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“I am extremely disappointed. No body gains from the paralysis of these Brexit like discussions.”
These were the words of Dr. Elly Karuhanga, the Chairman, Uganda Chamber of Mines & Petroleum in response to news that French oil giant, had suspended indefinitely all planned activities on the $3.5 billion and 1,445 km East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Total SA is yet to release a formal statement, but an email from Total SA to Main Logistics Contractors on the EACOP, seen by this website, informed them that the “Project is now on hold as bid activity has been suspended indefinitely by Total.”
According to insider sources, privy to the deal, Total’s suspension is related to tax disputes related to the planned acquisition by Total SA & CNOOC of a significant portion of Tullow Oil’s shares.
On January 9, 2017, Total and Tullow entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) whereby Total would acquire 21.57% out of Tullow’s 33.33% interest in the Lake Albert licenses. CNOOC however exercised its right to pre-empt 50% of the transaction and as a result, Total and CNOOC each agreed to acquire 50% of the stake offered by Tullow, which would have each increase their interest to 44.1% while Tullow would have kept 11.8%.
However a spirited tax dispute ensued on Capital Gains Tax payable on the $900 million transaction- an estimated USD167 million (UGX600billion. Again according to insider sources, while an agreement was reached on the CGT- Total and CNOOC offered to foot USD82 million of Tullow’s tax bill, leaving USD85 million for Tullow, one teething issue remained: Government of Uganda refused to allow Total SA and CNOOC to claim this cost as a deductible expenditure for income tax purposes.
This became a deal breaker and after several deadline extensions and a meeting with President Museveni in June 2019, the final deadline for closing the transaction, reached on August 29, 2019, and as such, the Acquisition Agreement had to automatically be terminated- according to statements separately released by both Tullow Oil and Total.
Despite the termination of this agreement, Total in an August 29th statement by Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production, said that they and their partners (CNOOC and Tullow Oil) were still interested and would continue to focus all their efforts on progressing the development of the Lake Albert oil resources.
“The project is technically mature and we are committed to continuing to work with the Government of Uganda to address the key outstanding issues required to reach an investment decision,” said Arnaud Breuillac.
He however warned that “a stable and suitable legal and fiscal framework remains a critical requirement for investors” moving forward.
Government, on their part, through a statement by Robert Kasande, the energy and minerals ministry Permanent Secretary said that” “Government will continue to work with the Joint Venture Partners (JVPs) to ensure the Final Investment Decision (FID) is achieved at the earliest and in a manner that safeguards the country’s interests and sovereignty, while delivering a healthy return on investment for the licensees. “
Mistrust, shifting agendas and the Museveni Factor
But away from the diplomatic over-the-table statements, according to a soruce familiar with the negotiations, the problem underlying the successive tax disputes between Government of Uganda (GoU) and the three joint venture partners remains the determination by GOU compounded by an overly cautious and sometimes hard-line stance by President Museveni to frontload Uganda’s gains at the expense of the oil companies.
Consequently the oil companies are frustrated by GoU’s desire to secure large financial windfalls from the project prior to the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and production phases through whatever means available to them. The oil companies on the other hand insist that both sides should benefit post- EPC and production stages, as per the terms of the Production Sharing Agreement.
“This misalignment has caused a 7-year delay (and counting). Clearly the 3 upstream JV partners have decided to let the farm-down agreement expire to paralyze momentum to Final Investment Decision (FID),” said the source adding that given that 2021 is a campaign year, failure to resolve the deadlock by end of 2019, dims the prospects for a resolution before late 2021.
“It is very difficult to focus government leaders in an election year,” said the source.
Detailing the Museveni factor on the oil negotiations, the expert said that all the previous tax disputes have had a shared pattern, characterised by a standoff that lasts one and a half to three years+; then GOU caves in or an agreement is reached, often at the behest of President Museveni for about half the disputed tax to be paid.
The source also alluded to an “all too apparent” fear amongst the involved GOU technocrats and ministers to take any step or position, albeit reasonable for fear of being accused or suspected of harbouring private interests.
“No one in government can make a $20bn decision freely. Officials would rather play delay tactics until they are sure of the President’s position. Unless Mr. Museveni himself intervenes, you shouldn’t expect a decision soon,” said the source.
“In summary, it is a trust issue. Museveni’s advisers, many of whom are not competent enough to understand the industry or ballsy enough to tell the president any view contrary to his own, have continuously told him not trust anyone on oil issues. As it is, President Museveni does not trust the International Oil Companies and they too do not trust him- they have been shifting goal posts on demands and they seem to want to delay the project until after 2021 when the political future is clearer,” said the source, adding that any delays could cost the country further.
“Uganda continues to lose out big on the delay- we have so far lost about $3 billion in upfront revenue and 3 or so years to first oil. Add that to the fact that most of Uganda’s borrowing and economic growth projections have been pegged to oil, then you see the real impact of this Total SA decision,” said the source.
Local companies to count losses
In an e-mailed response to CEO East Africa Magazine, Emmanuel Mugarura, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Uganda Oil and Gas Service Providers (AUGOS) told us that the suspension by Total, was “a very big setback for the industry and for the country.”
“Almost all our members are affected in one way or the other. We have been spending money to build capacity, to build systems, to train and buy equipment in readiness for the industry. Now all that is put to waste until when, I don’t know,” he said.
“We urge the government and IOCs to come back to the negotiating table to save the industry and the country. Many people, both employed directly by IOCS and the service providers will definitely lose jobs and source of income. It is a bleak situation but government and the IOCS can salvage the situation’” said Mugarura.
Elly Karuhanga, on his part expressed measured optimism saying: “We are doing everything possible to get the parties on the drawing board again…Fortunately the oil is still there.”
I will pursue Bank of Uganda to the end; if I die, my son will take over- Dr. Sudhir vows
“Nobody has been in the past been able to win Central Bank – they have stolen 7 different banks and not accounted to any shareholder and this is the unfortunate part of the whole scenario. You take somebody’s assets, you steal it, you profit from it and you don’t account for it; this is so ridiculous! Then, they sued for $100 Million; the money they stole, they are suing me for it. How?” he wondered.
Pictorial: How Meera Investments is changing Kampala’s skyline
Today, Meera Investments, the property development arm of the Ruparelia Group officially inaugurates their Electrical Plaza, the latest addition to their mixed use building portfolio in the city centre.
Since 1994, Meera has been part of a number of innovative property solutions in mainly, the commercial and residential space and today owns sectors and to date owns over 300 properties in Kampala and other major towns like Mukono, Jinja, Mbale and Mbarara.
The company, according to its Chairman and founder, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, is the largest developer of commercial and residential properties and also owns the largest number of ongoing real estate projects. It is also the largest private owner of commercial land in Kampala.
Meera Investments Limited was in 2017/18 rated as a top rental income taxpayer by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) while Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, the Chairman/Managing Director of Meera Investments, was rated the second biggest individual rental income taxpayer.
Over the last 3-4 years, the company has been on a construction spree, raising several properties across Kampala, which have both redefined city architecture and changed both Kampala’s skyline, as well as the look and feel of the Kampala City.
Today, we revisit and review some of those projects, especially those developed over the last 3-4 years
“The development of SGR isn’t behind schedule at all as far as harmonization agreement is concerned,” Says Coordinator
” The Standard Gauge Railway was adopted in 2014, by the East Africa Presidents who launched the multitrillion project meant to modernise the traditional railway transport system geared towards boosting economic growth by facilitating a faster movement of goods across borders. “
The SGR Coordinator, Canon Perez Wamburu while appearing before the Public Accounts Committee yesterday to respond to audit queries raised in the 2017/2018 audit report that raised concerns over the delays in implementation of the perceived regional railway, he affirmed that Uganda is on schedule for the construction despite compensating only 11% compensation of the project affected persons within three years.
His remarks were in response to a call by some MPs like Theodore Ssekikuubo (Lwemiyaga County) who questioned why taxpayers have to continue funding the team in charge of SGR yet no single kilometer of the railway has been constructed, five years from the time it was launched in 2014.
Ssekikuubo said, “We are incurring nugatory expenditure on this white elephant. Is it about time we launched the standard gauge railway. After a decade of the launch, not even one kilometer has been put on ground. Kenya has already started on its side, ours was launched at a hotel in Munyonyo, it has remained there, dead and buried there unless the contrary is proved, are we as a country right to continue appropriating money to a non-starting project.”
In response, Wamburu said, “We agreed that Kenya and Uganda arrive at Malaba at the same time. The development of SGR isn’t behind schedule at all as far as harmonization agreement is concerned. Uganda SGR isn’t late at all.”
The Standard Gauge Railway was adopted in 2014, by the East Africa Presidents who launched the multitrillion project meant to modernise the traditional railway transport system geared towards boosting economic growth by facilitating a faster movement of goods across borders.
President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya flagged off the maiden passenger train on the newly completed Mombasa-Nairobi SGR in March 2017 and although Uganda had promised to start construction in June 2015, but three years down the road, Government is yet to complete funding negotiations with Exim Bank China.
On Uganda’s side, project is to cost USD2.8Bn approximately, of this, Exim Bank will bring on board USD2.3Bn which represents 85%, while the remaining 15% will be footed by Ugandan tax payers.
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Chris is the head choreographer at the Next Step Dance Studio. Chris is very easy-going and that is one of the reasons he and Kate don't always see eye to eye. Even though Kate and Chris have different opinions of how to run the studio they still respect each other. Together Kate and himself try to make the dancers the best they can be.
- In the preview of the episode "Just the Two of Us" it is shown that Chris is a skilled dancer being able to do backflips showing that he may be a hip-hop dancer.
- Shamier Anderson who plays Chris used to host a former family channel segment called "Family First."

domain: artistic


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KSFY) - While many states are still working to become compliant with the Real ID Act South Dakota is leading the way. The state began issuing Real ID’s in 2009, but some officials are trying to get other states caught up.
South Dakota has already issued more than 675,000 Real ID-compliant driver’s licenses and more than 62,000 Real ID identification cards.
Some states continue to lag behind, but drivers licensing departments are staying on top of it.
U.S. travelers are just 10 short months away from needing a Real ID to board an airplane. Joe White from Michigan traveled through the Sioux Falls Airport Thursday and said he had no idea what this new law even was.
"I guess I’m not sure what it does. A state ID is a state ID," Traveler, White said.
The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005. This issued stronger requirements for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards.
The hijackers in the 9/11 attacks had fraudulent identification so congress took action to keep U.S. airports safe.
"It's the steps we had to take because of some bad people out there," Traveler, Sam Narrow said.
"It means you need to have a driver's license that is issued by a state that meets all of the security standards or another acceptable form of identification," TSA Spokeswoman, Lorie Dankers said.
"I don't think people know about it enough right now to know what's going to happen if their state doesn't have the approved IDs," Narrow said.
South Dakota adapted to the processes fast issuing the cards nearly 10 years ago. Governor Kristi Noem announced Thursday that the state is now more than 99 percent compliant with this new law.
"We need to know you are who you say you are when you get that state-issued driver's license," Dankers said.
On October 1, 2020, TSA will begin enforcing Real ID requirements. Many states have yet to issue Real ID-compliant cards or residents have yet to get them. If you don’t get one traveler will not be allowed through the security checkpoint and they will not be allowed to board the plane.
Officials are asking that you don't delay! If you look at the upper right-hand corner and you see a gold star on your license or identification card it is compliant.
When you go to get one you'll need to prove who you are with your social security number and prove you're in the country legally by providing your state of residency. Some states are still less than four percent compliant.


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Five Nigerian banks which included Zenith Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank), FirstBank Nigeria Limited, Access Bank Plc and the United Bank for Africa Plc, were ranked among The Banker Magazineâ€™s 2018 1000 Global Banks, in a report released Monday.
The ranking said, Zenith Bank was placed first in Nigeria and 402nd bank in the world, showing that the financial institution moved 28 places up, compared with the 430th position it was placed last year.
In Nigeria, Zenith Bank was closely followed by GTBank as the second largest bank in Nigeria and 576th in the world.
Also, FirstBank was ranked the third in Nigeria and 592nd in the world.
Access Bank occupied the fourth position and was ranked 630th bank in the world, while UBA was placed fifth in Nigeria and 856th in the global ranking.
According to The Banker, Africaâ€™s economic fortunes improved over the 2017 review period following a difficult couple of years in which lower commodity prices hit the performance of the continentâ€™s largest markets.
â€œThis slowly improving economic climate was reflected by the growth trajectory of Africaâ€™s banks which have, across the board, posted relatively strong numbers in the 2018 Top 1000 World Banks ranking,â€ it stated.
Among the top 10 African banks by Tier 1 capital, South Africaâ€™s Standard Bank once again scooped the top spot with $10 billion. This, it stated, was a significant jump from the $8.6 billion in Tier 1 capital the bank recorded in the 2017 ranking. Accordingly, its position in the global table has climbed from 149th to 145th.
Other South African lenders also performed well. FirstRand maintained second position in the Africa table while growing its Tier 1 capital position, while Nedbank also posted an increase to its Tier 1 capital despite surrendering third spot in the table to the ABSA Group.
Also, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), at 337th position, was ranked third in the world.No tags for this post.

domain: news


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LIKE HER ON FACEBOOK!
Make sure you head over to Facebook and "Like" Sabrina's page! This is the best place for up-to-date info on Sabrina's upcoming events & performances. Never miss a show!
Sabrina composes both lyrics and music for her songs. She sings about life, love, joy and sorrow. Her voice is described as powerful, uniquely different, raspy, and strong, with a special edge of its own.
SABRINA FALLAH EP
The first EP of original songs by Sabrina Fallah was recorded in England by her producer Stuart Epps, who has worked with notables like Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Twisted Sister and Oasis.
September 21, 2021 Who knew LEGO could be Anime?! The Mystic Mornings Talk Show...
KZLB (92.1 FM, “92 Rock”) in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States have put my songs “The Frontline” and “All Or Nothing” in rotationMy songs “The Frontline” and “All Or Nothing” are now in rotation on KZLB (92.1...


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Svirfneblin snipers standing around dramatically in some smoke
My brother Chris has sent me some final concept art for our alternative Svirfneblin-inspired Ratling project (or “the nebos” as he’s taken to calling them in his very . . . Aussie fashion). He’s just finishing up another miniatures project, and then he’s ready to start sculpting the greens. I think they will look pretty amazing.
Svirfneblin snipers on a break
Svirfneblin sniper rifles
There are more images on Chris’s blog here. I particularly like the NCO.
A little while ago I mentioned that I was dissatisfied with GW’s hobbit-inspired ratlings, and the only way I could see getting my hands on ratlings I liked was either to do a massive modelling project or commission a sculptor.
Well, last week you might remember I mentioned my brother Chris’s blog, which mainly chronicles his D&D adventures. Chris is a trained printmedia artist with a long-term interest in sculpting miniatures, and I had a chat with him about making some tough, leathery little bastards inspired by the aesthetic of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Svirfneblin (deep gnomes).
He agreed to give it a go and the above sketch is his first rough whack at the job. I’m pretty excited, and will of course keep track of how this goes on my blog. He has a cartoonish style that I think suits this idea well, given the exaggerated features I’m after. I particularly like the mandarin collars, the sneaky ninja boots and the felt helmets, which Chris tells me are based on World War One Romanian felt helmets.
For anyone who’s interested, here’s a link to some greens he has made and some of his future projects in miniature design.
The current iteration of Ratlings in Warhammer 40,000. Nice models I guess, but way too Sam Gamgee for my liking.
Today I’m going to return to Warhammer 40,00 and talk a little about a subject near-ish to my heart (maybe somewhere in the vicinity of the pancreas) – Ratlings. That’s right, Games Workshop’s throwback space hobbit snipers.
I’m genuinely surprised whenever they manage to sneak into a new Imperial Guard book, so someone in the studio must like them. You can tell how the community really feels about something though by looking at Black Library novels. I can’t remember the last time a Ratling was even a character in one, but Ogryns for example pop up quite regularly.
Online you see almost universal disdain for the little buggers. I think there are a few reasons for this. Continue reading

domain: hobby


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Wow. This turkey was fantastic. Everyone at dinner mentioned it was the best turkey they had ever had. I added rosemary to the brine and that was it; put it in an oven bag and put that in a stockpot overnight in the fridge. I had a 12lb turkey, so I only used about a cup of salt. The next day, stuffed with a sliced apple, half a large onion, a chopped large carrot, and some sliced frozen celery. Rubbed with olive oil and put in the oven uncovered at 350 for 3 hours. I forgot the bay leaf but that probably didn't matter much. We poured apple wine over it, and halfway through added a cup of water in the pan since it dried up. Never flipped it. It came out perfect, the skin was crispy and yummy, and it cut like butter. Slightly salty but it tasted perfect. After the turkey is done I'll boil it down into soup, and add the vegetables that were stuffing it when the soup is done since they're already soft. I'll never make a turkey another way after this.
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Wow. This turkey was fantastic. Everyone at dinner mentioned it was the best turkey they had...

domain: food


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The boss in charge of Hogwarts Legacy, and WarnerMedia as a whole, for that matter, has shared a new update about when the highly-anticipated Harry Potter video game will actually release. Since the unveiling of Hogwarts Legacy back in 2020, WB Games has kept the title very much under wraps. In fact, all of 2021 came and went without any new trailers or footage for the game releasing in any capacity. Despite this notable silence surrounding the title, though, Hogwarts Legacy has been reiterated to still arrive this year.
In a recent message on social media, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar talked more about what the company has on deck throughout 2022. While Kilar touched on a number of different things that deal with different sectors of WarnerMedia, he also happened to bring up Hogwarts Legacy and emphasized that the game will still launch later this year. Kilar didn't go on to say anything in particular about Hogwarts Legacy outside of this, but he did mention it alongside Gotham Knights as two games that will be very important for WarnerMedia in the coming months.
This mission, this strategy continues in ‘22 with a sense of urgency: launching HBO Max in many more countries this quarter and the balance of the year, launching CNN+, delivering of a full slate of highly anticipated games. 10/x pic.twitter.com/CY5jYAhxU5— Jason Kilar (@jasonkilar) January 26, 2022
At this point in time, we've been hearing a number of new rumors about when WB Games could opt to show off more of Hogwarts Legacy. While some rumors gained traction at the end of 2021 suggesting that a new trailer would be dropping soon, that window came and went without any new footage for the game being released. That being said, it sounds like WB Games is essentially just sitting on a load of new information and content to show off for Hogwarts Legacy and is waiting for the optimal time to release all of it publicly. Whether or not we see anything new from the game in the near future remains to be seen, but it sounds like we should start to hear more about Hogwarts Legacy sooner rather than later at this point.
Regardless of when Hogwarts Legacy does release, it's planned to come to both last-gen and current-gen platforms. This means that it will roll out for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC.
Do you think that Hogwarts Legacy will surely end up releasing this year, or could you see it getting delayed in the future? Let me know either down in the comments or you can hit me up on Twitter at @MooreMan12.

domain: entertainment


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Welcome to the Environment and Climate Research Center
The Environment and Climate Research Center aims to conduct rigorous policy-oriented research on the economics of climate and the environment, undertake impact evaluation of Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE)-related interventions, provide evidence-based policy advice, compile and disseminate knowledge and data, serve as a research-policy interaction hub, and contribute to capacity building on the economics of climate change and the environment.The center was officially established on February 23, 2015 and instituted as a special research center within the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI). EDRI has partnered with the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to establish the Environment and Climate Research Center (ECRC).
ECRC builds upon EDRI’s long-standing collaborative research program with EfD, the Environmental Economics Policy Forum for Ethiopia (EEPFE), a pioneer project in Ethiopia’s environment and climate policy research.
Danyo, Stephen, Asferachew Abate, Mohammed Bekhechi, Gunnar Köhlin, Haileselassie Medhin, Alemu Mekonnen, Amare Fentie, Tsegaye Ginbo, Betelhem Mulugeta Negede, Haleluya T Gebru and Anna Wikman. 2017. “Ethiopia Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) Realizing Green Transformation”
Gebreegziabher, Zenebe, G. Cornelis van Kooten and Daan P van Soest. 2017. “Technological Innovation and Dispersion: Environmental Benefits and the Adoption of Improved Biomass Cookstoves in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia.” Energy Economics 67: 337-345.
Damte Beyene, Abebe, Alemu Mekonnen, Menale Kassie, Salvatore Di Falco and Mintewab Bezabih. 2017. “Determinants of Adoption and Impacts of Sustainable Land Management and Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (SLM-CSA)” EfD Discussion Paper Series
Damte Beyene, Abebe, Alemu Mekonnen, Menale Kassie, Salvatore Di Falco and Mintewab Bezabih. 2017. “Determinants of Adoption and Impacts of Sustainable Land Management and Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (SLM-CSA): Panel Data Evidence from the Ethiopian Highlands.” EfD Discussion Paper Series EfD DP 17-10.
Hailu, Elias, Mintewab Bezabih and Tadele Ferede. 2017. “The Impact of Credit Constraints and Climatic Factors on Choice of Adaptation Strategies: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia.” EfD Discussion Paper Series EfD DP 17-01.
Gebreheiwot, Tagel, Anne van der Veen and Ben Maathuis. 2016. “Governing agricultural drought: Monitoring using the vegetation condition index.” Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management 9:3: 354-371.
Teklewold, Hailemariam, Alemu Mekonnen, Gunnar Köhlin and Salvatore Di Falco. 2017. “Does Adoption of multiple climate-smart practices improve farmers’ climate resilience? Empirical evidence from the Nile basin of Ethiopia.” Climate Change Economics 8: No. 1 (2017) 1750001: .
Gebreegziabher, Zenebe and G. Cornelis van Kooten. 2015. “Single versus Multiple Objective(s) Decision Making: An Application to Subsistence Farms in Northern Ethiopia.” Ethiopian Journal of Economics XXIV:2: 129-157.
Vieider, Ferdinand, Abebe Damte Beyene, Randall Bluffstone, Sahan Dissanayake, Zenebe Gebreegziabher, Peter Martinsson and Alemu Mekonnen. 2016. “Measuring risk preferences in rural Ethiopia.” Economic Development and Cultural Change :forthcoming: .
Teklewold, Hailemariam, Alemu Mekonnen, Gunnar Köhlin and Salvatore Di Falco. 2016. “Does Adoption of Multiple Climate-Smart Practices Improve Farmers’ Climate Resilience? Empirical Evidence from the Nile Basin of Ethiopia.” EfD Discussion Paper Series 16-21.
Gebreegziabher, Zenebe, Alemu Mekonnen, Rahel Deribe and Samuel Abera. 2016. “Mapping Vulnerability to Climate Change of the Farming Sector in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia A Micro-level Perspective.” EfD Discussion Paper Series 19-16.
Woubishet, Dawit. 2013. “The Effects of Groundwater and Surface Water Use on Total Water Availability and Implications for Water Management: The Case of Lake Naivasha, Kenya.” Water Resources Management 27:9: 3477-3492.
Woubishet, Dawit. 2016. “Accounting for Spatial Non-Stationarity to Estimate Population Distribution Using Land Use/Cover. Case Study: the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya .” Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planing 4:1: 33-44.

domain: economics


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Desmond Morris- The Soccer Tribe 1981, Hardback with original competition entry slip!!
This copy is in great condition and still has the original competition entry quiz slip to win tickets to the 1982 World Cup in Spain! The slip is completely unmarked. An amazing book which is a study on the philosophy of the football fans' psyche. Th

domain: library


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Some more new Hearty Crafts 3D images to show you.
All available from Blue Edge Crafts
I think this one would be suitable for an adult or a child.
I have used a 5x7 card layered with card and topped with Quikcutz diamond, Hearty Crafts Doctors and Nurses 3d image , buttons and a Sticker Store greeting.
Thank you for visiting my blog this week.


by Ivan Kovac, Zagreb, Croatia
Overview and Introduction:
The Prestigio Nobile 1590W notebook is sold in Europe and can be found on the Prestigio website where it is descrbed in the following way:
“Notebook Prestigio Nobile 1590W has 15.4” WSXGA wide screen display with 1680×1050 resolution and external MXM video card and based on newest Intel Centrino chipset. This slim designed model has wide range of features as Bluetooth, Intervideo InstantOn, remote control and Intel High Definition Audio (Realtek ALC880, 7.1 Multi-channel compatible through S/PDIF). “
The Prestigio Nobile 1590W notebook is actually based upon the Uniwill 259EA1 barebones model notebook (many manufacturers will use a barebone notebook made in Taiwan by such Original Design Manufacturers as Uniwill and then configure and resell the notebook under their own brand, so Prestigio is therefore the Original Equipment Manufacturer — OEM). There are actually other notebooks that use this Uniwill barebones model platform (Nexoc, and some Forcebook models). The advantage of the Prestigio Nobile 1590W machine is that you can configure the notebook to serve as a midrange business oriented machine by switching it to integrated graphics mode or a gaming beast by switching to using the MXM type 2 card inside (an ATI X700 card in this case). A simple switch on the notebook allows you to flip between integrated and dedicated graphics. The Prestigio 1590W comes with the following standard specs:
- Intel Alviso-G i915GM chipset (with GMA900 VGA)
- Realtek RTL8169/8110 Gigabit Ethernet
- Motorola SM56 modem
- DVD-RW TSST TS-L532A Optical Drive
- Realtek ALC880 sound.
- 15.4″ WSXGA+ screen
- Multicard reader
- 3 powered USB 2.0 ports
At the time the below options could be configured and were left to my choice:
- Pentium M 750J @ 1,86 GHz
- Memory 2x1GB Kingston (max. configuration)
- Wireless Intel ProWireless 2915a/b/g
- MXM ATI X700 128MB (MXM type I)
- MSI Bluetooth dongle inside on the internal USB
- HD Toshiba 60GB 5400 rpm.
Reasons for Buying:
I used to have an old Asus M6800N and was very happy with it. I work for a small IT company that does a lot of work with databases, localization of web pages and programming. A friend of mine and a programmer needed a new machine for his C/C++ programming, so I figured it was a good idea for me to let him have the Asus as I was searching something new for myself. I wanted to buy another Asus notebook or maybe try an Acer — but I was open to any brand that had a desktop replacement for a reasonable price. I wanted the Intel 915 chipset and a dedicated graphics card. Since I am in an IT company I have an access to distributors and can choose what to buy. That is how I found this notebook model that (at the time) was the only available platform with an switchable graphic card for that price. That was the reason I purchased it. In fact, there was no other option for me once I saw the specs and got the price I wanted!
Where and How Purchased:
I bought my notebook a few months ago at a Croatian Asbis dealer. It is sold over here as a barebone machine that can be configured to your needs. That includes being able to configure CPU, Memory, Hard Drive, Wireless, Operating System, Graphics Processing Unit, stickers etc. My configuration was around $1,700 USD, including 22% VAT (tax), which is way cheaper in comparison to the closest competitors over here. It didn’t have an OS installed, but this was not a problem as my company is already a Microsoft partner and we have access to their software.
Build & Design:
Prestigio Nobile 1590W / Uniwill 259EA1 notebook front view (view larger image)
This notebook is built quite strongly. The case uses sturdy plastic and it is overall well made. The design is silver combined with black and this looks decent — there is no poor finish anywhere on the body of the machine. I didn’t buy this notebook for the looks though, for me it’s what’s inside that is great.
The screen frame is solid, and I didn’t see any effects of bending or twisting of the frame or of any lid opening problems. The screen hinges are pretty firm and there is no wobble.
Underside view of the Prestigio 1590W (view larger image)
In the above view is a picture of underside of the 1590W you can see 9 screws on one plate open the whole interior. There are 3 screws to access the external VGA card, 4 for the CPU compartment, 1 additional for the HD, 1 for Bluetooth module and finally 1 for the optical drive. This is by far the easiest opening case I have ever seen.
This notebook has a built in microphone on top of the widescreen, which is a nice feature to have. I carry the notebook around in a backpack and with a battery it weighs around 3.2 kg (7.05lbs).
The screen is excellent! The resolution is WSXGA+ (1680×1050). That’s better than most other notebooks on the market that are much more expensive than this one. I found no dead pixels on my screen, although I have heard about some problems regarding this with the same model. I would recommend checking the screen at the store before buying if you can. The back lighting for the screen is even and bright and the viewing angle is respectable. The lid can be pushed back around 120 degrees from the closed position. The screen is good for gaming and there is no colour or luminosity changes in the corners. The brightness can be adjusted between 6 different levels and the overall color contrast is good.
The speakers are small and located under the screen. They are covered in a textile fabric material. Overall the speakers are not so good in a comparison to other built-in notebook speakers I have heard, but they do produce decent middle and high frequencies. The amount of bass is too weak, but this can be partly fixed through the ALC880 equalizer. On a scale 1-10 I’d give the speakers a 6. I recommend buying external speakers or headphones to get better audio. This notebook has the ALC880 HD audio system and can be connected to a 7.1 system through the digital SPDIF connector.
Processor and Performance:
This notebook offers very good performance in both basic Windows usage and Office applications along with games. The processor I got in this notebook is an Intel Pentium M 1.86 GHz that can be overclocked to 1.96 GHz in BIOS. It takes about 45 seconds to boot up and load all services and drivers. The fact the notebook is configured with 2GB of RAM helps to speed things along a lot in my work. I usually have an allocation of 1.3 GB of RAM. When not using the notebook I’ll usually put it into hibernate 99% of the time instead of shutting down, that way it needs only 25 seconds to get back up and working. With the processor and amount of RAM I have the notebook has never shown any sign of lack of resources or power in my usage. I play games like FEAR on it with decent frame rates on high at 800×600. On medium-high I can play it at 1024×768. Older games are just great on high at 1280×800 or even 1680×1050.
Below are the results gained from running Super Pi (ftp://pi.super-computing.org/windows/super_pi.zip), a program that forces the laptop’s processor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy. I timed it when on normal processor speed settings and when overclocked:
|Prestigio Nobile 1590W (1.86GHz Pentium M / overclocked @ 1.96GHz)||1m 41s / 1m 34s|
|Dell XPS M140 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)||1m 41s|
|Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)||1m 53s|
|IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)||1m 45s|
|IBM ThinkPad Z60m (2.0 GHz Pentium M)||1m 36s|
|Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M)||1m 48s|
|Dell Inspiron 6000D (1.6 GHz Pentium M)||1m 52s|
|Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M)||2m 10s|
|HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)||1m 39s|
|HP DV4170us (Pentium M 1.73 GHz)||1m 53s|
|Sony VAIO S380 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)||1m 45s|
Below are the results gained from running 3DMark05 on the Prestigio (using default CPU speed, GPU, voltage settings):
|Notebook||3DMark 05 Results|
|Prestigio Nobile 1590W (1.86GHz, ATI X700 128MB)||2296 3DMarks|
|Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m (2.0GHz Pentium M, ATI X600 128MB)||1659 3DMarks / 3426 CPUMarks|
|ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz, ATI X300 64MB graphics)||727 3DMarks / 3414 CPUMarks|
|Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI Radeon Mobility x700 128 MB)||2530 3D Marks / 3749 CPU Marks|
|Quanta KN1 (1.86 GHz Pentium M, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6600 128mb)||2,486 3DMarks / 4106 CPUMarks|
|HP dv4000 (1.86GHz Pentium M, ATI X700 128MB)||2536 3D Marks / 3557 CPU Marks|
|Dell Inspiron XPS 2 (2.0GHz Pentium M, NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 Ultra with 256MB)||5112 3D Marks / NA|
|Everest Results (version 2.20) default settings / enhanced performance setting|
|Memory read: 2693 MB/s | 3065 MB/s|
|Memory write: 745 MB/s | 824 MB/s|
|Latency: 110.4 ns | 99.0 ns|
Heat and Noise:
This notebook is very silent — the fan turns on at 56 C, following speeds at 60, 65, 70, 75 C. The normal working temperature is around 54 C. Using the Intel GMA900 integrated graphics is better for using Office applications, DVD playing and Windows work on battery. When using the integrated graphics the fan almost never turns on. Using the ATI X700 is of course far better in modern 3D games at the cost of increased temperature and less battery time. Temperature inside is around 50 C and that produces evenly warm upper surface of the notebook after few hours of work. Sometimes I find this warmth unpleasant. When playing games the right side gets quite warm without a cooling pad. The fan is positioned on the bottom and it takes the air in there so I don’t believe it can be used well in the lap as this would block the vent. The Disk is silent and never goes over 35 C (and that’s after extended use and without using a cooler pad). The optical drive is reasonably quiet.
During gaming with the ATI GPU the notebook can reach temps around 85 C. Here you can see the effects of under and overclocking on the ATI x700.
Keyboard and Touchpad:
Prestigio 1590W / Uniwill 259EA1 top row buttons on the keyboard (view larger image)
The keyboard is a standard full-sized keyboard, it is available in US English only. It has an FN button that is located before the left Ctrl. Overall the keyboard is stable and well built, but I find that the arrow buttons sometimes make squeaky sounds, like something is not in place right. The keyboard does not bend or flex except for the upper right corner. I have spoken to another person that bought this notebook who confirmed the same issue with flex in the upper right corner.
At the top of the keyboard are three shortcut buttons — Internet, Windows Media Player and Wireless on/off. There are also three LEDs — Wireless, Sleep and Battery.
The Pointing device is good, but it lacks horizontal scroll. There are left and right mouse buttons, no “wheel” button. The On/off power button is blue when you’re using GMA900, and green when using the external graphic card. Some functions that can be performed with the FN button are: Sleep, Speaker on/off, LCD/CRT, Volume up and down, Brightness up and down. I would really like a touchpad on/off button, but there is no such thing on this notebook.
Input and Output Ports:
MIC in, Line in, Spdif/Speaker out. Multicard reader (view larger image)
PC Card (with a XD reader inside on this picture), Firewire, 3 powered USB 2.0, Power, S-video out (view larger image)
VGA, and the battery can be seen in the middle (view larger image)
1Gbit Ethernet, 56K modem (view larger image)
I have an Intel 2915a/b/g wireless card inside this notebook, so it is a true Centrino machine. I used to have problems with it — all the usual stuff, but I finally solved the problem. It is a quite an interesting story. The first 2915 card I had didn’t work on either my notebook or on the same barebone notebook that a friend of mine has. I thought the card must therefore be broken. Then I took a 2915 card from my brothers notebook – the same brand, manufacturer, and series (only the production date was different) and put it into my notebook. Guess what? It worked. Now here is the funny part — I put my old Intel 2915 into my brother’s Prestigio 13″ screen notebook and the card works flawlessly! Very strange.
Bluetooth is solved with an inside USB dongle. The BlueTooth dongle is made by MSI and comes with the excellent BlueSoleil software. There is no infrared built-into this notebook.
The battery life is not so good, it uses a 4400mAh Panasonic Li-Ion battery. It lasts around 2.5 hours when using the integrated Intel GMA900 mode and doing simple windows work, and around 1:45 when using the dedicated ATI graphics card. This is just enough time to watch a whole DVD on it. I think it is a 4 cell battery, and a better battery with more cells can be purchased. The standard battery slots in completely and does not stick out of the back.
Operating System and Software:
You can choose to take Windows XP Pro with this notebook. I didn’t because I already have my own version of Windows XP Pro (my company being a Microsoft partner). There are no system restore disks, no hidden partitions (it is obviously a power user notebook). Instant ON software, and drivers are included.
I really can’t say much about what the support is like because it is sold through distributor channels. The warranty is two years. I will soon know more about the dead pixel policy. Upgrades are available with a delay. Service on the notebook is handled through another company — they were quite good and professional when I called for some information.
After the all mentioned above I would like to point out some more interesting details:
- The notebook has the Instant ON ability for playing multimedia without booting into Windows. It works well except that it cannot access any partitions besides the primary and optical drive. It can be used via remote control. I actually purchased an additional IR remote control for $20 USD. It fully supports Instant ON and many controls in Windows. It looks very good though and can even be placed inside the PCMCIA card slot for storage! The Prestigio 1590W notebook has no IR port as I mentioned before, but with this remote comes a little USB IR sensor on a cord. The good thing is it can be used on desktops and other notebooks too!
Remote purchased to work with Prestigio 1590W — it comes with its own IR receiver
The remote can be easily stored in the PCMCIA slot!
- BIOS has an option called “Enhanced performance” that actually overclocks FSB speed to140MHz, making the CPU speed 1.96GHz. It doesn’t produce much extra heat when doing this (I didn’t notice any) and performance is better. Especially in memory marks. The good thing is the overclocking automatically turns off when on battery!
- There’s a switch for external (dedicated) or internal (integrated) graphics. You can flip the switch, but you have to reboot for the change to take effect. Beware of hibernating and then changing the graphics adapter used as you can’t recover from hibernate on a different graphics configuration!
- This notebook has the High definition audio based on Intel ICH6 with Realtek ALC880 as an interface. Line in makes wonders for my electric guitar hum, and effects that I use have 1ms delay which is excellent. It is possible to have even a 7.1 system through the digital spdif connector.
Note: My marks points out of 10 are at the end of each statement.
- Not a very attractive design, but I don’t mind 6/10
- Not the best battery and I do mind 4/10
- There is no button or FN combo for the touchpad on/off — I really don’t see the reason why 1/10
- Can be warm after long gaming without a cooling pad, fan is below 6/10
- Puny speakers for such audio potential behind 6/10
- Excellent WSXGA+ screen 10/10
- Good and strong build 9/10
- Possibility to upgrade and install even MXM type II cards 10/10
- 3 powered USB ports + 1 internal 9/10
- 2 VGA cards and external VGA switch 10/10
- HD audio, line in and digital SPDIF out (up to 7.1 surround) 10/10
This is the best purchase I have ever made. The price of the notebook is comparable to much weaker models. It always has at least one better component or completely outclasses its competitors in the same price class, at least here in Croatia.
It is absolutely recommended for the future upgraders, gamers and power users. Paired with a cooling pad it can be overclocked to yield 30% better marks (over 3100 3dmark05) and undervolted to deliver it at 10 C lower temp. Now that makes it a very good gaming machine too.
You can read more about my experience in overclocking and undervolting this machine by going here: http://www.thegamebooks.com/notebook-review:-prestigio-nobile-1590w-t88.html. There are also pictures of the inside and an Ati x700 BIOS for download.
The Uniwill 259EA1 is a known platform and many brands are using it and make it quite popular in Central and Eastern Europe. The names known to me under which it is sold are Forcebook and Nexoc. I see that many of these models also come with 1280×800 screen and are thus cheaper.


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Santa Rosa Junior College
A group of California community colleges is giving some of their most financially vulnerable students money to help pay for their basic needs so they can stay in college and earn degrees.
The Hire UP pilot program, which is funded by a $30 million appropriation the California State Assembly approved in 2022, is designed to give regular monthly cash payments to college students who are formerly incarcerated, former foster youth and low-income parents receiving money from the state’s CalWORKs social assistance program.
“Those are some of the most economically disadvantaged student groups we have,” Gina Browne, an assistant vice chancellor for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, said, likening the payments to other guaranteed income programs in the state. “As long as a student stays enrolled, they can receive a stipend to help them make it through college.”
While most of the eligible students will likely also be eligible for the California Promise Grant, which covers tuition, they also have to pay for housing, food, transportation, childcare and other basic necessities to support their education. And that’s where Hire UP comes in.
Much like an hourly wage worker earns a paycheck, students enrolled in Hire UP will earn the state minimum wage of $16 an hour, proportional to their course load. That’s the “real equity piece,” Browne said. “Students must be enrolled at least half-time, but at least it’s not just open to the full-time students.”
A full-time Hire UP student, for instance, could take home as much as $10,880 a semester with no limitations on how it can be spent. If a student decides to attend part-time or stops out altogether, their pay is adjusted—or ceases—accordingly.
“These dollars are really designed to help students stay enrolled,” Browne said. “When they know they have consistent money coming, it alleviates that stress of having to pay for rent, a car, buying books, fixing their computer. Whatever the case may be, that’s what these dollars are meant to address.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 22.6 percent of undergraduates experience food insecurity, while 8 percent experience homelessness. And student parents as well as those who were once incarcerated or part of the foster care system are more likely to experience those hardships.
These students also have lower college graduation rates than their peers.
Formerly incarcerated people are eight times less likely to complete college than the general public, according to a 2018 report by the Prison Policy Initiative. Just 2 to 6 percent of former foster youth go on to earn a two-year degree, and 3 to 4 percent earn a four-year degree, according to the National Foster Youth Institute. And more than half of student parents leave college without graduating, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
The Hire UP pilot is set to run for five years. It’s already launched at Santa Rosa Junior College this semester, and nine additional institutions are expected to join by the fall. Santa Rosa enrolls about 600 formerly incarcerated students, former foster youth and CalWORKs recipients, and they have an average unmet financial need of around $15,000 per academic year, according to the college.
Scott Myers-Lipton, a professor emeritus of sociology at San José State University who has written multiple books about poverty, said he’s supportive of Hire UP as a student success strategy.
“If you can give students resources so they don’t have to work, they can spend more time studying and not have their grades suffer,” he said. “Most of the students at Stanford aren’t working like the ones at San José State or the community colleges.”
More time to focus on his studies is exactly what Steven Cesario, a formerly incarcerated student at Santa Rosa who aspires to earn a degree in psychology or social work, needed last semester. He was balancing a full-time course load with a 50-hour workweek at a local delicatessen. Time and money got so tight in Sonoma County, where the median monthly rent is $2,482, that he wondered if he could afford to stay enrolled in college.
“The classes I had to take were right smack-dab in the middle of the day. So I had to miss a day and a half of work every week,” he said, adding that even with a grant that covered his tuition, he was still short on money to pay his other bills. “That put me in a position of having to put things on credit cards and rapidly put me into debt.”
When he found out that he qualified for a monthly stipend through Hire Up, Cesario thought it was a joke, but he has since accepted it as “a gift from the universe.” He’s looking forward to receiving the first payment, at which point he plans to reduce his working hours and get closer to his goal of helping people who struggle with addiction as he once did.
“It’s such a relief to know the struggle is going to be lessened,” he said. “I can devote more time to studying and my education and not have to worry about money as much.”
Cesario has also gotten additional academic and social support from the Rising Scholars Network, a consortium of California community colleges that provides support for formerly incarcerated students.
Integrating such targeted support programs into the delivery of Hire UP is also part of the plan, said Rachael Cutcher, director of student financial support and services at Santa Rosa. Students participating in the program are required to declare an educational goal—whether that’s earning a certificate, an associate degree or transferring to a bachelor’s program—and develop a strategy to achieve it.
“Our counseling team has those conversations with students to help them figure out what their educational goals are,” Cutcher said. “We’re giving them the financial support and making sure that they have the academic and social support around them.”
While there is a finite amount of money for Hire UP, so far the college has accepted every eligible student who has applied. Cutcher told CalMatters, however, that it won’t have enough money to support all 600 eligible students currently enrolled, so the college will prioritize formerly incarcerated students, who typically have limited access to other supports.
And since the program will track all of its participants over a five-year period, it will also help colleges determine when students are struggling academically or why they stopped out.
“Was there something going on? Did they need more support?” Cutcher said of the questions tracking students can answer. “That’s good information for us.”
Participating community colleges will use the data they collect to gauge the success of Hire UP and potentially advocate for more funding in the future.
“We want to show and demonstrate by usage and good outcomes that these programs are needed and can result in student success,” Cutcher said. “It’s not employment. It’s not work-study. It’s treating school as a student’s primary work.”


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text:
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) tweeted "It’s going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries 'uncle' " on Tuesday and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and his family built an igloo Wednesday and invited Al Gore to make himself at home in the structure.
Howard Dean, who's greatest success to date has been convincing the rest of the nation that the far left batshit insane moveon.org left was 'mainstream', was quick to retaliate in an ABC interview.
“One of the most disturbing things about the Republican Party over the last couple of decades is that just they don’t believe in science any more. And that is not an approach that is likely to generate any kind of creative thinking,” Dean said.
“People who use snowstorms as an example of why global warming doesn’t exist don’t understand the science and they don’t care.”
This same tired and hackneyed talking point has also been an item in the laundry list of certain husky, pony-tailed bloggers during their melodramatic flounce from the right (of which they were never a part of) and who have taken to preaching the gospel of
Yet curiously, this assertion by Dean runs in direct contradiction to a relatively common talking point Democrats and others that I distinctly remember surfacing in the 2004 and 2008 elections regarding Republicans and the right in general. You see, apparently those of us to the right of...say.....Nicaragua's Danny Ortega ...are mindless, bloodthirsty warmongers, ready to pick a fight with such paragons of transparent, flawless democracy like Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe, Bashar al-Assad, Kim Il Jong, the Taliban or tHugo Chavez, despite the objections of such selfless and completely unbiased institutions like the United Nations.
This apparently means that as mindless, reactionary hawks, the American Right and Republicans are perpetually beholden to that dreaded military-industrial complex in order to have a properly functioning military.
Off the top of my head, I can think of items such as satellite-based communications and surveillance, night-vision optics, laser-guided munitions, unmanned drones, reactive armor or wireless communications required to make the
So how exactly would the process of developing these systems for use by the military come about? Santeria? Voodoo? Strategic sprinkling of Holy Water? A note tucked into the Wailing Wall? Or wait.....maybe it's science! And of course, after enough years of development, this technology makes its way to the civilian sector, into the marketplace and onto your dashboard ready to give you directions to the nearest grocery store or call ahead to your weekly GOP/Dominionist flat-earth meetings to let them know you're running late.
Or maybe Howie's worried about increasing skepticism about
Republicans- and most Americans- would be wise not to believe in a 'science' that cherry-picked it's findings in order to draw a conclusion that was predetermined. Most free people throughout the world would never dream of allowing unaccountable governmental or international bureaucrats dictating to them through fiat what sort of food they should eat, what type of light bulb they must buy and what sort of vehicle they are required to drive. The second that happens, they cease to be a free people. But if these same scientists, politicians and bureaucrats come off as altruistic, well-meaning officials who have told us they're here to save the earth for future generations....well, how could one argue that without looking like some sort of callous ogre? Add in a hysterical, almost apocalyptic urgency and these officials are clearly the proverbial Paul Reveres making the frantic run to warn us all of our own self-inflicted Armageddon. And if you disagree with them, question their findings or wonder out loud if that F-350 you use to haul heavy equipment and firewood around are really melting the Himalayan glaciers, then you are not only anti-science, you are a denier and a puppet who's strings are being pulled by ExxonMobil and other nefarious corporations.
If this is the sort of 'science' Mr. Dean insists my tiny little right-wing pea brain is supposed to be against, so be it.


text:
2+2=1 Amazing Bracelet!
A Colors Of The Stone Workshop [select another show]
Senior Art Clay Instructor and owner of Art Clay World, USA. In 2000, Jackie saw a demonstration on Art Clay Silver and has never looked back. In 2002, she acquired the rights as exclusive, North American distributor of Art Clay products. Her books, “Art Clay Silver and Gold: 18 Projects to Make in One Day,” and "Metal Clay: The Complete Guide," are sold internationally in English and French. In 2013 Jackie also received her Graduate Gemologist degree from GIA.
Currently not available.
Skill Levels: All
Dates/Times: February 5, from 9:00am to 6:00pm
Fees: $195 » includes kit fee (silver clay, wires,CZ, linoleum and beads) and use of tools, kilns and materials
with Master Art Clay Instructor Jackie Truty, where they will discover how much fun it is to carve their own unique
design and then transfer it to Art Clay Silver. Then set a sparking CZ gemstone itno that design, fire and finish it before a 1 hour lunch break. After lunch students will work with Master Wire Jewelry Instructor Dale Cougar Armstrong, to incorporate their special solid silver disc into a designer bracelet. Using a combination of 14kgt, sterling silver and pattern wires, each student will choose how to accent their creation as the bracelet evolves. Different variations of the pattern will be shared, as well as how to easily re-size it.
« Back to Workshop List


text:
Cast Auditions: "Rent" by Jonathan Larson
Duke students are welcome to audition in person or by video submission for the cast of "Rent" by Jonathan Larson, directed by Broadway actor and Theater Studies Professor of the Practice Chauntee' Schuler Irving. This Spring Mainstage show presented by the Department of Theater Studies will be co-produced by Hoof 'n' Horn, running April 6-9 and 13-15, 2023 in Reynolds Industries Theater with a live band. (See the band audition info on the Duke Events calendar if you're a drummer, bassist, keyboardist or otherwise musically inclined to try out!)
Actors should prepare 32 bars (about 60-90 seconds) of a pop/rock musical selection in the style of the show's era. Please **avoid** singing songs from the show itself or from the musical theater canon. Pop radio hits of the 1980s and early 1990s are preferred. Think Blondie, Kate Bush, Whitney Houston, George Michael, etc. to find a song suiting your personal style. A great resource for songs and audition cuts/sheet music can be found through Spotify's pages of "Rock the Audition" and www.musicnotes.com. For questions related to casting, please contact the Director Chauntee' Schuler Irving (firstname.lastname@example.org). General inquiries should be sent to the Director of Theater Thomas Quintas (email@example.com). The show will run April 6-9 and 13-15, 2023 in Reynolds Industries Theater. Students selected for the cast may enroll in THEATRST 350-1 for credit if desired with a permission number, but aren't required to do so.
Recorded Cast Audition Deadline:
Wednesday, October 26
Send to firstname.lastname@example.org
Subject Line: "Rent Performer Auditions"
In Person Cast Auditions
Friday, October 28, 6 - 10 p.m.
Saturday, October 29, 12 - 3 p.m.
127 Bryan Center (rehearsal studio)
Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/rSxncLv
Saturday, October 29, 4 - 7 p.m.
Sunday, October 30, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Auditioners are asked to hold both callback dates in their calendars, as they may be asked to return several times. Script sides and songs will be posted on DukeBox in advance of callbacks. Students submitting a recorded audition who are invited to callbacks but cannot attend in person must send in a callback video no later than Sunday, October 30, 6 p.m. to the same submission address, email@example.com, subject line "Rent Performer Callbacks."


text:
Defending champions Mumbai Indians are in troubled waters after the side lost three consecutive matches with all three being lop-sided affairs. The five-time champions will aim to change all that when they face fifth-placed Punjab Kings in match 42 of IPL 2021 in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (7:30 PM).
PBKS, on the other hand, tasted their first win in the UAE phase on Sunday when they defeated bottom-placed SRH to get themselves back in the play-off stage run but must continue with the winning run if they wish to find a spot in last four.
And both team knowing they can't take any further leeways, both teams are expected to field their best XI.
MI Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
PBKS KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh
Wicketkeeper (KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Nicholas Pooran)
PBKS captain KL Rahul is an automatic pick in the line-up due to his current run of form while MI's Quinton de Kock has been good form as well. Nicholas Pooran has already given glimpses of his good form with a 22-ball 32 against RR and was knocking the ball well in the last match as well.
Batsman (Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram)
Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal have been in excellent form this season. Mayank, however, did fail to score in the last innings but that doesn't mean his IPL 2021 run is over. Aiden Markram has found form as well as he scored 25-odd runs innings in his last two matches
All-rounder (Kieron Pollard)
Kieron Pollard is yet to deliver the goods with the bat or the ball but has been the only viable all-rounder option among the likes of Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya, who have failed to impress so far.
Bowler (Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi)
Jasprit Bumrah heads into the fixture with six wickets in the last two games while Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami have been hunting in pairs in the UAE leg of the tournament. Ravi Bishnoi starred in the last game as well with three wickets.
IPL 2021: Delhi Capitals (DC) full schedule, squad, venue and timings in IST
The Abu Dhabi pitch has been spin-friendly as it has provided a significant among of turn. On the other hand, batters are struggling in adapting to this pitch. After winning the toss, teams will look to field first as chasing has been easier on this deck.
The weather will remain dry throughout the day and dew is expected as the match progresses.
You can watch the IPL 2021 MI vs PBKS Match 42 Live Online on Hotstar and TV Telecast on Star Sports Network.

domain: sports


Technology Services Group (TSG) has made its eighth acquisition this year.
TSG, originally set up by Sage founder Graham Wylie, acquired Warrington-based reseller Forty One last week.
Nigel Hudson, group director at TSG, told CRN that the geography of Forty One is crucial. "This gives us more scale in Manchester. Forty One is great at general infrastructure services. We are buying quality companies, and giving them the rocket-fuel to grow."
He said the firm is already in "research mode" regarding a possible acquisition in the south.
'Smaller firms may struggle to keep up with Microsoft's innovation with Dynamics' says CEO Stuart Fenton after acquiring assets from Profile Enterprise Solutions
Pete Peterson admits the firm hasn't always been the 'easiest company to do business with'
New chief exec Aaron Painter says 'longer-term strategy' could see firm tackle the Asian market
XMA bosses on becoming a 'performance VAR', pocketing £50m of Misco leftovers, and acquisition near-misses
Lee Hemani and Andy Wright reveal that XMA is aiming to boost net profits to three per cent of revenues as they run through the growth ambitions of the UK's ninth-largest reseller


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Tremendous thanks to Steve & Linda Boyce for their hospitality at the August meeting on Romney Marsh. Not that easy to find, as I discovered, but a lovely spot for bees. A car load of beekeepers from Walmer never actually made it - forced to seek refreshment! It was hot & the 27 hives were all active, one was defensive.
We removed the full frames for Steve to extract, lucky man. Thanks to all, especially those who brought food.
Kay Wreford, our Seasonal Bee Inspector, explained why certain beekeepers were inspected more than others, on the traffic light system:
Green: left alone unless request a visit, probably rural & isolated
Amber: still almost under the radar as not in areas of previous infections
Red: yearly visit, near docks/port, a likely point of entry for Asian hornet, small hive beetle.
But inspectors will come if requested by a beekeeper.
This month in the apiary:Varroa treatments should be removed by now & concentrated feeding should aim to be done by the end of this month. Use strong sugar syrup [1kg white sugar to 630ml of water] or Ambrosia syrup. 35-40lb of stores is recommended for a normal sized colony.
The queen excluder can be removed as bees use the space as they wish.
Depending on the weather I’ll let mine go a bit longer to see how much ivy nectar they bring in, that’s their preference after all. But many beekeepers find ivy honey a nuisance as it sets very hard & the bees never seem to eat it all. You may be left with frames needing to be melted down next spring.
DDBKA Honey Show!October 21st Shepherdswell Village Hall 2:30 pm (note the new venue for this year)
I hope you have had time to look at the 2017 schedule & see what you’ll enter. Personally I have no honey left after a poor summer season & local demand, so will try harder with wax & confectionery!
So choose your best jars, make sure they are clean & clear & the right weight & go for it!
And do remember that members can enter open as well as members’ classes.
The wax classes are a steep learning curve, but very satisfying, also mead making.
The closing date for entries is 14th October. Chris will send you the stickers in the s.a.e. which you must enclose with your entry form.
Confectionery entries don’t have to be made with your own honey – it may be your first year!
Read the regulations carefully. They may seem picky, but it leads to fairness for all.
This month’s meeting:The last outdoor meeting of the year!
Saturday 30th September at the DDBKA out-apiary CT15 4AD 2:30 p.m.
It is along the Shepherdswell Road, near Eythorne as you head towards Shepherdswell, on the left, Parking in the next field.
- Mary will work with beginners; she may discuss equipment & tools with the group. Others will demonstrate at DDBKA hives.
- Each hive will have its stores assessed & counted for the winter, 3lb for a full super frame, 5lb a full brood frame. Feeding of Ambrosia to start if not already started. DDBKA has 3 English feeders & 2 budget wooden feeders. The poly hive has its own feeder.
- Bring clean suits, wellies & rubber gloves. Bring glasses if you wear them! We will have suits to borrow for beginners & observers.
- Return your Library books & choose another.
- Tea [£1] and raffle as usual. Bring your own mugs!
Hoping for fine weather!


The NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) Contrast Agent Analyzer is a device that uses NMR spectroscopy to measure the relaxation times of a substance that has been labeled with a contrast agent. A contrast agent is a substance that is introduced into the body to improve the visibility of certain tissues or structures during medical imaging procedures.
The NMR relaximetry contrast agent analyzer is used to quantitatively analyze the relaxation times of the contrast agent in order to obtain information about the tissues or structures being imaged. This information can be used to diagnose and monitor various medical conditions, such as cancer, inflammation, and tissue damage.
ConductScience offers the NMR Contrast Agent Analyzer.


First to two!
McEwen gains slight edge on competition in Ottawa
Mike McEwen and his crew from West St. Paul, Man. are happy to be the first team to achieve two wins during the modified round-robin at the Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry event at the RA Centre in Ottawa.
McEwen, vice-skip Reid Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski, lead Colin Hodgson and coach Rob Meakin improved to 2-1 at the event by toppling Jason Gunnlaugson (1-1; Morris, Man.) by a score of 8-4 on Thursday night.
With plenty of granite in play in the first end, Gunnlaugson had to throw an angle-raise on his final shot. The throw was unsuccessful, and McEwen surged forward to an essential steal of two in the first end.
Later in the game, McEwen had an opportunity to put pressure on Gunnlaugson in the seventh end. However, he missed his final shot, and it opened up an opportunity for Gunnlaugson to make a draw for two and reduce the deficit to 5-4. McEwen added a single point in the eighth end and provided the final nail in the coffin during the ninth end. Gunnlaugson was light on his draw against two McEwen counters, resulting in the win for Team McEwen.
In other Canadian Curling Trials Direct-Entry action, Colton Flasch (1-2) and his team from Saskatoon rebounded from an afternoon loss with a 9-0 drubbing of Penetanguishene, Ont.’s Glenn Howard (1-1). Flasch stole four points in the second end and followed up with another steal in the third for early control of the short game.
On Friday afternoon, Team McEwen has a bye and will be back on the ice against Team Howard for an important game at 8 p.m. (all times ET).
However, Gunnlaugson will get the first crack at Howard during the noon draw on Friday. Flasch, meanwhile, begins Friday with a game against provincial rival Matt Dunstone of Regina (1-1).
In the women’s Canadian Pre-Trials Direct-Entry event, Kaitlyn Jones of Assiniboine, Man. (2-1) advanced through the B-event quarterfinal with a 6-5 win against Laurie St-Georges (1-2; Laval-sur-le-Lac/Glenmore, Que.). Jones will take on Ottawa’s Lauren Mann (2-1) at 4 p.m. on Friday, with the winner advancing to the B-event final.
In men’s action, Swift Current, Sask.’s Shaun Meachem (2-1) utilized a steal of four in the ninth end to pick up a 9-2 win against Winnipeg’s Willie Lyburn (1-2).
JT Ryan of Winnipeg (2-1) defeated his old junior teammate Jacques Gauthier (1-2; Winnipeg) 8-7.
Meachem and Ryan will meet in the B-event semifinal at 4 p.m. on Friday.
Play at the Canadian Trials and Pre-Trials Direct Entry continues on
Friday with draws scheduled for 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. (all times ET).
Live scoring and standings for the events are available here.
Live streaming for all draws is available on Curling Canada’s YouTube page.
This story will be published in French as soon as possible here.


E L E C T R I B E ANALOG M D E L I N G S Y N T H E S I Z E R EA-1 Owner’s Manual Thank you purchasing the Korg ELECTRIBE-A EA In order to enjoy. This page contains information about the Owner’s Manual for the EA-1 from Korg. The Korg Electribe A (EA-1) is an analogue modeling synthesizer in the Korg Electribe series “Korg Electribe EA1 Owner’s Manual” (PDF). Korg Inc. Korg Inc .
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Response to velocity, aftertouch? When the Keyboard function key is on, these keys function as a keyboard, allowing you to play sounds.
Korg Elec Tribe EA-1 Owner’s Manual
If you wish to save the settings you make, you must perform the Write operation refer to p. Using the dial to change the tempo 1. Among other things I think it would be perfect for someone wanting to make the synthesis modeling sense breaking the bank.
It is not possible to check for motion sequence data during playback, recording, or Pattern Set Play. For each part, you can record the changes you make to the synth parameters using the knobs, and loop them for playback.
All user reviews for the Korg ElecTribe EA-1
Also, even if Song Position Pointer mes- sages are received during playback, the playback location will not change. Motion sequence Playing a motion sequence A motion sequence can be played back in one of the following two ways, and you can select the playback method indepen- dently for each part.
Polyphony – 2 voices. While the Keyboard function key is blinking, e-1 will control the Pat- tern Set function. A duophonic virtual analog synthesizer that featured the basic parameters of analog synthesis with an expanded twist on internal sequencing. Press the Rec key to enter record-ready mode.
Korg EA-1 – Wikipedia
Raising the depth excessively may cause the sound to distort. Press the Write key once again to begin saving the data. This setting applies to Pattern mode and Song mode.
If you wish to select both parts 1 and 2, press the key several times to make both LEDs blink. Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indi- cate Protect. Connect an audio device etc.
KORG ELEC TRIBE EA-1 OWNER’S MANUAL Pdf Download.
Turn on the Keyboard function key the key will light. Use the Part select key to select the part whose pitch you wish to shift.
E,ectribe you will be using headphones, connect them to the headphone jack. Use the step keys to input the pitch for each note of the phrase. These are, after all, good tools, but nothing professional. Rotate the dial to modify the tempo.
Talking right now about what fache the sequencer is only four steps ok ok the classic series of electribe but unlike al ‘ er1 no set pattern. If during playback you operate a knob that had been event-recorded, playback of the events of that knob will be cancelled until it reaches the next position. Knob movements that are event-recorded in Song mode will always playback in a way that corresponds mnual the Smooth type motion sequence setting and not the Trig Hold type.
Key 9 manuak blink. Front and rear panel 2. AMP These parameters adjust the volume level and distortion effect. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful mqnual in a residential installation. Modifying editing the sound 1. Page 5 Specifying the pitch of each pattern Although you get some very basic analog synthesis abilities,the little unit lacks heavily on effects.
To defeat the Hold condition, press the Keyboard function key ra-1 again the key will go dark. Never turn off the power while data is being saved to memory i. The 15 key will blink. Views Read Edit View history. When you perform the Write op- eration, “Data Copy within a pattern” p. During playback or recording, hold down the Shift key and press the Rec key.


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Let me say up front that I certainly didn’t vote for Trump, but of course I couldn’t vote for Hillary. But I can tell you why Trump was elected — and it wasn’t because of “birther” claims. No, and it wasn’t because he was the only candidate openly criticizing the U.S. Permanent War policy, or his bold (if hollow) promises of rejuvenated industrial bases , etc. No, the real reason that those folks in the rust belt turned out for him was the quietly growing catastrophe of Minneapolis — you know, where 20,000 or so Somalian “refugees” were installed and plugged into the welfare system, and who didn’t assimilate at all, but rather continued their aggressive and brazen violent crime. Yep, and the fact that every large American city has a degraded and extremely dangerous “no-go” zone — you know, the black part of town, where the notion of “unconscious bias” is a joke — replaced by a palpable and appropriate apprehension at seeing black men (and often women) walking down the street. And Dave, it’s not just white folks expressing this apprehension, it’s Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, and most of all fellow blacks.
As for “racists,” this charming description, formerly applied easily to tobacco-chewing rednecks laughing as a jury acquits them of a lynching, has now been appropriated by the Social Justice Warriors themselves. All of these BLM folks are far more racist than anyone else. They live and breath racial identity, Critical Race theory, perpetual Victimhood, and ceaseless jabbering abstract rhetoric against people they’ve never met, attacking and smearing them because they’re white. Which white people? All of them. Well, that’s racism, Dave.
As for the “alt-right” White Pride folks, so what? If they were properly ignored, they would have had their (very short) march, given their speeches, and gone home. They weren’t going to attack anyone or destroy any property. But the self-righteous (Marxist asshole) “anti-racists” were the ones who attack — with all sort of weapons — while denying First Amendment rights to others they might disagree with, destroy property with impunity, and then declare themselves the victims. This happened in Berkeley and Sacramento recently, and of course in Charlottesville.

domain: sociology


text: ROBINS APPEAR WHEN ANGELS ARE NEAR8 x 17.5 cm decal Robins Appear When Angels Are Near8 x 17.5 cm decal £2.69 Quantity: at £2.69 each Add To Basket ‘Robins appear when Angels are near', a three coloured decal, cut in the style shown in the image, and in black vinyl with a darkk brown and red robin. Size is app 8 x 17.5 cm. Suitable for a wine bottles, lanterns, candles, or any smooth non porous surface. Decal is supplied with application tape, and application instructions. The listing is for decal/s. Our images may show the decal/s on an appropriate item, but these items are for display only. Images are for illustration purposes only and not necessarily to scale.


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I would have to second that emotion! I agree with others that port intensive cruises can be taxing but pacing is essential. We did this cruise in June. Stayed 2 days in PR before cruise ( doing old San Juan things) and 2 days after (staying in a nice hotel right one one of their gorgeous beaches).
We did beach days at most of the ports except St. Maarten, where we did the snorkeling excursions where the jumbo jets fly over) and St. Lucia where we did the grand tour b/c we wanted to see the Pitons.
I was concerned before the cruise that we would not like the ship. It is small and old but... you’re not on the ship that much and IMHO it’s not one of those cruises where you need a grand ship and all that comes with it. I would have to put this cruise up these as one of our favs b/c of all the beautiful places we got to see.

domain: travel


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Well, I have got A LOT to celebrate this week!
Halloween was a banner day for me Not only because it was my favorite holiday and I got to celebrate with my favorite activites, and not only because I was chosen as one of the winners for the Spooktoberfest flash fiction contest (Jackie from Bouquet of Books wrote me an awesome congratulatory e-mail praising my story and telling me about all the fantastic goodies she'll be sending me in the mail- yippee!!) but also because I won the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! How absurdly lucky am I?
Lara Lacomb is going to be sending me a signed copy of her newly released book, Deadly Contact! I got to read a little excerpt from this story which she posted on her blog a while back and I absolutely LOVED it! I am so excited at the prospect of receiving my very own signed copy in the mail, I can't even tell you!
It's NaNoWriMo! So, I was talking to my parents last night and they asked how I was doing and, of course, I started complaining about my novel and how incredibly, excrutiatingly difficult it has been to write. I am just a tad (read: way) insane and it's not even week two! My scenes (if you can call them that) are boring, uneventful and downright annoying. My plot is nowhere to be found. I can spend hours trying to get one single, solitary paragraph out and I feel like banging my head against my computer. "It's pretty damned torturous", I told them.
But then they asked what it was about. And boy, if you ever want a person to talk forever, just ask them about their novel! I went on and on about my main character, what happens to her, who's after her, what's gonna happen in the end, how I'm already thinking of book two and so on, and so on, and so on. And my mom said "Wow- you really love this don't you?"
And I realized- she's right. Yes, it is nothing short of maddening and yes it can be insanely difficult and horrfically excrutiating and yes I could talk your ears off about what a mess it is and how much I'd really like to just burn the damned thing. But at the same time, it's the most fun I've ever had while writing. Seriously. And thank god my parents reminded me of that.
Thanks for stopping by to celebrate with me! Now hop along, and celebrate some more!

domain: literature


Work-sharing – a solution to better living
by Kathy McNeely, Interim Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Job sharing could be one way of creating a world where everyone has just enough. Reminiscent of the imperative behind the gift of manna (Exodus 16), a supported job-sharing system could replace a defective unemployment system allowing people to earn just enough for themselves and their families while creating the space and time in their lives to refrain from work and honor the Sabbath.
The Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) reported that in mid-January, “New Jersey became the 6th state in the country to adopt a work-sharing law since the onset of the recession.” In the case of New Jersey, the “laws modify the unemployment insurance system so that workers who have had their hours cut can get partial unemployment benefits to limit the loss of income. The point is to give employers an incentive to reduce work hours rather than lay off workers.” CEPR reports that with New Jersey’s new law, 24 states now allow work sharing as a part of their unemployment insurance, and Indiana has a similar bill before its legislature that has a good chance of passing this year.
The concept of work sharing grew out of the Great Depression. In 1935, at the height of the depression the International Labor Organization [ILO] adopted the Forty-Hour Week Convention, (No. 47), reducing the number of weekly work hours to ensure that more people could be employed. In the context of the current global economic recession, and the job crisis it has bred, job sharing could serve as a viable labor market policy to not only preserve and create new jobs, but to assure people the time to relax and regenerate.
During the economic crisis of 2008 in some companies around the country practiced work sharing where individual work time was reduced to spread a reduced volume of work over the same or a similar number of workers in order to avoid layoffs. This assured that all workers kept their jobs, and even though they brought home less money, no one was left to look for work. A 3 day or 4 day work week allows people to spend more time with family, to recreate and to engage in creative activity. For the many of us so trained in a strong work ethic who have trouble breaking away to observe Sabbath, the shorter work week may be just is needed to step back and give the awe and respect due the very genius of the Earth that sustains us.
CEPR reports the country of Germany’s success at maintaining low unemployment during the recession in spite of the fact that Germany’s economic growth since the downturn has been no more rapid than economic growth in the United States. The main difference is that the German government encouraged firms to meet the reduced demand for labor through cutbacks in hours rather than lay off workers.
The current US unemployment system insurance actually encourages employers to lay off workers rather than shorten their work hours. But when people are laid off they become inactive; their skills deteriorate, and they become isolated from their networks in the work environment; and it becomes even more challenging for them to find a job. By bolstering a shorter work week with some unemployment payments, it allows workers to cover their bills at home and while keeping up with their skills and work contacts.
CEPR praises the increased interest and adoption of work-sharing laws in the United States.” If more states adopted such laws…there would be substantial potential for lowering unemployment. Every month, close to 2 million workers are dismissed or laid off. If just 5 percent of these jobs could be preserved through work-sharing programs, it would be equivalent to creating an additional 1.2 million jobs a year.”
A huge incentive would be if Congress could pass the Layoff Prevention Act of 2011, sponsored by Jack Reed in the Senate and Rosa DeLauro in the House. This bill would provide additional funding for work-sharing programs already in place as well as seed money for states seeking to establish similar systems.


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I will be staying here again. The hotel is idealy located and check-in & check-out was a breeze. The rooms are very comfortable and clean. The continental breakfast was great and there is a business center for all your needs which is a MUST for me. We had a great stay here!
We were a little disappointed in the breakfast buffet as they ran out of coffee! Other than that, room was clean, plenty of towels, heat and AC ran well and was quiet, and most of the personnel were friendly and helpful. Also there were places to eat within walking distance.
*For these trips, trip savings is at least equal to the cost of the flight or hotel if booked separately. Note: For trips including flights, you will be charged by the airline for the flight, but your savings on the trip will equal the cost of the flight.


Set for Friday night, the Gaming Dance features video game inspired music and base dropping beats.
Gaming and EDM Tunes
Industrial, Electro, Game and Chiptune
The Anime Dance is Saturday night and features Japanese and anime music.
Mixes Anime & Video Game Music with Dubstep, D&B, and House
Japanese Electro, Hard Dance, and Industrial


With support from the Citi Foundation, New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU Wagner) and the Center for an Urban Future (both located in New York), a report was released, titled Innovation and the City, in November that highlights 15 bold urban policies that are helping change government innovation across the globe.
Popular in the video game world, virtual reality (VR) technology has become a household item. Last year, TrendForce predicted that VR device sales would reach approximately 14 million units by the end of this year and reach more than 38 million units by 2020.
Despite an August memo from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) instructing the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin phasing out contracts with private prison operators, CoreCivic of Nashville, Tenn., formerly the Corrections Corporation of America, announced Nov. 15 that the BOP exercised a two-year renewal option at the 1,978-bed, company-owned McRae Correctional Facility in McRae.
In a new report released Oct. 21, researchers from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management (PCJ) in Cambridge and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) are calling for an end to the existing youth imprisonment model, citing its emphasis on confinement and control.


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Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!
Orange Walk, town, northwestern Belize, situated on the left (west) bank of the New River. Established in early colonial times, it was pillaged by rebellious Maya in 1872. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it conducted a thriving trade in mahogany. The town declined after demand for mahogany lessened. Sugarcane and citrus fruit cultivation and rum distilling are the main economic activities. The area’s inhabitants are primarily Spanish-speaking mestizos. Recently excavated Maya archaeological sites date from 600 bc to ad 50. Pop. (2005 est.) 15,300.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
BelizeBelize, country located on the northeast coast of Central America. Belize, which was known as British Honduras until 1973, was the last British colony on the American mainland. Its prolonged path to independence was marked by a unique international campaign (even while it was still a British…

domain: geography


John Y.‘s Second Defense
[John Y.’s Provocation; The RP’s Rebuttal #1; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #2; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #3; Krystal Ball’s Rebuttal #4; John Y.’s First Defense; Rod Jetton’s Response #1; Jeff Smith’s Rebuttal #5]
Jeff’s post reminds me of the famous story about the Nixon –Kennedy debates.
On TV Nixon, who had refused pancake make-up, had his infamous 5 o’clock shadow and sweated profusely. Kennedy, by contrast, was cool, calm, and collected—and at his Kennedy-esque best.
Learn to help create beauty with a beauty school diploma.
Those voters watching on television believed Kennedy won by a 3-1 margin. Those listening on radio believed Nixon won by a 3-1 margin.
Which opens up an entire new line of discussion: How has TV has changed the message and the messengers—we get for political candidates today?
Abe Lincoln would have withdrawn from Iowa months before Michelle Bachmann had to. And if Mitt Romney had showed up to debate with Lincoln and Stephen Douglass a while back, he would’ve have been laughed off stage and beaten up as a dandy. But that’s another thread altogether.
For the record, Jeff, you worked it well. And Rod, no worries — full disclosure: I was one course shy of a psychology minor, and I do watch chick flicks with my wife. And I think the voting conclusions of the women in your life reinforce the my thesis that Romney is lacking a certain masculine/protector something that worries voters —especially female voters who voted overwhelmingly for Bush II over Kerry (or Romney I according to my theory) in the aftermath of 9/11.
And finally, I don’t drink alcohol either. I do drink caffeine. I’m trying to drink more water these days because it’s supposed to be healthy for you and I assume Mitt Romney drinks bottled water.
Assuming he does, however, I’m really not all that interested in drinking bottled water with him to talk about life or presidential politics. I WOULD be interested in having a water with him to talk about some potential business deals. And that probably indicates another Romney presidential candidate conundrum. Voters don’t find him terribly “likeable” but more relevantly trust him MORE as a businessperson than as a political candidate.
I’m not sure that phenomenon has ever occurred before in presidential politics and wonder how it will play out. Obama would be wise to offer to put Romney in charge as CEO-in-chief of some study or important business development program. Voters would feel they have Romney where they want him and trust him and don’t have to vote for him for president which they are trying oh-so-hard to avoid.


Just stumbled upon this experimental pop duo from Vienna, Austria and immediately felt a vibe which I've been looking for a while. Their absolutely amazing "Superego" feels like Oh Wonder meets James Blake sort of thing and is definitely be something you'll be excited about!
The sound of Vienna-based experimental / electronic-pop formation LEYYA, creates a foreign but familiar surrounding - spherical, floating but also violent and impulsive. The experimental combination of melancholy and electronic beats, lets two different worlds collide.
The track is taken off duo's debut album Spanish Disco.


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$5.40 – $15.00
Darlinghurst was Australia’s heart of darkness in the burlesque aftermath of World War II—a heaving slum, home to prostitutes, gangsters, druggies, con-men, crooked cops, petty crims, sly grog, bent pollies, psychos and SP bookies.
The rest comprised poor, honest battlers doing their best in difficult times. Or so it seemed. Several battlers were further afflicted by spectacularly unpleasant Thallium poisoning, NSW being the only state where deadly Thallium-based rat poison could be purchased freely.
Unpleasant husbands, friends and relatives surplus to requirement, fared ill on the statistical spike.
Rat Follies is based on the true stories of Balmain footie star and league international Bobby Lulham, who accidentally drank the suicide draught mixed by his remorse-wracked mother-in-law and lover Veronica Monte; down-to-earth Beryl Hague, driven to desperation by mindless brutality; Yvonne Butler/Fletcher, who lost two entirely unsatisfactory husbands to the popular, cruel but effective rodenticide; and, above all, Darlinghurst’s 'saintly' grannie Caroline Grills who sent two step-mothers, a sister and brother-in-law to their reward while striving to murder her sister-in-law and two young friends in nearby Redfern.
As told from the deathbed of a relatively minor, and not too trustworthy, cop, set in Sydney’s gothic sewers, satirically seasoned and performed by a nimble ensemble of rat-like actors with rat puppet support, Rat Follies is an epic entertainment and seamless spectacle, a dark circus tumbling on to the highest courts of the land and the tabloid-tailored trial of Mrs. Caroline Grills—Aunt Thally, Loony extraordinaire.


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Four members from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday joined eight of their colleagues from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in boycotting the plenary session of the Plateau State House of Assembly presided over by new Speaker Yakubu Sanda.
The lawmakers’ action was a protest against the removal of Nuhu Abok as Speaker in controversial circumstances last month.
Mr Sanda, who called the first plenary since his election two weeks ago, arrived at the assembly complex alongside 11 APC members at 11: 40 a.m. and entered the chamber at 12:12 p.m.
Prominent among the APC absentees is the house deputy majority leader, Philip Dasun.
The 23-member Assembly has been polarised by the controversial impeachment of Mr Abok, with four of the 16 APC members breaking ranks with their party caucus in the Assembly.
Mr Abok was removed on Thursday, October 28, when six APC lawmakers sneaked into the Assembly chambers at dawn amidst tight security.
They declared that they had impeached the Speaker and elected Mr Sanda, the member representing Pengana state constituency of Bassa Local Government Area, in his place.
They accused Mr Abok of financial mismanagement and despotic leadership, claiming that the change had the endorsement of 16 lawmakers.
However, a PDP lawmaker representing Jos south constituency, Fom Gwotson, debunked the claims, saying all the PDP members and four others from the APC were standing behind Mr Abok.
The stalemate has since continued with the security agents offering protection to the new speaker and the lawmakers supporting him.
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domain: politics