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The world’s largest charity hospital ship has launched an appeal to raise funds for three Land Rovers which are essential for transporting volunteer medical crews and patients around West Africa. Run by the international charity Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy urgently needs to replace three Land Rovers that enable the charity to provide medical screenings, identify patients and conduct off-ship programmes in the countries the ship visits.
Currently in Togo, the Africa Mercy provides free medical care and humanitarian aid to the poorest people of West Africa. Most countries in this area have unpaved roads full of potholes making Land Rovers a necessity for the charity.
The ship requires more than 25 safe, reliable, all-terrain vehicles at any one time, enabling its volunteer medical crews and land-based teams to travel around the West African countries it serves.
Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said, “These vehicles are essential for us to carry out our work in West Africa especially during and after the rainy season when there seems to be more water than road!
“We are extremely grateful to the Wolfson Foundation which has generously contributed funds towards one of the vehicles and we are hoping that others will also help support our appeal. It is essential for our teams to be able to reach patients from around the country we are visiting and for us to be able to contribute to land-based programmes outwith the immediate vicinity of the ship.
Paul Ramsbottom Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation said: “In making this award, we recognised both the remarkable work that Mercy Ships undertakes for some of the poorest people in the world and their urgent need for vehicles. The work of Mercy Ships ‘off ship’ is increasingly important – and I know from my own experience of West Africa that robust and reliable transport is crucially important. We would encourage others to join us in supporting this important initiative.”
The Africa Mercy has six operating theatres, a laboratory, pharmacy, a 78-bed ward and an outpatient clinic and is staffed by up to 400 volunteers from 40 nations at any one time.
It is staffed by an international crew of dedicated volunteers from over 40 nations ranging from seamen, engineers, surgeons, doctors and nurses. The surgeons onboard perform operations, such as cleft lip and palate, cataract and crossed eye corrections, facial reconstructions, club feet and dental treatments, on children and adults.
Over the last 32 years, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at £530million and impacting about 2.9million people.
For more information on Mercy Ships please visit www.mercyships.org.uk
or call 01438 727800.

domain: news


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Kurdistan Revolutionary Party
|Leader||Abd as-Sattar Tahir Sharif|
|Split from||Kurdish Democratic Party from 1964 until 1970, 1974-present|
|Merged into||Kurdish Democratic Party from 1970 until 1974|
Kurdish Revolutionary Party (Arabic: الحزب الثوري الكردستاني) was a political party in Iraq seeking independence for the Kurdish people. Originally formed in 1964, it merged into Kurdish Democratic Party in 1970. The party was revived by a group of anti-Barzani dissidents in the KDP leadership in 1974. The refounded Kurdish Revolutionary Party joined the National Progressive Front and supported the Kurdish autonomy law proposed by the Iraqi government. The party was led by Abd as-Sattar Tahir Sharif, who left Iraq in 1999.
- "Iraq and Kurdish Autonomy". MERIP Reports. 27: 26–27. April 1974. doi:10.2307/3011338.
- "Iraq - The Politics of Alliance: The Progressive National Front". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- McDowall, David. Modern History of the Kurds. London: I.B. Tauris, 1997. p. 350
- "Country Assessment - Iraq" (PDF). AsylumLaw.org. October 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- "IRAQ: parliamentary elections Majlis Watani, 1996". Ipu.org. 1996-03-24. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- "Iraq Report: August 25, 2000". Rferl.org. 2000-08-25. Retrieved 2012-02-22.

domain: politics


Deveron UAS Corp. is a leading full-service enterprise drone data company based in Canada. With a growing fleet of drones that can each conduct five to eight flights per day. Deveron has the capacity to fly over farmland across North America.
Providing a Drone’s Eye View, Deveron takes guessing out of agriculture. Our team of professionals use the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sensors and software to collect and analyze intricate data for farmers to make informed decisions, reduce costs and increase their yields.


Milwaukee native to show art at THELMA
Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts will host a reception for artist Chris Natrop from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 11.
The Milwaukee native’s exhibit, "Between Light and Half Light," is an installation of cut paper drawings that plays with light and color.
“Coming back home to Wisconsin to exhibit at THELMA is a wonderful opportunity,” Natrop said. “I look forward to creating a unique art-viewing experience by transforming their exquisite gallery into a site-specific, immersive environment.”
Natrop’s studio practice has centered on the act of cutting paper. Executed free form and exclusively with a knife, it has evolved into a stream-of-consciousness drawing technique, a meditation of repetition and reduction.
Natrop was born in 1967 in Milwaukee. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1992 with an emphasis in painting. He was an affiliate artist at Headlands Center for the Arts and was a resident at Vermont Studio School.
Natrop’s solo exhibitions include Taylor De Cordoba, MOCA Jacksonville, Chapman University, Sonoma County Museum, BANK and Overtones Gallery. His work has been published in Art in America, Tema Celeste, Los Angeles Times, THE Magazine, New Yorker magazine and twice in New American Painters.
Natrop was the 2007 recipient of the Pulse Prize from the Pulse Art Fair, New York. And has recently completed commissioned projects for U.S. Consulate in Dubai, Los Angeles International Airport and Harry Winston Jewelers.
The exhibit will run through May 7.
THELMA’s Contemporary Wing is free to the public.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and during events. Check THELMA’s website for any changes in the hours due to private events.
THELMA is located at 51 Sheboygan St. For more information, visit thelmaarts.org.


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E319 Kersemeier RUBRIC
A Thorough Analysis on How One Can Master the Art of Being Happy
Happiness. We are all familiar with it, considering that every decision and action we make is in pursuit of it. It is the essence of human drive and existence. It is fairly easy to recognize, but defining it is a much more grueling task. One might describe happiness as a sense of general contentment or well being. Such a definition would certainly be fitting. However you define it, one thing is certain: we all strive to attain it, and for good reason too. The perks of happiness go beyond just enjoying life (though for most that would be a good of a reason as any); they also plays a hand on our psychological and physical well being. There are over 200 studies that have found a correlation between happiness and a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. Many of the studies also found that happy people are more likely to have normal blood pressures, healthier body weights and lower blood fat profiles (Landau, Elizabeth). With the benefits of happiness being so paramount to our well being, it should come as no surprise that humanity has taken such an active interest in achieving it. However, for many the search is to no avail; while everyone may want happiness, only a few know how to actually achieve it. So how does one increase his own happiness? And what tips and strategies can he use to aid him on his quest?
Happiness Break Down
Before we can teach happiness we must first understand where it stems from. Unsurprisingly, a lot of our happiness comes from genetics. A study done by the University of Minnesota examined the happiness of a pair of identical twins. The twins were separated at birth and raised by two different families in hopes to separate nature from nurture. The study found that a large proportion of our happiness, 48%, to be exact, is the result of genetics (Brooks, Arthur). Studies also show that another 40% of our happiness comes from isolated events, such as getting into your dream school, or landing that job you’ve been trying so hard to get. However, while these events may seem life changing in terms of the happiness they will bring, they rarely are. The main problem is that the impact brought upon by these events is temporary, and the happiness they forge usually dissipates in a matter of months. With 48% of our happiness being the result of our genetics, and an additional 40% coming from the events in our recent past, that leaves us with a remaining 12%. That last 12% of our happiness is for the most part derived from our behavior. While 12% may not sound like a large number, depending on how we utilize it, it can be the defining factor in whether or not we are happy. Luckily for us, that remaining 12% is entirely subject to our control. Comment by Craig Kersemeier: That's really a pretty amazing number. What about the poor people who are just born genetically predisposed to not be very happy?
Misconceptions about w...

domain: psychology


CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Department of Housing and Community Development and JQUAD Planning Group, LLC, has planned a series of meetings during which the public is invited to provide input “regarding the preparation of [the] five-year Consolidated Plan and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI)” according to a press release.
The five-year plan is described as a “roadmap for future federal funding use”, while the AI will evaluate variables that impact “location, availability, and accessibility of housing.”
The variables include laws, ordinances, statues, administrative policies, and local conditions, according to the City of Charleston.
The meeting schedule is as follows:
- 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 28, 2020 in the first floor Public Meeting Room at the Gaillard Center, located at 2 George Street
- 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 28, 2020 in the Art Room at the Waring Senior Center, located at 2001 Henry Tecklenburg Drive
- 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 28, 2020 in Suite 203 at the College of Charleston’s Harry M. Lightsey Center, located at 160 Calhoun Street
- 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at the Charleston County Public Library, located at 68 Calhoun Street
For those unable to attend, the City has posted a Community Needs Survey online. Surveys can be accessed here, and must be submitted by February 21.
To view the previous five-year plan created in 2015, click here.
For more information, contact Andrea Jones at 843-724-3766 or email@example.com.


- The company announced its upcoming flagship device via an online event.
- It is expected to announce around August this year.
- Samsung took the decision due to the coronavirus effect.
The coronavirus took all the fun and excitement, we also missed many popular events like MWC2020. Having said that, the effect of coronavirus made many brands to host an online event to announce their products. Well, now we got a new piece of information which suggests that Samsung will also announce its upcoming flagship devices via the online event.
According to the Source, the South Korean electronics giant Samsung will announce its upcoming Galaxy Note 20 series via an online event and the company forcefully took the decision due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Having said that, there is no surprise in this information as the world is going through a really painful situation and there is no other option at the company side because we cannot imagine a public gathering at this moment of time.
It is also worth to mention that this will be the first event which Samsung going to host without a big audience to announce its flagship device. Apart from this, there is no information about the launch date of the upcoming device but we expect that the company will announce the same around August.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series is already started to make noise and we have some information about the upcoming devices and that can be read on our dedicated page.


There are several reasons to be excited about streetcars — and several others to be skeptical.
Results from the latest Capital Bikeshare member survey in Washington, D.C.
After boasting that she had knocked over a cyclist in her car, Way has become international news.
The people and ideas reshaping urban life
A graphic shows the movement of New Yorkers during and around the worst storms of the last three years.
Qantas Airways' new literary marketing strategy.
Here's what a subway station looks like in Saudi Arabia.
And city rankings, based on Bike Score.
Your daily dose of transportation intrigue.
A photographer captures the routine madness of Mexico's largest subway system.
The Adolescent Mobility Health Consortium sees teen driving as an urgent public health issue.
Twenty-something Americans drive about 20 percent less today than their parents.
Forget the penalties—bike riders shouldn't have to obey laws designed for 4,000-pound automobiles.
The days of the outlaw bicyclist are over.
The dormitory meets the real world.
Another reason to worry if you live near a highway.
Trains, trams, streetcars and the people who ride them play a starring role in this kinetic 3-minute film.
Double the fines for bikers that break traffic laws ... and the drivers that door them.
What does a city look like when viewed through the movement of its riders?


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This cocktail table features a faux leather upholstered cushion that's lightly padded to offer comfortable seating. The cover on this cocktail bench is crafted from durable polyurethane material that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth to quickly clean up spills and drips. The tufted seat of this cocktail bench is supported by sturdy metal framework in a lustrous nickel finish that gives it an attractive dose of shine.
And while you can’t prevent them from happening, you can be prepared for them when they do. Introducing TOTALCARE Protection Plan. A furniture protection program designed to keep life’s little accidents from ruining your new furniture investment. Click for details.

domain: design


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- Should Feed Readers Count Unread Items?
- WordPress Uses RSS as Blog Export Format
- Yahoo Groups Dropped RSS Feed Support
- What Do You Use to Read RSS Feeds?
- RSS Board Moves to New Server
- Media RSS Moves to the RSS Advisory Board
- Proposal: Take Over Publication of Media-RSS
- 6 Edits Made to RSS Specification
- The RSS Namespace?
- Ryan Parman Joins RSS Advisory Board
Tag Archives: BCS
So following up on our mock playoff, we have Oregon vs. Auburn facing off in the BCS National Title game. We started with 32 teams and we’re now down to the final two. Now this is only one fans banter … Continue reading
In the national semi-final games of our mock 2010 NCAA Football playoff we will have: Oregon vs. Stanford in the Rose Bowl and Boise State vs. Auburn in the Orange Bowl. So the final four have the number 1, 2, … Continue reading
So here we are – down to the final 8. This means 4 games in four stadiums to find out the final four in our NCAA Football Playoff. (note: Assumptions are again being made on the winners of each game.) … Continue reading

domain: sports


Brighton and Hove Albion looks to get a result against Chelsea for the second time in three weeks when it hosts the Blues at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday (watch live, 3pm ET on USA Network and online via NBCSports.com).
A trio of wins between the League Cup and FA Cup makes it easy to overlook Chelsea’s three-match winless run in the Premier League, one of which was a 1-1 draw with Brighton at Stamford Bridge to finish 2021.
That day saw Danny Welbeck’s stoppage-time equalizer cancel out Romelu Lukaku’s 28th-minute goal to give Brighton yet another points-split.
[ LATEST: INJURY REPORT ]
The Seagulls 10 draws are the most in this PL season. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Brighton vs Chelsea.
[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]
Brighton team news, injuries, lineup options
The Seagulls are waiting on Adam Lallana (thigh), as Shane Duffy (knee) and Lewis Dunk (knee) have not passed fitness tests. Enock Mwepu, Jeremy Sarmiento, and Jason Steele are not training, while Yves Bissouma is competing at the Africa Cup of Nations. Robert Sanchez will be back between the posts for Brighton.
TEAM. 💙 Here's our starting XI to face Chelsea in the @PremierLeague. 📝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 18, 2022
Chelsea team news, injuries, lineup options
Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Andreas Christensen, Edouard Mendy, and Ben Chilwell are either out with injury or illness, as the absences have swung from attack to the back.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 18, 2022


A Windows laptop that is as good asMacBook Pro that was launched in 2015 is sometimes hard to find. Striking that perfect balance which Apple manages to does cannot be expected from just any manufacturer, especially ASUS which is not as big as the other two (HP and Dell) in terms of their laptop market share though they’ve been in the industry for quite some time now. Yet it looks like that their latest 15-incher ZenBook Pro UX501JW is strikingly similar to Apple’s MacBook Pro in terms of performance and hardware.
This high-end laptop is built by ASUS for those enthusiasts who want extreme performance along with durability and portability. The price is expectedly high and this might limit its buyer base but it’s definitely not the costliest out there. Let’s check out why we are drooling all over this laptop that has shaken our very belief in the majestic MacBook Pro.
Sturdy Built and Witty Design
ASUS was very clear with their goal while they were working on this ZenBook Pro. They wanted to launch something that could rival the MacBook Pro. This becomes quite evident when you just take a good glance of the laptop for the first time. ASUS has made use of unique silver aluminum alloy chassis that is exceptionally smooth to touch. Your fingers will literally slide over the smooth surface of the laptop’s lid unless you reach the round edges. Built wise the laptop feels extremely solid and while MacBook Pro weighs 4.4 lbs, the ZenBook Pro isn’t heavy either though it weighs 5 lbs.
The aluminum alloy chassis is takes the entire feel good factor to a whole new level because of the firmness it has provided to the laptop. You can make every effort to listen a single flex or creaking sound while you hold it or press it but you simply won’t hear it. Hinges are pretty solid as well and hold the laptop’s touchscreen firmly. Though ASUS has made DIY hardware upgrades extremely difficult with their new intact design and lack of access panels, however, even then you are better off than a MacBook Pro as the ZenBook Pro offers DIMM RAM modules, a replaceable battery and a normal Intel WLAN module.
High Quality Display
The display of ZenBook Pro is the most gorgeous part. It has 15.6-inch 4K display that has a resolution of 3840 x 2160. The glossy IPS display offers a great pixel density of 282 PPI which is way more than MacBook Pro’s 220 PPI on a 15.4-inch Retina Display. Colour accuracy is beyond words as it manages to produce rich colours which are eyes are used to. Viewing angles too are exceptionally wide. ASUS also claims that the screen covers 74% Adobe RGB colour space while covering even a better percentage of standard sRGB color space.
The touchscreen model of the ZenBook Pro can recognize 10 touch points simultaneously. If you are using Windows 8.1, then it’s better to raise the DPI settings to 200% so as to make the interaction with on-screen objects a bit easier. Installing Windows 10 won’t bring a noticeable impact for the touchscreen either, but you’ll definitely find a change in yourself as you’ll prefer suing the touch options more once you upgrade to Windows 10.
A Well Laid Keyboard with a Premium Touchpad
The laptop’s Chiclet styled keyboard looks extremely well centred and comfy to use. Keys are extremely well spaced and provide and decent amount of travel time. Typos, therefore, with the keyboard of ZenBook Pro are a rarity. Most 15-inch laptops come with a dedicated number pad and it has fast become a standard feature for them and so is the case with this one. So, for those who have to numeric data every now and then, this might prove to be a useful feature.
Another interesting quality of the keyboard of the ZenBook Pro is that it is backlit. But it is not a normal backlit keyboard. It features LED backlighting and comes with three brightness settings for it along with an ‘off’ setting to switch of the backlight in daylight which we found unique and pretty useful. Backlit keys offer an excellent amount of contrast amongst the keys as well.
The laptop’s touchpad is a buttonless one as seen on MacBooks. Though cursor’s precision and speed aren’t up to the mark but its soft surface definitely makes movement of fingers over the touchpad smooth and fluid. The touchpad’s integrated mouse buttons are extremely capable of getting the job done, however, can appear to be less ideal than those dedicated left-right buttons.
Blazing Fast Performance
The ZenBook Pro comes with an Intel Core i7-4720HQ quad-core processor. One, therefore, just can’t doubt the performance of this laptop. Though the CPU is based on the older Haswell architecture of Intel, still it is fast that most of the laptops in this price category out there. Base clock speed is 2.6GHz which can go up to 3.6GHz if Intel’s Turbo Boost is switched on. As compared to most high performance notebooks, the 47-watt TDP of this laptop’s processor can provide a whole lot of computational muscle to your laptop but it will make the battery drain fast as well.
Coupled with this fast processor is a 512 GB PCIe x4 SSD which though isn’t the fastest one out there but is still more than decent for casual users. Apart from that you also get a Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M GPU with a dedicated 4GB GDDR5 VRAM which handles the capabilities of the ZenBook Pro’s 4K display responsibly. This laptop therefore has enough power to handle almost anything that most users tend to throw at laptops. Even hardcore gamers will see themselves enjoying the taste of the brilliant screen and performance of this laptop until and unless they push the game’s settings way high for the ZenBook Pro to handle.
Summin’ it Up
Currently, almost every laptop manufacturer has its own product which they claim to pit against Apple’s MacBook Pro. However, it looks like ASUS is the only one which has got it all right with its ZenBook Pro UX501JW. Brilliantly designed and built hardware coupled with an impressive screen and world-class processor makes this netbook the perfect alternative to the MacBook Pro and probably the best Windows laptop out there in the market right now.


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CHILDREN and British Legion members took part in a short remembrance ceremony at the Tilt cemetery on November 11 at 11am.
Rev Peter Vickers from St Andrew’s Church led around 60 people in prayers and a two-minute silence in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Armistice Day. Maroons were fired as part of the ceremony.
Pupils from St Andrew’s School were then taken by representatives of the Cobham Royal British Legion to place crosses on war graves.
Rev Vickers said: “The important thing, especially with children, is to show and remind people that here in Cobham we were involved in these wars. The presence of the graves in our own cemetery is there to do that.
“The younger generation in their own turn will have the responsibility in years to come of reminding the next. Our prayer is that they may live in peace and never have to face the horrors of war in their lifetime.
“One young boy was wearing his great grandfather’s medals, which was rather poignant. One lady’s father lies in one of the graves.”
Rev Vickers was able to show the children a grave holding the great grandfather of someone at their school.
“We also put a cross on a grave for somebody called Avory of the family involved in founding Cobham’s Avorians Cricket Club in 1928,” he said.
“This lady – Jenny Avory – was killed from injuries sustained by a bomb dropped in Cobham during the Second World War. Civilians also lost their lives.”
The St Andrew’s chapel in Church Street, which became the official Cobham war memorial in 1919, holds the names of 92 men who fell during active service between 1914 and 1918. The names of those who fell during the Second World War are recorded in books inside the chapel.

domain: sociology


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Minnesota weather: Cold temps and possibility of snow in the forecast
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (FOX 9) - It's almost April. It's technically spring. But the weather in Minnesota is getting ready to roll back towards winter with single-digit windchills and the possibility of some snowflakes in the forecast for the rest of the week.
Starting Tuesday night, temperatures will drop, setting up for near-zero windchills in the metro to start your day on Wednesday. Northern Minnesota will face even colder weather, with windchills dropping into the teens and low 20s.
By Wednesday afternoon, we will have plenty of sun, but it's going to be cold with a high temp around 29 degrees. Usually, around this time of the year, the average high is about 48 degrees.
Our temperatures will slowly climb as we approach the weekend, but Thursday things begin to change a little bit as our next storm system arrives.
It's going to be a two-part system. The first part will be Thursday afternoon into Thursday night with a chance of snow to the north, and rain to the south. In the Twin Cities, we'll see a little bit of a mix of both, potentially even some thunderstorms to the south of I-90 by Thursday night.
We'll have a break Friday morning with our next chance of precipitation, maybe in the form of snow, arriving by Friday afternoon.


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Welcome back to another episode of Humans of Transylvania. This time we will have the chance to learn about 3 guys from Râşnov, Braşov. These guys work together to promote the local values thru the Instagram page called @podu.stricat
The first thing that people notice about the page is that it’s a kind of collecting page of your works. Please introduce yourself to the reader.
I’m the youngest member of the group, even though I’m the tallest. Beginning with our childhood we spent a huge amount of time playing hide and seek in the forest and so everything began with our friendship. Since I was a child I was fascinated in survival, wild animals and spending time in nature. Now I’m in the army, working for the mountain troops and taking part in military competitions for them. So I guess that all the things that I was fascinated when I was a child came together in this job. I like guns but NOT hunting. I consider myself a tough guy but at the same time a nice one with a big heart! I think these two guys can confirm this.
Nature. It’s been always my passion since was a child. Growing near the forest made me wonder what’s after those threes, or where that path goes, or what’s on the next hill. Now I realize that interacting with nature gives you the calmness we all need these days. The human is nature and we must respect that. And don’t forget that.
It’s true. This Instagram profile is a collection of visual memories of our little adventures. I’m just a bit upset that we didn’t start earlier with the photos, like we did with the adventures, back in our childhood. But I’m happy I have good friends, that share the same passions as I do.
What is the idea behind this page? When and why you started?
The idea is simple. We want to promote the places we enjoy most. And those places are mostly in nature, far away from people.
We started out of boredom, to be honest. We had a pretty large collection of photos from our previous nature trips and we decided to share them with other people. After that, people started to appreciate our work. That’s what kept us going.
We chose the name Podu’ Stricat ( Broken Bridge), because deep in the forests of Râşnov there is a place, that the elders used to call it like this. This place was one of our first “ discovered” landmarks.
Everybody has its own unique way to capture the nature and the travels you do. How do you decide what to share with your audience?
We all have something to say about the photos we share. We each take photos on our trips and after, we gather at a beer and decide which ones are good.
What do you think that is the receipt of a good photograph?
In my opinion, everything is about the light. The perfect photo for me would be with a mother bear and the cubs taken from about 2-3m away in a fir forest in the winter time. I know this is 99% impossible because everyone knows how a mother bear acts but who knows….maybe one day I will take this perfect shot and all the big Instagram profiles will repost my picture, including National Geographic!
Fog, larches and a bit of mountain. This scenery gives me an incredible feeling, something special for my soul. Maybe it’s a memory from the childhood.
The secret ingredient is a sunset with its beautiful sky.
Tell us a little bit about Râşnov! Everybody knows the city form it’s “Hollywood” sign and the Medieval Fortress above. But I think there is more in this city. Tell me a few Ideas.
First of all, we aren’t that proud about that “Hollywood” sign, but it brings attention to the city.
We have a beautiful promenade called “Promenada Sissi”. It’s a walking area right next to the forest.
In Râşnov you can find the Râşnov Valley Cave, where from time to time, it holds some symphonic concerts.
Râşnov Gorge is also a good place to escape in nature.
For sports fans, we have the Winter Olympic Base. Here, people can watch ski jumping and biathlon competitions.
A few recommendations for some hood places where we are able to escape the city and go chill in nature?
At first, we have to recommend our neighborhood,” Promenada “, because it’s here where we started our nature adventures.
But we do also recommend “ Glăjerie Valley “, that’s where you could really escape in nature and be closer to the wilderness and the mountains.
Does taking pictures take you closer to people? Or at least you three in the team?
Sharing the pictures on our profile does take us closer to people. We were amazed when we saw that people really enjoy our work and that kept us trying more and more.
We already have a strong friendship, so for the three of us, taking pictures was just another passion that we share.
Let’s move on to talk about Transylvania. What makes it unique?
The history, the multicultural quintessence. And by that, we mean architecture, people, traditions.
Name your favorite city from The World!
I don’t have a favorite city, but I have favorite places from different cities. If you ask me, a place where I would spend the rest of my life I think it would be somewhere in Norway, but surrounded by Romanian people and all the people I care for. I think this is impossible so…the nearest place for my dream remains Râşnov.
I don’t have a favorite city. However, some European cities, especially those with medieval architecture, which are many. But I also like the Mediterranean feeling of the cities from Southern Europe. Anyway, I am talking about Europe, where the culture and the heritage are creating an astonishing environment.
This is a tough question to answer because I didn’t have the chance yet to visit a lot of places. My favorite so far would be New York City. It doesn’t fit the theme, but I have some beautiful memories over there.
Name your favorite Transylvanian dish!
I love to eat and I had the luck to grow in a Transylvanian German family. I have eaten a lot of dishes but one of my favorites is the “evangelisches Speck”.
Pork Knuckle with cooked beans. And served with Wild Pickled Mushrooms. Always a pleasure.
As a Transylvanian dish, I would say that the “Zup” is my favorite.
“Zup” is a mix between a stew and a soup, cooked outdoors at a bonfire.
Name your favorite page you think that is worth following?
Every page that promotes Transylvania, Romania, culture, nature and beautiful things are worth to follow. The world is full of immoral things and I think that everyone who promotes beautiful and real values is worth following.
Unsplash. An extraordinary page, with lots of talented photographers from around the world. I really like what I find there, photos that send me to another place and time. Just google it and follow their Instagram page.
Well, Podu’ Stricat of course. J I’m joking. There are a lot of people on Instagram that are worth following, with amazing photos, but if you love animals and mountain sceneries I say Aspen the Mountain Pup ( @aspenthemountainpup ) is worth the follow.
Finally, what place should everybody visit when coming to Transylvania?
Everyone who visits Transylvania should spend at least 2 weeks in this magic part of the world. They should visit the old villages like Viscri, the castles, and citadels like Bran and Râşnov, wildlife and mountains like Bucegi and lakes like Sfânta Ana!
Rucăr-Bran Passage. Believe me, this place has a strong emotion. Look for the rural settlements, get lost in the mountains that surround the valley. Watch the night sky, experience the life here. I simply love this area.
I feel like Sighișoara sends the most Transylvanian vibe.
You can find Podu.Stricat here:

domain: hobby


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||Detecting Natural Gas in Coal Is Subject of Proposed Coal and Coke Standard
Natural gas from unconventional sources, such as from coal beds (coal bed methane), has become a common target for exploration in recent years. Coal gas demand continues to grow and is expected to provide about 10 percent of U.S. production in the future. However, there are no standards available that describe procedures used to determine the gas content of North American coal and the most commonly accepted guide to the subject, which is now about 10 years old, does not include methods currently used for low-rank coal.
In order to fill this need, ASTM International Committee D05 on Coal and Coke is developing a standard, WK8750, Practice for Determination of Gas Content of CoalDirect Desorption Method, that will potentially be used by government, industry, and research laboratories to establish procedures for equipment construction, sample preparation, and testing procedure and method of calculation. The proposed standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D05.21 on Methods of Analysis.
According to Peter Warwick, U.S. Geological Survey, the proposed new standard will describe methods for the determination of the gas content of coal by desorption, using samples obtained by surface drilling and from underground mines. Warwick invites interested parties to participate in the ongoing development of WK8750. //
Peter Warwick, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va.
ASTM staff: Scott Orthey
Upcoming Meeting: Oct. 16-19
October Committee Week, Dallas, Texas

domain: chemistry


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PETALING JAYA: National coach Allan Harris has picked 21 players, including 10 news faces, for trials in the first phase of centralised training with the national Under-22 squad preparing for the pre-Olympics football campaign, which kicks off in May.
Among the newcomers in the training squad, who will report at the Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya on Sunday are schoolboy Zulbadly Ismail from the Sports School in Bukit Jalil, K. Thayalan from Premier II club side Selangor Public Bank and Suazman Ariffin from the Police football team.
The Englishman said he would finally get down to work with the boys after they had been idle for two months due to the cancellation of friendly matches against Finland and Norway in January.
“Most of the players are from the previous Under-23 squad while the rest are from the Under-19 side, so I'm quite familiar with most of them. The only problem is that we had a two-month break since the Tiger Cup in December. They will get to play a friendly game before they go back to their respective teams in the league. In April, we will have a full month long session,'' said Harris yesterday.
The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have finally managed to arrange a friendly for the national Under-22 boys after Norway, Finland and even a club side from USA - Charlotte Eagles – had failed to come for sparring matches with the boys.
“We will be playing a game against the Maldives national team and then against Jordan before they open their campaign in the pre-Olympics. Having the players for a week is a start,” he said.
Among the familiar faces are Akmal Rizal Rakhli, Juzaili Samion, Irwan Fadli Idrus, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Syamsuri Mustafa, Saiful Sabtu, Redzuan Radzy, K. Rajan, Aziz Ismail and Marzuki Yusof.
The other new faces are Zulkifli Affendy Zakri, Azwan Malik, Zairo Anuar, Mohamed Farid Ideris, S. Gopinath, Mohamed Saufi Ibrahim and Mohamed Anis Faron Arsidi.
Malaysia, who have been seeded for the pre-Olympics tournament, have been given a bye in the first round. They will play the winners of the match between Turkmenistan and India in the second round on May 3. They will play the return-leg on June 7.
There are three major assignments for Harris this year, starting with the pre-Olympics for the Under-23 boys from May 3-Oct 18, the pre-Asian Cup for the national team from Aug 19 to Feb 18 next year, and finally the Vietnam SEA Games from Dec 1-15, which will be an Under-23 competition.
Irwan Fadli Idrus, Akmal Rizal Rakhli (Ked) Redzuan Radzi, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Saiful Sabtu, K. Rajan (Nse) Indra Putra Mahayuddin (Prk) Mazuki Yusof, Zairo Anuar, Mohd Syamsuri Mustafa (Ter) Zulkifli Affendy Zakri, Azwan Malik (Kul) Mohd Saufi Ibrahim, S.Gopinath, Abdul Aziz Ismail (Pen) Juzaili Samion (Pah) Mohamed Anis Faron Arsidi (Per) Zulbadly Ismail (B. Jalil) Mohd Farid Ideris (Joh) Suazman Ariffin (Police) K. Thayalan (Selangor Public Bank)


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Anantara Spa and Wellness
The Anantara Spa on the 3rd floor of The PuLi has collected a range of ancient therapies from China, Thailand and India. It also presents you with the very best way of relaxation this century has to offer.
The indoor infinity pool is 25 meters long and 8 meters wide. The close-to-the-window design ensures customers enjoy the beautiful view of Jing'An Park during their swim.
6:00am - 11:00pm
Health Club is equipped with experiential showers,
Open for 24 hours

domain: travel


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New Bourbon and Music Event coming to Louisville
Bourbon & Beyond debuts with Stevie Nicks and more this Fall
LOUISVILLE, Ky., (April 17, 2017) — Bourbon & Beyond – a new festival blending bourbon, music and Kentucky cuisine– is making its debut in Louisville this fall.
Bourbon, master distillers, national and local chefs, bartenders and musicians will take over Champions Park on Sept. 23 and 24.
Stevie Nicks will perform at the inaugural weekend festival, along with Eddie Vedder, the Steve Miller Band and several other musical acts.
Bourbon & Beyond is presented by Danny Wimmer, who is recognized throughout the country for his music festivals.
The festival will showcase more than 50 of the best Kentucky Bourbons curated by bestselling author and bourbon authority Fred Minnick, nationally celebrated Louisville chef Edward Lee, and celebrity chef Chris Cosentino.
Other highlights include: The Big Bourbon Bar (a 20,000-square-foot bar featuring bourbon cocktails); The Hunter’s Club (experimental, rare and hard-to-find bourbons); The Bourbon Barrel Cooperage (a behind-the-scenes look at how coopers craft the oak barrels used to age bourbon); The Distillery (an interactive experience to discover the life of a master blender, taster and distiller); and Bourbon Workshops (free and intimate distilling, bartending, pairing and cooking workshops).
In addition to Kentucky bourbon experiences, Bourbon & Beyond is partnering with renowned local chefs and more than 20 Louisville restaurants to deliver one-of-kind creations.
Tickets are on sale now. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.BourbonAndBeyond.com.

domain: artistic


What do you guys think of .38 +p as trail ammo for hiking around Washington? I talked to their dept. of fish & wildlife, and they have no grizzly population to speak of. Nor have I ever heard about any trouble with blackbear or cougar. (A coyote was recently sighted in a Seattle park, though. ) My current carry gun is a Ruger Sp101 in .357 mag, but even that little thing feels like a bit much to pack around here. I'm thinking of switching it up with a Smith Airweight.
It's kind of funny because I've never though of .38 special as a decent caliber for protection, and here I am reading through ballistics charts to see what's hottest. It looks like Buffalo Bore & Double Tap have the off-the-shelf loads with the most oomph.


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The inherent beauty of the terraced fields together with the famous national reputation recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007 has brought the Mu Cang Chai terraced field to a position that is attractive to the field. ladders in many other places. It is one of the door to open tourism become the key economic sectors of the locality.
In recent years, tourism potential of Mu Cang Chai district has been exploited into tourism products. That said, the right step, the district’s efforts to bring tourism become the key economic sectors of the locality. Up to now, Mu Cang Chai Countryside Grassland has been well-known. Rice terraces and the season of water fall, especially the season of rice is the time to attract many tourists to find, discover, enjoy.
It is the inherent beauty of the terraced fields together with the famous national reputation recognized by the Ministry of Culture – Sports and Tourism in 2007 that put Mu Cang Chai terraced fields in a position of great attraction compared to rice fields. ladder in other localities.
A blue color stretching out of the field
In the conquering tourism, the Khau Phao pass, which has been put into operation for five years, has become an impressive and popular flying point for many pilots. In the summer of 2017, the "Fly on the Season" Festival attracted over 100 pilots in the country and international participation. In particular, community-based tourism has been developed by the district. In 2013, there are only 2 households doing community-based tourism in group 9 – 10 of Mu Cang Chai town. There are now 37 households in the district, of which 20 households are in town. The number of visitors, the experience of community tourism in Mu Cang Chai increased. In 2010, it is estimated to reach 3,500 people, 8,000 people in 2013, 15,000 people in 2015, 110,000 people in 2016 and 60,000 people in 2017.
To exploit and promote the potential and advantages of tourism development, in the past years, the district has actively developed projects on tourism development and implementation; To concentrate on the planning and make use of resources for investment in the construction of tourist infrastructures; Promoting propaganda, promotion and strengthening the state management of tourism; building and developing tourism products; preserving and promoting traditional cultural values in service of tourism.
In particular, construction and planning for tourism development, in 2014, the district has built a house to build five rooms in La Pan Tan commune with a total cost of 500 million and propagate and mobilize people to sell products. available locally. In 2015, the district will continue to build stops, the paragliding area of Cao Phie mountain pass with the total cost over 2.4 billion. In 2016, the project of adjusting the town planning, the planning of Thai Kim Noi village, the ring road to avoid encroachment in the area of 9-10 towns.
Districts are also surveying, identifying potential community tourism spots of the district, identifying the specific strengths of each community tourism; Surveying and identifying specific tourism products of each commune in order to encourage people and enterprises to invest in developing tourist attractions for tourists to visit and experience trekking in Vietnam; Surveying commodities, products featured to attract tourists …
The district invites businesses to invest in and build tourism services, such as Tan Ha Art Company with the project of cultural space – the hills of communication 8, Mu Cang town center Brush; Thinh Dat Green Tourism Development Company with two projects: Mu Cang Chai resort resort in Che Cu Nha and Pung Cang cave, Nam Khac commune; MCC Investment and Trade Joint Stock Company with Yen Bai mountain economic complex in Mu Cang Chai district (Nam Khat commune).
In the construction, the formation of tourism products, terraced fields, Paragliding Festival, community tourism has been well exploited, Mu Cang Chai also focused on exploiting the historical Khau Phau pass The Restoring and recreating traditional festivals of ethnic minorities such as Mongolian dance festival, Mong wedding to serve tourism and research to combine these festivals with community tourism products to exploit. high efficiency.
Currently, Mu Cang Chai paint has been certified by the National Office of Intellectual Property. The district continues to build brand name honey and brocade weaving in Cu Cu Nha.
Seasonal tourism is also step by step formed in the area with three seasons of the year: the season in March, the season in April – 5 and the season in September – October … The cultural events, tourism is The district is actively developing to attract tourists, especially cultural week, tourism, explore the national landscapes.
These have shown the district’s efforts to build Mu Cang Chai into a safe, friendly, attractive and versatile destination.

domain: economics


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Anytime an individual sustains a severe traumatic brain injury and experiences any level of coma, there is a good chance they will experience some sort of short-term memory problems. Along with feelings of disorientation, agitation, anger, and impulsiveness, individuals may experience a complete lack of disregard for social convention. All of this is part of the healing process after a significant traumatic brain injury, and it is commonly referred to as post-traumatic amnesia (PTA).
Individuals typically sustain post-traumatic amnesia after they have already sustained a traumatic brain injury and been in a coma. When an individual sustains a brain injury and emerges from a coma, there are going to be complications. Typically, the injury victim will have very little or no short-term memory at all, particularly surrounding the events related to the brain injury incident.
It is not uncommon for those coming out of a coma to be disoriented and even have issues with anger, impulsiveness, and emotional control. Brain injury victims may show very few inhibitions, and they may not act “socially appropriate.”
These are all symptoms of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). Those with PTA may exhibit bizarre or childlike behavior that is nothing like their typical personality.
PTA can be incredibly stressful for family members of victims. However, doctors are quick to point out that post-traumatic amnesia is a normal part of the healing process after such a traumatic incident.
The early days of rehabilitation from post-traumatic amnesia often include learning new skills or relearning old skills. This typically comprises skills that require limited attention, activities that can be learned through repetition, and activities that involve basic mobility and self-care.
We strongly encourage family members of those who have sustained a TBI and now have post-traumatic amnesia to ask the doctor and physical therapists as many questions as possible. This is undoubtedly a difficult experience for those involved.
It is important to remember that traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic amnesia are not like what we see in TV shows and movies. Individuals do not always make a full recovery and even those that do typically go through months or years of physical therapy in order to do so.
Anytime a person’s brain has experienced enough trauma to put them in a coma, it is very likely that they have also suffered from other long-term complications associated with brain injuries. This can include cognitive deficits, physical disabilities, and an inability to carry out day-to-day activities.
The prognosis associated with brain injuries and post-traumatic amnesia will vary depending on each particular patient and the situation surrounding the injury and the recovery process.
In the event a person’s injuries were caused by the careless or negligent actions of another individual or entity, it may be possible to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering damages.
We encourage any traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic amnesia victim or their family members to reach out to a skilled attorney for a free consultation as soon as possible.

domain: medical


Sunday, August 11, 2019: Birds of the West - Sketching with Molly Hashimoto
2 p.m. at the Park at Bothell Landing amphitheater
Registration required, call KCLS: 425-486-7811
Join the Bothell Library to learn all about birds of the west with artist and longtime teacher Molly Hashimoto, author of the newly released Birds of the West: An Artist’s Guide. Discover some of our common and uncommon species and find out where to look for them, as Molly shares information about bird habitats as well as tips on creating bird art. You’ll have the chance to make hands-on art, as we sketch birds using pencil and pens and use toned paper for dramatic effects (supplies provided). Sponsored by the Friends of the Bothell Library.


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Punk Guys - Anime Dating
Look through the listings of Male singles that have joined Anime Dating Site that are tagged with Punk. Dating others who have like minded interests is a pefect way to find things to do once you are dating. Signup for a 100% Free Account to Meet Someone Tonight!
My first anime was on a VHS someone had given me as a birthday present. I don't remember who gave it to me but I'm thankful to them all the same. I used to read a ton of books and imagine myself as the main character. Books are always full of wonder and excitement. I saw Code Geass Lelouch...
Pretty quiet and shy, but I open up once I get to know someone. Video game, Star Wars, and anime nerd. I like everything dark and gloomy and scary, but also overbearingly cute anime s**t. Never really looked for a relationship before, so I'm adjusting to this whole dating thing.
Sort of shy at first but once you get to know me I definitely open up. I'm annoyingly logical in my mindset for being a romantic. Blessing and a curse. Soft spoken geek. Cuddling and watching shows/browsing reddit or gaming sounds awesome and so does going out and getting dinner and a movie or...
I am mostly introverted, but I like to have fun by hanging out with friends, watching anime, sports, and musical theatre. I enjoy nature walks as well. I am a musician who’s getting his masters degree in conducting from UL. I just recently started going to cons, and I absolutely love them! Hope...


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A - F
Holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Specialized Honours) in Dance from York University, Associate teaching diplomas with the British Association of Teachers of Dancing in Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Modern, as well as teacher training in children’s yoga, Annie is a versatile dance artist and ACTRA member.
Professionally, Annie has collaborated with artists including Xing Ban Fu, Courtnae Bowman, Emily Cheung, Jeff Dimitriou, Danny Grossman, Ame Henderson, Laurence Lemieux, Lopa Sarkar, Veronica Tennant, Rina Signa, and Bageshree Vaze. She is privileged to have worked with the highly renowned artist Tino Sehgal who primarily choreographs his installations within museums including the AGO (Toronto), The Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago), MoMA (NYC), and the Guggenheim (NYC).
Annie has worked with companies such as Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet, Cirque du Soleil in
the 2015 Pan American Games, Divine Heritage Artistry, Hercinia Arts Collective, Little Pear Garden
Dance Company, Tropicana Queens, Rhythm and Grace Productions Inc., Bash FX Creative, Pratibha Arts
and Xing Dance Theatre.
She has performed at venues such as the Air Canada Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario, Betty Oliphant
Theatre, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Fleck Dance Theatre/The Harbourfront Centre, Roger’s
Centre, Royal Ontario Museum, Princess of Wales Theatre, and Toronto Centre for the Arts, to name a
few. She also enjoys spending her time dancing at festivals, corporate, and other events.
Additionally, some of Annie’s film and television credits include, ballet dancer in A Nutcracker Christmas
(Hallmark Channel), tap dancer in Warehouse 13, hologram dancer in Make It Pop 2, dancer in Reign,
dancer for Kids’ CBC, samba dancer in the Pan American Games Opening Ceremonies 2015, featured
contemporary dancer in the Austin Strange music video Words, dancer in the music video Victory by
Lachesis, as well as a featured dancer in the instructional Bollywood dance DVD.
Outside of performing, Annie has built an extensive teaching roster. For the past three years, Annie has performed/held workshops throughout GTA elementary schools in the Prologue to the Performing Arts
programme. Independently conducting workshops based upon anatomy, nutrition, conditioning, ballet
and other dance genres, choreographing musicals and teaching extensively at studios in both Toronto
and Kingston, ON, Annie loves teaching children to adults both recreationally and competitively.
Karen grew up in Toronto, Ontario, where she had the pleasure of learning ballet from various ballet studios around Toronto, including the National Ballet School. Over the past few years, she has participated in various dance productions, and including dancing the lead role in the ballet Cinderella. Over the past few years, Karen has also started to explore different genres of dance, most prominently Chinese/contemporary dance. She has performed in different festivals with Little Pear Garden Collective all over the city, and is looking forward to performing in many more with them!
Irvin Chow graduated with a BFA in Dance program at York University. Throughout the years he has danced in projects by: Angela Blumberg, Debra Brown, Susan Cash, Jasmyn Fyffe, Robert Glumbeck, Michael Greyeyes, Terrill Maguire and Yvonne Ng. Irvin has had the pleasure of performing as a part of David Earle’s “Miserere” in the Toronto Heritage Dance project and in TransMigration done by Kaha:wi Dance Theater by Santee Smith. He has performed with Sylvie Bouchard as a part of Dusk Dances and as a part of Julia Sasso’s, “SLoE”. He was recently a part of, Pulse, by, Jasmyn Fyffe, for the Montreal Fringe Festival which won the 2013 Frankie Award for Outstanding Choreography and a part of, No Permanent Answers, for the Toronto Fringe Festival. Irvin is excited to be a new addition to the Little Pear Garden Collective and dancing in their new show, Venom of Love.
Carman started dancing at an early age and her passion in dance has kept her grounded throughout life. She is a Chinese dance instructor certified by the Beijing Dance Academy. Besides coaching students for annual performances, she was a guest instructor in the summer camp hosted by Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, an annual camp that brings Chinese culture to children adopted from China between 2012-2013. In 2014, she was commissioned to choreograph a Yunnan folk dance repertoire – “The Story of a Bride” – for the Heart and Stroke Foundation annual gala performance and this was invited for encore performance in the Unionville Main Street Festival and Flato Markham Theatre. In addition to a full-time career working with children with Autism, she is currently the co-artistic director of Norman Dance Company, company dancer for Little Pear Garden Dance Company, and a regular guest instructor for the Toronto Yun Dance Group.
Born in Toronto, Theresa is extensively trained in ballet, jazz, acro, contemporary, hip-hop, modern, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. She graduated from York with a B.FA honors and B.Ed. She is currently a teacher with the Toronto District School Board.
Theresa has competed across North America, Europe, Asia and the U.S. and has appeared on TV shows for TSN, CBC, Raptors TV and City TV. Theresa has worked as a dancer with several sports teams such as the Toronto Argonauts, Blue Jays, and the Raptors Dance Pak.
As a company member, some performances with the Little Pear Garden Collective include, the Fortune Food Festival at Harbourfront. Soo-Ryu Dance Festival, the ROM during the Terra Cotta Exhibit and at the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival. She is truly honored to be apart of such a talented company.
G - L
Megumi Kokuba was born in Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan. She studied ballet from the age of two with her inspiring teacher Kikuko Nanjo. After graduating from Junior College in Okinawa, Megumi came across contemporary dance and was smitten. She moved to Toronto in 2009 to train at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. After graduating in 2012, Megumi has had many inspiring performance opportunities. Among them was Peggy Baker’s Night Garden for Nuit Blanche, Gadfly’s Stygmata and the Duet work Alleluia with Robert Glumbeck for Desrosiers Dance Projects. Megumi also had the amazing opportunity to join Toronto Dance Theatre as a TD Dance Intern for the 2012/2013 season and is delighted to be working with TDT since. She recently danced in Eleven Accords choreograph by Christopher House in November 2013.
Sze-Yang is a queer east asian dance artist and educator who does not identify with society’s confining definitions of what it means to be a man or woman. At 13 he began training in Wushu Chinese Martial Arts under Sifu Zhang Peng. He finished secondary school with the highest achievement in visual arts of his graduating class. Sze-Yang is a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Post graduation he studied intensively with Xing Bang Fu and Simon Lalonde in Ballet.
He has danced with InDance, Earth in Motion, The Little Pear Garden Collective, Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, Newton Moraes Dance Theatre, Xing Dance Theatre, Ontario Ballet Theatre, Hanna Kiel, Jacob Niedzwiecki, Emily Law, Ashley Colours Perez, Sameena Mitta, Simon Renaud, and has worked in creative process with Red Sky. Sze-Yang has also danced in three productions of The Nutcracker as: The Mor: Soloist, Harlequin/Columbine: pas de deux, the Russian and the Mouse King. Sze-Yang has admiration for many movement languages. He is a proud co-founder, dancer, and choreographer for ILL NANA/DCDC a queer positive multiracial dance company that embraces difference as strength.
Brandy creates contemporary performances through dance based entry points. Her work has been produced in Canada, Europe, India and the USA in theatres, urban environments, festivals, museums and isolated landscapes. She holds a BA Honours in Theatre with a specialization in Direction and Asian Theatre from York University’s Theatre Program.
She has lived between Canada and India for the past 15 years training, collaborating and creating in the traditional Indian performing languages of Seraikella and Mayurbhanj Chhau (dance), Kalarippayattu (martial art) and Rope Mallakhamb (aerial rope). In Canada she works with western approaches to aerial rope work and the bridge discipline of Axis Syllabus to support choreographic creations that are interested in site specific ness and non-traditional audience/performance relationships that base themselves in ritual and participatory structures drawn from the spectrum of her artistic research and practices.
She was the resident choreographer at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto 2010-2012 where she created large scale, site specific works on the architecture of the building (designed by Raymond Moriyama) and in the public spaces surrounding it as part of her Precipice Project series. She is an Associated Artist with IMPACT (Indian Martial and Performance Art Collective of Toronto) developing and implementing their programming/performances and teaches movement, choreography and performance creation locally, nationally and internationally.
She founded Anandam Dancetheatre as an umbrella structure for her performance projects (www.anandam.ca) and is its Artistic Director. She is a triple Shastri Indo Canadian Fellow, a Chalmers Professional Development Awardee, twice shortlisted for the KM Hunter Award in Dance 2009 and 2011 and has had her work supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Hal Jackman Foundation, CreatiVenture Collective, Bata Shoe Museum, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Foundation and the Toronto Arts Council.
Tia began dancing at the age of 3 and has been in love with it ever since. She is professionally trained in various genres including Ballet, Chinese lassical and Ethnic Dance, Jazz, Modern Contemporary, Hip Hop, Ballroom and Latin.
At the age of 9 she began her professional performing career, where she got a rare opportunity to tour with Echo Dance Association across Canada performing at different cultural festivals. Since then she’s performed both locally and internationally including Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa, Chicago as well as New York.
To date, Tia has become principal dancer, head choreographer and instructor in various dance companies. She has a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts, graduating from the Performance Production program at Ryerson University and works as a freelance Stage
Manager and Costume Designer on the side. She has accumulated great amounts of working experiences in Music Videos, large Choreographic works and Corporate Company events with directors and choreographers all over Toronto including Luther
Brown, Carla Catherwood and Sammy Cheng. Tia holds winning titles in numerous Dance competitions including the Kiwanis Dance Festivals and Stomp Urban Dance Fest.
Justin Lui is a dancer and current company member of the Little Pear Garden Collective. He was born in Toronto and began dancing at age 13, and has since trained in Chinese dance, ballet, and hip hop/street dance. He has performed as part of several dance groups, including Norman Dance Company, Nancy Chiu Ballet Studio, VYbE Dance Company, and Only Human Dance Collective. Justin is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto, with an Honours BSc in Nutritional Sciences.
Malgorzata Nowacka started performing at the age of 17 in Warsaw Poland. Her formative training background includes ballet at the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance directed by Bengt Jorgen (Toronto), Horton and Ballet with Debbie Wilson (Toronto), the school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (New York), and five years at The Ontario College of Art and Design as a visual artist (Toronto).
She was part of the cast of Polish production of Metro at the age of 17 in Warsaw.. Later, in Canada, she apprenticed with O.M.O Dance Co. directed by Debbie Wilson. Since 1999 until present she continues to be a featured dancer with The Chimera Project (www.chimeraproject.org), a contemporary dance company she created to present her own choreography.
With The Chimera Project she performed at some of Canada’s most prestigious contemporary dance contexts including the Canada Dance Festival at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), as part of Dance Victoria (Victoria), Tangente (Montreal), OFF Festival Trans Ameriques (Montreal), Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver), Dance Works Mainstage Series (Toronto) and internationally at the Lilia Lopez Dance Festival (Mexico).
As a dances she worked with choreographers Dana Gingras, Rebecca Todd, Kathleen Rea, Hope Terry, William Yong, Lucy Rupert and toured with Motus O’ dance theatre in Midsummer Night’s Dream and Perspectives. A bold performer, Nowacka “rivets the eye with her charisma” (The Globe and Mail) and has a gift for performing duet works. Her film credits include dancing in Bravo!Fact films I can almost, Lapinthrope with choreography by Kathleen Rea, Dresscode with choreography by Marlee Cragill, You’re It and I’m Right Behind You, two BRAVO!Fact films with her own choreography and performance.
M - S
Jiapei’s bio coming soon…
T - Z
Ugai Yui was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She majored in drama at high school and then in dance and music at Kobe University. She performed in Toru Shimazaki’s contemporary dance works, Patch Work, Here We Are, and Run. Yui obtained professional ballet training at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) under the tutelage of Owen Montague and Joannes H. Nuyts, and she was awarded a prize for excellence in dance by the magazine Dance Dance Dance (DDD) in 2008. Yui holds BFA, Dance from York University in Toronto and Kobe College in Japan. She had performed at Nuit Blanche, Fringe Festival, WE DAY, Dance Ontario Dnace Weekend and Dance Matters a s a dancer. Yui has her career as an actress began with the film “Summer Days,” directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, and she worked with the Hollywood casting director Yoko Narahashi. Yui was a heroine for the short film “Raptura” premiered in imagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival at TIFF and ReelWorld Film Festival. In Japan, she produced the dance event, “Dance Kotoen: One Coin One Hour Theater” sponsored by Nishinomiya City to support youth dance artists and community since 2011.
Claire Wang started dancing since she was 12 years old. A native of China’s Henan province, she pursued a full time study at Shanghai Dance School between 2001 – 2011 and graduated with a bachelor degree in contemporary dance choreography. Her dance training included classical, ballet, contemporary, improv and folk dances. Claire participated in various performances during the school years and after graduation, including:
2007: performed at New Zealand’s Sky Tower Chinese New Year Gala, choreographed opening piece for a TV show in Henan province.
2009: choreographed and performed at the daily news media release.
2010: improv performance with Holland’s “2move” modern dance troupe, improv performance with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, performance with internationally renowned universities at the U.S. pavilion in Shanghai World Exhibition,
choreographed “The Diary of My Mood” and participated in South Korea’s Soule International Dance competition, group choreographed “Red Light ” and participated in Germany’s “NO BALLET” international choreography competition.
2011: participated in choreography and performance of the epic dance poem “Red”.
2013: Winner of SPARK dance competition contemporary category in Toronto, Canada.
Claire has amazingly beautiful dance vocabulary which enables her choreography to touch audience of different knowledge levels. During her performance at the SPARK competition, the rowdy TV recording studio full of different style of dancers and their supporters, became pin-drop quiet a few moments into her performance, and the quietness was almost tangible, no rustle of clothing, breathing slow and barely audible, even the bubbly hip hop dance group was stilled as though they were in a temple. The comment from the judges were one in agreement: “When the entire studio can be silenced, you know some extraordinary performance is happening. This is the true art of dance.”
Canadian dance artist and performer Brendan Wyatt was born in rural Saskatchewan. He started dancing at the age of four and later spent nine years training at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre.
One of the country’s most sought after independent artists Wyatt has performed in a multitude of professional works by several companies and choreographers nationally and internationally. Wyatt has been a core member of several Toronto based companies including The Chimera Project, ProArte Danza, Dreamwalker Dance, Bouchardanse and blackandblue dance projects. In 2008 he was a founding member of The Dietrich Group with Director/Choreographer DA Hoskins and dance artist Danielle Baskerville. In 2010 he was the recipient of a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his performance in this time an aldheid production by Heidi Strauss. In 2011 Wyatt was nominated for outstanding choreography with Andrea Nann for their full length evening Beside Each Other.
Yuliya started dance training from early childhood in Shanghai, China. She got Chinese folk dance training in China Welfare Institute Children’s Palace, and later was select into Oriental Little Companions Collective. During her dance journey with the little Companions, she continued enhanced her Chinese folk dance technique, as well as exposed to jazz and ballet. She performed in many large shows, and these abundant dance experience gave her a solid dance foundation. After she moved to Canada, she was inspired by the culture here, and desired to learn different dance styles. Therefore, she spent several years in street jazz and hip pop dance training in Toronto. Now she is a street jazz dance instructor at Dantitude Dance Studio. She has performed on Canada National TV’s New Year’s Gala at Sony Center, and has been invited as a guest performer in many big events.
Toronto native, Melissa Yang, graduated from York University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts Specialized Honours in Dance. As Captain of the York Dance Team, she led the team to victory at many competitions including her own choreographed and danced solo Idioteque, which won second place.
Growing up, Melissa always held a love of ballet in her heart. She would proceed to dance the role of Marzipan in Xing Ballet Theatre of Canada’s Nutcracker. Following that, she became one of the original dancers with the contemporary ballet company, Cadence.
Branching into new avenues, Melissa began to train in the aerial arts. She has performed for Jason Dinetz and for Rue Morgue’s Frankenstein Formal, and Seven Crown’s Tattoo Bold Will Hold. As a contemporary artist, she has performed with Lindsey Ritter and Evoke for events at Pearson Airport and the Choreographer’s Ball.
Most recently, Melissa was the featured aerialist for Japanese Opera singer Yumi’s music video by Time Warner. She has danced for Luther Brown, Linda Garneau, and Dean Ifill. Other credits include Toronto Rock, Elizabeth Grant The Big Give, CBC’s Arts Alive!, and Mean Girls.
Cindy Yip graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy with excellence then further trained at the Central University of Ethnicity in China. Exploring other Asian dances, Miss Yip performed in traditional Korean style with the Mi Young Kim Dance Company for 5 years. In 2011, she received mentorship from contemporary Japanese dance artist, Keiko Kitano, and studied other contemporary techniques with support from Ontario Arts Council’s Access and Career Development Grant. She is currently a dance committee member at the Toronto Arts Council.


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In June 2019, the Indian billionaire Adani obtained permission to operate the world's largest coal mine
received from the Australian government
Despite years of protests by the population, including the Aborigines, the indigenous people of Australia. The coal mine is located near the Great Barrier Reef. Environmentalists fear that the Great Barrier Reef, which is already threatened by global warming, is now also
The production of up to 60 million tonnes of coal per year has been approved. The company's current planning is 27.5 million tonnes per year.
The indigenous people of Australia are very nature-oriented and nature-loving people and are therefore particularly committed to the protection of nature and to stopping the coal mine.
Morrison, Australia's prime minister, now wants to ban climate protests that harm the mining industry.


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Mirror, mirror on the wall - what movie will be the fairest of them all? It looks like Lily Colins as Snow White and Julia Roberts as the evil queen takes the honors in the upcoming retelling of the classic fairy tale called Mirror Mirror. The film isn't in theaters until March 16, 2012 - but we have a sneak peek for you right now. Check out the official trailer and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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Nick Joins Joe Jonas on Stage for the JoBro Reunion of Your Dreams
This means a new Jonas Brothers album, right?
Whoa, Everyone From "Good Luck Charlie" Looks So Grown Up Now!
They reunited for the cutest dinner we've ever seen
Miley Cyrus Bought a House Next Door To Liam Hemsworth
It's just like when you traded lockers with some rando to have the one next to your boyfriend, you know!?

domain: entertainment


Albany - The New York State Senate today passed legislation sponsored by Senator Michael F. Nozzolio that would stop Governor Spitzer’s plan to issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens by requiring a social security number or proof of authorized presence in the United States to obtain a New York State drivers license or non-driver identification card."I have never seen such strong and united opposition to a proposal by the Governor," Senator Nozzoliosaid.
Albany – In anticipation of Veterans Day, State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio announced that the project to establish the Sampson Veterans Cemetery at the former Sampson Naval and Air Force Base in Seneca County is proceeding and is awaiting final approval by the Seneca County Board of Supervisors. “The establishment of the Sampson Veterans Cemetery is nearing the final stages of approval at the local level,” said Senator Michael Nozzolio.
We have come a long way in re-building the Depot since the dark days of the early 1990’s when our region received a devastating one-two punch with the closure of the Seneca Army Depot and the Willard Psychiatric Center.
For generations these facilities drove the local economy, employing thousands of area residents who enjoyed the steady, secure employment these two government facilities offered. Once they closed, these facilities became an economic anchor around the necks of local residents as we struggled with the loss of more than 1,000 good-paying jobs.
Seneca Falls – In response to reports that the Cayuga Indian Nation is acquiring 205 acres in Cayuga and Seneca Counties, New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio (R-Fayette) announced that he is fighting efforts by the Cayugas to place their real estate holdings into a federal trust. Any land placed into a federal trust is permanently made sovereign and free from taxation.
Auburn— New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio and Assemblyman Gary Finch joined officials and staff from Auburn Memorial Hospital to celebrate the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Digital Mammography Unit at AMH’s Essential Diagnostic Center.The new digital mammography unit will expand Auburn Memorial Hospital’s services to women by adding full field digital mammography – the most advanced technology available for the early detection of breast cancer.
Albany— New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced that legislation he is sponsoring that would require the State Department of Transportation to designate certain highway routes for the transportation of hazardous materials has been adopted in the State Senate. If approved, the measure would significantly reduce commercial truck traffic on upstate scenic byways and local roads.“Truck traffic is overwhelming our local towns and villages in the Finger Lakes region,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Auburn – New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio joined local officials, business owners and residents today at the dedication of the Wall Street Neighborhood Improvement Project. "The Wall Street Neighborhood Improvement Project is making significant improvements in the heart of the city to dramatically change and improve the character of the Wall Street neighborhood between the prison and the adjacent residential and business areas,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Lyons– New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced that he has secured a $25,000 state grant for a Veterans memorial in the Town of Lyons. Senator Nozzolio made the announcement at the site of the memorial, located at the American Legion on Water Street.“New Yorkers have continually gone above and beyond in answering the call of our nation to defend freedom and spread democracy throughout the world,” said Senator Nozzolio, a Commander in the New York State Naval Militia.
Albany— Continuing his aggressive efforts in combating crime, New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio today announced that he has secured a $291,000 state grant for anti-crime initiatives in Wayne County. The grant will fund programs to prevent at-risk individuals from committing crimes as well as reduce recidivism among current inmates in the Wayne County Jail.“As Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee, keeping our streets safe is one of my top priorities,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Albany—State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio has announced that the Wayne County Nursing Home will receive nearly $1.4 million in critical funds from the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to help resolve a budget shortfall. Officials from the nursing home had advised Senator Nozzolio that operations and services at their facility would be significantly affected by mid-December without the funding. After an extended delay in receiving the funds, Senator Nozzolio contacted the DOH and expedited the payments.
Ovid- Calling our local libraries the window to the world, State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio announced that he has secured a $100,000 State grant for renovation of the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library in Ovid. Senator Nozzolio made the announcement at the library, located at 7169 North Main Street in Ovid.“Our libraries provide countless opportunities for everyone in the community, from our children and families to our adults and senior citizens,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Lansing – State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio announced today that BorgWarner Morse TEC (BWMT) will invest over $47 million and create 174 jobs to produce its new Variable Cam Timing product line in Lansing, New York. As part of a State assistance package through Empire State Development (ESD), Senator Nozzolio secured $100,000 for the expansion of the company. “The expansion of BorgWarner Morse TEC will be another tremendous boost to the region, creating good-paying jobs for local residents,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Auburn – State Senator Michael Nozzolio announced today that the Currier Plastics Company in Auburn is the recipient of a $76,000 State grant to make their facilities more energy efficient. The funding, administered through the New York State Power Authority, will allow the company to upgrade their existing lighting with new energy efficient lighting. “Currier Plastics has long set the standard for service and quality in the molding industry and is an important component of our regional economy,” said Senator Nozzolio.
State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio was honored by the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Alliance (FL-LOWPA)for his commitment and dedication to preserving and protecting the water resources in our region. The award was given to Senator Nozzolio at a conference hosted by the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario Watershed Protection Alliance.The theme of the conference was “Unifying Economic Development and the Environment”.
Albany – Responding to reports of a proposal to increase Thruway tolls, State Senator Michael Nozzolio today called on New York State Thruway Authority Chairman John Buono to immediately reject any increase in tolls on the Thruway. “Any plan by the Thruway Authority to raise tolls on the Thruway should be rejected immediately,” said Senator Nozzolio. “The residents and business owners in our region cannot afford an increase in tolls, which would be a significant tax increase for New York state residents.
Newark- Catholic Family Services of Newark today honored Senator Michael Nozzolio for his years of commitment and dedication to the not-for-profit organization. Senator Nozzolio was recognized at a ceremony at the Center’s Hannick Hall campus on East Union Street in Newark. “Throughout my tenure in the State Legislature, I have worked to improve the lives of women struggling with addiction so they can lead hopeful, productive lives,” said Senator Nozzolio.
Albany – New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio today called on Governor Eliot Spitzer to enforce New York State law and begin collecting sales taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American retailers.Under current law, cigarettes sold by Indians to non-Indians must include sales taxes.
Sodus Bay— Citing the importance of preserving the water quality in the Sodus Bay Watershed and ensuring clean, safe water for residents, State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced that he has secured an $25,000 State grant to help protect and preserve water quality in the Sodus Bay Watershed. “Sodus Bay is an environmental jewel,” said Senator Nozzolio. “It is one of the most treasured and beautiful natural resources in the Finger Lakes region, and a popular tourist attraction for visitors.
Albany – New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio is calling upon the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHAA) to revise current regulations so that high school football players who join the armed services are not unfairly punished when their military requirements keep them from participating in summer football practices.Current regulations state that high school athletes must sit out the first three games of the football season if they do not participate in a minimum number of summer practices.


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Loosely braided strands of precious metal and radiant stones bring a luxurious femininity to this stunning ring. Crafted from twisted 14K white gold and accented by strands of scintillating 0.64ctw pave diamonds. Ring is currently a size 7 and may be sized up or down one size. Please email [email protected] for further sizing information.
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NSK has updated its Solutions App to feature information that helps engineers understand the added value that can be achieved through the adoption of NSK bearings and associated services. NSK’s AIP (Added Value Programme) helps customers solve problems and save money as part of a straightforward step-by-step process that is made even easier to understand thanks to the updated Solutions App.
NSK’s intuitive App guides users through the journey of how AIP will work for their specific application – in essence, a standardised process for bespoke solutions. By tapping on each stage of a five-step graphical rotating dial, users can discover for themselves the benefits of AIP.
Step 1 on the dial is ‘survey’, where NSK engineers survey the plant and collect relevant information for analysis, thus determining the most critical bearing applications in need of action. Step 2 sees NSK experts make a proposal tailored to the application, including recommendations for optimising machine design, as well as opportunities for staff training. In the third step, NSK defines an implementation plan and undertakes a product trial to ensure the objectives can be achieved. The fourth step witnesses a document drawn up that quantifies the actual cost savings both in terms of machine operations and maintenance, while the final step provides an opportunity to repeat the success in other departments within the company.
Users of the updated NSK Solutions App can also explore AIP services in some detail. Here, it is possible to click on four steel balls that represent ‘surveys’, ‘selection’, ‘training’ and ‘inspection’, the four pillars that underpin AIP services.
Using a handy navigation bar, App users can drill down level by level, exploring the benefits of each service and reading success stories of relevant companies that have already enjoyed cost advantages and competitive gain. Options are then available to send the information, download it, or request contact from NSK.
The update builds on the NSK Solutions App that was first released in 2014. This helps users identify the root causes of problems and provides a guide to real-world applications where savings have been made. App users can choose between sectors that range from food and beverage to steel production, machine tools and quarrying and mining. It is then possible to investigate options based around specific applications or select the prevailing conditions that relate to the user’s own production site.
Once a specific application has been selected, the App provides relevant detailed success stories, all featuring NSK products. Each application describes the issue that has been solved and provides details of the product, along with a figure for the financial savings achieved. The savings take into account a combination of factors such as replacement costs, maintenance costs, consumables and downtime.
Ultimately, the updated App provides an additional window into NSK’s AIP programme, demonstrating in transparent and elementary terms its practical application.
The NSK Solutions App, which is available in seven different European languages, can be download free of charge from the iTunes (Apple) and Google Play (Android) stores. Convenient links can be found by clicking on the ‘multimedia’ tab at www.nskeurope.com.


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About Laura Poff
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Earlier this month, the Territorial Women’s Department assembled a diverse team of women from across the territory to plan the general session meetings for the We Will conference, to be held in Orlando in September. Meeting in the women’s department board room at THQ on January 11 and 12, many of the women had come […]
The Salvation Army of Wake County, NC’s Project FIGHT (Freeing Individuals Gripped by Human Trafficking) co-hosted a press conference on January 11 with Partners Against Human Trafficking (PATH) NC to raise awareness about multiple initiatives that are being taken across the state to put an end to human trafficking. Representatives of several local human trafficking organizations […]
The Territorial Youth Department hosted the biennial ReEffect Conference at the Atlanta International Corps in Doraville, GA, January 8-10. This year’s theme, ReVision, called on attendees to see the invisible and to question their perceptions of others. Well-prepared speakers led workshops and sessions that sparked conversations among delegates on racial reconciliation, the Syrian refugee crisis and […]
The Salvation Army USA Southern Territory held its first Social and Ethical Issues symposium Jan. 7, 2016, titled ReFocus: Seeing the Possibilities. Facilitated by Major Susan Ellis, territorial social and ethical issues director, ReFocus was an optional ReEffect pre-conference for delegates interested in fighting human trafficking. Co-facilitators of the conference included Captain Maureen Diffley, program […]


Updated from 1:08 p.m. EST
Blue-chip stocks on Wall Street surged into the close to end Friday's choppy, abbreviated trading session with gains.
When the closing bell sounded at 1 p.m. EST, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
gained 102.43 points, or 1.2%, to 8829.04, and the
added 8.56 points, or 1%, to 896.24. The
edged up 3.47 points, or 0.2%, to 1,535.57.
The final results marked the fifth straight winning session for both the Dow and S&P 500. Since last Friday's close, the Dow gained 9.7%, the S&P 500 rose 12% and the Nasdaq added 11%.
During Friday's session, traders kept a close eye on the retailers as shoppers flocked to stores to kick off the winter shopping season. In an annual ritual known as "
," stores attempt to lure customers, many of whom have the day off for Thanksgiving weekend, into their stores with preliminary holiday sales.
"Basically the Thanksgiving holiday allowed the market to hit the pause button for a little bit, which I think was much needed," said Kenneth Roberts, CFP, principal at Harbor Lights Financial in New Jersey. He said that Friday's trading will be marked by light volume as many traders take the day off.
Roberts also said that analysts will be looking for the impact of Black Friday sales on the retailers. On whether the recent gains in the major averages could be the beginning of a year-end rally, Roberts said that as unemployment takes hold, consumers are going to continue to cut back on purchases.
"This is just one of those days that you don't pay much attention to in terms of the directionality," said Christopher Orndorff, managing principal at Payden & Rygel. He said he expects consumer spending to continue to decrease in the fourth quarter. "It's going to be a very subdued Black Friday. It will also be a very subdued general shopping season."
Ahead of Friday's session, the
Royal Bank of Scotland
said the British government would take a 58% stake in the bank following tepid reception of a stock offering by the company. Shares added 5.1% to $17.58.
has hired a real estate company to help it raise up to $257 million in sales and other deals related to its European offices and assets, according to a report by the
. GM shares gained 8.9% to $5.24.
shares dropped 15% to $17.18 after the company said in a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
that it would sell 50 million shares of its stock at a discount to the previous session's closing price.
On the pharmaceutical front, antitrust investigators from the European Union said that
blocked generic drugs from the market, costing European patients as much as $3.87 billion.
Pfizer gained 2.2% to $16.43, GlaxoSmithKline added 2.8% to $34.44, and Sanofi-Aventis edged up fractionally at $27.66.
Elsewhere among pharma firms,
faces delays for its infant lung drug Motavizumab thanks to inquiries by the Food and Drug Administration. Shares ticked up 1.6% to $37.73.
, meanwhile, said it has withdrawn a new-drug application with the FDA for its pain medication Cymbalta. The stock edged up 3.9% to $34.15.
Among technology shares, billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought $66.9 million in shares of Web portal
, bringing his stake in the company up to 5.5%. Shares rocketed 8.8% to $11.51. P/>As for analyst actions, online auctioneer
caught an Argus downgrade to hold from buy. The stock edged down 2.6% to $13.13.
Although the day was light on domestic economic data, there were additional signs of trouble abroad Friday. The European Union's statistics office said that inflation in the Eurozone for November came in at 2.1%, down from 3.2% in October. The EU also said that unemployment in the region had reached 7. 7% in October, a 0.1% increase from September.
Looking at commodities, crude oil was lately shedding $2.45 to $51.99 a barrel. Gold was edging down $1.70 to $817.30 an ounce.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year note was up 8/32, yielding 2.94%, and the 30-year was climbing 26/32, yielding 3.48%. The dollar was gaining on the euro, yen and pound.
Overseas, European exchanges, such as the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt, were trading higher. In
, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished on the upside.


In 2022, an unprecedented number of policies were introduced and passed addressing embodied carbon reductions in the building and infrastructure sector. We have continued to see interest in this topic increase at all levels of government as well as in the design community and corporate space.
by Megan Kalsman and Meghan Lewis
Personal de investigación del Carbon Leadership Forum
International Policy Action
Embodied carbon has gained attention on an international scale. In 2022, the United Nations Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative announced a global coalition of governments committing to a Green Procurement Pledge to fight climate change by increasing demand for low-carbon industrial materials. Corporations have also committed to take action by creating markets for emerging clean technologies through the First Movers Coalition. The Coalition focuses on steel and aluminum (amongst other areas like shipping and trucking), with a new addition of the cement and concrete sector announced at COP 27 that took place in November 2022. Another announcement from COP 27 was that 158 ratifying countries to the Paris Agreement have included energy efficiency and building decarbonization in their national commitments.
Federal Policy Action
On the federal level, building off President Biden’s commitments in 2021 around clean manufacturing, we have seen significant actions supporting these efforts from the first days of 2022. In January, President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Federal Sustainability established the federal Buy Clean Taskforce. The Taskforce aims to increase federal purchasing of low-carbon construction materials while supporting American manufacturing companies. Federal agencies took action in the months following this announcement:
- General Services Agency announced its Buy Clean program requiring low-carbon concrete and asphalt to be used in large public projects and requiring Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
- Department of Transportation announced a pilot program to increase the use and transparency of EPDs and procure low-carbon materials for their infrastructure projects.
- Federal Highway Administration awarded $7.1 million in grants to 35 projects across the US as part of their Climate Challenge to quantify emissions of sustainable pavements.
In August 2022, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act allocated a total of $369 billion to finance climate change solutions from various levels. Specific to embodied carbon reductions, the law allocates $4.5 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and General Services Agency to procure climate-friendly construction materials for federally funded projects. Examples of funding relating to embodied carbon include:
- Develop a low-embodied carbon labeling system for construction materials and increase EPD development and standardization.
- Using and procuring low-carbon materials for federal buildings.
- Research on emerging technologies related to building materials.
- Funding transportation projects using lower embodied carbon materials.
Additionally, in September 2022, the White House announced the Federal Buy Clean Initiative stating that the federal government will prioritize purchasing lower greenhouse gas emission steel, concrete, asphalt, and flat glass. They will convene states to partner on Buy Clean policies, launch pilot programs to advance clean construction materials, and increase data transparency through supplier reporting. In October, the White House published a fact sheet that cited the CLF’s Regional Hubs, the CLF Embodied Carbon Educational Series, our published data and research, the SE2050 and MEP2040 commitments and companies, and highlighted many partners working in this space.
State and Regional Policy Action
In addition to the action on the federal level around embodied carbon, there has been progress on the state and regional levels as well. A few examples include:
- Oregon’s Buy Clean bill was signed into law in March 2022 and will require the Oregon Department of Transportation to establish a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to the construction and maintenance of their projects.
- California’s AB 2446 designates state agencies to develop a framework for measuring and then reducing the average carbon intensity of residential construction materials.
- Washington State’s Buy Clean Buy Fair Pilot Study was completed in 2022 which developed a reporting database to collect environmental and labor information from state construction projects.
- los Pacific Coast Collaborative Low Carbon Construction Taskforce announced at COP26 began convening in Spring 2022 to identify opportunities for regional alignment and action around embodied carbon.
Local Policy Action
Furthermore, we are seeing embodied carbon measures included in an increasing number of city and county climate action plans. See the CLF Policy Tracker for more info.
- The City of Vancouver’s Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment zoning requirement became part of their Building By-Law which goes into effect in 2023.
- New York City’s Executive Order 23 includes requirements for using low-carbon concrete on capital projects and concrete sidewalks, submitting EPDs to the EC3 tool, using low-emission vehicles and equipment, performing Life Cycle Analysis, and developing action plans that incorporate embodied carbon.
- The City of Denver accepted two proposed amendments to its building code that address embodied carbon, specifically requiring EPDs and setting limits for concrete and steel.
- San Francisco’s Construction and Demolition Law went into effect in January 2022. It sets debris recovery requirements for all projects in the City to be recycled or reused with no waste to landfill.
2023 is set up to be yet another year of unprecedented action on embodied carbon policy. The US federal government, joined now by a growing set of international partners, will take bold action to reduce embodied in their building and infrastructure portfolio while providing funding, technical assistance, and other programs to states, cities, and companies across the country to implement reductions. Policies led by states, cities, and provinces will continue to lead the way and set precedent for legislative action by integrating embodied carbon across urban planning and building regulations as well as innovative incentive programs. Stay in touch with our policy team and reach out to tell us about new policies for the CLF Policy Tracker!


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Research Staff: Ingmar Kranefeld M.Sc.
Phone: +49 (0)203 379-3943
Telefax: +49 (0)203 379-4143
Working title of the Dissertation
Modelling and simulation in the automotive sector | Tyre wear estimation | Tyre-road contact | Insurance ratings for motor vehicles with automated driving functions and driver assistance systems
Subject: Tyre wear estimation