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Step aside, Spain. There’s a new destination beckoning adventurers and student travelers in 2019. And it’s wearing a whole lotta sunblock (and bug repellent). 😎
Based on a combination of traffic data to the GoAbroad site (over 30+ million views), industry expert insight, and general travel trends, we zeroed-in and projected the most popular travel destination in 2019. Check it out: GoAbroad’s 2019 Meaningful Travel Forecast is LIVE.
Our finding? Australia is the #1 preferred location when it comes to travel destinations for college students, young professionals, and teens. Grab your thongs—not those, those!—let’s head south (way south) to have the time of our life!
Why not? Australia packs a punch; it provides a variety of travel opportunities to fit any experience or goal. The country rocks a well-developed infrastructure to host international interns and expats, and it’s strong university-scene means that students flock here regularly. In comparison to other travel destinations for college students, it marries adventure with comfort and ease of travel. You can volunteer in meaningful projects, master English, get your adrenaline pumping through adventure travel, or even turn the tassel on an international masters’ degree.
In short: Australia just won’t quit. And that’s what makes it one of the best places for college students to travel—not to mention other ages of adventurers!
How to travel meaningfully in Australia in 2019
Here’s what to do when you hit up the #1 in student travel destinations in 2019.
Students are spoiled for choice when it comes to top-notch universities and other study abroad programming options in Australia. Cities like Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane feel almost ready-built for hungry, adventurous students (who still take their studies seriously).
Have a passion for quirky animals and wildlife conservation projects? Want to provide better educational services to indigenous minority groups? Dream of helping the next generation enjoy the Great Barrier Reef? No wonder volunteering in Australia is hanging steady as a top experience sought by meaningful travelers in 2019. It’s second only to Peru.
It surprises *literally no one* that Australia is the #1 destination for adventure travelers in 2019. Every inch of the world’s oldest continent is begging to be explored. Sail the Whitsunday’s, snorkel amongst immense marine diversity, four wheel drive over rocks and crags in the Outback, in search of a secret Palm forest. Australia = adventure. Period.
For many, an experience working abroad in Australia is a rite of passage. Most expats find work temping in offices, au pairing, or serving with a smile in the tourism and hospitality sector. It ranks 4th as one of the most attractive travel destinations for college students and meaningful travelers hoping to work and travel in 2019.
Australia is debuting for its first time ever on our top 10 list of the best destinations for earning a masters degree abroad in 2019. And we’re not surprised! Institutions like Curtin University and Maynooth University offer a variety of study tracks to please even the most niche student abroad. Get in on the fun!
If you’re in the middle of a major life transition, or desire time, space, guidance, and mentorship to help you leap from one lily pad to the next, you should join thousands of exploratory learners and hit up the shores of Australia for your gap year towards self-enlightenment. It’s the #1 travel destination for gap year students in 2019.
Australia isn’t just a good fit for the 18+ crowd. There are plenty of adventure- and volunteer-oriented high school programs on offer in the land down unda that fill up quick. If you dream of posing with a koala before dozing for an afternoon nap on the Gold Coast, then a teen travel program in Oz is for you!
Calling all professionally-minded meaningful travelers: Get your fill of new skills to boast on your resume AND an impressive tan line. You can accomplish all of this and more while interning in Australia, a developed nation comfortable with hosting short term interns from across the pond. Start your search for internships in a variety of fields, why don’t you!
Learn more about the best places for college students to travel
Read our full Meaningful Travel Forecast for 2019 and find out tons more about the most popular and best places for college students to travel this year!


If I have time this weekend I'd like to make up some holders for my spare shafts. I was gonna just use a piece of PVC or ABS tube that was big enough to fit and bolt it to the inside bedwall but there are a couple of problems associated with this. The flange on the 14 bolt shaft (yeah, that's right, I'm carrying them) and the slinger on the D60 shaft would hit the bedside so they'd need to be spaced out which is pretty cumbersome. Another problem is clearance inside the tubes where the bolt comes through, I could notch the ends and use a carriage bolt but with the spacer and everything this would be pretty ghetto fab by the time I was done. I don't want them loose and I hate big heavy crap sitting at the bottom of my toolbox when I need it so those two options are out. What has everybody here done for spare shaft holders?


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In each moment, we embody the spirit of the caterpillar as well as the butterfly.
I believe that transformation is as much a personal choice as it is a natural way of change. Like a caterpillar that can transition into a cocoon, we have an innate ability to step into our own cocoon of transformation. As our conscious choices lead, inspire and nudge us along, it is up to us to pick up the inner desire for change and be the gentle stewards of our own metamorphosis. This choice is in our hands at all and any moment in time. Right this moment as you read these words, you can consciously with complete awareness choose on inhabiting a new aspect within yourself. An aspect that can give you wings, add grace to your movement, and bring joy to how you navigate this life.
This is an empowering embodiment of choice that can heal your mind, body and spirit. The tools, gadgets, and support are all available. The only question remains, do you want to actively access it? Without your explicit and clear desire for making the conscious choice, the grand change comes disguised. The trajectory of your path can tweaked or overhauled completely. We are all constantly transforming and changing within our body, anyways. Now, we can tap into that transformational force more deeply, consciously and with complete trust.
So consider the immense capacity you inhabit within yourself. A capacity that is bestowed upon you for you to harness and play with. And it has NO limits. So look within. Reflect on whether you want to consciously make the commitment toward the dream that you have embraced. If you are inspired to say yes, then silently commit to yourself that you are ready and willing. Then, become open to the hints and intuitive awareness of the action steps that emerge before you and move forward with complete trust in the process.
The environment will then, take care of itself, naturally.

domain: literature


Picking a national park is all about setting: Do you want deserts, forests, mountains, or water? Since everything’s bigger in Texas, Big Bend National Park has it all. Cacti-strewn deserts shift to the wooded slopes of imposing mountains before again changing to spectacular river canons where greenish water flows.
Tucked in a remote corner of southwest Texas, mountain peaks meet the Chihuahuan Desert in the vast wilderness of Big Bend National Park. Adventure comes in many forms in this 1,252-square-mile reserve. You can hike to the top of lofty peaks, go paddling on the Rio Grande, soak in hot springs, or look for wildlife amid the park’s diverse habitats. Beyond the park, there are ghost towns to visit, scenic drives, and magnificent night skies—the stargazing is so impressive that Big Bend was named an International Dark Sky Park back in 2012.
As is the standard way of getting places in Texas, arriving at this natural marvel requires a good amount of driving, so get those road trip snacks and playlists ready. Given the logistical challenges of getting here, you’ll want to stick around a while to make the most of your stay.
The Lay of the Land
The park has two main visitor centers: one at Panther Junction near the south end of Highway 385 and another at Chisos Basin where you’ll also find the Chisos Basin Campground and the Chisos Mountains Lodge. Three other visitor centers open seasonally from November to April.
There’s no public transport in the park, so you’ll need a car. If you plan to explore some of the backcountry roads, make it a high-clearance SUV.
This park is far from everywhere which is part of Big Bend’s allure. Even if you live in Texas, you’ll be up for a serious drive: it’s over seven hours from San Antonio.
What to Do
The national park has over 150 miles of trails from short jaunts to multi-day backpacking adventures. One of the best full-day hikes is the ascent up Emory Peak, a roughly 10.5-mile roundtrip hike that affords magnificent views from atop the park’s highest summit (7,825 feet).
For something shorter but no less rewarding, hike the 1.7-mile Santa Elena Canyon Trail which takes you through a steep-walled canyon along the edge of the Rio Grande.
Speaking of the Rio Grande, this life-giving river in the desert offers a wide range of aquatic adventures. If you’re not packing a canoe, sign up for a river trip with a park operator like Far Flung Outdoor Center based in Terlingua. Going strong since 1976, this outfitter offers river trips ranging from half a day to 3- or 4-day trips, camping in pristine spots along the way. For DIY (Do It Yourself) adventures, Far Flung also hires out gear including canoes and an open-topped Jeep Wrangler.
While you’re in the Big Bend area, be sure to pay a visit to Terlingua, a former mining town that went bust in the 1940s. You can check out a desert graveyard and the ruins of old buildings some of which have been revitalized into newer restaurant and lodging options.
Wherever you roam, be sure to leave some time at the end of the day for a soak in the park’s hot springs. Set along the Rio Grande on the southeast side of the park, the hot springs are reachable via an easy half-mile hike and the 105-degree waters offer a delightful cap to the day’s adventures.
Where to stay in and around Big Bend
Since it takes a long time to reach the park—and then once there, you can spend a good amount of time just getting around within the park—it’s not a good idea to expect to find a campsite when you arrive; booking in advance is crucial if you plan on camping at Big Bend. Seriously, reservations for the developed campgrounds are required. These campgrounds are pretty much guaranteed to be full every night from November through April and there’s no first-come, first-serve situation here.
You definitely don’t want to be that person who just spent who knows how many hours driving to Big Bend to realize you’ll have to drive an hour or more back out to find somewhere to stay because there are no overflow campsites. And don’t even think about setting up camp in a parking lot or along the park roads because you will get in trouble—sorry ‘bout it.
So, on to the options! For camping within Big Bend, you have four developed campgrounds to choose from: Chisos Basin, Rio Grande Village, Cottonwood, and Rio Grande Village RV Park. You can book your site up to six months in advance, so get to planning now.
If you’re someone who waits a little bit longer before making a move, there are a limited number of sites available for reservation up to 14 days in advance, but again—planning ahead pays big time with this out-of-the-way national park. There are also backcountry campsites and you’ll need a permit for those.
If there are no developed campsites within the park available during the time of your planned visit, don’t assume your big Big Bend camping adventure is dashed. There are still some camping options outside the park in nearby areas like Study Butte, Terlingua, and Lajitas.
Chisos Basin Campground (elevation: 5,400 feet) is nestled in open woodland within a scenic mountain basin. Campers enjoy the views of Casa Grande and Emory Peak. The sunset through the nearby “Window” is a Big Bend highlight. Some of the park’s most popular trails begin nearby. Chisos Basin offers 56 camping sites. Trailers over 20 feet and motorhomes over 24 feet are not recommended due to the narrow, winding road to the Basin and small campsites at this campground.
Rio Grande Village Campground (elevation: 1,850 feet) is set in a grove of cottonwoods and acacia trees near the Rio Grande River. Paved roads connect each campsite and grassy areas separate each site. Flush toilets, running water, picnic tables, grills, and some overhead shelters. Dump station nearby. Campers enjoy birdwatching, hiking, exploring. A camp store with showers and a park visitor center are nearby. Rio Grande Village offers 93 camping sites.
Cottonwood Campground (elevation: 2,169 feet) is a quiet oasis in the western corner of Big Bend National Park. Reservations are required. Conveniently located between the Castolon Historic District, the scenic Santa Elena Canyon, and the tail end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, this small 22-site campground is one of the least-known and quiet campgrounds in the park. There is one group campsite and 21 individual sites. This is a remote campground in a remote park. It is dry camping, no hook-ups, and no generators are permitted.
Rio Grande Village RV Campground (elevation: 1,800 feet) is operated by Forever Resorts and offers 25 back-in RV sites with full hookups. Adjacent to the Rio Grande Village camp store the campground features a paved lot with grassy, tree-lined edges. This campground has the only full hook-ups in the park. Periodically, a few sites may not be available for a 40 foot or longer RVs due to the size of the parking lot and orientation of the spaces.
Your best bet if you’re staying outside the park is in Terlingua about a 45-minute drive from the Chisos Basin. Terlingua Ranch Lodge RV Park offers 8 pull-through sites with electric, water, and sewer connections and 12 back-in sites with electric and water hookups and a dump station nearby.
Maverick Ranch RV Park offers 100 full-service sites including 60 pull-through sites. Guests of the Maverick Ranch RV Park enjoy all of Lajitas Golf Resort amenities and activities including the Agave Spa, Black Jack’s Crossing Golf Club, horseback trail rides, and shooting activities including 5-Stand Sporting Clays, 3-Gun Combat Course, Cowboy Action Shoot, ziplining Quiet Canyon, mountain bike trails, and fitness center. Situated 12 miles southwest of Terlingua on FM 170, Lajitas Golf Resort is located between the Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park on the banks of the Rio Grande.
Looking for the most unique place to stay in the Big Bend? Located in Terlingua just across the road from the Historic Terlingua Ghost Town, The Buzzard’s Roost is a collection of three, fully furnished, traditional Sioux-style tipis.
The summer heat is no joke here, so come prepared. Wear a wide-brimmed hat, use strong sunscreen, and bring four liters of water per person per day on full-day hikes. Be mindful of desert critters (scorpions, snakes, spiders): Shake your shoes out before putting them on your feet. Keep in mind that cellphone reception is poor in the park; help is a long way off (the nearest hospital is 100 miles away in Alpine) so don’t go beyond your limits.
Best Time to Visit
The summer is blazing hot with temperatures regularly above 100 degrees and even reaching 110. The most pleasant times for hiking, camping, and other activities is in the spring (March to April) and fall (October to November). Winter can be chilly, bringing occasional snowfall, but it’s rarely enough to prevent hiking. As long as you have adequate clothing, it can be a great time to visit without the crowds.
Location: Far West Texas
Acreage: 801,163 acres
Highest peak: Emory Peak at 7,832 feet
Lowest point: Rio Grande Village at 1,850 feet
Miles of trails: 200
Main attraction: Hiking the trails
Entry fee: $30 per private vehicle (valid for 7 days)
Best way to see it: Day hikes
Best time to visit: In the cooler months, between November and April
Texas Spoken Friendly
Big Bend is a land of strong beauty—often savage and always imposing.


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Lotteries present wonderful opportunities for people to risk becoming millionaires through lots of games having handsome rewards. Some lottery firms provide a wide range of games that can be played by anyone from anywhere around the globe easily. The lottery firm is registered and licensed to operate by the authorities to assure players of getting the prizes won without complications. A variety of games is availed to players and they vary in terms of jackpot prizes, specific time of play and their frequencies. To play the lottery, players just need to buy tickets of desired amounts then choose the lucky numbers and place the bets.
Tickets may be purchased from various authorized dealers located in different cities across the globe. An online platform is availed to players in the different countries whereby they purchase tickets and send them to be part of the draws. The online platform is accessible at all times and from all over the world using smartphones, computers, and other devices. Players can win thousands of dollars by playing the daily draws that take place at specified periods per day. After picking lucky numbers, players wait for the draws to be done and results presented to counter check whether one has won. Depending on the type of game, players need to select varying numbers ranging from three to around eight.
When the numbers displayed after a draw match with the numbers printed on the tickets, the player is considered a winner and receives the prize. Players who have matched all numbers except one or two may still win some cash because some games allow this. While the daily, hourly and weekly draws produce winners after the draws, grand jackpots may take much longer to be won. Grand jackpot contains about seven lucky numbers and an extra power lucky number and the winners take away tens or hundreds of millions dollars. The firm displays all the results from each game and draw several minutes or hours after being drawn.
Players can trust that the lottery is completely legitimate through the winners displayed on the website alongside the exact amount won by each. Previous results from jackpots, daily draws and other games are made available on the website to keep users informed and up to date. Jackpot analysis and predictions may also be found through the website to help players in choosing their lucky numbers. While lotteries are enjoyable activities they are also capable of benefiting players as well as the society. By playing lotteries, players contribute to the development of their regions since the firm undertakes charities and sponsorship programs. Taxes charged by the government from the prizes won and the income taxes may be used for development projects which benefit the entire regions.

domain: finance


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Estimated Reading Time: 1
Ganiyu Folorunsho AbdulRazaq, the father of the incumbent governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, is dead.
A former minister in charge of railways in the First Republic, Mr AbdulRaraq died on Saturday morning.
His death was announced via a statement signed by Alimi AbdulRazaq on behalf of the family.
“With total submission to the will of the Almighty Allah, the AbdulRazaqs of Ilorin Emirate of Kwara State hereby announce the passing of their patriarch and statesman Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunsho Abdul-Razaq SAN (OFR) at the age of 93 in Abuja. He was born in 1927.”
The Mutawali of Ilorin and Tafida of Zazzau (Zaria), was Chairman of the Nigerian Body of Benchers and died peacefully at about 2 a.m. on Saturday, the family stated.
The deceased is believed to be the first lawyer from Northern Nigeria.
He is survived by his 90-year-old wife, Raliat AbdulRazaq, children and and grandchildren.
“Arrangement for his interment will be announced by the family shortly.”
The deceased was a member of the Federal Parliament from 1964 to 1966 as the Federal Cabinet Minister of State for Transport.
- Fredrick Nwabufo: Buhari, now is time to speak to the Fulani youths
- Abia Governor dissolves state executive council
- Ignoring Governor Ayade’s instructions, CRUTECH insists on ‘no fee, no exams’
- American Legendary Talk-Show host; Larry King has died of COVID-19
- COVID-19: Kano Governor says closing down schools will be a ‘tragedy’
- IGP orders arrest of Sunday Igboho
- 2023: Governor Ortom should run for senate – Special Adviser
- Nigerian Ports Authority to launch Electronic Truck call-up app
- There must be justice and fairness in the way FG distributes resources – Attahiru Jega
- “They are criminals” – Governor Seyi Makinde wants police to arrest those stoking ethnic tension

domain: news


With Donald Trump as the new sheriff in town, think tank influence and power has shifted dramatically to a select few conservative think tanks that all happen to start with the letter "H." We are referring to the Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, and, to a lesser extent, the Hudson Institute.
The Heritage Foundation is by far the biggest think tank winner with the incoming Trump Administration, and has dozens of current and former scholars and experts helping the Trump team with its transition process. A massive amount of Heritage scholars likely will go into the Trump Administration.
The Hoover Institution is also a big winner, with Gen. Jim Mattis just being named as Trump's Secretary of Defense. Mattis was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Hoover.
Moreover, it was just announced that Kevin Warsh, another Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Hoover, will be the only think tanker on Mr. Trump's new "President's Strategic and Advisory Forum."
Elaine Chao, Trump's pick for Secretary of Transportation, was a Distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation until June 2016, when she became a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute.
Of course, other think tanks, such as Atlantic Council, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and even the Cato Institute could score some big wins, but for now, the "H" think tanks dominate.
Think Tank Watch should also note that these newly empowered think tanks are not omnipotent. After all, it seems that Donald Trump is listening to a just a handful key advisors much more than the think tankers in Washington, DC.


King Charles has shared his first statement of the year 2023 days before the release of son Prince Harry’s memoir Spare.
The Duke of Sussex’s tell-all will be out on January 10.
Buckingham Palace, on behalf of the King, posted the monarch’s statement on Twitter to congratulate everyone in the New Year Honours List.
Retweeting the Cabinet Office’s tweet, King Charles said, “Congratulations to everyone in the New Year Honours List! We look forward to welcoming you to your Investiture.”
Earlier, the Cabinet office published the list, saying: “We have published the 2023 New Year Honours List, marking the incredible service and contribution of individuals across the UK and overseas.
“A huge congratulations to all recipients.”
This is King Charles first statement of the year 2023 ahead of release of Harry’s Spare.


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BLACKSPOT FUNDING TO BOOST ROAD SAFETY IN NORTHERN NSW
Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay today announced $25.4 million would be invested in the NSW black spot program this financial year, with 12 projects to be rolled out across northern NSW.
Minister Gay was joined by local MP Thomas George for the announcement.
“The NSW Government will fund more than 70 black spot projects across the state, including $2.9 million to improve safety for roads in the state’s north,” Minister Gay said.
“Black spot projects target dangerous roads to save lives, reduce road trauma and ensure our roads are made safer and more productive for all road users.”
“A number one priority for this government is ensuring motorists get home safely to their families each and every night, that’s why this project is such an important investment.
“The roll out of black spot projects is good news for regional NSW, with critical safety work scheduled for the Byron, Lismore, Tenterfield and Tweed Shire Council areas,” Mr Gay said.
Minister Gay said this was reminder that the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government are delivering vital upgrades regional and rural communities expect and deserve.
“For too long local communities have been abandoned by former governments but funding, like the black spot funding program is delivering safer roads and infrastructure for country NSW,” Minister Gay said.
“I was extremely proud to see a record $5.5 billion allocated in the 2014-15 Budget for roads, maritime and freight projects. It is a great win for everyone across the state and is particularly strong for country NSW.
“The majority of the investment is for communities in regional and rural NSW, delivering a massive $4 billion for roads, maritime and freight projects in rural and regional NSW.
“While Labor left communities with a decaying road network, this is a Government re-building communities and putting Country NSW at the forefront.”
When prioritising black spot applications, a formula is applied that ensures a fair and equitable assessment to all projects that are nominated across the state and allows identification of the highest priority projects.
- A $750,000 project to improve safety on the Bruxner Highway from Alphadale Road to Richmond Hill Road at Richmond Hill as part of stage two of the broader upgrade
- $50,000 toward a project to improve safety on the Bruxner Highway near the intersection of William Blair Avenue at Goonellabah
- $120,000 toward a joint Council project to improve the intersections of Rous Muller and Alphadale Roads at Tregeagle
- $175,000 toward a joint Council project to improve safety at the intersection of Magellan and Diadem Streets at Lismore

domain: politics


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Without a "net neutrality" problem. Strangely however, with every passing “no-problem” day, the pro-regulation crowd becomes ever more shrill and ever more insistent that if government doesn’t regulate, it will be “the end of the Internet as we know it”!
The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with proposed "Open Internet" rules, which would give federal regulators vast new powers, and ultimately lead to government control of the Internet.
The Internet has become a powerful communications and economic force because it has been free from government interference. To make sure the power and promise of the Internet continues, we need to keep it free of government interference.
by The Washington Times
International bureaucrats have schemed for years to put the Internet under the thumb of the United Nations. President Obama rightly tells them to knock it off, and we applaud him for it. He ought to send the same message to his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Regulators from across the world gather this week in South Korea, where proposals are circulating at a meeting of the International Telecommunications Union to entrust oversight of Internet services to the United Nations. The Obama administration’s assurances sound refreshingly cogent. Read More…
By Thomas M. Lenard
I had thought that, at the end of the day, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would pull back from subjecting broadband to public utility-type regulation by reclassifying it as a Title II telecommunications service. I couldn’t imagine that Chairman Tom Wheeler and his colleagues would want regulating the Internet to be their legacy.
But now I’m not so sure. Read More…
by Mike Dano
The wireless industry earned a major supporter in its net neutrality battle with the FCC as OnStar owner General Motors issued a strong appeal for looser open Internet rules for wireless operators.
“We’ve observed assertions that under the same rules for fixed and mobile networks, certain defined exceptions for ‘reasonable network management’ for mobile broadband providers can provide the necessary flexibility,” wrote Harry Lightsey III, the executive director of GM’s Global Connected Consumer, in a letter to the FCC. “From our point of view, mobile broadband being delivered to a car moving at 75 mph down the highway–or for that matter, stuck in a massive spontaneous traffic jam–is a fundamentally different phenomenon from a wired broadband connection to a consumer’s home, and merits continued consideration under distinct rules that take this into account.” Read More…
By Naimish Patel and Hemant Taneja
The FCC’s “Net Neutrality” proposal to allow for Internet fast lanes has sparked a debate over how to ensure a free and open Internet while incentivizing continued innovation. One of the reasons this debate captures people’s imagination is it seems like a new problem we’ve never had to deal with before. It’s not, and we have.
The FCC can learn a lot from how the country has dealt with energy regulation. Read More…
by Michael K. Powell
Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler recently made an important speech focusing on the importance of competition in achieving our national broadband goals.
Competition has been at the core of communications policy in the modern era. But that was not always the case. In the last century, the government eschewed competition, believing that telecommunications was a “natural monopoly” and that competition was not feasible. The government worked to protect consumers from monopolistic harm through heavy common carriage regulation rather than encouraging competition. Read More…
Lawrence J. Spiwak
As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) struggles to write new net neutrality rules, the agency is coming under increasing political pressure to reclassify broadband Internet access as a “common carrier” telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. To make this radical reversal of policy palatable, many proponents of reclassification argue that the FCC can use its authority under Section 10 of the Communications Act to forbear from select portions of the statute. Unfortunately, once the law is properly understood, forbearance isn’t the silver bullet that makes Title II reclassification “easy peasy,” as they say. Read More…
American Enterprise Institute
The impact of broadband policy models on the quality of the networks that enable us to use the Internet is a background question in many current controversies, such as the FCC’s net neutrality rulemaking. If America’s networks are first-rate, there’s no need to change the way they’re regulated; as the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But if we’re lagging behind our competitors, we certainly can benefit from a close examination of the factors that have contributed to their success.
Too often, however, enthusiasts simply skim the surface of broadband statistics on speed and price and reach erroneous conclusions. While it certainly is the case that a dozen or so nations score higher than the US on speed tests, it’s Read More…
Gerald Faulhaber and David Farber
Demands for network neutrality have reached fever pitch in Washington, D.C., as many voices stress the need for the Federal Communications Commission to save our open Internet. They claim that broadband Internet service providers can block data flow from selected websites, charging content providers for delivering content to customers and establishing paid “fast lanes” for some and slow lanes for everyone else (see “The Right Way to Fix the Internet”). Is the Internet suddenly in great danger? Read More…
by Hance Haney
Technology Liberation Front
Would the Federal Communications Commission expose broadband Internet access services to tax rates of at least 16.6% of every dollar spent on international and interstate data transfers—and averaging 11.23% on transfers within a particular state and locality—if it reclassifies broadband as a telecommunications service pursuant to Title II of the Communications Act of 1934?
As former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth notes in a recent Forbes column, the Internet Tax Freedom Act only prohibits state and local taxes on Internet access. It says nothing about federal user fees. The House Energy & Commerce Committee report accompanying the “Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act” (H.R. 3086) makes this distinction clear. Read More…
by Gus Hurwitz
The Free State Foundation
No one loves their public utilities. They’re slow, unresponsive to change, and only just good enough for government work, which isn’t saying much.
If you’d talk to progressives working in the Internet space, though, you’d hear a different story. They think that utilities, and the 19th Century regulation used to control them, are the greatest things since sliced bread. You see, they want to make private U.S. broadband providers public utilities, and radical groups like Free Press, Public Knowledge and MoveOn.org have pulled out all of the stops to get the Federal Communications Commission to do so.
Why? Read More…
by Free State Foundation
On the issue of ) AT&T and Direct TV merger
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet
GN Docket No. 14-28
Free-Market Advocates Opposed to Internet Regulation
For 10 years officials at the Federal Communications Commission have told Americans that the Internet will “break” unless the agency steps in to keep it “free and open.” All the while, the Internet’s privately driven development has been vibrant, relentless and universal. Nevertheless, at points during this same period the Commission twice sought to encumber the Internet with restrictive common carrier-like, Net Neutrality regulations. In response to each of these actions, the DC Circuit twice struck down the agency’s overreach. In the latest DC Circuit ruling – Verizon v. FCC – the Court struck down the main thrust of the Commission’s arguments, but found that the Commission had some authority under Section 706 of the Communications Act. The Commission has apparently undertaken the present Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to once again establish a regulatory regime in the absence of a market failure or a clear Congressional grant of authority.
The Internet is “free and open,” making the vast “network of networks” an integral engine for societal growth, participatory democracy and global commerce. Its healthy development came primarily through the lack of government regulation, not because of it. Although the Court seems to have offered the FCC a very narrow pathway to impose some form of Net Neutrality regulation on the Internet, nothing demands that the FCC go forward with its present plans.
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of Framework for Broadband Internet Service
GN Docket No. 10-127
FCC Docket No. 10-114
of the Undersigned Members of the
INTERNET FREEDOM COALITION
The Commission is being asked by Free Press and other organizations to pursue a radical course of action – reclassifying information services as telecommunications services in order to regulate the Internet for the first time. We write to urge the Commission to keep the Internet free of new government regulation and taxation and to refrain from rushing into such a potentially disastrous course of action.
Analysts are only beginning to grasp the extent of the disruptive and destructive consequences of regulating the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act, and the Commission is in no position to predict the outcome, much less assure Americans it will be positive. Americans have heard political leaders admit that we will not know the full extent or nature of massive health care and financial services regulations until after the underlying legislation has been passed. Now, Americans are facing the imposition of an even lesser-understood regulatory regime over the Internet without the benefit of any legislative process whatsoever.
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Preserving the Open Internet GN Docket No. 09-191
Broadband Industry Practices WC Docket No. 07-52
Supplemental Reply Comments of the Internet Freedom Coalition
Just two days prior to the Commission’s deadline for reply comments regarding the above Notice of Proposed Rulemakings, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in Comcast v. FCC that the Commission has no authority to enact Net Neutrality rules. The deadline for comments was extended, particularly to facilitate discussion of other methods of promulgating Net Neutrality regulations.
Beginning with comments on the National Broadband Plan filed by Public Knowledge in January, a small number of organizations have since proposed classifying the Internet as a Title II common carrier service as a way of asserting the Commission’s authority to enact Net Neutrality regulations. The Internet Freedom Coalition respectfully submits these reply comments in strong opposition to any effort to reclassify the Internet as a Title II service.

domain: law


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Things are getting bad in New York City. Whether it’s the crime rate, rising cost of living or number of rats running around the street, things are struggle out here.
Now Gothamist is reporting that the number of homeless adults in the Big Apple is steadily rising as homeless shelters are reporting numbers that no one really expected. According to statistics the number of adults living in homeless shelters is the highest it’s been since 2013 with that figure expected to break the record in the coming months.
The figures, dating back to 2013 and posted on the city’s Open Data website, show that on Sept. 23 there were 39,136 adults in shelters overseen by the Department of Homeless Services. That was the first day that eclipsed the previous record, set on Jan. 30, 2019, of 38,838 adults. The number of adults in city shelters has steadily increased since late last month.
As of Tuesday, there were 41,107 adults in the shelters, according to a daily tally by Homeless Services.
Meanwhile, the overall homeless population in the shelters stood at 61,005 on Tuesday, just shy of 61,415, a high set on Jan. 12, 2019.
Now with nine buses filled with asylum seekers from Latin American countries ready to descend upon New York City, Director of policy at the Coalition for the Homeless, Jacquelyn Simone, says that will just be another factor in straining the already struggling shelter system.
“The increase in the shelter census is being driven by both an influx of new entrants to the shelter system — both by people who have been priced out of their housing and have become homeless as well as people who are more recent arrivals to the city,” said Simone. “But it’s also being fueled by the delays in connecting people to permanent housing. So, more people are coming into the system and fewer people are exiting it, and as a result, the shelter census is increasing dramatically.”
You can blame Republican governors using human beings as props to make political statements for that.
How this will be properly fixed is anyone’s guess at this point but at the current time city officials don’t seem to have a concrete plan to really address the problem or how to go about helping everyone in need. For now the city has opened 40 hotels and Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a plan to move a planned 500-bed tent city for asylum seekers from Orchard Beach in the Bronx to Randall’s Island for temporary housing.
The city is also considering temporarily housing migrants on a docked cruise ship. On Monday, Adams said he would announce the deal once it’s final.
Simone said moving more people into permanent housing would lessen the strain on shelters.
“They wouldn’t have to rely on tents and cruise ships and, and all of these other summer camps or whatever other ideas they’ve thrown around if they were actually getting a handle on housing placements and freeing up the beds for people who have been languishing in shelters,” said Simone.
Looks like things in New York will only get worse before they get better.
What are your thoughts on the situation? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Number Of Homeless Adults In New York Its Highest Since 2013 was originally published on hiphopwired.com

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domain: sociology


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Just how an Unsecured Financing Performs
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Because quick unsecured loans require higher credit ratings than secured loans, in some instances loan providers will allow loan individuals with insufficient credit to produce a cosigner. A cosigner takes on the appropriate responsibility to meet a debt if the borrower non-payments. This takes place when a borrower fails to pay the interest and primary repayments of that loan or loans. i»? i»?
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Different Short Term Loans
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In recent years, the unsecured mortgage marketplace possess experienced gains, powered to some extent by fintechs (small for monetary innovation companies). Yesteryear ten years, like, have heard of rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending via online and cellular lenders. i»? i»?
The number of U.S. consumer rotating financial obligation at the time of October 2020, according to research by the Federal hold. i»? i»?
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Unsecured Mortgage vs. Payday Loan
Alternate loan providers, such as for example payday lenders or companies that promote business cash advances, try not to promote secured personal loans for the old-fashioned awareness. Their financing aren’t protected by physical collateral in how that mortgages and car loans are. But these lenders just take various other steps to protect payment.
Payday loan providers, including, need that consumers let them have a postdated check or accept an automatic withdrawal using their examining accounts to repay the loan. Lots of internet based business cash loan loan providers call for the debtor to pay a specific portion of on the web profit through a payment running provider including PayPal. These debts are considered unsecured even though they might be partially secured. i»? i»?
Pay day loans is likely to be regarded as predatory debts as they need a track record for very high interest and hidden terminology that fee borrowers included costs. In reality, some shows need blocked them. i»? i»?
While lenders can decide whether to agree an unsecured mortgage considering their creditworthiness, laws and regulations shield borrowers from discriminatory financing practices. The enactment for the Equal Credit possibility operate (ECOA) in 1974, eg, caused it to be illegal for lenders to utilize battle, colors, intercourse, religion, or other non-creditworthiness issues when assessing a loan software, establishing regards to financing, or other element of a credit deal.


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On Tuesday night Korean-American Michelle Rhee who was the Washington, DC school superintendent from 2007-2011 was featured on PBS’s Frontline program. For those that don’t watch PBS, Frontline is one of the best news & documentary programs available on TV. This episode about Michelle Rhee is no different. You can view the Frontline program The Education of Michelle Rhee at the link.
After watching the program I was surprised the level of access that Rhee gave the Frontline camera team. She allowed them to follow her around during her entire tenure as the DC school superintendent. From the documentary you can tell that Rhee relished her very public status as well as being known as a change agent. The DC schools have long been known as being some of the worst in the country and Rhee felt that only quick, decisive, and dramatic change could fix it. Frontline attempted to find out if her style of change did in fact fix the DC schools. On paper it appeared Rhee had made dramatic gains in improving education at the schools even after just her first year due to high scores some of the schools received on the standardized testing she implemented. She implemented these tests to not only have something quantifiable to judge student performance, but also to link teacher performance to the tests. So if the students did poorly their teachers faced being fired.
The lack of accountability for unionized teachers is one of the biggest problems I have with the profession. I think there should be accountability for anyone in public service. Frontline showed how near impossible it is to get a teacher fired even ones caught sleeping in classrooms. They just get shuffled around from school to school. This is a phenomenon not unique to the DC schools since the documentary Waiting for Superman showed this same thing happening in New York schools as well. In New York bad teachers were put in “rubber rooms” where they were paid to sleep and play games all day. Something Frontline did not show, but I think should of is how corrupt the Washington Teacher’s Union is that Rhee was dealing with. Anyway accountability would ultimately be something that made Rhee different from past superintendents. She was able to convince political leaders to give her the power to fire people.
Teachers and administrators in DC schools for the first time began to have fear of being fired for not doing well. However, I think one of the key areas where Rhee failed was that she tied too much of the teachers performance to the test scores. Teachers in the documentary pointed out how hard it is to teach kids in certain schools because of gang violence, drugs, domestic abuse, and malnourishment. They felt like they were helping these students in ways that cannot be measured on a test. Rhee in the documentary said that she understood these challenges, but she refused to believe these kids could not learn like other kids. She based this experience from her time teaching in a low income school in Baltimore. She says her students despite home challenges saw huge increases in their standardized test scores. Rhee however could not prove this assertion, but Frontline did interview a former student of hers who verified that she was a demanding teacher that did get results in the classroom. Anyway due to Rhee’s heavy reliance on standardized tests in DC, the teachers there decided to cheat. Some of the schools showed big gains on their tests and Rhee awarded cash bonuses to the administrators and teachers in these schools for their performance. A USA Today investigation of one of these schools showed that the tests had a high erasure rate which statistically did not match what students usually have on standardized tests. The allegation is that the teachers were changing answers after the tests were turned in to improve scores.
In future years more standardized tests were showing high erasure rates and Rhee eventually had an outside firm come in and investigate. However, according to Frontline and teachers they interviewed the investigation was not very thorough and could not prove cheating was going on. In fact in one of the main cheating schools a new principal that came in witnessed teachers cheating on the tests. After seeing the cheating she implemented new security measures to protect the tests and the school’s scores dropped by 30%. Despite all of this the outside investigators never bothered to interview her.
I think Rhee chose to not fully investigate because of how she so publicly acknowledged these higher achieving schools performance as an example to everyone else in the schools, political establishment, and media. If it was determined that these schools were frauds it would have set back the reforms she was trying to implement. This is disappointing because these teachers received large cash bonuses for cheating and likely got other teachers fired that did not perform well in other schools. They should have been investigated to the fullest extent for fraud and because they were not there is some serious ethics questions now about Rhee. This was not Rhee’s first ethical lapses either. Frontline did not mention this, but Rhee had also been linked to an attempted cover up of fraud and a sex scandal involving her future husband Kevin Johnson the former NBA star and mayor of Sacramento. Something else that bothered me about Rhee was that she relished firing people. She even allowed Frontline in her office to film her firing a principal. Maybe the guy deserved to be fired, but something like that should not be filmed even if his face was blurred. Also it appeared that Rhee made no attempts to try and retrain people to execute the reforms the way should wanted them done. If someone has been counseled on expectations and provided adequate retraining then I can understand firing them. From the documentary it did not appear she gave teachers ample opportunities to retrain themselves to be the type of teachers she expected.
She eventually lost her political supporters when she laid off over two hundred teachers instead of cancelling a summer school program to meet a budget short fall. She did this against the guidance the city council gave her not to lay off the teachers. This caused the teachers to launch large protests that put political pressure on the city council members who were now furious at her. This furor would eventually help lead to the head of the city council defeating Rhee’s key supporter the city mayor Adrian Fenty in the next election. Once Fenty left office in 2011 Rhee was forced out the door with him thus ending her controversial term as the Washington DC school superintendent.
All in all Rhee’s legacy in DC is mixed. Just about everyone agreed reforms needed to be made and that Rhee was right about most things she advocated for. However, the way she went about it by not getting buy in from teachers and shutting schools without feedback from parents was the wrong way to bring about change. She likely thought trying to get buy in would slow her reforms. However, by not getting buy in on reforms from the people effected by them she ended up getting resistance to everything she proposed. Additionally her teachers saw the obvious ethical lapses with Rhee awarding cheaters at their expense that only further destroyed Rhee’s creditability in the community. If Rhee did not weight so much of the standardized tests towards teacher performance along with improved security for the tests she could have avoided the cheating that happened. Because of the cheating Frontline said it was harder to judge Rhee’s success in DC, but using test data from schools that likely did not cheat the DC schools did make modest educational gains during her tenure. Considering the state of the DC school system modest gains should have been what was expected from the beginning instead of the unrealistic standards that Rhee was forcing on people to meet. The DC school system wasn’t broke in 3 years so Rhee was not going to be able to fix it in 3 years like she tried to do. A problem as large as fixing the DC schools is going to take a long term effort involving the the whole community over a period of many years that someone cannot fix by sheer force of personality in such a short period of time like Michelle Rhee tried to do in Washington, DC.
Did anyone else see the Frontline documentary? Please leave your thoughts about Michelle Rhee in the comments section.


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Last week I found a nice, small pork roast on sale and decided it would be perfect to make a slow-cooker pulled pork. That reminded me that it would be a good idea to revisit JeffreyW’s smoking adventures with his backyard smoker. I’ve pulled a few recipes, but if you search for “smoker” on the blog, you’ll find a whole lot more of his mouth-watering pictures and recipes.
Let’s start with my slow-cooker Easy Pulled Pork, I posted two ways to make it here.
Next up, JeffreyW makes an assortment of goodies in his smoker:
Here is his recommendation for a smoker and some tasty Ribs.
Homemade Pastrami (click here) – serious mouth-watering photos.
Smoked Chicken (photos and recipe here).
My youngest brother also jumped on the Smoker band wagon and sent me photos of a great meal that included Smoked Macaroni and Cheese (link here). He didn’t include a recipe, but I think it’s safe to say, make your favorite Mac ‘n Cheese, place in an aluminum pan, cover and smoke it for about 45 minutes to an hour at 165-180 degrees.
Smoker people seem very passionate, so if you’ve got the bug, hit the comments and share your experiences and expertise. What delicious things do you have planned this weekend? Anyone getting the grill out yet?
Tonight’s featured recipe from JeffreyW:
I thawed a beef brisket and was thinking corned beef but changed my mind. I have a fresh made pastrami on hand so I decided on a straight smoked brisket. The procedure is much the same as with making a pastrami except you are starting with a fresh beef beef brisket rather than a corned one. I suppose you could use the same dry rub for both but I wasn’t sure how the juniper berries in the pastrami rub would taste so I went with a more traditional rub. I was tossing various ingredients in and didn’t keep track of the amounts of each so I can’t do more than list them from memory: Black pepper, kosher salt, onion powder, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, ancho powder, regular chili powder, fresh ground cumin, some powder out of a bottle of Goya “Adobe Seasoning” (it’s yellow – go figure), creole/Cajun seasoning, oregano, and probably a few more.
I placed it on the top rack of my electric smoker, threaded the temp probe through the vent and into the thickest part, placed a drippings pan with an inch of apple cider under the meat, added the soaked hickory to the smoke chamber, closed the door and fired it up. It’s been cold and snowy so I knew it would take a good while to get to the “done” temperature but I wasn’t thinking 23 hours. That’s how long it spent in there before I pulled it. The probe was registering 176 degrees.
I pulled the first drippings pan out because I think it was keeping the inside temperature in the smoker too low and replaced it with a dry pan after about 12 hours. The quart of cider plus the drippings was reduced to what you see above. If I could make it by the gallon I’m pretty sure I would be a millionaire in short order. Awesome stuff.
That’s it for this week. No Bixby update, but he turns 10 months old this weekend, so I’ll put something together soon. Have a great weekend. – TaMara

domain: food


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Usually, a solo acoustic performance by an established bandleader means something stripped-down and intimate — a performance that emphasizes storytelling and craft over flash. Richard Thompson’s Sunday night appearance at the South Orange Performing Arts Center was, in many ways, an exercise in modesty. The British folk-rock singer and guitarist, who began his career as an instrumental prodigy in Fairport Convention in the late 1960s, didn’t play loud, didn’t allow his virtuosity to stampede his songwriting, and didn’t attempt to push product on the members of the rapt audience. Thompson, who also sold out SOPAC on Saturday, even told fans not to cheer his solos. (They disobeyed, of course.)
Yet as ambivalent as he may be about his own impulses, Thompson is an inveterate showoff — and he has plenty to show. In his hands, an acoustic guitar may as well be a full band. Over the past 25 years, I’ve seen him in concert, both solo and with groups, many times, and each time I’ve walked away dazzled by his inventiveness. But I don’t think I have ever seen him play any better than he did on Sunday. His playing was not the flawless marvel it has sometimes been. But in its looseness, its flexibility, its occasional humorousness and its subtle percussive force, Thompson’s performance held the audience
Thompson, 64, never got carried away by his own skill. Instead, his six-string sorcery was put firmly to the service of his songs. The odd passages of "Hope You Like the New Me," played high on the neck, deepened the menace of the narrative. "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," a romantic (and very British) fairytale of motorbikes and beautiful redheads, was decorated with long, streaming ribbons of notes.
"End of the Rainbow," a contender for the most depressing song ever written in the English language, was illuminated by chords that quavered and trembled like the lip of a crying child. On "Saving the Good Stuff for You," a song from his strong 2013 "Electric" album, Thompson found space for a tight, beautiful solo that, despite its brevity, spoke volumes about the old master’s understanding of British Isles folk guitar traditions. Jazz, pop, jigs and reels, rockabilly and Celtic stomp: Thompson made it all work in the context of his dark, sardonic material.
Perhaps the reason Thompson was so loose and playful on this tour was the presence of family. Teddy Thompson, his son and a successful songwriter in his own right, has been opening the shows and joining his dad for a four-song encore set. The younger Thompson, who played for 45 minutes, shares his father’s mordant sense of humor and bleak worldview; he can’t play like Richard, but nobody else can, either, so it’s for the best that he doesn’t try. Overtones of wry Lyle Lovett and the soulful Finn brothers of Split Enz are apparent in his work. When Teddy harmonized with Richard on a version of "Persuasion" that was co-written by Tim Finn, he sounded so much like the former Split Enz frontman it was uncanny.
Teddy Thompson is the son of another legendary British folk-rocker: Singer Linda Thompson, who collaborated with her then-husband Richard on six stark, searing albums in the mid-’70s and early ’80s. No matter how well it’s played, hearing a Richard & Linda Thompson song without Linda’s participation is a bit like having a speaker out on a set of headphones. But Richard Thompson did his best, outsourcing the chorus of the brutal "Down Where the Drunkards Roll" to the crowd, storming through "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" and punching up the penitent "For Shame of Doing Wrong," a song from 1975 set "Pour Down Like Silver," a chronicle of his embrace of Sufism.
Like many of Thompson’s songs, "For Shame" is a hard-eyed examination of human frailty. Sunday’s concert exposed his 40-year obsession with infidelity: In his songs, women are invariably rambling, men are misbehaving, and if "Good Things Happen to Bad People," that’ll only be for awhile. These narratives reinforce another Thompson fixation — characters partying and drinking in the most desperate manner possible. In "I Feel So Good," Thompson inhabited the perspective of a thug as convincingly (and enthusiastically) as any rapper, and backed up his storytelling with a guitar performance of savage intensity.
Because Thompson is a traditionalist, he recognizes that self-destructive behavior is a long tradition in itself; because he’s a realist, he knows that dreams of escape make the saddest stories. The Thompsons closed the show with a gorgeous reading of "The Grey Funnel Line," a sailor’s homesick lament. Their rendition echoed the version recorded by Maddy Prior and June Tabor on the 1976 set "Silly Sisters," a classic of British folk. As the two were singing, Richard Thompson hardly played his guitar at all. Without soloing, he and his son headed into the mystic — and then, side by side, as genial as a pair of funeral directors, these two poets of hopelessness waved goodnight.

domain: entertainment


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Duke: Walmart "Making Progress" on Key Areas
October 15, 2013,
ROGERS, Ark.-Walmart is "making substantial or, in some cases, even 'step-change' progress" in key areas of its business, according to Mike Duke, president and CEO.
In his opening remarks at the company's 20th annual meeting for the investment community here today, Duke said Walmart is progressing on e-commerce, compliance, leverage initiatives, capital discipline, talent recruitment and corporate responsibility. At the same time, the retailer is focusing on "near-term execution" to increase same-store sales for Walmart U.S., improve returns from Walmart International and leverage expenses for the full year, he said.
Duke also said Walmart's investments in leverage initiatives are paying off in terms of reduced shipping costs and increased transportation efficiency by the U.S. logistics team. He also said he "loved the progress that the company has made in e-commerce over the past year. We've never been more connected across the company on e-commerce, and our results demonstrate this." Walmart's e-commerce sales grew 30 percent globally in the first half of this year, according to a statement about the event.
Focusing on compliance, Duke said Walmart has made "major investments" in this effort over the past year in improving processes and procedures, increasing training for associates and strengthening organizational leadership. "This is the right thing to do," he said. "And let me be clear that our progress with compliance makes us a stronger business for the long term."
Duke added that Walmart has done work to make a difference on "big issues" throughout the world, accelerating its commitments to renewable energy, reducing certain chemicals in products and helping to revitalize U.S. manufacturing. "We set the pace for how companies take on big issues facing society," he said, "and we'll keep leading because it's good for our business."
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Find out what makes Millennials tick when it comes to home decorating, shopping and at-home entertaining with HFN's annual consumer study. Turns out, Millennials favor the in-store shopping experience.
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“KNIGHT OF HONOR” TO BENEFIT FAMILIES OF FALLEN OFFICERS …
The widow of a Forest Acres, S.C. police officer killed in the line of duty has formed a nonprofit in the hopes of helping fellow families of fallen officers – and promoting better relationships between cops and the communities they protect.
Her organization, “Heroes in Blue,” will host a medieval-themed gala – dubbed “A Knight of Honor” – next month at Columbia, S.C.’s Rockbridge Club.
Organizing the event is Kassy Alia. If her name sounds familiar, it should. She’s the widow of Greg Alia – a 32-year-old police officer who was shot and killed a year ago in the line of duty.
Alia is also the mother of her and Greg’s one-year-old son, who celebrated his first birthday back in March.
In the aftermath of her husband’s death, Alia founded Heroes in Blue” – whose mission is to “promote police and community relationships through empathy and action and to also provide support to families of officers killed in the line of duty.”
One officer in the Midlands area will receive the “Officer Gregory Alia Award” for outstanding service – presented by Alia’s parents. Another “Citizen Hero Award” will be presented by former University of South Carolina football star Marcus Lattimore.
Proceeds from the event will go toward the organization’s mission – including its Compassionate Acts Grant Program, which is being established to fund police-driven initiatives that will “build relationships and address needs in the community.”
The “Knight of Honor” will be held at the Rockbridge Club (4135 Rockbridge Road, Columbia, SC 29206) on Friday, October 7 beginning at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased HERE.
Heroes in Blue will hold a press conference this coming week with additional information about this event – and its future plans – so stay tuned for more coverage.
In the meantime, props to Alia. We couldn’t imagine going through what she’s been through over the last year – but she’s managed to take a senselessly tragic event and turn it into something could have a lasting, materially positive impact on her community.
The world needs more of that, as far as we’re concerned …
Got an event you’d like us to promote? Email us details ([email protected]) and we’ll do our best to get it on our calendar.
(Banner image via iStock)


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Grocery or Supermarket
Recommandé par 4 habitants ·
Conseils des habitants
MIddle-eastern and Greek grocery store with a lot of prepared food, too, wonderful staff!
Eastern European grocery store providing specialty cheeses, canned and frozen goods.
Activités proposées à proximité
Logements à proximité
Les habitants recommandent également
“SO DELICIOUS. TOO DELICIOUS. So many kinds of baklava! I worked in a French pastry shop for 4 years and even I think this place is up to snuff. YUM!”
- Recommandé par 8 habitants
“This is my favorite Mexican restaurant/tequila bar in the neighborhood--EXCELENT mole, and the stuffed plantains are sublime. It's a longish walk, but worth it. Might want to take the subway a couple of stops to Broadway, or citibike.”
- Recommandé par 4 habitants
“Nice wine selection. Half a block away on 24th Ave between 28th and 29th Streets”
- Recommandé par 7 habitants
“Well priced Greek specialties. it’s hard to go wrong with Greek salad, grilled lamb chops, or pork souvlaki!!”
- Recommandé par 9 habitants


1, The lifting centrifuge is suitable for centrifuging dyed and bleached fiber cakes.
2, Dyed fiber cake on lifting disk; the extraction chains are suspended from the sturdy upper part of the basket also suitable for transport.
3, The dimensions of the centrifuge basket (inner diameter, center dome, inner height) are adjusted to the respective dimension of the fiber cakes.
4, The basket outer wall is tapered (enlarged) towards the top so that the fiber cakes can be easily removed from the centrifuge basket after the centrifuging process.
5, Advanced inverter control system for timing ,automatic braking , and varied revolving speed as requirement for excellent performance.
6, Pneumatic lid device is for safe operation.
Fully controlled by electrical apparatus without machine brakes, thus can reduce mechanical maintenance greatly.
EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT EXTRACTORS CENTRIFUGE DESIGNS:
PACKING CYLINDER DIMENSION OF DYEING OR BLEACHING EQUIPMENT
HEIGHT OF CAKE
CENTRIFUGE E.G. TCOF1500×850
DIAMETER OF BASKET
INNER HEIGHT OF BASKET
460mm for upper; 480 for bottom


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When approaching your story idea, do you consider the outline to be a viable option or a creativity destroyer that must be avoided? There are many schools of thought regarding the outline, and how to proceed is up to you. So how exactly does a writer make that crucial decision? This session will help writers discover the benefits of outlining AND the benefits of not outlining.
In this session, attendees will learn:
- How to decide which approach to story creation best suits their needs
- Outlining formats that have been used by successful writers
- How to utilize a hybrid method that incorporates both options
Marathoner Bria Burton is the blogger for St. Pete Running Company with over a dozen story publications in anthologies, magazines, and fiction podcasts. She has also produced podcasts and done voice work. Two of her unpublished novels won First Place at the RPLA, one for which she has been offered representation by an agent. She has led an FWA critique group since 2010. In 2015, she became the St. Pete Writers Group Leader. She earned her BA and the English Department Award from Flagler College. She’s also a member of the Alvarium Experiment, a by-invitation-only consortium of outstanding authors.
Return to: Focus on Conflict-Driven Stories


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CEDAR CITY, Utah – Junior Austin French won all three of his matches during the weekend, including a 4&3 victory Sunday in individual play to lead Utah State to a tie with Southern Utah in its annual Ryder Cup-style match here at the Cedar Ridge Golf Course. Both teams finished the two-day competition with 8.5 points. Utah State entered Sunday trailing Southern Utah 4.5 to 3.5, but won five of the nine individual matches to notch the tie. Overall, the series remains deadlocked with three wins apiece and one tie as Utah State is now 2-0-1 against the Thunderbirds in the last three years. Other individual winners for Utah State on Sunday included senior Benjamin Schilleman (Layton, Utah) who defeated Brad Millard 1-up, junior Quinn Jensen (Bountiful, Utah) who defeated Brock Glasmann 3&2, and sophomore Kris Sayer (Idaho Falls, Idaho) who defeated Jake Holt 4&3. The two teams also halved a pair of matches Sunday as senior Thad Truman (Blackfoot, Idaho) and Greg Kerber played to a draw, as did junior Chanse Godderidge (Smithfield, Utah) and Jordan Orth. On Saturday, Utah State scored 2.5 points in the four best ball matches as French (Idaho Falls, Idaho) and Godderidge started the competition with a 2&1 win for the Aggies. Schilleman and sophomore Brendan Dennis (Roosevelt, Utah) then posted a 1 up win in the second match to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. Southern Utah’s Denny Job and Holt got the Thunderbirds on the board in the third match as they defeated McFarland and Truman 1-up. The fourth best ball match ended all square as Jensen and Sayer tied Southern Utah’s Glasmann and Kerber. In the four alternate shot matches, Southern Utah won three of the four points as French and McFarland teamed up to score USU’s only point with a 5&3 win in match number two. Utah State will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 26 when it travels to Simi Valley, Calif., to compete in the Cal State Northridge hosted Bill Cullum Invitational. Four-Man Best Ball1. Austin French/Chanse Godderidge (USU) def. Nic Booth/Jeff Evans (SUU) – 2&12. Brendan Dennis/Benjamin Schilleman (USU) def. Brad Millard/Jordan Orth (SUU) – 1 up3. Jake Holt/Denny Job (SUU) def. Tyson McFarland/Thad Truman (USU) – 1 up4. Quinn Jensen/Kris Sayer (USU) tied Brock Glasmann/Greg Kerber (SUU) – All Square Alternate Shot1. Jake Holt/Denny Job (SUU) def. Chanse Godderidge/Benjamin Schilleman (USU) – 3&22. Austin French/Tyson McFarland (USU) def. Brad Millard/Jordan Orth (SUU) – 5&33. Nic Booth/Jeff Evans (SUU) def. Brendan Dennis/Kris Sayer (USU) – 1 up4. Brock Glassmann/Greg Kerber (SUU) def. Beau Ehlers/Thad Truman (USU) – 6&5 Match Play1. Benjamin Schilleman (USU) def. Brad Millard (SUU) – 1 up2. Justin Bateman (SUU) def. Beau Ehlers (USU) – 2&13. Quinn Jensen (USU) def. Brock Glasmann (SUU) – 3&24. Thad Truman (USU) tied Greg Kerber (SUU) – All Square5. Austin French (USU) def. Denny Job (SUU) – 4&36. Nic Booth (SUU) def. Brendan Dennis (USU) – 2&17. Kris Sayer (USU) def. Jake Holt (SUU) – 4&38. Chanse Godderidge (USU) tied Jordan Orth (SUU) – All Square9. Jeff Evans (SUU) def. Tyson McFarland (USU) – 3&2 -USU-
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Savage LessonsDownloadable Audiobook - 2011
Born into poverty and obscurity, Lexa worked harder than most to earn a place as a novice at the Savage Temple, where women trained in the art of pleasure heal the souls of battle-weary warriors. While others might be content to enjoy the luxury and prestige due a priestess of Luna, Lexa aspires to something greater -- the honor of wearing the silver robes and the security that comes with being one of their world's most powerful women...
Publisher: [Terrace, B.C.] : AudioLark Audio Books, 2011
Branch Call Number: Online Audio Book


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Today I have two cards to show you. The first one is for our weekly challenge at "A Spoon Full Of Sugar". This week the theme is" Love is in the Air..." :)) Easy right?
I used this beautiful Tilda from Magnolia. The papers are from Basic Gray (Bittersweet collection). I colored the image with my re-inkers from Tim Holtz and added some Prima flowers and white hemp, charm and gems from stash... ( all highlighted items can be purchased from "Roses on Papers").
For my second card I used one of my new stamps from Funky Kits. The stamp is from the Sugar Nellie Collection which, by the way, is always looking for the BEST illustrators to bring us the BEST stamps... Don't you think?.. The stamp is called : True Love so I think it could be perfect for this week's challenge too.
Here is my card.. I didn't apply my typical colors, but I think the final result wasn't bad.. What do you think?.. Purple, brown , silver and gray.

domain: hobby


Marvel Snap is a new collectible card game developed in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment and Second Dinner, a new game studio created by ex-Hearthstone developers. Hot off the heels of Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness comes a new game from Marvel Entertainment that offers the same flavor of throwing everybody from everywhere in a big ole pot, shaking, and seeing what kind of shenanigans come out.
This 200W charging station provides one-stop top-ups for all your gadgets
This Ugreen Nexode charger is one of the first to hit the 200W power mark, and it supports up to six devices. The Nexode is powerful and durable, but it can be finicky and won’t help much if you’re using a 100W laptop with it. Power adapters have been getting smaller over the years thanks to gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology, but Ugreen’s $179.99 Nexode 200W charger is using the tech for big power. This hefty four-by-four-inch square brick can be placed on
How to convert your Xbox Live subscription into Game Pass Ultimate
Microsoft’s introductory month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 is tempting, but before you redeem it, here’s how you can turn 36 months of Xbox Live Gold into Game Pass Ultimate, saving you a lot of money in the process. Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass offer a lot of value if you want to play all kinds of games via subscription. The service normally costs $14.99 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which covers both Xbox and PC) or $9.99 per
Go read this investigation searching for a long-lost female video game pioneer
The Video Game History Foundation published an essay about Van Mai, a Vietnamese woman credited with creating Wabbit, the first console game featuring a named female playable character. Four years ago, Polygon published a feature that asked what happened to video game pioneer Ban Tran, a Vietnamese woman credited with creating Wabbit, the first console game to feature a named playable female human character. After years of digging
Deathloop is the first game with AMD’s framerate boosting FSR 2.0, plus key accessibility options
AMD’s new FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0, arriving for the first time today in an update for Deathloop on PC, may have the potential to change minds about upscaling tech. Deathloop also has a photo mode now, and new accessibility improvements. In case you haven’t noticed, chipmakers are in the middle of an upscaling revolution. AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are all out to prove that algorithms can trump native rendering performance. Why spend precious GPU cycles on native 4K when you can
Hulu subscribers can score three months of PC Game Pass for free
Existing Hulu subscribers can redeem an offer for three free months of PC Game Pass through Hulu if they haven’t tried the service yet. PC Game Pass allows you to access a rotating library of excellent AAA and indie games. It's getting increasingly difficult to recommend Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription to anyone without also sounding like an absolute shill. The latest promotion to offer an accessible introduction to this awesome service comes courtesy of Hulu.
Twitter made a browser game to help explain its privacy settings
Twitter released a new browser game called Twitter Data Dash that’s intended to help explain some of its privacy settings. The game was made by Momo Pixel. Twitter released a new browser game on Wednesday that’s intended to help explain some of its privacy settings. You can play the game, called Twitter Data Dash, right here. “Welcome to PrivaCity!” reads a description of the game on the site.
Fortnite reveals new Scarlet Witch skin as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness expands
Fortnite is also offering the Chaos Hand Axe Pickaxe and the Psychic Energy Manipulation Emote for displaying psionic power. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is out and about. To extend the experience beyond just movie screens, Fortnite has introduced a new Scarlet Witch skin. The battle royale game is offering the skin currently along with a few
Summer Game Fest will kick off on June 9th with a live show and indie game showcase produced by Double Fine and Iam8bit. Microsoft will also be at the event. Summer Game Fest will kick off this year on June 9th at 2PM ET / 11AM PT, with a live show hosted by, as my college Ash Parrish described him, “consummate video game hype-man Geoff Keighley.” According to a press release, the show will be
Dota 2’s The International will take place in Southeast Asia for the first time
Heading to Singapore this fall Dota 2’s annual tournament, The International, will take place in Singapore this October. While Valve has held The International in the US, Canada, China, Germany, and Romania in the past, this is the first time the global esports competition is
Hyundai is building EV and battery production facilities in Georgia
Hyundai is building facilities dedicated to manufacturing electric vehicles and batteries in Savannah, Georgia. The plant will create over 8,000 jobs and produce 300,000 vehicles annually. Hyundai is building facilities dedicated to manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries in Savannah, Georgia, marking Hyundai’s first EV-only plant in the US (via CNBC). The South Korean automaker will spend $5.5 billion on the new


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August 1, 2021 Gateway Pundit by Joe Hoft
In the early hours of November 4th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a batch of 143,379 ballots, all for Joe Biden were dropped. We’ve unearthed an email that shows the culprits behind the ‘drop’ were laughing about it.
We all now know about the many states that dropped huge numbers of ballots stealing the race for Joe Biden. On the morning of November 4th, America woke up to see the results of the massive fraud in multiple swing states.
In Wisconsin, over 140,000 ballots for Joe Biden alone were dropped in Milwaukee, giving Biden the lead. We’ve referred to this as the drop and roll.
Today we uncovered an email to Claire Woodall-Vogg, the executive director for elections in Milwaukee. In the email the sender, Ryan Chew, from the Election Group shared:
Damn, Claire, you have a flair for drama, delivering just the margin needed at 3:00 am. I bet you had those votes counted at midnight, and just wanted to keep the world waiting.”
Ms. Claire is the Executive Director of the Election Commission of the city of Milwaukee.
We reported that Claire Woodall-Vogg was working alone late at night with the voting machines in Milwaukee. Her actions then were suspect, now they are borderline criminal. VIDEO
Claire’s friend, Mr. Chew, is from The Elections Group. This group is connected to George Soros and Jennifer Morrell. The Elections Group was also present during the election steal in Georgia and Morrell was one of the observers selected by Katie Hobbs in Arizona to review the Senate’s election audit in Maricopa County.


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Grand Theft Auto IV.
World of Warcraft it has 12 million players!
the most popular ds game is nintendogs
The most popular video game is Halo reach
Minecraft is the most popular video game now.
It's an opinion!


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By Christine Delsol, Maribeth Mellin
Quick preview of Frommer's EasyGuide to Los Angeles and San Diego (Easy Guides) PDF
Best Travel Guide books
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- Frommer's Toronto 2011 (Frommer's Complete)
- Lonely Planet Shanghai (7th Edition)
- Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2014
- Insight Guides: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (5th Edition)
- Lonely Planet Norway (6th Edition)
- Lonely Planet Hiking & Tramping in New Zealand (7th Edition)
Additional resources for Frommer's EasyGuide to Los Angeles and San Diego (Easy Guides)
Pool; spa/fitness middle; in-room enterprise facilities; vehicle carrier inside of three mi. ; unfastened wireless. Montage Beverly Hills Presiding over the tony Golden Triangle purchasing district, Montage Laguna seashore oozes attractiveness. it'd be tough to discover fault with the wonderful provider, impeccably manicured courtyard, and wide spa that stocks the rooftop with an off-the-cuff eating place and mosaic-tiled pool graced by means of sweeping perspectives of the Hollywood Hills. The modern rendition of Spanish Colonial Revival style—crown moldings, pine furniture, potted bushes, marble and mosaic tile bathrooms—was encouraged by way of Hollywood’s golden age estates. hot, inviting rooms have balconies or patios and abundant paintings desks; a few have fireplaces. as well as Scarpetta’s Italian fare and the Rooftop Grill, afternoon tea is served within the foyer. For anything totally different, try out the two-bedroom movie Noir suite (starting at $1,914), unveiled in past due 2013. As a part of the city’s centennial occasion, it used to be designed with 1940s-style wallpaper, furnishings, and interval Lalique components. It has its personal particular room carrier menu of renowned dishes from that interval, and the minibar activities a “Press for Champagne” button to summon a tuxedo-clad butler. Tip: this can be the most seriously discounted Beverly Hills luxurious lodges on aggregator websites. 225 N. Canon Dr. (btw. Wilshire Blvd. and N. Dayton Way), Beverly Hills. www. montagebeverlyhills. com. 888/860-0788 or 310/499-4199. 201 devices. $344–$1,275 double; from $620 suite. Parking $40. Pets allowed ($30 daily). facilities: 2 eating places; cafe; bar; concierge; spa; health club; rooftop heated pool; room provider; company middle; loose wireless. The Mosaic inn Beverly Hills This small inn in a modest four-story development occupies its personal area of interest, supplying extra own carrier than close by luxurious mega-resorts yet extra good points than the small boutique resorts, together with a heated pool and vehicle carrier for procuring journeys and different close by explorations. The foyer introduces the mosaic subject in its gold, brown and white tile accents. The designers made the main of the restricted house through permitting site visitors circulation from check-in on to the bar and Hush, the hotel’s California-cuisine eating place, the place the mosaic topic reappears. visitor rooms are extra subdued, all muted earth tones with the subtlest of styles within the carpet. ordinary rooms are small yet no longer cramped, and so they pack loads of luxurious consistent with sq. foot: Frette linens and gowns, Bose stereo process, down blankets, physique pillows, Bulgari bathtub items, rain showerheads, and big paintings desks. For remains of greater than an evening or , even though, it’s worthy upgrading to a roomier nook room. a hundred twenty five Spalding Dr. (btw. Wilshire and Charleville blvds. ), Beverly Hills. www. mosaichotel. com. 800/463-4466 or 310/278-0303. forty nine devices. $277–$558 double; suites from $404. Valet and self parking $30. canine less than 35 lb. approved ($100 in keeping with stay). facilities: eating place; bar; 24-hr. workout room; heated outside pool; sauna; room provider; company heart; motor vehicle carrier inside of three mi.
- Lonely Planet Russia (Travel Guide)
- Lonely Planet Pocket Dublin (Travel Guide)

domain: geography


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Dumfries and Galloway Growth Accelerator Programme Workshops
Dumfries and Galloway’s Business Growth Accelerator Programme have announced a series of workshops to be run throughout February and March on a variety of different topics from Business Marketing and Branding to Strategy Development; all aimed at helping you to grow your business. These workshops will be held at locations throughout Dumfries and Galloway, and all are free to attend. The workshops are run by Business Gateway in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council and are supported by EU funding. To see the full list of workshops available and register please visit their website.

domain: economics


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Back in 2014, Raiza Biza captured audiences with his latest album, The Imperfectionist. Since then, the New Zealand emcee has satisfied our sonic palate with a slew of singles, including “NADA” and “A Parallel.”
As the first sample of his upcoming EP, Raiza has returned with production from Crime Heat for “Get By.” He commands the mic with his piercing verses, alley-ooping Bianca Paulus for a silky smooth hook to tie the track together.
Rai also shared a few words about the track via email:
“‘Get By’ was the track that ended my writers block that lasted months. I’d been touring a lot after the release of my Imperfectionist album, and was really struggling to make good music after that. Myself and Bianca Paulus, who is on the hook, linked up for a studio session, and the song literally fell into place. So it’s a special track to me, and for me, it represents me making it past that transitional period. ‘Get By’ is about those of us who live paycheck to paycheck but try to make the best of what we have, with those close to us.”
Get familiar with Raiza and Bianca below, and stay tuned for more info on the EP.


GUWAHATI, October 14: The Centre has begun a process for the repatriation of displaced Brus (Reangs) but most refugees are unlikely to go back to their native Mizoram.
The process of repatriation began on October 3 and so far, only 68 families have returned to Mizoram. The deadline of repatriation will expire on November 30.
Over 32,000 Brus are lodged in seven relief camps in Tripura and the “final agreement” pertaining to their repatriation was signed last year by the Centre, Mizoram government and Bru leaders.
During a process of identification carried out at the relief camps in 2016, altogether 5,407 Bru families were listed. However, another identification process conducted this year found the existence of 4,447 displaced families.
“Altogether 68 families have returned to Mizoram after transport was arranged by Mizoram government. Four to five more families will go back today (Monday),” Laldingliana, president of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Coordination Committee, told this newspaper.
He said the refugees were divided on the issue of repatriation – some families want to return to Mizoram but others are not willing; they first want the fulfillment of their demands prior to repatriation.
“Some families are demanding that the inmates at the relief camps be counted based on the 2016 identification process, their relocation in a cluster of villages in Mizoram for security reasons, the creation of an autonomous council for the community in Mizoram etc. They said they will go back only if the demands are fulfilled. However, the Mizoram government is in no mood to accede to the demands,” Laldingliana said.
As a part of the repatriation process, each refugee family will get Rs.1.6 lakh as assistance for constructing a house, a plot and Rs.4 lakh which will be deposited in the bank for three years. The amount will mature only after three years of uninterrupted stay in Mizoram.
Following clashes with the Mizos, over 40,000 Brus had fled to Tripura in 1998. A few thousand of them returned to Mizoram over the past few years.
Meanwhile, some Bru leaders, who had signed the final agreement of repatriation, have filed an FIR with the police against unknown people fearing a threat to their lives. The miscreants put up “public notifications” on walls near the relief camps alleging that the Bru leaders, signing the agreement of repatriation, had received Rs.70 crore from the government.