come throughout this year so be flexible in all ways because quote unquote “reality” is in grand and glorious transmutation now more than ever before due to the current physical level Separation of Worlds. And if “reality” is in transmutation then we Volunteers and Earth certainly are too but in these latest NEW and very different ways. I mentioned in a Comment recently that I’ve been perceiving for the past few months—like it’s being repeatedly transmitted—that we’re in the Separation of Worlds right now, not in the near or distant future but right here, right now. So far it doesn’t look like what many of us thought it might but who cares! What’s important is that it’s finally happening so let go of more expectations and just be present in it, and if and when needed steer from your HighHeart, not your head. Head is old lower and not remotely capable. You’ve now got to use your HighHeart ability to FEEL to consciously discern “reality”, people, places, events and situations etc. Don’t think in those old familiar small linear ways anymore, perceive now using your much larger and proper NEW tool which is your entire quantum being from your HighHeart center. Look at “reality”, any and all realities, from your NEW higher and larger focal point where you sense through nonlinear Higher Awareness feeling/sensing instead of lower linear thinking from your head. Everything has changed, again, and we’re all feeling it in different ways and this is “normal” for where we are now within this entire Ascension Process. Some other phenomena I want to include here is how I’ve been clairvoyantly Seeing with my eyes open and when I blink, certain deep gemstone colors in beautiful kaleidoscope-like patterns…almost every time I go into my bathroom and get near the sinks, aka water in the plumbing. Weird I know, but. Back in December 2018, the decade long drought here in southern California was suddenly ended energetically I felt and it’s been raining and snowing off and on ever since. I’ve always loved the rain so this is wonderful to me. My physical body can more comfortably cope with the higher and higher frequency Photon Light and other super high frequency Light energies when there’s cooler temps and moisture in the air and ground. For the most part of the past twenty years it’s been abnormally hot, cloudless and there’s been next to no rain at all. It’s been constant baking in longer and longer periods of high heat and evolutionary NEW Light energies, so to finally feel this December 2018 shift was a blessing. As a child I often used my precious annual birthday wish on, “Please, make it rain!”, that’s how much I’ve always loved the cleansing, calming and softening of physical reality that rainfall causes. When I felt the energies change in December 2018 in a split-second from longstanding drought to a LOT of rain and snow here, I knew in that moment, exactly like I did when the January 20, 2019 Lunar eclipse happened and in a split-second the old Team Dark negativity done to and within the Moon was completely and permanently removed, that very big and important improvements have taken place. Longstanding things, energies, weather patterns, physical and energetic structures, lifestyles, belief systems, human consciousness, human biology, human DNA and so much more have been and rapidly continue being evolved in a seeming split-second now. And much more of this is coming due to the Separation of Worlds that’s happening now, in these ways we didn’t expect. After Seeing deep pure gemstone colored ruby-red, emerald-green, sapphire-blue and other rich colors in stunning and different complex patterns every time I was near water in my bathroom and/or kitchen sink, I used my HighHeart Higher Awareness to figure out why I was experiencing this now. What I perceived is that another major set of old lower Earth world and Earth core organic and inorganic energy codes have seemingly, in a split-second, been removed and instantly replaced by much higher organic NEW Light codes. One aspect of this latest NEW change to the Earth’s core, Earth and our physical bodies is to the water. The beautiful gemstone colored different patterns I’ve been Seeing have taken place in and to the water on and in ascending NEW Earth, and if that’s happened/happening to Earth then it’s also happened/happening to the water in our bodies. The codes have been and continue to be evolved quickly now which means our DNA is as well. That alone is going to cause many of us to feel very differently, to See, perceive and experience many NEW-to-us sorts of ways including some NEW-to-us ascension symptoms or side effects. Combine the Earth’s core change, the Moon being freed of all that old negativity, and the entire Water on Earth and in every human and human body and living thing on Earth all having been dramatically changed and evolved since December 2018, it’s increasingly easy to see how quickly the Separation of Worlds is actually happening. I don’t need to say how utterly exhausted and in physical pain most of the time I am and I know most of you are reading this still are too. We’ve been at this physically, biologically for the past twenty years and I for one am all done dragging any and all density from the old lower Earth world, consciousness and reality along with me any further. It’s time to fully sever that old lower connection to the dense past, which the Separation of Worlds is doing right here, right now. I want to add that even though I’ve been in nearly constant physical pain since forever it seems, I’ve also been very consciously aware of the fact that many of my lifelong physical body issues have been steadily decreasing and some have, many years ago, completely disappeared. Great news but it usually gets overshadowed by all the ongoing Ascension Process aches and pains, but if you look carefully and honestly, you’ll discover that many if not all the physical genetic and karmic body issues you were born with and/or accumulated over your lifetime have been transmuted and removed. Despite as great as it is outgrowing our genetic and karmic physical body stuff, most of us are in deep and constant body pains and it’s increasing due to these NEW higher frequency Light energies. Since December 2018, I’ve had a few NEW-to-me ascension related side effects such as stomach pains, nausea in a different way than I’m used to with the Ascension Process, ongoing changes to my physical eyes, greater pressures in my skeletal structure, spine, joints etc. Part of me knows that this is normal because of all that’s going on but… enough already fer gawd sake! This brings us to the main reason I’m hurriedly throwing this particular article together. The other day I received a mass email notice from Aluna Joy containing her latest article quoted below. Those of you who are familiar with me know that I very rarely quote or share links to other Ascension teachers information, and you should know that when I do it’s because that particular article is very important and needs to be seen by as many people as possible in my opinion. Because I’ve been living everything that Aluna Joy talks about in her January 31, 2019 article for a very long time, I know it is accurate and distortion-free and that many of you also need to read it now too because of the crushing exhaustion and physical pains we’ve lived with for so long. Here’s the link to Aluna Joy’s website and Thank You Aluna Joy for this material. http://www.alunajoy.com/2019-01-31-greaterplan.html February 7, 2019 Lots going on in this transmission . . . Including – Aluna Joy Yaxk’in and The Star Elders. The last few years, many in the trenches, those anchoring the light publicly and those behind the scenes, have felt a bit burned out. We have worked hard to stay positive. We have seen little windows of high energy, feeling hope returning, and little doors to synchronicities and miracles manifesting, but then only to watch them dissipate quickly leaving us deflated, exhausted and depressed. Most of all, these things don’t seem to build or grow into anything much bigger as they did in the pre-2012 years. Yet I am not surprised. I was told by the Star Elders decades ago about this collective depression and global inertia that was coming after 2012, as we entered a brand new cycle of creation. It feels like we are trying to start a car with a dead battery. But now it is time. We can jump start this car, this new cycle, but it will take a large group to participate together in this new frequency restart. So why are we here at this juncture, and what can we do to get moving again?A Greater Plan . . . We see the reality that there is a greater plan unfolding. Many, many, many of us out here have been given clear visions, blueprints and plans to evolve and ground this new cycle. The truth is that our greater plan in this new cycle is not about finding one savior, one avatar, or one enlightened being to pull the weight of the entire new cycle back into focus. That was the program for many past cycles. But this is a new cycle with a new plan! This time around the greater plan needs the participation of a majority of awakening, diverse, sentient beings, including YOU, to get on board and work the last bit of the problems, so we can fly.But have had a set back and feel a disappointment that many have lost hope, or quit, because of the huge energy plunge that we survived entering into 2013. Yet we survived the plunge, and this was a huge victory in itself. But this survival left us in an odd, void space and left our spirits a bit stunned and traumatized, like spiritual PTSD. (This is why I started a private Facebook group called “Ascension Symptoms Support Group – What are you feeling today?”) The issue, and even more, so since our recent lunar eclipse, is that we are clearing deeper levels of toxicity that we are just now becoming aware of. Our eyes have been opened even wider to the light, and to the polarity of the light. We have more clarity on all levels. In spite of all the challenges, we still have a strong faith and commitment to the plan. But we also understand that we know very little about what might transpire at this point. I know you understand this too. We have been seeing that this time has triggered a huge wave of weirdly comforting and unexpected global nostalgia, and a time of looking backwards. This is caused by us not knowing what is ahead of us just yet. We see this manifest in the mass media with the rehashing of really old stories, crime stories, and re-makes of already re-made movies. This nostalgia is also very personal as we look back to our favorite memories, but it is also healing old wounds and processing old grief and loss. But our deep processing has also pried our eyes open to see a broader, unfiltered truth, and we learn to find peace by accepting these more encompassing realities. Because of this nostalgia and unrealized idealism, it has triggered feelings that maybe this is it, or that it is already over. This has also triggered a subconscious feeling of not feeling safe. Some are called to plan wills and make preparations to leave. Many people are on the brink of giving up. I hear some people think that they are preparing to die! But the sun rose up this morning, and we are still here. And we will be tomorrow too. When there is a letting go, it is an ending, but then there is also new landing place . . . and it is always here. I know that many of you feel this . . . when the sun comes up in the morning, and we just open our eyes and leave our dream state, we feel the heavy weight of this world hit us, and we think “OH NO! We are still here.” BUT . . . this feeling is telling me that we are on the brink of something new that our subconscious is already aware of. If there wasn’t something better ahead, we would not be so disillusioned by what we are living in now. We really don’t want to live in the past if we truly ask ourselves this question. So with that said . . . don’t ignore feelings that are sad or depressing as they are awesome predecessors and clues to incoming new codes of light! Support our work with a Heart Donation OR shop everyday with our unique AMAZON link and support us for free. Thank You If we keep looking back with fondness to what we knew, or where we felt safe, or we pretend that today is something that it isn’t, will we ever move forward? YES! Please go ahead and reminisce, have a good cry and a good laugh. It is important that we finish this nostalgic, homesick process. When we do, we can also let go of the past, and allow the new emerging codes to begin to build this new world. This process can be a bit scary as this is a very deep letting go that feels very real and very final. We are truly saying goodbye to much of what we knew as truth. We need to do this. So . . . if you are still reading this, it is the right time for YOU. All the recalibrations have been made. All that is left for us to do is to say goodbye, and break out of the inertia that we are in. As we are working to pull together as ONE, we seem to be revisiting an extra, old story that began in Genesis. We are moving through a Tower of Babel-like program. This is telling me many things. First, we have been very successful, because we have returned to the beginning and are rebooting the very core of humanity’s separation program. Only a few months ago we were working on healing family and ancient global lineage lines. Some of this is continuing still, but we have come back to the genesis of humanity’s separation now. The first clue I noticed is that we are having a great challenge with communication, unlike anything we have experienced in our life time. This is a global phenomenon. It might feel like there we are speaking different languages, but all perspectives are true, even if we can’t see this right now. But this issue is going much deeper. If you pay attention and watch, you will see this all around you. Many people are not communicating completely, and we are not reaching each other. We are hearing through our filters of perspective, experience, assumptions, and programs, thus creating many varied personality clashes. We are not communicating fully, nor are we listening fully, and nor are we being heard fully. We are seeing this as an almost complete breakdown of communication globally, and an old core belief in the illusion that there was ever a great divide in the first place. This is amazing! We are beginning to heal the beginning of the separation of humanity all the way back to the Tower of Babel. We are gathering up all the fallen stones and are bringing them back together. If I lost you, let me explain . . . Please understand that this is an over-simplified and very metaphysical slant on the original story. In the story of the Tower of Babel, humanity decided to try to avoid another great flood. So they decided to build a tower to reach the heavens. Of course this tower was built from fear, and not to mention it was physically impossible to do. Their efforts eventually fell to pieces in a pile of stone. Each stone symbolized a different language and the builders could only babble to each other. The builders could no longer communicate with each other. They had only one choice, to find their own path, to find their inner truth by going within. They learned that there is no short cut to freedom from fear or spiritual awakening. We must do our inner work. The path to paradise will take deep work, and also by letting go, all at once and in tandem with each other. We must embrace every new moment, while saying goodbye to each passing one. It will take being authentic to each moment, which also asks us to be vulnerable and transparent with brutal honestly and total integrity. If we are not being as authentic as consciously possible, then we are stuck on a cosmic, hamster wheel. It is clear that humanity has the biggest spiritual light team the planet has had for many ages. We will carry the weight of this new cycle together. But . . . there is a great need for an enormous energy infusion to get our massive team back up and running again after the huge energy plunge in 2013. Many of the visionaries, messengers, teachers, healers, ambassadors and light workers I have spoken with lately will admit in confidence that they feel they have taken a big energy hit. Some even feel they could have possibly been targeted and thwarted especially in the last two years. This is on a global scale. (Please don’t go into conspiracy theory fear here, as it is a waste of our precious energy.) We are seeing our global light supporters hunkering down or even giving up. Most I speak with feel they are operating on fumes, and this is not sustainable. We need wide scale revitalization and healing on all levels for these ones. Being a visionary, messenger, teacher, healer, ambassador and light worker has become deeply isolating in our electronic age, and has created a place without energetic or other kinds of support. Most are lucky to have a few people that they can speak authentic truths to without being judged. It would be helpful not to place our visionaries, messengers, teachers, healers, ambassadors and light workers on pearly, isolated pedestals and to ridged spiritual perspectives. They/we/us are not perfect. They/we/us are all human, and have stories that have molded our lives into what we are today. Our global supporters challenging life experiences have cracked us open so that the light can get in. We have grown through so much . . . just as YOU have. Don’t hold them to inflexible spiritual expectations and ideals that were created in the past, because everything is being upgraded right now in front of our eyes. The beauty of this time is that we are becoming even more aware of amazing, new, subtle energies that are filled with light and promise, but we are also having our eyes opened further to energies that are toxic or not supportive to the greater plan. Let all our visionaries and messengers evolve as our reality does, moment by moment. Our global teachers, messengers, and visionaries put their neck and lively hood on the line when they share what they have seen and learned. I am sure that if you asked anyone of them (or ask yourself), they would say that they did not pick their job. It picked them. It is a calling, just as you have your callings. So support those who support you, with love, energy and any other way you can. And I know that there are many out there that can relate to this. Still today sacred sites today are the most reliable places on earth where we can feel current releasing energies and feel that good old feeling of being plugged in, and are places where we can feel our light and higher self. Sacred sites still hold the cosmic center focus while the world wobbles, reboots and re-calibrates. The problem is that we can’t live in these places full time. We are all searching for energy and a place that feels like home . . . and if we are searching for home, home must be already here. It always goes back to a core question . . . Does desire create that which it wants? . . . or . . . Is the desire a clue that it already exist? I think the latter is true for me. The one thing that we can always count on IS that everything passes and nothing ever stays the same. The fact is that our core reality is changing so fast now that we cannot keep up with our minds. We can only understand with our open hearts. We do not want to be held back by outdated teachings of the past, although some ancient teachings are still foundations stones for every age. Be open and listen with the heart to new visions that will continue to grow within the new codes and frequencies. If you are too comfortable at this time, then you have lived this way too long, and you have quit learning. But note here that having some comfortable times is also rejuvenating and needed for you to be able move on. The Maya call this living the serpent wave. We have high times and low times. Own today for what it is with all its glory and all its atrocities. But living authentically and surfing reality is what keeps us moving forward. Here comes a big point the Star Elders want to make today. Prophecies are always based in fear . . . The Star Elders to ask you to let go of prophecies and watching and waiting for further and further dates in the future that might give us faux hope. We need to BE here today . . . not waiting for some arbitrary date in the future. As Ram Das famously said “BE HERE NOW”. I have been watching a long, long . . . too long of a time. I see that when there is yet another prophetic date placed out in the future that might save us, we are hampered because it puts off facing our issues and responsibilities, thus blocking our progress. Prophecy can be very dis-empowering. Yet, visionaries do see probable outcomes. These are most likely truth at the time they received them, but are received in order to trigger a needed course correction, and are not to have you sit back a wait for something to change for you. You have creative power that only works when you step on the gas pedal. Don’t fall back into deep inertia when another repackaged prophecy comes along. They will keep coming if you keep buying to them. Getting caught up in future prophetic dates, no matter how entertaining, only slows our progress because our energy is not here today. But why do we buy into these future dates? The fact is that we are worn out, we barely feel our future right now, and we all need hope to go on. I hear this, and I do feel it too. But this I know for sure . . . Today is the only reality that we have . . . Day by day, and step by step. As Jeshua shared “Keep your lamp lit.” Be always ready. Again, this is why we need a wide scale, powerful revitalization and healing on all levels for our global ambassadors, messengers, visionaries etc. So again, I am asking the universe for insight in how we can create this global revitalization. I am listening, but I am also told that we are already on our way to doing this. The revitalization has been triggered and empower by the law of reciprocity. So . . . Today is today. What if you woke up today, and this was it? This was the day. Are you ready? The fact is that we will NEVER know the day or the hour. We must be as ready as we can be in each moment. Be the best we can be in each moment. Being ready might just mean that you got out of bed this morning, or that you were on fire and wrote a blog, or taught a class that changed lives. Don’t judge the days that we might not feel ready . . . today or any day. The fact is that your heart is ready. You have already staked your claim in the new world haven’t you? If you are reading this, then it is true! Otherwise, you would have stopped reading this at the first paragraph. You are ready, and always have been! You already know this to be true. So there. Take that and run with it as far as you can, and do it again tomorrow. Support those who inspire you with love, energy and abundance, so they have the energy to keep inspiring you back. All are needed here. All are valuable in this process. It might look like we have had a slow start in the beginning of this cycle, but we have a plan. There is no doubt that we are making sure that all are aboard and are ready to surf the new waves coming. My hippie nostalgia song for the day . . . How is this for some nostalgia? “For What It’s Worth” – 54 years ago this song was written by Stephen Stills and was recorded by Buffalo Springfield in 1966. There’s something happening here – What it is ain’t exactly clear – . . . Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. ” Support our work with a Heart Donation OR shop everyday with our unique AMAZON link and support us for free. Thank You *** Please POST, RESPOND or COMMENT on this article on our post on FACEBOOK HERE THANK YOU! This saves me so much time. I simply cannot answer all your emails, but the fact is that I really want to ALSO, your unique, insightful comments benefit everyone else and helps us paint a larger picture of what is evolving on Earth and Humanity. REMEMBER ~ PLEASE LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on our Public Facebook page, because Facebook limits the number of people who can see our updates that they have asked to see. If you want to experience more of this type of message, LIKE IT! Aluna Joy Yaxk’in . . . A Star Messenger – Earth Oracle – Soul Reader – Sacred Site Junkie was literally born awake and in the company of her guides, the Star Elders. Today she has evolved into an author, spiritual life coach, sacred site guide, alternative historian, ordained minister and modern mystic. In the Inca world, Aluna is considered a Qawaq (cow-wak), a clairvoyant or seer of living energy. Aluna acts as a spiritual archaeologist using her clairvoyant / clairsentient gifts to excavate current messages from the masters of ancient, enlightened cultures to uncover what affect this has on humanity and the collective consciousness. She is well known for her down to earth, accepting attitude that makes each one feel like they have come home. She inspires and encourages others to recognize and accept their own authentic divinity and connection to the Creator. “Our groups are family, and each one is a teacher and also a student. We work together as a team to unravel the sacred mysteries of life.” Aluna coined the term “sacred site junkie” because she is one herself. After her first trip to Tulum, Mexico, her life changed dramatically, and she was sent on an entirely different path in life. Since this time, her work has been influenced by uncountable shamanic experiences in sacred sites of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Egypt, Greece, England, Australia and New Zealand. Aluna has been leading groups in the Maya world since 1986, the Inca world since 1996, and the Egyptian world since 2008, and the mystical world of Avalon (England and Scotland) since 2007. Aluna offers Star Elder Sessions, formulates Sacred Site Essences and a free newsletter. She is the author of “Mayan Astrology” and her articles have been published worldwide. Website: http://www.AlunaJoy.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alunajoyyaxkin YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/feelthelove2012 Copyright Guidelines: Aluna Joy Yaxk’in – http://www.AlunaJoy.com – Ⓒ 1995-201 – Unauthorized publication and/or duplication of any material on our web site without permission from its author and/or owner is prohibited. RE-POSTING SHARING GUIDELINES: We allow SHARING freely, only if shared through Aluna’s Public Facebook Page SHARE LINK, or the original WEBSITE LINK and NOT used for self promotion. This way there is no confusion to who the author is for this information, and no confusion to who the author is connected to or who she supports. Thank you everyone for understanding. Just make sure the original LINK to the posts is added to your sharing. Thank you for your great support. We would not be able to continue this work if it were not for you. We send you awesome radiant blessings today and for the beautiful future that we are co-creating together. Enter your email address to follow HighHeartLife & receive notifications of new articles by email. Email Address: Books for Sale Miscellaneous Archives Select Month December 2022 (1) November 2022 (1) October 2022 (2) September 2022 (4) August 2022 (2) July 2022 (3) June 2022 (2) May 2022 (4) April 2022 (2) March 2022 (3) February 2022 (3) January 2022 (3) December 2021 (3) November 2021 (4) October 2021 (4) September 2021 (3) August 2021 (3) July 2021 (3) June 2021 (4) May 2021 (4) April 2021 (3) March 2021 (2) February 2021 (3) January 2021 (4) December 2020 (2) November 2020 (2) October 2020 (2) September 2020 (4) August 2020 (4) July 2020 (2) June 2020 (3) May 2020 (3) April 2020 (3) March 2020 (4) February 2020 (3) January 2020 (3) December 2019 (5) November 2019 (2) October 2019 (2) September 2019 (3) August 2019 (4) July 2019 (2) June 2019 (3) May 2019 (3) April 2019 (3) March 2019 (4) February 2019 (3) January 2019 (3) December 2018 (1) November 2018 (4) October 2018 (3) September 2018 (3) August 2018 (3) July 2018 (3) June 2018 (1) May 2018 (5) April 2018 (5) March 2018 (3) February 2018 (4) January 2018 (4) December 2017 (4) November 2017 (5) October 2017 (4) September 2017 (5) August 2017 (4) July 2017 (5) June 2017 (3) May 2017 (3) April 2017 (4) March 2017 (3) February 2017 (4) January 2017 (3) December 2016 (5) November 2016 (5) October 2016 (4) September 2016 (3) August 2016 (5) July 2016 (3) June 2016 (7) May 2016 (4) April 2016 (5) March 2016 (2) February 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (3) November 2015 (3) October 2015 (5) September 2015 (4) August 2015 (5) July 2015 (4) June 2015 (2) May 2015 (3) April 2015 (5) March 2015 (4) February 2015 (4) January 2015 (2) December 2014 (3) November 2014 (5) October 2014 (4) September 2014 (4) August 2014 (3) July 2014 (6) June 2014 (4) May 2014 (4) April 2014 (6) March 2014 (5) February 2014 (4) January 2014 (5) December 2013 (5) November 2013 (5) October 2013 (7) September 2013 (3)	30,533
Welcome to "Between the keys". Here I'll report on my random adventures in the wonderful world of the internet. I actually may sometimes go out into the real world too.... Sunday, October 12, 2008 Does anybody care ? "Will anybody care", a thought about social media in my blog for less-, or non-, IT-technical subjects might be of interest to the (couple of) readers of Between the keys. Posted by Robert at 11:55 No comments: Monday, October 06, 2008 It's autumn, rainy and windy so paragliding is well, over. Inspired by some recent encounters with interesting startups and a very nice presentation on experiences with the new Google App Engine, I decided to do a tiny project. And as all of a sudden lots of friends and acquaintances seem to have discovered Facebook, I decided to make a app for that. With so many people on Facebook, I've noticed that it is a good source of interesting events: whatever one thinks of the rest of Facebook, I personally really enjoy to check out the events that my friends are interested in (the new Zipiko service is centered around this use case). Very frequently I want to attend the event too. But it just so happens that I use Google to host my master calendar and from there I sync to my laptop. Facebook offers "export" of events as iCal files but that's fairly primitive and above all cumbersome. So here I had a good candidate little project: make a Facebook app that reads future events that I've signed up for and add them to my Google Calendar. And host this app at Google App Engine (GAE). Although the functionality would be minimal the project would use both the Facebook and Google data APIs and libraries and use the Google App Engine web app development and hosting platform. Doing a simple GAE app turned out to be fairly straightforward. A GAE app must be written in Python and that was initially my tallest hurdle; I'd never done anything in Python before. But I've years of Smalltalk experience and Python supposedly would be somewhat similar; and in any case not very hard. My Linux/Fedora laptop already had Python, all I needed was to add the PyDev plugin to my Eclipse install. Then I downloaded the GAE development kit, essentially a couple of Python libraries and a little, pure python, server that implements the same restrictions as GAE. Zipipop's Stefano's recent presentation on GAE discusses those restrictions at length; for this tiny project they were no issue at all. I found it easy enough to run the development server from within Eclipse, but I could not get debugging to work in- or outside Eclipse. Seems to be some issue with the Python version I'm using but GAE wouldn't work with a newer version. Anyway the project was going to be tiny so I figured I could do without debugging. In Smalltalk development it was very common to write most code in the debugger so I was curious to try that out with Python. So once I had the obligatory "hello world" GAE app working on my laptop it was time to turn it into a Facebook app that could get my (Facebook) events. Just creating a page that would list the events was very easy with the Facebook Python library. The most important aspect was to build the app such that all requests could (and should) come from Facebook. In other words the browser/user should all the time be directed to Facebook which will then request the app to generate content for the so called "canvas". In the app a few lines of library code are used to parse the HTTP body that Facebook POSTs. If the user is logged in (to Facebook) this contains a bunch of frequently needed user information. In my tiny project all we really needed was the Facebook user id, which was used in a single Facebook API call to fetch the future events (for that user). Facebook also offers FBML, a bunch of markup elements that make it easy to offer content in the Facebook style. At this point I had Facebook events in the GAE memcache. So next was to insert those into the Google Calendar. Most of Google's services offer interfaces that all use the same unified approach: Google Data APIs. Google offers a Python library that nicely encapsulates most of the boring work. However it is important to more or less know what has to happen at the HTTP level, as things have to happen in the right order. What needs to happen is essentially an OAuth dance. To get some real work done the app needs to present a (use) token and to get that token it has to present an authorization token. It gets this (one-time) authorization token by redirecting the user to the Google Account service with some parameters; the essential ones are a URI that indicates the scope of the actions that the app wants to do (i.e. "calendar") and a URL to where Google should redirect the user back. As explained above in my case this URL should actually point to Facebook, with my app as a URL path component. Upon succes Google will add the one-time authorization token as a parameter to that URL. Luckily Facebook puts this parameter in its request to the application. So in my little app I would catch the token and then upgrade it with a call to Google to a "use" token. That token is supposedly somewhat permanent so I decided to save it in a little User object. The GAE offers a object database functionality that deals with distribution completely behind the prying eyes of the developer , a very nice idea. Of course it didn't quite work right away... This as the GAE documentation on the use of the Google Data Services states that: What is not obvious at all is that the data service client is then also tweaked to use a different token store, that itself tries to store tokens in the GAE database. To do that it needs to know about the Google user, but my app never authenticated the user as a Google user. It is after all a Facebook app, and I could key users on their Facebook user id. Needless to say this took me quite a few frustrating hours to figure out. Once I understood what was going on it was simple to modify that Python GAE library for the Google Data services a bit so that I could pass in a flag to indicate that I didn't want the normal client token store to be changed for the one "optimized" for GAE. In my app I then added the code to store and set tokens as I'd planned. Now upgrading to a use token worked and with such token it is a simple Google Data services library call to insert an event, but there were some caveats. Most disturbingly was that when I ran the app on the GAE development server I always got a "Not Implemented" error. I assumed that this was because I'd done something wrong but when I after quite a while decided to try the app on the actual GAE infra this part immediately worked. The other caveat was that the Facebook API returns events with timing information in Pacific time. Sigh. After another hour or so I'd figured out how to use the Python libraries to move those back into UTC. I'm still not sure if I got this right for Daylight Saving Time situations. A day later I suddenly noticed that it did no longer work, and quickly found out that this was because my code would sometimes get a trailing slash in the value of a URL request parameter. Easy to strip out but it hadn't happened before. I think this happened when Google released an upgrade of the GAE kit, but I'm not not completely sure that this problem co-occurred with that upgrade. All in all it was an interesting exercise indeed! It would be tempting to compare the various platforms in detail but I've only scratched the surface. A couple of remarks can be made though. The Google App Engine seems a very useful hosting platform for not-too-complex websites. It forces one to structure the app in such a way that it will scale, but this is done in a positive, instructive, manner. The Facebook APIs and the Google Data APIs are more or less comparable; they offer various identity-based services. Facebook can provides the profile of the user, the friend list, the events, and a couple of other things, e.g. a facility to send notifications and SMS messages. Google provides access to the calendar, documents, and contacts of the user. Unfortunately the Facebook and Google services have different interfaces although they are quite similar, simple HTTP request with JSON or XML for service response content. Overall the provided libraries look good and are effective in hiding the complexities very much. The disadvantage seems to be that the APIs are not specified with as much rigor as I would like. Oh, and if you want to copy Facebook events into your Google Calendar you can try it at http://apps.facebook.com/toogcal. It might work, but don't count on it. Looks like tomorrow it will be flyable after all... Posted by Robert at 08:52 2 comments: Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Posts Posts This blog records my personal experiences with, and personal ideas about internet technology. I am a self-employed consultant and advisor, my company is Lokkilok. Apart from IT- and management consulting Lokkilok organizes paragliding trips and training.	9,503
Corey Lenhoff is from Northbrook, Illinois and is currently a senior in high school. He enjoys playing hockey, spending time on the beach, exploring new places, and traveling. One of his biggest passions is the Spanish language and one day hopes to travel to all 21 countries where Spanish is the official language. Why did you decide to study abroad with SPI Study Abroad? Corey: I studied in San Sebastian, Spain for 3 weeks. Why did you decide to study abroad with SPI? Corey: I chose SPI because it offered great study abroad opportunities with guided tours of various cities, yet also gave me plenty of independence to explore Spain on my own. If I needed help in any way, the trip leaders were there for me, but also gave me plenty of time on my own. SPI set me up to have the perfect trip. The school where I studied provided me with great learning experiences. My host family was unbelievable. Every meal was delicious and they were incredibly kind people. The excursions that SPI arranged were always fun, whether it was a day trip to France or hiking up a mountain. What made this study abroad experience unique and special? Corey: This study abroad experience was special because it was the first time that my fellow classmates and I were able to explore a city in Europe without being constantly supervised and told what to do. The feeling of independence really helped me mature as a person and get the full Spanish experience that I couldn't have gotten otherwise. I made great friends that I still keep in touch with today. San Sebastian was the perfect city to go to, and I am dying for a chance to return! How has this experience impacted your future? Corey: This experience has impacted my future in a couple ways. Foremost, it has helped my fluidity in Spanish greatly. I now have much more confidence in my ability to communicate in the Spanish language. While before I went I could get by, I can now carry on conversations with sounding like a child. Secondly, I fell in love with the city. I had never before gone to Europe, and experiencing such a different culture was an incredible experience. I now know I want to go back to Spain, whether it's a study abroad opportunity in college or for a job opportunity. SPI High School Spanish Immersion & Cultural Leadership in Spain SPI Study Abroad's two Spanish immersion programs in Santander and San Sebastian gives high school students the opportunity to live with caring homestay families, attend Spanish language and culture class for college credit, participate in a variety of fun activities, and travel to some of the...	2,608
May 15, 2013 (SSNA) — With the murder of Chief Kuol Deng Kuol as the latest in the series of Sudan’s continued aggression against S. Sudan, it is time that Juba draws curtain on soft stances, and develops relevant countermeasures against Khartoum –even if it means another war. It is worrying that S. Sudan might not stand a chance of getting fair justice with the current status quo within the United Nations and the African Union. The approach employed by both organizations over the last few years, in an effort to forge peaceful solutions between the two countries, seems to fortify this. In the progression of events since the independence of S. Sudan, the position of UN and AU has been hypocritical, and inherently redundant. Customarily, both have been [and still continue to] turning a blind eye to Sudan Army’s aerial bombings and ground assault deep within S. Sudan. However, when SPLA seized Panthou (Heglig) in April last year, they abruptly found guts to ‘condemn it with the strongest terms possible’. Outraged, they swamped the media barely a few hours after the incident. Interestingly, capture of Panthou was a continuation of Sudan Army’s prior attack on SPLA positions in Unity State, but neither the UN nor the AU was keen to acknowledge that. Ban Ki Moon was lightening-quick to describe it as “an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act.” Assuming that Heglig is part of Sudan, the UN Chief simply implied that only SAF’s attack within S. Sudan territory is deemed ‘legal’. As if that was not enough, he went on to give ‘an order’ to the president of a sovereign state! Make no illusion that he’d take such crap to Bashir. He has never done, and will never do. Never. Moreover, the same UN had been whining around, speculating that S. Sudan supports Sudan rebels; a scapegoat currently used by the bloody warmongers in the North to justify their destabilization campaigns in the South. Yet they were lip-tied when the whole proxy militia unit, used by Khartoum, returned to the South in a broad daylight! Didn’t they hear what they were doing in the North? I doubt. The AU, on the other hand, looks comfortable with the hide-and-seek games that Khartoum has been playing throughout the negotiations. Khartoum has been breaching agreements on their faces, one after another, and Chief Kuol’s murder being the latest attempt to re-derail the Abyei referendum. Still they are as meek as lambs about it. As usual, Khartoum, intriguingly, is allowed to go scot-free. Why don’t they transfer the dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration if they are a bunch of gutless cowards who can’t afford seeing Bashir in the eye? Perhaps they are waiting for the breaking point when S. Sudan wouldn’t be able to influence any outcome, one is tempted to think. When that will be is another question. Regrettably, both organizations have again and again proved too critical toward Juba yet they, blatantly, fail to hold Khartoum accountable for its incessant aggression and breach of agreements. This only portrays them as inadmissible, absurd, and void of impartiality. It suggests that S. Sudan’s perceived military and economic inferiority is being used as a potential fault-line that can be exploited to solve the problem. This can only be seen as betrayal against S. Sudan. It is also astounding that, even in the presence of United Nations Interim Force for Abyei [in Abyei], people still lose lives to SAF and their Misseriya arab militias. The UN and the AU once again pretend not to know anything about it. Apparently, if you give it a closer look, the lines between the UN, the AU, and the bloodthirsty Jihadists in the North have blurred. Their credibility has waned drastically. S. Sudan’s complains are reduced to a toothless-cobra’s hiss. One wonders whether S. Sudan will ever get fair justice with the current set up within the UN and the AU. This leaves the government of S. Sudan with only one option: take a stern stance on Abyei and other disputed areas; negotiate when everyone is ready to, and leave the negotiation table when everyone else leaves. It is also necessary that corresponding echoes be unequivocally sent out when Sudan blows war or peace trumpets. That would balance the equation. Otherwise, S. Sudan’s sovereignty is at stake if it is left in the hands of the Bashir-shy UN and AU. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Δ UN lauds South Sudan peace efforts, urges partners to do more November 8, 2022 8 million people to face food insecurity in South Sudan next year, report says November 6, 2022 Pope Francis to visit South Sudan in February next year, source says November 1, 2022 WHO distributes medical kits to partners in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State October 31, 2022 UN to close health clinic in Lakes State October 30, 2022 There is a deadly flood in Ethiopia’s Gambella region and the world keeps quiet August 24, 2022 South Sudan, the forgotten country August 24, 2022 South Sudan, the forgotten country August 24, 2022 South Sudan International Advocacy for Human Rights condemns atrocities in Unity State August 6, 2022	5,385
Master Play 99 Situs Judi Bola Agen Casino Online Slot Online Terbaik Archives องค์การบริหารส่วนตำบลบึงกระจับ Powered by Genesis October 21, 2022 by admin Leave a Comment Send your brand name for testimonial with us, and if you fulfill the standards, you could be featured among the most effective online casino sites around the globe. Numerous casinos provide cost-free games that you can try without having to develop an account. This is a wonderful means to obtain a feeling for a few of their video games and also see if you like them before depositing any actual money. On the internet gambling lawful problems in India are made complex in nature as Betting in India is controlled by different states regulations as well as on-line betting is a main topic. To ascertain the position of Indian federal government, the High court of India looked for the viewpoint of central federal government in this regard however the same was declined by the main government. This has actually made having fun of on-line cards games like rummy, poker, and so on lawfully dangerous. Betting systems have actually been popular with casino players for as lengthy as wagering has remained in presence and also many gamblers count on these betting systems religiously. It is exclusively up to the player to determine to leave a much-appreciated gratification. Examine our web page dedicated to each one of these games as well as discover the rules, tips and methods we have there for you. Additionally, any kind of video game involving dice are games of pure possibility as well as no ability. Each game you play at a gambling enterprise has a different analytical probability of you winning. The inquiries are numerous selection, so you don’t need to enter any additional info. From the MoheganSunCasino.com website or in the iphone or Android App, click Join Currently. You’ll after that be asked to offer your e-mail address, pick a username, as well as select a password. The tool comprises of a simple self-evaluation examination that we combine with private details on actual game-play to compute a gambling behavior account. This info is then used to make a personalized tip for a healthy and balanced having fun habits. You can place online bank on a substantial selection of sports occasions such as soccer, ice hockey and tennis in our innovative Sportsbook 2.0. Live wagering methods you can put your bet once the scenario has actually currently started and also is underway. It is an exciting kind of betting that offers you action-packed accessibility to many more markets than in typical pre-event sporting activities betting. The Sportsbook 2.0 tool will certainly likewise provide you access to our Bet Assist device, which can provide you an one-upmanship when you place your wagers. With a strong background in horse racing, it just had a short stint as a TwinSpires Online Gambling enterprise and also sporting activities wagering system. The game spread at the gambling establishment went over with 169 slots, 30 table video games as well as six real-time supplier games. There were 18 of these high-limit games consisting of 6 tables of live supplier blackjack, and also Baccarat as well as Roulette live dealership video game selections. Merely choose your lucky numbers, click play and allow the game do the rest. Keno is followed carefully by slots games in regards to simplicity of play. Demo Slot need to do to play ports is make your bet and also click spin. As for Pennsylvania, PokerStars entered the on-line poker globe in late 2019. Port and also casino influencerBrian Christopher is involving a California online casino this weekend break to introduce three of his slots and also to hold a group port pull. PlayUSA did a monthlong exam to reveal the legal US gambling sector is valued at $215 billion. The amount is more than the worth of all the NFL teams, President Biden’s trainee loan forgiveness and all the gelato cones. He has more than one decade experience running digital media residential or commercial properties and also in on-line marketing and advertising. There’s no question that playing in an on the internet gambling establishment can net you a fortune, however good luck favours the brave, so you need to make the first step by opening up an account at an on-line casino and make your initial down payment. Additionally, you can fine-tune the chances in your support by choosing the video game with one of the most beneficial payout percent and also chances. To aid you make up your mind, the Stakers have actually organized the scores of on the internet casinos with leading incentives as well as complimentary spins. The UK online gambling establishments operate on a totally legal basis, so no problems must emerge when handling them. Betting in Britain is managed by its own governing authority called the Gaming Payment. You will be able to plainly see the terms to any type of bonus uses and also down payment benefits the gambling enterprise has. A well run casino site has nothing to conceal and will certainly be upfront and clear with its clients. At Ruby Lot Of Money Casino, the action as well as entertainment prolongs beyond supplying just the very best common gambling enterprise games. You likewise have the choice of playing timeless and also contemporary casino games against actual online dealerships, in a genuine online casino environment. Inevitably, it’s the top priority and relevance that Mr Eco-friendly places on our clients that enables you to have the best pc gaming experience feasible. When Pennsylvania decided to legalize on-line betting in the state, it went the complete range. has an online lotto game, on the internet casino poker, on-line PA sports betting and also on-line casinos. Not only does this strategy make best use of tax obligation earnings, it also means that Pennsylvanians have no factor to gamble at offshore illegal sites.	6,012
I know Thanksgiving isn’t until next week for those of us living in the U.S., but posting on the holiday itself is never very convenient—even if it does always fall on a Fangirl Thursday. Besides, you shouldn’t have to limit your expressions of gratitude to one turkey-stuffed day each year. And I have far more than a week’s worth of things to be thankful for anyway. I write the words “thank you” a lot. I write them so much that—to some—they might seem like meaningless filler or something I just say to say something. But I hope you know those words have never lost their weight for me—no matter how many times I write them. I write them so much because hardly a day goes by (and sometimes hardly a minutes goes by) without me experiencing a rush of gratitude. I mean those words with all my heart every single time I write them. Thank you. I’ve always said that running NGN is a labor of love, and I’m thankful for both the labor and the love. I’m thankful that it is challenging and scary and exhausting sometimes to run this site. Because that’s when I know it matters—when it’s more than just some writing I do for fun. And it’s those moments that remind me to always look for the love, to look for the reasons I started NGN in the first place. And I always find those reasons. I always find that love. And I am so grateful that something I love so much and care so deeply about has become something other people love and care about, too. My writing goal is always to make people feel less alone in their intense love for the things they care about. And it turns out that’s exactly what all of you who visit NGN are doing for me. I want to thank all of you who show your support for me and for NGN as a whole through your comments, your Tweets, your Tumblr posts and reblogs, and your message board shout-outs. When I thank you for those things, know that I’m doing so with the utmost sincerity (usually while holding my hands over my heart and smiling, or even crying if it’s one of those days). When I first started NGN, I never expected people to embrace it the way so many of you have. And in embracing the spirit of NGN—a spirit of positivity, enthusiasm, and love—you’ve created a family, a little Internet home for people who want to experience the collective joy of fandom together. For as much as I say NGN is mine, it’s also yours. You’re the ones who make it a welcoming place for your fellow fans. You’re the ones who keep me writing when I get discouraged. You’re the ones who support me and each other in a way that has reminded many (myself included) that fandom can be a place of light and love at a time in our lives when we need it the most. Thank you for inspiring me, encouraging me, and challenging me. It’s always my deepest wish that my writing can give you the happiness you give me. I’m so grateful to have the best and brightest commenters on the Internet. I’m also so grateful to have the most insightful, passionate, and kind contributing writers. And—just to get sappy for a second—I’m so lucky to have a friend who not only helps me run NGN when I need it but is the most incredible source of moral support anyone could ever find. Without Heather there would be no NGN—or at least not the NGN that exists today. As we celebrate giving thanks, I’m so thankful for all the friends I’ve made through this little pink website, starting with my beautiful tropical fish. I have so many things to be thankful for this year as a fangirl: the amazing experiences I’ve had (from Star Wars Weekends to NYCC), the outpouring of support and participation I’ve received already for my book, the amazing media I’ve consumed and the ways that media has changed me for the better, and—of course—you, my incredible NGN readers. Thank you for believing in my quest to make fandom a little bit brighter. Thank you for your infectious enthusiasm, your insight, and your unfailing kindness to me and to your fellow fans. And thanks for being the best and most beautiful group of nerds I could ever hope to be a part of. I’m sure I’ll be posting again before the holiday, but I want to wish all of you who celebrate it the happiest of Thanksgivings. And even if you don’t, I want to wish you a day and a season filled with things to be thankful for and time to sit back and count your blessings. Related This entry was posted in About Me, Fangirl Thursdays, Holidays and Celebrations, Uncategorized and tagged about me, fangirl thursdays, holiday happenings, nerd musings by Katie. Bookmark the permalink. mgcirclesmedia on November 19, 2015 at 5:07 pm said: “I write the words “thank you” a lot. I write them so much that—to some—they might seem like meaningless filler or something I just say to say something. But I hope you know those words have never lost their weight for me—no matter how many times I write them. I write them so much because hardly a day goes by (and sometimes hardly a minutes goes by) without me experiencing a rush of gratitude. I mean those words with all my heart every single time I write them. Thank you.” This x a million. I feel this on such a deep level because there are times where truly ‘thank you’ doesn’t feel it’s enough, but there’s no other word to describe that deep gratitude. And I love that this basically says the weight of thank you can never get lost no matter how often it’s said. This is such a beautiful post, sweet friend. You deserve all the praise and all the love and you give back so much which is the inspirational part. Thank you for being so kind, insightful, and a determined woman who pulls through even though sometimes it gets tough. Your hard work never goes on unnoticed. Heather on November 19, 2015 at 5:24 pm said: This site really does have some of the most lovely commenters on the internet. Whether I talk to you on Twitter, through text, or simply enjoy your thoughtful comments on Katie’s posts, thank you for being a part of the NGN family and sharing your thoughts and enthusiasm with us all. This will shock no one but I’m gonna get sappy in reply to you, Katie. Thank you for creating this space and sharing your thoughts and passion with us all. Thank you for several years of sharing your writing, your fandoms, your favorite characters and ships, and yourself by extension with me . Thank you for pouring your heart into making this tiny space on the internet a place you can be proud of and a place I would want to spend my time even if you weren’t one of my best friends. We may have all come for the writing and the insights but many of us have stayed for you and the beautiful person that you are. Leah on November 19, 2015 at 6:00 pm said: This is lovely, Katie! I’m so happy for the community you’ve helped to build here at NGN, it truly has some of the best commenters on the internet, and the community all starts with the tone you set through your writing. Thanks for bringing your passion, your smart thoughtfulness, and your optimism to a site where fans came share the things they love with each other. adventuresintheherenow on November 19, 2015 at 10:20 pm said: Ronnie on November 19, 2015 at 11:01 pm said: Katie, you were one of the first reviewers I started reading when I delved into the OUAT fandom. I remember right from the very beginning, in a fandom that was torn by ship wars, finding your character and story analysis and thinking “YES SOMEONE WHO THINKS THE SAME THING I’M NOT CRAZY.” Thank you for always beautifully summarizing your love and thoughts for the shows you care about, and for oftentimes speaking more eloquently the words that I wish I had to explain how I’m feeling after an episode. Thank you for always being willing to share yourself with us. You are such a wonderful presence Shauna on November 19, 2015 at 11:31 pm said: I am always thankful everyday that I found NGN. NGN has made watching TV more fun. It’s made Twitter more fun. It’s made Tumblr more fun. And fandom should be fun! After over two years here, I have loved seeing how your writing has grown without compromising your ideals. Readers will come and readers will go, but I don’t doubt that you touch a countless number of people. You give them the feeling that they aren’t alone. They aren’t crazy for wanting to analyze their favorite show. They aren’t alone in loving a fictional character. They aren’t wrong to enjoy a flawed piece of media with flawed characters. As so many people have said, people find your blog and they say, “this is what I have been looking for!!” and I think that is something really special. It only reinforces that what you have here is rare and special and important. You are awesome. NGN is awesome. You will continue to be awesome in whatever you choose to do in the future. Thanks for being you, sharing your point of view with us, and giving us a safe space to share our thoughts. Mark Ward on November 20, 2015 at 12:46 am said: Hi Katie. What a wonderful post and a great reminder of why I first came to this site. In all the sea of negativity on the Internet, and mainstream media, NGN was an oasis that by rights should not have existed. I’ve had a break from the world the last 18 months to deal with my inner demons that threatened to devour. The frightening realisation is how much of an impact one person’s negativity can have on your mental health, and I’d never want anyone to experience what I’ve been through. Having stepped back into the world I’ve revisited NGN and have missed participating. Even though I don’t watch any of the shows currently reviewed, the comments and the respect that is so evident in everyone’s writings reminds me of why I came here. Site’s like this don’t just happen, they are a reflection of the owners core values and are much harder to sustain. Katie you are a gem. Tempest on November 20, 2015 at 10:51 am said: Writing is hard. It takes work; it takes effort. As with any art form, writing is deeply personal; it’s part of who we are. How we express ourselves,what we express are little bits of our soul out there for the world. Writing can be scary as we dig deep — not to just slam words together, but to make those words sing, to make them mean something. So,Katie, I’m thankful for the labor you put into this site. And thanks to everyone else, too, for embracing my goofiness and blathering. It’s nice to have a welcoming and thoughtful place to process and discuss these shows. I love that people will dig deep into characters and motivations without losing the sense of fun. I love getting the different perspectives as well knowing that I’m not alone in yelling at characters on TV. nicademus11 on November 22, 2015 at 9:37 am said: “My writing goal is always to make people feel less alone in their intense love for the things they care about.” – SUCCESS! It has made me sad in recent weeks to not have the time to write and comment here with any amount of regularity. Partially because I love the dialogue that ensues here and partially because I had so many thoughts and opinions about OUAT along the way. But mostly, I was sad because I missed the connection that NGN provides to my creative side. As is well known by now I discovered NGN at a time when I was probably feeling the most isolated I had ever felt in my adult life. It was a lifeline of joy and a safe space to just be. I was and remain deeply thankful for both the escape and outlet it provided. Not just for my emotions about the TV and art I was consuming, but for a voice I had long stifled under the myriad of realities life sometimes foists upon us. I am thankful to NGN and to you Katie for the outlet it provides. I am thankful for the blossoming friendships it has opened a pathway to and the great memories I have been able to make because of those discoveries. I am thankful for the camaraderie that has manifested not just in our shared likes but in navigating life as a whole. I am thankful that I get to marvel in other peoples passions, creative talents and critical analysis. In a world and space determined to lead with vitriol, you Katie have managed to create a sanctuary of celebration. That isn’t easy and I admire it so deeply as I admire you and your fortitude to step into the unknown and be vulnerable in that space. It’s truly inspiring. To quote Pippin, I am so grateful for this little piece of sky. And to maintain my musical thought, I was so moved by Billy Porter’s closing performance speech at Kinky Boots. He talked about rejecting the narrative that others attempted to impose on him and that through Lola he chose to be present and behold each of the moments. I think that concept and journey is similar to yours. I’ve watched NGN evolve and in the face of it all, you’ve held steadfast to the integrity you set forth for it. Not always easy, but you relish the moments and that’s what makes this place special. So thank you Katie for the honor and privilege of being a nerdy girl who stands beside you. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Email (required) (Address never made public) Name (required) Connecting to %s Notify me of new comments via email. Δ Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.	13,794
I’ve come up with the idea of this interview series, because I realised how people feel so overwhelmed about all the bad news we are flooded by media outlets. On one hand, the truth is, if we carry on like this, the future will be grim. On the other hand, we also need to read positive and uplifting stories how lots of lots of good people with green heart trying to save the planet – and they are succeeding. But we all have to be part of the change, as I’ve read it lately and totally agree with this statement form the Zero Waste Chef Anne-Marie Bonneau: “We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” So, with that in mind, I’ve created this interview series, to inspire and educate anyone who doesn’t know where to start. It will be about how everyday families are making small and big changes to live more environmentally friendly and sustainably. The idea is that together we can prove that no change is too small, all steps count and that maybe we can all pick up an idea or two from each other! These families are really just doing their best to save the planet for the future generations. Let’s show, how many of us care about the planet, share ideas and create a little community of change makers! What or who inspired you to make changes towards a greener lifestyle? Having children definitely sparked my curiosity. I began to notice ‘paraben free’ on baby toiletries and I started researching what parabens were and why some companies didn’t use them. This opened a whole can of worms! Through my research I decided I wanted to change to natural beauty only for myself as well as my children. I was also vegetarian at the time, but as I began to research ingredients in beauty products, I began to question ingredients in food. I started watching health documentaries, reading books and online articles and decided to go vegan a few years after my natural beauty journey began. Once I started questioning one thing, I started questioning everything from the waste we produce, how we scent our air at home, the cleaning products we use, the whole lot! Over the past seven years since having my first child we have been on a mission to become more eco-friendly in every aspect of our lives. Do you have any favourite site or person you follow for inspiration? I don’t follow a specific site, but because of the hashtags I use and things I post on Instagram, I am often suggested sponsored posts that are relevant to my lifestyle so I regularly find new products to try by doing this. I also love the natural health shops both in stores and online, so these are a great way to find out about new products too. One site I do actually follow for vegan news, but also shares a lot of eco-friendly products too, is called Plant Based News. What aspects of being an environmentally friendly family did you tackle so far? (Reducing plastic, planet friendly diet, up cycling things etc…) I’d say a bit of everything really. Firstly our energy. We have solar panels, use a 100% renewable electricity company and have a log burner to reduce our reliance on gas. We are all vegan (2 adults, 2 kids) so this is a much more eco-friendly diet than eating meat and dairy. We are very mindful of how much plastic we use and the waste we produce. In our bathroom we use toilet roll from Who Gives A Crap which is 100% recycled from office paper and uses no plastic wrap. We also use Friction Free Shaving razor subscriptions and buy Livecoco toothbrush heads for our Oral B electric toothbrushes – both companies offer a recycling scheme, so we collect the razor heads and toothbrush heads to send back for recycling. We use natural beauty products and cleaning products whenever possible. We’ve just switched to shoap bars (shampoo and soap) to reduce our waste and chemical reliance even more. In the kitchen we use bamboo and cotton cloths to clean the sides and also to clean the kids faces/sticky hands rather than keep buying wipes. Oh, I also use reusable bamboo pads to clean my face or remove makeup. To scent the home we use 100% essential oils and 10% natural incense sticks. I don’t wear perfume, but have an essential oil roll on I sometimes use. We buy organic clothes, recycled clothes and second-hand clothes as our first choice. We also eat organic food as much as possible. I will only buy organic fruit and vegetables and if there’s an organic option for other foods then we’ll choose it. We don’t want our money to support a chemical world, so we will always vote with our food choices when we can for a better environment. We have made a lot of changes and these are a few examples of them. Did you find it hard to make these changes? Not really. I feel very passionately and strongly about many environment issues and health issues, so it’s an easy change to make. The more I learn the more I want to change. What was the hardest thing to give up or change? I honestly don’t feel like I’m giving things up. More I’m embracing a new way of life and it’s for a purpose that’s so much greater than myself. With going vegan many people say they’d miss out on so much food, but I don’t miss any of it at all. Instead it’s opened my eyes to a whole new diet and food I never tried before. It’s exciting. I’ve never felt I was missing out on anything and now I would never want to eat the things I used to eat or use the things I used to use. They don’t appeal to me anymore. And what was the easiest thing to give up or change? The whole lot. Once you realise the terrible chemicals in things that are destroying our health, the environment and animals, it’s a no-brainer to start giving things up like chemical filled beauty products, cleaning products and even non-organic food that is sprayed with chemicals. For me this is a total lifestyle choice and choosing a less toxic lifestyle is easy to do if you want to do it and are passionate about it. Do you feel the changes you achieved so far are encouraging you to do even more? Absolutely! We are making changes all the time for the better. For example, I was already using organic and Fairtrade cotton pads to remove my makeup, but just recently I switched to washable bamboo pads instead to reduce our waste even more. I’m always trying to be more eco-friendly and improve our choices. It’s a great path to be on. How do you get the children involved? We teach the children about everything we learn and we are very honest with them. The children are vegan too and we teach them why. We answer any questions they have. We also teach them about recycling, compost, landfill and so on. I didn’t really have an interest in any of this until my late 20s. It’s amazing that my children are being taught it at ages four and seven and they are so interested in it all. They are the eco-warriors of the future and will put us and our previous bad lifestyle habits to shame! We also grow veggies with the kids and talk to them about organic farming. It’s important to us to get them involved with everything we do and for them to understand why we are doing it. Did you manage to save some money too? Or is this lifestyle change actually proving to be more costly? Yes we save a lot of money doing it. One change I forgot to mention above is that we changed from laundry detergent and fabric softener to Eco eggs and dryer balls instead. These save us so much money! We use the balls for months on end before having to refill them with mineral pellets. Before I was buying toxic detergent every single week. The resuable side of being eco-friendly is very cost effective. We reuse cloths time and time again to clean up spills and wipe messy faces, whereas before we were buying packets of wipes and kitchen rolls every week or more than once a week! How did your family respond to the changes? I’ve definitely been the initiator, but everyone is on board. I guess the children are so young that they know no different, but my husband is very keen for us to be more eco-friendly and he welcomes all the changes I make and ideas I have. They are very supportive. Do you have any tips or tricks which really helped you? I think just to remember why you are doing it and that it’s for the greater good – the planet, our future, our health, our children’s health, the animals, soil, water, etc. We’ve been selfish for far too long and we are now aware of the consequences of our actions. We might have been ignorant to these before, but now we know the damage we are doing. We have no excuse not to make better choices nowadays. I think big companies really need to make some big changes still, but it’s up to us to do everything we can as consumers and to vote with our pounds as much as possible! You can find me blogging at my three blogs: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Related Comments July 17, 2019 Reply Such an ace interview and yes we all need to do our bit when it comes to the environment and being greener July 17, 2019 Reply Great post, I really need to do a lot more, but I’m a lot more conscious now about my plastic usage and I’m trying much harder to recycle more! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Captain Bobcat Hi, my name is Eva, mum of Captain Bobcat. I blog about parenting, eco-friendly and ethical lifestyle, travel, vegetarian recipes and our family adventures.	10,071
When I first met Angie for a consultation, I thought to myself, "This is exactly what I need in my life right now--the ability to have somebody from the outside give me an objective look at all the areas that I need work on: my health, my relationships, my spiritual life, and my career." It was so refreshing to have somebody so well- trained to actually help me improve in these areas. I am so thankful for the transformation that occurred over the course of six months. First off, I stopped drinking alcohol. Let me repeat, I STOPPED DRINKING. Not that that can happen for everybody, and I very well may have a drink again one day, but for now, I found it no longer served me. And that was huge for me. Now I just love going out, enjoying my time, and connecting with the people I meet. I'm also more conscious than ever of what are the best foods to eat. I now "eat the rainbow," including much more nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables in my diet, and don't dread it. Workouts fit my schedule and leave me feeling strong. No more dreading to go to the gym. I now know exactly how to get a great workout in to start my day, and I don't feel like I'm wasting my time. Relationships with the people that I love are amazing. I find myself more understanding, more patient, kinder and willing to listen. They continue to flourish to this day. Finally, I achieved a real sense of self love. If I had to boil it down to something, it's that. I love myself. I truly see myself as somebody as to which nothing is impossible to accomplish. Everyone deserves the opportunity to empower themselves and love themselves more. Working with Angie helped me do that, and I am forever grateful for the tools and knowledge I learned from her. I will have them with me for the rest of my life. Truly transformative work. One of the best investments I've ever made. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking not just to be "healthier," but to evolve and find their "true you." Embarking on my journey with Angie at the helm as my health coach was an amazing experience. She gave me so many tools and ideas to help me get past the obstacles in my way that were keeping me from achieving my goals ... no. 1 obstacle being myself. She actually made me aware of the fact that I was the only one getting in my way. With her guidance, insightfulness, and wisdom, she helped me look at things and think about things in a totally new light. I can say I actually experienced a total change in perspective. And everything is perspective. Thank you Angie for opening my eyes and helping me to help myself. Angie's health coaching is true inspiration for one's soul at any age, and I highly recommend her services. None of her sessions will disappoint. I promise. Let’s just say that during my first session with Angie I could not stop crying. Before her, I was constantly stressed, always sick, and my body was covered in eczema. Fast forward 6 months later, and I was looking and feeling good, but most of all I was HAPPY. She took the time to listen to what I needed and wanted out of life and tailored my program to fit ME. She taught me how to manage my stress, feel more confident about myself, and eat right for my body's needs. She was outstanding, patient, kind, and always helpful. I now have a new perspective on life that serves me, not one that steals from me. THANK YOU, ANGIE! My journey with Angie is EXACTLY what I didn't know I needed. For a long time I was complacent with the life I was living and just going through the motions. This journey has helped me lead my life, be more grateful, and truly get out of my comfort zone. It has challenged me physically, emotionally, and spiritually and allowed me to take aspects of my life to another level. Angie has provided me with a variety of tools to enhance and create the life I want. She has guided me in setting goals that serve me, assisted in asking the right questions to get results, and has provided me such powerful insight and perspective along the way. Small changes in my everyday have made a huge, lasting impact. The first phase flew by so quickly and I decided to renew so I can continue taking my life to the next level. Investing in myself is the best thing I have done. I'm forever grateful for Angie's patience, encouragement, silliness and creativity! Angie has helped me embrace certain personality traits that I thought were negative and now have turned into my "superpower." She pushes me to dig deep to learn more about myself and to put my vision and dreams into action. I leave every session with incredible feelings of excitement, empowerment, and acceptance. I love how she continuously shares cutting edge information to help me achieve my goals or even change my goals. These past 6 months have been mind-opening for me, however, I didn't realize how great it would be for all of those around me! From co-workers, to family & friends- all have seen or felt the difference in me thanks to Angie and to me for actually doing the work. Angie’s coaching proved to be a great investment. One that I would strongly recommend to those seeking the best versions of themselves. Her coaching style is practical and pleasant, yet she demands that you play to win. No BS and no sitting on the sidelines. She’s a great listener and held me accountable through my 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month goals. Goals which she helped me set with clarity and precision. All of which were tied to my “why." Each session was substantive and offered a new principles, technique, or perspective which helped me gain a deeper level of self awareness and peace. Discovering a healthier balance between my masculine and feminine sides led to more meaningful relationships, including the one with myself. Her de-cluttering exercise was also much needed; removing, reducing, and reversing people, places and thought patterns which no longer served me. Her natural antibiotics and daily “wake-up water” are crucial towards maintaining a healthy PH level and fending off sickness. I also thoroughly enjoyed our workouts, which didn’t require anything besides workout clothes, a mat, and a timer. Bring a towel! Setting a baseline goal for a challenging, yet attainable amount of weekly workouts varying across HIIT, Pilates, and runs led to better sleep and results that speak for themselves. Finally, I was reminded of the importance for self-care which has helped me take care of myself and others. I’m excited to be creating a life based on my vision, not my circumstances. Thank you, Angie! During the spring of 2016 my life was riddled with anxiety and question marks. Everything seemed pointless, and worst of all, joyless. In short, changes were necessary. Changes that required interior work and a certain willingness from my end. From our first meeting, I felt assured that Angie could guide me. She spoke deliberately and listened attentively. She didn't instruct or micromanage, she facilitated and inspired. Nothing she said was unbeknownst to me, but each word resonated in a way that fit my present circumstances. Our conversations paved the way for life altering decisions. My smoking habit (3-4 cigars a day) was reduced to one cigar every two months; my eating and exercise regiment went from self-imposed obligations to eager endeavors that instilled energy and vitality. My self image--a perpetual source of pain and conflict--evolved from judgement and negativity to gentleness and openness. Angie helped me identify belief systems that no longer served me, resentments that consumed my time, and spiritual approaches to change that could give rise to long term benefits (i.e. smoking, nutrition, peace and self acceptance.) Angie is the real deal; she won't give you the answer, she'll simply provide the means to discover it on your own. A journey of self discovery, finding my true self, breaking down barriers, regaining my self esteem, embracing failure, learning how my body works, discovering the fuel my body needs are just some of the things I have done during my work with Angie. In two years, I have become a woman that even I don’t recognize some days. I’m a product of the work I’ve put into everything she has facilitated. I’ve used all the lessons and techniques she has taught me about life, emotional balance, self care, personal discovery and most of all love. Loving every part of the process; good, bad and ugly. Angie has been the catalyst that has pushed me to succeed at becoming the best version of myself, for myself and my family. Her skills to teach and motivate are a mere thin layer of her talents, most of all it is the inspiration she brings to her clients that is most impactful! Angie woke me UP. I realized I'd been essentially sleeping through my life, going through the motions, and living inside of my toxic comfort zone--self- medicating and self-deprecating. She helped me realize that some of the obstacles ahead of me were ones I placed there. I know what you're thinking--I don't get in my own way, I'm trying to help myself. But see, we DO get in our own way, and we don't even realize it. Angie's compassionate, yet no-nonsense approach to making you see yourself as you ACTUALLY ARE and not who you have sequestered yourself to be is inspiring. She is incredible at what she does, and it is evident. This is her passion, and her spirit is contagious. My journey is far from over, but in the last 6 months, she has guided me to begin loving myself, taking care of myself, and creating my own personal heaven on Earth. Angie: to you, I say thank you. The extent of your support and guidance has gone far beyond anything I could have ever imagined, and for that and for YOU, I am forever grateful. I believe that people come into our lives at a certain time for a reason. I am extremely grateful for Angie, as she has taught me some of the most valuable lessons in my life that will forever transform the way I think and perceive my health, fitness, and overall wellness. Before I began my journey, I was stuck in a rut and the things that used to work for me, no longer did. Not only was I physically overweight, but also felt uninspired, and I knew I needed to find a solution fast. Angie helped me to discover that it all begins with our belief systems, and she taught me to “meet yourself where you’re at” first and foremost--such a simple yet powerful lesson that has had a positive impact in my life. Since I’ve began working with Angie, I’ve gained clarity on my purpose, which has in turn improved my health, and I’m on my way to living a better quality of life. I’ve been able to replace old, bad habits with new, healthy ones (like breaking my addiction to drinking soda and now drinking fruit-infused water!) She has taught me how to practice ‘self-care,’ and she understands that health and wellness is not defined by a number and is NOT a “one size fits all” program. Angie’s approach is unique and is tailored to fit your needs by providing the tools and resources to help you achieve your goals. Working with Angie has been one of the best investments I’ve ever made, and the results and transformation is priceless. Angie is the TRUTH. I highly recommend her coaching to everyone! I’ve been aware of my need for personal development and growth for a while now, since 2011 to be exact. Since then I have been reading, practicing, evolving, growing, etc. but, there was still something missing. I continued going through life, sometimes being present and other times just letting it go by. I felt stagnant and overwhelmed. During the spring (my favorite time of the year) I was able to see the signs from the universe, as I find it so easy to connect with myself during that season and made the decision I needed to trust it, find a way to get out of the routine, and stir my own pot.I needed guidance and someone to show me the way. Deciding to commit to working with a coach was hard on its own, as I oppose the extreme materialization and commercialization approach that some coaches have. I didn’t want to be sold into something and that was the vibe I got from many people. So, finding someone whose message and approach resonated with me was extremely important. I had been acquainted with Angie through a mutual friend a couple of years ago and have been following her on social media since. I saw and remained witness to her own transformation; I saw Angie working her plan and evolving into this wonderful woman that had not only a way to make things happen for herself, but she was willing to share her journey, highs and lows. So I decided to give it a try and booked my consultation with her. After meeting Angie and listening to her “True You” approach, I knew it was the right choice and took the leap to let her show me the way to finding my “Why.” I learned that throughout this process you would find things about yourself you were not even looking for, but somehow are pivotal for your growth. I learned to de-clutter my mind, heart, and body so I could have space for all the positive changes I had coming, I also learned to not be attached to my expectation of results and success. Some of the goals I had for my 6-month mark were obtained in less than that while other goals were transformed and adjusted to serve my purpose, not bring me anxiety or fear. Have I obtained everything I had set out for this journey? No, and that’s ok. Is the picture of the road clear and straight? No, sometimes it feels like you go forward 5 steps and go back 3, and that’s ok too. Angie taught me that progress and resistance are part of the entire experience. Setbacks are reminders that you are human and are in a continued improving state. I am more connected with my own journey now and not the one I expected to be on; I am guiding myself in better ways and have a clear purpose. I was able to take more leaps of faith on my own and have not felt that I made the wrong choice; I even got the courage to chase my dream, quit my job, and become an entrepreneur. I still have a long way to go, but I am looking forward to it as I have tools that were not visible before. Knowing what you want in life is important, but getting up and actually getting it is EVERYTHING! Let her show you how! Two years ago I was at a point in my life where I was desperate for many answers. Like, why can’t I control my anxiety? How come I can’t make myself happier? Why is it I can’t handle my emotions better? Or, what is my greater purpose in life? I felt stuck even hopeless at times. It was around this same time I connected with Angie, and that’s when everything began to change. Angie’s guidance facilitated a drastic shift that took me from being a victim of my limiting beliefs and fears to a woman who now LEADS her own life. Her coaching has helped me understand that I get to choose what my life looks like at all times. Since starting “True You” I gained the confidence I needed to leave my 5am shifts as a bartender to launching my own business and do the work I’m most passionate about. For the first time in my adult life I get a restful night's sleep, which has boosted my energy levels drastically. I have discovered what foods I enjoy and that also work best for my body. I have also developed a spiritual practice that has opened creative doorways I never knew existed within me. My mindset, however, has been the biggest shift of all. I used to view the world through a pessimistic lens that kept me in a dark place for most of my life. These days I wake up seeing the beauty in even the ugliest situations. These are just SOME of the ways my life and health have improved by working with Angie. My health and lifestyle transformation took hard work every single day and is still far from over. However, the process has rewarded me in ways that I couldn’t have conceived two years ago. I’ve moved from a place of hopelessness to a place where I am aligning with the highest version of myself. If I could use one word to describe Angie it would be powerful. Everything from her work, her presence, her wisdom, as well as the unconditional love she displays to all of her clients will move you. Angie, you are creating profound shifts not just in the lives of individuals, but you are making this world a better place to live. Thank you for all that you do. I am forever grateful. “We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -- Colleen Egan, 28, Entrepreneur/Coach One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life was choosing to work with Angie as my coach; to invest in myself & to better my life. When I contacted Angie 9 months ago, I was desperate to improve a few areas in my life, but I didn’t know how to get there. This experience, to have Angie by my side guiding me to look at my life, has been indispensible. Not only was I able to achieve my goals I had set out for (and then some!), it happened in a way that has served me, rather than in a way that stole from me. One of my big breakthroughs on this journey was that I quit my job! This decision has allowed me to now create my own Entrepreneurial life in my own way. Angie taught me how to better manage my health choices, to balance working out + working in, to focus on solutions and not let obstacles get in my way, as well as emotional management, to name a few. These are some of the things that most importantly have allowed me to experience a deeper relationship with myself, as well as enjoy an improved quality of life, which has also benefited the people and the relationships most important to me. I thank you Angie for sharing and teaching me the tools that I can use every single day to create my own life & to create my own Heaven on Earth. The best part is: I am just getting started and cannot wait to create the next chapter of my life! Angie has been a guide to me in many ways. She has guided me to a place within myself where I can confidently choose which direction I am going in, and be able to move towards it with an amount of fear that diminishes daily. She has guided me to a version of myself that is accepting of who I am on a day-to-day basis; she has caught me at those points where I begin to compare myself to idealistic standards rather than human standards and has reminded me hold myself high even on the low days. She has shown a faith in me that I do not understand on some days, understand on others, believe on most, and, no matter what day, I am grateful for that. Meeting with her twice a month, she has become an echo of the intentions I have set for my life, a fire under my ass, and a safe haven. Consistently meeting me where I am at emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically and then giving me the tools (exercises, books, perspectives, mantras, feng-shui tips) all with the purpose of moving me forward in the direction of my choice from exactly where I am standing (rather than the two miles ahead where I want to be or sometimes think I am). She has been a humbling and inspiring presence in my life and I am excited to continue my journey with her. When I first met with Angie, I was in a place in my life where I found myself stuck. I felt stagnant, stressed, and unhappy. Goals that I'd wanted to accomplish seemed impossible and unattainable. After our first meeting, I realized that I needed my happiness to be my priority again and decided that enough was enough. Angie helped bring to light certain realizations and situations where change was necessary in order for me to move forward and out of my rut. In some instances, I would never have made those discoveries on my own or would never have thought they were even relative in the scheme of things, but everything is connected. Angie helped me to realize that health and happiness are created by so much more than diet and exercise. She helped me to look within myself and acknowledge my strengths and passions and guided me in moving toward them, instead of running away from them and self-sabotaging in order to remain in that seemingly safe place. Fear is a liar. Entrepreneur/Owner of "The Glass Oven" Angie showed me we really can do anything we want to do and become anything we want to become. "Why not?," she'd ask me...all the time, until I started asking myself. "Why the hell not?" Her guidance in teaching me how to create realistic and attainable goals, and to stay focused on the here and now were crucial to my successes. During so many conversations it was like a light bulb went on in "Aha!" moments, and it was invigorating. I had been looking for peace and happiness in all the wrong places, later realizing they were within me all along. As a busy, busy, busy mother of two and an entrepreneur with a full time job, it was a struggle for me to find time for myself. Angie helped me become aware of the importance of self care and self love, and helped me realize that the better I take care of and love myself, the better and more present I will be to care for and love others and the better I will fulfill my goals with care and love and purpose. Angie helped me realize a huge goal that had been swirling around in my head for years. And now, I'm on my way. "Ego says, "Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace." Spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place." When I first was referred to Angie, I had a million excuses as to why I did not need any type of coaching in my life. I thought I was doing just fine on my own. However, all it took was one consultation before I realized, I not only needed Angie, I wanted to embark on this new journey with her as my source of guidance and support. Throughout my time with Angie, I’ve learned more about myself than I had ever before. It was incredible to bring to light the “true Chantel” who had been dormant for so many years. I will be forever grateful to Angie for opening my mind, and more importantly, my heart to everything life has to offer. I am more empowered to not leave life to chance, but rather, take actions and take control of my life. I feel healthier and happier than ever! I have learned so many POWERFUL tools that I now incorporate into my daily life, across all aspects from relationships, to my career, to my health and more. I am eternally grateful Angie! Speech Language Pathologist "I've always taken care of others and put their needs before mine. For the longest time, I knew I wanted to make a change in my life because I was finally able to see that what I really needed to do was take care of myself and be HAPPY, I just didn't know what steps to take to get there. Making the choice to gift myself Angie as my coach has truly been a blessing. My life needed change, nurture, self-love and self-respect. Although it's been a slow process, Angie has helped me get to a better place in my life. I can never talk enough about all the things I learn with her and when I find myself in a place I don't want to be in, the things I've learned with her help me get back on track and make better choices for myself. THANK YOU, Angie!" Communications Specialist I knew I needed something: a change, guidance, maybe someone just to hear me. I had been to psychologist in the past, and although I think it was great then, it was not what I needed now. I was “on top of the world,” things were going great in my life, and yet I was STILL “unhappy” and unsatisfied. It was so confusing and frustrating. Meeting Angie was pure fate. God had his plan. I first met Angie as she casually walked in to my place of work (I own a clothing boutique). I greeted her as she walked in, helped her find a pair of shoes, and we quickly got to chatting. A few laughs later, she told me what she did for a living. I remember thinking “OH, that’s interesting!” and asked her for a card. I put it away in my wallet, as I told myself I didn’t need a coach right now. Months and some life changes went by. I had always kept her and the idea of having a coach at the back of my mind. And one day as I went to pay for a pack of cigarettes, her card popped out onto the counter. Funny how God goes about things. I reached out to her and made an appointment. Had a great consult. And I’m not going to lie, the commitment intimidated me, and I found myself asking “Did I really need this? My life is pretty great so far” and questions like that kept coming up. However, I realized it was just fear, and I pushed that fear and all the doubt out the window and signed up. Little did I know the transformation that would take place over the next year. I won’t go into all the details because well, it doesn’t matter what the details are. It doesn’t matter what you or I are going through or have been through--because what does matter is that change exists. Healthy, stable, consistent change does exist. In our first few sessions with Angie, we set goals and baselines. I set my vision and gradually worked towards it. As the weeks went by, and I started to change/grow, so did my vision. By month 3, I was no longer concerned with the things that we talked about when we started. I was aligning. By month 6, my whole world was shook, and everything felt like it had fallen apart. But I was ok, and I was at peace most of the time. It’s not that everything had fallen apart. It’s that I had changed. I had embodied all the things that I said I had wanted when we started, and I had finally found the real me buried down under all the insecurities and self-doubt. In order for one to change, our surroundings must change too. You know that saying “things fall apart so that better things can fall together”--well folks, that’s EXACTLY how it went. We’re talking about work, family, relationships, emotional health. All of it. 10 months or so later, I’m in one of the best points of my life. Not only am I aware of my surroundings, I know what it is to be in alignment with myself. I actively CHOOSE things that serve me. (A huge lesson in all this is we all have choices.) Every single day is an opportunity to change. To choose differently. You can have endless excuses, but truth is you have zero limitations. I have acquired strong emotional management skills, and I finally have a better understanding of my own life and how I want to live it. Things I was: Unappreciated A people pleaser A victim of my circumstances Scared ( of being myself, of moving forward, of change, of rejection, of losing) In control of life Self-centered (it’s actually a good thing) Excited for change MYSELF! (This is huge for me!) No longer scared of any of the things that I feared Aligned Satisfied I could go on and on about all the things I’ve learned in such little time. Let’s face it, 10 months is like a week when I think about the fact that I’ve been living in what now feels like “hell” for the last 10-15 years! What I’ve learned from Angie has been liberating. And I cannot wait to see where I get a year from now! Entrepreneur/Owner of I’m not one to boast about accomplishments in which I have achieved, but I have to in this case, the credit is owed to someone: Angie. Eight months ago, I truly felt like I was wasting my life. I work night shift three times a week 6:30 pm - 7am at a hospital and as you can imagine, my sleep schedule is opposite of the norm. I found myself sleeping ALL day, and awake ALL night on my days off. I felt as if I never saw daylight, which actually wasn’t a feeling, it was the truth. I had a to-do list constantly numbered atleast 1 - 10, and it would take me weeks to get anything done. I had no physical activity incorporated in my schedule, and my eating was just not even close to what it is today. My little free time off I spent putting people before me, caring what people thought about me or if they liked me, and stressing over things I had absolutely no control over. When explaining this to Angie on our first meet, I remember her telling me “you need work.” Talking to her for an hour I was amazed. I couldn’t believe there was someone my age with her life so together. Their thought process so together. Angie just has her sht together. I trusted her and immediately knew this was someone I wanted to be around and learn from. I embarked on a journey, and I knew that God had planted her in my life at this very time for a reason. On our second meet, Angie gave me a binder and a notebook. She said the quote on the notebook reminded her of me. I didn’t think much of it. The very next day, as I’m clearing out the pictures in my phone ( I hate clutter), I noticed I had a taken a picture a few months ago in Target of a quote on a notebook to send to my sister-in-law. Guess what notebook that was? Yup, the notebook Angie gave me. Creepy or fate? Fate! Signs are everywhere. Angie set a plan for me, a 6-month plan, and every other week we got together and implemented the next step to the plan. I experienced major accomplishments and a couple set backs (that only happens when YOU don’t give your 100% dedication). Today, I can say I’ve mastered a sleeping schedule, which has me enjoying my time off and conquering my to-do lists. I cook now when before to me the term "cooking" meant throwing frozen food in the oven (my poor hubby!). I don’t allow myself to stress about things I have no control over. I put myself first. I don’t care what people think, and let’s be real, the way people feel is NOT my responsibility. I have removed the toxic from my life (which I can say I have NEVER done before--in fear of upsetting people). I reach my baseline for physical activity weekly and sometimes go over. My confidence, happiness, love for life, and energy has increased dramatically! You may think these are all things that can be achieved on your own, and maybe they can be, but some people, like myself, need that push. You need someone holding you accountable besides yourself, and you need someone to tell you the real and the raw, and that’s Angie. I have started this testimonial over three times already and hopefully like they say, “the third time is the charm.” I find myself rewriting it not because I don’t think it was worthy; but, I felt it wasn’t ‘deep’ enough. And to be as blunt as Angie, that is exactly what she does… she digs, and she digs deep. I started off with Angie only being twenty years old. With a background of being 'baker-acted' and clinically diagnosed with depression and anxiety at the young age of fifteen. I battled it severely for almost four years. I had felt that my 2017 was whirling down in a spiral I knew I could gain control of again. It reached a sudden commencement of feeling an unexplainable sadness, uncertainty, and anger within me. The anger came from a place of "why" was I feeling this way when I had things I had been praying for and yet did not feel fulfilled. I was so annoyed of myself. I just thought to myself: I was not going to allow myself to be depressed. I was not going to allow my emotions overpower my mind. Then, one Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting in the tables at Panera Bread and Angie popped up on my Instagram news feed. The post was about a workshop she was going to be hosting. It felt like an absolute sign from God and The Universe that this was something for me. Suddenly my heart was saddened due to the fact that I couldn’t attend her workshop due to the date it was taking place; however, that did not stop me. I took it upon myself to reach out to her. Sooner than I knew it, my heart skipped a beat, as her immediate response was just sitting in my inbox. From the consultation to this day, she has kept an undeniable truth, loyalty, and love. I had always lived in a fear due to the old scarcity mindset I sadly did have. Therefore, during the consultation, I was sitting beside her and all that was going through my head was: I am a full-time college student with a part-time job, with the side of bills and a bunch of other responsibilities we all have. So, when I took a look at the contract with the grand total of a number that absolutely scared me, I suddenly became sad because I thought I couldn’t be able to give myself this help I knew had to commit to. But at the same time in that exact moment, I felt a fire burning in my soul as I looked into her chocolate eyes and she expressed to me “I don’t waste my time. Real-life changing sht happens here. And if this is what you truly say you want then you find a way.” I didn’t even think twice as I grabbed her purple pen and signed my way to a life I did not even believe to be possible, especially not at my age. Angie ignites more than just a fire in your soul, but a belief within you that at first you cannot even comprehend for yourself. I am now one degree smarter, one business under my belt, and a better part time job in. A resourceful, empowered, fired up twenty-one-year-old that is taking over the world one step at a time. Angie is my piece of heaven on Earth. She has gifted me more than just great knowledge upon life, tackling emotions within different situations, or breathing exercises, but the gift of being true to myself. Thank you, Angie. Thank you for paying it forward within our community and for the many of us that need that splash of water to wake up or the breath of fresh air to keep going. I am now at my one-year mark ,and this contract has no expiration date, because this is a life-long journey. I am here for one hell of a ride. If you asked me a year ago where I would be today, it would be completely different than where I am right now. I always knew that the typical “therapy” wasn’t for me, but finding more of a holistic way was. I loved finding new ways to improve my thinking and overall well-being; I bought book after book, listened to podcast, searched through blogs and social media [but ultimately that wasn't enough]. Then one day, I stumbled upon Angie’s page through Instagram and knew instantly that I had to see what this was about. That was one of the BEST steps I have taken in my life. She aligned with my entire thought process of where I wanted to be. Fast forward to 6 months later, I have learned new things about myself that I never knew existed. I came face to face with the truth, the ugly truth. I was stagnant in my life, I wasn’t being challenged, I lost myself through what was a one-sided relationship with someone who couldn’t manage his own emotions and was overwhelmed with the unhappiness I felt at work. Things needed, WERE, going to change. I made that promise to myself and now I AM COMMITTED. I learned that feelings are just that: feelings. They come and go, and you are the one that gives power to their meaning. You are the ultimate cheerleader or destroyer. Angie will make you feel the very deep part of your core--enough to overcome these habits that no longer serve you. I chose to be a CHAMPION and by hiring her as a Coach, I am getting that much closer to it. Dispatcher/Coast Guard (USCG Reserves) "This wasn't like any other work I've done with someone before. This was soul work. Angie brought out the things in me that I did and didn't want to face. Angie's gift is truly life-changing. She has helped me uncover and shift from the person I was to the person I'm meant to be. She helped me uncover my truth. The work we've done is the kind of work that shifts mountains. I highly recommend working with Angie. It's never the diet, the business, the relationship. It's the things underneath the hood that Angie sees and helps you to see it too." MOT, OTR/L, CEO + Co-Founder of "Joy Energy Time" When I came to Angie, I was avoiding a purpose-filled life by living in denial of what I truly wanted. I knew for a fact that my life needed guidance because I was free from depression and drug addiction, but I was still lacking direction, purpose, consistent drive, unwavering belief, and the tools needed for me to manage my EQ (emotional intelligence). I had experienced the convenience of online sessions in the past because a doctor I previously worked with also offered the option of working remotely so I knew it wouldn’t be an issue. Most importantly, I wanted my mental health to grow stronger and not wilt into another cycle of fighting the same old battles. [All the way from Texas], I chose to work with Angie because nobody would be a better fit than someone living freely after having conquered battles that many haven’t yet faced. After completing Phase 1 with Angie, I’ve learned how to effectively manage my emotions in order for me to stay off medications, which was a personal goal of mine. I found clarity & courage to unapologetically be myself, which translated into me personally formulating an action plan for a purpose-filled life of my choosing. More than an extraordinary coach, I truly believe Angie is a lightworker that helped me remember my identity and consequently empowered me to set my own life free. I signed up for EQ, but gained priceless wisdom along the way; I’ll forever be grateful for Angie’s coaching. Entrepreneur/Holistic Health Advocate Two months after I lost my father to cancer & its many complications, I felt lost, but my sense of direction hadn’t totally left me. I read Angie’s Instagram posts, went through her website & just felt like she could help me someway, somehow, so I asked for her time. Angie & I went to high school together, so I had come to her for friendly direction - who could help me? I felt lost. Should it be a psychologist or what kind of coach? I ended up signing up with Angie because she said that instead of being someone who would just listen, she would actually give me tools to help me move forward and have my back. I felt compelled to make a leap a faith with her. Through the course of a year, as my emotional intelligence coach, Angie guided me to: Become an observer of my emotions vs. diving into all of the waves that come through daily Note when something felt like a trigger Recognize when the voice inside my head was (really) mean, which was a symptom of needing to fill my cup Invest in myself & fill my cup more regularly than I ever have through exercise, different types of medicines, rituals, etc. Purchase a natural light alarm clock which changed my wake ups -- seriously, this one seems simple but amazing I have no doubt that without Angie's guidance & friendship, I would have lost myself for a longer while also losing the man I now call my fiance. By facing my thoughts & emotions with Angie, I was able to get my power back. Though my formal time with Angie has come to an end, my time with her has shown me that I will always have a coach from here on out because there is ALWAYS a next level for each of us - emotionally , physically , spiritually, etc. - and having someone who you trust, cheering you on makes all the difference . What makes Angie effective? She is uniquely able to truly listen and when it’s time, she will rephrase and repeat what you said with such clarity, that you will know she understood. During endless emotional conversations where I would get lost, Angie would remind me how to get back my brain by asking critical questions. In asking those questions over and over again through all different types of emotional conversations, I learned how to help myself. She empowered me. Angie is so incredible at this skill and it’s so challenging to even explain! She will follow you into your darkness time and time again, and help you bring yourself back to the light. To whoever is reading this and is feeling compelled to see for yourself - please do & you will see Angie will have your back too. Trade Planning Lead I am eternally grateful for crossing paths with Angie almost two years ago at one of her workshops. I was instantly drawn to her message and scheduled a consultation immediately after. She sat with me, explained her program, and I remember instantly thinking “WHEN CAN WE START?” The last two years have been the most transformative years for not just my confidence, but my authenticity. Angie helped me point out my own limiting beliefs and excuses I kept making in fear of change. I started letting go of relationships, beliefs, and thoughts that were no longer serving me. The beauty of letting go of these things is that it makes room for things and people that do align with your most authentic self. I feel so at peace because my relationships, spiritual life, health, and career are finally in sync with who I am at my core and what I want. I am also empowered because I have learned the importance of managing my emotions in the toughest situations. I remember telling Angie my dream was to open an ABA company. This dream felt like something so distant and difficult to achieve at the time. Angie has helped me every step of the way, and I am so blessed to say that I was able to leave my job and work full time for myself in this short time. My life has improved in so many ways since working with Angie, and I know this is only the beginning of even greater things to come. Angie literally walked into my life when I needed her the most – and didn’t even know it. During a trunk show at a local boutique, she made a purchase from us and began following us on Instagram. Within minutes, I sent her a direct message that said “ After reading your bio, I think I need to come see you!” Working with Angie has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in life. I was genuinely drawn to her personality, her confidence and sense of empathy. Knowing I was in a very bad place emotionally and physically – I signed up to her coaching program instantly. Despite not being in the best of financial situations, I said I would find a way to make it happen – and I did. The changes began even before our first official session. 24 hours after our consultation, I spoke to my immediate family (those that would be affected the most by it) and made a very powerful decision. This is the type of impact Angie has, however, YOU must be willing to do the work and be open to seeing life in a whole new direction. Angie really opened my eyes to where I was in life, how my limiting beliefs were holding me back and the confidence I was lacking in my business. After only 2 sessions, I resigned from my 16-year corporate job, which was slowly killing me. To be clear, this was not suggested to me. Rather, through her coaching, I came to the realization on my own. You see, Angie is not here to tell you what to do or how to do it – she is not a babysitter. No – she is here to elevate and open your way of thinking and the way you live your life so that YOU and YOU ALONE have the power to make those decisions. It’s all part of evolving into the best version of yourself. With Angie’s wisdom, coaching and guidance, I literally changed my life to what I always dreamed it could be. These changes did not come easy, but personal growth is never easy or comfortable – and Angie is a firm believer in getting uncomfortable. She leads by example as is very open about challenging herself and “getting uncomfortable”. When I look back on who I was before working with Angie and who I am today, I almost cannot believe it. It’s as if she opened the door and guided me with her knowledge to a whole new world of possibilities. I am forever grateful for Angie and hold her dear to my heart as one of the most impactful people in my entire life. Thank you Angie, thank you. Co-Founder + Owner of "Splash Jewelry & Accessories" Every session we shared, you made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. Every session had answers to my troubles. Every session was filled with joy. Every session, I wish would last a little longer.... I have gained the ability to be "PRESENT" and see things for what they truly are. I have lost the "FEAR'' of my true potential. I have aquired the skill and habit to put "SOMETHING" away and recover financially from my previous mistakes and money story. I understand now how to relinquish the things I cannot control and embrace them. I have learned to breath myself back into what truly matters. Life has become simpler and I feel and see everything in a whole different way, although it was not simple. I learned how difficult breaking habits can be and how the mind and the body will try to fight back its way into normalcy. Whenever I feel doubt or recognize those past feelings, I look back at my notes and sessions and they always help me through. At moments of what I would call 911's, Angie allows phone calls that would always ease my worries. I never felt alone through this process. My business is soaring. I happily left my 10 year job to create a new life and nurture my dreams and make them a reality. Something I thought I would never be able to accomplish. My eating habits serve me and are non-negotiable, and I am taking care of my body with consistent exercise. I put myself first now....I really do; and truly nothing comes in my way! I was in a place of anxiety in regards to my future; I was "very" disappointed in regards to my past, focusing tons of my energy there and in a confusion regarding my present moment. All these were not noticed by me. Angie sends you home with insightful homework and notes, which help you along your process. The summary sessions are filled with amazing information and are delivered to you the next day. Something I always looked forward to reading. She analyzes her client so specifically that is truly wonderful to see how you evolve. Her sessions are set in comfortable places which makes everything about her technique so unique. For that one hour, you truly feel you are with a kind, smart, understanding, and truthful mentor. Anyone who will cross paths with Angie will be very fortunate. I have been one of them and for it, I am eternally and lovingly grateful. Entrepreneur + Founder of "Pure V" When I first started working with Angie, I was probably at one of the lowest points in my life, in all aspects: emotionally, physically, and mentally. My emotional intelligence was non-existent, my mindset was off, and my health habits were not great. Looking back now, I can’t ever imagine being in that place again. Coaching with Angie was truly transformational! I can’t even put into words how much my life/identity has shifted in the most amazing ways, how much my mind has changed, and how grateful I am for her work. With Angie I learned how to let go of money stories, how to let go of people and relationships that did not serve me, and I strengthened my mindset more than I ever thought I could. Most importantly, I shifted into fully trusting myself to achieve anything I put my mind to. Every time I had a moment of doubt, Angie helped me work through it, and guided me in processing feelings and thoughts. She empowered me and truly helped me believe in myself again. The best part: most of this happened amidst a ‘pandemic’! During one of the most challenging times for most of the world, Angie helped me thrive like never before. I changed my eating habits, lost 15 lbs, I got promoted at work, and slowly but surely, more and more pieces started falling into place. I've healed so much through this process with Angie, even in areas where I did not know I needed healing. She helped me see my blind spots in order to work through previous trauma and forgive. I now look back at the things that used to cause me pain with empathy. My relationships across the board have gotten so much better, with family and friends alike. I’ve learned the beauty of meeting people where they are at, and the peace that comes from truly understanding my feelings. Now, my health habits serve me, and my body is fueled and cared for. I no longer have a money story. I am at peace. I operate from a place of abundance. I love myself more than ever before. I’m more confident than I’ve ever been, and the momentum in my career/professional life is at an all time high. I care for my patients in a more meaningful way, and I know I'm making a positive impact on my community. I can’t wait to keep exploring and growing on this path of self development. I know there are even more amazing things coming soon, and now thanks to Angie, I’m equipped to handle all of it. I wake up every day with so much gratitude, for this beautiful life, and for Angie’s impact on it. Have you ever felt that you just keep running into all the walls possible? No matter how much meditation, yoga, workouts, prayer, journaling, and speaking things into existence that you STILL felt doors closing, one after another. This was me prior to working with Angie. Little did I know how much of my own emotional health impacted what I was experiencing. I was looking to work with someone who not only spoke to my experience, but could help me get out of my own way...simply get to the root of the resistance in my life. I thought what I needed was a "business coach," maybe to work on my brand, fine tune my WHY, but working with Angie showed me otherwise. Angie helped me understand not only what emotional IQ was, but the HUGE role it plays in all of our lives. I learned how false narratives and several distorted thinking patterns impacted my relationships and overall faith within myself. I learned how the lack of boundaries and constantly doing things for others depleted me of my energy and how this contributed to continuously having a lack of clarity in my life. However, the biggest takeaway and one which I am so incredibly grateful for is simply finding my most authentic self. I found my voice and learned how to use it. I drew boundaries, walked away from people, jobs and activities that didn't serve me. Through finding this authenticity I gained the courage to do hard and uncomfortable things, which is where I saw the most growth. Thank you, Angie, for the work you do, the impact you leave, and encouraging us all to be our truest selves.	51,514
What a fabulous morning! We met with twelve Tumbleweed program managers in our first FastTrac(R) New Venture session. We are going to help them expand the Drop In Gallery and the accompanying t-shirt printing businesses safely (without risk to Tumbleweed) and train the managers to train Tumbleweed youth to intern at the DIG and start their own ventures. One of the most exciting facets of this business is that Tumbleweed has a program for refugee youth. Many of them will not be able to stay in the United States, so the goal is to send them back to their own countries (mostly Central America) with skills to start their own businesses or create crafts that can be imported by Tumbleweed and sold at the DIG. As usual, I feel blessed to provide some help to Tumbleweed, which helps so many others. And I’m doubly blessed because, as usual, I have the strong support of Phillip Blackerby and Ed Nusbaum, two fantastic facilitators and business counselors. Drop-In Gallery front view (Photo by Philip Blackerby) Inside the Drop In Gallery (Photo by Philip Blackerby) Cameron places the screen on the blank shirt (Photo by Philip Blackerby) This is where, after the transient youth create the art, it is sold and 70% of the proceeds are returned to the artists. Here are the Tumbleweed kids in their nascent t-shirt business. This is the program OTEF is helping to launch. They have many orders coming in already. ← Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference to become more tech-oriented → Update on the Foundation’s Programs	1,560
Robert, you have worked very hard on your game and have had a very good summer of tournaments. Keep up the hard work and great play!!! Congratulations! July 3rd, 2014 \| Brech Spradley \| Comments Off on Congratulations to student Robert Rickard for verbally committing to play at Texas Tech!! \| About The Author Comments are closed. Just a note of thanks to the instructors at the Barton Creek Golf Academy! I had a truly enjoyable, informative time at the Academy and certainly saw a huge improvement in my golf swing and more importantly LOWER SCORES! I highly recommend this school to anyone, regardless of skill level or age, wanting to more fully enjoy their time on spent on the golf course...	740
The poop bag dispenser supply produced by Sengtor Dongguan is prossessed with the Certification of ISO 900 ,14000 and Fedex etc,many other certifications.The company has many years of professional experience in the production of plastic products, strict quality management system, advanced equipment, strong technical force. The Sengtor brand is a green and environmentally friendly brand under the company that starts from household garbage bags in order to improve the ecological environment. Adhering to the concept of "making the human environment better and making human life happier", the Sengtor brand is based on Xiongjin Industry, and is committed to the development of fully biodegradable vest bags, flat pockets, garbage sorting bags, etc. Among them, degradable pet litter bags With its portable design and excellent product quality, it has become the company's annual explosion. With more than 10 years of experienced and professional expert team and production line, which can provide our customers with high security solutions and in-time technical support services. We believe in Quality service and our approach has been designed to provide the same. We listen carefully to our clients and provide space, time and materials according to agreement for the project. Competitive Pricing We render services to our clients at a very competitive price and depending on the type of client engagement we offer them the most suitable pricing model structure. We invest the time up-front to clearly understand your needs and then manage projects to ensure they are delivered on time and within budget. Related Products We are factories We are a factory. We have advanced production equipment and professional technical team, which can produce products to meet your needs. The most important thing is that all our products meet international quality standards and have obtained their certification!	1,993
RALEIGH, N.C. (U-WIRE) – University students and professors say they feel that plagiarism is a growing problem in the college environment, and it is an unethical tendency that needs to be prevented. Although North Carolina State University officials take a hard stance for academic integrity, and violators have permanent scars on their school records, the problem of plagiarism is still prevalent in the college classroom, according to English Lecturer Janet Hudson. The national Center for Academic Integrity conducted a study, which found that almost 80 percent of college students admit to cheating at least once. Hudson said a rise in the amount of plagiarism in recent years may be from an increasingly competitive job market. “It’s my sense that students are very focused on grades and getting jobs with their degree,” Hudson said. “They may feel that plagiarism is the only way to achieve a high grade.” Hudson said for professors who grade hundreds of papers in a semester, inconsistencies in a student’s writing style are easy to identify. “Once you get to know your students and know how they write, it’s fairly obvious when a text isn’t written by that individual,” Hudson said. English Professor and Director of Campus Writing and Speaking Program Christopher Anson said many of the problems associated with plagiarism come from a lack of cooperative communication between professors and students. “Across higher education, we are getting so paranoid about [plagiarism]. We focus more on crime and punishment and not on how to educate people,” Anson said. “Students need to be taught what it means to take text from a published work and document it.” Anson was a member of the Council of Writing Program Administrators, which is a national association of college and university faculty with professional responsibilities for directing writing programs. The WPA publishes a journal and newsletter, holds an annual workshop and conference, develops position statements, offers consulting and program evaluation and holds extensive discussions about college writing and writing programs. He said professors can decrease the amount of plagiarism by designing innovative assignments that capture the purpose of the information they are trying to teach. “If you can design assignments that are really engaging, creative and unique, students will not only be unable to plagiarize, but they won’t want to,” Anson said. Anson said if students and professors work together they can eliminate this problem and create a more productive classroom. “This is a shared responsibility,” Anson said. “Students have the responsibility to be ethical, and professors need to do their part in considering what they want their students to learn from an assignment.” Matthew Alfaro, a freshman in biomedical engineering, said he can’t condone plagiarism, and he sees it as a lazy and useless way to do school work. “If you’re just changing a few aspects of the work and calling it your own, that is both wrong and immoral,” Alfaro said. Bhagirath Patel, a freshman in First Year College, said his professors have been very clear on what constitutes plagiarism in writing, so it would be impossible for him to break the rules by mistake. “My professors have informed us in detail about the ethical and moral reasons why not to plagiarize and what will result if we are caught,” Patel said. Patel said procrastination causes many students to turn to plagiarism as a last resource. “Often students are just not planning their time well and are working to the last hour,” Patel said. “This creates a lot of unnecessary stress, which leads them to resort to immoral methods such as plagiarism.” Hudson said in seeking ways to prevent this problem, it is important that above all else, students take pride in the work they create. “It is most important that students value their own work and be proud of the work they produce in college,” Hudson said. “It should be something they produce rather than merely a means to an end.” Tweets by kentwired Latest Updates Third QB’s the charm: Freshman Tommy Ulatowski ends football’s season with a win Latest Updates Men’s basketball battles back and forth with nation’s No. 2 team Latest Updates Football closes out season with a win Latest Updates Latest Updates Undergraduate Student Government’s first-ever Strategic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan passed	4,463
Janice Keats is a Canadian author and poet. She’s also a photographer, blogger and a full-time worker with the Salvation Army. Janet: Welcome, Janice, and thanks for stopping by. You self-published Poems of Inspiration and Occasion as well as your Bible study, Covering The Bases, then chose to go the traditional publishing route with your third, A Journey to the Heart of Evangelism. What prompted the change? Janice: With my first two books I was eager to see them printed and I knew that the traditional publishing route takes time. I really wanted to seek a publisher for this book, firstly because of the satisfaction and accomplishment that is associated with it. It’s a good feeling knowing that I have accomplished what I have set out to do. (Although it had taken 3 major attempts of searching the right publisher and then sending out queries and waiting for their responses.) So in this case it was a period of 4 years. Secondly, I was ready and prepared for the task, I guess I could say that I have matured and have grown as a writer in recent years. Thirdly, a writer has a far greater advantage of promotion with traditional route than the self-publishing method. Meaning it would be found on numerous websites etc. I’ve learned a lot about promotion however, with my self-published books. In fact, I have applied those skills with my latest book. Janet: Tell us a bit about A Journey to the Heart of Evangelism. Why did you write this book? Janice: It really is because of my personal faith experience. I struggled so much with the need to make a decision for Christ that my heart literally ached. I didn’t have a church background. When I became a Christian, I experienced a complete transformation. I was so overjoyed of the genuine peace and I knew that Jesus was real so I had to share it with people. It wasn’t the direct approach as some may think, it was a simple explanation of how Jesus changed my life. (My personal faith story is detailed on my blog). I became involved in Bible studies and later facilitated many groups. As a result, I developed my own material. In the book, I have detailed how to create a personal faith story by following a few easy steps and writing it out. Also, I have included charts for the reader to keep progress of his/her faith as well as outreach suggestions. Janet: The word ‘evangelism’ has picked up a taint from some of the methods people have used, but the need to tell others what Jesus has done for us—and how much He loves them—is key to the Christian life. How would you define it in terms people would understand today? Janice: Sometimes I wonder if I should have used the word ‘evangelism’ because I had already encountered an obstacle. I contacted one particular magazine in hopes of submitting a piece from my book and was told that evangelism doesn’t sell. Wow, I was floored. How can someone make a judgement like that without knowing what the book is about? It’s true, the word evangelism may be tainted but since God’s Word doesn’t change that doesn’t mean we can’t try different methods. We have to keep trying new methods of exposing the Gospel message. Perhaps back in the day, there may have been more of a force of persuasion among the body of Christ but just as technology changes, so too, the church makes adjustments. What the world needs to know is how much God loves them. Who will share the message? Who will go? And…who will teach? I will go Lord. I gave Him my life and I will listen to God’s direction as far as I am able. This subject is my passion. I don’t necessarily need to use the word, ‘evangelism’ as long as I am willing to share my faith. The journey is with Jesus to His heart – the heart of evangelism. Janet: I’m sure you have many chances to share your faith in your work with the Salvation Army. You have a helpful page on your blog for people who want to learn how to tell their own faith story. What would you say to someone who freezes at the thought of sharing their faith? Janice: I would tell them that they have a faith story to share. They don’t have to prepare a mental script at all. I could freeze at the thought of that. In my experience, I’ve been challenged with, “How did Jesus change your life? or What difference does Jesus make?” I always begin with the old me, what my life was like before, and then share the new me, my new-found joy! There has to be a difference. It is possible that a person may not know exactly where they are in their faith. Sometimes Christians grow cold and weak in their walk with God. In my book, there is a chart which helps the reader understand where he/she stands in his/her faith. Janet: What has reader response been like for A Journey to the Heart of Evangelism? Janice: It’s been great so far. I have heard from a Bible study group who has purchased my latest book and I received a testimonial from the leader saying that they are growing spiritually. They originally had a timeline of studying one chapter each week but they decided not to rush it because the group was opening up and sharing with one another. One lady said that she could now share her faith without being fearful. Another reader said that she now has a heart for the lost and this book was stirring something within her. That’s great news! I was so excited to hear those comments. I was most excited when I saw my book in a retail store recently. I was browsing around a Christian store while on vacation this summer and looked up to see my book on the top shelf. It’s the only one my eyes were fixed on: my book. It was as if all the other books became shadows. A friend took some photos of me with the book. It was meant for me to see it, I’m sure. Out of courtesy, I wrote a thank you note to the manager for stocking my book. Janet: Even one encouraging response can mean so much. And how cool to be surprised by your book on a store shelf! What got you started writing? Janice: The first piece I wrote was a poem entitled, Where is He? It was my personal thoughts on God as I was searching for Him. Believe it or not I hadn’t written or had any interest in writing before that time. I was at the age of 30. My poetry writing took off and as a result I published my poetry book. From there it was my Bible study material. As my writing career began to take shape I decided to study Creative Writing, which was a two-year program. It’s hard to believe that all this was taking place after my decision to follow God. It goes to prove that His plan for my life was playing out. Janet: It’s amazing to see His plans unfold as we grow in Him! Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you? Janice: My favourite Scripture verse is Psalm 20:4, which says, “May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” That Scripture verse stood out to me in church one morning and I thought about all my desires that I wanted to achieve. I love the songs, “Worthy is the Lamb” and “Rescue the Perishing”. I have a different version of “Rescue the Perishing” than the traditional one you see in hymnbooks. It’s on a praise and worship CD that has a contemporary slant. Janet: I’m sure you have a few more book projects in the works. Any you’d like to tell us about? Janice: I’m working on a devotional book as well as another Bible study book on the subject of church wounds, which is sensitive, but I’m going to do it. Also, I am half way through recording an audio book of my poetry and half way through another book I am co-writing. Janet: Church wounds… that’s a touchy one indeed, but where there are wounds, there’s the need of healing. Too many times we ignore church wounds and hope they’ll go away. With all this on your plate, what’s your favourite creative outlet for renewing your mental energy? And what do you like to do to get away from it all? Janice: I love to create things. When I know I need a break, I will deliberately take time out to make various crafts. I enjoy creating photo stationery and sewing and country crafts. I also make bookmarks using my poetry. I had better get those craft containers out. As a getaway, I love to walk along a shoreline or just sit beside the water’s edge and listen to the sound of waves rolling in and splashing. There’s nothing like nature. My husband and I have done a lot of traveling on motorcycle around Nova Scotia and we have seen many beautiful shorelines. I also listen to my nature CD’s and the nature radio station. Janet: What do you like best about the writing life? Janice: When a piece comes together easily it excites me. When I prepare a devotional, God always provides me with the needed Scripture, and I sometimes say aloud, “that’s amazing, God!” I enjoy getting ideas from everyday life. Many people give me devotional and story ideas. Oh no, I just had another idea! Janet: What do you like least? Janice: Editing and polishing, and trying very diligently to reduce a piece of writing to fit a publisher’s guideline of word counts. I dislike cutting out good sentences. I’m so glad there are editors out there who know their craft. Janet: What do your family think of your writing? Janice: My husband and children are very supportive and encouraging. I send many of my articles to my daughters for critiquing. My husband created the layout for my poetry book. Oddly enough, he doesn’t read much of my work, perhaps because we have separate computers. I have a cousin who is a professional scriptwriter; her name is Gail Collins, just for the record. When we get together the majority of the conversation is about writing. The writing life can be somewhat lonely, as you know. Very few of my family members knew of my writing stint when I was employed with a newspaper. I’m so glad I am a member of a writer’s group and an online group. Janet: Connecting with other writers can make all the difference. Another thing we’re told to do is to read widely and voraciously. I think that’s one of the perks of the deal. What are you reading these days? Janice: I am finally getting to read The Shack. I am about one quarter way through so far. Don’t tell me about it! I may be the only person who hasn’t read it yet. The writing is superb. I have several books on the subject of Revival. I want to know about how God works in that way. I have a favourite new author, Mark Hitchcock. I have read What on Earth is Going On? and Seven Signs of the End Times. There are a few more of his books I would like to purchase. Janet: I know there’s controversy over The Shack, but all I can say is it blessed me more than most books do.What are you listening to? Janice: During my 45-minute commute to work I listen to praise and worship music and the Christian radio station. Of course I enjoy all types of music but I don’t really have a favourite Christian artist, I usually purchase any praise and worship compilation CD. I also enjoy iWorship DVDs. When I attend a live performance I love to hear vocal groups, or at least a singer who has back up vocalists. I just love harmonies. Of course, I enjoy listening to my daughters’ singing and my son’s band. On my 45-minute journey home from my work place I listen to the 70’s music. What a contrast, but you know, I am an avid music lover and listener. I usually win at guessing the songs that are played on the radio. Janice: My son, Troy, is the drummer for Grounded. They are a Christian rock band and quite powerful for only a 3-piece band. They have been performing for a few years and is gradually getting a number of bookings. My son-in-law, Kurtis, is the lead singer and Matt is the bass player. As a matter of fact the band is the backup band for my daughters. The Keats (my daughters, Sharlene and Jolene) have been performing for several years and have been working really hard professionally as country performers. They are on the way, I believe. They have recently been selected to perform at the Rising Star Showcase during Canadian Country Music Week in Edmonton on September 9th. My husband and I will be attending the events. Janet: There’s a lot of talent in your family! I hope The Keats get a great reception in Edmonton. One last question, just for fun: what’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever done? Janice: I attended a morning church service with my daughters in Moncton a few years ago. We went early because they had to practise their duet. The choir director came out from her office carrying choir gowns. She gave each of us one. She asked what part I sang, I didn’t know so I secretly asked my daughter and she replied, “alto”. The director slid me in the line with the rest of the altos and before I knew it I marched out with the choir and took my place. It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to protest. I enjoy singing but I’m not exactly in the public eye. With no practise or preparation I sang along, sometimes mouthing the words. I have never been invited back to sing. Is that a surprise? Janet: At least they didn’t put you on the spot for a solo! Thanks so much for taking time to let us get to know you a bit, Janice. May the LORD continue to bless you and make you a blessing to others—in every area of your life. To learn more or for information on ordering her books, visit Janice Keats’ website. A Journey to the Heart of Evangelism is also available through your local bookstore as well as the usual online ones. Janice’s blog is The Master’s Path, and she also posts monthly at InScribe Writers Online. You can read my review of A Journey to the Heart of Evangelism here. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) This entry was posted in Interviews, Writers and Books and tagged Bible study, Canadian authors, evangelism, InScribe Writers Online, interviews, Janice Keats, poetry, The Master's Path, The Shack on September 3, 2010 by Janet Sketchley. ← Where Else Could We Go? Review: Becoming Lucy, by Martha Rogers → Addy Oberlin September 3, 2010 at 1:15 pm What an excellent interview from coast to coast. I have corresponded with Janice because she also sells Christian books through mail-order and she asked me how to get started on this. I also exchanged my book for some of hers and sold one of them. janetsketchley September 3, 2010 at 3:38 pm Addy, I think I remember this exchange. Were you each going to review the other’s book too? (Too much clutter in my brain. I can’t remember if I read the reviews!) themasterspath September 3, 2010 at 6:21 pm Hi Addy, Do you remember which Fellowscript your book review is in? I searched through every copy and I can’t find yours. Francis Ruiter September 3, 2010 at 7:15 pm What a nice re-view. Great going. I read your book, “Poems of Inspiration” I would be pleased to receive your last book. As you have surprised yourself producing your first book, So did I when over time I was encouraged to put my stories into print. Just today, a Book store ordered 50 copies. Blessings to you Janet. Ruiter Francis, author of the book “Journal of a Dutch Immigrant” janetsketchley September 3, 2010 at 9:45 pm Good news about your latest book order, Francis! Thanks for stopping by. Janet Burrill September 3, 2010 at 7:20 pm You did a capital job on your interview, Janet. It was succinct and informative. If someone hadn’t read her work, I’m sure they would now want to do so. Jan, I’m proud of you, too, for what you have accomplished. Keep it up. I’m very glad to count you both as friends. janetsketchley September 3, 2010 at 9:47 pm Marie September 6, 2010 at 10:49 am Great interview. Congrats to both of you. I do admire Janice’s enthusiasm and energy, your hard work is paying off Janice. janetsketchley September 6, 2010 at 3:15 pm Thanks, Marie! Jan’s an inspiration with her perseverance, isn’t she? Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. * Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Janet Sketchley's books on Goodreads Archives Select Month November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 Non-fiction Writers and Books Writing The posts and pages of this site are copyright © 2008-2022 Janet Sketchley (excluding guest posts, links, quotes and most images). Comments are the property of the individuals who post them. If you see something here that you'd like to reprint, please ask first: email Janet Most of the books I review come from my own (or the public) library. Where review copies have been provided, I'm careful to note that at the end of the review. Some Amazon links in posts after Dec. 23, 2012, are affiliate links for The Word Guild and some are other authors' affiliate links.	20,214
The Middle Ages were this wonderful time in world history when Europe went to utter crap after the fall of Rome. Nevertheless, in our eurocentric view of history, Europe gets most of our attention when we think of the Middle Ages. During this time in many other parts of the world, such as the Islamic world and China, great technological and intellectual leaps and bounds were being covered. For some odd reason, though, it wasn’t any Asian power that began to conquer vast lands overseas in the 1500s. It was the previously relatively weak countries of Europe that surprisingly flew forward to the foremost technological and military places on the world stage. So what the heck was holding back Imperial China from doing the same thing, perhaps earlier? China Wins at Technology Sometimes we like to attribute Europe’s ability to put colonies overseas to its superior technology with inventions such as gunpowder, the printing press, the compass, and large ocean-going ships. Sure, these definitely helped Europe to become the colonizer it was, but it wasn’t like they made it inevitable. And the way we can see that is by realizing that China developed all four of those things before Europe did. “Wait,” you say. “The Chinese didn’t have guns until Europe brought them to them!” True, they didn’t have anything like modern guns, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have some other pretty epic gunpowder weapons. Gunpowder was invented under the Tang Dynasty in about 850 A.D. An alchemist whose name is now unknown was doing what Chinese alchemists were always trying to do–create an elixir of immortality. Bad things tended to come of these mixtures. In fact, China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, had died after drinking some alchemist’s mercury solution in an attempt to become immortal, but that’s a different story. This time, the unknown Tang alchemist mixed 75 parts saltpeter, 15 parts charcoal, and 10 parts sulfur. When he put a flame to it, it epically exploded, burning a lot of those present and starting fires that burnt down the whole house. It wasn’t going to make them invincible, but the alchemists still recognized a useful mix when they saw one and gunpowder was soon put to use in the making of various weapons, including rocket-powered arrows, land mines, hand grenades, and other things that might excite Michael Bay. The Koreans created this cart-thing called a hwacha that fired a huge cloud of rockets at their enemies (aka the Japanese, whom the Koreans have battled with since perhaps the dawn of time). Eventually, though, despite legislative efforts by the Chinese to keep gunpowder in the country, it spread west via the Silk Road, first to the Islamic world where cannons were invented and then to Europe where the first modern guns came about. Most westerners think of Johannes Gutenberg as the original inventor of the printing press. While Gutenberg’s invention had a massive impact on Europe’s Renaissance, it was far from the earliest printing press in the world. During the 800s A.D., China had produced the first wood-block printing presses, carved and inked wooden blocks that were stamped onto pieces of paper to create whole pages of text immediately and cheaply. This meant that books did not have to be horrendously expensive as they were in ancient times. (Imagine having to write out whole books by hand over and over and over again like people had to do way back when. Like holy crap.) Since books were now cheap, literacy rates increased and with everyone enjoying literature and all that, a sort of new age of pop culture arose in China. In the 11th century A.D., a man named Bi Sheng updated the design by making something called movable type, which essentially meant that instead of using one giant woodblock for each page, Chinese printers could use pre-made smaller blocks each with a single character on them, arrange them into the writing of the page, and print even cheaper! Since the Han Dynasty, a contemporary of the Roman Empire, China had been perfecting the creation of the compass. The original compasses were just lodestones on plates that turned to face north, which Chinese philosophers figured was it reacting to qi, the cosmic essence of everything in the universe and living things. Under the Tang Dynasty, alchemists figured out how to magnetize iron and use it to make compasses of their own. Under the Song Dynasty, a man named Shen Kuo (who also pioneered in anatomy, astronomy, and zoology) realized that the compass faced not a true north in relation to how the Earth spun, but a magnetic north. Soon, compasses were perfected to the point that they were reliable navigation equipment. So the Chinese had mighty weaponry, a literate populace, and reliable navigation by about 1000 A.D. But, you might say, just because they had the technology that Europe would have to wait until the Renaissance to acquire, it doesn’t mean that they were exploring the world and looking behind their homelands, right? Well, yeah, I suppose, but China actually was exploring and they were discovering new lands long before Europe ever sent a ship over the open ocean. Zheng He and the Giant Fleet During the 1300s, the Chinese navy was super powerful and probably the strongest sea-going nation-smashing force on the face of the planet. For the past few centuries, Mongol-controlled Yuan Dynasty China had expanded its influence across Asia’s Pacific coast. Around 1371, a boy named Ma Sanbao was born in the city of Kunyang in Yunnan Province, which sits on China’s border with the nations of Southeast Asia. Ma was a Muslim and his father had completed the hajj, or sacred pilgrimage to Mecca in Arabia, so Ma grew up hearing of the distant lands his father had traversed. In 1352, a rebellion had begun against the Yuan Dynasty because if you know anything about history, you know that living under the Mongols sucks. The rebellion was led by Chinese peasants who called themselves the Hongjinjun and identified by wearing red scarves on their heads and followed a warlord named Guo Ziyi. Guo picked a man named Zhu Yuanzhang as his general and when Guo died, Zhu took lead of the rebellion. Zhu’s goal was simple: become emperor of China, which is just about the most awesome goal anyone can ever hope to achieve. In 1356, Zhu captured the city of Jiqing (modern Nanjing) and renamed it Yingtian. It became his center of operations and over the next few years, Zhu became increasingly powerful and expanded his control over the surrounding territory. By 1367, he had carved out a mondo portion of the Chinese empire and had eliminated all of the other groups rebelling against the Mongols. In 1368, he declared himself emperor of the new Ming Dynasty and then went and conquered Dadu (Mongol Beijing). In 1381, Ma Sunbao was about 10 years old. Yunnan remained as one of the last few Mongol outposts in China but that was about to change. The Ming army marched down to Yunnan and conquered it, taking many of the young boys prisoner, castrating them (dang it), and forcing them into the Ming army. Under the Chinese, Ma Sunbao was soon to become the closest the Chinese ever got to establishing a colonial empire. In 1390, he was put under the leadership of a regional prince who would become known as Yongle. The current emperor was named Jianwen and some people didn’t like him, so Yongle, his uncle, revolted against him and established himself as perhaps the Ming Dynasty’s most famous emperor, because he was kind of a boss. He ruled from 1402 to 1424 and fixed the crappy economy that had come out of China’s civil war. Ma Sunbao became a really influential court eunuch under Yongle and the dude gave him a new more Chinese name, Zheng He, which is how you will most often here him referred to as today. But of course, western writers of Asian history can never agree on how to Romanize Asian names, so if you know him as Cheng Ho, that’s alright too. Zheng was made leader of China’s navy in the eastern seas and he was given a 62 ship fleet with a 27,800 man total crew. Boss. Setting sail in 1405, Zheng visited Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, demonstrating China’s influence and power over Southeast Asia. He sailed back to China in 1407. But it wasn’t about to end there. From 1408 to 1409, Zheng went back to Sri Lanka and got a nasty response from King Alagonakkara. Zheng promptly kicked the entire kingdom’s butt, captured the king, and took him back to Nanjing to show those non-Chinese barbarians who’s boss. From 1409 to 1411, Zheng sailed over to India, looked around a little all the way up to the Persian Gulf, and stopped by Indonesia again on his way back. This dude was making miles. But Zheng wasn’t going to stop there. He pushed it farther on his fourth voyage (1413-1415), all the way to Mecca where he managed to get his hajj in. (Gosh, following the pillars of Islam must have been hard in 15th century China if you had to go to the borders of the known world just to do the hajj.) He looked around more over there, wandering overland into Egypt. Imagine that. The Chinese in the Middle Ages all the way in Egypt. We give Europe too much credit. China was exploring the world before it was cool. Ming Dynasty hipsters. Zheng sailed down the coast of Africa all the way to Mozambique. When he came back to China, he carried tribute from over 30 different Asian and African countries. Probably the best thing was a giraffe, which Zheng was pretty sure was a qilin, the Chinese version of the unicorn. I don’t know how you make that connection, but whatever the case, Yongle was pretty excited to get a pet unicorn in the court. Zheng’s fifth voyage took place from 1417 to 1419 and was mainly just to drop a bunch of the ambassadors who had given tribute back in the Middle-East. He retraced a lot of the previous journey and had one last big party before sailing back to China where his buddy Yongle died in 1424. That sucked. The main reason it sucked for Zheng was that the new emperor, Hongxi, wasn’t interested in sending Chinese forces to distant lands, so he made Zheng Nanjing’s garrison commander and had him disband his fleet. Nevertheless, in 1431, Zheng managed to get out in one last voyage to Southeast Asia, India, the Middle-East, and Africa. On the way back, he died in Calicut, India in 1433 and his fleet returned without him. In my books, Zheng was one of history’s greatest explorers and the potential key to China overpowering, conquering, and colonizing many of the lands that bordered the Indian Ocean. So why did Hongxi stifle Zheng’s potentially world-changing legacy? Well, I’ve spent a lot of time explaining to you why China totally could have colonized foreign lands, but now it’s time for a really simple answer to this post’s titular question. China’s failure to colonize the world stems not from any illusory inferiority to European societies, but rather from the superiority of the resources it had access to. See, China, unlike European states, was a single country neighbored by no countries really capable of competing with it. Japan was weak and not unified, Korea wasn’t much more than a Chinese satellite, and Tibet was far-off. Effectively, China is really its own continent, isolated from the world. It has the Himalayas cutting it off from India, the Gobi Desert cutting it off from whatever was in the north (nothing but Mongols, yikes), and the Pacific coast meaning nothing but some islanders to the east. In this little oriental microcosm, China had controlled nearly all of the good and usable territory since 221 B.C. A lack of disturbance by very many outside cultures (with the major exception of the Mongols as John Green would probably note) meant that China’s struggles to improve and develop were largely internal during the dynastic period. On top of that, China’s perpetually large area covering a variety of different climates and environments meant that it had tons of resources in every variety (with the notable exception of silver, which the Ming and Qing Dynasties would eventually gain from the Spaniards through the world’s first network of globalized trade). Leaving it really simply, China just had nothing it really needed to go out and get. In contrast, European countries had been disunited since the fall of Rome and were constantly competing for dominance. Spain and Portugal’s competition with each other was part of the reason they raced to claim lands as quickly as possible. Similarly, the Protestant Reformation spawned new factions within Europe that often needed to cross the sea to escape persecution. European countries were small and lacked China’s resource overload, so to expand markets they turned to opening up trading centers in far away lands to move wealth toward Europe and help to make their own nations powerful centers of global commerce. So to generalize, in the end, after two giant sections explaining China’s power to colonize and a few paragraphs actually answering the topic question, I would say that China’s failure to colonize the world stemmed not from its inferiority to European nations, but rather that it was more powerful than them. Of course, in the end, the Europeans’ colonialism helped them to win out and Europe became the economic center of gravity in the world, but that’s not to say that China ever lost the glory and the grandeur that it has had for ages. Related Posts What Colors Were the Dinosaurs? 83 Comments \| Aug 11, 2015 Meet the Aztecs The War of the Bucket About The Author The Geek's History of the World Jacob is an amateur historian and utter nerd from the state of Oregon in the United States. He is incredibly fond of the ancient world, mythology, China, and dinosaurs and would probably be very happy to sit and talk with you about why Julius Caesar was a boss or why Therizinosaurus is greater than whatever other animal you might want to compare it to. Anonymous.R.Us July 31, 2015 Reply Nice blog! Very fascinating. I’d never even considered why China never went colonial. Looking forward to more:) What a well written post. I didn’t know I was so interested in this topic. Write more so that the we the people can read it! Dedicated servers March 15, 2016 Reply Why did Italy never become a colonial power like Spain, France, Portugal, England and the Netherlands? The Geek's History of the World March 20, 2016 Reply Italy was not unified until 1871. Before then it was a collection of small states which only had regional power. Venice had some colonies around the Mediterranean, but the Italian states were too small to build empires until unification. After that, they had some overseas invasions such as in Ethiopia, but that was really late in history and the colonial era was essentially over. domain April 12, 2016 Reply I visit everyday some web pages and information sites to read content, but this weblog provides feature based writing. domain April 12, 2016 Reply I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This piece of writing posted at this web site is truly fastidious. Thanks to my father who stated to me concerning this web site, this blog is truly awesome. domain April 12, 2016 Reply Hi, the whole thing is going sound here and ofcourse every one is sharing information, that’s really good, keep up writing. domain April 12, 2016 Reply It’s very simple to find out any topic on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this web page. you are actually a excellent webmaster. The web site loading velocity is amazing. It sort of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. In addition, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a great activity in this subject! PeteCRayos October 1, 2016 Reply I seriously love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m trying to create my very own site and would like to find out in which you got this from or exactly what the theme is referred to as. Thanks! The Geek's History of the World October 2, 2016 Reply The website is made with WordPress. It was really simply put together. Pictures are mostly stock or else given by friends.	16,321
We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain and establish this Constitution. All individuals are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation; pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness; and to keep and bear arms for the defense of their person, family, property, and the state, and for lawful hunting, recreational, and other lawful purposes, which shall not be infringed. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people, and they have a right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference shall be forever guaranteed in this state, and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness or juror on account of his opinion on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state. Every man may freely write, speak and publish his opinions on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege. In all civil and criminal trials for libel the truth may be given in evidence, and shall be a sufficient defense when the matter is published with good motives and for justifiable ends; and the jury shall have the same power of giving a general verdict as in other cases; and in all indictments or informations for libels the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts under the direction of the court as in other cases. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for the common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for the redress of grievances, or for other proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tolerated in this state. Every citizen of this state shall be free to obtain employment wherever possible, and any person, corporation, or agent thereof, maliciously interfering or hindering in any way, any citizen from obtaining or enjoying employment already obtained, from any other corporation or person, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons and things to be seized. All courts shall be open, and every man for any injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation shall have remedy by due process of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay. Suits may be brought against the state in such manner, in such courts, and in such cases, as the legislative assembly may, by law, direct. Until otherwise provided by law, no person shall, for a felony, be proceeded against criminally, otherwise than by indictment, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger. In all other cases, offenses shall be prosecuted criminally by indictment or information. The legislative assembly may change, regulate or abolish the grand jury system. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted. Witnesses shall not be unreasonably detained, nor be confined in any room where criminals are actually imprisoned. In criminal prosecutions in any court whatever, the party accused shall have the right to a speedy and public trial; to have the process of the court to compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf; and to appear and defend in person and with counsel. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense, nor be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate. A person accused of a crime for which he may be confined for a period of more than one year has the right of trial by a jury of twelve. The legislative assembly may determine the size of the jury for all other cases, provided that the jury consists of at least six members. All verdicts must be unanimous. No person shall be imprisoned for debt unless upon refusal to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; or in cases of tort; or where there is strong presumption of fraud. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation having been first made to, or paid into court for the owner, unless the owner chooses to accept annual payments as may be provided for by law. No right of way shall be appropriated to the use of any corporation until full compensation therefor be first made in money or ascertained and paid into court for the owner, unless the owner chooses annual payments as may be provided by law, irrespective of any benefit from any improvement proposed by such corporation. Compensation shall be ascertained by a jury, unless a jury be waived. When the state or any of its departments, agencies or political subdivisions seeks to acquire right of way, it may take possession upon making an offer to purchase and by depositing the amount of such offer with the clerk of the district court of the county wherein the right of way is located. The clerk shall immediately notify the owner of such deposit. The owner may thereupon appeal to the court in the manner provided by law, and may have a jury trial, unless a jury be waived, to determine the damages, which damages the owner may choose to accept in annual payments as may be provided for by law. Annual payments shall not be subject to escalator clauses but may be supplemented by interest earned. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts shall ever be passed. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be maintained by this state in time of peace, and no soldiers shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner prescribed by law. To guard against transgressions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare that everything in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government and shall forever remain inviolate. No special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted which may not be altered, revoked or repealed by the legislative assembly; nor shall any citizen or class of citizens be granted privileges or immunities which upon the same terms shall not be granted to all citizens. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation. The state of North Dakota is an inseparable part of the American union and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land. The provisions of this constitution are mandatory and prohibitory unless, by express words, they are declared to be otherwise. The general election of the state shall be held biennially as provided by law. Every citizen of the United States, who has attained the age of eighteen years and who is a North Dakota resident, shall be a qualified elector. When an elector moves within the state, he shall be entitled to vote in the precinct from which he moves until he establishes voting residence in another precinct. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the determination of residence for voting eligibility, other than physical presence. No elector shall lose his residency for voting eligibility solely by reason of his absence from the state. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for secrecy in voting, for absentee voting, for administration of elections and for the nomination of candidates. No person who has been declared mentally incompetent by order of a court or other authority having jurisdiction, which order has not been rescinded, shall be qualified to vote. No person convicted of a felony shall be qualified to vote until his or her civil rights are restored. ARTICLE III Powers Reserved to the People. While the legislative power of this state shall be vested in a legislative assembly consisting of a senate and a house of representatives, the people reserve the power to propose and enact laws by the initiative, including the call for a constitutional convention; to approve or reject legislative Acts, or parts thereof, by the referendum; to propose and adopt constitutional amendments by the initiative; and to recall certain elected officials. This article is self-executing and all of its provisions are mandatory. Laws may be enacted to facilitate and safeguard, but not to hamper, restrict, or impair these powers. A petition to initiate or to refer a measure shall be presented to the secretary of state for approval as to form. A request for approval shall be presented over the names and signatures of twenty-five or more electors as sponsors, one of whom shall be designated as chairman of the sponsoring committee. The secretary of state shall approve the petition for circulation if it is in proper form and contains the names and addresses of the sponsors and the full text of the measure. The petition shall be circulated only by electors. They shall swear thereon that the electors who have signed the petition did so in their presence. Each elector signing a petition shall also write in the date of signing and his post-office address. No law shall be enacted limiting the number of copies of a petition. The copies shall become part of the original petition when filed. The petition may be submitted to the secretary of state if signed by electors equal in number to two percent of the resident population of the state at the last federal decennial census. An initiative petition shall be submitted not less than ninety days before the statewide election at which the measure is to be voted upon. A referendum petition may be submitted only within ninety days after the filing of the measure with the secretary of state. The submission of a petition shall suspend the operation of any measure enacted by the legislative assembly except emergency measures and appropriation measures for the support and maintenance of state departments and institutions. The submission of a petition against one or more items or parts of any measure shall not prevent the remainder from going into effect. A referred measure may be voted upon at a statewide election or at a special election called by the governor. The secretary of state shall pass upon each petition, and if he finds it insufficient, he shall notify the “committee for the petitioners” and allow twenty days for correction or amendment. All decisions of the secretary of state in regard to any such petition shall be subject to review by the supreme court. But if the sufficiency of such petition is being reviewed at the time the ballot is prepared, the secretary of state shall place the measure on the ballot and no subsequent decision shall invalidate such measure if it is at such election approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon. If proceedings are brought against any petition upon any ground, the burden of proof shall be upon the party attacking it. All decisions of the secretary of state in the petition process are subject to review by the supreme court in the exercise of original jurisdiction. If his decision is being reviewed at the time the ballot is prepared, he shall place the measure on the ballot and no court action shall invalidate the measure if it is approved at the election by a majority of the votes cast thereon. If a majority of votes cast upon an initiated or a referred measure are affirmative, it shall be deemed enacted. An initiated or referred measure which is approved shall become law thirty days after the election, and a referred measure which is rejected shall be void immediately. If conflicting measures are approved, the one receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall be law. A measure approved by the electors may not be repealed or amended by the legislative assembly for seven years from its effective date, except by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house. A constitutional amendment may be proposed by initiative petition. If signed by electors equal in number to four percent of the resident population of the state at the last federal decennial census, the petition may be submitted to the secretary of state. All other provisions relating to initiative measures apply hereto. Any elected official of the state, of any county or of any legislative or county commissioner district shall be subject to recall by petition of electors equal in number to twenty-five percent of those who voted at the preceding general election for the office of governor in the state, county, or district in which the official is to be recalled. The petition shall be filed with the official with whom a petition for nomination to the office in question is filed, who shall call a special election if he finds the petition valid and sufficient. No elector may remove his name from a recall petition. The name of the official to be recalled shall be placed on the ballot unless he resigns within ten days after the filing of the petition. Other candidates for the office may be nominated in a manner provided by law. When the election results have been officially declared, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected for the remainder of the term. No official shall be subject twice to recall during the term for which he was elected. The senate must be composed of not less than forty nor more than fifty-four members, and the house of representatives must be composed of not less than eighty nor more than one hundred eight members. These houses are jointly designated as the legislative assembly of the state of North Dakota. The legislative assembly shall fix the number of senators and representatives and divide the state into as many senatorial districts of compact and contiguous territory as there are senators. The districts thus ascertained and determined after the 1990 federal decennial census shall continue until the adjournment of the first regular session after each federal decennial census, or until changed by law. The legislative assembly shall guarantee, as nearly as is practicable, that every elector is equal to every other elector in the state in the power to cast ballots for legislative candidates. A senator and at least two representatives must be apportioned to each senatorial district and be elected at large or from subdistricts from those districts. The legislative assembly may combine two senatorial districts only when a single member senatorial district includes a federal facility or federal installation, containing over two-thirds of the population of a single member senatorial district, and may provide for the election of senators at large and representatives at large or from subdistricts from those districts. The legislative assembly shall establish by law a procedure whereby one-half of the members of the senate, as nearly as is practicable, are elected biennially. Senators must be elected for terms of four years and representatives for terms of two years. Each person elected to the legislative assembly must be, on the day of the election, a qualified elector in the district from which the member was chosen and must have been a resident of the state for one year immediately prior to that election. While serving in the legislative assembly, no member may hold any full-time appointive state office established by this constitution or designated by law. During the term for which elected, no member of the legislative assembly may be appointed to any full-time office which has been created, or to any office for which the compensation has been increased, by the legislative assembly during that term. The terms of members of the legislative assembly begin on the first day of December following their election. The legislative assembly shall meet at the seat of government in the month of December following the election of the members thereof for organizational and orientation purposes as provided by law and shall thereafter recess until twelve noon on the first Tuesday after the third day in January or at such other time as may be prescribed by law but not later than the eleventh day of January. No regular session of the legislative assembly may exceed eighty natural days during the biennium. The organizational meeting of the legislative assembly may not be counted as part of those eighty natural days, nor may days spent in session at the call of the governor or while engaged in impeachment proceedings, be counted. Days spent in regular session need not be consecutive, and the legislative assembly may authorize its committees to meet at any time during the biennium. As used in this section, a “natural day” means a period of twenty-four consecutive hours. Neither house may recess nor adjourn for more than three days without consent of the other house. The house of representatives shall elect one of its members to act as presiding officer at the beginning of each organizational session. If any person elected to either house of the legislative assembly shall offer or promise to give his vote or influence, in favor of, or against any measure or proposition pending or proposed to be introduced into the legislative assembly, in consideration, or upon conditions, that any other person elected to the same legislative assembly will give, or will promise or assent to give, his vote or influence in favor of or against any other measure or proposition, pending or proposed to be introduced into such legislative assembly, the person making such offer or promise shall be deemed guilty of solicitation of bribery. If any member of the legislative assembly, shall give his vote or influence for or against any measure or proposition, pending or proposed to be introduced into such legislative assembly, or offer, promise or assent so to do upon condition that any other member will give, promise or assent to give his vote or influence in favor of or against any other such measure or proposition pending or proposed to be introduced into such legislative assembly, or in consideration that any other member hath given his vote or influence, for or against any other measure or proposition in such legislative assembly, he shall be deemed guilty of bribery. And any person, member of the legislative assembly or person elected thereto, who shall be guilty of either such offenses, shall be expelled, and shall not thereafter be eligible to the legislative assembly, and, on the conviction thereof in the civil courts, shall be liable to such further penalty as may be prescribed by law. No member of the legislative assembly, expelled for corruption, and no person convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime shall be eligible to the legislative assembly, or to any office in either branch thereof. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislative assembly. A majority of the members elected to each house constitutes a quorum. A smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel attendance of absent members in a manner, and under a penalty, as may be provided by law. Each house is the judge of the qualifications of its members, but election contests are subject to judicial review as provided by law. If two or more candidates for the same office receive an equal and highest number of votes, the secretary of state shall choose one of them by the toss of a coin. Each house shall determine its rules of procedure, and may punish its members or other persons for contempt or disorderly behavior in its presence. With the concurrence of two-thirds of its elected members, either house may expel a member. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and a recorded vote on any question shall be taken at the request of one-sixth of those members present. No bill may become law except by a recorded vote of a majority of the members elected to each house, and the lieutenant governor is considered a member-elect of the senate when the lieutenant governor votes. No law may be enacted except by a bill passed by both houses, and no bill may be amended on its passage through either house in a manner which changes its general subject matter. No bill may embrace more than one subject, which must be expressed in its title; but a law violating this provision is invalid only to the extent the subject is not so expressed. Every bill must be read on two separate natural days, and the readings may be by title only unless a reading at length is demanded by one-fifth of the members present. No bill may be amended, extended, or incorporated in any other bill by reference to its title only, except in the case of definitions and procedural provisions. The presiding officer of each house shall sign all bills passed and resolutions adopted by the legislative assembly, and the fact of signing shall be entered at once in the journal. Every law, except as otherwise provided in this section, enacted by the legislative assembly during its eighty natural meeting days takes effect on August first after its filing with the secretary of state, or if filed on or after August first and before January first of the following year ninety days after its filing, or on a subsequent date if specified in the law unless, by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, the legislative assembly declares it an emergency measure and includes the declaration in the Act. Every appropriation measure for support and maintenance of state departments and institutions and every tax measure that changes tax rates enacted by the legislative assembly take effect on July first after its filing with the secretary of state or on a subsequent date if specified in the law unless, by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house, the legislative assembly declares it an emergency measure and includes the declaration in the Act. An emergency measure takes effect upon its filing with the secretary of state or on a date specified in the measure. Every law enacted by a special session of the legislative assembly takes effect on a date specified in the Act. All sessions of the legislative assembly, including the committee of the whole and meetings of legislative committees, must be open and public. Members of the legislative assembly are immune from arrest during their attendance at the sessions, and in going to or returning from the sessions, except in cases of felony. Members of the legislative assembly may not be questioned in any other place for any words used in any speech or debate in legislative proceedings. Any amendment to this constitution may be proposed in either house of the legislative assembly, and if agreed to upon a roll call by a majority of the members elected to each house, must be submitted to the electors and if a majority of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative, the amendment is a part of this constitution. ARTICLE V. Executive Branch. The executive power shall be vested in a governor, who shall reside at the seat of government and shall hold office for the term of four years beginning in the year 1988, and until a successor is elected and duly qualified. The term begins on December fifteenth following the governor's election. A lieutenant governor shall be elected at the same time and for the same term as the governor. In case of the death, impeachment, resignation, failure to qualify, absence from the state, removal from office, or the disability of the governor, the powers and duties of the office for the residue of the term, or until he shall be acquitted or the disability be removed, shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor unless he be a citizen of the United States, and a qualified elector of the state, who shall have attained the age of thirty years, and who shall have resided five years next preceding the election within the state or territory, nor shall he be eligible to any other office during the term for which he shall have been elected. The governor and lieutenant governor shall be elected upon a joint ballot by the qualified electors of the state beginning with elections held in 1976. A single vote shall be cast upon a joint ballot by each qualified elector for the joint candidates representing the political party or affiliation of his choice. The joint candidates having the highest number of votes shall be declared elected, but if two or more joint candidates shall have an equal and highest number of votes for governor and lieutenant governor, the two houses of the legislative assembly at its next regular session shall forthwith in joint session choose one pair of such joint candidates for said offices. The returns of the election for governor and lieutenant governor shall be made in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces of the state, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States, and may call out the same to execute the laws, suppress insurrection and repel invasion. He shall have power to convene the legislative assembly on extraordinary occasions. He shall at the commencement of each session communicate to the legislative assembly by message, information of the condition of the state, and recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall transact all necessary business with the officers of the government, civil and military. He shall expedite all such measures as may be resolved upon by the legislative assembly and shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The governor shall have power in conjunction with the board of pardon of which the governor shall be ex officio a member and the other members of which shall consist of the attorney general of the state of North Dakota, the chief justice of the supreme court of the state of North Dakota, and two qualified electors who shall be appointed by the governor, to remit fines and forfeitures, to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after conviction for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment; but the legislative assembly may by law regulate the manner in which the remission of fines, pardons, commutations and reprieves may be applied for. Upon conviction for treason the governor shall have the power to suspend the execution of sentence until the case shall be reported to the legislative assembly at its next regular session, when the legislative assembly shall either pardon or commute the sentence, direct the execution of the sentence or grant further reprieve. The governor shall communicate to the legislative assembly at each regular session each case of remission of fine, reprieve, commutation or pardon granted by the board of pardon, stating the name of the convict, the crime for which he is convicted, the sentence and its date and the date of the remission, commutation, pardon or reprieve, with their reasons for granting the same. The powers and duties of the lieutenant governor shall be to serve as president of the senate, and he may, when the senate is equally divided, vote on procedural matters, and on substantive matters if his vote would be decisive. Additional duties shall be prescribed by the governor. If, during the vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, or die, or from mental or physical disease, or otherwise become incapable of performing the duties of his office, the secretary of state shall act as governor until the vacancy shall be filled or the disability removed. When any office shall from any cause become vacant, and no mode is provided by the constitution or law for filling such vacancy, the governor shall have power to fill such vacancy by appointment. Every bill which shall have passed the legislative assembly shall before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approves, he shall sign, but if not, he shall return it with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon the journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of the members-elect shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if it be approved by two-thirds of the members-elect, it shall become a law; but in all such cases the vote of both houses shall be determined by the yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered upon the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within three days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law unless the legislative assembly by its adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law unless he shall file the same with his objections in the office of the secretary of state within fifteen days after such adjournment. The governor shall have power to disapprove of any item or items, or part or parts of any bill making appropriations of money or property embracing distinct items, and the part or parts of the bill approved shall be the law, and the item or items, and part or parts disapproved shall be void, unless enacted in the following manner: If the legislative assembly be in session he shall transmit to the house in which the bill originated a copy of the item or items, or part or parts thereof disapproved together with his objections thereto, and the items or parts objected to shall be separately reconsidered, and each item or part shall then take the same course as is prescribed for the passage of bills over the executive veto. Any governor of this state who asks, receives or agrees to receive any bribe upon any understanding that his official opinion, judgment or action shall be influenced thereby, or who gives or offers, or promises his official influence in consideration that any member of the legislative assembly shall give his official vote or influence on any particular side of any question or matter upon which he may be required to act in his official capacity, or who menaces any member by the threatened use of his veto power, or who offers or promises any member that he, the said governor, will appoint any particular person or persons to any office created or thereafter to be created, in consideration that any member shall give his official vote or influence on any matter pending or thereafter to be introduced into either house of said legislative assembly, or who threatens any member that he, the said governor, will remove any person or persons from office or position with intent in any manner to influence the action of said member, shall be punished in the manner now, or that may hereafter, be provided by law, and upon conviction thereof shall forfeit all right to hold or exercise any office of trust or honor in this state. There shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly, a secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, commissioner of insurance, an attorney general, a commissioner of agriculture and labor, and a tax commissioner, who shall have attained the age of twenty-five years and shall have the qualifications of state electors. They shall severally hold their offices at the seat of government for the term of four years beginning with the year 1965, and until their successors are elected and duly qualified; but no person shall be eligible for the office of treasurer for more than two consecutive terms. The board of railroad commissioners shall hereafter be known as the public service commission and the members of the board of railroad commissioners as public service commissioners and the powers and duties now or hereafter granted to and conferred upon the board of railroad commissioners are hereby transferred to the public service commission. The public service commissioners shall have the qualifications of state electors, have attained the age of twenty-five years, be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly, hold office at the seat of government and until their successors are elected and duly qualified. As each of the three public service commissioners now holding office completes his term, his successor shall be elected for a term of six years. The legislative assembly may by law provide for a department of labor, which, if provided for, shall be separate and distinct from the department of agriculture, and shall be administered by a public official who may be either elected or appointed, whichever the legislative assembly shall declare; and if such a department is established the commissioner of agriculture and labor provided for above shall become the commissioner of agriculture. The judicial power of the state is vested in a unified judicial system consisting of a supreme court, a district court, and such other courts as may be provided by law. The supreme court shall be the highest court of the state. It shall have appellate jurisdiction, and shall also have original jurisdiction with authority to issue, hear, and determine such original and remedial writs as may be necessary to properly exercise its jurisdiction. The supreme court shall consist of five justices, one of whom shall be designated chief justice in the manner provided by law. The supreme court shall have authority to promulgate rules of procedure, including appellate procedure, to be followed by all the courts of this state; and, unless otherwise provided by law, to promulgate rules and regulations for the admission to practice, conduct, disciplining, and disbarment of attorneys at law. The chief justice shall be the administrative head of the unified judicial system. He may assign judges, including retired judges, for temporary duty in any court or district under such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the supreme court. The chief justice shall appoint a court administrator for the unified judicial system. Unless otherwise provided by law, the powers, duties, qualifications, and terms of office of the court administrator, and other court officials, shall be as provided by rules of the court. A majority of the supreme court shall be necessary to constitute a quorum or to pronounce a decision, provided that the supreme court shall not declare a legislative enactment unconstitutional unless at least four of the members of the court so decide. When a judgment or order is reversed, modified, or confirmed by the supreme court, the reasons shall be concisely stated in writing, signed by the justices concurring, filed in the office of the clerk of the supreme court, and preserved with a record of the case. Any justice dissenting may give the reason for his dissent in writing over his signature. Appeals shall be allowed from decisions of lower courts to the supreme court as may be provided by law. The justices of the supreme court shall be chosen by the electors of the state for ten-year terms, so arranged that one justice is elected every two years. They shall hold office until their successors are duly qualified, and shall receive compensation as provided by law, but the compensation of any justice shall not be diminished during his term of office. The district court shall have original jurisdiction of all causes, except as otherwise provided by law, and such appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law or by rule of the supreme court. The district court shall have authority to issue such writs as are necessary to the proper exercise of its jurisdiction. The state shall be divided into judicial districts by order of the supreme court. In each district, one or more judges, as provided by law, shall be chosen by the electors of the district. The term of office shall be six years, and a district judge shall hold office until his successor is duly qualified. The compensation of district judges shall be fixed by law, but the compensation of any district judge shall not be diminished during his term of office. Supreme court justices and district court judges shall be citizens of the United States and residents of this state, shall be learned in the law, and shall possess any additional qualifications prescribed by law. Judges of other courts shall be selected for such terms and shall have such qualifications as may be prescribed by law. No justice of the supreme court or judge of the district court of this state shall engage in the practice of law, or hold any public office, elective or appointive, not judicial in nature. No duties shall be imposed by law upon the supreme court or any of the justices thereof, except such as are judicial, nor shall any of the justices exercise any power of appointment except as herein provided. No judge of any court of this state shall be paid from the fees of his office, nor shall the amount of his compensation be measured by fees, other moneys received, or the amount of judicial activity of his office. When any justice or judge has a conflict of interest in a pending cause or is unable to sit in court because he is physically or mentally incapacitated, the chief justice, or a justice acting in his stead, shall assign a judge, or retired justice or judge, to hear the cause. The legislative assembly may provide for the retirement, discipline, and removal of judges. The removal procedure provided for herein may be used in addition to the impeachment proceedings provided for in article XI, sections 8, 9, and 10, and removal provided for in article XI, section 11. The legislative assembly may provide for the retirement, discipline and removal of judges of the supreme court and district court. The removal procedure provided for herein may be used in addition to the impeachment proceedings provided for in article XI, sections 8, 9, and 10. 1. A judicial nominating committee shall be established by law. Any vacancy in the office of supreme court justice or district court judge shall be filled by appointment by the governor from a list of candidates nominated by the committee, unless the governor calls a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. An appointment shall continue until the next general election, when the office shall be filled by election for the remainder of the term. The purpose of this article is to provide for maximum local self-government by all political subdivisions with a minimum duplication of functions. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the establishment and the government of all political subdivisions. Each political subdivision shall have and exercise such powers as provided by law. The several counties of the state of North Dakota as they now exist are hereby declared to be counties of the state of North Dakota. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for relocating county seats within counties, but it shall have no power to remove the county seat of any county. Methods and standards by which all or any portion of a county or counties may be annexed, merged, consolidated, reclassified, or dissolved shall be as provided by law. No portion of any county or counties shall be annexed, merged, consolidated, or dissolved unless a majority of the electors of each affected county voting on the question so approve. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the establishment and exercise of home rule in counties and cities. No home rule charter shall become operative in any county or city until submitted to the electors thereof and approved by a majority of those voting thereon. In granting home rule powers to cities, the legislative assembly shall not be restricted by city debt limitations contained in this constitution. The legislative assembly shall also provide by law for optional forms of government for counties, but no optional form of government shall become operative in any county until submitted to the electors thereof at a special or general election, and approved by a majority of those voting thereon. Until one of the optional forms of county government is adopted by any county, the fiscal and administrative affairs of the county shall be governed by a board of county commissioners as provided by law. Each county shall provide for law enforcement, administrative and fiscal services, recording and registration services, educational services, and any other governmental services or functions as may be provided by law. Any elective county office shall be for a term of four years. Questions of the form of government to be adopted by any county or on the elimination or reinstatement of elective county offices may be placed upon the ballot by petition of electors of the county equal in number to twenty-five percent of the votes cast in the county for the office of governor at the preceding gubernatorial election. Agreements, including those for cooperative or joint administration of any powers or functions, may be made by any political subdivision with any other political subdivision, with the state, or with the United States, unless otherwise provided by law or home rule charter. A political subdivision may by mutual agreement transfer to the county in which it is located any of its powers or functions as provided by law or home rule charter, and may in like manner revoke the transfer. The power of the governing board of a city to franchise the construction and operation of any public utility or similar service within the city shall not be abridged by the legislative assembly. A high degree of intelligence, patriotism, integrity and morality on the part of every voter in a government by the people being necessary in order to insure the continuance of that government and the prosperity and happiness of the people, the legislative assembly shall make provision for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools which shall be open to all children of the state of North Dakota and free from sectarian control. This legislative requirement shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of North Dakota. The legislative assembly shall provide for a uniform system of free public schools throughout the state, beginning with the primary and extending through all grades up to and including schools of higher education, except that the legislative assembly may authorize tuition, fees and service charges to assist in the financing of public schools of higher education. In all schools instruction shall be given as far as practicable in those branches of knowledge that tend to impress upon the mind the vital importance of truthfulness, temperance, purity, public spirit, and respect for honest labor of every kind. The legislative assembly shall take such other steps as may be necessary to prevent illiteracy, secure a reasonable degree of uniformity in course of study, and to promote industrial, scientific, and agricultural improvements. All colleges, universities, and other educational institutions, for the support of which lands have been granted to this state, or which are supported by a public tax, shall remain under the absolute and exclusive control of the state. No money raised for the support of the public schools of the state shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school. 1. A board of higher education, to be officially known as the state board of higher education, is hereby created for the control and administration of the following state educational institutions, to wit: a. The state university and school of mines, at Grand Forks, with their substations. b. The state agricultural college and experiment station, at Fargo, with their substations. c. The school of science, at Wahpeton. d. The state normal schools and teachers colleges, at Valley City, Mayville, Minot, and Dickinson. e. The school of forestry, at Bottineau. f. And such other state institutions of higher education as may hereafter be established. a. The state board of higher education consists of eight members. The governor shall appoint seven members who are qualified electors and taxpayers of the state, and who have resided in this state for not less than five years immediately preceding their appointments. These seven appointments are subject to confirmation by the senate. The governor shall appoint as the eighth member of the board a full-time resident student in good academic standing at an institution under the jurisdiction of the state board. Except for the student member, no more than one person holding a bachelor's degree from a particular institution under the jurisdiction of the state board of higher education may serve on the board at any one time. Except for the student member, no person employed by any institution under the control of the board shall serve as a member of the board and no employee of any such institution may be eligible for membership on the state board of higher education for a period of two years following the termination of employment. The governor shall nominate from a list of three names for each position, selected by action of four of the following five persons: the president of the North Dakota education association, the chief justice of the supreme court, the superintendent of public instruction, the president pro tempore of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives and, with the consent of a majority of the members-elect of the senate, shall appoint from the list to the state board of higher education seven members. The governor shall ensure that the board membership is maintained in a balanced and representative manner. The term of office of members appointed to fill vacancies at the expiration of said terms shall be for four years, and in the case of vacancies otherwise arising, appointments shall be made only for the balance of the term of the members whose places are to be filled. A member may not be appointed to serve for more than two terms. If a member is appointed to fill a vacancy and serves two or more years of that term, the member is deemed to have served one full term. b. In the event any nomination made by the governor is not consented to and confirmed by the senate, the governor shall again nominate a candidate selected from a new list. The nomination shall be submitted to the senate for confirmation and the proceedings shall continue until an appointee has been confirmed by the senate or the session of the legislature has adjourned. c. If a term expires or a vacancy occurs when the legislature is not in session, the governor may appoint from a list selected as provided, a member who shall serve until the opening of the next session of the legislature, at which time the appointment must be certified to the senate for confirmation. If the appointee is not confirmed by the thirtieth legislative day of the session, the office shall be deemed vacant and the governor shall nominate another candidate for the office. The same proceedings shall be followed as are set forth in this section. If the legislature is in session at any time within six months prior to the date of the expiration of the term of any member, the governor shall nominate a successor from a list selected as above set forth, within the first thirty days of the session and upon confirmation by the senate the successor shall take office at the expiration of the incumbent's term. No person who has been nominated and whose nomination the senate has failed to confirm is eligible for an interim appointment. On or before July first of each year, beginning in 1995, the governor shall appoint a student member from a list of names recommended by the executive board of the North Dakota student association for a term of one year, beginning on July first. A student member may not serve more than two consecutive terms. 3. The members of the state board of higher education may only be removed by impeachment for the offenses and in the manner and according to the procedure provided for the removal of the governor by impeachment proceedings. 4. Each appointive member of the state board of higher education, except the student member, shall receive compensation set by the legislative assembly for the time actually spent devoted to the duties of the member's office. All members shall receive necessary expenses in the same manner and amounts as other state officials for attending meetings and performing other functions of their office. 5. The legislature shall provide adequate funds for the proper carrying out of the functions and duties of the state board of higher education. 6. a. The state board of higher education shall hold its first meeting at the office of the state board of administration at Bismarck, on the 6th day of July, 1939, and shall organize and elect one of its members as president of such board for a term of one year. It shall also at said meeting, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, elect a competent person as secretary, who shall reside during his term of office in the city of Bismarck, North Dakota. Said secretary shall hold office at the will of the board. As soon as said board is established and organized, it shall assume all the powers and perform all the duties now conferred by law upon the board of administration in connection with the several institutions hereinbefore mentioned, and the said board of administration shall immediately upon the organization of said state board of higher education, surrender and transfer to said state board of higher education all duties, rights, and powers granted to it under the existing laws of this state concerning the institutions hereinbefore mentioned, together with all property, deeds, records, reports, and appurtenances of every kind belonging or appertaining to said institutions. b. The said state board of higher education shall have full authority over the institutions under its control with the right, among its other powers, to prescribe, limit, or modify the courses offered at the several institutions. In furtherance of its powers, the state board of higher education shall have the power to delegate to its employees details of the administration of the institutions under its control. The said state board of higher education shall have full authority to organize or reorganize within constitutional and statutory limitations, the work of each institution under its control, and do each and everything necessary and proper for the efficient and economic administration of said state educational institutions. c. Said board shall prescribe for all of said institutions standard systems of accounts and records and shall biennially, and within six (6) months immediately preceding the regular session of the legislature, make a report to the governor, covering in detail the operations of the educational institutions under its control. d. It shall be the duty of the heads of the several state institutions hereinbefore mentioned, to submit the budget requests for the biennial appropriations for said institutions to said state board of higher education; and said state board of higher education shall consider said budgets and shall revise the same as in its judgment shall be for the best interests of the educational system of the state; and thereafter the state board of higher education shall prepare and present to the state budget board and to the legislature a single unified budget covering the needs of all the institutions under its control. “Said budget shall be prepared and presented by the board of administration until the state board of higher education organizes as provided in subsection 6a.” The appropriations for all of said institutions shall be contained in one legislative measure. The budgets and appropriation measures for the agricultural experiment stations and their substations and the extension division of the North Dakota state university of agriculture and applied science may be separate from those of state educational institutions. e. The said state board of higher education shall have the control of the expenditure of the funds belonging to, and allocated to such institutions and also those appropriated by the legislature, for the institutions of higher education in this state; provided, however, that funds appropriated by the legislature and specifically designated for any one or more of such institutions, shall not be used for any other institution. a. The state board of higher education shall, as soon as practicable, appoint for a term of not to exceed three (3) years, a state commissioner of higher education, whose principal office shall be at the state capitol, in the city of Bismarck. Said commissioner of higher education shall be responsible to the state board of higher education and shall be removable by said board for cause. b. The state commissioner of higher education shall be a graduate of some reputable college or university, and who by training and experience is familiar with the problems peculiar to higher education. c. Such commissioner of higher education shall be the chief executive officer of said state board of higher education, and shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by the board. 8. This constitutional provision shall be self-executing and shall become effective without the necessity of legislative action. All proceeds of the public lands that have heretofore been, or may hereafter be granted by the United States for the support of the common schools in this state; all such per centum as may be granted by the United States on the sale of public lands; the proceeds of property that shall fall to the state by escheat; all gifts, donations, or the proceeds thereof that come to the state for support of the common schools, or not otherwise appropriated by the terms of the gift, and all other property otherwise acquired for common schools, shall be and remain a perpetual trust fund for the maintenance of the common schools of the state. Only the interest and income of the fund may be expended and the princial shall be retained and devoted to the trust purpose. All property, real or personal, received by the state from whatever source, for any specific educational or charitable institution, unless otherwise designated by the donor, shall be and remain a perpetual trust fund for the creation and maintenance of such institution, and may be commingled only with similar funds for the same institution. Should a gift be made to an institution for a specific purpose, without designating a trustee, such gift may be placed in the institution's fund; provided that such a donation may be expended as the terms of the gift provide. The interest and income of each institutional trust fund held by the state shall, unless otherwise specified by the donor, be appropriated by the legislative assembly to the exclusive use of the institution for which the funds were given. The proceeds of all bonuses, or similar payments, made upon the leasing of coal, gas, oil, or any other mineral interests under, or reserved after sale of, grant lands for the common schools or institutional lands shall be deposited in the appropriate permanent trust fund as created by this section. The interest and income of this fund together with the net proceeds of all fines for violation of state laws and all other sums which may be added thereto by law, shall be faithfully used and applied each year for the benefit of the common schools of the state and no part of the fund shall ever be diverted, even temporarily, from this purpose or used for any other purpose whatever than the maintenance of common schools as provided by law. The superintendent of public instruction, governor, attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer comprise a board of commissioners, to be denominated the “board of university and school lands”. Subject to the provisions of this article and any law that may be passed by the legislative assembly, the board has control of the appraisement, sale, rental, and disposal of all school and university lands, and the proceeds from the sale of such lands shall be invested as provided by law. The public officers designated by law shall constitute boards of appraisal and under the authority of the state board of university and school lands shall appraise all school lands within their respective counties which they may from time to time recommend for sale at their actual value under the prescribed terms and shall first select and designate for sale the most valuable lands. After one year from the assembling of the first legislative assembly the lands granted to the state from the United States for the support of the common schools, may be sold upon the following conditions and no other: No more than one-fourth of all such lands shall be sold within the first five years after the same become salable by virtue of this section. No more than one-half of the remainder within ten years after the same become salable as aforesaid. The residue may be sold at any time after the expiration of said ten years. The legislative assembly shall provide for the sale of all school lands subject to the provisions of this article. In all sales of lands subject to the provisions of this article all minerals therein, including but not limited to oil, gas, coal, cement materials, sodium sulphate, sand and gravel, road material, building stone, chemical substances, metallic ores, uranium ores, or colloidal or other clays, shall be reserved and excepted to the state of North Dakota, except that leases may be executed for the extraction and sale of such materials in such manner and upon such terms as the legislative assembly may provide. No original grant school or institutional land shall be sold for less than the fair market value thereof, and in no case for less than ten dollars ($10.00) per acre, provided that when lands have been sold on contract and the contract has been canceled, such lands may be resold without reappraisement by the board of appraisal. The purchaser shall pay twenty (20) percent of the purchase price at the time the contract is executed; thereafter annual payments shall be made of not less than six (6) percent of the original purchase price. An amount equal to not less than three (3) percent per annum of the unpaid principal shall be credited to interest and the balance shall be applied as payment on principal as credit on purchase price. The purchaser may pay all or any installment or installments not yet due to any interest paying date. If the purchaser so desires, he may pay the entire balance due on his contract with interest to date of payment at any time and he will then be entitled to proper conveyance. All sales shall be held at the county seat of the county in which the land to be sold is situated, and shall be at public auction and to the highest bidder, and notice of such sale shall be published once each week for a period of three weeks prior to the day of sale in a legal newspaper published nearest the land and in the newspaper designated for the publication of the official proceedings and legal notices within the county in which said land is situated. No grant or patent for such lands shall issue until payment is made for the same; provided that the land contracted to be sold by the state shall be subject to taxation from the date of the contract. In case the taxes assessed against any of said lands for any year remain unpaid until the first Monday in October of the following year, the contract of sale for such land shall, if the board of university and school lands so determine, by it, be declared null and void. No contract of sale heretofore made under the provisions of this section of the constitution as then providing shall be affected by this amendment, except prepayment of principal may be made as herein provided. Any of said lands that may be required for townsite purposes, schoolhouse sites, church sites, cemetery sites, sites for other educational or charitable institutions, public parks, airplane landing fields, fairgrounds, public highways, railroad right of way, or other railroad uses and purposes, reservoirs for the storage of water for irrigation, irrigation canals, and ditches, drainage ditches, or for any of the purposes for which private lands may be taken under the right of eminent domain under the constitution and laws of this state, may be sold under the provisions of this article, and shall be paid for in full at the time of sale, or at any time thereafter as herein provided. Any of said lands and any other lands controlled by the board of university and school lands, including state coal mineral interests, may, with the approval of said board, be exchanged for lands and coal mineral interests of the United States, the state of North Dakota or any county or municipality thereof as the legislature may provide, and the lands so acquired shall be subject to the trust to which the lands exchanged therefor were subject, and the state shall reserve all mineral and water power rights in land so transferred, except coal mineral interests approved for exchange by the board of university and school lands under this section. When any of said lands have been heretofore or may be hereafter sold on contract, and the purchaser or his heirs or assigns is unable to pay in full for the land purchased within twenty years after the date of purchase and such contract is in default and subject to being declared null and void as by law provided, the board of university and school lands may, after declaring such contract null and void, resell the land described in such contract to such purchaser, his heirs or assigns, for the amount of the unpaid principal, together with interest thereon reckoned to the date of such resale at the rate of not less than three (3%) percent, but in no case shall the resale price be more than the original sale price; such contract of resale shall be upon the terms herein provided, provided this section shall be deemed self-executing insofar as the provisions for resale herein made are concerned. All lands received by the state for any specific educational or charitable institution shall be appraised and sold in the same manner and under the same limitations and subject to all the conditions as to price and sale as provided in this constitution for the appraisal and sale of lands for the benefit of common schools. However, a distinct and separate account shall be kept by the proper officers of each of said funds and the limitations as to the time in which school land may be sold shall apply only to lands granted for the support of common schools. The legislative assembly shall have authority to provide by law for the leasing of lands granted to the state for educational and charitable purposes; but no such law shall authorize the leasing of said lands for a longer period than five years. Said lands shall only be leased for pasturage and meadow purposes and at a public auction after notice as heretofore provided in case of sale; provided, that all of said school lands now under cultivation may be leased, at the discretion and under the control of the board of university and school lands, for other than pasturage and meadow purposes until sold. All rents shall be paid in advance. Provided, further, that coal lands may also be leased for agricultural cultivation upon such terms and conditions and for such a period, not exceeding five years, as the legislature may provide. No law shall ever be passed by the legislative assembly granting to any person, corporation or association any privileges by reason of the occupation, cultivation or improvement of any public lands by said person, corporation or association subsequent to the survey thereof by the general government. No claim for the occupation, cultivation or improvement of any public lands shall ever be recognized, nor shall such occupation, cultivation or improvement of any public lands ever be used to diminish either directly or indirectly, the purchase price of said lands. The legislative assembly may provide by law for the sale or disposal of all public lands that have been, or may hereafter be granted by the United States to the state for purposes other than set forth in article IX, section 1. The legislative assembly in providing for the appraisal, sale, rental, and disposal of the same shall not be subject to the provisions and limitations of article IX, sections 1 through 11. The legislative assembly shall pass suitable laws for the safekeeping, transfer and disbursement of the state school funds; and shall require all officers charged with the same or the safekeeping thereof to give ample bonds for all moneys and funds received by them, and if any of said officers shall convert to his own use in any manner or form, or shall loan with or without interest or shall deposit in his own name, or otherwise than in the name of the state of North Dakota, or shall deposit in any banks or with any person or persons, or exchange for other funds or property any portion of the school funds aforesaid or purposely allow any portion of the same to remain in his own hands uninvested, except in the manner prescribed by law, every such act shall constitute an embezzlement of so much of the aforesaid school funds as shall be thus taken or loaned, or deposited, or exchanged, or withheld and shall be a felony; and any failure to pay over, produce or account for, the state school funds or any part of the same entrusted to any such officer, as by law required or demanded, shall be held and be taken to be prima facie evidence of such embezzlement. The following public institutions of the state are permanently located at the places hereinafter named, each to have the lands specifically granted to it by the United States in the Act of Congress approved February 22, 1889, to be disposed of and used in such manner as the legislative assembly may prescribe subject to the limitations provided in the article on school and public lands contained in this constitution. 1. The seat of government at the city of Bismarck in the county of Burleigh. 2. The state university and the school of mines at the city of Grand Forks, in the county of Grand Forks. 3. The North Dakota state university of agriculture and applied science at the city of Fargo, in the county of Cass. 4. A state normal school at the city of Valley City, in the county of Barnes, and the legislative assembly, in apportioning the grant of eighty thousand acres of land for normal schools made in the Act of Congress referred to shall grant to the said normal school at Valley City, as aforementioned, fifty thousand (50,000) acres, and said lands are hereby appropriated to said institution for that purpose. 5. The school for the deaf and dumb of North Dakota at the city of Devils Lake, in the county of Ramsey. 6. A state training school at the city of Mandan, in the county of Morton. 7. A state normal school at the city of Mayville, in the county of Traill, and the legislative assembly in apportioning the grant of lands made by Congress in the Act aforesaid for state normal schools shall assign thirty thousand (30,000) acres to the institution hereby located at Mayville, and said lands are hereby appropriated for said purpose. 8. A state hospital for the insane at the city of Jamestown, in the county of Stutsman. And the legislative assembly shall appropriate twenty thousand acres of the grant of lands made by the Act of Congress aforesaid for other educational and charitable institutions to the benefit and for the endowment of said institution, and there shall be located at or near the city of Grafton, in the county of Walsh, an institution for the feebleminded, on the grounds purchased by the secretary of the interior for a penitentiary building. The following public institutions are located as provided, each to have so much of the remaining grant of one hundred seventy thousand acres of land made by the United States for “other educational and charitable institutions” as is allotted by law: 1. A soldiers' home, when located, or such other charitable institution as the legislative assembly may determine, at the city of Lisbon in the county of Ransom, with a grant of forty thousand acres of land. 2. The school for the blind at the city of Grand Forks in the county of Grand Forks or at such other location as may be determined by the legislative assembly to be in the best interests of the students of such institution and the state of North Dakota. 3. A school of forestry, or such other institution as the legislative assembly may determine, at such place in one of the counties of McHenry, Ward, Bottineau, or Rolette, as the electors of said counties may determine by an election for that purpose, to be held as provided by the legislative assembly. 4. A school of science or such other educational or charitable institution as the legislative assembly may prescribe, at the city of Wahpeton in the county of Richland, with a grant of forty thousand acres. 5. A state college at the city of Minot in the county of Ward. 6. A state college at the city of Dickinson in the county of Stark. 7. A state hospital for the mentally ill at such place within this state as shall be selected by the legislative assembly. No other institution of a character similar to any one of those located by article IX, section 12, or this section shall be established or maintained without an amendment of this constitution. The legislative assembly shall be prohibited from raising revenue to defray the expenses of the state through the levying of a tax on the assessed value of real or personal property. The power of taxation shall never be surrendered or suspended by any grant or contract to which the state or any county or other municipal corporation shall be a party. No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law, and every law imposing a tax shall state distinctly the object of the same, to which only it shall be applied. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provisions of this constitution, the legislative assembly, in any law imposing a tax or taxes on, in respect to or measured by income, may define the income on, in respect to or by which such tax or taxes are imposed or measured or may define the tax itself by reference to any provision of the laws of the United States as the same may be or become effective at any time or from time to time, and may prescribe exceptions or modifications to any such provision. All taxable property except as hereinafter in this section provided, shall be assessed in the county, city, township, village or district in which it is situated, in the manner prescribed by law. The property, including franchises of all railroads operated in this state, and of all express companies, freight line companies, dining car companies, sleeping car companies, car equipment companies, or private car line companies, telegraph or telephone companies, the property of any person, firm or corporation used for the purpose of furnishing electric light, heat or power, or in distributing the same for public use, and the property of any other corporation, firm or individual now or hereafter operating in this state, and used directly or indirectly in the carrying of persons, property or messages, shall be assessed by the state board of equalization in a manner prescribed by such state board or commission as may be provided by law. But should any railroad allow any portion of its railway to be used for any purpose other than the operation of a railroad thereon, such portion of its railway, while so used shall be assessed in a manner provided for the assessment of other real property. Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property including franchises within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax. The legislative assembly may by law exempt any or all classes of personal property from taxation and within the meaning of this section, fixtures, buildings and improvements of every character, whatsoever, upon land shall be deemed personal property. The property of the United States, to the extent immunity from taxation has not been waived by an act of Congress, property of the state, county, and municipal corporations, to the extent immunity from taxation has not been waived by an act of the legislative assembly, and property used exclusively for schools, religious, cemetery, charitable or other public purposes shall be exempt from taxation. Except as restricted by this article, the legislative assembly may provide for raising revenue and fixing the situs of all property for the purpose of taxation. Provided that all taxes and exemptions in force when this amendment is adopted shall remain in force until otherwise provided by statute. The legislative assembly may provide for the levy, collection and disposition of an annual poll tax of not more than one dollar and fifty cents on every male inhabitant of this state over twenty-one and under fifty years of age, except paupers, idiots, insane persons and Indians not taxed. The legislature may by law provide for the levy and collection of an acreage tax on lands within the state in addition to the limitations specified in article X, section 1, of the constitution. The proceeds of such tax shall be used to indemnify the owners of growing crops against damages by hail, provided that lands used exclusively for public roads, rights of way of common carriers, mining, manufacturing or pasturage may be exempt from such tax. The legislative assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. The legislative assembly may provide for the levy of a tax upon lands within the state for the purpose of creating a fund to insure the owners of growing crops against losses by hail. The legislative assembly may classify lands within the state, and divide the state into districts on such basis as shall seem just and necessary, and may vary the tax rates in such districts in accordance with the risk, in order to secure an equitable distribution of the burden of the tax among the owners of such lands. 1. Upon the adoption of this amendment to the Constitution of the State of North Dakota there shall be annually levied by the state of North Dakota one mill upon all of the taxable property within the state of North Dakota which, when collected, shall be covered into the state treasury of the state of North Dakota and placed to the credit of the North Dakota state medical center at the university of North Dakota; said fund shall be expended as the legislature shall direct for the development and maintenance necessary to the efficient operation of the said North Dakota state medical center. 2. This amendment shall be self-executing, but legislation may be enacted to facilitate its operation. Revenue from gasoline and other motor fuel excise and license taxation, motor vehicle registration and license taxes, except revenue from aviation gasoline and unclaimed aviation motor fuel refunds and other aviation motor fuel excise and license taxation used by aircraft, after deduction of cost of administration and collection authorized by legislative appropriation only, and statutory refunds, shall be appropriated and used solely for construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of public highways, and the payment of obligations incurred in the construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of public highways. 1. All public moneys, from whatever source derived, shall be paid over monthly by the public official, employee, agent, director, manager, board, bureau, or institution of the state receiving the same, to the state treasurer, and deposited by him to the credit of the state, and shall be paid out and disbursed only pursuant to appropriation first made by the legislature; provided, however, that there is hereby appropriated the necessary funds required in the financial transactions of the Bank of North Dakota, and required for the payment of losses, duly approved, payable from the state hail insurance fund, state bonding fund, and state fire and tornado fund, and required for the payment of compensation to injured employees or death claims, duly approved, payable from the workmen's compensation fund, and required for authorized investments made by the board of university and school lands, and required for the financial operations of the state mill and elevator association, and required for the payment of interest and principal of bonds and other fixed obligations of the state, and required for payments required by law to be paid to beneficiaries of the teachers' insurance and retirement fund, and required for refunds made under the provisions of the Retail Sales Tax Act, and the State Income Tax Law, and the State Gasoline Tax Law, and the Estate and Succession Tax Law, and the income of any state institution derived from permanent trust funds, and the funds allocated under the law to the state highway department and the various counties for the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of public roads. This constitutional amendment shall not be construed to apply to fees and moneys received in connection with the licensing and organization of physicians and surgeons, pharmacists, dentists, osteopaths, optometrists, embalmers, barbers, lawyers, veterinarians, nurses, chiropractors, accountants, architects, hairdressers, chiropodists, and other similarly organized, licensed trades and professions; and this constitutional amendment shall not be construed to amend or repeal existing laws or Acts amendatory thereof concerning such fees and moneys. 2. No bills, claims, accounts, or demands against the state or any county or other political subdivision shall be audited, allowed, or paid until a full itemized statement in writing shall be filed with the officer or officers whose duty it may be to audit the same, and then only upon warrant drawn upon the treasurer of such funds by the proper officer or officers. 3. This amendment shall become effective on July 1, 1939. The state may issue or guarantee the payment of bonds, provided that all bonds in excess of two million dollars shall be secured by first mortgage upon real estate in amounts not to exceed sixty-five percent of its value; or upon real and personal property of state-owned utilities, enterprises, or industries, in amounts not exceeding its value, and provided further, that the state shall not issue or guarantee bonds upon property of state-owned utilities, enterprises, or industries in excess of ten million dollars. No further indebtedness shall be incurred by the state unless evidenced by a bond issue, which shall be authorized by law for certain purposes, to be clearly defined. Every law authorizing a bond issue shall provide for levying an annual tax, or make other provision, sufficient to pay the interest semiannually, and the principal within thirty years from the date of the issue of such bonds and shall specially appropriate the proceeds of such tax, or of such other provisions to the payment of said principal and interest, and such appropriation shall not be repealed nor the tax or other provisions discontinued until such debt, both principal and interest, shall have been paid. No debt in excess of the limit named herein shall be incurred except for the purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, defending the state in time of war or to provide for the public defense in case of threatened hostilities. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision in the constitution, and for the purpose of promoting the economic growth of the state, the development of its natural resources, and the prosperity and welfare of its people, the state may issue bonds and use the proceeds thereof to make loans to privately or cooperatively owned enterprises to plan, construct, acquire, equip, improve, and extend facilities for converting natural resources into power and generating and transmitting such power, and to acquire real and personal property and water and mineral rights needed for such facilities. 2. The state may issue general obligation bonds for this purpose to an amount which, with all outstanding general obligation bonds, less the amount of all money on hand and taxes in process of collection which are appropriated for their payment, will not exceed five percent of the full and true value of all of the taxable property in the state, to be ascertained by the last assessment made for state and county purposes: but nothing herein shall increase or diminish the limitations established by other provisions of the constitution on the amount of bonds therein authorized to be issued. 3. The state may also issue revenue bonds for the purpose of providing part or all of the funds required for any project undertaken under subsection 1, payable solely from sums realized from payments of principal and interest on money loaned for such project, and from other similar projects if so determined by the legislature, and from the liquidation of security given for such payments. Revenue bonds issued for any project shall not exceed the cost thereof, including all expenses reasonably incurred to complete and finance the project, but shall not be subject to any other limitation of amount. 4. The full faith and credit of the state shall be pledged for the prompt and full payment of all bonds issued under subsection 2. Its obligation with respect to bonds issued under subsection 3 shall be limited to the prompt and full performance of such covenants as the legislature may authorize to be made respecting the enforcing of the provisions of underlying loan agreements and the segregation, accounting, and application of bond proceeds and of loan payments and other security pledged for the payment of the bonds. All bonds authorized by subsections 1 to 3, inclusive, shall mature within forty years from their respective dates of issue, but may be refunded at or before maturity in such manner and for such term and upon such conditions as the legislature may direct. Any such bonds may, but need not be, secured by mortgage upon real or personal property acquired with the proceeds of the same or any other issue of general obligation or revenue bonds, or upon other property mortgaged by the debtor. Pledges of revenues and mortgages of property securing bonds of any issue may be prior or subordinate to or on a parity with pledges and mortgages securing any other issue of general obligation or revenue bonds, as determined by the legislature from time to time in conformity with any provisions made for the security of outstanding bonds. 5. The legislature shall pass such laws as are appropriate to implement this amendment. 6. If any subsection of this amendment, or any part of a subsection, or any application thereof to particular circumstances should be held invalid for any reason, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of all remaining provisions of this amendment which may be given effect without that which is declared invalid, as applied to any circumstances and for this purpose all subsections and parts of subsections and applications thereof are declared to be severable. The debt of any county, township, city, town, school district or any other political subdivision, shall never exceed five per centum upon the assessed value of the taxable property therein; provided that any incorporated city may, by a two-thirds vote, increase such indebtedness three per centum on such assessed value beyond said five per centum limit, and a school district, by a majority vote may increase such indebtedness five percent on such assessed value beyond said five per centum limit; provided also that any county or city by a majority vote may issue bonds upon any revenue-producing utility owned by such county or city, or for the purchasing or acquiring the same or building or establishment thereof, in amounts not exceeding the physical value of such utility, industry or enterprise. In estimating the indebtedness which a city, county, township, school district or any other political subdivision may incur, the entire amount, exclusive of the bonds upon said revenue-producing utilities, whether contracted prior or subsequent to the adoption of this constitution, shall be included; provided further that any incorporated city may become indebted in any amount not exceeding four per centum of such assessed value without regard to the existing indebtedness of such city for the purpose of constructing or purchasing waterworks for furnishing a supply of water to the inhabitants of such city, or for the purpose of constructing sewers, and for no other purposes whatever. All bonds and obligations in excess of the amount of indebtedness permitted by this constitution, given by any city, county, township, town, school district, or any other political subdivision shall be void. Any city, county, township, town, school district or any other political subdivision incurring indebtedness shall, at or before the time of so doing, provide for the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest and also the principal thereof when due, and all laws or ordinances providing for the payment of the interest or principal of any debt shall be irrepealable until such debt be paid. No bond or evidence of indebtedness of the state is valid unless it has endorsed thereon a certificate, signed by the auditor and secretary of state showing that the bond or evidence of debt is issued pursuant to law and is within the debt limit. No bond or evidence of debt of any county, or bond of any township or other political subdivision is valid unless it has endorsed thereon a certificate signed by the officer authorized by law to sign such certificate, stating that said bond or evidence of debt is issued pursuant to law and is within the debt limit. The state, any county or city may make internal improvements and may engage in any industry, enterprise or business not prohibited by Article XX of the Constitution, but neither the state nor any political subdivision thereof shall otherwise loan or give its credit or make donations to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation except for reasonable support of the poor, nor subscribe to or become the owner of capital stock in any association or corporation. The legislative assembly is hereby authorized and empowered to provide by law for the erection, purchasing or leasing and operation of one or more terminal grain elevators in the states of Minnesota or Wisconsin, or both, to be maintained and operated in such manner as the legislative assembly shall prescribe, and provide for inspection, weighing and grading of all grain received in such elevator or elevators. The legislative assembly is hereby authorized and empowered to provide by law for the erection, purchasing or leasing and operation of one or more terminal grain elevators in the state of North Dakota, to be maintained and operated in such manner as the legislative assembly shall prescribe, and provide for inspection, weighing and grading of all grain received in such elevator or elevators. Not less than fifteen percent of the tax imposed for severing coal shall be placed into a permanent trust fund in the state treasury to be held in trust and administered by the board of university and school lands, which shall have full authority to invest said trust funds as provided by law, and may loan moneys from the fund to political subdivisions as provided by law. The interest earned on the moneys in said trust fund shall be used first to replace uncollectable loans made from the fund, and the balance shall be credited to the general fund of the state. Up to fifty percent of the taxes collected and deposited in the permanent trust fund during a biennium may be appropriated by the legislative assembly for lignite research, development, and marketing as provided by law. An additional twenty percent of the taxes collected and deposited in the permanent trust fund during a biennium may be appropriated by the legislative assembly for clean coal demonstration projects approved by the industrial commission. The legislative assembly may provide by law for a percentage of revenue from taxes imposed on the extraction or production of oil to be allocated and credited to a special trust fund, to be known as the resources trust fund. The principal and income of the resources trust fund may be expended only pursuant to legislative appropriation for: 1. Constructing water-related projects, including rural water systems; and 2. Funding of programs for energy conservation. The legislative assembly may provide for the payment of adjusted compensation to North Dakota residents who were members of the regular active duty armed forces and who served in the Persian Gulf theatre or in the Grenada, Lebanon, or Panama areas of armed conflict as designated by the President of the United States or to heirs of North Dakota residents who were members of the regular active duty armed forces and who died while on orders to or from the Persian Gulf theatre or in the Grenada, Lebanon, or Panama areas of armed conflict as designated by the President of the United States. The legislative assembly may provide a direct appropriation or provide for the issuance, sale, and delivery of bonds of the state of North Dakota in such principal amounts as determined by the legislative assembly to be necessary for the payment of adjusted compensation under this section. Adjusted compensation under this section may be paid at such rates, terms of service, and conditions as the legislative assembly provides. Twenty percent of the revenue from oil extraction taxes from taxable oil produced in this state must be allocated as follows: 1. Fifty percent must be deposited in the common schools trust fund. 2. Fifty percent must be deposited in the foundation aid stabilization fund in the state treasury, the interest income of which must be transferred to the state general fund on July first of each year. The principal of the foundation aid stabilization fund may be expended only upon order of the governor, who may direct such a transfer only to offset foundation aid reductions that were made by executive action pursuant to law due to a revenue shortage. The veterans' postwar trust fund shall be a permanent trust fund of the state of North Dakota and shall consist of moneys transferred or credited to the fund as authorized by legislative enactment. Investment of the fund shall be the responsibility of the state treasurer who shall have full authority to invest the fund only in the same manner as the state investment board is authorized to make investments. All income received from investments is to be utilized for programs which must be of benefit and service to veterans, who are defined by legislative enactment, or their dependents, and such income is hereby appropriated to the administrative committee on veterans' affairs on a continuing basis for expenditure upon those programs selected at the discretion of the administrative committee on veterans' affairs. The name of this state shall be “North Dakota.” The state of North Dakota shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundary, to wit: Commencing at a point in the main channel of the Red River of the North, where the forty-ninth degree of north latitude crosses the same; thence south up the main channel of the same and along the boundary line of the state of Minnesota to a point where the seventh standard parallel intersects the same; thence west along said seventh standard parallel produced due west to a point where it intersects the twenty-seventh meridian of longitude west from Washington; thence north on said meridian to a point where it intersects the forty-ninth degree of north latitude; thence east along said line to place of beginning. The following described seal is hereby declared to be and hereby constituted the great seal of the state of North Dakota, to wit: A tree in the open field, the trunk of which is surrounded by three bundles of wheat; on the right a plow, anvil and sledge; on the left, a bow crossed with three arrows, and an Indian on horseback pursuing a buffalo toward the setting sun; the foliage of the tree arched by a half circle of forty-two stars, surrounded by the motto “Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable”; the words “Great Seal” at the top; the words “State of North Dakota” at the bottom; “October 1st” on the left and “1889” on the right. The seal to be two and one-half inches in diameter. All flowing streams and natural watercourses shall forever remain the property of the state for mining, irrigating and manufacturing purposes. Members of the legislative assembly and judicial department, except such inferior officers as may be by law exempted shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Dakota; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of _ according to the best of my ability, so help me God” (if an oath), (under pains and penalties of perjury) if an affirmation, and no other oath, declaration, or test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust. Unless otherwise provided by law, all meetings of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions, or agencies of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds, or expending public funds, shall be open to the public. Unless otherwise provided by law, all records of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions, or agencies of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds, or expending public funds, shall be public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours. The legislative assembly, in order to ensure continuity of state and local governmental operations in periods of emergency resulting from disasters caused by enemy attack, shall have the power and immediate duty (1) to provide for prompt and temporary succession to the powers and duties of public offices, of whatever nature and whether filled by election or appointment, the incumbents of which may become unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such offices, and (2) to adopt such other measures as may be necessary and proper for ensuring the continuity of governmental operations including, but not limited to, waiver of constitutional restrictions upon the place of transaction of governmental business, upon the calling of sessions of the legislative assembly, length of sessions, quorum and voting requirements, subjects of legislation and appropriation bill requirements, upon eligibility of legislators to hold other offices, residence requirements for legislators, and upon expenditures, loans or donations of public moneys. In the exercise of the powers hereby conferred the legislative assembly shall in all respects conform to the requirements of this constitution except to the extent that in the judgment of the legislative assembly so to do would be impracticable or would admit of undue delay. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. The concurrence of a majority of all members elected shall be necessary to an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to the law and evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected. When the governor or lieutenant governor is on trial, the presiding judge of the supreme court shall preside. The governor and other state and judicial officers, except county judges, justices of the peace and police magistrates, shall be liable to impeachment for habitual drunkenness, crimes, corrupt conduct, or malfeasance or misdemeanor in office, but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of trust or profit under the state. The person accused, whether convicted or acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment according to law. All officers not liable to impeachment shall be subject to removal for misconduct, malfeasance, crime or misdemeanor in office, or for habitual drunkenness or gross incompetency in such manner as may be provided by law. No officer shall exercise the duties of his office after he shall have been impeached and before his acquittal. On trial of impeachment against the governor, the lieutenant governor shall not act as a member of the court. No person shall be tried on impeachment before he shall have been served with a copy thereof, at least twenty days previous to the day set for trial. No person shall be liable to impeachment twice for the same offense. The militia of this state shall consist of all able-bodied male persons residing in the state, between the agesof eighteen and forty-five years, except such as may be exempted by the laws of the United States or of this state. Persons whose religious tenets or conscientious scruples forbid them to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so in times of peace, but shall pay an equivalent for a personal service. The militia shall be enrolled, organized, uniformed, armed and disciplined in such a manner as shall be provided by law, not incompatible with the constitution or laws of the United States. The legislative assembly shall provide by law for the establishment of volunteer organizations of the several arms of the service, which shall be classed as active militia; and no other organized body of armed men shall be permitted to perform military duty in this state except the army of the United States, without the proclamation of the governor of the state. All militia officers shall be appointed or elected in such a manner as the legislative assembly shall provide. The commissioned officers of the militia shall be commissioned by the governor, and no commissioned officer shall be removed from office except by sentence of court-martial, pursuant to law. The militia forces shall in all cases, except treason, felony or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at musters, parades and elections of officers, and in going to and returning from the same. The right of the debtor to enjoy the comforts and necessaries of life shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting from forced sale to all heads of families a homestead, the value of which shall be limited and defined by law; and a reasonable amount of personal property; the kind and value shall be fixed by law. This section shall not be construed to prevent liens against the homestead for labor done and materials furnished in the improvement thereof, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. The real and personal property of any woman in this state, acquired before marriage, and all property to which she may, after marriage become in any manner rightfully entitled, shall be her separate property, and shall not be liable for the debts of her husband. The labor of children under twelve years of age, shall be prohibited in mines, factories and workshops in this state. The legislative assembly shall not authorize any game of chance, lottery, or gift enterprises, under any pretense, or for any purpose whatever. However, the legislative assembly may authorize by law bona fide nonprofit veterans', charitable, educational, religious, or fraternal organizations, civic and service clubs, or such other public-spirited organizations as it may recognize, to conduct games of chance when the entire net proceeds of such games of chance are to be devoted to educational, charitable, patriotic, fraternal, religious, or other public-spirited uses. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches are coequal branches of government. Elected members and officials of each branch shall receive as compensation for their services only such amounts as may be specifically set by law. Payment for necessary expenses shall not exceed those allowed for other state employees. The term “corporation”, as used in this article, shall not be understood as embracing municipalities or political divisions of the state unless otherwise expressly stated, but it shall be held and construed to include all associations and joint stock companies having any of the powers or privileges of corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships. No charter of incorporation shall be granted, changed or amended by special law, except in the case of such municipal, charitable, educational, penal or reformatory corporations as may be under the control of the state; but the legislative assembly shall provide by general laws for the organization of all corporations hereafter to be created, and any such law, so passed, shall be subject to future repeal or alteration. All existing charters or grants of special or exclusive privileges, under which a bona fide organization shall not have taken place and business been commenced in good faith at the time this constitution takes effect, shall thereafter have no validity. The legislative assembly shall not remit the forfeiture of the charter to any corporation now existing, nor alter or amend the same, nor pass any other general or special law for the benefit of such corporation, except upon the condition that such corporation shall thereafter hold its charter subject to the provisions of this constitution. The exercise of the right of eminent domain shall never be abridged, or so construed as to prevent the legislative assembly from taking the property and franchises of incorporated companies and subjecting them to public use; the same as the property of individuals; and the exercise of the police power of this state shall never be abridged, or so construed as to permit corporations to conduct their business in such a manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals or the general well-being of the state. In all elections for directors or managers of a corporation, each member or shareholder may cast the whole number of his votes for one candidate, or distribute them upon two or more candidates, as he may prefer, provided, any cooperative corporation may adopt bylaws limiting the voting power of its stockholders. No foreign corporation shall do business in this state without having one or more places of business and an authorized agent or agents in the same, upon whom process may be served. No corporation shall engage in any business other than that expressly authorized in its charter. No corporation shall issue stock or bonds except for money, labor done, or money or property actually received; and all fictitious increase of stock or indebtedness shall be void. The stock and indebtedness of corporations shall not be increased except in pursuance of general law, nor without the consent of the persons holding the larger amount in value of the stock first obtained. No law shall be passed by the legislative assembly granting the right to construct and operate a street railroad, telegraph, telephone or electric light plant within any city, town or incorporated village, without requiring the consent of the local authorities having the control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied for such purposes. Every railroad corporation organized and doing business in this state, under the laws or authority thereof, shall have and maintain a public office or place in the state for the transaction of its business, where transfers of its stock shall be made and in which shall be kept for public inspection, books in which shall be recorded the amount of capital stock subscribed, and by whom, the names of the owners of its stock and the amount owned by them respectively; the amount of stock paid in and by whom, and the transfers of said stock; the amount of its assets and liabilities and the names and place of residence of its officers. The directors of every railroad corporation shall annually make a report, under oath, to the auditor of public accounts, or some officer or officers to be designated by law, of all their acts and doings, which report shall include such matters relating to railroads as may be prescribed by law, and the legislative assembly shall pass laws enforcing by suitable penalties the provisions of this section; provided, the provisions of this section shall not be so construed as to apply to foreign corporations. No railroad corporation shall consolidate its stock, property or franchises with any other railroad corporation owning a parallel or competing line; and in no case shall any consolidation take place except upon public notice given at least sixty days to all stockholders, in such manner as may be provided by law. Any attempt to evade the provisions of this section, by any railroad corporation, by lease or otherwise, shall work a forfeiture of its charter. Railways heretofore constructed or that may hereafter be constructed in this state are hereby declared public highways, and all railroad, sleeping car, telegraph, telephone and transportation companies of passengers, intelligence and freight, are declared to be common carriers and subject to legislative control; and the legislative assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and controlling the rates of charges for the transportation of passengers, intelligence and freight, as such common carriers from one point to another in this state; provided, that appeal may be had to the courts of this state from the rates so fixed; but the rates fixed by the legislative assembly or board of railroad commissioners shall remain in force pending the decision of the courts. Any association or corporation organized for the purpose shall have the right to construct and operate a railroad between any points within this state, and to connect at the state line with the railroads of other states. Every railroad company shall have the right with its road to intersect, connect with or cross any other, and shall receive and transport each other’s passengers, tonnage and cars, loaded or empty, without delay or discrimination. If a general banking law be enacted, it shall provide for the registry and countersigning by an officer of the state, of all notes or bills designed for circulation, and that ample security to the full amount thereof shall be deposited with the state treasurer for the redemption of such notes or bills. Any combination between individuals, corporations, associations, or either having for its object or effect the controlling of the price of any product of the soil or any article of manufacture of commerce, or the cost of exchange or transportation, is prohibited and hereby declared unlawful and against public policy; and any and all franchises heretofore granted or extended, or that may hereafter be granted or extended in this state, whenever the owner or owners thereof violate this article shall be deemed annulled and become void. The exchange of “black lists” between corporations shall be prohibited. ARTICLE XIII. Compact with the United States. Perfect toleration of religious sentiment must be secured, and no inhabitant of this state may ever be molested in person or property on account of that person's mode of religious worship. Jurisdiction is ceded to the United States over the military reservations of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Fort Buford, Fort Pembina, and Fort Totten, heretofore declared by the president of the United States; provided, legal process, civil and criminal, of this state, extends over those reservations in all cases in which exclusive jurisdiction is not vested in the United States, or of crimes not committed within the limits of those reservations. The legislative assembly may provide, upon the terms and conditions it adopts, for the acceptance of any jurisdiction as may be delegated to the state by act of Congress. The state of North Dakota hereby accepts the several grants of land granted by the United States to the state of North Dakota by an Act of Congress entitled “An act to provide for the division of Dakota into two states, and to enable the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington to form constitutions and state governments, and to be admitted into the union on equal footing with the original states, and to make donations of public lands to such states,” under the conditions and limitations therein mentioned; reserving the right, however, to apply to Congress for modification of said conditions and limitations in case of necessity. All other provisions of the Enabling Act of Congress approved on February 22, 1889, 25 United States Statutes at Large 676, chapter 180, and section 1 of this article of the Constitution of North Dakota, as section 1 existed immediately before the adoption of this section, are continued in effect as though fully recited and continue to be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of this state. Section 26. The legislative assembly shall provide for the editing, and for the publication in an independent volume, of this constitution as soon as it shall take effect, and whenever it shall be altered or amended, and shall cause to be published in the same volume the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Enabling Act. The Enabling Act (Act of February 22, 1889, Ch. 180, 25 Statutes at Large 676.) An act to provide for the division of Dakota into two states, and to enable the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington to form constitutions and state governments, and to be admitted into the union on an equal footing with the original states, and to make donations of public lands to such states. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the inhabitants of all that part of the area of the United States now constituting the territories of Dakota, Montana, and Washington, as at present described, may become the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Washington respectively, as hereinafter provided. The area comprising the territory of Dakota shall, for the purposes of this act, be divided on the line of the seventh standard parallel produced due west to the western boundary of said territory; and the delegates elected as hereinafter provided to the constitutional convention in districts north of said parallel shall assemble in convention, at the time prescribed in this act, at the city of Bismarck; and the delegates elected in districts south of said parallel shall, at the same time, assemble in convention at the city of Sioux Falls. That all persons who are qualified by the laws of said territories to vote for representatives to the legislative assemblies thereof, are hereby authorized to vote for and choose delegates to form conventions in said proposed states; and the qualifications for delegates to such conventions shall be such as by the laws of said territories, respectively, persons, are required to possess to be eligible to the legislative assemblies thereof, and the aforesaid delegates to form said conventions shall be apportioned within the limits of the proposed states, in such districts as may be established as herein provided, in proportion to the population in each of said counties and districts, as near as may be, to be ascertained at the time of making said apportionments by the persons hereinafter authorized to make the same, from the best information obtainable, in each of which districts three delegates shall be elected, but no elector shall vote for more than two persons for delegates to such conventions; that said apportionments shall be made by the Governor, the chief justice and the secretary of said territories; and the governors of said territories shall, by proclamation, order an election of the delegates aforesaid in each of said proposed states, to be held on the Tuesday after the second Monday in May, 1889, which proclamation shall be issued on the fifteenth day of April 1889; and such election shall be conducted, the returns made, the result ascertained and the certificates to persons elected to such conventions issued in the same manner as is prescribed by the laws of the said territories regulating elections therein for delegates to Congress; and the number of votes cast for delegates in each precinct shall also be returned. The number of delegates to said conventions respectively, shall be seventy-five; and all persons resident in said proposed states, who are qualified voters of said territories as herein provided, shall be entitled to vote upon the election of delegates, and under such rules and regulations as said conventions may prescribe, not in conflict with this act, upon the ratification or rejection of the constitutions. That the delegates to the conventions elected as provided for in this act shall meet at the seat of government of each of said territories, except the delegates elected in South Dakota, who shall meet at the city of Sioux Falls, on the fourth day of July, 1889, and, after organization, shall declare on behalf of the people of said proposed states, that they adopt the Constitution of the United States; whereupon the said conventions shall be, and are hereby authorized to form constitutions and state governments for said proposed states, respectively. The Constitution shall be republican in form, and make no distinction in civil or political rights on account of race or color, except as to Indians not taxed, and not be repugnant to the Constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of Independence. And said convention shall provide by ordinances irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of said states: First. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and that no inhabitant of said states shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship. Second. That the people inhabiting said proposed states do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within the boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes; and that until the title thereto shall have been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States, and said Indian lands shall remain under the absolute jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States; that the lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said states shall never be taxed at a higher rate than the lands belonging to residents thereof; that no taxes shall be imposed by the states on lands or property therein belonging to or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States or reserved for its use. But nothing herein, or in the ordinances herein provided for, shall preclude the said states from taxing as other lands are taxed any lands owned or held by any Indian who has severed his tribal relations, and has obtained from the United States or from any person a title thereto by patent or other grant, save and except such lands as have been or may be granted to any Indian or Indians under any act of Congress containing a provision exempting the lands thus granted from taxation; but said ordinances shall provide that all such lands shall be exempt from taxation by said states so long and to such extent as such act of Congress may prescribe. Third. That the debts and liabilities of said territories shall be assumed and paid by said states, respectively. Fourth. That provision shall be made for the establishment and maintenance of systems of public schools, which shall be open to all the children of said states, and free from sectarian control. Indian Lands. Since jurisdiction and control of Indian lands remains in the United States under section 4 of the Enabling Act, congress could enact an act making criminal the introduction of intoxicating liquor upon an allotment within the limits of an Indian reservation. United States v. Sutton, 215 U.S. 291, 30 S.Ct. 116, 54 L. Ed. 200 (1909). Lands within South Dakota which were formerly a part of an Indian reservation and not restored to the public domain and open to settlement, but held by an Indian allottee under a trust patent, are Indian lands over which the United States has exclusive jurisdiction. Ex Parte Van Moore, 221 F. 954 (D. S.D. 1915). Under the Enabling Act and the disclaimer provision in the Constitution of South Dakota, not only lands, but all other property issued by the United States government to Indian allottees for use thereon, remained subject to federal control until Congress relinquished the trust. United States v. Pearson, 231 F. 270 (D.S.D. 1916). Whether Indian pantentees of land in a reservation, created by Indian treaty, took to high or low watermark of a lake was not a question of state law. Montana Power Co. v. Rochester, 127 F.2d 189 (9th Cir. 1942). -Jurisdiction of State. The compact between the United States and North Dakota created by section 4 of the Enabling Act and art. XIII, sec. 1 of the state Constitution did not reserve to the United States exclusive jurisdiction of civil causes of action not involving lands, between Indians residing on reservations. Vermilion v. Spotted Elk, 85 N.W.2d 432 (N.D. 1957). It was the duty of county commissioners to establish a voting precinct within or for a territory situated within the county limits and also within the limits of an Indian reservation, where the territory had, under an act of Congress, been allotted to certain Indians and they were living upon the allotments and farming the same. State ex rel. Tompton v. Denoyer, 6 N.D. 586, 72 N.W. 1014 (1897). Schools and School Districts An act of the territorial legislature organizing an independent school district was subject to amendment by the state legislature. Jones v. Brightwood Indep. Sch. Dist., 63 N.D. 275, 247 N.W. 884 (1933). State Political and Governmental Control. Section 4, subdivision 2, of the Enabling Act and the compact embraced in art. XIII, sec. 1 of the state Constitution, vested in the state all jurisdiction not expressly reserved in the Congress of the United States, over certain territory embraced in what is known as the Ft. Berthold Indian reservation. State ex rel. Baker v. Mountrail County, 28 N.D. 389, 149 N.W. 120 (1914). The state may rightfully exercise political and governmental control over lands formerly within a military reservation and reserved by the United States for Indian school and Indian agency purposes, to the extent of including them within its political subdivisions for political and governmental purposes. La Duke v. Melin, 45 N.D. 349, 177 N.W. 673 (1920). Unappropriated Public Lands. The beds of navigable streams are not “unappropriated public lands” included within the disclaimer of title contained in section 4 of the Enabling Act. State v. Loy, 74 N.D. 182, 20 N.W.2d 668 (1945). Section 5. That the convention which shall assemble at Bismarck shall form a Constitution and state government for a state to be known as North Dakota, and the convention which shall assemble at Sioux Falls shall form a Constitution and state government for a state to be known as South Dakota; provided, that at the election for delegates to the constitutional convention in South Dakota, as hereinbefore provided, each elector may have written or printed on his ballot, the words, “For the Sioux Falls Constitution,” or the words, “Against the Sioux Falls Constitution,” and the votes on this question shall be returned and canvassed in the same manner as for the election provided for in section 3 of this act; and if a majority of all votes cast on this question shall be “For the Sioux Falls Constitution,” it shall be the duty of the convention which may assemble at Sioux Falls, as herein provided, to resubmit to the people of South Dakota, for ratification or rejection, at the election hereinafter provided for in this act, the Constitution framed at Sioux Falls, and adopted November 3, 1885, and also the articles and propositions separately submitted at that election, including the question of locating the temporary seat of government, with such changes only as relate to the name and boundary of the proposed state, to the reapportionment of the judicial and legislative districts, and such amendments as may be necessary in order to comply with the provisions of this act; and if a majority of the votes cast on the ratification or rejection of the Constitution shall be for the Constitution irrespective of the article separately submitted, the state of South Dakota shall be admitted as a state in the union under said Constitution as hereinafter provided; but the archives, records and books of the territory of Dakota shall remain at Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, until an agreement in reference thereto is reached by said states. But if at the election for delegates to the constitutional convention in South Dakota a majority of all that votes cast at that election shall be “Against the Sioux Falls Constitution,” then, and in that event, it shall be the duty of the convention which will assemble at the city of Sioux Falls on the fourth day of July, 1889, to proceed to form a Constitution and state government as provided in this act the same as if that question had not been submitted to a vote of the people of South Dakota. It shall be the duty of the constitutional conventions of North Dakota and South Dakota to appoint a joint commission, to be composed of not less than three members to each convention, whose duty it shall be to assemble at Bismarck, the present seat of government of said territory, and agree upon an equitable division of all property belonging to the territory of Dakota, the disposition of all public records, and also adjust and agree upon the amount of the debts and liabilities of the territory, which shall be assumed and paid by each of the proposed states of North Dakota and South Dakota; and the agreement reached respecting the territorial debts and liabilities shall be incorporated into the respective Constitutions, and each of said states shall obligate itself to pay its proportion of such debts and liabilities the same as if they had been created by such states respectively. If the Constitutions formed for both North Dakota and South Dakota shall be rejected by the people at the elections for the ratification or rejection of their respective Constitutions as provided for in this act, the territorial government of Dakota shall continue in existence the same as if this act had not been passed. But if the Constitution formed for either North Dakota or South Dakota shall be rejected by the people, that part of the territory so rejecting its proposed Constitution shall continue under the territorial government of the present territory of Dakota, but shall, after the state adopting its Constitution is admitted into the union, be called by the name of the territory of North Dakota or South Dakota, as the case may be; provided, that if either of the proposed states provided for in this act shall reject the Constitution which may be submitted for ratification or rejection at the election provided therefor, the Governor of the territory in which such proposed Constitution was rejected shall issue his proclamation reconvening the delegates ejected to the convention which formed such rejected Constitution, fixing the time and place at which said delegates shall assemble; and when so assembled they shall proceed to form another Constitution or to amend the rejected Constitution, and shall submit such new Constitution or amended Constitution to the people of the proposed state for ratification or rejection, at such time as said convention may determine; and all the provisions of this act, so far as applicable, shall apply to such convention so reassembled and to the Constitution which may be formed, its ratification or rejection, and to the admission of the proposed state. That the constitutional convention which may assemble in South Dakota shall provide by ordinance for resubmitting the Sioux Falls Constitution of 1885, after having amended the same as provided in section 5 of this act, to the people of South Dakota for ratification or rejection at an election to be held therein on the first Tuesday in October, 1889; but if said constitutional convention is authorized and required to form a new Constitution for South Dakota, it shall provide for submitting the same in like manner to the people of South Dakota for ratification or rejection, at an election to be held in said proposed state on the said first Tuesday in October. And the Constitutional conventions which may assemble in North Dakota, Montana, and Washington, shall provide in like manner for submitting the Constitutions formed by them to the people of said proposed states respectively, for ratification or rejection, at elections to be held in said proposed states on the first Tuesday in October. At the elections provided for in this section the qualified voters of said proposed states shall vote directly for or against the proposed Constitutions, and for or against any articles or propositions separately submitted. The returns of said elections shall be made to the secretary of each of said territories, who, with the Governor and chief justice thereof, or any two of them, shall canvass the same; and if a majority of the legal votes cast shall be for the Constitution, the Governor shall certify the result to the president of the United States, together with a statement of the votes cast thereon and upon separate articles or propositions, and a copy of the said Constitution, articles, propositions, and ordinances. And if the Constitutions and governments, of said proposed states are republican in form, and if all the provisions of this act have been complied with in the formation thereof, it shall be the duty of the president of the United States to issue his proclamation announcing the result of the election in each, and thereupon the proposed states which have adopted Constitutions and formed state governments, as herein provided, shall be deemed admitted by congress into the union, under and by virtue of this act, on an equal footing with the original states from and after the state of said proclamation. Adoption of Article An article of the Constitution which received a majority of all the votes cast upon the question of its adoption and upon the question of the adoption of the Constitution was legally adopted though it failed to receive a majority of votes cast for governor. State ex rel. Larabee v. Barnes, 3 N.D. 319, 55 N.W. 883 (1893). That until the next general census, or until otherwise provided by law, said states shall be entitled to one representative in the house of representatives to the fifty-first Congress, together with the Governors and other officers provided for in said Constitutions, may be elected on the same day of the election for the ratification or rejection of the Constitutions; and until said state officers are elected and qualified under the provisions of each Constitution and the states, respectively, are admitted into the union, the territorial officers shall continue to discharge the duties of their respective offices in each of said territories. That upon the admission of each of said states into the union, sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every township of said proposed states, and where such sections, or any parts thereof, have been sold or otherwise disposed of by or under the authority of any act of Congress, other lands equivalent thereto, in legal subdivisions of not less than one-quarter section, and as contiguous as may be to the section in lieu of which the same is taken, are hereby granted to said states for the support of common schools, such indemnity lands to be selected within said states in such manner as the Legislature may provide, with the approval of the secretary of the interior; provided, that the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections embraced in permanent reservations for national purposes shall not, at any time, be subject to the grant nor to the indemnity provisions of this act, nor shall any lands embraced in Indian, military or other reservations of any character, be subject to the grants or to the indemnity provisions of this act until the reservation shall have been extinguished and such lands be restored to, and become a part of, the public domain. Bankruptcy Act Proceedings. The fact that land being sold under contract to a bankrupt farmer was a part of the trust funds created by the Enabling Act did not exclude the land from administration under Bankruptcy Act proceedings. North Dakota v. Hegstad, 134 F.2d 598 (8th Cir. 1943). A bankrupt whose land is sold to the state on foreclosure of a mortgage securing a loan of permanent school funds may redeem by payment of the value of the land as fixed under the provisions of the Federal Bankruptcy Act, even though for less than the amount required for redemption under state law. North Dakota v. Towner County, 142 F.2d 48 (8th Cir. 1944). Permanent School Fund. The entire grant of land to the state for educational purposes was in trust and the express terms of the grant required the state as trustee to maintain the permanency of the funds acquired through the grant. The state is limited to the use of the interest from the permanent fund and the interest shall be used only for the support of schools. State ex rel. Bd. Of Univ. & Sch. Lands v. McMillan, 12 N.D. 280, 96 N.W. 310 (1903), distinguished, Lang v. City of Cavalier, 59 N.D. 75, 228 N.W. 819 (1930). The assembly cannot divert nor authorize diversion of any part of the principal or interest or income from the investment of funds under the control of the board of university and school lands arising from the rental or sale of lands granted by the United States to any purposes other than those for which grants were made and any diversion to other purposes or any donation thereof in aid of an individual, by the assembly directly, or by the board of university and school lands by legislative enactment is unconstitutional. State ex rel. Sathre v. Board of Univ. & Sch. Lands, 65 N.D. 687, 262 N.W. 60 (1935). That all lands granted by this act shall be disposed of only at public sale after advertising - tillable lands capable of producing agricultural crops for not less than $10 per acre and lands principally valuable for grazing purposes for not less than $5 per acre. Any of the said lands may be exchanged for other lands, public or private, or equal value and as near as may be of equal area, but if any of the said lands are exchanged with the United States such exchange shall be limited to Federal lands that are surveyed, nonmineral, unreserved public lands within the state or are reserved public lands within the State that are subject to exchange under the laws governing the administration of such Federal reserved public lands. All exchanges heretofore made under section 11 of the Act approved February 22, 1889 (25 Stat. 676), as amended by the Act approved May 7, 1932 (47 Stat. 150), for reserved public lands of the United States that were subject to exchange under law pursuant to which they were being administered and the requirements thereof have been met, are hereby approved to the same extent as though the lands exchanged were unreserved public lands. The said lands may be leased under such regulations as the legislature may prescribe. The state may also, upon such terms as it may prescribe, grant such easements or rights in any of the lands granted by this act, as may be acquired in privately owned lands through proceedings in eminent domain: provided, however, that none of such lands, nor any estate or interest therein, shall ever be disposed of except in pursuance of general laws providing for such disposition, nor unless the full market value of the estate or interest disposed of, to be ascertained in such manner as may be provided by law, has been paid or safely secured to the state. With the exception of the lands granted for public buildings, the proceeds from the sale and other permanent disposition of any of the said lands and from every part thereof, shall constitute permanent funds for the support and maintenance of the public schools and the various state institutions for which the lands have been granted. Rentals on leased land, proceeds from the sale of timber and other crops, interest on deferred payments on land sold, interest on funds arising from these lands, and all other actual income, shall be available for the acquisition and construction of facilities, including the retirement of bonds authorized by law for such purposes, and for the maintenance and support of such schools and institutions. Any state may, however, in its discretion, add a portion of the annual income to the permanent funds. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, each of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington may pool the moneys received by it from oil and gas and other mineral leasing of said lands. The moneys so pooled shall be apportioned among the public schools and the various state institutions shall receive an amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount apportioned as the number of acres (including any that may have been disposed of) granted for such public schools or for such institutions bears to the total number of acres (including any that may have been disposed of) granted by this act. Not less than fifty per centum of each such amount shall be covered into the appropriate permanent fund. The lands hereby granted shall not be subject to pre-emption, homestead entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the United States whether surveyed or unsurveyed, but shall be reserved for the purposes for which they have been granted. History: As amended by Act of August 11, 1921, ch. 61, 42 Stat. 158; Act of May 7, 1932, ch. 172, 47 Stat. 150; Act of June 25, 1938, ch. 700, 52 Stat. 1198; Act of April 13, 1948, ch. 183, 62 Stat. 170; Act of June 28, 1952, ch. 480, 66 Stat. 283; Act of June 30, 1967, Public Law 90-41, 81 Stat. 106; Act of October 16, 1970, Public Law 91-463, 84 Stat. 987. Condemnation of School Lands. Where a state statute relating to the condemnation of right of way by the state highway commission contemplates that title to lands shall be acquired, such procedure cannot be resorted to acquire school land granted to the state. State Hwy. Comm'n v. State, 70 N. D. 673, 297 N.W. 194 (1940). Oil and Gas Leases Under the Enabling Act, as amended, the state has full power to provide for the execution of oil and gas leases on school and university lands. State ex rel. Rausch v. Amerada Petro. Corp., 78 N.D. 247, 49 N.W.2d 14 (1951). When a contract for the sale of school land is canceled, the land reverts to the state, and no interest in the land is subject to taxation until a resale or redemption is made. Upon reversion of the land to the state, all unpaid taxes levied thereon are canceled. State v. Towner County, 68 N.D. 629, 283 N.W. 63 (1938). That upon the admission of each of said states into the union, in accordance with the provisions of this act, fifty sections of the unappropriated public lands within said states, to be selected and located in legal subdivisions as provided in section 10 of this act, shall be, and are hereby granted to said states for public buildings at the capital of said states for legislative, executive, and judicial purposes, including construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation, furnishings, equipment, and any other permanent improvement of such buildings, and the acquisition of necessary land for such buildings, and the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued for any of the above purposes. That five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of public lands lying within said states which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said states into the union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to the said states, to be used as a permanent fund, the interest of which only shall be expended for the support of the common schools within said states, respectively. That the lands granted to the territories of Dakota and Montana by the Act of February 18, 1881, entitled “An Act to grant lands to Dakota, Montana, Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming for university purposes,” are hereby vested in the states of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana respectively, if such states are admitted into the union as provided in this act, to the extent of the full quantity of seventy-two sections to each of said states, and any portion of said lands that may not have been selected by either of said territories of Dakota or Montana may be selected by the respective states aforesaid; but said Act of February 18, 1881, shall be so amended as to provide that none of said lands shall be sold for less than $10 per acre, and the proceeds shall constitute a permanent fund to be safely invested and held by said states severally, and the income thereof be used exclusively for university purposes. And such quantity of the lands authorized by the fourth section of the Act of July 17, 1854, to be reserved for university purposes in the territory of Washington, as together with the lands confirmed to the vendees of the territory by the Act of March 14, 1864, will make the full quantity of seventy- two entire sections, are hereby granted in like manner to the state of Washington for the purposes of a university in said state. None of the lands granted in this section shall be sold at less than $10 per acre; but said lands may be leased in the same manner as provided in section 11 of this act. The schools, colleges and universities provided for in this act shall forever remain under the exclusive control of the said states, respectively, and no part of the proceeds arising from the sale or disposal of any lands herein granted for educational purposes shall be used for the support of any secretarian or denominational school, college, or university. The section of land granted by the Act of June 16, 1880, to the territory of Dakota, for an asylum for the insane shall, upon the admission of said state of South Dakota into the union, become the property of said state. That so much of the land belonging to the United States as have been acquired and set apart for the purpose mentioned in “An act appropriating money for the erection of a penitentiary in the territory of Dakota,” approved March 2, 1881, together with the buildings thereon, be, and the same is hereby granted, together with any unexpended balances of the money appropriated therefor by said act, to said state of South Dakota, for the purposes therein designated; and the states of North Dakota and Washington shall, respectively, have like grants for the same purpose, and subject to like terms and conditions as provided in said Act of March 2, 1881, for the territory of Dakota. The penitentiary at Deer Lodge City, Montana, and all lands connected therewith and set apart and reserved therefor, are hereby granted to the state of Montana. That ninety thousand acres of land, to be selected and located as provided in section 10 of this act, are hereby granted to each of said states except to the state of South Dakota, to which one hundred twenty thousand acres are granted for the use and support of agricultural colleges in said states, as provided in the acts of Congress making donations of lands for such purposes. That in lieu of the grant of land for purposes of internal improvement made to new states by the eighth section of the Act of September 4, 1841, which act is hereby repealed as to the states provided for by this act, and in lieu of any claim or demand by the said states, or either of them, under the Act of September 28, 1850, and section 2479 of the Revised Statutes, making a grant of swamp and overflowed lands to certain states, which grant it is hereby declared is not extended to the states provided for in this act, and in lieu of any grant of saline lands to said states, the following grants of land are hereby made, to wit: To the state of South Dakota: For the school of mines, forty thousand acres; for the reform school, forty thousand acres; for the deaf and dumb asylum, forty thousand acres; for the agricultural college, forty thousand acres; for the university, forty thousand acres; for state normal school, eighty thousand acres; for public buildings at the capital of said state, fifty thousand acres, and for such other educational and charitable purposes as the Legislature of said state may determine, one hundred seventy thousand acres; in all, five hundred thousand acres. To the state of North Dakota a like quantity of land as is in this section granted to the state of South Dakota, and to be for like purposes, and in like proportion as far as practicable. To the state of Montana: For the establishment and maintenance of a school of mines, one hundred thousand acres; for state normal schools, one hundred thousand acres; for agricultural colleges, in addition to the grant hereinbefore made for that purpose, fifty thousand acres; for the establishment of a state reform school, fifty thousand acres; for the establishment of a deaf and dumb asylum, fifty thousand acres; for public buildings at the capital of the state, in addition to the grant hereinbefore made for that purpose, one hundred fifty thousand acres. To the state of Washington: For the establishment and maintenance of a scientific school, one hundred thousand acres; for state normal schools, one hundred thousand acres; for public buildings at the state capital in addition to the grant hereinbefore made for that purpose, one hundred thousand acres; for state, charitable, educational, penal, and reformatory institutions, two hundred thousand acres. That the states provided for in this act shall not be entitled to any further or other grants of land for any purpose than as expressly provided in this act. And the lands granted by this section shall be held, appropriated, and disposed of exclusively for the purposes herein mentioned, in such manner as the legislatures of the respective states may severally provide. The power to determine the manner of the use of public lands granted by the Enabling Act is purely legislative and cannot be delegated to a commission. State ex rel. Rusk v. Budge, 14 N.D. 532, 105 N.W. 724 (1905), distinguished, More v. Western Grain Co., 37 N.D. 547, 164 N.W. 294 (1917). The words “charitable purposes” should be construed in a broad, and not limited meaning, to include acts of public benefaction which are done for public purposes, as well as mere almsgiving or benefaction to the poor, and, as so construed, the section authorizes the maintenance of an institution which shall care for all classes of aged and infirm soldiers, irrespective of their monetary worth. State ex rel. Skeffington v. Seigfried, 40 N.D. 57, 168 N.W. 62 (1918). Governor's Residence. The erection of a resident for the governor at the capital is within the purposes of the grant of land made by congress to the state for public buildings at the capital under the Enabling Act. State ex rel. Rusk v. Budge, 14 N.D. 532, 105 N.W. 724 (1905), distinguished, More v. Western Grain Co., 37 N.D. 547, 164 N.W. 294 (1917). Limitation on Legislative Disposal of Lands. That all mineral lands shall be exempted from the grants made by this act. But if sections sixteen and thirty-six, or any subdivision or portion of any smallest subdivision thereof in any township shall be found by the department of the interior to be mineral lands, said states are hereby authorized and empowered to select, in legal subdivisions, an equal quantity of other unappropriated lands in said states, in lieu thereof, for the use and benefit of the common schools of said states. That all lands granted in quantity or as indemnity by this act shall be selected, under the direction of the secretary of the interior, from the surveyed, unreserved, and unappropriated public lands of the United States within the limits of the respective states entitled thereto. And there shall be deducted from the number of acres of land donated by this act for specific objects to said states the number of acres in each heretofore donated by Congress to said territories for similar objects. That the sum of twenty thousand dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to each of said territories for defraying the expenses of the said conventions, except to Dakota for which the sum of forty thousand dollars is so appropriated, twenty thousand dollars each for South Dakota and North Dakota, and for the payment of the members thereof, under the same rules and regulations and at the same rates as are now provided by law for the payment of the territorial legislatures. Any money hereby appropriated not necessary for such purpose shall be covered into the treasury of the United States. That each of said states, when admitted as aforesaid, shall constitute one judicial district, the names thereof to be the same as the names of the states, respectively; and the circuit and district courts thereof shall be held at the capital of such state for the time being, and each of said districts shall, for judicial purposes, until otherwise provided, be attached to the eighth judicial circuit, except Washington and Montana, which shall be attached to the ninth judicial circuit. There shall be appointed for each of said districts one district judge, one United States attorney and one United States marshal. The judge of each of said districts shall receive a yearly salary of three thousand five hundred dollars payable in four equal installments, on the first days of January, April, July, and October of each year, and shall reside in the district. There shall be appointed clerks of said courts in each district, who shall keep their offices at the capital of said state. The regular terms of said courts shall be held in each district, at the place aforesaid on the first Monday in April and the first Monday in November of each year, and only one grand jury and one petit jury shall be summoned in both said circuit and district courts. The circuit and district courts for each of said districts and the judges thereof, respectively, shall possess the same powers and jurisdiction, and perform the same duties required to be performed by the other circuit and district courts and judges of the United States, and shall be governed by the same laws and regulations. The marshal, district attorney, and clerks of the circuit and district courts of each of said districts, and all other officers and persons performing duties in the administration of justice therein, shall severally possess the powers and perform the duties lawfully possessed and required to be performed by similar officers in other districts of the United States; and shall, for the services they may perform, receive the fees and compensation allowed by law to other similar officers and persons performing similar duties in the state of Nebraska.] That all cases of appeal or writ of error heretofore prosecuted and now pending in the Supreme Court of the United States upon any record from the Supreme Court of either of the territories mentioned in this act, or that may hereafter lawfully be prosecuted upon any record from either of said courts, may be heard and determined by said Supreme Court of the United States. And the mandate of execution or of further proceedings shall be directed by the Supreme Court of the United States to the circuit or district court hereby established within the state succeeding the territory from which such record is or may be pending, or to the Supreme Court of such state, as the nature of the case may require; provided, that the mandate of execution or of further proceedings shall, in cases arising in the territory of Dakota, be directed by the Supreme Court of the United States to the circuit or district court of the district of South Dakota, or to the Supreme Court of the state of South Dakota, or to the circuit or district court of the district of North Dakota, or to the Supreme Court of the state of North Dakota, or to the Supreme Court of the territory of North Dakota, as the nature of the case may require. And each of the circuit, district, and state courts, herein named, shall, respectively, be the successor of the Supreme Court of the territory, as to all such cases arising within the limits embraced within the jurisdiction of such courts respectively, with full power to proceed with the same, and award mesne or final process therein; and that from all judgments and decrees of the Supreme Court of either of the territories mentioned in this act, in any case arising within the limits of any of the proposed states prior to admission, the parties to such judgment shall have the same right to prosecute appeals and writs of error to the Supreme Court of the United States as they shall have had by law prior to the admission of said state into the union. That in respect to all cases, proceedings, and matters now pending in the Supreme or district Courts of either of the territories mentioned in this act at the time of the admission into the union of either of the states mentioned in this act, and arising within the limits of any such state, whereof the circuit or district courts by this act established might have had jurisdiction under the laws of the United States had such courts existed at the time of the commencement of such cases, the said circuit and district courts, respectively, shall be the successors of said Supreme and district Courts of said territory; and in respect to all other cases, proceedings and matters pending in the Supreme or district Courts of any of the territories mentioned in this act at the time of the admission of such territory into the union, arising within the limits of said proposed state, the courts established by such state shall, respectively, be the successors of said Supreme and district territorial Courts; and all the files, records, indictments, and proceedings relating to any such cases, shall be transferred to such circuit, district, and state courts, respectively, and the same shall be proceeded with therein in due courts of law; but no writ, action, indictment, cause, or proceeding now pending, or that prior to the admission of any of the states mentioned in this act, shall be pending in any territorial court in any of the territories mentioned in this act, shall abate by the admission of any such state into the union, but the same shall be transferred and proceeded with, in the proper United States circuit, district, or state court, as the case may be; provided, however, that in all civil actions, causes, and proceedings, in which the United States is not a party, transfers shall not be made to the circuit and district courts of the United States except upon written request of one of the parties to such action or proceeding filed in the proper court; and in the absence of such request, such cases shall be proceeded with in the proper state courts. That the constitutional conventions may, by ordinance, provide for the election of officers for full state governments, including members of the Legislatures and representatives in the fifty-first Congress; and said state governments shall remain in abeyance until the states shall be admitted into the union, respectively, as provided in this act. In case the Constitution of any of said proposed states shall be ratified by the people, but not otherwise, the Legislature thereof may assemble, organize, and elect two senators of the United States, and the Governor and secretary of state of such proposed state shall certify the election of the senators and representatives in the manner required by law; and when such state is admitted into the union, the senators and representatives shall be entitled to be admitted to seats in Congress, and to all the rights and privileges of senators and representatives of other states in the Congress of the United States; and the officers of the state governments formed in pursuance of said Constitutions, as provided by the constitutional conventions, shall proceed to exercise all the functions of such state officers; and all laws in force made by said territories, at the time of their admission into the union, shall be in force in said states, except as modified or changed by this act, or by the Constitutions of the states, respectively. That all acts or parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act, whether passed by the Legislatures of said territories or by Congress, are hereby repealed. (a) DISPOSITION. - Notwithstanding section 11, the State of North Dakota shall, with respect to any trust fund in which proceeds from the sale of public land are deposited under this Act (referred to in this section as the 'trust fund') - (1) deposit all revenues earned by a trust fund into the trust fund; (2) deduct the costs of administering a trust fund from each trust fund; and (3) manage each trust fund to - (A) preserve the purchasing power of the trust fund; and (B) maintain stable distributions to trust fund beneficiaries. (b) DISTRIBUTIONS. - Notwithstanding section 11, any distributions from trust funds in the State of North Dakota shall be made in accordance with section 2 of article IX of the Constitution of the State of North Dakota. (c) MANAGEMENT OF PROCEEDS. - Notwithstanding section 13, the State of North Dakota shall manage the proceeds referred to in that section in accordance with subsections (a) and (b). (d) MANAGEMENT OF LAND AND PROCEEDS. - Notwithstanding sections 14 and 16, the State of North Dakota shall manage the land granted under that section, including any proceeds from the land, and make distributions in accordance with subsections (a) and (b). Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC0 1.0 Universal	160,548
User feedback is gold to the web designer. You get firsthand knowledge on what your user sees and more importantly how they will react to your message. As designers we know what we would like to get and our experience tells us what we would probably get but… the only way to really know is to ask the website visitor. The best web strategists combine both direct and indirect data to build that “conversion rate” heaven. Indirect methods include statistics, weblogs, cookies, user tracking, behaviour analysis, but there is danger in relying too much on these “what happens” tools and avoiding the much more difficult “why” tools. With the myriad of free analytic tools now available including Google analytics, log file analyzers, and click through tracking tools, you garner so much data that you can avoid talking directly to your website visitors and actually think that you understand them. The main problem is that analytics represent historical patterns, and what took place, but not why. It’s like investing in a mutual fund whose past track record looked great, but unless you understand their future direction and strategy, you may not realize the same level of return. For the same reason where visitors abandon your website can be very informative, and if you use the right tools such as Google Optimizer, you can try different web page architecture to see which one works the best to achieve your goals. The assumption in all of these cases is that you have properly interpreted and implemented a website that considers the target audiences goals and objectives. This is where direct user feedback becomes essential. You need to know if your message is resonating with your visitors, and with that vital customer information, you can really optimize your website to meet their goals. Direct user feedback is extremely valuable because it represents a real live visitors opinion of your website. It can answer questions like: Why did you come to the site? Why did you leave without visiting more of the site? What reason did you visit but not follow through? What is the first impression of the site? Is it positive or negative? Did you feel that you were the target user of the site? Why or Why not? Did the site appeal to you? Is the website credible? Would you complete a transaction on this site? Why did you abandon the site? What can be done to improve the site? Many, if not all, of these questions can be answered only through direct customer feedback. A well designed visitor feedback program will consider all aspects of the user experience and the interfaces with the organization. This should include the other customer touch points as well since the website can be used to reduce costs and overhead from other areas, while improving the overall customer satisfaction level. 1. Hire a marketing firm to analyze your entire customer contact strategy. This option is for deep pockets and falls into the business transformation classification. Not a solution for the faint of heart but can transform an organization into a major success. This process would include all of the following customer feedback approaches plus some, as input into the overall strategy. The advantage of this type of approach, is that one addresses the entire business process from an integrated perspective, resulting in being able to capture the complete customer experience. In the web environment usability testing means that different users will evaluate a website virtually page by page, their reactions are recorded and analyzed to produce recommendations for a much cleaner and smoother website. There are different degrees of usability testing and is limited only by one’s time and budget. Generally it can encompass from the search engine to the completion of a transaction. Although effective this approach can be costly and time consuming. This type of testing is best implemented during the testing phase of a website redesign. This approach is less rigourous than usability testing and has its appeal in being able to see what many different visitors think about your website. Generally a firm will provide a typical profile of their users, and a similar mystery shopper profile is selected from a large pool of eager testers. The background and observation techniques will vary considerably from shopper to shopper, but using statistical methodologies, patterns will emerge. Being presented with only the inputs but not an analysis of the data yields very little actionable information. The real value is how the data is interpreted and what recommendations are made that will improve your website. Since it can be done fairly inexpensively, performing a mystery shopper analysis on your existing website and then on your redesigned website will have value in both reducing the design cycle and return on investment. Focus groups are great if you can take the time and costs to organize them. Valuable input can be had but one has to be wary of the potential biased nature of this format. Testers know why they are there and that there is some form of compensation so they have a tendency to try to please the organizers or do the exact opposite. If you use an experienced and reputable firm then the results should be very useful. 5. Customer Councils This is an excellent way to get feedback from your direct customers, since they also have a vested interest in making your website efficient. This type of input goes a long way in building lasting relationships and if you have a well defined user group can be very beneficial. What this group does not address are the new visitors and how to appeal to potentially new customers. Also if you do not have a well defined customer segment then it becomes difficult to set this type of group up. 6. User Feedback through analytics With the introduction of Google analytics, it is a breeze finding out about who visits and where they go, you can set goals and of course measure the ever present bounce rate. If you haven’t tried it out it is worth the effort. Another source of user data is your sites weblogs which also give a plethora of data which takes a PhD to interpret, Lots of data but minimal information on why. We see these little requests usually at the end of an article – Was this useful?…. I don’t know about you but I never respond usually because it wasn’t useful. Surveys also have a tendency to drift across the screen at the most inopportune times – just out of spite, I kill those pop-ups. The response rate is abysmal. Just compare the number of responses to the number of visitors – not a pretty picture. You also have a tendency to get the complainers. Personas are a well established method of identifying a user segment by determining what the goals or objectives are of a group of users, and building a profile of a typical user representing that segment. This approach allows a designer to view a website from that users perspective. Significant insight can be gained and this type of simplistic role playing can identify potential problem areas with minimal cost. Usually one needs three or four personas to represent a significant part of a user base. Usability testing as well as other user feedback mechanisms will round out the tool kit to produce a focused and user friendly website. 9. Third party direct user testing This is another method to simulate users by having several experienced web evaluators experience the website form a first time visitors perspective. The benefit of this approach is that the evaluators are knowledgeable about best practices, and are experienced in noticing the fine points of the website design. They can also articulate their experience and have a well defined vocabulary that can be understood in the context of what to improve. Very specific actionable recommendations can be provided based on the observations and experience of the evaluators. This is a relatively inexpensive approach and can be very informative. The limitation is that the evaluators are not subject matter experts and may not be able to identify content accuracy or credibility. 10. Ask your friends and clients Possibly the easiest and most direct way is to solicit feedback from the people you know. The observations may not be consistent and will be very broad, but listening to their observations will reflect what many of your users will experience, and honest feedback is much better than none. There is nothing worse than thinking you have developed the perfect website and only finding out how wrong you were when your sales plummet – recovery from that is much harder and far more serious than if you had spent a bit of time and money using direct user testing up front. People go to a website for a reason – it is your job to provide that reason and to persuade them to pick your site over the thousands of other similar websites. That’s why you have hired marketing experts whether in house or from your design company. Websites have to be designed for people, to met their goals and objectives and appeal to their emotional side. For a successful conversion, you must build a relationship even at the lowest transactional level. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Related Recent Posts This is a series of articles that will go through a step by step methodology showing how to develop a Web Measurement Plan. The methodology is based on the principles of problem solving used extensively in Quality based practices with the fundamental premise based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. This methodology is time honoured approach and […] Zanka Consulting is an Ottawa, based firm specializing in web measurement and analytics. Archives Select Month March 2017 (1) April 2013 (1) April 2012 (1) February 2011 (2) December 2010 (1) November 2010 (1) August 2010 (1) June 2010 (3) May 2010 (1) February 2010 (4) November 2009 (1) June 2009 (1) February 2009 (1) January 2009 (1) November 2008 (2) February 2008 (2) January 2008 (1) December 2007 (1) November 2007 (2) October 2007 (1) September 2007 (1) August 2007 (1) July 2007 (3) June 2007 (4)	10,728
Just like people, plants benefit from an appropriate diet. But different types of plants have significantly different nutrient needs, and these needs change during each growth cycle. So what's the best way to keep your fruits, vegetables and flowers happy and healthy? At General Hydroponics, we wrestled with that question four decades ago. Our solution: Flora Series. First formulated in 1976, Flora Series is the original three-part hydroponic-based nutrient system. And thanks to its ingredients, consistent performance and unparalleled results, it's the most-used nutrient today. Good Things Come in Threes Flora Series consists of three highly concentrated liquid nutrients: FloraGro builds strong roots during a plant's vegetative stage. FloraMicro is used during a plant's growth and bloom cycles. FloraBloom is added while a plant is fruiting and/or flowering. By using different combinations of these products, you can fulfill each plant's exact nutrient needs based on its growth stage and environment. Your plants will receive the ideal balance of primary, secondary and micronutrients — and the results will show. Get ready for vigorous plants, large flowers, enhanced yields and nutrient-dense crops. Flora Series is a favorite among millions of growers, gardeners, scientists and researchers worldwide. See why for yourself.	1,339
FILE – An Israeli Border Police officer secures a checkpoint from the West Bank town of Bethlehem into Jerusalem as a Palestinian man puts away his ID… FILE – An Israeli Border Police officer secures a checkpoint from the West Bank town of Bethlehem into Jerusalem as a Palestinian man puts away his ID card while crossing for prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, April 8, 2022. The apparent comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the dramatic rise of his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies in Israel’s general election this week have prompted little more than shrugs from many Palestinians. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) by: ISABEL DEBRE, Associated Press Posted: Nov 3, 2022 / 03:42 AM CDT Updated: Nov 3, 2022 / 10:04 AM CDT FILE – An Israeli Border Police officer secures a checkpoint from the West Bank town of Bethlehem into Jerusalem as a Palestinian man puts away his ID… FILE – An Israeli Border Police officer secures a checkpoint from the West Bank town of Bethlehem into Jerusalem as a Palestinian man puts away his ID card while crossing for prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, Friday, April 8, 2022. The apparent comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the dramatic rise of his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies in Israel’s general election this week have prompted little more than shrugs from many Palestinians. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) by: ISABEL DEBRE, Associated Press Posted: Nov 3, 2022 / 03:42 AM CDT Updated: Nov 3, 2022 / 10:04 AM CDT RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The apparent comeback of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the dramatic rise of his far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies in Israel’s general election this week have prompted little more than shrugs from many Palestinians. “It’s all the same to me,” Said Issawiy, a vendor hawking nectarines in the main al-Manara Square of Ramallah, said of Netanyahu replacing centrist Yair Lapid and poised to head the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. Over the past month, Issawiy had struggled to get to work in Ramallah from his home in the city of Nablus after the Israeli army blocked several roads in response to a wave of violence in the northern West Bank. “I’m just trying to eat and work and bring something back to my kids,” he said. Some view the likely victory for Netanyahu and his openly anti-Palestinian allies, including ultranationalist lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir who wants to end Palestinian autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank, as a new blow to the Palestinian national project. The sharp rightward shift of Israel’s political establishment pushes long-dormant peace negotiations even further out of reach and deepens the challenges facing 87-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, whose autocratic Palestinian Authority already seemed to many Palestinians as little more than an arm of the Israeli security forces. “If you want to use the metaphor of a ‘nail in the coffin of the Palestinian Authority,’ that was done earlier,” said Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian peace negotiator and Cabinet minister. “This election is another step in that same direction.” During his 12 years in power, before being voted out in 2021, Netanyahu showed scant interest in engaging with the Palestinians. Under his leadership, Israel vastly expanded its population of West Bank settlers — now some 500,000 — and retroactively legalized settler outposts built on private Palestinian land. The measures have entrenched Israel’s occupation, now in its 56th year since Israel captured the territory during the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians see successive Israeli governments as seeking to solidify a bleak status quo in the West Bank: Palestinian enclaves divided by growing Israeli settlements and surrounded by Israeli forces. “We had no illusion that this next government would be a partner for peace,” said Ahmad Majdalani, a minister in the Palestinian Authority. “It’s the opposite, we see a campaign of incitement that began more than 15 years ago as Israel drifted toward extremism.” The Gaza Strip’s militant Hamas rulers said the election outcome would “not change the nature of the conflict.” But for the first time, surging support for Israel’s far right has made the Jewish supremacist party of Ben-Gvir the third-largest in the Israeli parliament. Ben-Gvir and his allies hope to grant immunity to Israeli soldiers who shoot at Palestinians, deport rival lawmakers and impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of attacks on Jews. Ben-Gvir is the disciple of a racist rabbi, Meir Kahane, who was banned from parliament and whose Kach party was branded a terrorist group by the United States before he was assassinated in New York in 1990. On the campaign trail, Ben-Gvir grabbed headlines for his anti-Palestinian speeches and stunts — recently brandishing a pistol and encouraging police to open fire on Palestinian stone-throwers in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood. Some Palestinians have found reason for optimism. After Tuesday’s elections, they say, Israel will no longer present to the world the telegenic face of Lapid. A win for extremism in Israel, some say, could bolster the moral case for efforts to isolate Israel, vindicating activism outside the moribund peace process. “It will lead to some international pressure,” said Mahmoud Nawajaa, an activist with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, which calls for an economic boycott of Israel as happened to apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s. “Netanyahu is more honest and clear about his intentions to expand settlements. The others didn’t say it, even if it was happening,” Nawajaa added. Lapid and his predecessor, Naftali Bennett, a former settler leader who rebranded himself as a national unifier, had presided over a wobbly coalition of right-wing, centrist and dovish left-wing parties, including the first Arab party to ever join a government. Foreign leaders who shunned the divisive Netanyahu embraced what appeared to be a less ideological government. Bennett became the first Israeli leader to visit the United Arab Emirates after the countries normalized ties — an honor repeatedly denied to Netanyahu. President Joe Biden, who had a rocky relationship with Netanyahu, basked in Lapid’s warm welcome during his visit to Israel last summer. But even as Lapid voiced support for the two-state solution during his address to the U.N. General Assembly in September, Palestinians saw no sign he could turn words into action. They watched Israel approve thousands of new settler homes on lands they want for a future state. Israeli military raids in the West Bank have also surged after a series of Palestinian attacks in the spring killed 19 people in Israel. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed, making 2022 the deadliest since the U.N. started tracking fatalities in 2005. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations have also been killed. Even as final ballots were still being counted from the election, violence flared up with four Palestinians killed in separate incidents on Thursday. “In terms of violence, the Lapid government has outdone itself,” said Nour Odeh, a Palestinian political analyst and former PA spokeswoman. “As far as new settlements and de facto annexation, Lapid is Netanyahu.” Many young Palestinians have given up on the two-state solution and grown disillusioned with the aging Palestinian leadership, which they see as a vehicle for corruption and collaboration with Israel. Hamas and Fatah, the Palestinian party that controls the West Bank, have remained bitterly divided for 15 years. A mere 37% of Palestinians support the two-state solution, according to the most recent report from Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki. In Israel the figures are roughly the same — 32% of Jewish Israelis support the idea, according to the Israel Democracy Institute. “There is no horizon for a political track with the Israelis,” Odeh said. “We need to look inward … to re-legitimize our institutions through elections, and stand together on a united political platform.” But on the crowded, chaotic streets of Ramallah on Wednesday, there was only misery and anger over the daily humiliations of the occupation. “I hate this place,” said Lynn Anwar Hafi, a 19-year-old majoring in literature at a local university. “It’s like the occupation lives inside me. I can’t think what I want to. I can’t go where I want to. I won’t be free until I leave.” Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.	8,963
Clive Tesar, Head of Communications for the Arctic Programme, attended the ‘2030 North’ conference in Ottawa, Canada. The challenge of the conference was to try to imagine what life in Canada’s North will be like in 2030, and to devise a plan to deal with that new reality. “We are a fortunate people,” begins Winona LaDuke. ”We have a shot at making a difference.” The indigenous writer, activist and economist knows about trying to make a difference, writes Clive Tesar. She was Ralph Nader’s choice for vice-president on the Green party ticket in two US elections. Today at the Indigenous Peoples’ Summit, she gave a rousing call to action to the delegates, telling them that they must oppose “all new forms of insanity” such as the “Crack cocaine of oil sands”. She talked of peak oil, of the fact that globalization requires cheap oil and plentiful money, and now both are in short supply, so the world can expect many shocks, and must change its way of doing business. For me, the most affecting part of her speech was her account of her work with a particular Indigenous community to help give people what they need for climate change resilience; a combination of the old and the new. The “old” is a handful of corn seeds, seeds that were native to the area, but had been kept in a seed bank. This corn grows close to the ground, so it doesn’t get blown over by high winds. It doesn’t require much water, so it is resistant to drought. These conditions, increasing storms, and droughts, are both forecast to be consequences of climate change in American Midwest. The “new” is a wind turbine – but as LaDuke pointed out, not brand new, but an older, refurbished one that had a simple assembly, so it could be erected and maintained by local people, “so you don’t have to get some guy from Denmark to fix it”. She pointed out that many indigenous communities are well situated to develop wind or solar energy, and to become energy self-sufficient, and perhaps also exporters of renewable energy. She sees this twin strategy, of reclaiming and repatriating traditional food sources, and of developing appropriate technologies, as ways to make indigenous communities stronger, more self sufficient and more resilient to climate change impacts. Related posts Author Clive Tesar grew up in Canada's Northwest Territories and spent ten years traveling the Canadian Arctic as a reporter, producer and host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He was the head of communications for WWF's Global Arctic Programme from 2009 to 2017. All my posts Archives Select Month August 2018 (6) July 2018 (7) June 2018 (3) May 2018 (1) April 2018 (7) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (9) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) August 2017 (8) May 2017 (9) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (6) November 2016 (2) October 2016 (9) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (7) May 2016 (6) April 2016 (2) March 2016 (11) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (1) November 2015 (4) October 2015 (2) August 2015 (10) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) May 2015 (3) April 2015 (10) March 2015 (14) January 2015 (1) December 2014 (5) November 2014 (7) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (1) August 2014 (1) July 2014 (7) June 2014 (3) April 2014 (14) March 2014 (1) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (6) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (5) October 2013 (4) September 2013 (5) August 2013 (19) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (3) January 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (21) July 2012 (15) June 2012 (6) May 2012 (2) April 2012 (4) March 2012 (1) February 2012 (1) November 2011 (1) July 2011 (2) June 2011 (2) May 2011 (2) April 2011 (9) March 2011 (9) February 2011 (1) December 2010 (1) November 2010 (10) October 2010 (4) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (1) May 2010 (2) April 2010 (18) March 2010 (2) December 2009 (10) October 2009 (2) September 2009 (18) August 2009 (35) July 2009 (9) June 2009 (4) May 2009 (2) April 2009 (16)	4,187
Elephant-headed Ganesha, Hinduism’s most popular deity, is a study in dichotomy. He is held in awe in addition to reverence as a powerful driver who removes obstacles in people’s lives. But Ganesha also evokes a very sensible affection. To find about om gan gau ganapataye vighna vinashine swaha meaning, click here. Some of this heat emanates from his immediate assistance in our everyday lives and the mythological tales about his show and his family. The figures about Ganesha depict the pup as a devoted son as well as a loving brother. No Indio grandmother doesn’t like narrating the story of Ganesha’s parentage and birth. Quite a few versions abound, but this is the popular one. Officially, Ganesha’s father is Shiva, often the Destroyer, one of the holy trinity in the Hindu pantheon, a fairly fearsome figure with matted locks and an ash-smeared body who spends eons meditating in the Himalayas. Parvati, his beautiful wife, presides over all of creation. Not having her, the earth would be empty and perennially cold. While in her husband’s long not enough, Parvati created a little boy to get herself from a lump connected with clay – none in addition to Ganesha. When Shiva, which could be his ‘son’s’ existence, arrived home, Ganesha barred the pup from access to Parvati, who had previously been bathing and had instructed your girlfriend’s son to guard against crooks. Shiva, whose rage may destroy the universe, marauded off the child’s head. If he realized his blunder, he/she replaced the boy’s crown with that of an elephant. Shiva also granted Ganesha a new boon – that he could well be worshipped before the start connected with any earthly enterprise. Despite this dramatic event in childhood, Ganesha grew up being regarded as the epitome of Agencia’s devotion. Hindu mythology features several stories about Ganesha and his younger sibling, Karthikeya. Where Ganesha is adored all over India, Karthikeya’s effect is predominant in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, where he is often known as Murugan, Subramanya, or Arumugham. You couldn’t find a couple more contrasting personalities. Ganesha is comfortably plump, cancerous, and patient personified; close friend Karthikeya is all radiant strength and an impulsive stud. Ganesha has the lowly computer mouse button as his vehicle even though Karthikeya prefers the brilliant peacock. Like many Indio myths, stories of the Ganesh-Kartikeya interactions possess childlike simplicity yet are imbued with lessons for humankind. Once, a mango empowered with divine knowledge seemed to be brought to Mount Kailas inside the Himalayas, where Shiva, in addition to Parvati, held court. Due to the fact only one individual could take the fruit, a battle was proposed between all their two sons – whosoever circumambulated the planet thrice in addition to returning first would get the fruit. Confident inside knowledge that his peacock will outrace Ganesha’s mouse, Kartikeya vroomed off into the living space. On the other hand, Ganesha simply creased/folded his palms in plea and walked around his / her seated parents, returning to his / her starting point ahead of Kartikeya. His / her reasoning? Shiva and Parvati contain the world within these individuals; walking around his parents is the same as going around the earth. He/she won the fruit and even magnanimously offered it to help his sulking brother. You will discover conflicting views regarding the spouse status of Ganesha. Many parts of India worship Ganesha as a bachelor, while India worships him with his two wives. Ganesha is thought to be married to Siddhi (spiritual strength) and Buddhi (intellect) – the little ones of Brahma the Builder – one of the holy trinity in the Hindu pantheon. This is certainly popularly taken to mean that intellectual flair and spirituality will follow just where Ganesha is present. Tale also has it that Kartikeya grew up to marry Valli, a tribal maiden, and also Devayani, the daughter of Indra, the wind god. Still, he is widely worshipped as a child god possessed of a warrior’s skills, one who protects his or her devotees against all hurt. admin 250 posts 0 comments Prev Post Relaxation – The Benefits Next Post Cyberbullying, Trolling, and Cyberstalking: Often the Dark Side of Free Presentation. Pt 1: What Is Free of charge Speech?	4,463
Oracle Labs is the place where researchers and engineers come together to reimagine the fundamentals of computing. Our expertise in the production of both hardware and software has positioned us as the leading industrial research laboratory for creating technologies that have the capacity to radically change existing computer science paradigms. We work towards this goal every day across Nine Labs locations around the world. Join a fun and flexible workspace where you'll be inspired to do your best work. Here's what we have to say about life at Oracle Labs. Our close-knit teams are involved in exploring a wide range of areas, including how to optimise analytics through hardware and software co-design; how to create	754
Competing demands on our time ensure one constant; we rarely have enough time to complete everything we would like to do. Time management skills are critical to our success and productivity. The 4-D framework is a simple, yet effective, technique for determining how to react to requests on our time. The 4 Ds are: Do, Defer, Delegate, and Drop (Delete). It can often be helpful to approach the framework in the reverse order listed to whittle down the list of requests. Drop/Delete: Most request nowadays come to us through email. But whether it's email or a list of "To-Dos", a quick first pass through the list usually reveals a fair amount of requests that can be dropped or deleted immediately for any number of reasons. By trimming down the list to a more reasonable size we can give appropriate attention to prioritizing other requests. Delegate: Some requests are better completed by someone else. Many times requests are made of the wrong person and there was someone more appropriate to do the task. If the work should be assigned elsewhere act quickly to move it off your plate. If you are in a management role, delegating lower level tasks to those who report to you means you can focus on the more difficult tasks that require your attention. Defer: Requests and tasks are always being prioritized and re-prioritized. Some requests don't have to be completely immediately. This is not to say we should be irresponsible when putting things off, but many times deferring tasks that aren't an immediate priority is prudent. Due to the ever changing nature of fast pace work environments, many tasks become obsolete before it becomes time to complete them. Do: The remaining tasks are those that we decide need to be done and done quickly. Prioritize this list. Then try to complete one before moving on to another. Having too many tasks in a partial state of completion lowers work efficiency. Do your homework prior to the business analysis interview! Having an idea of the type of questions you might be asked during a business analyst interview will not only give you confidence but it will also help you to formulate your thoughts and to be better prepared to answer the interview questions you might get during the interview for a business analyst position. Of course, just memorizing a list of business analyst interview questions will not make you a great business analyst but it might just help you get that next job.	2,564
If you’re looking to get a budget laptop for music production, the first thing that comes to mind is the decision between Windows or mac OS. The reason we bring this up is because you can get a lot more for your money if you go with a Windows machine. You always end up paying a premium for macs. If you are on a budget and absolutely need a mac then you will have to work within the limitations of that machine. Windows and macs have the same functionality, so your decision shouldn’t be dependent on which of these operating systems performs better. There are some differences such as mac having more native support for some programs than windows. However, windows is more widely used and has its own upsides. You should go for whichever one you are used to and most comfortable with. What you want is a laptop that won’t heat up easily, something that performs well, has plenty of RAM, and good build quality. As a rule of thumb, you should find the most powerful processor you can afford. Running your DAW, along with third party plugins and instruments can be taxing. Any modern CPU with 4 cores should be enough but finding a good deal on a 6 or even an 8 core processor can be worth it. It is also important to check the cooling system of your laptop. If it gets too hot and starts to throttle then that will ruin your production experience no matter how good your processor is. If you find your computer running hot, then you can always freeze tracks or lower the clock speeds of your CPU to maintain temperatures. You can also look towards getting a cooling pad to avoid thermal throttling. You should ideally be looking for something with at least 500 GB of storage (bare minimum) or more. 256 GB will be limiting, but if you don’t need a ton of samples or don’t use plugins like Kontakt or Omnisphere then it can work out. Your operating system and DAW are going to take up good chunk of storage so you might not have enough to store other files. With that being said, you can go for a lower storage model if it gives you the best value for money. In that case, purchasing an external storage device can be a real asset. Not only are they cheaper than internal SSD drives, you can also access your data on other devices as well. Even professional music producers with higher end laptops go for external storage devices for convenience. RAM is essential for music production. Everything from file conversion, mixdowns and recording tracks is dependent on your memory. Without sufficient RAM, you will encounter a lot of crashes and stutters. To remain budget friendly, 8 GB is the absolute bare minimum without limiting yourself too much. We would recommend going for at least 16 GB if your budget allows as it will ensure that you can run multiple programs without any problems. Not to mention, your laptop will be more future proof. 8.4Average Score Price to Performance Additional Features Apple products don’t come to mind when we talk about value for money. Luckily, the MacBook Air M1 truly provides something which you won’t find anywhere else, not even on other Macs. It comes with the M1 chip which is an 8-core CPU, 16-core neural engine and 7-core GPU. Most processors in this price range are providing you with 4 cores, so getting the MacBook will provide the most power. In our testing, the M1 has 35 percent faster single core performance and 70 percent faster multi-core performance than its Intel predecessor. The MacBook is the quietest laptop you can get. It has no fans so it is virtually silent. We loved using it in the studio during live recording because no other laptop was this quiet. Despite that, the temperatures remained manageable at well under 90-degree Celsius. We didn’t encounter any thermal throttling either, so the laptop was able to sustain its maximum performance for much longer. The MacBook comes with 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 256 GB SSD. We would’ve preferred if Apple had given 16 GB of RAM, but considering the good memory and power management of the M1 this is excusable. Although having only 256 GB of storage can be really limiting. Your OS, DAW and a few plugins are going to fill it up really quick. It is pretty much required to have an external storage device, otherwise you won’t be able to work with large files for very long. Also make sure not to download a lot of files locally so that the storage doesn’t run out. The 13.3-inch Retina display was the highlight of this laptop. It was a joy to use because of the good color reproduction and sharpness. We even found the display to be perfectly useable under direct sunlight due to the 500 nits of peak brightness. However, 13 inch may not be ideal for some people since it is a bit small. It does prove to be an asset though if you move around a lot and want something portable. MacBooks have historically had a weak port selection and the MacBook Air is no different. There are only 2 USB-C Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack present. This problem existed on the previous generation Intel macs as well. This means that if you want to connect a USB-A audio interface or connect more than 2 accessories then you will have to invest in a USB-C docking station. We would have also liked to see Thunderbolt 4 being supported instead of Thunderbolt 3, but in our testing, there was no major difference in the functionality of these two ports unless you transfer many RAW files. The MacBook Air has some amazing and unique features such as excellent speakers, best in-class trackpad and a great backlit keyboard. Both the speakers and headphone jack support native High-res audio output, so you can make do without an audio interface or expensive audio output equipment as well. The scissor keyboard on the M1 MacBook Air is a major upgrade over the butterfly keys on its predecessor. These have a much better feel when typing and are not prone to failure unlike the older butterfly switches. While the speakers on the MacBook were great, we noticed a “popping noise” when using them for extended periods of time. Upon further research, we found out this was a widespread issue. Since this is a well-known problem, you can easily contact Apple care to get it fixed. It also shouldn’t be much of an issue for production since you’ll be using studio monitors or headphones for referencing. Although sometimes it’s nice to just hear your tracks through average speakers, just to see what they sound like. The MacBook Air is Apple’s most portable offering coming in at 11.97 x 0.63 x 8.36 inches and weighing 2.8 pounds. We could easily carry it in our backpack. What’s surprising is that Apple managed to pack a processor as powerful as the M1 in this machine and that too without thermally throttling the performance. Not to mention, that the MacBook is really well built with an aluminum unibody, which is fairly durable for an Ultrabook. Another highlight of the MacBook Air is the excellent battery life. The M1 chip is so power efficient that Apple claims that you get 18 hours of battery life and we found it to last close to 15 hours. In our testing, we easily ran the MacBook for 2 days on a single charge. The charging speeds are a bit slow, but that’s a worthy sacrifice for a best-in-class battery life. The M1 offers the best performance for its price range, rivaling laptops which are much more expensive. The MacBook Air is the most silent machine you can buy as it doesn’t have any fans and still manages to keep the laptop cool. You get an amazing display that is not only sharp and color accurate, but is also visible under direct sunlight. The MacBook has one of the best battery life on any laptops, lasting for two days without needing to charge. You only get 256 GB of storage, half of which is taken up by your OS and DAW. There are only 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports which can get used up connecting accessories and an audio interface. Price to Performance Additional Features The Dell Inspiron 5310 is equipped with an 11th Generation Intel Core i5-11320H which is a 4 core and 8 thread processor with a maximum CPU frequency of 4.5 GHz. Its predecessor came with an i5-10210U. At face value this might seem like a typical generational upgrade, but in actuality, this is a much more significant upgrade. You get a 45 percent performance boost because of the 2 MB extra cache, 0.3 GHz greater frequency and a more modern CPU architecture. In our benchmark tests, the i5 was about 23 percent slower than the M1 on the MacBook Air. It performed very well when we ran a DAW and multiple plugins with a fairly rigorous workload. The Dell was very silent in idle, as we didn’t even hear the fans turn on. During our stress test, the fans turned on at full throttle and were very loud. Luckily, the Dell managed to maintain temperatures at an acceptable level. The peak CPU temperature we recorded was slightly under 85 degrees Celsius and there was no throttling. You get a 16 GB LPDDR4x RAM and 1 TB of PCIe SSD storage. The RAM is a low powered version of the typical DDR4 we see on regular laptops. It has a lower power consumption and bandwidth, thus performs slightly worse. The laptop did stutter during audio production, but it was still performing as expected. The laptop never crashed so that is a good sign. Luckily, having 16 GB of RAM helped the Dell perform well enough in high volume workloads. The 1 TB storage is also enough to store a large number of RAW files, along with your OS, DAW, instruments and plugins, although we would have still liked to see an NVMe SSD being used instead of PCIe. The 13.3” inch QHD 1920 x 1200 Anti-Glare display was better than we expected. It has good viewing angles and great color reproduction covering 100% of the sRGB spectrum. Although it could’ve gotten brighter at only 300 nits, but we still found it very usable in outdoor scenarios during our testing. A major upgrade of the Inspiron 5310 over its predecessor is its front design. You get small bezels which provide a much more premium look compared to the chunkier bezels on the last generation model which looked outdated. When testing the Dell in a darker environment, we did notice considerable screen bleeding. Upon further research, we found that other users have reported a similar problem as well. It even existed on the previous generation models as well, although the problem is still not as widespread. The Inspiron has a great port selection with 2 USB-C Thunderbolt ports, 1 USB 3.2 Type A Port, 1 Headphone jack and 1 HDMI port. The only thing we found missing was the lack of an Ethernet port, but otherwise this is a very solid port selection. Some notable features of the Dell Inspiron include a good backlit keyboard, which we found very similar to the MacBook’s keyboard and a major upgrade over its predecessor, as well as inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 and a fingerprint scanner along with Windows Hello facial recognition. The Dell is a fairly portable machine at 11.68″ x 8.27″ x 0.63″ and weighing only 2.75 pounds. The weight distribution is not as good as the MacBook, but we could still carry it in a backpack without any problem. The build quality was subpar, with a lot of keyboard deck flex and the machine just feeling poorly built. The lower power and energy efficient components help make the battery life of the Dell Inspiron 5310 remarkable. It lasts close to 10 hours, which while not as good as the MacBook, easily lasted us the entire day and was better than what we would expect from other competitor laptops of the same class. You get great performance for price with the i5-11320H. The port selection is great with the inclusion of both USB-C thunderbolt and USB-A ports so you can connect any kind of accessory or audio interface you want. The battery life is amazing at 10 hours of screen on time and lasting you the entire day. The lower powered components such as the LPDDR4x RAM and PCIe storage perform worse than their full powered counter parts. The build quality isn’t the best with cheap materials being used and there being a good amount of keyboard flex. Price to Performance Additional Features The HP Notebook comes with an AMD Athlon Gold 3150U which is a 2 core and 4 thread processor with a 3.3GHz max turbo frequency. The performance is about 1.5 times lower than the Intel i5 on the Dell in single core performance and 2.7 times lower in multicore performance because of the 2 fewer cores. In our testing some of the more advance plugins required more processing power so they were somewhat unusable, but the machine pulled through most of the times we only experienced a crash once. For simpler workloads, the HP performed well enough. It also has a high clock speed, so audio rendering times were quicker than we expected for a laptop of this caliber. An unrelated problem we noticed was that the HP Notebook could not properly run Microsoft applications such as Teams. At first, we thought that the AMD was not powerful enough, but it was able to run other more demanding programs such as multiple DAWs. Upon researching, we found out that Microsoft applications do not properly support AMD Athlon series, which can cause some problems. The laptop comes with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD, which are both on the higher side of what you should expect in this budget. We had issues running plugins simultaneously since the processor wasn’t powerful enough, however the RAM and SSD size isn’t to blame for that. If HP had provided a more powerful processor, then the performance of this laptop would have been unbeatable in this price range. The storage will be plenty for your DAW, a few plugins and audio files, without requiring an external storage device for work use, however it is recommended for archiving projects. You get a 15.6″ diagonal HD, 1366 x 768, WLED-backlit display. It is about what you would expect for the price, although we wish it was a bit sharper. The viewing angles and color reproduction were both acceptable. We were only able to use it indoors because of the low 220 nits of brightness. It should be noted that the front design is actually pretty good for the price point with small overall bezels which give it a much more premium look. The port selection is also pretty good with 1 SuperSpeed USB Type-C, 2 SuperSpeed USB Type-A, 1 HDMI 1.4b, 1 Headphone jack and a media card reader. Barely any laptops in this price range include Thunderbolt, so we can excuse the HP for not including it as well. However, we would still have liked to see an Ethernet port being included as many other laptops of this class do include. HP has not skipped out on many key features such as a webcam and stereo speakers. We would’ve liked to see a fingerprint scanner as well since many laptops in this price range do include one. What we missed was the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6. While the onboard card provided great internet connectivity, it would have been nice if HP had included Wi-Fi 6. However, we did not notice a slower internet speed when compared to other laptops that supported the technology. The HP is also fairly portable, although a bit larger than the other two laptops at ‎14.11 x 9.53 x 0.7 inches and weighs 3.73 pounds. When carrying it in a backpack, the HP was just as heavy as many other 15-inch laptops we have previously tested. The design of the HP was also very good with a white plastic outer body that felt solid and durable. The battery life on the HP was disappointing. It was advertised to last 7 hours, but we found it to last close to 2 hours. We soon noticed that the battery was only running out really quickly when the laptop was in sleep mode. This is an issue that happens in many other laptops, and many people have reported this issue with this model as well. We would still recommend using your laptop only when plugged in so you don’t run out of battery life quickly and also so that you can get much better performance. Great design and build quality for the price, which gives the laptop a much more premium look and feel. You get a lot of RAM and storage which helps improve performance and store RAW files. Great port selection for the price A lot of additional features considering this is an overall budget laptop. The AMD processor only has 2 cores which can cause some performance issues when running demanding plugins. The battery life isn’t great, lasting only 2 hours, and it runs out very quickly when the laptop is on sleep mode. Based on our scoring model, you can see the highest variance in the Processor, Storage and Additional Features categories. The M1 on the MacBook Air is an exceptional piece of hardware that provides a superior performance which helps it get a 5 point lead over the 2 core processor of the HP. In the storage category, the Dell has a massive 1 TB storage, which is 4 times more than the 256 GB SSD on the MacBook so the Dell gets a near perfect score in that department. Apple provides a very premium experience with premium features that other manufacturers skip out on especially when on a budget. The Dell managed to remain stable in all the categories. It has a perfect score in the connectivity category because of the presence of both a Thunderbolt and USB-A ports. It also has a near perfect score in storage because of the 1 TB SSD. The only categories it scores low in are Processor and Additional features. The i5 on the Dell is a remarkable CPU, but it still can’t compare that well to the M1 which is a flagship level chipset so it has 2 score variance. To provide excellent value for money, Dell cut some corners, which don’t affect the audio production experience much, but still holds it back from scoring higher in the Additional features category. The MacBook Air managed to give a tough competition to the Dell with a final average score variance of only 0.2 points. The only reason it fell behind was because it was the most expensive choice between the three laptops. Not only that, it also falls short in the Connectivity, Storage and RAM categories as seen in the scoring model. Otherwise, the MacBook can be a good option for those looking for a macOS device or if you do not want to go for the Dell. According to both our testing and scoring model, the Dell 5310 is the best budget laptop for music production. The laptop offers excellent price to performance with the i5, which rivals last generation flagship processors and outperforms its predecessor by a lot. Not to mention the large storage and memory capacity which helps it breeze through demanding workloads, while not running short on space. The best part is that you get both a USB-A and USB-C Thunderbolt port, something that is missing on the other two devices. You will definitely not be disappointed with the value that the Dell Inspiron 5310 provides. Frequently Asked Questions Am I making too many sacrifices getting a Budget Laptop for Music Production? It will depend on what kind of laptop you are getting. If you manage to get the most powerful laptop for your price range, then the only thing you are missing on are additional features that only provide quality of life improvements to your music production experience. A lot of the features of more expensive laptop such as more storage, RAM and a good keyboard can be upgrades which can be made later on using external accessories. Will I need to upgrade in the near future if I get an Affordable Laptop for Music Production? Most modern laptops are powerful enough to run DAWs like Ableton Live or Fl Studio easily. You do not have to worry about upgrading right away, especially if you get something with enough RAM and processing speed. This is also tied to how you use the machine, if you are running a lot of stuff at once then a budget laptop is not for you anyway. It’s best to consider your use case first before you make a buying decision. Your audio output is not tied to your laptop, it is more about your Audio Interface and Monitors. A cheaper laptop is only going to slow down your work flow as it will take longer to render audio and you might encounter a few stutters and crashes. Although, a cheaper laptop also comes with a cheaper quality speaker and headphone jack, so it may provide a lower quality playback if you don’t have Audio interface/Monitors connected. However, the quality of the audio file produced will be unaffected. How do I know if my DAW and other hardware be compatible with my laptop? You can check the compatibility of your laptop with your DAW, by checking out the minimum requirement page on their website. All your hardware, such as the mixer and studio monitor, connects to your laptop via the audio interface, which itself connects to your laptop via either USB-C Thunderbolt or USB-A. If your laptop has the port corresponding to your audio interface then you can rest assure that all your hardware is compatible.	21,358
You must know the Field’s casino advantages before making this bet. The casino edge is different depending on whether the 2 and 12 pay double (the most common configuration), or one of them pays triple (you rarely see this), or both pay triple (you basically never see this). Suppose you play at a casino that offers 2:1 (double) odds for both the 2 and 12, which is what you’ll find in most casinos. In this case, the Field is a sucker bet. Regardless of what other players at the table tell you, and regardless of what you read in online articles, and regardless of anything you hear or read from any other source, the Field bet with 2:1 odds for the 2 and 12 is a bad bet. Say it out loud so it sinks in, “The Field that pays double for the 2 and 12 is a lousy bet.” In this case, the Field has a big 5.5% casino advantage. But most people don’t realize it and, time after time, you see them plopping down their chips on the Field. What makes the Field so attractive to those brain-dead robots who keep playing it? The Field is easy to see on the layout, the letters and numbers are big and pretty, it’s easy to drop your money on it (you don’t have to reach far), and you can do it yourself without bothering the dealer. It just looks and feels like a nice bet. However, the beautiful thing about this bet (from the casino’s perspective) is that it gives the illusion that there are more ways for the player to win than lose. The Field wins if a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 shows, which means there are seven different numbers that can win. The Field loses if a 5, 6, 7, or 8 shows, which means there are only four different numbers that can lose. Certainly, seven winning numbers compared to only four losing numbers is a great deal for the player. Right? Wrong! That’s entirely the wrong way to view it. You must consider the number of ways to make each of those numbers, not the numbers themselves. Let’s do the math. (Note: To ensure you understand the term “ways to make it,” let’s look at the number 9 as an example. Using two dice, there are four ways to make a 9 in craps: 1) Die #1 is a 5 and Die #2 is a 4; 2) Die #1 is a 4 and Die #2 is a 5; 3) Die #1 is a 6 and Die #2 is a 3; and 4) Die #1 is a 3 and Die #2 is a 6. Another example, there’s only one way to make a 12, which is a 6 on Die #1 and a 6 on Die #2.) For the winning numbers: Number Ways to Make It Cumulative Ways to Win the Field bet As you can see, there are 16 ways to win a Field bet. Number Ways to Make It Cumulative Ways to Lose the Field Bet As you can see, there are 20 ways to lose a Field bet. Therefore, with 36 possible combinations for a two-dice roll, the Field bet has 16 ways to win and 20 ways to lose (in terms of the player). Because all the numbers except 2 and 12 pay even money, you basically get even money for a bet that has more ways for you to lose than win. Even with the 2 and 12 paying double, the casino edge is still about 5.5%. If you can find a table that pays double for the 2 and triple for the 12, then the casino edge is reduced to only about 2.8%. This rare configuration makes the Field bet more attractive to the player. Note that it doesn’t matter which number pays triple (i.e., the 2 or 12) because both only have one way to make them so the odds don’t change regardless of whether the casino offers triple for the 2 or for the 12. If you’re really lucky to find a table that offers triple odds for both the 2 and 12, then the Field is a dream come true. When the Field pays triple for both the 2 and 12, the bet becomes a zero expectation bet, which means the casino has no advantage. That’s right, no casino advantage. But don’t get too excited. As we know, the casino isn’t in business to gamble; it’s in business to make money. So, you only find a Field that pays triple for both the 2 and 12 in special cases where the casino is trying to attract new customers, such as running a short-lived promotion. Most casinos never offer it for any reason. Remember, they’re in business to make money, not gamble. You’re the gambler, not the casino. When you see a craps table with the Field offering double odds for the 2 and 12 (this is the most common configuration), avoid it because the casino advantage is a whopping 5.5%. No matter how much money the guy next to you is winning on the Field, don’t do it. No matter how many times the guy says, “Man, you need to get on that Field,” don’t do it. If you develop a habit of playing the Field where the 2 and 12 pay double, you’re going to lose big time over the long term. Don’t let yourself develop a habit of betting the Field. Just don’t do it. The idiot next to you may be winning at that particular instant in time, but he is guaranteed to lose over time if he regularly plays the Field.	4,867
David Ferro has a lifetime of experiences with weathervanes to share in an engaging lecture style. From his younger years learning from famous weathervane makers throughout New England, combined with experiences throughout a long, successful career, culminating in his self taught streamlined methods and unique style, David has a wealth of anecdotes that have fascinated, educated, and entertained his many students during the last 3 decades. David’s passion for weathervanes can be shared through a choice of 2 lectures. One that celebrates the art and history of weathervanes and in the other lecture he speaks with both first hand knowledge and authority on the modern design, manufacture and market of the niche folk art. Send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap! © [2020] · FerroWeathervanes.com. No portion of this site may be reproduced for profit. Feel free to reproduce portions for educational purposes as long as credit is given to Ferro Weathervanes. \| Sitemap	1,026
As the creator of 3Keys® HypnoFertility, Lynsi is the world’s established expert in the field of hypnosis to promote fertility. She began professionally using hypnosis to facilitate pregnancy before anyone else had actively considered or pursued its benefits, when there was no information about it in books, when nothing could be found on the internet. During this conversation Lynsi and I discuss how hypnotherapy, yoga and relaxation techniques can play a vital role in reducing stress and how this can positively effect fertility. Visit Lynsi on her website https://hypnofertility.com to learn more. You can listen to the full episode for free here. Watch the podcast episode on YouTube Here. I’m so happy to have Lindsey Eastburn here today. Lindsay, you have a website called Hypnofertility.com. I’m really excited to talk about your new book and but just to get started and so all of our listeners have a chance to get to know you. Can you explain to me what your method called 3Keys Hypnofertility is all about? Yeah. Hi, Todd. Thanks for having me on today. Nice to see you. Thank you. So basically 3Keys Hypnofertility is actually how I use it these days to distinguish it from what’s become kind of a generic word for Hypnofertility. When I started working with this, I am a hypnotherapist, and I’ve been in the healing arts for a long, long time. And in general private practice, I started encountering women who are trying to get pregnant and hypnosis wasn’t known for helping with fertility at that time. And this was back in was probably 20 some odd years ago at any rate. And so hypnosis was really helpful. And people knew that it was, it was well known for childbirth and other things like weight loss and smoking, but not for fertility. And so what happened was people started coming in, for one reason or another that ended up being fertility connected, and I was able to help them. And even those who were given a diagnosis have 0% chance of ever getting pregnant or ending up getting pregnant naturally began working with me. Wow. So kind of long story short, I ended up developing a method because there wasn’t anything out there. And I called it Hypnofertility. And then just over the last few years, I have given it its own kind of designation of 3Keys Hypnofertility. It’s based on three keys to conception that I received in meditation about 27 years ago. So while you’re in a state of meditation, this came to you? Can you give me a little insight into what that was like or how that came about? Yeah, for sure. Now it gets kind of spiritual spirit baby type of stuff. I started out kind of working with the art and science of hypnosis, so to speak. And then also, I’ve always been connected with spirit or mind body spirit balance. I am an intuitive empath. And so years ago, I was only supposed to have one child. My son is now 27. Now going on 28. He came to me as a spirit baby and said, “Hi, I’m coming to you, you need to have me make arrangements.” Yeah, yeah. And I thought, Okay, I’ve always been open to this type of thing. But at that time, I was like, wow, this is something, he sent me his name. And so I did have to make some significant changes, and I was able to welcome him into the world. So what happened was, I ended up in a in a class that was basically healing arts, sort of a crystal enhancement class and I was learning about crystals. It was meditation and it various spiritual things like that. We did an exercise to meet our guide, to meet a spirit guide. And so I did that exercise. And then at the time, we would do it in class, and we practice at home, with cassettes, if you can believe it. And we used automatic writing to tune into the spirit guide. So lots of people were getting a lot of different things with our automatic writing. Well, my guide showed up, who is an infinity symbol, basically. So I got a symbol. And then I got one word, and I kept getting this one word, and the word was meditate. And so day after day, week after week, I’m practicing with my meditation. I’m working on connecting with my guide, and I’m getting this word, meditate, meditate, meditate. So I’m like, can I have something else? What else can I have, some more words please? And so eventually, I did get another word, which was listen. And so then I would, I would get that every day. And so I would do my meditations. And I’d get meditate and listen, and then listen was the focus for a while. And then after, you know, another few weeks, I got the word Trust. And that’s all I got. Meditate, listen, trust. Well, this was prior to me trying to conceive this child who showed up and told me that he was coming into the world. And so I began to basically apply that because as I was meditating, or as I was tuning in, I was becoming clearer. I was obviously becoming calmer. And my, you know, just nervous system was much more balanced. I was creating that balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit and I was able to listen. I was able to hear directions or instructions, or just that knowingness. I mean, it really enhanced that. You know, my intuition. All of that type of thing. And then the trust was to trust it. You know that you’re getting this baby that I’m not supposed to have just kept showing up. Trust it. Right. Yeah, you’ve got him. Wow. That’s amazing. Congratulations. Your son is how old now? He’s 27. He’s the musician that got me all set up with my microphone and livestream to do this interview. It sounds really good. By the way. I’m so happy he did that for you. yeah, it’s just so interesting. And then when I talk about meditate, listen, trust, that even as I did my hypnotherapy training, as I worked with Reiki and other modalities, it really is the crux of that. And I realized that this was where I got in meditation, sort of this knowing that this is the three keys to conception, meditate, listen, trust. No matter what else is going on. If you can utilize these, it just helped on so many levels. And then I was kind of thinking about and I go, you know, that’s really the three keys to life. It’s not just the three keys to conception, however, it is totally the crux of the program, or the work that I do and meditate doesn’t necessarily literally mean meditate. So it can be obviously hypnosis since that’s what I do. It can also be like just being quiet going into the quiet, it can be walking in nature, it can be doing yoga, it can be doing, you know, bodywork or any type of self care really. It’s a time when you just shut off, you know, shut off the phone, shut off the screens, the TV, the whole thing, and even if it’s just for a minute or two minutes a day, but just have some quiet and people tend to not do that. And it’s gotten worse. You know, since before my son was conceived because now we have all this technology and phones. A lot of people, they want noise all the time. So it’ll be the TVs in the background or the radios in the background or, which is fine if you’re paying attention to it. Yet often it is used to block out listening to our own minds and senses. When I get up in the morning, I don’t want to hear anything. And I want to get my tea and I want to just, you know, talk to my dogs. And that’s kind of it, but I don’t want any noise going on. But a lot of people are kind of averse to that. They really do need to have background noise all the time. That’s a great point. What I really liked about the serendipity of having the chance to speak with you is I had someone come in for a Thai massage, and she said that the only way she was able to get pregnant was because she started getting Thai massage. And that it relaxed her nervous system enough that she was able to have a baby. And that was the first time I heard someone say that to me personally. And so then not long after when I was able to get in contact with you, I thought that this would be a really interesting topic. I’m excited to hear different stories that you’ve probably have seen with your clients where they’ve tried everything. I know there’s a lot of different fertility treatments out there. Can you explain to me what some of them are? Or what people who come to you for assistance have tried? Yeah, you’re absolutely right. And a lot of times with hypnosis, in general, we can often be the last resort for people. And the great thing is, it’s still effective. And it doesn’t, you don’t have to believe in it. A lot of times, people just, they’ve tried everything. At that point they think, I’m going to come to hypnosis, which is really how this kind of got kicked off, was people thinking well, what if hypnosis would help? And so people may be going through medical treatment, which can be quite costly. And it’s very invasive. And a lot of invitro fertilization, for example, they have to take a lot of injections and hormones, it’s really hard emotionally. It requires like a full time job, people have to be at the clinic so often. And a lot of times, I don’t know, if I will, I probably would lean toward most times, many times, it does not work on the first round. And so they have to end up going through it again. And sometimes people have done eight or nine cycles of IVF, before they come to see me. And that was how it was early on. People were at a dead end. They didn’t have the technology they do now. People were getting these ultimatums. They’re either being told they are not a candidate for IVF, or any of these types of treatments and to go home and come to terms with being childless or adopt. Instead I was having these folks, they would come in and say, I believe that there’s a baby there. I feel it. I just know it. I know there’s a baby there. And I always could sense into that. And so I say, Yeah, I believe you. And let’s work with that. You can listen to the full episode for free here: https://nativeyogacenter.buzzsprout.com Thanks for reading this blog post from this podcast episode. Check out: New Student Livestream Special ~ Try 2 Weeks of Free Unlimited Livestream Yoga Classes at Native Yoga Center. Sign into the classes you would like to take and you will receive an email 30 minutes prior to join on Zoom. The class is recorded and uploaded to nativeyogaonline.com ~ Click Here to join. New Student FREE 30 Minute Yoga Meet & Greet ~ Are you new to Native Yoga Center and have questions that you would like us to address? Whether you are coming to In Studio, Livestream or Online Recorded Classes we offer a one time complimentary 30 minute zoom meeting to answer any questions you may have. Schedule a time that is convenient for you. Click Here Listen to the podcast here on our Podcast website: Native Yoga Toddcast Please email special requests and feedback to info@nativeyogacenter.com Please share this episode with your friends, rate & review and join us next time. Posted in Children's Yoga, Empowerment, health, Inclusivity Yoga, meditation, Yoga \| Tagged baby, balance, called, children, conceive, donor eggs, energy, fertility, happen, hear, hypnosis, ivf, part, people, pink, pregnant, spiritual, thinking, world, yoga \| Leave a reply	11,660
Writing, publishing, and marketing is like running on a treadmill. You’re working your butt off and not getting anywhere. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I finished my latest round of edits on my trilogy and now that that’s done, I’m going to dive into writing the blurbs and creating their covers. I need to do a little better on these than I did with my duet. I’ve complained that those covers just haven’t hit the way I wanted them to, but it could be a few things, not just the models I chose. With a new pen name it will take time to find traction and my Amazon ads haven’t run long enough for me to collect any data on if the covers are helping or hurting. Surprisingly, well, it’s not really as this issue has plagued me from the second I published the stupid thing, The Years Between Us has always performed well, meaning, I get a TON of clicks, but then no one goes on to buy. I know it’s because the cover is pretty but no one wants to read an age gap romance, and they’re turned off when they hit the product page. There’s not much I can do about that. But in September, I did sell a handful of my duet, and I’ve been playing with buying a promo soon. Now I think I’ll wait until January after the holidays are over and I’ll have six books under my name instead of just three. I might as well wait. I’ll keep running ads and hope for the best. I started up my Facebook ad for my reader magnet again and we’ll see what happens there. Ads are so weird and there are so many variables as to why it wouldn’t work. The wrong graphic, the wrong headline, maybe your description wasn’t right on the money, or your target audience is off. Whatever it is, I did take my time putting it together so hopefully I can build up my newsletter some more. Despite paying for an ad for signups, my open rate was 36% last month (I’ve heard 40% is decent) and I only had four people unsubscribe. The person who won my giveaway never responded to the email I sent her, so as always, that giveaway was a wash and honestly I just don’t care about hosting them anymore. I also gave away more ARC copies of Rescue Me on Twitter than I did for my own newsletter which was surprising but whatever, I guess. I probably shouldn’t even have offered it there, but I made 20 available and gave away ten before I took the listing down when the book went into KU. Reviews are still coming in from Booksprout and one sounds so ludicrous I think maybe an AI bot wrote it. I don’t want to offend anyone, especially since there has been some crossover between my blog and new readers under my pen name, but once again, it makes me wonder if paying for the service is worth it and if I should even bother to keep offering my books there. I have three months to edit and package my trilogy but I’m not going to need that long so I’m at a crossroads for what I want to work on next. I have a standalone in mind that would probably work better in 3rd person under my name and it will need some research as it’s about a rockstar who suffers from depression and doesn’t want to perform anymore. His record label pays for a therapist to move in with him to convince him to do another album but she has her own backstory. I don’t know anything about being a rockstar and I’m looking forward to watching documentaries of that kind of life. I think will be just a little darker, like All of Nothing, and it will take me longer to write it. If I decide not to work on that, I have 2 books of a 6 book series completed and I should really write the last four and get those put out. The file information said I created the first one on November 2, 2020, so I think it’s about time to tackle those and get them off my plate. A standalone sounds welcome after working on a trilogy and my other six book series that will be going to a proofreader this week as the second set of proofs came yesterday, but getting that series done would be a load off my mind. I have my publishing schedule set until the middle of 2024, so I have plenty of time to do both and cleansing my palate with a standalone sounds like what I need to take a break but still write. Because authors need someone in their corner, especially with how trigger-happy KDP has been lately with blocking author accounts and not accept copyright information, I decided to join the Alliance for Independent Authors. I’m familiar with Orna Ross and Joanna Penn and some of the others that are affiliated with the organization and at 119.00 USD annually, it’s a good investment. I do everything I can to ensure that my books meet copyright requirements–I buy my photos from DepositPhotos, make sure I have licensing for the fonts I use. I have my receipt from Vellum if there is ever a question on how I format my books. If they ever close my account for any reason, at least I have someone going to bat for me. I suppose that’s all I have for this week. I have a few topics for blog posts planned and also something up my sleeve with a couple other authors I’ve met on Twitter. I need to reach out to them and hammer out a time we can collaborate. I think the only thing left is mentioning that this month, Bryan Cohen is hosting his quarterly Amazon Ads Profit Challenge. Since I’m not actively writing right now, I think I’ll carve out the time to sit and listen to the videos and go through the steps. There are some things that have changed since the last time I sat down and went through all the material, so it will probably be beneficial this time around. I’ve been working with the info that I learned a couple years ago taking his challenge, and staying up to date is always a good thing. If you’re interested in joining, click here. It’s not an affiliate link; I don’t get anything if you sign up. Thanks for hanging out with me, and Happy October! Love it? Share it!	6,010
Decide that you and your dog, or a friend’s dog, have a special relationship that you want to share with your community Successfully pass the Reading with Rover pet therapy evaluation Complete a few shadow visits and a few Rover-mentored visits Congratulations! You and your dog are a Reading with Rover team! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization It's always been a struggle to get my child to read each day. I've never seemed to be able to find the right topics to draw him in. Reading with Rover has been a HUGE help! My son will read almost any kind of book during Reading with Rover, and he wants to read for the entire hour! This is so different from how he is at home. I highly recommend this program for any child who is not a fan of reading! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization It's always been a struggle to get my child to read each day. I've never seemed to be able to find the right topics to draw him in. Reading with Rover has been a HUGE help! My son will read almost any kind of book during Reading with Rover, and he wants to read for the entire hour! This is so different from how he is at home. I highly recommend this program for any child who is not a fan of reading! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Testimonial about Reading with Rover program This winter, I was living in southern California and had an opportunity to visit a first grade classroom at the Seneca Elementary School in Moreno Valley. Barley wore his little RWR vest and we visited the classroom once a week for about 3 months. There were quite a few children in this first grade for which English was a second language and of course, reading was a struggle for them. The teacher had 30 students and no teacher’s aide or any parental volunteer, so she was very challenged every day to teach and to keep them under some control. Barley Read more Sharon Bidwell and Barley Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I met you about a month ago at Borders while my son with special needs read with Moose. We were there to see our friends, Aimee and Aaron Shriner and Koa. When I got there I was so impressed. As I mentioned to you at the time that this program goes to Woodmoor, where my son attends school. It was Mark and Annie that made school something to look forward to and gave my son the confidence to speak to others about Annie, whom he was so proud to be walking! My son has among other things severe Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I have been meaning to write you guys and let you know that Toryn this year was doing 8th grade reading level. When she started LC and Reading with Rover in 3rd grade she was almost 2 grades behind. I can not even begin to tell you how much the program and all the dogs have meant to us and helped her. She is in 5th grade and reading/writing 3 grade levels ahead. Amazing!!!! Please share with the owners/dogs - they deserve to know that they are so appreciated and I am forever grateful to you and Dave. Thanks Becky Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization How can I say thank you enough for everything that Reading with Rover has done for our daughter. I have always known that animals can have remarkable effects on humans and your Reading with Rover program just proves it. Our daughter has NLD a Non Verbal Learning disorder which effects her in many ways. One being reading and another is non verbal social cues. She is very smart and so sweet but she realizes she is different and making friends is very hard for her. She is self conscious about reading out loud but when she read to Read more Eve P Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I wanted you to know what a hit Reading with Rover was in our house. Our son LOVED reading to the dogs. He was very excited about going and reading to them more. It is so great to see how excited he is about reading to them. I have not seen this excitement about reading. He doesn't even like going to the library and I haven't pushed it much for fear he will not like reading. Thank you so much for doing this program. I am so excited myself about going to see all the Rovers this summer. Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed going to Reading with Rover at the Lynnwood Barnes and Noble last Saturday. The children seem to truly enjoy themselves and the dogs were adorable. I was able to sit with 5 different handlers to "shadow" how they dealt with the children. All the handlers I met were very enthusiastic about what they were doing and were very easy to talk to. I definitely would like to belong to this group of wonderful people. Thanks Becky, for starting this group. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that you Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization We just wanted to thank you for your very kind and very generous $1000.00 donation to our school! With the money you donated, we were able to purchase a new reading program, as well as a new writing program, we had had our eyes on. This year’s Rose Hill second graders will definitely benefit from your generous gift, as will upcoming second grade classes! We feel so honored and blessed to have Reading with Rover as part of our school program! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization My granddaughter is in love with your program! And when I was first introduced to it at Third Place Books last month, I totally understood her delight and enthusiasm. In the 40 years that I’ve been involved with education, I don’t think I’ve experienced a more exciting and rewarding program. I had tears in my eyes as I walked around and watched the various children read to these wonderful dogs! I have told anyone who will listen about it! I applaud all of your special efforts to make this so magical! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Wow, was it a hit!!! Nate had a blast. Read to 5 dogs and finished 2 whole books. He was so proud of himself. He talked about the dogs all the way home. He is also trying to figure out how our unruly dog, Norton, could be a Reading with Rover dog. When we explained that Norton didn’t behave well enough to be around all those other dogs, he kept thinking. He’s now convinced we can start our own reading with rover at home with the neighborhood kids! I had to laugh. That should be funny. Thank you Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization My son Oliver is part of Camp Sparkle at Gilda's Club this week. I just wanted to thank you for bringing your dogs to visit with the kids yesterday. My son talked about the dogs all evening and said he had a wonderful time meeting the "team." I appreciate your willingness to bring some happiness to some kids who really need it. Sheila BC Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Dear Reading with Rover, Our team at Windermere Green Lake recently started a campaign to keep low-income kids academically engaged this summer. We felt passionately about this cause because our office sits in the center of the vibrant Green Lake community filled with many family activities, and as we approach summer, this is a reminder that for many, the cost of these activities can be too much. This campaign is about giving to low-income kids in the Green Lake area elementary schools (grades K-5) a way to stay academically engaged in the summer through a variety of donated school supplies. We never anticipated Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I wanted to mention a really happy story that a mom at a school age program told me this week. She has a child who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (age 6). She recently began bringing her to our Reading with Rover program. At one particular visit, while the daughter was reading to a dog, she was reading fluently in a way that she was never able to do with her parents or other adults. The mom had no idea that the daughter could read that well, because she has seen no evidence of that capability herself. The mom was Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization I've been looking at some data regarding students in your Reading with Rover program and thought you might enjoy hearing the news. All your students made gains in both the number of words they could read correctly in one minute and in their overall reading accuracy! This all gets back to how fluently they can read, which relates to how much they can attend to the meaning of what they are reading. Four of the 5 students in your program doubled the number of words they could read correctly, and overall the entire group had an average improvement in reading Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Yesterday, Bella and I passed our renewal test for Pet partners! I just want to again express my gratitude to you for all the training I received over the years. You provided us with all the skills necessary to be a successful therapy team. Now that I have updated our certification I will work on getting certified with RWR. I will schedule my dogless shadows soon. Then do my floor time with kids. Bella did superb on her aptitude part of the test! The examiner, loved the "hug" part of it. A very big change from her testing last time 2 years ago Read more Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Today my daughter participated in Reading with Rover, and it was such a gift. Reading has been a bit of a challenge for her, and something she usually does because she has to. However, today she was all smiles as she read to all three dogs at the library. She cannot wait to do it again. Thank you so much for this valuable service and delightful literary opportunity you gave to my seven-year old. Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Diana and her team (human and 4 legged) always do such a wonderful job when you present here at the Museum. We love having them come for our Paws for Applause Dog Appreciation Day! Every one of you are so engaging, patient and encouraging to families. On behalf of all our visitors and staff Thank you to everyone who participates in the Reading with Rover program. Raniere - Director of Creative Arts & Community Engagement at Imagine Children's Museum Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Thank you Leslie, I think my worry about Kaylee being nervous was extra :) She surprised me that she wanted to read the books alone and actually she didn't want us to be around. I am happy she likes it. This program will let her be more confident to talk in front of people she doesn't know. Many thanks to you, your program and your dogs ! Reading With Rover, a 501(c)(3) organization Thank you for today's event. My son really loves it. He's more confident and likes to read/talk to dogs instead of talking to people! My son hasn't been to school since last March after the pandemic. We speak another language at home so after staying at home for 6 months with a minimum social interaction with others, we suddenly found it's so hard for him to speak any English, even when we talked in English, he wouldn't respond to us at all. We've enrolled him in several English online classes, joined library story time, read English picture books since September, but it seems there's Read more This program is assisted and sponsored by the charity and generosity of: This could be you! In the Rover program, children with reading difficulties actually read stories to a dog and the dogs love to listen! A child that may be hesitant to read aloud to his peers is typically less stressed when reading to a dog and the dog never judges the child’s reading ability.	11,943
Muir’s appointment closes the historical difference between the number of male and female artistic directors that the ballet has seen Published Jul 28, 2021 Muir / Photo by Todd Rosenberg After a two-year search, The National Ballet of Canada announced in early July that Hope Muir will take over as artistic director of the company in January 2022. Originally from Toronto, Muir is currently the artistic director of the Charlotte Ballet in North Carolina. Her appointment comes after Karen Kain announced in October 2019 that she would be retiring from the role after 16 years. Kain officially stepped down June 30 and was named artistic director emerita. Muir’s appointment closes the historical difference between the number of male and female artistic directors that the company has seen. She is now the fifth female artistic director succeeding Celia Franca (the company’s founder), Valerie Wilder and Lynn Wallis (who were co-artistic directors) and, of course, Kain. The company’s five male artistic directors were David Haber, Alexander Grant, Erik Bruhn, Reid Anderson and James Kudelka. Although the numbers are now tied, the women have been at the helm for most of that time, specifically 43 of the ballet’s 70 years. “I understand the importance of legacy, especially of those female pioneers, and am very humbled to have had the opportunity to contribute to those histories both as a dancer and now as an artistic director,” said Muir in an email to The Dance Current. Muir and artists of the Charlotte Ballet / Photo by Jeff Cravotta, courtesy of Charlotte Ballet Muir also brings more than 30 years of international experience to the job. Before her current role at the Charlotte Ballet, she was the assistant artistic director of the Scottish Ballet. She has danced with the English National Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. She has also danced the work of choreographers including George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Natalia Makarova and Twyla Tharp. But this won’t be her first time working for The National Ballet of Canada. Her relationship with the company goes back a long way. In 2011, she was a guest teacher and in 2009, she assisted Crystal Pite during the creation of Emergence. She also staged Christopher Bruce’s Rooster in 2008. She also said she will continue to support the company’s work in equity, diversity and inclusion. In 2020, Kevin Ormsby (who has been involved with the company’s equity, diversity and inclusion work) told The Dance Current that although the company was going through a moment of change, they had been working with Ormsby’s organization, Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario, for two years (at the time of the interview) and “rethinking how to support its increasing number of diverse dancers.” “Since taking the helm in Charlotte Ballet, I have also been involved in these very important conversations and worked initially in partnership with Dance USA and The Equity Project from 2018,” said Muir. “I am committed to supporting the initiatives that the National Ballet has in place, and to continue to listen and learn in order to provide a safe and more equitable work environment.” And after the pandemic-related challenges that the company has faced over the past 18 months, she said she is excited to get the company back onstage and “to continue to build on the reputation of excellence with new stories and collaborations.”	3,455
I laughed a bit as I poured this wine into the glass: I’d just opened two bottles of Ridge petite sirah and, well, this wine is pretty much at the exact opposite end of the color spectrum of red wines. If the Ridge was coagulating bull’s blood, then this is more like an overbrewed cup of Red Zinger. No, scratch that, it looks like agua de jamaica – a Mexican drink made from hibiscus flowers. This would be the perfect thing to serve to secretly alcoholic Mormons in a Salt Lake City Mexican restaurant, but I digress. I laughed again as I smelled the wine: whoa, this actually smells like Pinot! Score! Most of the time, your ten bucks gets you a grim joke of a clunky red wine as you remind yourself that yeah, this is probably the hardest grape to grow. There’s a lot of rich, fresh red cherries complemented by a very faint hint of clove and spice. It may not be the most complex thing in the world, but at least it smells recognizably like Pinot and has a cheerful, friendly fruitiness about it.In the mouth, it’s ever so slightly thin (which, oddly enough, makes it even more convincing). It’s got a kind of Red Vines-iness to it, but it’s by no means truly sweet, and it ends on a pleasant enough down note, with decent acidity and a finish that does persist for a bit.As my partner just said: hey, this shit ain’t bad. What more could you want for ten bucks?The Sonoma Trail™ [but really fresh&easy] Closure: Diam Date tasted: December 2007 This entry was posted in Red, USA and tagged California, Pinot Noir, Sonoma County by Christopher Pratt. Bookmark the permalink.	1,595
Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies and Josée Bisaillon is one of those rare mirrors and windows books. It's a mirror in the sense that any parent can understand working themselves down to the bone for their child's future, and it's a window, at least for me, into everyday Vietnamese culture and life beyond the glamour shots we see in the movies. With touch points any parent can understand, like wanting your child to get a better education that you did, or wanting them to simply sprout wings and leave the nest, this book kindly and gently reveals a mother-daughter relationship no parent or child will soon forget. I got a chance to talk to Josée about her illustration process, both for this book and in general, and it's an honor to share that conversation here today. A young girl and her mother have a loving, passionate conversation with each other. The girl is torn between her desire to stay home with her family and the familiarity of their village, and her desire to go to school and discover the world beyond the mountains that surround them. Every time the girl insists that she will stay, her mother repeats that she must go, that there is more to life than the labor in the coffee trees. LTPB: When you received the manuscript for Ten Cents a Pound, what about it drew you in? What is your personal connection to this story? JB: I had the chance to receive two manuscripts from the Editor at Second Story Press. I was blown away by Ten Cents a Pound. Usually I take a few days (even a few weeks!) before accepting a manuscript, but for this one, I think I answered back within the hour. I was so excited about it! I felt the story was touching, tender, simple, and so meaningful. I like picture books with strong female characters. This one was a special one. A mother who is willing to do anything for her daughter’s education…Being a mother of 3 kids who have the chance to have a free education in a peaceful country, Ten Cents a Pound really got me thinking. Also, when I received the manuscript, I was preparing a trip to Vietnam with my family. I felt this couldn’t be a coincidence, I had to illustrate this wonderful story. LTPB: You reveal what Mama looks like in a very specific way, one part at a time. Can you talk a little bit about the visual evolution of the characters and why you chose to reveal them in this particular way? JB: When I first read the manuscript, I felt like I was entering the private life of this mother/daughter duo. This subject is so sensitive, I felt like if we could only see some close-up of the mother at first, it was like preserving her privacy. I know she’s only a book character, but I really felt like it! And the more we progress into the book, the more we get to know her, the more we discover her. LTPB: What kind of research did you do (factually and visually) to get your images right? How did you mix in the realities of your research with your own unique art style? JB: While doing my research for the book, I was also doing research for my trip, so this was a lot of fun. I had to do the sketches before my trip, then the final artwork when I got back from Vietnam. During my month in Vietnam, I sketched everything I could to try to capture the feel of the place, the smell, the people, landscapes… I took a lot of pictures. I also looked at a lot of pictures on the internet and at the library. Usually, what I found was only pictures of wonderful landscapes, but I had trouble finding pictures of the ordinary life. It was particularly difficult to find images of coffee workers in Vietnam. Almost every picture I found was a picture of happy, clean and well-dressed people picking coffee fruits. Of course it wasn’t what I wanted to represent. I did my best for the sketches, but I had to do some modifications to them when I got back, as I really wanted the artwork to be accurate and respectful of the characters' personalities. I also bought clothes that I scanned and then used the print in the book, like the girl’s skirt and the mother’s scarf. LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium? How does your process change from book to book? JB: I use a lot of medium! Usually it’s colored pencils, pastels, cut paper, watercolor/ink and Photoshop. I do all the illustrations and backgrounds traditionally, then I scan it and put them together in Photoshop. For Ten Cents a Pound, I wanted to feel the earth, the dirt and dust, but I also wanted to show a certain softness, so I used a lot of charcoal and pastels. I love using different techniques. It gives me a lot of possibilities. If I want to give a bold feel to an album, I can use bold collages, If I want to give a soft feel, I use more pastels, etc. And it leaves a lot of room for accidents and mistakes which sometimes bring me to a whole new world! LTPB: What are you working on now? Anything you can show us? JB: I’m working on a lot of projects! I just finished the illustrations for a board book. I’m also working on a picture book written by Jan L. Coates with Running the Goat, a publisher based in Newfoundland. I don’t know if I can say something about the text, but I sure can show you some illustrations! Also, the first book I wrote and illustrated just came out this Fall. I was so excited, yet so nervous! It’s in French and it’s called Reviens sur Terre Esther!. And Ten Cents a Pound will be out in French in Québec this month. I’m really happy about it, since French is my first language. My kids will be able to read it! LTPB: If you were to write your picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) would you want to illustrate it, and why? JB: That’s a tough question! There are so many illustrators I admire. Maybe I would say Wolf Erlbruch, since I fell in love with illustrations looking at his work. I found his way of using drawings and cut paper really fascinating, and it got me experimenting this way of working, too. I think having my life illustrated by Kveta Pacovska would be pretty amazing, too! A million thanks to Josée for taking time to answers some questions! Ten Cents a Pound published from Second Story Press earlier this year. Special thanks to Josée and Second Story Press for use of these images! In this post we talk about -Let's Talk Illustrators-, charcoal, colored pencils, cut paper, inks, soft pastels, specialty papers, watercolor paints	6,527
After several months of rich foods, parties, and feasts, many people seek to regain some balance by making New Year’s resolutions to eat better, exercise more, or pledge to do a dry January. But it’s also common that after a season of shopping, wrapping, giving and receiving gifts many people are looking to purge their homes of anything that is unused or unwanted. And it doesn’t stop at just the material. Sage burning or smudging is becoming more and more common, as people want to cleanse their homes on a spiritual, as well as a material, level. But is sage burning compatible with Catholicism? That’s the question a listener named Marie called in to The Patrick Madrid Show to ask. Marie has a friend who she describes as a very devout Catholic who was telling her about saging her house. She recounted her friend’s explanation, saying, “The herb, sage, you burn it. And then when the smoke comes you go into each one of the rooms in your house and pray. It’s supposed to take all the demons and things out, and save your house. Have you heard of this?” Patrick responded that he had heard of it, and explained, “It’s kind of an idiosyncratic way of trying to dispel, let’s say, an evil influence in a place. In a home, for example. But it’s a departure from the Church’s age-old, tried and true use of sacramentals, such as holy water.” One reason that sage burning, or smudging as it is often called, can be confusing for Catholics is that they are familiar with both house blessings and the use of incense. So, based on appearance, this practice can seem like using incense as a do-it-yourself house blessing. But, Patrick explained, this is a misunderstanding of both the purpose of incense and the nature of house blessings. “If you want to bless your home, don’t burn a weed and take it from room to room,” he advised. “Just sprinkle some holy water. That’s what the Church does. And the demons are repelled by that, to be sure. The Church does use incense, that’s true. But the incense is used for liturgical purposes. And you never see people being told to take incense into their homes to bless their home with incense. It has a liturgical function. It’s not typically used for this, and you don’t see exorcists using incense when they’re performing an exorcism. Holy water, yes, but not incense.” Patrick also pointed out that it is also important to discern between what Catholics believe has real spiritual power and what is merely symbolic. It reference to burning sage, he said, “It doesn’t even do anything. Holy water does something. A piece of smoldering twig doesn’t do anything other than smell up your house.” So what is the difference between burning sage and sprinkling holy water? Patrick explained, “Holy water is a powerful sacramental. Don’t underestimate it. Now some people who are listening to this right now are saying, ‘Oh, come on, that’s superstitious.’ No, it’s not superstition. It’s not intended to harness powers or to do anything like that. Rather, we as Catholics use holy water primarily as a way to remind ourselves of our baptism in the blood of Jesus.” Holy water is not meant to be a re-baptism, but a remembrance of our baptism and who we are. Patrick explained that when Catholics dip their fingers in holy water and make the Sign of the Cross, “You’re renewing your recognition and your gratitude to God for this immense gift of the sacrament of baptism, which imparts sanctifying grace to the soul. And the demons hate that.” “Why do they hate that? Well, because that’s how Jesus won the victory by his death on the cross. He conquered death. He conquered once and for all the evil one. And when you are making the Sign of the Cross using holy water, the reason they hate it so much is because it’s a reminder of their defeat. So remind them of that defeat often, by blessing yourself with holy water.” Listen to the full conversation below: Stephanie Foley serves as a Digital Media Producer at Relevant Radio®. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she studied journalism, and she has worked in Catholic radio for 12 years. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of three boys, and in her free time she enjoys reading, running, and really good coffee. You can find more of Stephanie’s writing at relevantradio.com and on the free Relevant Radio mobile app.	4,612

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.