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The First Dakota debit card allows you to make purchases wherever VISA cards are accepted as well as enjoy all other ATM functions. When a purchase is made, the amount is automatically deducted from your checking account balance, just as a cash withdrawal is when the card is used at an ATM. With a debit card you can access First Dakota National Bank or any MoneyPass ATM machines for withdrawals at any time of day.
Benefits of the First Dakota debit card
Quickly get cash, transfer money between accounts, and inquire about account balances. Enjoy using your card with no monthly fee at First Dakota ATMs or at 10,000+ nationwide MoneyPass ATMs. First Dakota debit cards are accepted by retailers with debit card capabilities and are eligible for Visa Purchase Alerts. Ask about Visa SRC options too.
Note: There is a $2 usage fee per transaction at any ATM machine outside the MoneyPass network.
Am I eligible for a card? How do I get one?
You are eligible for a card if you have a savings or checking account with First Dakota National Bank. Please note that card eligibility is subject to approval. Contact us to get a debit card today.
What if my card has been lost or stolen?
Report your lost or stolen card immediately by calling us at 800-486-4712 or 888-297-3416 (within the United States) or 1-206-389-5200 (outside of the United States). Find hours on our branch locations page.
Open a debit card today. Contact our bankers if you’re ready to open a card with us.
Take control of your finances using our Card Management via Digital Banking. You can determine when, where, and how you use your debit card.
Visa® Account Updater
Visa Account Updater is available on all First Dakota debit card accounts. Visa Account Updater provides updated account information to merchants so recurring transactions can continue without interruption. When First Dakota debit card account information changes due to a product upgrade, card expiration, loss or theft, account closure or other reasons such as name changes - the information will automatically be updated with participating account-on-file merchants. The Visa Account Updater process eliminates the need for direct action when account information changes. And it reduces any negative experiences caused by declines due to account information changes.
First Dakota debit cards are automatically enrolled in Visa Account Updater. If you feel you do not want to participate in this service you have the option to opt out and your information will not be automatically updated with participating merchants. You can opt out in the following ways:
- Call us at 800-486-4712
- Log in to your Digital Banking or Mobile Banking account and send us a secured message through First Dakota Conversations.


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Valencia is a city full of energy and cultural offer. The whole year there are things to do, but in summer the agenda intensifies and gives rise to multiple activities to enjoy.
We invite you to know the best to see in Valencia in August and September!
In these hot months, outdoor music is a great plan at sunset. Valencia offers several events, including the Jazz Festival, the Concerts of Vivers, the Música de Cambra in Godella, FIB in Benicassim, the Arenal Sound in Burriana, Arrankapins, the Medusa Sunbeach Festival in Cullera, Rabolagartija, Rototom Sunsplash, Peñíscola on Stage, among others.

domain: artistic


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Grayscale, a leading crypto asset manager, has assessed the Pros and Cons of Cardano, the third-largest crypto asset, in a new report. This report is a part of educational cryptocurrency overviews named “Building Blocks”.
Grayscale has been working on the overviews of the cryptocurrencies and named this series of overviews “Building Blocks”. They reveal the advantages of crypto-asset under review and the risk associated with it as well. Recently, they have chosen the third-largest cryptocurrency, Cardano, and revealed its Pros and Cons. Cardano is the thrid largest crypto asset by trading volume.
Pros and Cons of Cardano:
First, we will start with the Pros of Cardano and then move to the Cons. The first and most important strength of Cardano is the man behind this project, Charles Hoskinson. The second one which is considered to be the forte of the project is the treasury of the Cardano, which is currently boasting a war chest of $1.5 billion.
The other advantages are a strong community, wide accessibility, and decentralization (After Shelley’s upgrade it became possible for Cardano). Cardano crossed the milestone of becoming the third-largest crypto in July 2021.
Risk involved with Cardano:
As we are discussing the Pros and Cons of Cardano, the cut-throat competition in the smart contracts is risky for Cardano. The Blockchain has seen little utility despite the launch of smart contracts. The adoption of the DeFi application is yet to be seen, Grayscale report claimed. Cardano can be overvalued due to its low transaction fees.
No one can deny these Pros and Cons of Cardano revealed by the Grayscale. The assessment was done very closely and sharply. I think that Cardano has the potential to cross Ethereum. What happens next no one knows as the future is unpredictable and full of surprises.
For more content please click here.

domain: finance


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I don’t think I show enough appreciation for my father, so I’m taking the time today to say thank you and Happy Father’s Day. You’ve shown me the value of hard work, love, humility, discipline and sacrifice which ultimately is priceless. Shukran dear father, for you are always dearest in my heart. Love you Pa.
#vsco #vscocam #father #art #calligraphy #happyfathersday


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Title: PEM presents: Actress & Author Madhur Jaffrey
Location: Peabody Essex Museum – Salem, MA
Link out: Click here
Description: The Peabody Essex Museum of Salem presents award-winning actress and best-selling author Madhur Jaffrey at the PEM Morse Auditorium, Saturday & Sunday, April 4th-5th, 2009 at 2:30pm.
Regarded by many as the world authority on Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey is an award-winning actress and best-selling cookbook author. Her classic first book, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, was published by Knopf in 1973, and she has been the host of a series, Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery for BBC television. She has appeared in more than 20 films, including Merchant Ivory’s Heat and Dust, and written more than 15 books. She won James Beard Awards in 1982, 1994, 2000, 2002, and 2004.
Ms. Jaffrey will speak about her recent book titled Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India (2006) as part of Sensational India! ? a weekend-long festival of Indian music, dance, visual art and cuisine at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Tickets are included in museum admission, but must be reserved by April 3rd, 2009.
A book signing will follow the lecture. The program was made possible by the George Swinnerton Parker Memorial Lecture Fund.
For ticket reservations or more information, please call: (978) 745-9500 ext. 3011, or visit: www.pem.org
Start Date: 2009-04-04
Start Time: 14:30
End Date: 2009-04-05

domain: literature


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New chapters of the book ‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’ by Andrew Morton are set to be released on October 14. There are several fresh claims about what really went on behind Palace walls, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ reaction to a photograph the Queen released at the start of 2020. Her Majesty shared a lovely photo of her, Charles, William and George in Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room, laying out the future of the British monarchy in an adorable family photo.
However, Mr Morton claimed in the chapters that it did not go down too well with Meghan and Harry.
The couple allegedly saw the picture as “unspoken code” about their royal future and made them question their place in the Firm.
He wrote: “The royal couple suspected that the entire institution was conspiring against them.
“As they saw it, the evidence was all around them.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton ‘didn’t have energy’ to bond with Meghan Markle – book
“The unspoken code was straightforward: the future of the monarchy was assured, with or without Meghan and Harry.”
He also claimed this fear was confirmed for the pair when the Queen reportedly postponed a meeting with Harry, in which he had wanted to discuss his royal future.
He wrote: “This sense that, despite their international popularity, they were low down the royal totem pole was confirmed when Harry arranged to meet the Queen for a grandson-to-grandmother chat in early January.
“At the last minute the meeting was postponed.
Harry told James Cordon on The Late Late Show: “It was never walking away.
“It was stepping back rather than stepping down.
“It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw.”
He added that he found the situation “toxic” and that he did “what any husband and father would do”.
Soon after, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan revealed that she had suffered with suicidal thoughts while she was pregnant with Archie.
The couple claimed the institution did not sufficiently support Meghan with her mental health struggles.
They also claimed that a member of the Royal Family made racist comments about their unborn child, but did not reveal who made the comments.
However, they did later clarify that it was not the Queen or Prince Philip.
Meghan and Harry have always made it clear that they love and highly respect the Queen.
The Duke said he did not blindsight his grandmother because he respects her “too much”, while the Duchess said Her Majesty was always “wonderful” to her.
Read more here Daily Express :: Royal Feed

domain: news


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Read The Vogue Factor by Kirstie Clements Free Online
Book Title: The Vogue Factor|
The author of the book: Kirstie Clements
Edition: Melbourne University Press
Date of issue: March 1st 2013
ISBN 13: 9780522862430
Format files: PDF
The size of the: 4.19 MB
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Reader ratings: 3.5
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In May 2012 Kirstie Clements was unceremoniously sacked after thirteen years in the editor�s chair at Vogue Australia. Here she tells the story behind the headlines, and takes us behind the scenes of a fast-changing industry.During a career at Vogue that spanned twenty-five years, Clements rubbed shoulders with Karl Lagerfeld, Kylie Minogue, Ian Thorpe, Crown Princess Mary, Cate Blanchett, and many more shining stars. From her humble beginnings growing up in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney to her brilliant career as a passionate and fierce custodian of the world�s most famous luxury magazine brand, Clements warmly invites us into her Vogue world, a universe that brims with dazzling celebrities, fabulous lunches, exotic locales and of course, outrageous fashion.Amidst the exhilaration and chaos of modern magazine publishing and the frenzied demands of her job, Clements is always steadfast in her dedication to quality. Above all, she is always Vogue.
Download The Vogue Factor ERUB
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Read information about the authorKirstie Clements is a best selling author, editor, journalist, consultant, and key-note speaker, with vast first hand experience in the luxury industry. Kirstie worked for Condé Nast International and Vogue for more than 25 years and was editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia for 13 years (1999-2012). She has written articles and columns for numerous publications, websites and newspapers and most recently, books.
Her first, In Vogue, 50 Years of Australian Style (co-authored with Lee Tulloch) was published in 2009 by Harper Collins. Since then she has released The Vogue Factor (MUP 2013) her memoir of nearly three decades in prestige fashion publishing, which achieved global press attention, culminating in an appearance on US talk show The View with Barbara Walters last May. She was also featured as the cover story on You Magazine in the UK’s Sunday Mail.
The Vogue Factor was released in the UK by Faber and Faber in July 2013, (with a reprint scheduled for July 2014) and the US edition launched in February 2014 (Chronicle). The book has also been released in Spain (Aguilar), Mexico, China and Poland and is now an international bestseller. She released her third book in November 2013, Tongue In Chic (Victory Books) a salacious and cheeky behind the scenes look at the world of fashion publishing. She has also co-written Fashion, The First Fifty Years from The Australian Women’s Weekly, which was released in May 2014 by the National Library Australia. She is now working on her next book, a work of non-fiction to be released by MUP in 2015.
Kirstie has also written for various publications and websites including Elle, International Traveller, Australian Traveller, The Australian Woman’s Weekly, The New Daily, Sunday Life and The Guardian and has made numerous appearances on television, including Today, Sunrise, The Daily Edition, Mornings and Studio Ten (guest panelist).
Kirstie lives in Sydney, Australia, is married to a Frenchman and has twin sons.
She is committee member for Grey Matters, which raises funds for brain cancer research and is an ambassador for Camp Quality.
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Download EBOOK The Vogue Factor by Kirstie Clements Online free

domain: library


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The Complete First Season. Volume 1, Issue 1-6eBook - 2013
Spinning off directly from the hit CW television series ARROW comes the Emerald Archerer in these digital-first adventures! Show creators Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim team with some of the industry's best artists, including Mike Grell (GREEN ARROW: THE LONGBOW HUNTERS), Phil Hester (GREEN ARROW: QUIVER) and others to fill in the gaps between episodes of one of TV's hottest new series. Also features ARROW: SPECIAL EDITION #1.
Publisher: [United States] : DC Comics, 2013.
Branch Call Number: eComic hoopla
Characteristics: 1 online resource text file, rda


Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
The Hunterdon County Division of GIS, established in 1998, creates and maintains the spatial data and web mapping applications according to the needs of the County, Departments and Municipal Partners. Spatial data plays an important role in all aspects of local government, particularly the parcel and easement datasets. The data created by the Division of GIS is shared with the public, local municipalities, as well as the state. These datasets support County functions and future planning. The Division works internally with any County Department needing access to spatial data or internal and external web mapping apps, with several public facing apps.
Click on the images below to access these apps.
A searchable web application allowing users to locate a Veteran's grave site. The project was limited to the Prospect Hill, Saint Magdalen and Flemington Jewish Community Cemeteries, with the objective to locate veterans grave sites in additional cemeteries in the future.
An application where local agricultural businesses can provide current information about their products and services and the public can go to discover what the County's Agricultural community has to offer.
HuntHistory.org brings Hunterdon County’s history to life, beyond a few sentences on a historic marker. It bridges the gap between your direct experience and awareness of the historic narrative in an unprecedented way. When you are at a historic site you will see the HuntHistory.Org sign below the site marker sign. Scanning the QR code or entering the URL will bring you to this application.


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The one who loves you a lot
W 121.92 cm x H 91.44 cm
- Delivery And Packing Information
Don't worry, if your purchase your artwork and then decide you don't like it, you feel the artwork isn't quite right or you just no longer want it, no problem! We offer a 14 day no quibble returns policy on all our artworks.Find out More
Buy with 0% interest loan through Own Art
Own Art makes buying art easy and affordable by letting you spread the cost of your purchase over 10 months with an interest free loan. With over 45541 artworks to choose from, you could start a collection today from as little as £10 per month.
Please note, the minimum loan amount is £100. This can either be for the purchase of a single item, or for a group of items where the combined value is £100 or more.
About the Artist
Poonam choudhary also known as Poovi, is an internationally recognized Abstract Expressionist colorist , known for her different styles and subjects. She don’t have a particular style and strongly believe that a painting should depict an artist not a style. She perceive her inspiration from life...


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The following list is an effort to give you an overview of what rebates/incentives are in place across Sonoma County. Please note that these programs are very fluid and some of the information may be dated. If you find out-of-date information, please let us know so we can keep this page as current as possible. Thanks!
- Transform your turf to earn $0.75/square foot of grass (up to $850) as well as up to $150 back on the cost of mulch and drip irrigation supplies with the City of Sonoma Cash for Grass program.
- Get a $50 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer or low flow toilet with Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Apply for City of Cloverdale’s “Cash for Grass“ program to receive $0.50 per square foot of lawn replaced with climate appropriate plants and drip irrigation.
- Get additional rebates for new high-efficiency toilets and other fixtures through the Russian River Drought Relief Program.
- Sign up for a FREE Water Use Survey to get tips on how you can conserve more inside and out. Call (707) 665-3631 for an appointment.
- Apply for City of Cotati’s “Cash for Grass” lawn replacement program… get up to $1 rebate per square foot to transform your thirsty lawn. Call: (707) 665-3637 to set up a site inspection today.
- Get a $75 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer through the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Apply for City of Healdsburg’s “Lawn Conversion and Irrigation Upgrade Rebates” to get $1 per square foot of turf removed.
- A “Graywater Rebate” of $60 per system is available with newly installed Laundry-to-Landscape graywater systems.
- Get a $50 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer.
- Sign-up for a FREE Water Smart Home Survey to learn more tips and tricks to help you conserve including available rebates for lawn conversion, irrigation and controllers. Call: (415) 761-8944 to schedule your appointment today!
- Apply for the North Marin Water District “Cash for Grass” program to replace your thirsty lawn and get $50 per 100 square feet of lawn (up to $400).
- Interested in installing a Graywater or Rainwater Harvesting system? Submit an application to see if your project will qualify for a rebate.
- Get a $50 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer through the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Set up a FREE Waterwise House Call from the City of Petaluma. Call (707) 778-4507 for an appointment and learn more ways you can save.
- Apply for City of Petaluma’s “Mulch Madness” Program to receive FREE sheet mulching materials, dropped right off at your house. Once you qualify for the City’s program, you can sign-up for a free Daily Acts consultation by filling out our simple application!
- Get a $125 rebate for your new high efficiency clothes washer through the City of Petaluma and the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Learn more ways to save water inside and out with a FREE WaterSmart Water Survey with the City of Rohnert Park. Call: (707) 547-1909 to schedule your appointment today!
- Get a $75 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer or $150 rebate for your high-efficiency toilet from Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Schedule a Water-Use Efficiency Check Up with City of Santa Rosa and learn more tips and tricks for conserving both indoors and out. Call: (707) 543-3985 to make an appointment.
- Receive up to $250 in rebates for Residential Lawn Transformation with $.50/square foot rebate and up to $100 for qualified irrigation supplies from Green Exchange Rebate program.
- Attend a Rainwater Harvesting Workshop with the City of Santa Rosa for more information on rain barrel rebates ($0.25/ gallon of storage), site inspection and design.
- Get a $25 rebate for your new high-efficiency clothes washer through the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
- Replace your toilet with a high-efficiency model for a rebate credit applied to your next water bill. Call: (707) 823-8597 for more details on how to qualify.
- Sign-up for a FREE Home Water Assessment with the Town of Windsor to learn more about the Efficiency PAYS Programs and other rebates.
- Upgrade your irrigation and convert your lawn with Town of Windsor Water Efficient Landscapes Rebate Program. Call: (707) 547-1909 to set up a site inspection and learn more details on how you can save.
Valley of the Moon
- Get a $25 rebate for your new high efficiency clothes washer through the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership Program.
Benefits of Reusing Graywater:
- Save water – depending on how much potable water you use for irrigation, you could save thousands of gallons of water a year.
- Save money – you’ve paid for the water, why not use it a second time?
- Enhance Safety – you’ll need to use gentler, non-toxic laundry soaps which is safer for both you and the environment.
- Create Beauty – you’ll increase the beauty and bounty of your garden by irrigating with graywater.
- Build Community – build community by working together with neighbors and friends to install your graywater system.
- Build a Movement – get educated, engaged, and trained and help build a graywater movement!
Laundry-to-Landscape System Overview
California plumbing code defines graywater as wastewater generated from bathroom sinks, showers, tubs and washing machines. Though all of these sources represent great opportunities to transform waste to resource, the Laundry-to-Landscape system is the simplest, most cost-effective option that does not require a building permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Great Sources of Graywater Information
- Wyatt Supply – Parts and plumbing support
- Greywater Action – Graywater information and installation training
- Oasis Design – Art Ludwig’s (the father of graywater!) website
- Video: Daily Acts – Creating a Home Graywater System
- Video: This Old House (graywater segment starts at 2:36 minutes)
In addition to your local rebates, the state is offering $1.50 per square foot for any turf removed – a huge savings! This is a limited time offer, good till the money runs out, so act fast to take advantage and maximize your old lawn’s potential.
Sheet Mulching is simple, natural, and effective at getting rid of your lawn and/or weed issues
Sheet Mulching is a landscaping method used to build soil, prevent weeds, and retain water. It’s sometimes referred to as a mulch lasagna because compost, a compostable weed barrier such as cardboard, and mulch are layered over lawn (or any soil area). Sheet mulching is a variation on nature’s way of building soil by accumulating and breaking down organic matter from the top down, and it creates a prime canvas for planting.
Benefits of Sheet Mulching:
- Saves between 12-25 gallons of water per square foot per year, compared to a traditional lawn, depending on the type of plants installed. Sheet mulching the average 1,000 square foot lawn could save between 12,000 and 25,000 gallons per year!
- Suppresses weed growth
- Reduces labor and maintenance costs
- Improves nutrient and water retention in the soil and improves soil structure
- Encourages favorable soil microbial activity and worms
- Improves plant vigor and health, often leading to improved resistance to pests and diseases
Step 1: Mow, Edge, and Convert Sprinklers
- Knock down or mow existing vegetation so that it lies flat. Only remove woody or bulky plant debris – other organic matter can be left in place and will add nutrients to the soil.
- Edge the site, especially along hardscaping like sidewalks and driveways. The edging will prevent mulch from spilling on to the sidewalk and prevent grass and weeds from re-emerging around the edges. Edging should be ~5” deep (but can be more shallow around the base of trees) and should gradually slope back to the level of the rest of the landscape.
- Cap sprinkler heads and convert one or more sprinkler heads to drip line irrigation, if plants will be installed. Be sure to use a filter (often found inside a sprinkler conversion kit) and a pressure reducer to bring the pressure down to 30 psi.
Step 2: Plant Large Plants
If you will be installing large plants (5 gallon or bigger) plant them before sheet mulching. Once you start the sheet mulching process, be sure to avoid piling compost or mulch around the trunk of the plant. Note: It’s okay to sheet mulch several months before planting. In fact, fall is a great time to sheet mulch and then you can plant in the spring!
Step 3: Add a Compost Layer
Jump start the decay of weeds and grass by adding compost or manure at the rate of about 50 lbs per 100 square feet (1”-2” deep). Optional: Soak with water to start the natural process of decomposition, especially if you’ll be planting soon.
Step 4: Lay down the Weed Barrier
The next layer, an organic weed barrier, breaks down with time. The barrier should be permeable to both water and air and recycled cardboard (available from bike stores and large appliance stores,) is best, but a thick layer of newspaper will also work. Two or three layers may be required to achieve an adequate thickness, especially if using cardboard rolls or newspaper. Be careful not to apply the weed barrier too thickly as the soil can become anaerobic. Since the weed barrier works by blocking air and light, so be sure to avoid tears or holes. Overlap pieces at least 6” to completely cover the ground without any breaks, except where there are established plants you want to save. If it’s windy, work in small sections so that the wind doesn’t lift your weed barrier before you can weigh it down with mulch.
Step 5: Apply Mulch
Layer mulch at least 3” thick, but the thicker the better!! Leave a generous opening for air circulation around the root crown of plants.
Step 6: Plant the Garden of Your Dreams!
Punch a hole or cut an X in the cardboard and place plants in the soil under the sheet mulch. Be sure the roots are fully in the soil, not just the mulch. Important note: Planting in a newly sheet mulched project can result in re-emerging grass and weeds. It is advisable to predetermine your plant layout and remove the grass and weeds from the desired planting location. Alternatively, you can wait a season or more for the grass and weeds to fully decompose before planting.
Being water-wise isn’t just about using less water, it’s about being really smart with the water we do have, especially the free kind that falls from the sky. As our climate changes, rain events are predicted to become more severe and less frequent in our area, meaning that we’ll receive occasional surges of valuable but potentially destructive water. How can we re-vision our developed landscapes to more effectively utilize the gift of rain?
Here are three ‘do-it-yourself’ methods to harvest the rain that will make you a water-wise warrior and a model to your friends and neighbors!
1) ‘Slow it’ with rain catchment systems
The installation of rain barrels, tanks or cisterns to catch rain from roof gutters is becoming a relatively mainstream concept, with information and materials readily available at most local hardware stores. There are many ways to go about designing your system so that it can effectively store a whole season’s worth of rain, or just individual rain events. Depending on your storage capacity this free water source can be saved and used for irrigating your landscape during dry months. To give you a sense of how much rain you can collect, a 1000 square foot roof will shed 600 gallons for every inch of rain that falls!
2) ‘Spread it’ with mulch applications
An unsung hero in the garden landscape, mulch provides numerous benefits besides the aesthetically pleasing ‘finished look’. Adding a layer of mulch to your garden can help cut down on erosion, minimize compaction of soil during heavy rain events, maintain soil temperature, replenish organic content of soil as it breaks down and prevent weed growth. In the case of organic mulches like woodchips, which have high water-holding capacity, you can create additional storage for excess water until it can be taken up through soil and plants. Generally applied to lawns, sheet mulching is a process by which compost, cardboard and mulch are added to the landscape in thin layers creating more surface area to spread and capture rainwater on-site, while reducing weeds and increasing soil fertility as it decomposes.
3) ‘Sink it’ through rain gardens and swales
The addition of rain gardens and swales in your landscape offer two, simple ways to increase stormwater capture and recharge our aquifers. These designed, low depressions and channels create a holding place for water to collect and sink rather than runoff over heavily saturated soils or impermeable surfaces. While both of these features can function well with a dry, riverbed look, incorporating water-wise plantings will increase both the aesthetics and the benefits. The use of native plants in particular can provide much needed habitat, slowing the water and acting as bio-filters for harmful pollutants all at the same time. Be sure to place plants best suited to wet conditions in the center, moving from seasonally wet preferences into dry conditions towards the edges for best results.
Where do you find the resources to make all your conservation dreams come true?
Many of our local municipalities in Sonoma County have incentive programs to help residents reduce water use both inside and outside the home. Programs like Petaluma’s ‘Mulch Madness’, (which delivers cardboard, mulch and compost to your door for free!), Cotati’s ‘Cash for Grass’ and Windsor’s ‘Efficiency PAYS’ program all provide incentives to reduce outdoor water use. The City of Santa Rosa’s ‘Green Exchange’ program also offers similar programs along with a rebate for installing a residential rain catchment system.
If you’re looking to grow your skills and gain some hands-on experience or guidance before taking the plunge, Daily Acts offers workshops throughout the year on rain catchment system design and installation, rain gardens, bio-swales and sheet mulching.
There’s no better place to start localizing the food system, saving water, and building community than in the landscape right outside your door! The following Daily Acts’ favorites are Sonoma County-adapted plants that can help transform your landscape into a luscious, edible playground while saving thousands of gallons of water per year as compared to conventional landscapes.
Persimmon trees display splendidly colorful fall foliage and then drip with brilliant orange fruit like Christmas ornaments on bare branches in the winter. There are two main types: astringent varieties such as ‘Hachiya’ which are meant to be eaten gushy ripe but will dry the mouth if eaten too soon; and non-astringent varieties such as ‘Fuyu’ which can be eaten crunchy as an apple.Drying the unripe astringent fruit eliminates the mouth-puckering effect.
A relatively unknown shrub, Chilean Guavas have small, glossy, evergreen leaves and produce tiny fruit high in fiber and vitamins that can be eaten whole. This is a great edible substitute for common box hedges and an ideal grazing food for children. It can tolerate salty maritime air but prefers shelter from the wind. While it is drought tolerant it produces best with regular light watering and thick mulch to hold moisture.

domain: agronomy


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Chicken skin is healthy for you. If you thought that it increases your cholesterol levels and blood pressure, you thought wrong. Researchers have discovered that you don’t have to remove chicken skin and consider it unhealthy. Health experts at the University of Harvard reveal that consuming chicken skin in moderate amounts, is good for your health. Additionally, chicken skin has many health benefits.
Contrary to the notion so far, chicken skin is not harmful for your heart. Chicken skin contains unsaturated fats that are necessary for proper functioning of your heart. Unsaturated fats lower blood pressure, brings down the bad cholesterol, and prevent hormonal imbalance.
Chicken skin is not high in calories
A 12-ounce serving of skin-on chicken, has only 50 more calories than a 12-ounce serving of skinless chicken.
It has rich flavor
You don’t have to add extra salt to enrich the taste of chicken. Consuming salt in excessive amount can be a risk factor to many health problems.
Chicken doesn’t absorb much oil
While cooking it, the chicken meat is not absorbing much oil, which is also good news for you. The skin protects the meat and acts like a crust, which preserves the good taste and moisture. So, there you have a culinary trick. Next time you are preparing chicken, leave its skin on. Later, when you are done cooking it, you don’t have to eat it, but make sure you don’t remove it during the cooking process.
As you can see, there is nothing bad about chicken skin. But, don’t forget that it still contains more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3 fats. If you are not consuming it moderately, the fatty acids may cause inflammation. Also, you should never eat overcooked skin. It’s unhealthy and it’s burnt after all.

domain: food


APEX understands the importance of being heard and understood while making one of the largest investments in your business. To continually provide a competitive edge over our competitors, our team welcomed an in-house design and engineering team. This resource offers an incredible amount of value to our customers, and allowed us to create a series of SPEC units that are pre-engineered and pre-designed based on our most successful past projects.
From a burger and fries to chicken and corn on the cob, APEX’s SPEC Series includes griller trucks because of their versatility in cuisine offerings and equipment line configurations. Below is a list of possible cooking line options that are designed to provide the greatest ROI:
Option 1: 24″ Garland 4-Burner Range with Oven. Two Dean 43-lb Deep Fryer. 14″ Wells Flat Top Griddle
Option 2: 36″ Wells Flat Top Griddle. Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer. 12″ Wells Hot Plate 2-Burner
Option 3: 36″ Wells Flat Top Griddle. 24″ Garland 4-Burner Range with Oven. Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer
Option 4: 36″ Wells Radiant Broiler. 24″ Garland 4-Burner Range with Oven. Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer
Option 5: (3) Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer. 24″ Wells Flat Top Griddle
Option 6: 24″ Wells Flat Top Griddle, 24″ Wells Radiant Broiler, Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer
Option 7: 24″ Wells Flat Top Griddle. 24″ Wells Radiant Broiler. 12″ Wells Hot Plate 2-Burner. Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer
Option 8: 14″ Wells Flat Top Griddle. 14″ Wells Radiant Broiler. 12″ Wells Hot Plate 2-Burner. (2) Dean 43-lb. Deep Fryer
APEX’s SPEC Series Includes Griller Trucks
The APEX experience incorporates 3D models to encourage clarity and transparency on the design and build process. For each specific project, floorplans and 3D models are rendered to size, eliminating any uncertainty of the equipment layout and configuration. The design phase allow for multiple configurations to be reviewed and evaluated quickly and efficiently with the use of 3D models.
The APEX Griller trucks have all been designed, engineered, and have an extensive build history. Griller trucks are recognized for their high quality craftsmanship and attention to detail.


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- By Heyami Alghatta
CPS and Police ignored concerns
Siobhain Egan, legal representative for many of the victims of Mazher Mahmood aka The Fake Sheikh, revealed that the CPS and Met Police did not act on frequently raised concerns that Mahmood had falsified evidence and worked with criminals.
Ms Egan is representing six people who are seeking leave to appeal against their convictions, including retired boxer Herbie Hide and former London’s Burning actor John Alford.
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Egan said Mahmood’s methods had been known for years to the Met police and the CPS. Not surprising considering The International’s very own investigations into evidence tampering by the police themselves and the CPS ignoring such practise.
These methods, according to Ms Egan, included falsifying evidence by splicing video and audio evidence.
“The CPS special prosecution team, as it was then, dealt exclusively with these prosecutions and in my view did not seek to test the weight or the veracity of the evidence. As I say, there was a certain M.O Mahmood would employ. The same assertions were made by reputable defence teams time and again to the CPS, which were ignored. You also have the Met Police. We now know there were internal investigations by the anti-corruption team at New Scotland Yard into Mahmood’s relationships with serving police officers.”
Mahmood was finally convicted on Wednesday for perverting the course of justice. Ten years after George Galloway exposed the true identity of vigilante journalist.
The conviction comes only after the high profile failed entrapment of singer Tulisa Contostavlos. The compensation from Mahmood’s falsified evidence cases is set to dwarf that of the famous phone hacking scandal.
The CPS said defence teams had had the opportunity to raise concerns. These concerns where raised and evidence provided. At no point was this material acted upon.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp could face compensation claims that would completely dwarf it’s £330 million bill for phone-hacking, it was suggested. The News Of The World investigations editor, Mahmood, was found to have altered evidence in the infamous collapsed drugs trial of singer and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos. Mahmood’s driver, Alan Smith, 67, was also found guilty of the same charge, following a trial at the Old Bailey.

domain: law


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Like a good many Christmas traditions and trappings, a fresh look at them may return luster to a dullness that can build up with time and custom. In fact, from a cultural perspective, such an exercise is part of the whole purpose of Christmas and the impending New Year.
It’s a time to consider ourselves anew in a light of resolve and appreciation for our blessings. Serving as a means to accomplish this is a story that stands as largely unfamiliar, only because it is largely held as familiar: Charles Dickens’s 1843 masterpiece, “A Christmas Carol.”
This is a story that everyone knows yet few remember for what it truly is: a tale that sings out like a boisterous caroler pounding at the door on the night before Christmas. Its purpose? It’s to awaken us to the reality of our common journey to the grave and the consequent need to love one another along our way.
“A Christmas Carol” is a ghost story in which Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable old sinner and tightfisted financier, is haunted on Christmas Eve by his business partner, Jacob Marley, who’s been dead as a doornail for seven years. Scrooge learns from Marley that torments await him in the afterlife for his misspent time.
To sidestep the terrible path that Marley’s ghost treads, Scrooge accepts visitations from three spirits who come to offer him reclamation. They show Scrooge how his misery is self-inflicted and how much happiness he stands to gain by simply making others happy.
From his boyhood memories to his own chilling deathbed, the spirits conduct Scrooge on a difficult, merry, and disturbing journey through time and space to prove to him the profound purpose of every human life—one most clearly seen in the humane light of Christmas.
Christmas a Humbug?
Christmas is a time to remember the fact of our mortality and respond with merriment. It has no particular call to be a fluffy or sentimental affair. Neither is Mr. Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” a particularly fluffy or sentimental affair, though it is commonly denoted, and thus demoted, as such. This story often falls prey to a misplaced attitude of triviality that Christmas also suffers under; both have succumbed to the paradoxical curse of cliché.
As it turns out, Ebenezer Scrooge has proven a soothsayer of our times, for by and large, Christmas actually is something of a humbug these days. It preaches peace but breeds pressure. The ritual of Walmart has replaced the ritual of the wassail. Santa Claus is not really St. Nicholas. The holidays are not really holy days. Christmas is a lost and long-forgotten mystery in need of a great awakening, which is the thundering and laughing message of Charles Dickens’s carol.
“A Christmas Carol” is a story that “brews on a large scale,” offering startling spirits for men to imbibe in misanthropic weather. With the thinning of air, thickening of fog, and icy sting and snap, the climate of Christmas presides majestically over this little ghost story, where a strong punch (in both senses of the word) is precisely the ticket.
Opening Our Shut-Up Hearts
For this reason, “A Christmas Carol” is an important (if not an indispensable) voice at Christmas, and unlike the customary Christmas fare, it is anything but warm and fuzzy. There is nothing warm about the infernal furnaces that stir Jacob Marley’s hair, or the heartbroken young Scrooge abandoned by his father at boarding school over the holidays, or the cold corpse of Tiny Tim surrounded by his family, or the frozen corpse of Ebenezer Scrooge himself alone and unloved with nightshirt and blankets torn away by his cackling charwoman to be sold in a greasy bone shop.
There is nothing fuzzy about the fulfillment of familial devotion, stout neighborly charity, or a changed heart—of which this book boasts in equal measure to its horrors. And it is at Christmas that people should face these realities for what they are, even if they are as disquieting as specters.
Christmas “is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices,” remind the two gentlemen collecting for the poor in Scrooge’s money-changing hole. And the heartbreaking happiness of Christmas resounds in their words, bringing in the dawn of Christmas be they as cold as Scrooge or as warm as his nephew.
His nephew salutes the season “as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time … in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
There could hardly be a more beautiful or unique expression of the Christmas spirit, and we shouldn’t forget it for that distinction alone.
Getting to Know Ourselves
Scrooge’s self-discovery and desire to retract his selfishness is the fruit of the Christmas season. With Scrooge, all can realize a need to purge before answering The Ghost of Christmas’s booming call, “Come in! and know me better man,” and discover the men and women sharing this earth with us, be they ever so lame and blind. And in the words of Tiny Tim, remember the one “who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.”
The remarkable power of this story is that it is about everyone, awakening memories of who we are and why we are. But to live the lesson of examination and transfiguration presented by Mr. Dickens is a lofty test. We share the journey with Ebenezer Scrooge: the call to unclench tightfisted hands and lift noses from grindstones begins.
We, with Scrooge, move away from the “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner” and see past our bed curtains into a larger world; we shiver helplessly in our nightshirts and face eternity.
‘God Bless Us Every One’
“A Christmas Carol” is a song of preparation, passage, and praise. It is indeed a Christmas carol, and the process it initiates is not an easy one. Everyone knows in their own way that it is a steep path fraught with difficulty. But as the ghostly mentors of Scrooge held up a mirror to him rigidly, relentlessly, and sometimes reluctantly, so too must we face our own pasts, presents, and futures, our own inward conversions and cleansings.
Many, hearkening to this call, swear to lead a changed life that will honor the spirit of Christmas and try to keep it all the year by living in the past, the present, and the future. When, suddenly, we watch our fetters melt away into so many insignificant bedposts, may we all laugh with Ebenezer Scrooge.
And though all the world may laugh at such merriment, “let them laugh,” Mr. Dickens says, for “nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter.”
Let the spirits come. Let them start us from slumber. They are harbingers of a greater apparition—an apparition of glory and gladness. “A Christmas Carol” prepares men and women not only for Christmas Day but also for every day: for Life, in all its dignity and dirt. And may it inspire every one of us to cry with every chamber of the heart, “God bless us every one!”


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A new World Bank report that focuses on the junction points between healthcare systems, emergency management, and quality infrastructure identifies five pillars and objectives to develop a resilient healthcare system.
Healthcare resilience is the ability for health sector agents and organizations to mitigate, decrease, manage and rapidly recover from crises, including pandemics, natural disasters and other significant shocks.
The first pillar is the foundation: Health systems that effectively manage daily demand are more resilient to shocks. Water, electricity, transport, communication and digital technologies are essential to guarantee adequate treatment capacity, equal access to healthcare and functional supply chains. Moreover, the use of digital information makes it possible to assess demand for various health services to envisage future challenges.
The second pillar concerns individual healthcare facilities, managing demand capacity and shock readiness, which require sufficient equipment, funding, skilled personnel, professional management and operational procedures.
Planning effectively and maintaining crucial inventories can help to alleviate the pressure on the health system’s capacity and enhance patient care quality during any surge or catastrophe.
The third pillar emphasizes the need for healthcare systems to develop strategies to increase surge capacity, including service delivery modalities and contingency plans to prioritize and ensure crucial supply chains.
This requires communication and coordination among healthcare entities to manage demand at such times so that they can, for example, deliver healthcare services to remote areas through mobile clinics or telemedicine while integrating data-driven methods to detect requirements.
The fourth pillar addresses the need for an integrated emergency response with national disaster management systems, the military, civil protection agencies and the community, achieved by establishing interagency communication channels as a preventative measure before calamities and constructing effective early warning systems.
Finally, the fifth pillar calls for lifeline infrastructure to support robust healthcare services, such as water and electricity supply, transportation and digitalization. Such facilities and their maintenance systems can be improved by using new technologies and boosting cybersecurity.
The report cautions that if these key pillars and priorities are not considered and existing inadequacies are not addressed, future disasters and climatic and demographic changes will further increase pressures on health care systems worldwide.
Many low-income countries were suffering from a shortage of healthcare services long before COVID-19. New diseases that evolve are among the challenges which will put a burden on healthcare systems. However, technology can be of assistance here; for example, digitalization can provide medical consultations and new programs can help to detect and analyze outbreaks. Artificial intelligence can provide information and communication technologies via eHealth and mobile health.
Much has been said in the media about the difficulties that many countries worldwide endured during the pandemic. Saudi Arabia, however, incorporated all these pillars and priorities into its healthcare system before and during the pandemic. It is regarded as one of the leading countries in taking extraordinary strategic preventive measures across all sectors to safeguard its population from COVID-19.
This was accomplished through various techniques, including global surveillance, raising awareness, tracing and screening, mass lockdown, suspension of travel and education, social distancing and immunizations. Furthermore, as holder of the G20 Presidency last year, Saudi Arabia pledged $500 million to international organizations to fund global efforts to combat the COVID-19 virus.
Healthcare systems worldwide are on the front line of medical emergencies, therefore such pillars can help them prepare for any unanticipated catastrophes.
• Dr. May Alobaidy is a strategic expert. She was the first Saudi woman to be appointed adviser to a minister and has worked as a senior adviser to four ministers, in addition to her role as CEO of the Strategic and International Partnerships and Initiatives Center. Twitter: @mayalobaidy

domain: medical


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Gucci was back in top spot in Q2 as the Lyst Index showed a surge in popularity on the back of its Adidas collab. In fact, collaborations were hot this quarter, while summer items, Diesel and 'naked' dresses also surged.
Sofia Sanchez de Betak is the It-Gal of the It Gals in Paris. Mum, graphic artist, influencer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, Sanchez de Betak debuts her latest collab for her brand Chufy this weekend.
Shopify Inc on Tuesday announced a partnership with YouTube to allow merchants to sell through the video platform, as it looks to tap into the growing number of content creators launching their own e-commerce stores.
Facebook owner Meta released its first annual human rights report on Thursday, following years of accusations that it turned a blind eye to online abuses that fueled real-world violence in places like India and Myanmar.
Victoria’s Secret & Co. announced on Tuesday a new corporate leadership structure that will unite the company’s three lines of business — Victoria’s Secret, Pink, and Beauty — as a single, collaborative organization.
After buying French company Peltex, and while negotiating the acquisition of an Italian producer, the faux-fur manufacturer has bought a stake in Silmatex, and said it is setting its sights on future US acquisitions.
Ebay Inc. announced on Wednesday it has acquired non-fungible token marketplace KnownOrigin for an undisclosed amount, as the U.S. e-commerce marketplace looks to strengthen its product offering for digital collectors.


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Christmas is not far away and I have been busy making Christmas cards and kits to sell at Gift Hutt, and this week I wanted to show a card that I have made using a combination of the Heartfelt Creations Sparkling Poinsettias stamp and dies combined with the Celebrate the Season paper collection. I love working with vellum and the Sparkling Poinsettias are just perfect to use with vellum.
For the flowers I have embossed with versamark ink and white Ranger embossing powder. Before die cutting the flowers I have sponge Memento Summer Sky ink on the back. After die cutting I have shaped the flowers using the Heartfelt Creations Deluxe Shaping set and finished off applying prisma glitter from my stash on the petals with Art Glitter Dries Clear glue. The colour was just perfect with the Celebrate the Season paper collection.
The snow has been created using the Art Glitter Dries White glue and sprinkling prisma glitter on top.
Here is the front of the card:
Here is the inside of the card:
Here are close ups of the flowers.
Cardstock – CTMH White Daisy
Paper – Heartfelt Creations Celebrate the Season
Stamps – Heartfelt Creations Sparkling Poinsettia, Festive Gate
Dies – Heartfelt Creations Sparkling Poinsettia, Festive Gate, Spellbinders Nestabilities Small Circles
Inks – Memento Teal Zeal, Summer Sky, Versamark
Embossing Powder – Ranger white
Prisma Glitter from my stash.
I hope you are inspired to make flowers from vellum, and I am looking to make a video showing how I do them in the not too distant future.
Have a good week and Happy Crafting
8 thoughts on “Christmas is Coming”
Another gorgeous creation, Patricia! Love it when I see your posts in my mailbox.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you Evelyn. I hope you are having a good week.
Absolutely gorgeous card! I saw this on Heartfelt Facebook page and had to come see more. I took a look around your sight real quick and am impressed with your cards, so much that now I am following you!
Thank you so much for your lovely words. I love Heartfelt Creations products and hope that I do them justice.
You are doing them great justice! I’ll be back!
Hi Patricia, what a wonderful card you made, your work is so good, just love looking at them. have a great xmas with your family and a happy New Year, take good care, fond regards Marion
Hi Marion – thank you for your lovely thoughts. I hope you had a lovely time with your family and friends as well.

domain: hobby


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, who made her debut in “
,” grabbed a good name in
, with “
. She turned popular with the dialogue Kumutha Happy Annachi uttered by
in the film, Idharku Thaane Aasaipattai
kumara. At present, the actress has a couple of films on her hands for the release including Asura Vadham with “
.” She also has two long-delayed films waiting for the theaters and they are Idam Porul Yeval and
. Nandita was last seen in Kaathirupor Pattiyal, which released last week. Her performance in the film is appreciated by the audiences. Now, the talented actress has signed doing a film with a new director Gita Rajput. The director had been an assistant to “Bala.” The film has been titled as “Narmatha.” In this film, Nandita will be seen in the titular role, playing a mother of seven years old boy.
, MS Bhaskar,
, Master Renesh are also in the star cast. The shooting starts on 15th of this month. The locations are Chennai, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli and Hyderabad.

domain: entertainment


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The US Navy is preparing plans to construct sprawling detention centers on its bases in several states to hold tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to ease a mounting migrant crisis on the US-Mexican border.
The US Navy plans to build “temporary and austere” tent cities to house the migrants at abandoned airfields in California, Alabama and Arizona, at a cost of about $233 million, a US official said on Friday.
The news was first reported by Time magazine on Friday.
The memo says that a Navy base in California could house up to 47,000 people, while another base in Alabama can house a further 25,000 migrants.
The internal document was drawn up by Phyllis Bayer, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The plan needs final approval by US Navy Secretary Richard Spencer.
Trump on Wednesday ordered the Pentagon to work with the Department of Homeland Security to house the tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants currently being held awaiting criminal proceedings.
Current facilities are at their breaking point and the immigration courts face deep backlogs.
Trump is facing a public outcry over his administration’s so-called “zero-tolerance” immigration policy. Part of that approach was separating children from their parents who were detained crossing the US-Mexican border illegally.
On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to halt family separations, but asserted that his policy against illegal border crossing was still in place.
US lawmakers are struggling to pass immigration legislation for a permanent fix of the migrants crisis.
Thousands of people have been protesting in several US cities in recent days and activists are planning nationwide protests on June 30 following reports on the inhumane treatment of detained immigrants and their children.
The United Nations human rights office said Friday that Trump’s decision to stop separating children from their parents did not go far enough, and that the practice may amount to torture.

domain: sociology


Desperate Brian Ellis uses Ron Paul to attack Amash on abortionSubmitted by ron_paul_is_awesome on Fri, 03/21/2014 - 19:23
from his facebook page:
Brian Ellis for Congress
Before the April vote to defund Planned Parenthood, Congressman Ron Paul said, “As a father, Christian and Obstetrician, I find it shameful that our government uses the tax dollars of citizens to fund Planned Parenthood.” Unlike Justin Amash, Ron Paul voted in favor of Republican efforts to stop our tax dollars from funding America’s largest abortion provider.
“I believe using our tax dollars to fund America’s largest abortion provider is wrong. According to Right to Life of Michigan, Justin Amash had committed to support all efforts to stop our tax dollars from funding pro-abortion groups, but twice Justin Amash refused to vote for Republican efforts to eliminate taxpayer funding of America’s largest abortion provider. I am pro-life and I will vote pro-life,” said Brian Ellis.
Justin is having a moneybomb on March 25th, join the facebook event page here if you would like to send Ellis a message.


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There’s so much going on in Wiltshire this summer, we can’t wait to get out and about and visit...
Music lovers can enjoy a month of festive music at Lighthouse in Poole as a host of seasonal concerts are set to begin. During the first weekend of December, Baroque brilliance will take centre stage to celebrate the Christmas season.
Your Christmas spirit will soar with some Baroque music from the Armonico Consort, who will be performing Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Bach wrote the Oratorio to honour the episodes of the Nativity, from the birth of Jesus to the arrival of the Magi. Just a short distance from many of our wonderful holiday cottages in Dorset, the concert is the perfect way to kick off your Christmas.
The Baroque concert on Sunday 6 December at 5pm will feature some of the country’s best period musicians. These talented musicians will back a line-up of amazing and diverse soloists – headlined by one of Britain's best-loved opera stars, Sir Willard White.
“Singing with ‘period instruments’ feels softer and fragile” he said to event producers. “It is often a pleasant experience to work with colleagues, though the actual music-making is the greatest generator of a bonding.”
Sir Willard, who was born in Jamaica, is now based in London. The renowned baritone, noted for his vocal versatility, trained with Maria Callas at the Juilliard School in New York. He sings more frequently with modern-day instruments, so the Armonico Consort will offer the singer and audiences a different experience. He'll be appearing alongside Canadian soprano Gillian Keith, countertenor Christopher Ainslie, and tenor Nathan Vale. Through these singers and the Armonico Consort, Bach’s musical masterpiece will be brought to life.
The Baroque Christmas event is part of a month of brilliant musical entertainment at Lighthouse. On 16 December, the inspirational classic Handel’s Messiah will be celebrated. Seasonal favourites will sparkle with Last Night of the Christmas Proms on 19 December, and there will be a Celebration of Carols on 23 December. For ticket information and more information on all their artistic events, please visit the Lighthouse website.
Image Credit: Marilyn Peddle (flickr.com)


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How to reach the Digital Innovation Summit?
The Digital Innovation Summit 2020 will be held in Rosarium in Amsterdam.
Rosarium is located at the Amstelpark 1, Europaboulevard, Amsterdam Netherlands. Just minutes from the highway A10. You can also reach Rosarium by public transportation to Amsterdam RAI, and from there it is a 7-minute walk.
Visit for more information: https://rosarium.net/

domain: geography


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ISLAMABAD: Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff General Umit Dundar on Thursday called on Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman at Air Headquarters, Islamabad.
On his arrival at Air Headquarters, the distinguished guest was received by the Air Chief. A smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Air Force presented the Guard of Honour.The visiting dignitary was introduced to the Principle Staff Officers of Pakistan Air Force. Later on, he called on the Air Chief in his office.
The visiting dignitary was introduced to the Principal Staff Officers of Pakistan Air Force. Later on, he called on the Air Chief in his office.
Both the dignitaries remained together for some time and discussed matters of professional interest and areas of further co-operation. The dignitaries also exchanged souvenirs at the occasion.


Markus Rydberg is back with episode four in his podcast series, this time the young Simmer rider is in Maui for the annual photoshoot.
In this episode Markus where on Maui as he attended at the annual Simmer Style photoshoot. We manage to shoot two sessions when he was practicing after the shoot and this is what we came up with.
Markus: To be a part of the Simmer Style photoshoot was an amazing experience. I had a lot of fun and the new gear is sick! Unfortunately we only got to film two avarage Hookipa sessions for this episode but I'm still happy with how it came out in the end. Can't wait till next Maui trip and Simmer Style photoshoot!"
Enjoy/ MacG Productions
Filmed by: Emma Häggström and Markus Rydberg
Edited by: Markus Rydberg
Music: Dead Mouse - Ghosts n Stuff
[part title="Ep III"]
Markus Rydberg has been pushing into the video community and also shows that he is serious about competing. Producing a cool video series of his journey and what hurdles he has to cross makes for some good viewing. Check out what he has been up to over the winter and how the hardships of windsurfing have caught up with him as he faces rehabilitation for an injury sustained in Cape Town.
"During my las week in Cape Town I injured my left knee. When I got home I went straight to the doctor to check it up. Luckily it wasn't that bad so I started to focus on rehab to get on the water as soon as possible. Now my knee fells a lot better and I'm ready to go and do the Simmer Style photoshoot on Maui!"
Click on the picture below to be taken to the video, or head to the next page.


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Jennifer Garner led band of streakers at Barn Theatre
It's common knowledge that Hollywood star Jennifer Garner spent a summer as a Barnie at the Barn Theater in Augusta.
But, as she revealed in an interview with Conan O'Brien last night, while there she was the leader of a band streakers.
She wasn't drinking, she wasn't on medication, she was just in "a naked frame of mind." She and other Barnies streaked all summer.
Garner also said she made her mother proud that summer when one of the Ragotzys, the family who owns the theater, called her "the best bathroom cleaner."
Garner stayed with with Trish and Priscilla Buchholz for $35 a week while working at the Barn.
Garner's latest movie is the family comedy "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

domain: celebrity


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The availability of highly effective agents in the past two decades created the need for more sensitive response assessment strategies than traditional morphologic and serum and/or urine protein electrophoresis and immunofixation.
Indeed, minimal residual disease (MRD) in MM has become a crucial prognostic marker as better treatments led to deep and durable responses and has allowed for further refinement of prognosis among patients with traditional complete response (CR).1 Large meta-analyses have shown the prognostic significance of MRD on both progression-free and overall survival.2,3 Given its predictive abilities and rapid read-out, MRD is being evaluated as a surrogate for survival in MM. Numerous clinical trials are already employing MRD to inform outcomes and modify therapy in order to avoid the over- and under-treatment of patients. As a novel response assessment strategy, MRD can be assessed through a variety of methods – by multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the bone marrow, by positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and by peripheral blood assays in development. The lack of uniformity in assessing MRD is further complicated by the differences in the limit of detection (LOD) of MFC and NGS techniques. This has led to substantial heterogeneity across clinical trials in how MRD is assessed and reported, creating challenges for data interpretation and the design of subsequent studies.
The inception of this international harmonization effort was during the MRD and Immune Profiling Scientific Workshop at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (Orlando, FL, USA) when an international group of investigators with diverse expertise met and acknowledged the urgent need to complete this project. In a field with so many differing points-of-view among scientists, it was the encouragement of patient advocates (themselves struggling to make sense of the MRD data in MM) that set us in the right direction. A patient advocate served on the panel, ready to remind us that the MRD harmonization is crucial to generate data that will eventually enable better therapies. The interest generated in this effort was prompt and broad. In the end, 36 investigators, experts and patient-advocates representing research groups from 5 continents contributed to the project and worked “harmoniously” to produce this document. The 13 consensus statements address which MM trials should include MRD, the recommended time points for MRD assessment, expected analytical validation for MRD assays, and the necessity of reporting MRD according to intention-to-treat principle.
Analytical validation, or the lack thereof, has been a central problem with MRD research in MM. Much of the early data was based on assays developed by one institution or group and often exempt from the rigorous determination of its analytical characteristics, casting a shadow of skepticism over results. Rather than endorsing a specific method or platform, the task force agreed on a set of minimal analytical characteristics expected from any current or future assay to be employed for MRD in MM trials. Simply put, we cannot start to appraise treatment effects if we are not confident in the tools being used to measure it.
Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis admits to missing data, non-compliance/dropouts, and test failures which are often due to suboptimal responses to or toxicity of treatment and are essential to characterize and understand treatment effect.4 ITT analysis reduces the risk of bias and allows for more conservative estimates that are better reflective of real-world scenarios.5 In the case of MRD, ITT analysis assumes patients who did not undergo MRD testing as having MRD above threshold to avoid over-inflation of “MRD-negative” rates.
We expect that investigators, sponsors, reviewers and editors will endorse these recommendations and ensure they are followed in the design and reporting of future MM trials. Adherence to these principles has the potential to elevate the quality of MRD research, interpretation of results and support future applications of MRD in multiple myeloma.
- Martinez-Lopez, J. et al. Prognostic value of deep sequencing method for minimal residual disease detection in multiple myeloma. Blood 123, 3073–3079 (2014).
- Munshi, N. C. et al. Association of Minimal Residual Disease With Superior Survival Outcomes in Patients With Multiple Myeloma: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Oncol 3, 28–35 (2017).
- Landgren, O., Devlin, S., Boulad, M. & Mailankody, S. Role of MRD status in relation to clinical outcomes in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: a meta-analysis. Bone Marrow Transplantation 51, 1565 (2016).
- Wertz, R. T. Intention to Treat: Once Randomized, Always Analyzed. Clinical Aphasiology vol. 23 57–64 http://aphasiology.pitt.edu/188/ (1995).
- Fergusson, D., Aaron, S. D., Guyatt, G. & Hébert, P. Post-randomisation exclusions: the intention to treat principle and excluding patients from analysis. BMJ 325, 652–654 (2002).


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Black Tartan Kitchen
Located on idyllic Bridge Street, Black Tartan Kitchen is a casual fine dining restaurant, known for its elegant and inviting dining room and exceptional food and service. We provide an intimate, relaxed and local dining experience to be enjoyed on any occasion. Our menu reflects the current season and showcases products predominantly from the bountiful Lanark County. The wine and beer lists have been tailored to compliment the cuisine which can best be described as “Canadian Contemporary”; Classic French roots with varying influences all presented with a modern touch. We provide the most comfortable and satisfying dining experience. We look forward to seeing you in our kitchen!


CONSTRUCTION of the first Infiniti production facilities in Europe started in Sunderland today.
Part of an overall £250m investment in the UK, a groundbreaking ceremony was performed by Executive Vice President Trevor Mann, and Fintan Knight, Vice President for Infiniti Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Mann said: “Securing the Infiniti Q30 for production at Sunderland was a tremendous achievement by the workforce and reflects the quality levels which they have reached.
“The existing Sunderland plant is already the largest in UK automotive history and this £250m investment will move the plant even further up the value chain and reconfirm our commitment to their future.”
The new facilities, for the Q30 body assembly (Body Shop) and final assembly (Trim and Chassis), will cover 25,000m2 of new production space, with construction and facility installation due to be completed in time for the Q30 launch in 2015. The new Body Shop facilities will enable assembly of the Q30’s premium platform, while the Trim and Chassis extension will include a new engine installation facility.
Infiniti will become the first new car brand to be manufactured in the UK on this scale for 23 years. The expansion is set to create 1,000 jobs at Sunderland and in its UK suppliers, including 280 new jobs at the Sunderland Plant.


Stainless Steel Wire Mesh, Perforated Metal, Expanded Wire Mesh manufacturer / supplier in China, offering Robust Inox Line Cable Net for The Balustrades Security, Powder Coated Double Loop Wire Fence, Stainless Steel Crimped Wire Mesh Manufacturer and so on.
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Top-level security officials, convened an important meeting in the Somali capital on Monday evening, to address the pressing issue of the security situation in Mogadishu.
The Governor of Banadir Region and Mayor of Mogadishu, Mr Yusuf Hussein Jimale (Madaale), led the meeting, which was held at the Hamar Local Government House and attended by various key figures in the security sector.
Some of the attendees included the Minister of State for Internal Security, Mr Mohamed Ali Hagaay, the Somalia Police Force Commander, General Sulub Ahmad Firin, and the Commander of the National Security and Intelligence Service, Mr Mahad Mohamed Salad.
In addition, Deputy Governors of the Banadir Regional Government and the General Secretary of the Regional Government were also present.
The primary focus of the meeting was to address the identified gaps in the security situation in Mogadishu, with an emphasis on coordinating the efforts of various security agencies and district administrations.
Attendees exchanged ideas and strategies aimed at strengthening the security of the capital, particularly given the recent events.
Mogadishu has been the site of several deadly attacks, mainly attributed to Al-Shabaab militants. The attacks have left dozens of people dead and many others injured.
As a result, bolstering the city’s security has become a top priority for the federal government and relevant authorities.
During the meeting, Governor Jimale emphasized the need for cohesive efforts among security agencies and district administrations.
He stressed the importance of timely sharing of information and assigning specific roles and responsibilities to various stakeholders.
Likewise, each stakeholder was encouraged to define its role in the security plan and work towards its effective implementation.
The meeting is a significant step in the right direction towards improving the security situation in Mogadishu.


text:
Yes! you read right.
She feeds him delicious fat-filled food and makes him fat and sluggish and breaks him down. A teacher of chemistry, she sees life as a combination of acids, alkalines and gases.
“Love” she says “ is a colourless, volatile liquid Love ignites and burns. Love leaves no residue — neither smoke nor ash. Love is a poison masquerading as the spirit of wine.“ Although I first read Anita Nair’s Ladies Coupe many years ago( 2005 I think) it was only Margaret’s story that I continued to remember. But I re-discovered the novel again when I read it again recently .I was amazed at the authors ability to weave an interesting story at the same time throw up some poignant questions on gender, family , societal hypocrisy and life in South-India of the 80’s. Can a woman stay single and be happy at the same time?Is a woman’s life worthless unless she is a mother and a wife?
Unmarried Akhila,the 45 years old protagonist of the novel struggles with these questions. During her train journey to Kanyakumari , aboard the Ladies Coupe of the train she meets 5 other women , each with problems agonies and issues of their own. Akhila’s life-story is thus contrasted with theirs. Akhila has spent most of her life looking after her family, sacrificing her dreams for theirs. Even while she does finally fall in love-with someone many years younger to her, she has to sacrifice this too. The other woman too share their life-stories , their anguishes and how they deal with what life and society throws at them. It seemed to me like these 5 women represented the 5 stages of womanhood and even belonged to widely different social classes.Jaanki, Sheela, Margaret, Prabhadevi, Mary –all of them have a story to narrate…some realistic, some too fantastical and far-fetched but nevertheless all interesting to read. I loved how Anita, drew up the characters. The author managed to remain detached throughout the whole novel; never preaching but just narrating the facts as they are. Her portrayal of the Indian Woman of the 80’s- closeted by society yet pushing the walls to as Akhila put it “ find a place that was her own. To do as she pleased. To live as she chose with neither restraint nor fear of censure” was very realistic and inspiring. The men however left a LOT to be desired. Every one of them was spineless and insensitive. Where were the ‘good’ men ?? Still Ladies Coupe was an interesting,inspiring read.
Before I leave you here are some pics a friend send me….(don’t I club the unlikeliest things?)
Aren’t they simply the ugliest cakes you have ever seen…I wonder who ate them!!!


I hadn't been planning on doing a Thieving Thursday today but I ran across this post:
According to research revealed in this Slate story, Americans are twice as likely to report regularly attending Christian church services as to actually go to church services with any sort of regularity. Which, apparently, means that we're no more religious than, say, Europe.
But of course, there's more than meets the eye, right? A few thoughts:
To read the rest of the post go to Left Cheek.
By Darrell B. Nelson author of Alien Thoughts


Redding Selectman Donald Takacs, M.Ed, president of the Connecticut Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, will speak at the Brookfield Library on Monday, Feb. 4, from 7 to 9 p.m. after the showing of the HBO2 documentary Journey Into Dyslexia.
Mr. Takacs has been the president of the Connecticut Branch of the International Dyslexia Association since 2010. He serves as a teaching specialist and service learning faculty fellow for the Reading Internship at the University of Connecticut, Stamford. This course trains university students to tutor phonics-based multisensory reading instruction to kindergarten through third grade children at after school programs in Norwalk and Stamford.
Admission to the talk is free and there will be an interactive question and answer session following the talk.
The Brookfield Library is at 182 Whisconier Road. Call 203-775-6241 for information.


November 12, 2020
Destination Canada’s NICE campaign focusses on the perception of visitors that Canadians are “nice”. It is centered on stories involving Canada and Canadians.
At its 2020 (virtual) tourism conference this year, NWT Tourism wanted to celebrate not only NICE stories, but “spectacular” ones, demonstrating the best of what the NWT offers. Who best to tell these stories than those within the NWT tourism industry who specialize in providing spectacular experiences and services to the guests they host from around the world?
NWTT’s membership did not disappoint and shared numerous heartwarming tales about the many experiences and memories that tourism operators have made happen in the NWT. The stories are refreshing and fun to read; and a welcome change from the pandemic news that is dominating our lives as Canadians.
At the conclusion of this year’s ITI day, Minister Caroline Wawzonek had the pleasure of declaring four of these Spectacular Stories as “winners”.
- Where NICE comes with the territory: Reuniting Charles with his best friend.
Greg Robertson (Bluefish Servies) shared this heartwarming story about a dog that bolted away from a charter plane and was lost in the wilderness, then was reunited with his owner by some kind individuals who were out fishing in the area.
- Where NICE comes with the territory: A good guide is ready for anything
Margaret Peterson (Peterson’s Point Lake Lodge) asked the question: what happens when you lose a hearing device out on the barrenlands, in the snow? You rely on a resourceful northern fishing guide to find it for you.
- Where NICE comes with the territory: Khoan Pham’s* spectacular journey
Wendy Grater (Black Feather – The Wilderness Adventure Company) relates that when an amazing paddling guide sponsors a young Vietnamese boat person to Canada, amazing things happen.
- Where NICE comes with the territory: One last guided journey on the Barrenlands
Dan Wong (Jackpine Paddle) finally finds a wolf den from instructions provided by an amazing mentor guide who passed away. Synchronicity plays a part as the mentee finds the den on the day the mentor’s ashes were being scattered on the barrens.
Congratulations to all NWT tourism operators whose passion and dedication have – and will again – shape and create Spectacular Stories about this great land we call home.