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Bacterial infections are diseases caused due to the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the body. Some of the most common bacterial infections are salmonella, tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia, Helicobacter pylori infection, gonorrhea, syphilis, and bacterial meningitis. Various antibiotics are available to treat such infections.
All the answers published in this website are written by Verified medical doctors, therapists and health experts. The Content has been moderated by iCliniq medical review team before publication. Post your medical clarifications on iCliniq by choosing the right specialty and get them answered. Your medical queries will be answered 24/7 by top doctors from iCliniq.
I have developed a small cluster of spots on my penis over the past one month. Is this a sign of sexually transmitted diseases?
Query: Hi doctor, Two small clusters of pale spots have appeared towards the end of my foreskin on the bottom of my penis. They are not painful, have not wept or bled, and do not seem to be growing but came on very suddenly. They have been there for a couple of months now. My partner is concerned it may be... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I understand your concern. Have you done urine culture reports for night aggravation of irritation, excess scratching, and rubbing. Did you use any new cosmetic product or soap, fragrance-based lotion? Please answer the questions for details. Regards. Read Full »
I have been experiencing a constant white tongue past two years. Should I be concerned about this?
Query: Hello doctor, My tongue is always white, and I have been experiencing this for the past two years, and there are no other symptoms. Should I be concerned about this? Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I will be answering your query shortly. Please check your follow-up messages. Regards. Read Full »
Why am I suffering from stomach discomfort and pricking pain in the stomach for the last four reports?
Query: Hi doctor, Since the past four years, I am having a lot of stomach problems. It all started with loose motions at that time, and I used to take Ciplox-OZ or Norflox-OZ over-the-counter, and I used to feel better for two to three months. After a year, I started having acid reflux and burning sensat... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. After going through your concerns carefully, I feel your symptoms may be due to any one of the following. GERD (acid reflux). Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I suggest you tablet Pantoprazole 40 mg and Zenflox-OZ (combination of Of... Read Full »
Are there any side effects of Levofloxacin and Azithromycin?
Query: Hi doctor, I am a 19 year old male and I weigh 46 kg. Over the last seven months, I am suffering from fever along with chest and back pain. I also have body ache and little blocked nose but not runny nose. The mucus keeps coming out from my mouth. I have headache and I feel very tired. My stool is ... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I have read through your query in detail. Please find my observations below. It is right that tablet Azithromycin might cause heart disorder like increased abnormal rhythm and this is seen usually in the elderly age group. At 19 years of age and if you have no known cardi... Read Full »
Are the antibiotics prescribed to my dad correct?
Query: Hi doctor, My father is 76 years old. He has been in ICU for two days as he was diagnosed with LRTI (CAP - community acquired pneumonia). Four years back he had TB. His vitals such as BP, temperature, renal and heart tests are fine. He is not responding to antibiotics and his condition is deteriora... Read Full »
Dr. Amol Kumar Wasudeorao Diwan
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. Your father is suffering from acute exacerbation of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) with CAP (community acquired pneumonia) and sepsis. Currently he is on appropriate antibiotics. But, he needs systemic steroids to cope up the exacerbation along with inh... Read Full »
Why are WBC and neutrophils chronically high even if no infection is present?
Query: Hello doctor, My reports show chronically high WBC above 15 and neutrophils above 10 recent CRP of 8.8. No infection can be found, but I was treated with two rounds of antibiotics- Amoxicillin and Clarithromycin. I repeated CBC, and the numbers were higher. My doctor said maybe this was going to be ... Read Full »
Answer: Hello, Welcome to icliniq.com. I read your query and understand your concern. Your elevated WBC count and increased percentage of neutrophils are suggestive of an acute bacterial infection or some other acute inflammatory process. Your history of abdominal pain, nausea, and unintended weight los... Read Full »
My 9 month old son is suffering from low platelet count. Please help.
Query: Hi doctor, My son is 9 months old. He had a high fever and low platelet count (70 k). We admitted him immediately and done blood platelet transfusion (100 ml). The next day, the platelets went down to 16 k. He was discharged from the hospital when it came up to 95 k. Now after a week, the count wen... Read Full »
Dr. Goswami Parth Rajendragiri
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I have gone through the query (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Your son's latest report shows neutrophilia. It is suggestive of bacterial infection. Further workup can be done in the form of CRP (C- reactive protein) estimation, blood culture, and flow cy... Read Full »
How to manage an oozing wound on the feet?
Query: Hi doctor, My sister is having a wound infection on both feet. Initially, it started as a boil. After that, it became bigger like a wound. It started releasing green liquid constantly and sometimes blood comes from it. It was forming scabs a few days back. After that, it started releasing green l... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. Your sister is having a recurrent infection. It is caused due to various causes. It is caused due to poor hygiene, poor immune response, and environmental problems. Please mention the dose of Cloxacillin taken. Please mention whether she has continuous itching and so she ... Read Full »
Please suggest a treatment for a boil that is oozing out from multiple pores.
Query: Hi doctor, I have boils that appear from time to time. Now, I have some boils above my beltline. It started outlining an ingrown hair with a white head. My wife tried to pull the hair with tweezers. But zit popped and we never got the hair. I have used some peroxide on it and drained more. On the n... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. Recurrent boils can occur due to a bacterial infection of the hair follicle and it can cause painful pus-filled eruptions on the body. If you are having a frequent recurrence, then it can occur due to persistent infection or reinfection. Please mention whether you have ... Read Full »
Having a lump on the posterior side of the testis. Can you suggest any treatments?
Query: Hello doctor, I am a 35 year old male. I had testicle and lower abdominal pain from couple of weeks, but I did not have burning sensation on urinating. So, I started taking antibiotic (Azithromycin) and analgesics (Ibuprofen). Now my pain has almost subsided, but I have developed a lump on the poste... Read Full »
Answer: Hi, Welcome to icliniq.com. I read your query and understand your concerns. From the available description, it appears that you are suffering from epididymo-orchitis, which is a condition characterized by inflammation of the testis (leading to testicular pain) and epididymis (a structure behind... Read Full »

domain: medical


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This kit contains everything you need for the suspension of the Artiteq Click Rail. A flexible hanging system can be integrated easily and quickly into your home with the Click Rail. In three simple steps you’ll be able to attach the rail to the wall. By clicking or sliding the wires with hooks you can create a flexible suspension of your decorations.
This white rail is 200 cm long and has a weight-carrying capacity of 20kg per metre. The Artiteq Click Rail is meant to be attached to the wall. This set includes; 1 x 150cm perlon wire, 1 x self-locking Picture Hanging hook, 2 x end caps and all the other mounting materials you need.

domain: hobby


Property-Tax Hikes 20% In Some North Side Neighborhoods
With the unprecedented late December 1st arrival of the second installment of 2021 property tax bills, many North Side Chicago homeowners will be shocked to see rent hikes of 20% or more.
“My office has finally received the figures to print 1.8 million property tax bills, said Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas.
Property owners can view, download and pay their bills online at the Cook County Treasurer’s website: www.cookcountytreasurer.com. Taxpayers—including homeowners and landlords—also can pay their bills at Chase Bank branches, or, in person, at Pappas’ office downtown. Property tax payments are due on December 30.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has blamed the Cook County Board of Review for creating higher residential tax bills this year due to its appeal decisions that reduced assessment valuations of some large downtown commercial properties, leaving many homeowners to unexpectedly bear more of the tax burden.
In Chicago, tax bills vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood, an analysis by Pappas’ office reported. Reassessment increases of 38% to 55% in Lincoln Park and Old Town and higher assessments in neighborhoods along Lake Michigan were expected to send real estate tax bills soaring. Surprisingly, our survey revealed even higher-percentage tax hikes in townships west of Western Ave.
A spot survey by the Home Front column generally found widespread 2021 tax increases ranging from 9.4% to 24.3% on an assortment of homes and small apartment buildings. Here is the tax-bill analysis:
Old Irving Park. The investor-owner of a red-brick six-flat south of Irving Park Rd. was billed $16,149, up a staggering 24.3% over the $12,224 paid in 2020.
South Avondale. The owner of a graystone 3-flat just north of Diversey Pkwy. was surprised to be billed $10,165, up a hefty 23.6% over the $7,767 paid in 2020.
North Avondale. The owner of a yellow-brick 2-flat just south of Addison St. was billed $8,411, up 23.6% over the $6,340 paid in 2020.
North Lincoln Square. The owner of a yellow-brick 4-flat building was billed $9,704, an increase of 21.2% over the $7,642 paid in 2020.
Buena Park. The owner of a large historic single-family home on a wide lot was billed a whopping $34,341, up 18.5% from $28,004 in 2020.
Irving Park. The owner of a stucco bungalow in the Villa Historic District was billed $10,519, up 15.4% from $8,896 in 2020.
Old Town. The owner of a brownstone 6-flat in the Old Town Historic District received a bill of $23,929, an increase of 9.5% over the $21,652 paid in 2020.
Logan Square. The owner of a graystone 4-flat north of Logan Boulevard was billed $13,414, up 9.4% over the $12,144 paid in 2020.
“The property-tax bill is determined by four factors: the assessment, the equalization factor, or ‘multiplier,’ the tax rate, and the exemptions,” said Michael Griffin, a Chicago real estate tax appeal attorney.
The three primary exemptions are the Homeowner’s, Senior Citizen, and Senior Freeze. The Homeowner’s exemption recently was increased to $10,000 from $7,000, and the Senior Exemption was hiked to $8,000 from $5,000.
Those exemption amounts are deducted from the tax bill, which is the result of the assessment multiplied by the tax rate and by the multiplier.
Also, more seniors can qualify for the Senior Freeze because the Illinois Legislature recently increased the maximum annual income to receive the freeze to less than $65,000 from less than $55,000.
“Every homeowner should review their tax bill to see if they received the proper exemptions, and contact the assessor if the exemptions are incorrect,” Griffin advised.
However, predicting a hefty future property tax increase really centers on two wild cards—the tax rate and the state equalization factor, which can’t be challenged by taxpayers.
The equalization factor, or “multiplier,” is established each year for Cook County to bring property tax assessments in line with other parts of Illinois. The factor is determined by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The tax rate in Chicago eased slightly to 6.723% per $100 of assessed valuation from $6.911 a year earlier. And, the 2021 state equalization factor, designed to make assessments uniform statewide, declined to 3.0027% per $100 of assessed valuation from 3.2234% a year earlier.
“With projected income from assessments rising sharply, some experts are wondering why the tax rate in the city of Chicago did not go down more?” asked Griffin.
The main engine that drives up property-tax bills is the amount of money spent by local governments. For example, homeowners who read their 2021 tax bills will see continued increased spending for schools and police, firefighter and teacher pensions.
Property owners who think they are over assessed should appeal now, Griffin advises.
Visit the assessor’s website: www.cookcountyassessor.com, or call 312-443-7550 to find comparable properties or start the appeal process. The Assessor is now working through the appeals process for 2022 where the north suburbs are being reassessed.
A taxpayer can file with the Cook County Board of Review (312-603-5542) or www.cookcountyboardofreview.com and later with the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board (217-785-6076), or www.ptab.illinois.gov. Or, call Michael Griffin, an expert tax-assessment lawyer, at 312-943-1789.


June 7, 2009
Kyle Busch easily won the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Speedway. The victory is Busch’s fourth of the season, and his ninth victory in NASCAR’s top three series.
Top 5: Busch, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Mike Bliss, and Jason Leffler.
Stephen Leicht, Steve Wallace, Michael McDowell, Erik Darnell, and Brad Coleman rounded out the top 10.
Notables: Justin Allgaier (13th), Bobby Hamilton Jr (14th), Kenny Wallace (16th), Tony Raines (19th), Jason Keller (26th), and Scott Wimmer (33rd).
Ricky Stenhouse Jr spun on lap 126, setting off a five-car accident that involved Jason Keller and Trevor Bayne.
May 31, 2009
Brad Keselowski won the Nationwide Series’ Helluva Good 200 from Dover International Speedway after taking the lead with two laps to go when Joey Logano ran into the back of Kyle Busch on the final restart.
Top 5: Keselowski, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, and Carl Edwards.
Paul Menard, Scott Speed, Jason Leffler, Jason Keller, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top 10.
Notables: Kevin Harvick (13th), Kyle Busch (17th), Scott Wimmer (18th), Greg Biffle (25th), Steve Wallace (29th), David Ragan (30th), Ryan Newman (32nd), and Kenny Wallace (33rd).
May 11, 2009
Matt Kenseth capitalized when Kyle Busch, the leader at the time, ran over some debris under caution and had to come to pit road to change a tire. Kenseth inherited the lead, and held on to win the Nationwide Series’ Diamond Hill Plywood 200 from Darlington Raceway.
Jason Leffler, Carl Edwards, Erik Darnell, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top 5.
Ryan Newman, Mike Bliss, Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers, and Scott Wimmer finished sixth through tenth.
Notables: Brad Kelelowski (11th), Joey Logano (12th), Steve Wallace (13th), Kyle Busch (16th), and Kenny Wallace (18th).
May 8, 2009
Jay Busbee at Yahoo Sports has a very good blog posting on former Nationwide Series driver Kevin Grubb’s passing, which is thought to have been a suicide.
It’s not right to speculate on how he went from racing in NASCAR to a lonesome death in a hotel room, but it’s clear that much went wrong in Grubb’s life, whether by accident or action. What role, if any, drugs may have played in his death remains unknown. But if not for the substance abuse, Grubb could have been racing even now.
Definitely worth reading, and puts substance abuse in perspective.
May 7, 2009
ESPN is reporting that suspended NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kevin Grubb was found dead in a Richmond, VA hotel on Wednesday.
Grubb was discovered at Alpine Hotel, just outside of Richmond, at 11:30 a.m. The cause of death has not been released, but foul play was not suspected.
Grubb, the younger brother of NASCAR driver Wayne Grubb,made one attempt to qualify for a Sprint Cup race. In 2002, he attempted to make the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway in a car fielded by Team Bristol Motorsports. He failed ot make the race after crashing during qualifying. Plans to run the entire 2003 season fell through.
In 1998, he posted a second place finish at Dover International Speedway driving for his father’s team Grubb Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.
From 1999 – 2001, he raced for Brewco Motorsports, posting 18 top tens. By 2004, he was slated to race for Team Rensi Motorsports, but he failed a substance abuse test in March.
He was reinstated in June of 2006, on the condition that he submit to random drug tests. He agreed and was reinstated.
In September of 2006, he refused to take a drug test following a crash at Richmond, and was suspended. Refusal to take a test results in an automatic failure. Grubb said that a concussion caused him to refuse the test, and said he had no memory of the refusal.
He was under suspension at the time of his death.


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Sasol’s US$ 11-Billion Project Resumes after Harvey Stall
Sasol Ltd is an integrated energy and chemical company based in South Africa. Workers have now started returning to the company’s US$11 billion Lake Charles Chemicals Project in Louisiana after the site was shut for more than a week because of Hurricane Harvey. Construction workers started joining work although at lower-than-usual turnout levels following the closure on August 26, 2017.
Russel Johnson, the spokesperson of Sasol’s North American operations, said: “The site could not be accessed for safe work for seven working days.”
Last year, Sasol raised the cost of Lake Charles by 25% to US$11 billion, quoting problems including weather delays at a site with poorer-than-anticipated subsurface conditions. The company also decreased returns from the plant, which will convert ethane into plastics and other products. Harvey, which struck areas near Christi, Texas, shattered the regions petrochemical operations.
There was a 50% increase in rainy days from the 10-year average, according to the National Weather Service. Sasol fell 1% to 386.49 rands in Johannesburg trading on Wednesday taking its decline over the past month to 5.7%.
The company quoted it is working with a venture of Fluor Corp. and TechnipFMC Plc, contracted by Sasol, to access further workforce and material supply to the Lake Charles project as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
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domain: economics


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Six deaths in six days. He should have been in prison. Police: Suspect in multiple Detroit-area killings dies after shooting himself. So what is social justice quotient in 6 deaths?
Brown’s case has triggered controversy and finger-pointing as he allegedly carried out these crimes weeks after a federal judge released him back into society following a probation violation, rather than locking him back up.
But keeping violent criminals in prison is unfair.
He shot himself as police were closing in.
Six people would be alive if that judge had exercised some judgement. But instead, I’m sure he was worried about his social-justice standing.

domain: news


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KSI ft. S-X – Sleeping with the Enemy
Download Sleeping with the Enemy by KSI Feat. S-X
English YouTuber and rapper, Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, better known as KSI has released “Sleeping with the Enemy” featuring S-X off his second studio album titled “All Over the Place” with Craig David, S-X, Lil Durk, Rico Love, Bugzy Malone, JAY1, Deno, Digital Farm Animals, Anne-Marie, Polo G, YUNGBLUD, Future and 21 Savage
KSI is having a massive week. Tonight, he drops his sophomore album All Over The Place and the next day, The KSI Show takes place. The show will be live on Saturday at 3PM EST and you can purchase tickets here. Confirmed as guests are the Sidemen, Jonathan Ross, Logan Paul, AJ Tracey and more, including his musical collaborators Anne-Marie, Craig David and more.
The album, executive produced by Mams Taylor, features guest appearances from Future, 21 Savage, Yungblud, Polo G, Anne-Marie, Digital Farm Animals, Craig David, Jay1, Deno, Gracey, Bugzy Malone, Rico Love, Lil Durk, and S-X. The Vinyl Edition of the album adds an extra guest appearance from Neeve. The album was preceded by four singles: “Really Love”, “Don’t Play”, “Patience”, and “Holiday”. KSI is set to headline The SSE Arena, Wembley on 25 February 2022, promoting the album.
Stream & Download Sleeping with the Enemy Mp3 by KSI Feat. S-X Below:

domain: entertainment


5 Rare and Exciting Species of Wildlife You Can Find in South Dakota’s Badlands
Get the beta on the best places to spot bison, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and more amid one of America’s wildest landscapes
Want to see animals in their element? Your best bet is to visit unfractured wilderness with minimal human interruption. Bonus points for complex ecosystems, which support tons of different species, and wide-open landscapes, which are better for long-range viewing. Badlands National Park ticks all of these boxes, which is why it’s one of the best places in the United States to see rare and endangered wildlife.
Located in southwestern South Dakota, Badlands National Park encompasses more than 244,000 acres of preserved wilderness. “It’s got a rich mix of habitats and landscapes,” explains Mike Pflaum, who lived and worked in Badlands for seven years before he retired as park superintendent in 2022. “It’s east meets west, and prairie and plains meet mountains.” And the animals that roam this unique intersection of landscapes are as otherworldly as the park’s striking geologic features. At dawn and dusk, elk and deer tiptoe into the open, and endangered black-footed ferrets peek from their burrows to hunt. Bighorn sheep pick their way down to watering holes in the morning, and bison close out the day with the thundering of hooves. Here are the uniquely American species that live in the park, plus tips for maximizing your chances of spotting them.
The Great Plains were once home to an estimated 60 million bison, but the species was nearly extinct by 1889, when South Dakota became a state. Today, Badlands National Park is home to more than 1,200 bison—mostly descendents of a herd reintroduced to the badlands in the 1860s. “The best place to see bison is from the very scenic Sage Creek Rim Road, in the western portion of the North Unit of the park,” says Pflaum. He adds that bison are active year-round, but April, when calves are born, is the best time for photo ops of female bison and their young. “The calves are orange-red in color, and they’re just dancing and prancing around,” he says. If you have more time in South Dakota, Pflaum recommends stopping in nearby Custer State Park, home to one of the largest publicly owned bison herds. Target the Prairie Trail for some of the best viewing.
Badlands National Park has historically supported one of the most robust populations of bighorn sheep in the United States, as well as some of the largest rams in North America. While the population usually hovers around 250, the sheep tend to move around the park in smaller herds rather than as one large group. Because bighorn sheep have no natural predators here, they’re bold and easy to spot. Pflaum suggests visiting during May, when ewes give birth to their young. “At the Pinnacles Overlook, you can watch the lambs run around in their little nursery groups,” he says. For the best chance at seeing rams clash horns, Pflaum recommends planning to arrive during the rut, which usually peaks in November.
Roaming the grasslands of Badlands National Park, pronghorn antelope are distinguishable by their white and russet markings. These animals are active in daytime and congregate north of the Badlands Loop Road or nearby Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which Pflaum says is also home to bison and black-footed ferrets. If a herd of antelope gets spooked while you’re observing them, take care not to blink: pronghorns can sustain speeds of 55 mph while running, making them the world’s fastest land mammal over long distances.
Black-footed ferrets are one of Badlands’ most elusive creatures, which makes them among the most rewarding species to spot in the park. “They’re fascinating animals and one of the most endangered mammals in North America,” Pflaum adds. In 1980, the black-footed ferret was considered extinct. That was until a small colony was discovered in Wyoming later that decade. The species was then reintroduced to the park; today, the population currently sits at around 120 ferrets. Though they’re occasionally visible at dusk and dawn, they spend most of their time underground in abandoned prairie dog tunnels, Pflaum says, which means you’ll need a sharp eye to spot them. Most of the park’s ferrets live in the Conata Basin area.
Black-tailed prairie dogs live throughout Badlands National Park, but some viewpoints provide a better vantage than others. Pflaum recommends heading to Roberts Prairie Dog Town, about a ten-minute drive from the park’s Wall entrance. Or take your binoculars to the Burns Basin Overlook. Both areas are home to prairie dog colonies—a network of tunnels that act as an underground prairie dog city. “Roberts is the largest prairie dog town in the park,” Pflaum says. “It’s also home to burrowing owls, which are these really attractive little birds that live in the prairie dog burrows during the summer.” For the best chance of seeing prairie dogs in action, head out around dawn. The animals are most active in the hour after sunrise, when they emerge from their burrows to bask in the sun and forage for breakfast. Want to up the cuteness factor? Schedule your trip in mid-June during pup season, as young prairie dog pups come aboveground at just six weeks old.
Travel South Dakota enhances the quality of life for South Dakotans and visitors by strengthening the communities, encouraging responsible stewardship, and creating meaningful experiences for all to enjoy. Together, we’re here to serve the people of South Dakota and all who come to explore.


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Gents of Aspen rugby team calls on players
The Aspen Times
The new generation of rugby in Aspen — the new edition of the Gentlemen of Aspen — will kick off the new season this month.
The tradition-rich Aspen rugby club — dating to the 1960s — will hold a general players meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 24, at the Aspen Middle School gym.
Everyone is invited — experienced ruggers to interested novices, according to John Staub, a longtime Gentlemen of Aspen player who has taken over as club president this year.
“Our first match is April 12,” Staub said, adding that the full-side Gentlemen will have three weeks to prepare for the season opener — against the rival Denver Barbarians.
The Barbos are coming off yet another Aspen Ruggerfest title won last fall in Aspen.
Staub said veteran rugby player/coach Freddie Waititi is returning to serve as head coach of the Aspen full side (15s) for the season. Waititi played on the Gentlemen of Aspen national powerhouse teams from the 1990s and 2000s.
“This is a new beginning for the Gentlemen of Aspen,” Staub said as he leads an ambitious effort to rebuild the senior-level rugby club will continuing efforts to boost high school and youth rugby in the valley.
“We want people to know the rugby club is back, and we’re trying to build rugby back into Aspen’s game,” Staub said.
And the Gentlemen of Aspen are looking for assistance.
“We’re looking for help,” Staub said.
And more than just on-field rugby help — although player recruitment is a major item on the club’s 2014 agenda.
The Aspen rugby club is looking for volunteers to help with the administration of the rugby team and the team’s events — like the June 7 rugby 7s tournament in Aspen as well as Aspen Ruggerfest.
“We’re looking for support — volunteers and volunteers who know sports administration,” Staub said.
Again, all inquiries are welcome, he said.
And, Staub said, the Gentlemen of Aspen are looking for players — athletes who want to learn the sport and want to contribute to the consummate team game.
“It’s such an opportunity for an athlete to get back to a competitive level,” said Gentlemen of Aspen player James Aldridge, the former Notre Dame running back turned rugby star. “I’ve had a chance to rub shoulders (with great athletes) from all over the world.”
Aldridge said that playing rugby introduces players to the international fraternity of ruggers worldside.
His rugby opportunity came when he was recruited for the Gentlemen of Aspen by former Gents player and 7s coach Andy Katoa.
Aldridge said that playing at Wagner Park in Aspen during Ruggerfest — one of the most famous rugby venues in the world — taught him about the longstanding tradition of competitive rugby in Aspen.
He and Staub want to rejuvenate the Gentlemen of Aspen while continuing to support the Aspen Junior Gents high-school age team (led by Gary Williams) and youth rugby in general.
The Junior Gents will host Castle Rock on March 22.
The Gents of Aspen revitalization will start with the general players meeting on March 24 at the Aspen Middle School gym (6 p.m.)
For more information, visit aspenrugby.com or telephone Staub at 225-413-7505.
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Two-time Olympian Noah Hoffman’s life is busier now than it ever was during his 10-year U.S. Nordic ski team career. The soon-to-be Brown graduate — he’ll have an economics degree by May — who was raised in Aspen has thrown himself into athlete activism since his retirement in 2018.


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About childhood obesity
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic. And, it has significantly impacted the physical and psychological health of our nation’s children. Research shows that overweight and obese children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood. They also have a much higher risk of developing diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease at a younger age.
Experts at the World Health Organization estimate that there are 43 million overweight children who are under the age of 5. By 2020, more than 60 percent of diseases worldwide will be directly associated with obesity.
Childhood obesity facts
Here are some noteworthy childhood obesity facts that have been highlighted in a scientific review published in the Industrial Psychiatry Journal
- Childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk of premature death and disability in adulthood.
- Obese children often consume larger food portions, increased fat intake and fewer fruits and vegetables from an early age.
- Obese children spend fewer hours physically active than normal-weight children. And they spend more time watching TV, sitting at their computers or playing video games.
- A large number of children who are obese have obese parents.
- When food is used as a reward starting early in life, children tend to derive pleasure from it. This increases the risk of childhood obesity.
- For obese children, food tends to be a source of comfort.
- Many obese children lie about their food consumption and even hoard snack foods in their rooms.
- Obese children seem to eat more in the evening and at night, and less in the morning.
- These children seem to eat out of the home more often than normal-weight children.
- They also seem to have a preference for sweet foods like cookies, cake, ice cream and sweetened beverages.
Causes of childhood obesity
1. Portion Sizes
It might seem like an obvious statement, but it’s important to understand that portion size directly affects the amount of food consumed in one sitting. That means that you’re more likely to eat more food than you really need if the portion in front of you is bigger.
2. School Lunch
Are you letting the food industry feed your kids? If so, you may notice that the choices available to your kids at school aren’t exactly what you’d prefer for them to be eating during lunch. Yes, schools have to hit certain nutrition marks. But they are also allowed to use foods with artificial flavors and coloring, food additives, preservatives and emulsifiers.
3. Consumption of Sugary and Ultra-Processed Foods
One of the leading causes of obesity is the sugary and processed foods making up many children’s diets. Research shows that children today are eating more high-calorie, nutrient deficient foods and they are not consuming foods with vitamins, minerals, and other healthy micronutrients.
4. The absence of Healthy Fats
You may be surprised to learn that researchers have found that a diet rich in healthy fats (avocado, butter, wild caught salmon, yogurt, coconut oil) is associated with a lower risk of developing obesity. For so many years, the public was told that fats cause weight gain. But recent studies indicate that the opposite is actually true, in the case of healthy fats. The consumption of healthy fats has an inverse relationship with metabolic risk factors and obesity.
5. Lack of Physical Activity
A large population of children and adolescents aren’t meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines. The recommendation is at least one hour of physical activity every day and more if possible.
6. Stress (On Children and Parents)
Children with obesity face psychological issues like stress, anxiety and even depression. Researchers show that many obese children experience separation anxiety when they are separated from their parents and they feel anxiety about their weight and food habits. Adolescents become stressed and anxious about their weight and resort to crash dieting, which leads to them eating even more. Sometimes, obese children and adolescents can be bullied or ridiculed because of their weight, even by their friends and parents. This leads to even more feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, and worthlessness. These feelings lead to children resorting to food for comfort and inevitably, even more, weight gain.
7 solutions for childhood obesity
1. Start with a Healthy Breakfast
Did you know that skipping breakfast can actually lead to weight gain? Studies indicate that regular breakfast consumption will reduce the risk of childhood obesity and improve a child’s physical activity behaviors. Children need breakfast to fuel their bodies and give them energy throughout the day. Without a proper breakfast, children and adolescents will feel fatigued. They will be less likely to engage in physical activity that burns calories. Plus, when they do finally eat a full meal, they will be so hungry that they choose larger portions and consume more calories.
A healthy breakfast contains protein, fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants. Avoid serving children foods that are processed and contain added sugars, like cereals marketed to children.
2. Pack School Lunches
To fight childhood obesity and even improve your child’s focus and test scores, opt for a brown bag lunch. Plan, shop for and prepare meals with your son or daughter. Let your child become part of the decision making. Allow her to choose her own healthy foods to incorporate into her school lunches. This will get her excited about eating healthy foods she already loves. She may be willing to try some new foods, too.
A 2009 study published in Preventing Chronic Disease found that adolescents who usually brought their lunch from home 5 days per week “ate fast food on fewer occasions, consumed fewer servings of soda, fried potatoes and high-sugar foods, and ate more fruits and vegetables compared with adolescents who never brought their lunch to school.”
3. Get Involved at School
You stay on top of what your child is learning at school. You ask him what he learned that day, help him with his homework and communicate with his teacher about his progress. Doesn’t it make sense to ask your child about what he ate that day? What food was offered and did he like it? Did it make him feel energetic afterward or groggy?
Your child spends a majority of his day at school and there, he is learning behaviors, including how and what to eat. Your child receives mixed signals if you’re practicing healthy eating at home, but processed foods are served every day at school. Until healthy school lunches are the norm, you need to be an advocate for your child. Get involved at school and fight for healthy lunches. Plus, school is a great place for your child to learn about healthy foods, what they can do for his body and mind, and why certain foods make you feel good while others make you feel lousy. Studies show that in the fight against childhood obesity, too, is the most feasible and effective approach. Teachers and parents are the best role models. Together, they can more easily guide the children to become healthier.
4. Cook Meals at Home
Eating more meals away from home puts children at a greater risk of becoming obese. This is especially true if they are eating high-calorie fast or processed foods that parents turn to on busy days. Research shows that families spend about 40 percent of their food dollars on food away from home. Children are served portions that are too large and too high in calories at these establishments, often To help your child lose or maintain his weight, prepare most meals at home. Also, eat together as a family as often as possible. Cook meals for your family using high protein foods, healthy fats and anti-inflammatory foods like leafy green vegetables and fruits packed with antioxidants.
5. Limit TV Time
When your child is in front of the TV, he’s probably sitting or lying down, doing very little or no physical activity. Sometimes, parents let their children watch TV for hours without prompting them to go outside, run around, play a game or get creative. Not only does too much TV time mean too little exercise and too much time being sedentary, it also means that your child is being exposed to advertisements that are promoting the exact foods that are contributing to our childhood obesity epidemic.
Children are exposed to high volumes of television advertising for unhealthy foods with little nutritional value and too many calories. Researchers found that among the food commercials, 54–87 percent were for unhealthy foods. Also, most of these commercials involved persuasive marketing techniques. For example, using popular promotional characters that appeal to children.
6. Make Time for Physical Activity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17 should engage in at least 60 minutes of exercise every day and encourages young people to exercise regularly to decrease the likelihood of developing childhood obesity, reduce stress and anxiety levels, promote mental health, and build strong bones and muscles. These benefits of exercise will boost your child’s self esteem and help him to reach his weight loss goals. Young people should spend one or more hours running around, playing sports and engaging in other types of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities every day. Here are some great ways that your child can become more active:
- playing sports like soccer, basketball and tennis
- brisk walking
- bike riding
- practicing gymnastics
- practicing karate
- doing yoga
- doing push-ups and pull-ups
- climbing a tree
- playing on a jungle gym
7. Be Supportive and Show by Example
Obese children and adolescents experience stress and anxiety over their weight and how their parents, siblings, and peers perceive them. Addressing the psychological issues related to obesity is just as important as changing a child’s diet. Never put your child down about his or her weight. Instead, explain your concerns and present a game plan. If you plan to feed your child healthier foods and make time for physical activity, you should do it too! Sit down to eat a healthy meal together. Shop for food and look through recipe books or blogs together. Engage in physical activity together by hiking, running, going to the beach and swimming or bike-riding. It’s also a good idea to practice daily stress relievers, like yoga and meditation.
If you are having trouble dealing with your child’s anxiety about his or her weight, seek the help of a professional. A services health coach or therapist can be extremely beneficial.
Final Thoughts on Childhood Obesity
- Childhood obesity has become a worldwide epidemic and experts at the World Health Organization estimate that there are 43 million overweight children who are under the age of 5 and by 2020 more than 60 percent of diseases developed worldwide will be directly associated with obesity..
- There are many causes of childhood obesity. These include large portion sizes, unhealthy school lunches, consumption of sugary and processed foods, the absence of healthy fats, a lack of physical activity and stress on both children and parents.
- Luckily, there are natural solutions for fighting childhood obesity. Cooking and preparing meals at home are the best ways to treat childhood obesity. It’s extremely important to encourage physical exercise, get involved in school and serve as a support system for your child.
Want to learn more about natural solutions to maintain and improve health? You are welcome to like our Facebook page and sign up for our fun and informative newsletter below!

domain: food


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130-3016Regular price$3,450.00 Save $-3,450.00
An ultra-explosive ring with two rows of diamonds and one row of pink sapphires criss-crossing over each other to form an absolute supernova of sparkle. A ring that’s lightyears ahead of its time and bursting with brilliance, it was inspired by Hayley Paige’s Harley gown.
Each Hayley Paige for Hearts On Fire design features a sapphire in Hayley’s favorite shade of pink on the inside of the band—an extra dash of sparkle just for you. As they were chosen by hand, these sapphires may vary slightly in shade from ring to ring.
Diamond clarity VS-SI, and a color range of G-H.

domain: artistic


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In Joe Hill’s forthcoming second novel, the follow-up to 2007's Heart-Shaped Box, a guy wakes up to find that he’s grown a pair of demonic horns. But that’s just the first shock for Ig Perrish, who soon discovers that the horns somehow causes everyone he encounters to unburden their most private, intimate thoughts. Ultimately, this leads Ig on a path of vengeance, as he learns the identity of the man who killed his former girlfriend...
The author explains that the basic concept appealed because he’s always found literary “moments of confession” appealing.
“Sometimes you get a character at the point of confession and it will turn out that they’re better than you thought they were”, says Hill. “The protagonist of Heart-Shaped Box is this ageing heavy metal rocker and when we meet him, he seems to be a pretty thoroughly selfish and unpleasant man. But as the book proceeds, one of the things you see is that he’s a much better man than maybe you initially thought. More importantly, he’s a better man than he thinks – he’s sort of sold himself a bill of goods about who he is.”
Ig’s “gift” causes him to hear some truly appalling things, as people casually share their darkest secrets.
“To a degree everyone has terrible things that they think - I think it’s just human nature”, says Hill. “People have these dark thoughts and dark fantasies, but that’s not all they think. In fables, if you examine the Devil as a character, maybe one reason why he revels in the ruin of humanity is because all he can see is the bad stuff. Of course, the challenge with the book was: Ig has the powers of the Devil and he sees everyone’s worst side, no-one can hide their terrible secrets from him, and that’s exciting... But I also had a desire to have some conversations which weren’t people confessing, but even better, people lying!”
So while the book kicks off with Ig meeting person after person who spills their guts, that’s not all there is to it.
“There’s not a single fantasy element in part two of the book”, Hill points out. “It’s almost a purely mainstream story.”
It was after Hill had written that second section, entitled “Cherries”, which flashbacks to the youth of the central characters, that the book really came together.
“As it went along it become progressively more fun for me to write, because then I knew who Merrin [Ig’s late girlfriend] was and I knew who Ig was, and the whole book sort of condensed around that part.”
Towards the end it becomes a different kind of book again, as we learn more about a villain of the piece.
“There’s also a part of the book which I consider sort of a mini Jim Thompson novel, and that’s Lee Tourneau’s story. We get this standalone 100-page novella about what Ig sees in Lee’s head, and he’s sort of the perfect sociopath. That was fun to write too, but pretty horrible! He’s a mad old boy!”
Over the course of the book, Ig slowly turns into a devil. So did Hill do much research about Old Nick himself?
“I did some research that was incredibly helpful but came a little bit too late to do much good, because the story had been pretty much hammered out. I read a book called God's Problem: How the Bible Fails To Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer, and that was useful. I’ve also written a short story, which hasn’t come out yet, called ‘The Devil On The Staircase’. That’s a faux folk tale, which pretends to be 100 years old, about the Devil. I actually did that on my 10th wedding anniversary. I promised I was going to take a break from writing but my wife could only stand two days of me taking a break! So I wrote this folk tale longhand about the Devil.”
And did his researches change his perception of the Devil?
“There’s a representation of Satan in Jobe in which he seems like he’s not so much the Devil as the Devil’s advocate”, notes Hill. “Part of the problem is that the Devil is one of the great characters in literature, but he’s kinda been cobbled together in a weird way. That goes into the history of Christianity, where originally the Devil was Baal… he’s one of the pagan demons which were actually good guys, and then Christianity came in and said, ‘No, no, that’s the bad guy’!”
Many writers struggle with the literary equivalent of “different second album syndrome” once they have their debut novel behind them. Does Hill feel like he’s become a different kind of writer over the last couple of years?
“Well, I think that a lot of writers struggle with the second novel”, he says. “There’s often a transition from the first novel to the second novel, regardless of whether the first book was a success or not. With the first book, you get this big burst out of your system. And then suddenly you’re shocked because you realise you gotta do a second book, and it takes a little while to figure out if you have anything else to say.”
“One of the things I did between books was I wrote a lot of comics - I wrote a comic book series, Locke And Key. I have a feeling now that everyone who wants to write fiction should be required to spend at least a couple of years as a journalist, or a couple of years writing comic books, y’know? Page one of Horns is what they call in the comic business a reveal, and there’s a lot of places where I think you can look at Horns and see that I did absorb something in the process of writing comics about finding an engaging way to stagger information and to block out a story. I’m tremendously glad that I have Locke And Key, because it was such a booster for me in between the two books - very engaging and funny, and something I could always do to blow off steam.”
So how exactly has writing for comics informed his novel writing?
“It’s about rhythm. It’s about timing”, says Hill. “I love the comic book form. I don’t think it’s an accident that so many of my favourite writers have spent years working in comic books: Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman... Brian K Vaughn, who did Y The Last Man, I just think he’s an astonishing writer. I love Warren Ellis. One of the great crime writers of my generation, I think, is Ed Brubaker, who does Criminal. There’s this whole community of writers who are doing compulsively readable work, and they’re all in comics - or at least, occasionally drift into comics and then drift back out. I think the thing about the comic book script is it’s as formal in its way as a Shakespearian sonnet. There are unspoken rules and a sort of commonly accepted approach, and it’s very tightly structured. There’s very little room to abandon that formal 22-page structure, and yet within the formality of that structure you can do anything, there’s incredible freedom.”
Yet that format forces a certain discipline upon you, of course. Hill agrees.
“There’s two things that novelists never should have given up, the two great literary mistakes of the 20th century. The first is they should never have given up illustration. Books with illustrations are awesome! It just satisfies the child in you to turn the page and have that Sidney Paget illustration of Sherlock Holmes, or to have the map in JRR Tolkien. That kind of texture makes a book a treasure, something you want to have on your shelf, something you want to hold. The other thing, which is even worse, is they never should have given up publishing books in an episodic format. Y’know, the way that Dickens wrote his books was the way that comic book writers work today: they’re published in weekly episodes, and there are certain expectations about the cliffhanger and timing and how information was revealed, and that was very common throughout the 19th century and even a little bit into the 20th century. But y’know, Hemingway came and shat on all that, and that was the end of it!”
Hill is now hard at work on his third novel, but is reluctant to talk about it at this stage.
“I’ve become more and more superstitious the older I've got, so I’m not gonna say anything about what I’m working on now, except that it’s going tremendously well, and I hope there will not be as long a wait between the second book and the third book. We’ll see.”
Horns is published by Gollancz on 18 February.

domain: library


In Darwin we unfortunately get a miss when it comes to many of the big name entertainers, but tomorrow night is one very special exception, with four legendary Australian performers set to have a shin dig at the Darwin Entertainment Centre – and there’s still time to get tickets!!
It’s all bought to you by Apia, and the show is suitably called the Apia Good Times Tour. It’s been running successfully now for four years, and this year’s line-up promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The legends making their appearance are Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Ceberano who have already played a part in previous events, and newbies to the tour, Jon Stevens and John Paul Young!
Each artist will perform a set featuring their own hits that many people will know well! The show will conclude with a huge finale where the artists will all perform together, and chances are it will be a song you will all probably find yourselves singing along to!
Backed by an impressive, six-piece band, the night is sure to be full of great music and…good times!
Here at Ray White Bayside, all of our team have fond memories of at least one of these performers and hopefully a few of us will be able to get down to the Entertainment Centre tomorrow night!
The show kicks off at 8pm and tickets are $89 per person. Tickets have been selling fast with all but a few still available for purchase, so be sure to visit http://www.yourcentre.com.au/#!/event_book_now/880/ to book right now online.


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What music did you listen to while growing up?
Pretty much everything. I was hungry to experience all kinds, so my curiosity led me. I did have years of classical training. I studied flute at Juilliard, and Brazilian music was always a main component of my life because of my parents.They had very strong ties to a lot of Brazilian artists.
Did you always want to be a musician?
I think it was never an idea that was “outside” of me, if that makes any sense. There was never any inner discussion as to “wanting”. I just always had this thing inside that just HAD to be, just THERE, calling. There was also a very clear vision - a picture in my mind of my destiny – of where I needed to be – it has always been the same – ever since I was a small child. I remember playing with my dolls, and visualizing it over and over in my head. Needless to say, it has been maddening to pursue this for so long, and still feel that I am only at the very bottom of the mountain.
Having been at this for a while, there have been countless times when I have tried in vain to quit, because I just couldn’t take it anymore. Far too often, artists have to give and sacrifice too much for too little or nothing, or even worse, are punished for it, because the “biz” is not a meritocracy. I am still in this fight because I must continue, and I hope that I’ll just get very lucky in the process. The music business is cruel and unfair, and if a person can do something else and be happy, I recommend it. I must do this because I will be incomplete if I don’t accomplish my goals as an artist.
How long have you been a solo artist?
Pretty much most of my life.
What made you decide to be a solo artist and not want to be in a band?
I don’t know whether it was really a conscious decision. I do have a pretty clear vision of who I am as an artist, and the “message” that I need to send out, and it is very much my unique concoction that probably wouldn’t work too well for anyone else, so I’ve needed to follow that.
Your music is an interesting combination of styles and cultures. Was this something you worked at achieving or is it a natural development of musical influences?
Definitely an organic developement. It started with being entirely brazil-based (I grew up on brazilian music) with rock and american soul influences, and expanded to include indian rhythms. It was a very natural morphing, and now the basis of what I write is in brazilian and indian rhythms and combinations of them both. I make it modern by having an electronica influence. Because my musical background and education includes soul, funk, a little rock, and classical training, these things come into the picture too.
What would call your style of music?
It is modern electronica-spiced world music, with the basis being a marriage of brazilian and indian rhythms.
Who are the musicians in your (live and/or recording) band?
Unfortunately, it’s just me these days, because I can’t afford to hire musicians. I am working hard to get to a point where I can have that again.
For previous recordings, I have been privileged to have such greats as Dominguinhos (a master accordion player and considered by many to be the greatest of Brazil), Ciro Baptista (percussion), Vanderlei Pereira (kit and percussion), Osvaldinho da Cuíca (percussion, famous for his Cuíca skills – hence his name), Bill Lucas (percussion), and Gil Goldstein (piano, accordion), David Acker (guitar), Webster Santos (guitar). Domiguinhos is featured on my recording of “Love is The Seventh Wave”.
Do you play any instruments yourself?
Piano a little, and flute. I don’t have a flute anymore, but I’m sure I could pick it up again. I do have the dream flute on my wish-list. It is a gold Muramatsu. It is the Stradivarius of flutes (I actually did get to play a Stradivarius once). I got to have one on loan for a short time, and I’ll never forget how that felt. Gold has a fabulous deep warm sound, even in the high register – as if molten gold were humming. Platinum is a harder more brittle metal, I prefer that warm sound of gold. It is also I think the same reason that I am so partial to tube mics, pre-amps, and tube gear in general – that warm beefy harmonic analog sound is hard to beat.
How long have you played your instruments?
Well, I played piano when I was seven, I barely tinker around now - I can do enough on a keyboard to create parts for my songs, but I am not a piano player. Then I picked up the violin at I guess 8ish or 9, and at that age, my parents made me practice 3 hours a day, so then after some time I switched to the flute thinking that I would have to practice less, but that of course was a completely delusional idea, because it wasn’t long before I was practicing 6 hours a day.
My violin teacher was very angry with me when I decided to quit. I remember the horrified look on his face as he said “You’re quitting?!! You were born with a violin in your hands!!” I wish that my parents had been aware and supportive at that time, but the only thing my father ever knew how to do was harshly discipline me. He didn’t know anything about how to be a supportive loving guide on how to be successful in life.
Are you self taught or did you have lessons?
If you had an unlimited equipment budget what would be on your shopping list?
Universal Audio Pre-Amps
Some nice big fat Genelecs
Some Telefunken gear
A custom built out small studio (with foley room of course)
Do you use the same equipment live as you do when in a studio?
No - in many/most cases, recording gear is not suited for live application.
Do you record at a purpose built studio or do you record at home with portable digital equipment or pc/mac with audio software?
Somewhere in the middle - I create using a DAW with a pair of DynAudios, a Universal Audio Solo/610 Mic Pre, the M-Audio Sputnik Mic (a very nice tube mic), a couple of MIDI controllers, and a substantial library of superior quality instrument samples, and some beautiful sounding MIDI instruments. I’ve got a MIDI piano set from M-Audio that if I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t the real thing. I have to give M-Audio props for that. And Trilogy for the bass instrument – really nice.
Any new recordings planned?
Yes, I am right in the middle of completing a new track for which I will create an all-bhangra version, and an all-samba version. It is a song that is dedicated to one of the greatest books I have ever read.
When is the new album released, how long has it taken to produce? (if applicable)
It is a compilation of new and prior recordings actually spanning about 10 years (I can’t even believe that myself – 10 years), that, together, tell the story of who am as an artist today.
Where was it recorded?
Ouvir Studios in Sao Paulo, my studio in Brooklyn, Galuminum Foil Studio in Brooklyn, Dubway studios in New York City, and Knoop Studios in New Jersey.
Do you find the process of recording enjoyable and does it get easier the more you do?
Technically, the learning process never ends - there is always something new to learn or some way to improve. It is more enjoyable during moments when I feel that I am getting better as a musician, creator, producer, etc. Not so much when I am at a point where I’ve hit a wall, and can’t figure out how to fix whatever needs fixing. In the writing process, I think I am happiest when I am collaborating with someone - it allows me to focus on the areas that come naturally, and allows the person I am working with to shine in their area. It is hard to do it all myself, and there are many times that I would like to remove that pressure.
Do you try to capture your ‘live’ sound on recordings or do you think that the ‘live’ sound and recorded sound should be different experiences for your fans?
I haven’t yet tried to make a studio recording sound like a live one, but that could work. I don’t have a lot of “rules” when it comes to decisions like that. If it feels right, do it. Usually, the gut reaction is the right one. For the most part, the audience will respond to a gut reaction, not the technical excellence of the recording (unless of course it sounds REALLY bad!)
Do you have any favourite tracks on your albums?
Tough one. After working on a track for a while, I start to hate it. I have the typical artist disease of self-doubt. Perhaps my favourite could be NYBlues, just because it is such a pure and deeply personal expression. But I love to dance, too, so my new favourite could be the one I am working on right now - until of course I repeat it too many times!
Do you write songs/tracks only about personal experiences?
I try to keep things truthful and talk from a place of “what I know”. If I don’t sincerely connect in some way with what I am singing and/or producing, it will sound fake, and the listener will pick up on that. The song will flop in the emotional ear of the listener. I’m also making a focused effort to have a balance of happy songs with songs about a lot of the pain of my life. I don’t want to be seen as “the Sad Singer”.
Do you find song writing easy or difficult?
Mostly difficult. Once I have a framework melody, then things fall into place much more easily, because I can naturally and instinctively mold the song to result in the feeling I am aiming to create. I have an easier time with lyrics - I am always writing little notes to myself about a new lyric - or adding to something I have already started.
Is there anyone who you would like to collaborate with on writing songs or performing?
Here’s a short list;
Stevie Wonder, Airto Moreira, Lenine, Bonnie Raitt (I do a pretty strong version of “Something to Talk About”), Sergio Mendez, Carlinhos Brown, Angelique Kidjo, Sheila E., Caron Wheeler, Dianne Warren (of course!), Peter Gabriel, Jorge Ben Jor, Kassav, Les Negresses Vertes, Youssou NDour, Trio Mocoto, Don Juarez, I could go on and on and on....
I would have LOVED to work with Jobim. (who wouldn’t?! *wink*)
Who are your favourite song writers?
It is a similar answer to the previous (sorry)
That’s a long list too, but here are a few Stevie Wonder, Airto Moreira, Lenine, Bonnie Raitt, Sergio Mendez, Carlinhos Brown, Sheila E., Caron Wheeler, Dianne Warren (of course!), Peter Gabriel, Jorge Ben Jor, Jobim, Youssou NDour, Trio Mocoto, Jobim...
Which countries have you gigged in?
US, Brazil, India
Which countries would be at the top of your list to tour?
Brazil and India, Anywhere in Europe (East and West)
Who would you like to tour with?
Stevie Wonder, Airto Moreira, Lenine, Bonnie Raitt, Sergio Mendez, Carlinhos Brown, Angelique Kidjo, Sheila E., Caron Wheeler, Peter Gabriel, Jorge Ben Jor, Tina Turner, Djavan, Kassav, Youssou NDour, Trio Mocoto, Don Juarez...
How do you promote your music and get your music to new fans?
Mostly by utilizing and expanding my internet presence. As an independent artist, this is a major issue because there is usually no budget, so the artist has to be her/his own agent, manager, art director, image consultant, marketer, webmaster, promoter, the list goes on, in addition to producing, writing, mastering, performing. It is too much, and not fair to demand all of one person. I am now promoting my video “Ziriguidum” aggressively, with the goal in mind that it will go viral and attract my audience, potential collaborators, and the attention of people who are in a position to launch a promotion campaign.
Do you use any websites like ‘Reverbnation’ or ‘Soundclick’?
Not yet. I’ve been getting the compilation finished to publish as an album through OneRpm.com
Do you think such sites are good for independent and unsigned artists?
I don’t know. I have tried others, and have found that more often than not, they are presented as fair forums – the “leveler” for the indy artist, but are really just designed to make money off of those artists. I certainly am not implying that I criticize the goal of making money for providing a service - I have the very same goal, but I do take issue with presenting something as “help for the artist”, when it is just another scheme.
There is one that I checked out and avoided recently that seems pretty obviously to be a pile of lies, but I’ll refrain from naming names. I would say to artists – be very wary and slow to give your money upfront to a site that claims to have some massive daily hits and connections for the sale of your works. Check them out on Alexa first.
Do you think the internet overall is a good or bad thing for new artists?
Good - though I won’t be the first or last to bring up that piracy is a SERIOUS serious problem!
As an independent, the internet allows me the chance to connect with a global audience (which is the one I am seeking) in a way that was not possible before.
HOWEVER, I believe that as music-makers, we must be united in the quest to re-educate the general public that music is NOT free. I spend my life creating, working, and continually perfecting the product that I offer. Just because it is easy to steal music does not make it free. I have found that there is a sad truth - a sickness - especially in the US, which is the habit to demand, and get, everything faster, easier, and for nothing. Many artists have succumbed to the pressure from the audience to give away music. Trent Reznor (of NIN) has oft been quoted as a pioneer for starting a trend to do just that, in order to sell tickets to shows. Other such similar promotions offered by Prince, et al, have been loudly praised as the “new way to do the music business”. But Trent Reznor, etc… already have a successful business and can afford to promote their work that way. Most of us independents are not touring all of the time - we would like to be, and are certainly worthy of that support, but we are not there yet, and one of the only sources of income might be sale of track downloads. We need the support of our listeners to keep creating. Without that, the whole process is thrown out of whack and becomes totally unfair. I liken our current music-biz climate to a hostage situation, with the consumer holding the gun. When I need speakers, I can’t download them for free. I have to pony up that hard-won cash to get those speakers so that I can create better work, to sell. It is imperative that listeners are re-educated to understand that every internet “rip”, every “free” download is stealing from that artist who worked so many hours, days, years to create that work. Only the music-maker can make that point to the listener.
Would you sign with a major record company?
Honestly, I don’t know. Many deals offered by majors now are just entrapment. I’ve heard too many horror stories of artists who were just literally crushed by the label. I lived that scenario with my parents. Columbia offered them a big fat deal, and they took it because they didn’t know any better, and they were promptly bought and stuffed in a drawer.
Of course, I would always consider each case on an individual basis, but I will say that I stopped sending work to majors a while ago. There is one label I am interested in, not a major, but I like the people who run it, and I think that if they like my work, they could be a great partner.
How do you relax?
Truthfully? I look at pictures of Sarees and Indian jewelry, and listen at loud levels (and dance) to my favourite music – Brazilian, Indian, Fusion, Funk, 80’s (yes, I did say 80’s)… Going out dancing with friends is better though. I’m so girly! It may sound very provincial and boring, but TV is way to disengage and decompress as well. I’m a bit hooked on “Burn Notice” and “Leverage” these days. I love the smart coolness, and high-tech toys they use. It is why I love Bond also – all the nifty toys. I am a bit of a Bond aficionado, and could have an extended discussion, but in brief (no pun intended), not to take anything from George Lazenby (I loved him as Bond), Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, or Daniel Craig (although I MUST say that Bond should not be blonde!!), I loved it when Pierce Brosnan was Bond. I’ve always had a secret crush on him.
What’s your best/worst experience at a gig?
If I can’t hear the monitor, I’m pretty much screwed. Best experience; everything works, I can hear, and the audience is one big smile.
Do you get nervous before a gig- how do you calm down?
Get plastered!!! No, I’m kidding. Nerves do come in to play – I used to get INSANELY nervous before concerts and recitals when I was studying at Juilliard. At one point, I even considered trying to get my hands on beta blockers which were something that classical musicians were known to use to control trembling, hands sweating etc… I played the flute, so the nerves affected my breathing and embouchure on top of the perspiration that caused my fingers to slip off of the keys. Not a good place to be!
Over the years, I have done a lot of work with mental and emotional excersizes to organically address that problem. I fill my mind with positive ideas and feelings - to make the feelings of confidence, excellence, and happy energy the things I am completely focused on, blocking out negativity. At the same time, I give myself permission to be and feel exactly as I am in that moment with no judgments. I work on accessing the power of thought and focus to put me in that place of total preparedness and serenity. I tell myself, “I am a great singer, great performer, great artist, and the audience is full of love and excitement for what I’ll do”. How does the saying go? 10% what you say, 90% how you say it? Not that I by any means set less than the highest standard for the performances that I give, but it is no secret that we sound and look a whole lot better when we feel great and confident.
Has your music been used on any film soundtracks?
Not yet, but a couple of my recent tracks were picked up by a film and tv licensing firm in LA. There is a song that I feel very strongly would be a great movie “main” song, it is called NYBlues. It is moody, full of emotion. It would be great for a heavily emotional movie, a scene where the
protagonist in the story is walking or riding a train or in a car in the rain, or something like that...
I would love to write a Bond title song. I doubt that will ever happen, though.
Is it something you’d like to get involved in if the opportunity came along?
Absolutely. It is always on my mind when I am creating, that I’ll send it off to the library, and see if they take it.
You recently finished a video for your track ‘Ziriguidum’. Is that your first video and did you enjoy making it?
It is my first video.LOVED shooting it, hated processing it. It took a few weeks of preparation and weather dodging (we shot all outdoors) and then 2 days to shoot it, and literally 7 straight weeks of the most unbelievable technical issues to get this thing ready for prime time!!! You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. We would think we had a good “printed” version, and then we’d try to create it in a different format - say for the internet, and it would be completely out of sync, or have all kinds of stupid errors, or just plain not render at all. The director and I just wanted to shoot ourselves after a while.
What does ‘Ziriguidum’ mean?
It is the sound of the experience of the rhythm -- the pandeiro, for example. It is a word to capture the intangible quality of the good feeling of dancing to a great groove and anything that you feel it to be at that moment. In this song, it also implies some good naughtiness.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I speak Portuguese fairly well – mostly self-taught. I needed to learn it because of how much Brazil is an integral part of the music I create – and since the music is truly the language of my soul, Brazil is a part of me, too. I feel that about India too, though I only know a word or two in Hindi. With both Brazil and India there was a part of me that felt like it was going home when I went there. I finally got to go to India (for years I had felt this deep need to just put my feet down on Indian soil), and before going, I attempted to learn some Malayalam (the language of the state of Kerala, where I spent most of my visit), but with no success. Malayalam may be the most complicated in the human race – possibly even surpassing Chinese! I couldn’t even get a grasp of differentiating the letters. They just look like concentric circles to me.
I sing opera as a practice and training method. I have recorded some arias a capella, I did so more as a way to demonstrate that I can sing these arias – hopefully the performances would be judged favourably. One of the arias I recorded is “Der Hölle Rache”, The Queen of the Night from Die Zauberflöte.
Technically, it is considered one of the most difficult in either women’s or men’s repertoire. I’ll admit that there was some part of that in the reason that I chose it. I created a separate opera page on myspace, but I don’t really promote it – it is just there for the occasional opera fan who may be interested.
My attitude toward life and music and hence the compilation soon to be available on Onerpm, iTunes, etc… is a bringing together of a variety of influences and styles to create a fusion that is unique to me. I am a diversity hound. More different is always better. I love sweet and savory and a little sour, and meaty and soft and crunchy, and hot pink and orange with a little chartreuse, etc,.. all together. There is something so rich and satisfying about immersing in a banquet of culture that I find irresistible, so that is what I try to create in my sound. I choose to focus that somewhat undisciplined approach into something that my listener can take in and appreciate, while still being true to what I feel. I want to take over my listener but not go too far and lose them.


text:
This 18K gold ring (available in yellow, white, or rose gold) is a functional knitting needle gauge that checks US needle sizes 0-8. You will get compliments on your sleek ring with its graduated holes, be recognized by fellow knitters, and always be prepared to check that needle size.
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domain: design


Hey drivers! What do you and your team mainly use as controls for your robot? Any specific joysticks preferred over the others? If you use a Playstation/Xbox controller for the drive base, do you use the buttons on it (excluding the shoulder buttons)?
We used XBOX controllers, and for example, this year the elevator/arm operator primarily used the buttons, and the base driver mainly used the sticks and shoulder buttons (we find this configuration to work really well for a crab drive). This year, it also worked out that the base driver could actually make use of the buttons as well because the minibot deployment usually occurred when the robot was stationary and right next to the tower. This also would ensure that in most cases, the robot wouldn’t be moving as we deployed the minibot to make it more consistent and eliminate any confusion in the heat of the competition between the drivers.
Joysticks, joysticks, joysticks.
We have a Logitech DualAction that has served us well (It competed in the 2008, 2010, and 2011 seasons). We like it a lot.
We also use a mix of custom boxes and Xbox-360 pads for the operators. We used to always make custom boxes until the awful Cypress issues we had in 2010 (note the “emergency” buttons on the drivers controller), so in 2011 we tried to use a 360 but ran out of buttons and ended up making a control box anyway (utilizing a cut up Logitech Precision gamepad instead of the Cypress board).
I attached the control maps from the driver in 2010 and the driver and operator in 2011. The operator in 2011 also had a control box which stuck to the velcro on the operator shelf, which included autonomous selection, the score-low button, and various unused colored light indicator buttons.
In our hunt for the perfect gamepad, we found that the Logitech F310 gamepad can be used as an exact replacement for the 360 controller for FRC robots, as all of the buttons/axis mappings match up exactly.
We have used the Logitech Attack 3 joysticks for our robots for the past few years. We use it because it has many buttons and is ambidextrous for our typical tank drive setup. It is also pretty cheap.
In the past few years, my team has been using the Logitech Attack 3 joysticks, finding them to be a pretty good choice of controller. For 2011, however, we made our own custom button board for the secondary driver, while still using the Logitech joystick for the base driver. And just recently, we have started to use an Xbox contoller for driving the actual robot. With our inititial testing it has proved to be very effective. The only buttons that we do not have on the controller shoulders are for our minibot. We figured that they would be less likely to be pressed during the middle of a match this way.
What issues did you have with the cypress board?
Did you use the xbox 360 controller and a separate board for the codriver? How does he handle both?
Also, for future reference, we used several eStop breakout boards this year and were very happy with them. They worked great, and were trivial to wire up.
-We had an issue on the Classmate where, on about 1 out of 10 cold boots of the laptop, the Cypress driver would fail to start. The only way to fix this was to completely reboot the laptop, as we couldn’t manually start the driver as the Driver account was locked down. Sometimes, it would fail again, and we would have to reboot again. We eventually got in a habit of starting the laptop at least 3 matches ahead of time in case we had to reboot (possibly twice) if necessary. We didn’t realize this until our first competition, and almost lost a match when we were unable to kick. I don’t know if the issue has been resolved, but the solution now would be to open Task Manager and restart the process.
-The operator holds the 360 controller, which contains the commonly used buttons. The other controller is a box, which sticks to the operator console. As the only in-match button is Score Low, she just reaches down and hits it with one hand.
We used 2 Attack 3’s and 1 XBOX controller. We tried to program our other XBOX controller to replace with the Attack 3’s (as the the primary driver), but it never came together. We used the Attack 3’s as primary for most of the regional, with the second XBOX controller as the secondary “driver” (forklift, roller claw and minibot deployer).
I’ve said it before, but an RC pistol grip style controller is way more intuitive than joysticks for a skid steering robot. Once you try a wheel, you can’t go back. We haven’t tried the larger gaming console wheel + joystick for throttle control yet, but we finally have one in the shop!
I really prefer handheld controllers for any type of robot controlling action; they’re ergonomic and allow for a smaller operator interface. They also have a neat visibility advantage that I haven’t seen many teams exploit:
We used two logitech dual action gamepads, and we left the cords untied so we could move almost anywhere in the drivers station.
Team 1515 has driven a fairly unique drive system in the past 2 years- touch screen. We use a single 3 axis joystick to control the drive (both years mecanum) and the touch-screen to control everything else.
It’s really quite cool. For instance, in Logomotion, we had 2 main screens: Drive and Maintenance modes.
Within Maintenance mode, there were animated thumbnails of the mecanum wheels, and FWD/Rev buttons, 2 speeds each. This allowed us to completely test the drivetrain. Addtionally, we had the ability to control both our forklift style lift and pneumatic joints in the arm. For the forklift, we had both absolute and relative control. We could also deploy the minibot.
Within Drive mode, every thing was streamlined in order to ensure speedy gameplay. To raise our lift, when on absolute control, we could touch any peg on the full onscreen pegboard, thus causing the lift to go to that height. (It was self-calibrating, every time it touched the bottom, it registered 0). When on relative control, we could simply press UP and DOWN arrows to take the lift to that height. Of course the pneumatics were simple, press and they change position. When the operator pressed the 'Deploy Minibot" button, an “are you sure” window popped up, and on OK, it deployed.
Consequently, we won the Innovation in Control in both the Los Angeles and Denver regional this year. The screen was a donation from a local company. The connection between the touchscreen and the classmate is somewhat complex, but it’s worth it in my opinion. The image below displays our entire OI. Because I didn’t wire the screen, I cannot provide information on how it was implemented.
This is a very cool/nicely done implementation of the touchscreen technology. The only other team I can think of that also used a touchscreen was 1073 this year (pretty sure I remember that from the CT Regional)
Our team has always using 3 ‘Logitech Attack 3’ joysticks. 2 are the primary driver, 1 is for auxiliary.
for the past 2 years, we’ve used two Logitech Attack 3 sticks for the driver(tank drive skid steer) and a Logitech Dual Action controller for the operator.
The drivers for the past few years preferred the sticks for their feel. Even our season driver from 2011, who flew planes as a hobby, preferred the sticks over any hand held alternative. Personally, I prefer two sticks, but as I drove for our FTC team, I see the light in hand held controllers.
The big plus we see in the game pad for the operator is the large availability of buttons in such a small package. This year, we gave the operator another panel purely for minibot deployment. We thought that separating the controls will prevent any accidental deployments.
We use Joysticks for drive because they our drivers are used to them. For the secondary system, sometimes have a custom box, and sometimes just use a 3rd joystick. For this year, we were planning on having a custom box, but it was never finished it and just used a joystick, which turned out well.


text:
Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Fax written comments on the collection of information by October 5, 2009.
To ensure that comments on the information collection are received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202-395-6974, or e-mailed to email@example.com. All comments should be identified with the OMB control number 0910-NEW and title, “Evaluation of Potential Data Sources for the Sentinel Initiative.” Also include the FDA docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document.Start Further Info
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jonna Capezzuto, Office of Information Management (HFA-710), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-796-3794, JonnaLynn.Capezzuto@fda.hhs.gov.End Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental Information
In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance.
Evaluation of Potential Data Sources for the Sentinel Initiative
In September 2005, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) asked FDA to expand its current system for monitoring medical product performance. The Secretary asked FDA to explore the possibility of working in collaboration with multiple healthcare data systems to augment FDA's capability of identifying and evaluating product safety information beyond its existing voluntary reporting systems. Such a step would strengthen FDA's ability, ultimately, to monitor the performance of a product after marketing approval. The Secretary recommended that FDA explore creating a public-private collaboration as a framework for such an effort leveraging increasingly available large, electronic healthcare databases and taking advantage of emerging technologies and building on existing systems and efforts, rather than creating new systems.
In 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report entitled “The Future of Drug Safety—Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public.”1 Among other suggestions, this IOM report recommended FDA identify ways to access other health-related databases and create a public-private partnership to support safety and efficacy studies.
In 2007, Congress enacted the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 20072 (FDAAA). Section 905 of FDAAA calls for the Secretary to develop methods to obtain access to disparate data sources and to establish an active postmarket risk identification and analysis system that links and analyzes healthcare data from multiple sources. The law sets a goal of access to data from 25 million patients by July 1, 2010, and 100 million patients by July 1, 2012. The law also requires FDA to work closely with partners from public, academic, and private entities. FDA views the Sentinel Initiative as a mechanism through which this mandate can be carried out.
Consistent with FDA's mission to protect and promote the public health, FDA is embarking on the Sentinel Initiative to create a national, electronic distributed system, strengthening FDA's ability to monitor the post-market performance of a product. As currently envisioned, the Sentinel Initiative will enable FDA to capitalize on the capabilities of multiple, existing data systems (e.g. electronic health record systems and medical claims databases) Start Printed Page 45859to augment the agency's current surveillance capabilities. The proposed system will enable queries of distributed data sources quickly and securely for relevant product safety information. Data will continue to be managed by its owners, and only data of organizations who agree to participate in this system will be included. Operations will adhere to strict privacy and security safeguards.
The success of this Initiative will depend largely on the content, quality, searchability, and responsiveness of participating data sources and/or data environments. It is essential that FDA understand the strengths and limitations of potential data sources that might be included in the Sentinel Initiative. This survey will be used to collect information from potentially participating data sources and/or environments. The data we are seeking will describe the characteristics of the data available, not personally identifiable information. The findings will help FDA plan for this proposed system and for future work related to the Sentinel Initiative.
This survey will collect information on the scope, content, structure, quality, and timeliness of data; patient population(s), duration of followup, and capture of care across all settings; availability, experience, and interest of investigators with knowledge of the data in using it for post-market product safety surveillance as well as plans for further data source enhancements; availability, experience, and interest of investigators with knowledge of the data in participating in a distributed data system; and barriers that exist to including each data source in the Sentinel Initiative.
In the Federal Register of March 9, 2009 (74 FR 10053), FDA published a 60-day notice requesting public comment on the information collection provisions to which one comment was received but was outside the scope of the PRA.
FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows:
|Activity||No. of Respondents||Annual Frequency per Response||Total Annual Responses||Hours per Response||Total Hours|
|Data Source and/or Environment Survey||250||1||250||24.5||6,125|
|1 There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this collection of information.|
FDA estimates that approximately 250 respondents will participate in this voluntary survey. These respondents will consist mostly of other Federal agencies, health plan data sources, health information exchanges, large multi-specialty medical groups and academic medical centers, large hospital systems, pharmacies, medical societies, consumer-oriented Web sites, commercial data sets, research networks, lab data, and registries.
Each respondent will extend approximately 24.5 hours to complete one survey for a total of 6,125 hours (250 x 1 x 24.5 = 6,125).Start Signature
Dated: August 27, 2009.
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
1. Institute of Medicine, “The Future of Drug Safety—Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public,” September 22, 2006, http://www.iom.edu/. (FDA has verified the Web site address, but FDA is not responsible for any subsequent changes to the Web site after this document publishes in the Federal Register.)Back to Citation
[FR Doc. E9-21364 Filed 9-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S

domain: law


text:
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A round mother of pearl cabochon stone set in a 22 carat gold plated pendant. The cabochon is smooth and deliberately tactile, soothing to the touch. Mother of pearl is said to bring perspective, clarity and calm. Metal: 22 carat gold plated sterling silver Stone: Mother of pearl Dimensions: Pendant 1cm x 1cm Chain length: 41-46cm adjustable Chain type: Box Part of the Momento collection, these timeless and elegant pieces were designed during covid and evoke the emotions we all felt when time stood still. The simplicity of their design represents balance, calm and perspective, and circles reflect the deep connections that we made with both people and the nature around us.
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text:
Texas and Federal laws both protect people with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace. The various laws ensure that disabled individuals in Edinburg have an equal opportunity to get hired and obtain promotions in their choice of field. Disability laws also require employers to include reasonable accomodations in order that disabled people may properly perform their job.
Texas Employment for the Disabled
Both government and private employers are prohibited from discriminating against the disabled according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). An employer in Texas may not consider someone's disability when they make the decision to hire that person, their job assignments or whether they may advance in their position.
Besides treating them equally, Edinburg employers must also provide disabled workers with any specific equipment needed for work, according to reasonable costs. In addition,discriminating against a person because of their relation to a disabled individual is prohibited by this act.
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domain: sociology


One blogger is very keen of treatment of Pilot and Cabin Crew in the Low Cost sector and has a very large following. Airobserver Blogger http://airobserver.wordpress.com/ is one blogger not afraid of Michael O'Leary's libel threats and works very hard in running Low Cost stories which the main stream media fail to write.
As you can see from the excellent post below,one more Ryanair scandal not to be missed.
With overdramatic surprise, the U.K. seems to have (re)discovered Ryanair’s infamous working conditions. Will the well-worn subject still remain unheeded? Maybe this time, it won’t. For tiny little events seem to converge towards legal and political actions.
Social claims at Ryanair: is 2013 a turn?
However distressful and terrible Sophie Growcoot’s situation is, it barely teaches us anything new. For years now, press releases have feasted upon the cases of poor working conditions without calling public authorities to action. Yet, the fact that Sophie Growcoot, a U.K. citizen, decided to call upon her M.P. jeopardizes Ryanair’s position near its home base.
It may seem surprising to most but there haven’t been as many lawsuits and political affairs regarding Ryanair’s working conditions as one may think. More often than not, the cabin crew “refused” to speak and most media would simply stick to denouncing the ill-treatment reserved to the personnel. However, tables have started turning when growing contests outburst all over Europe, starting with four unknown pilots testifying against the safety measures of the company, the tiredness generated by their crazy working schedules and the dangers of the “in the air” hourly policy. Later on, the Ryanair Pilot Group, which has grown to be a serious thorn in the foot of the budget airline, began blowing the whistle on the working conditions.
And this defiance isn’t limited to anonymous or non-identified people, despite the Irish airline’s claims that the RPG isn’t representative. Operational experts (i.e. David Learmont, from Flight Global) or Ryanair’s longest-serving pilot Captain John Goss have also raised public concerns over safety or working conditions last month.
And yet, all of this wasn’t as symbolic as Sophie Growcoot’s case. She’s the first attendant to publicly stand up against the company, with the support of a M.P.
Well it’s half true. Few weeks before her, there was the “slave contract” case but (and I may seem cynical saying this) it happened in Norway. Despite the uproar it generated, the information was hard to access since it was all in Norwegian. Besides, it felt too far away from countries such as Spain, France or U.K. which still represent an important amount of Ryanair’s passenger traffic. This new affair is different. Sophie Growcoot is a British citizen, most information regarding her situation is available in English and she is well-supported. Can we see the beginning of an upheaval? Hard to say. One thing is true though, if this situation goes all the way to the top, Ryanair will be in serious troubles, especially since European Union seems to be waiting for an occasion to condemn the company, which has been taking advantages of legal loopholes for too long for many representatives.
This fight of the weak against the strong, of David vs. Goliath, may definitely damage Ryanair… which seems to have taken discreet actions to take care of it, according to John Foley from Ryanair Don’t Care, who claims that the airline could have hired a PR agency to spin the attention away from this embarrassing predicament. So far, this information is yet to be proven.
All in all, the threat represented by a potential social conflict is to be taken seriously by Ryanair’s chiefs. No wonder financial analysts are divided upon the budget airline’s profit: one argued the company may face “persistent risks regarding social issues and airport taxes”.
Tell me something I don’t know…
For those who have just come back from a 1000-year trip in the past, you can read the story of Sophie Growcoot here. For those who are just too lazy to click, you’ll find below a quick sample of the article that will tell you enough to excel in high society:
Sophie Growcoot contacted her local MP to reveal that her employment contract with Crewlink, a contractor for Ryanair:
* Forced her to take three months compulsory unpaid leave a year – in the quiet winter months – during which she would be forbidden to take another job but receive no money.
* Made her pay £360 for a Ryanair uniform. She had to pay another £1,800 towards a mandatory safety course.
* Only paid her for the hours that she was actually “in the air”. She was not paid for pre-flight briefings, turnaround time between flights, sales meetings and time on the ground due to delays and flight cancellations. The hourly flying rate was just £13.07 an hour with no contractual review for three years.
* Paid her for only four days work a week. On the fifth she was expected to be on call and to turn up for work with an hour’s notice. Standby days were not paid unless she was called in to work.
Ryanair and Crewlink have both declared the statements inaccurate and untrue.
TIME FOR ALL TO BOYCOTT EUROPE'S GREATEST EXPLOITER OF YOUNG PEOPLE


Euro-area economic growth in 2011 will slow “modestly” because of tightening fiscal policies, before improving next year on a recovery in investments and consumption, UniCredit SpA economists said.
The European Central Bank’s plan to step up dollar lending to the region’s banks is only a temporary solution to easing funding needs and solving the region’s debt crisis, said Marco Valli, chief euro-area economist at UniCredit Group in Milan.
The euro-area’s fastest economic growth in three years probably won’t be enough to stop Mario Draghi from easing monetary policy.
Mario Draghi’s asset-purchase plan to ward off deflation may be lacking one key element: enough assets to buy.
Growth in Europe and Japan probably accelerated in the first quarter and American retailers enjoyed another solid month in April, indicating the world economy is making headway.
Valli Says Fed Will Pull Out All the Stops


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