text:
BartBlog
Bring on: "The Senator Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly show!"?
Filed under: Commentary — Tags: Al Franken, bill o'reilly, Hugh Hefner, Playboy after Dark — Bob Patterson @ 1:33 pm
The summer of 2015 is notable for the game of musical chairs being played by the late night talks show hosts and since the lowest common denominator standards of excellence have precipitated an avalanche of pabulum flavored entertainment, perhaps it is time to beg Huge Hefner to bankroll a return to intelligent, thought-provoking, and civilized debate to counteract the tsunami of crap that is comprised of an infinite number of cloned talk shows that deliver results that remind some critics of an unattended kindergarten class on speed.
The first objection would be that appealing to a limited number of intellectuals might not attract the proper audience numbers to sanction the effort. Bullshit! If America is ready to endorse the idea that quality no longer trumps quantity, then why not let the screaming matches interrupted by crepitating and belching get some high-brow competition just for the S&G (Snide and Galling?) factor?
If cable TV networks can subsidize fictional TV series, why can't they get their own talk shows? If "Mad Men" can exist without a home on the big networks, why can't a talk show do the same? Wouldn't most cable channels be willing to discuss the possibilities with Mr. Hefner?
Episodes of Edward R. Murrow's "Person to Person," such as the interview with Marlon Brando which started with a racist joke, are still drawing fresh viewers on youtube. Intrinsic quality can refute the short shelf life or grown stale argument.
Where the hell, in the talk show jungle, does a person go to see and evaluate new talent attempting to make a dent in the pop culture? [An internet acquaintance from Australia introduced us to the term/concept "Cultural Imperialism."]
The trend to use talk show appearances to promote items such as a new album, book, or film has reduced the content to the level of a huckster's sales pitch. The content of these sales pitches can accurately be called "promobabble."
According to some experts the Tonight Show in the Jack Paar era fostered quality story telling. The need to go to a commercial break causes the (new word alert?) bumperstickerization of all topics. (For an example of a non-traditional talk show guest readers are encouraged to watch the film "American Splendor.")
If, for example, some of Hugh Hefner's picks for future stardom are given the chance to exhibit their inherent charm, then perhaps fame and fortune will arrive at their doorstep earlier than expected.
If some of Hugh Hefner's long time friends are on a new season of "Playboy after Dark," it would be interesting to see and hear them get the chance to tell some stories and anecdotes that last longer than can be successfully told in a three minute segment.
So what, if a review of "King Matt the First," by Janusz Korczak (translated from the Polish by Richard Lourie) sounds a bit too arcane and esoteric? What parent doesn't want to learn of he existence of a marvelous children's book from 1920 that still appeals to adults? Even better if it raises unique topics such as "must children submit to kisses from adults approved by the parents (such as aunts and uncles) or should kids have the right to pick and choose who kisses them?"
Thanks to the internet, some laggards had the opportunity to watch the final episode of "Mad Men" during the week following its broadcast. This should refute any allegations that a talk show has to be seen live to work.
Yes the concept of having an episode where someone asks George Lucas if the C. L. Moore stories about Northwest Smith had any influence on him and his Star Wars films is a very esoteric topic, but, like seeing Brando tell a racist joke, it might have some appeal to film school student fifty years (or more?) in the future.
Don't many folks who are not in the industry love to hear show biz rumors and gossip? Is it true that the next installment of the "Saw" movie series will be a musical comedy?
The modern day installments of pundits making a critical appraisal of the week's events in Washington D. C. is supposed to be a chance to (metaphorically speaking) listen in on a WWII bull session featuring Morrow's Boys, but the reality is that it is actually a melee of authors with competing egos who want to deliver either a scathing example of wit in action or a brilliant "Eureka!" sound byte that lays bare the crux of the debate.
Are the talking heads in the USA going to ask: "What gives America the right to arrest the officials in charge of Soccer and the World Cup competition?" Does Lichtenstein have a right to arrest George W. Bush for war crimes?
Will the talk shows discuss the idea that the Broward Savings & Loan scandal should be just as important as the finances of the Clinton Foundation will be during the Presidential Election?
Is it mere coincidence that in an era when it is being asserted that a conscious effort to "dumb down" the USA is being conducted, wit is disappearing? A clever and caustic comment has to be understood to produce a laugh as a response.
If news for voters in the USA is being carefully monitored, that might explain why the Sunday morning gabfests don't draw attention to the fact the internet is buzzing with two related rumors. One is that a neutron bomb was dropped on Iran recently or that one was sold or given to Saudi Arabia to use in Yemen.
If Americans were being given quality talk show debates, the question "Will Baghdad fall?" would present advocates of both a "yes" and "no" answer. Have you heard anyone giving the hypothetical point of view that it will fall?
Did the USA ever figure out who mailed the anthrax shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center?
Do talk shows ask about the lingering questions about who profited from selling airline stocks short at the time the World Trade attack occurred?
Speaking of the broadcasting concept of a "hard break," the World's Laziest Journalist tries to maintain a self-imposed three e-takes limit for the column and that means that we can only scratch the surface of this topic and then recommend that readers who want more should make the effort to obtain and (at least) skim through a copy of the book "Entertaining Ourselves to Death," by Neil Postman.
The World's Laziest Journalist does see the pragmatic benefit of the trend towards using social media to get publicity which translates into bigger audience numbers. For example, if we casually mention that San Francisco Bay Area political activist Mike Zint iis expanding his reach by managing the Listen up Mayors page on Facebook and if he (coincidence alert?) shares the links to our column, then the number of hits will quadruple. What's not to like about that?
Do the viewers of Bill O know what obstreperous and impudent mean let alone require those qualities from an interesting and entertaining talk show?
[Note from the Photo editor: Since talk shows seem to have skipped interviews with Occupy Activists, we thought an old file photo of one of those anonymous political advocates who were MIA from the (biased?) late night talk shows might be an appropriate illustration for this week's column. How can a talk show claim to have a balanced approach if all members of the one debating team are snubbed?]
Closing quote? Did Andy Warhol say "In the future, everyone will be a world famous talk show host for 15 minutes?" Or did he say: "In the future everyone will be the host for a world famous 15 minute talk show?"?
Now the disk jockey will play "Talk to me," by Sunny & the Sunliners,Doris Day's "Pillow Talk," and the song "talk talk" by a group called "Talk Talk." We have to go watch (thanks to DVD's) some TV episodes from 1968. Have a "Dahhh Da Dohnt Dahhh – 'This is the city . . .'" type week.
No Fear & Loathing in Minneapolis: Cheap patriotism vs. Deep patriotism
Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: Al Franken, Netroots Nation 2011, Van Jones — Jane Stillwater @ 4:56 pm
I was supposed to go to the Netroots Nation convention in Minneapolis last week, an annual event designed to appeal to progressive bloggers, progressive activists and progressive wannabes. However, 24 hours before I was scheduled to leave for Minnesota, I started to get cold feet. Why even bother? Trying to speak up for freedom, justice and democracy in America just seems to be an exercise in futility these days. Obviously the corporatists and their Fright-wing minions have grabbed hold of all us progressives by the short hairs and aren't letting go — so why even bother to fight back? I started to reach for the phone, to cancel my reservations.
But then I didn't.
It's time to man up and not let those bastards get me down!
So the next day I bravely put on my "We sail until Palestine is Free" T-shirt, ignored all the suspicious looks from passengers who appeared to think I was about to blow up the plane in the middle of some grade-B movie by Adam Sandler, flew off to Denver, spent the night attempting to sleep in the DEN airport and finally flew on to Minneapolis to the tune of "This land is your land…" playing in my head.
This land was made for you and me.
And that's pretty much what they tried to tell us at the Netroots Nation convention.
America doesn't belong to the corporatists and their brain-washed Fright-wing minions. This land STILL belongs to you and me. And there are still a lot of us who still believe this — that America is still ours.
And I learned that we all have to stand up and fight for our country. And I also learned that I'm not in this battle alone.
Over 2,500 progressives attended the NN convention. It was inspiring! I really am not alone. And not only that, but I learned that the people of Minneapolis are really NICE. Got immigrant problems? No problem here. The people of this great city embraced their immigrants, educated them, made them productive citizens and put them to work to make Minneapolis stronger — not becoming just one more bastion of Fear and Loathing and hate like in Arizona right now (and Warsaw in 1944). America is bigger than that.
At the convention, Van Jones gave a speech about "Cheap patriots vs. Deep patriots". Here's a video of that speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvdqD7bNZOs. This speech is like the Gettysburg Address of modern progressivism — short and moving. I left the auditorium completely inspired. Screw the fright-wing media and the corporate Big Boys who tell us that progressives are un-American fools. I'm gonna go back out there into the blogosphere trenches and fight for my country!
"Don't you tell us that progressives don't love our country," said Jones. "We stand up for folks and we help people and we hold them and help and love them — the people that you mistreat and run over and laugh at. And we see the effects of your cynicism and your disrespect and your hate-mongering. And it's not just immoral, it's un-American to abuse the airwaves and the ears of our children with your lies and your filth. We're sick of it. You're not America. We're a better country than that. Quit abusing our country!"
Jones talked about how Tea Party members have rallied around the idea of "Rugged Individualism," and how badly that plan is working out for them — because Tea Party members are demanding rugged individualism alright, but only for the soon-to-be-extinct American middle class, not for the oligarchs. Is the Tea Party rallying around the idea of demanding "Rugged Individualism" for wealthy corporatists too? Hell no. Corporatists get to be Socialists!
"Progressives need to rally around the American Dream. Not the one that says that somehow we may someday all become millionaires, but the one that says if we work hard we will succeed." And that our government is there to help us succeed, not just to give more trillions of dollars to Wall Street and the War machine — while taking away our infrastructure and Social Security and educational system and jobs in order to pay for the Tea Party's naive belief that their corporatist heroes need government perks but they don't. Or words to that effect.
Go, Van!
Now I'm all inspired to go back home and kick even more Corporatist arse. This is MY America. Not theirs. I'm a Deep Patriot. Corporatists and their Tea Party minions are just cheap patriots. So there!
PS: While in Minneapolis, I also discovered that I was actually staying next to the University of Minnesota chapter-house of my old sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Wow! Here's my big chance to use my secret handshake and reminisce over the old glory days back in 1961 when I was Kappa's only token hippie. So I knocked on the chapter-house door, but no one answered. Guess you can't go home again. Sigh.
PPS: Minneapolis has some wonderful public transportation. I took their light-rail train out to the Mall of America and got there in less than 20 minutes. LOVED the MOA, that tribute to America's sacred worship of materialism. Loved the rides. Loved the shops. Even loved Hooters! But. America is so much more than just the trinkets you can buy in shops and stores.
America's true glory lies in the kind smiles on Minneapolis residents' faces — and their willingness to help strangers. No Fear & Loathing here.
PPPS: And if you still aren't completely pissed off at the Republican corporatists and their Tea Party dupes who have set out to systematically destroy America's middle class, then just click here and listen to another Netroots Nation keynote speech by MN Senator Al Franken — then you definitely will be pissed off! http://www.care2.com/causes/franken-tear-off-stars.html
To see photos of Van Jones at NN and of me at Hooters, click here: http://jpstillwater.blogspot.com/2011/06/no-fear-loathing-in-minneapolis-cheap.html
The Tattlesnake – Rep. Hoot, Sen. Smalley and the Fox Swine Crew Edition
Filed under: Commentary,Opinion,Uncategorized — Tags: Al Franken, Democrats, FDR, Fox News, Hoot-Smalley, Michele Bachmann, New York Post, News Corp, Norm Coleman, Obama, Republicans, Right-Wing Media, Roger Ailes, RS Janes, Rupert Murdoch, Smoot-Hawley, Tattlesnake — RS Janes @ 8:50 am
The Harder They Fall…
What a Hoot: As Keith Olbermann reported Wednesday night, perpetually-insane Minnesota comediatrix Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Daft) brought the funny the other day when she took to the House floor to condemn Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Dems for the 'Hoot-Smalley Act' of the Great Depression era. While you can never be sure when dealing with a dingbat like Bachmann, who apparently stole her blank eyeballs from a crazy doll in "Bride of Chucky", she probably meant the 'Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act' that was sponsored by two Republicans, and signed into law by Republican President Herbert Hoover in 1930. In reality, FDR campaigned against the act in 1932, and a Dem majority in Congress effectively repealed Smoot-Hawley in 1934 with the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, but in Michele's loopy-dumb, wish-I-had-a-brain, far-right universe facts are a liberal, commie plot invented by the Devil to trip up those patriotically lying in the name of Jesus. If you're a sane Republican (okay, that would be confined to ex-McCain manager Steve Schmidt and Sen. Olympia Snowe) you know that Bachmann's Sixth District is already in the 'D' column in 2010 (she nearly lost to an unknown children's book character named Elwyn Tinklenberg in '08), and that you must find a legal means to (a) shut this woman up before she further damages what's left of your party and (b) prevent her from running for president or vice president in 2012. (The vision of a 'Palin-Bachmann 2012′ ticket privately induces dyspeptic nightmares of an LBJ/Goldwater electoral slaughter among GOP bigwigs.) Of course, it may be too late – the GOP brand is so tainted that if you jettisoned all of the dotty Dittoheads, nattering neocons, tone-deaf teabaggers, putrid Palinites, raging racists, Savage Nation neo-Nazis, fatuous Freepers, flaming fully-automatic gun nuts and kinky religious kooks, you could assemble what's left of the party in a Washington hotel ballroom with space to spare for a trained elephant act. (For more on this, read the last two items in this article.)
He's Good Enough, He's Smart Enough and Doggone It, the People Liked Him! Speaking of Minnesota, the drab electoral Death March of Numb Norm Coleman, the Republican Sore Loser, received a little spark of life thanks to the wily minds in Al Franken's
The Tattlesnake – Lipstick on a Pygmalion Edition
Filed under: Commentary,Opinion — Tags: 2008 election, Al Franken, Alaska, Big Media, Bill Ayers, Democrats, GOP, Hardball, Larry Craig, McCain, McCainiacs, Michele Bachmann, Minnesota, MSNBC, Norm Coleman, Obama, Palin, Republican Party, RS Janes, Saturday Night Live, Stephen Colbert, Tattlesnake — RS Janes @ 6:58 pm
Plus a Ray of Light on McCain's Silly Phillie Charge and Other Diversions
"If your actions speak louder than words, you're not yelling loud enough."
– Stephen Colbert, October 20, 2008.
What's up with God's Own Hockey Mom, that plain small-town Wasilla girl we've all grown to know and love, dropping $150,000 bucks of RNC cash on clothes and jewelry from such snooty elitist shops as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus? Say it ain't so, Joe – has Alaska's neo-secessionist pitbull become a pampered poodle, corrupted by her trip to the lower 48? (Perhaps it was associating with all those liberal socialists on Saturday Night Live is what did it, the same way as Obama meeting Bill Ayers turned him into a 1960s domestic terrorist by osmosis.) Jeepers, next we'll find out she doesn't know what the Vice President's job is, according to the Constitution.
Speaking of Mrs. Bent Mooseburger, why isn't the following a bigger story among the Big Media bobbleheadery? McCain's Bullwinkle-Killer spent Alaska taxpayer money to drag the whole fam damily along with her to various events, paying out $21,000 for daughters Piper, Willow and Bristol to travel and hotel in luxury at the public's expense. Worse, she lied when she claimed that the kid's were invited to these events and, worst of all, altered the expense accounts after the fact. Alaska law is clear: Gov. Palin's expense account is to be used only for official state business, period. This used to be the kind of Enormous No-No that got state executives and those playing executives on TV fired, yet the BM has hardly peeped about it. C'mon, Beemers, step up to the plate here.
Speaking of stepping up to the plate (in the head), Cap'n McCrash is indulging in yet another head-scratcher by using Obama's innocuous political hat-tip to both World Series contenders, The Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays, as some kind of example of BHO's horrible hypocrisy. This is interesting since the Ol' Straight-Talker himself, appearing on Pittsburgh TV station KDKA last July, recited his usual anecdote about telling his North Vietnamese captors way-back-when that some of the officers in his squadron were the starting offensive line of the Green Bay Packers, but for purposes of political pandering, changed the Packers to the defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers, even though the story was in his friggin' book!
"When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the pressures, physical pressures on me, I named the starting lineup, defensive line of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron mates."
– John McCain on KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 2008.
"Pressed for more useful information, I gave the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line, and said they were members of my squadron."
– John McCain, from his book, "Faith of My Fathers" (1999).
"Imagine if Al Gore or John Kerry had changed the facts of a story they told forever in order to appeal to whatever swing state they were speaking in? … Also, the famous Steelers defensive line that McCain was trying to refer to (Mean Joe, L.C. etc.) didn't become famous until after McCain was out of Vietnam."
– Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro, MSNBC First Read, July 11, 2008.
Keep digging, Johnny!
Travis Smiley For U. S. Senate
Filed under: Toon — Tags: Al Franken, political cartoon, Toon — Volt @ 5:20 pm
About BartBlog
BartBlog Polls Archive
BartCop Page
BartCop Radio
Guest Comment
Hillary toon
Monkey Mail
Spammers: Beware of the Dog.


text:
By Matthew Slocombe Published 29 October, 2012
Matthew Slocombe is Director of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and author of the Shire book 'Traditional Building Materials'.
Understanding materials and the way they were used is crucial to the care and conservation of historic buildings.
Materials are at the heart of a building's story
Traditional materials were often produced or extracted close to a building site, giving a strong sense of local identity. This is often known as 'vernacular' building. Specialist craft techniques evolved to make use of these materials. Sometimes though, where there was a different impetus such as fashion or the display of status, local resources could be consciously rejected. A house in London fronted in imported stone, or a Modernist pavilion built of concrete represented a wish (and the financial resources) to be different. In all cases, materials and the way they have been used, are at the heart of a building's story.
The importance of breathing
Materials used in historic buildings often have a relative softness that contrasts with those in modern construction. 'Soft' traditional materials, like cob and other forms of earth walling, "rubbing" bricks used for arches and quoins, or clunch (a chalk-like stone), perform perfectly well over long periods, provided they are protected from excessive moisture through good maintenance and are allowed to "breathe". "Breathing", in historic building terms, means allowing moisture to evaporate from or through a wall. Modern paints and cement-based materials can harm old buildings by trapping moisture, preventing the natural evaporation process.
Old materials can be flexible
Until the early 20th century, most mortars, plaster and renders in the UK were a mix of lime, aggregate (sand/gravel) and sometimes animal hair. Lime, produced by burning limestone in a kiln, is a a key component of much traditional building in the UK, and lime-based materials will generally be required for repair and maintenance work. Lime comes in a variety of types and choosing the one most suitable and using it correctly may require specialist skills or training. Lime or earth-based construction also brings relative structural flexibility to historic buildings, compatible with shallow foundations and allowing a degree of seasonal movement.
In traditional timber-framed construction, seasonal movement is also to be expected: splits in timbers or leans in walls often occurred early in a building's life and are not necessarily a cause for concern unless monitoring shows them to be getting worse.
Repair and clean with care
Many building materials have a long history of use in the UK. Stone, brick, earth, timber, thatch and glass have all been used for centuries. Even corrugated iron and mass concrete can now claim to be traditional. But the manner in which materials' have been produced and employed has changed considerably over time. People working with traditional materials therefore need understanding and experience of them as well as sympathy for the historic structures they form. It is very easy to cause damage quickly through inexperienced workmanship. Effective repair not only requires the right skills but also a supply of compatible materials. This might be the type of thatch traditional to an area, handmade bricks and tiles, or local stone.
A supply of suitable new materials is important to the long term care of old buildings. Secondhand materials sometimes offer an alternative source, but think carefully about their origin (the theft of traditional materials is a continuing problem) and about their remaining lifespan.
Traditional materials often mature with age, giving a building its historic character. Cleaning should therefore be approached with caution as, if not very carefully undertaken, it can cause damage and remove attractive patination. Looked after properly, structures built from traditional materials offer a practical and pleasing alternative to modern buildings and will survive to benefit many future generations
Where to find out more
General advice on traditional materials and suggestions of contractors
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
Technical advice line 0207 456 0916 Mon-Thurs 9.30-12.30
www.spab.org.uk
https://historicengland.org.uk/research/current-research/conservation-research/sourcing-traditional-materials/
Brick and tile
British Brick Society
www.britishbricksoc.free-online.co.uk
Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society
www.tilesoc.org.uk
Stone and lime
British Geological survey
www.bgs.ac.uk
Building Limes Forum
www.buildinglimesforum.org.uk
National Slate Museum, Wales
www.museumwales.ac.uk
Stone Roofing Association
www.stoneroof.org.uk
Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron
www.ironbridge.org.uk/our_attractions/coalbrookdale_museum_of_iron
Lead Sheet Association
www.leadsheetassociation.org.uk
National Heritage Ironwork Group
www.nhig.org.uk
Devon Earth Buildings Group (DEBA)
www.devonearthbuilding.com
East Anglian Earth Buildings Group (EARTHA)
www.eartha.org.uk
Timber and thatch
Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, Sussex
www.wealddown.co.uk
SPAB Thatched Roofs
www.spab.org.uk/advice/technical-qas/technical-qa-29-thatched-roofs/
Forestry Stewardship Council UK
www.fsc-uk.org
Maintaining traditional plain glass and glazing
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/informguide-historicglass.pdf
Stained glass and historic glazing
www.churchcare.co.uk/churches/conservation/caring-for-conservation-of-artworks-historic-furnishings/stained-glass-historic-glazing
Traditional Paint Forum
www.traditionalpaintforum.org.uk
Museum of English Rural Life, Reading
www.reading.ac.uk/merl
Tools and Trades History Society
www.taths.org.uk

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Most of our paperwork can be filled out online. If you have any questions requiring the information on these forms please feel free to call us anytime.
TO REQUEST A CALL, PLEASE FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION. SOMEONE WILL GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS.


This Beautiful Home has been meticulously maintained by one owner and it shows. Every update that one could hope for has been done. From newer hardwood flooring, to a beautiful remodeled kitchen with Quartz counter-tops,gorgeous Jeffrey Court Designer glass mosaic back-splash , to newer appliances and so much more! All of the windows have been replaced as well as the roof and the HVAC. Upstairs there could be 4 bedrooms as the bonus room has a window and a closet. The bathrooms have new floors and new light fixtures. There is an oversized deck in the beautiful fenced in yard. You do not want to miss this beauty as it will not last long!


Raleigh, NC (April 8, 2019) – Electrify America is expanding its nationwide network of ultra-fast electric vehicle charging with its fifth charging station installation in North Carolina on April 3. The company is expected to have 11 charging stations featuring more than 56 chargers in the state by summer.
Electrify America plans to construct six more charging sites in North Carolina located in Greensboro, Charlotte, Durham, Smithfield, Lumberton and Cary.
Since installing its first ultra-fast DC fast charging site in Chicopee, MA in May 2018, Electrify America has accelerated the pace of installations nationwide. The added charging stations in North Carolina are a part of Electrify America's plan to install, or have under construction, 484 charging stations with more than 2,000 DC fast chargers by the summer of 2019. The station will be located in 17 metros and along high-traffic corridors in 42 states – including two cross-country routes.
Electrify America LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America headquartered in Reston, VA and with an office in Pasadena, CA, is investing $2 billion over 10 years in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, education and access. The investment will enable millions of Americans to discover the benefits of electric driving and support the buildout of a nationwide network of workplace, community and highway chargers that are convenient and reliable. For more information, visit www.electrifyamerica.com.


text:
Football: Cromwell/Portland stuns Bloomfield
Tye, Marshall headline Middletown Sports HOF induction class
Gaskins leads Middletown to upset win over Wethersfield
In 50th year, Middletown Crew to compete at Head of the Charles
Middletown girls soccer remains on a positive path
Holley hired as Middletown boys basketball coach
Greater Middletown soccer teams off to impressive starts
Privott steps aside as Middletown's boys basketball coach
NESCAC athletics will return this fall
Augeri: Deluca, Boone helped fuel Mercy's turnaround season
Portland AD Chris Serra stepping down to teach full-time
BLOOMFIELD >> Cromwell/Portland held an eight point lead over defending Class S champion Bloomfield with less than two minutes to play and all Panthers senior Kristian Sapp wanted to do was get a first down. Instead, Sapp got a terrific block, burst through an opening and raced 67 yards for a touchdown.
It was that kind of the night for the Cromwell/Portland football team.
The Panthers (10-1) stunned No. 3 Bloomfield (10-1), 28-14, in the Class S quarterfinals Tuesday night at Bloomfield High School.
No. 6 Cromwell/Portland advanced to play at No. 2 Ansonia (11-0) in the semifinals on Monday, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
"The good thing is we have practice tomorrow and anytime the season continues is a great thing," Cromwell/Portland coach Chris Eckert said. "We're playing pretty darn good football and we're just happy to keep going."
Sapp finished with 269 yards rushing on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns.
"It's unbelievable," Sapp said. "The seniors have never been to the playoffs before so this is our first win."
UConn prepares for weekend games without Williams, Fudd
Bloomfield entered the contest riding a 23-game winning streak.
"Cromwell did a great job," Warhawks coach Tylon Outlaw. "This is hard one. We're not used to losing. When you've been winning so much, it's hard to keep telling your guys there's a possibility that we might lose. You have to fight as hard as you can on every play. I thought we did that in the second half but it was just a little too late."
The Panthers, who were coming off a Thanksgiving Eve loss against Rocky Hill, set the tone on the game's opening drive. Cromwell marched 65 yards on eight plays and took an 8-0 lead on a senior Jon Siena's 10-yard touchdown run and Sapp's 2-point conversion tally.
The Warhawks first possession ended with Panthers lineman Austin Ramberose sacking quarterback Dexter Lawson, Jr. for a 10-yard loss.
Bloomfield committed three costly turnovers, including a fumble at the goal-line that was recovered by Panthers linebacker Kittrell Lauray early in the second quarter.
"It was a rough start for us," Outlaw said. "You can't make all these mental mistakes when you're going against good teams."
Sapp's 24-yard touchdown run with just 48 seconds left in the second quarter gave the Pequot Conference champion Panthers a 16-0 halftime lead.
Sapp's third touchdown came on a 33-yard run on the last play of the third quarter, stretching the Panthers lead to 22-0.
Cromwell/Portland did a terrific job containing Bloomfield's Syracuse-bound wide receiver Russell Thompson-Bishop with constant double coverage.
The Warhawks were finally able to get Thompson-Bishop the ball early in the fourth quarter and it sparked its first scoring drive, which was capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Ky'Juon Butler.
Bloomfield added another touchdown on its next possession with Lawson, Jr. scrambling into the end zone from five yards out to make it 22-14 with 2:54 left to play.
"Our kids fought back and played hard," Outlaw said.
But Sapp deflated the Warhawks momentum with a scintillating touchdown run and senior end Ethan Roy capped Cromwell's huge win by sacking Lawson, Jr. in the waning seconds.
Panthers junior receiver Dianta Highsmith caught three passes for 65 yards from quarterback Liam Coleman. Highsmith also had an interception.
"Our guys in the trenches did a great job and they couldn't contain our skill guys," Eckert said. "We had a great game plan by our coaches and the kids executed it exceptionally. I'm very proud of them."


In 2016 and 2017, LFCA launched a new project, Legal Representation for Foster Children Aging-Out of the Foster Care System. After years of representing children who are victims of abuse and neglect, the LFCA staff became increasingly aware of a huge gap in services for youth aging out of foster care.
Former foster youth no longer receiving services are 80% more likely than their peers to face issues such as unemployment, homelessness, unwanted pregnancies, depression, anxiety, dysfunctional social behavior, and even criminal activity.


Maggie is now in semi-retirement - no longer making bodies of work for galleries & shows. Instead, she is focusing on creating unique pieces for invitational shows and working on commissioned pieces.
As well she enjoys teaching and continues to explore all aspects of the medium - now working with nuno felting - fusing fine wool to silk fabric to create wonderful art textiles for clothing and embellishments.


text:
British Kit Kat vs American Kit Kat
Today marks the 7th day of our 31 days of British Snack Reviews. So far we have reviewed a range of chocolates and crisps from England including some new found favorites, all of which will be included in our international snack store set to launch January 1st. To celebrate our 1 week anniversary we are going to try our very first blind taste test. We are going to decide if which is better, the British Kit Kat or the American Kit Kat.
Before we dive into our review and blind taste test let's take a look at the history of Kit Kat. This delicious wafer covered chocolate bar is almost always believed to be an American snack here in the US. Well guess what, it's really an old English snack. Kit Kat was initially developed by the English Brand Rowntree back in 1935. It instantly became a hit and stayed under the Rowntree's brand name until the company was purchased by Nestle in 1988. Prior to be sold to Nestle, Rowntree licensed Kit Kat to Hershey. Today license is valid until/if Hershey is sold and is one of the top 5 brands they currently hold. Now we understand why there is a difference between the British Kit Kat and the American Kit Kat. Let's get on to our blind taste test and see which of the two sweet treats will be declared the winner!
Our taste test panel for our comparison of the British Kit Kat vs American Kit Kat is comprised of 11 American adult males that range in age from 25-35. In the US this is the second most snack purchasing demographic, only surpassed by younger adult males. Several of the subjects have traveled internationally but none of the subjects have previously tried the British version of this chocolate bar. All of the subjects are familiar with the US Kit Kat. Prior to the test we removed the bars from their wrappers and broken them into bite size pieces. Upon removal we noticed the very difference in chocolate color but none of the subjects could determine which was which from its appearance. The only other noticeable difference was the logo treatment stamped into the bar. Now onto the results of our comparison.
Which Kit Kat is better, British or American? The short answer: The winner is British Kit Kat! Six testers opted for the British Kit Kat, four testers opted for the American Kit Kat, and one tester could not determine which he like better. All of the subjects could definitely determine there was a clear difference and the testers who preferred the American Kit Kat stated they like it because it was familiar to them. Other comments include that the British Kit Kat was a less enhanced chocolate and the American Kit Kat was crunchier.
<- Which Kit Kat would you choose?
Now that we have settled one of the great international snack debates you need to try this for yourself at home. Starting January 1st we will sell the British Kit Kat with shipping to anywhere in the world. Starting February 1st we will do the same with the American Kit Kat. If you leave your details to the right we will offer our newsletter subscribers an exclusive package for sale with both these snacks and others to compare for yourself.
This Snack review of the British Kit Kat and American Kit Kat is authored by Richard Olivarez. Contact for article suggestions.
01/01/2014 UPDATE: The British Kit Kat is now available for purchase online in our international store.
The Snack Blog
Follow along as we explore cookies, cakes, candies, chips, crackers, and nuts from all across the world. Many of the international snacks that we highlight will be offered in our store over the course of the next year. We currently offer British Snacks, American Snacks, German Snacks, Mexican Snacks, Filipino Snacks, Japanese Kit Kats, Pakistani Snacks, Italian Snacks, & Korean Snacks. Each month this year we will add a new country and their best snacks inventory.


Demi-cup bra in delicate Sakae lace with elastic band and bra wings in sensual microfibre. Vertical center seeming on the cups gives support as well as uplifting effect to the breasts. Detailed with tulle bow between the cups. Adjustable elastic straps. Hook-and-eye closure.


Every year 4chan celebrates its birthday on October 1st by putting hats on random pictures and fagging up every post, lulz ensues.
On October 1st, 2009, it is theorized that /b/ was shut down due to party hats somehow freezing the board. All Pictures were deleted and you couldn't post, it was almost as if /b/ was frozen itself.
Even the KKK joins in on the festivities!
This page was last edited on 2 October 2017, at 23:16.


text:
c) Dante Labs © c) Dante Labs
Dante Labs launched a new unit in the Finnish biomedical ecosystem
Dante Labs, a US-based biotech and genomic testing company has found an outstanding business environment in the Finnish biomedical ecosystem. After Helsinki Business Hub invited Dante Labs to visit Finland, the company decided to set up a research and development unit in Helsinki. It plans to hire at least 20 employees locally in the next two years and intends to use Finland as a springboard for expansion to the surrounding Nordic market.
CEO Andrea Riposati from Dante Labs
Sometimes a good match is easy to spot. That was the case when Helsinki Business Hub started scanning international companies that could benefit from the Finnish genetic information data pool and the ecosystem surrounding it. Dante Labs was in an optimal stage of business development and in the process of expanding in Europe. Helsinki Business Hub contacted Dante Labs and invited the company to visit Finland.
"That initial visit and the meetings that Helsinki Business Hub organized for us were crucial for our decision to set up a unit in Finland," says CEO Andrea Riposati from Dante Labs.
Helsinki Business Hub provided the company with information on the Finnish ecosystem and on setting up a company in Finland. It also introduced Dante Labs to key players, including Finnish biobanks, Business Finland and its funding opportunities, the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, and the Finnish Patent and Registration Office.
"Helsinki Business Hub was extremely helpful with the paperwork involved in opening a new unit as well as with finding trusted local partners," Riposati says.
A springboard for European expansion
Dante Labs has come a long way in just a couple of years. Founded in 2016, it already has offices in New York and L'Aquila, Italy, and now Helsinki. It currently employs 18 people and is now hiring in Helsinki. The company works with consumers and medical professionals, with a mission to make advanced genetics accessible to everyone. It collaborates with the leading genetic labs in the US, Europe, and Asia.
"What sets us apart from other companies in the field is that we sequence the entire genome to offer patients a personalized report based on their medical history and symptoms. Most companies analyze small panels or groups of genes at a time, which requires a trial and error approach. We analyze the entire DNA at a fraction of the cost of the panels," Riposati explains.
Although Dante Labs is currently operating on the consumer market, it is holding a door open to the B2B sector as well. The company aims at targeting small hospitals and practices that cannot afford to build their own sequencing labs. Its growth plans include hiring at least 20 employees in its new Finnish unit in the next two years. It is also looking to access the surrounding Nordic market via Helsinki.
"Helsinki is an outstanding location for us because it offers a great biomedical ecosystem and lots of genetic expertise. Finnish companies offer cutting-edge tools and services, and we are looking forward to working with them. We've already started collaboration with the Helsinki-based MediSapiens, a company developing a scalable growth platform for biomedical data," says Riposati.
An ecosystem built on healthcare data, genomics research, and biobanks
Finland is known for its comprehensive, high-quality digital healthcare registers and databases that cover the entire nation. This data is readily available, but to further improve its availability and to ensure its flexible and secure use, the Finnish Government has proposed a new act to allow the secondary use of health and social data. The act aims to facilitate health research and innovation.
Another thing that attracts biotech companies to the Finnish biomedical ecosystem is its genomics research, as well as a strong biobank infrastructure and a Biobank Act facilitating the use of samples. Finland also has a high level of education and a strong scientific ground for building successful companies in the biomedical field.
"We wish to learn from Finland's vast experience in genetics and population studies. Our future interests include genetic research, artificial intelligence, and precision medicine. But our overall goal is to keep growing," says Andrea Riposati.
Writer: Anu Jussila
Would you like to know what kind of business opportunities Helsinki has to offer for your company?
We help foreign companies to find business opportunities and land smootly in Greater Helsinki. All needed information and contacts to the Helsinki health ecosystem are just one phone call away.
Marcello van Rossum
marcello@hbh.fi
Read more about health business opportunities in Helsinki: hbh.fi/health
We're hiring! Director for Health Capital Helsinki
(c) Keksi Agency via City of Helsinki / communications
Photo: Justus Hirvi/Bonzu & MUJI MUJI and Sensible 4 debut GACHA, the first all-weather autonomous-driving bus,...


A 4,000 strong crowd filled the Jangchung Sporting Arena in Seoul, Korea on Monday night, as fans of the superheroes clamoured to meet Iron Man, Captain Marvel and Hawkeye in the flesh.
Fans screamed for Robert Downey Jr, Brie Larson and Jeremy Renner, and their efforts to engage the talents of the upcoming Avengers: Endgame didn't go unnoticed by the cast, especially by franchise lead Robert Downey Jr, who has been in Korea three times before. His first visit was in 2009, promoting Iron Man, and he shared that Korea will always have a special place in his heart.
Also at the fan event are MCU head Kevin Feige, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo. At the red-carpetless event, the filmmakers and actors entered the arena with a bang, much to the crowd's delight.
The group answered burning questions from fans and shared a little of their adventures in Seoul. Brie confessed that she has been eating non-stop, while Jeremy visited the palace.
Fans showed their delight and their love for the franchise with a touching "Thank you Avengers" video that sent Brie into tears.
Fans lit up their glowsticks in a darkened arena for a grand send-off to the cast, but Robert Downey Jr returned to the stage for one last goodbye to what he considered his favourite place out of his press tour.
Here are some moments we captured of the event.
Check out our press conference coverage from earlier in the day.


text:
The Best Leaders Are Followers
Posted on August 17, 2018 October 10, 2018 by justasheep1
An Amazon search on "leadership" yields 60,000 results. Followship: 27. It's not even really a word. And who wants to read books or take classes on great followership? It's the leaders of the world that get the hype: Politicians, CEOs, pastors. And good leadership is important. But who are they leading? And how are they following? Certainly we are all following in some capacity or another and it can feel demeaning at times. But could it be the art of following is actually more important to master? Truly, without the support of followers, leaders are simply eccentrics marching to their own drumbeat.
If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following, then you are just taking a walk.
-Benjamin Hooks, former director of the NAACP.
The best followers frequently make good leaders. Unfortunately the opposite is also true. Poor followers make poor leaders. With wrong motivations, pride and a misguided goal to "make it to the top" leaders have used manipulation and charm to convince others to follow. God's plan, as is so often the case, is opposite to the popular leadership how-to: "The last shall be first and the first shall be last" (Mark 9:35). "Consider others better than yourself" (Php 2:3). "The Son of Man came to serve" (Matt 20:28). But that's not our natural inclination. We equate leading with competence and following with inferiority. We herald leaders as innovatators, trail-blazers, trend-setters. All true. All admirable. But does that make the rest of us consumers, groupies and copycats? Absolutely not. Not if we look at following the way God intended.
I've spent a fair amount of time following. Likely more than I have led. As a daughter, student, employee, wife. And in all cases there were times of deep admiration and severe frustration. I knew my role. But when I asked myself why, in the sense of what caused my desire, my dedication, my devotion, I came up with three reasons:
1.) Following authority
This stems from a role and a dedication to obediance. Not always the most inspirational, but necessary. We follow teachers, even when they're not very good. We follow the laws, even when we don't understand. We follow our employers, even when they're just plain wrong. There is definitely honor in obedience and a special strength to following because it's the right thing to do even when our hearts might not be in it.
2.) Belief in the cause
The suffragettes, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity. Take your pick. Thousands of organizations, protecting human rights, supporting at-risk children, exposing animal cruelty, have surfaced over hundreds of years. You can agree or disagree with their platforms or causes, but no doubt they have their followers. The cause is bigger than any one person. The ideal is carried from leader to leader, and survives even periods of poor leadership. Ernest Coulter, the NYC county clerk who founded Big Brothers in 1904 said " . . . make the little chap feel that there is at least one human being in this great city who takes a personal interest in him, who cares whether he lives or dies." His passion for childen at risk would have the following of President Coolidge, President and Mrs. Franklin Roosvelt, Norman Rockwell and President Clinton. The leadership changed hands, but the momentum did not dwindle. He started with 39 volunteers and today the organization spans the globe.
I've spent hours volunteering for a variety of causes. Wanting to make a difference, these organizations resonated with my heart. I might or might not have held the actual leader in high regard, but the cause was right.
Jesus began a ministry that his followers called The Way. Eventually, we claimed a designation meant to belittle, and called ourselves "little Christs" or Christians. And here we are more than 2000 years later, with hundreds of prophets and pastors taking up the banner, and Jesus' followers still as dedicated, passionate and zealous. His way to salvation over-reached any pastor's fall from the pulpit or church scandel. Like other causes the ideals retained their original appeal, and unlike any other organization the founder led a perfect life, died for all sin and brought us into a right relationship with the Creator of the universe. Kind of makes it the most important charity. That's why it's called the Good News.
3.) Belief in the person and their ideals
It's easy to follow ideas we buy into. But when there is also a person we can get behind, that's when the magic happens. They show all the characteristics of a good leader. They inspire, encourage and rally. The people who follow don't just see the best in their leader, their leader gets them to see the very best in themselves.
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.
Our best leaders don't just tell us the idea to follow, but exemplify the charge in their daily lives. The idea of "show don't tell" and "practice what you preach" is taken up a notch. We can support a leader who presents an honorable idea. We will rally behind someone who encourages us to internalize that idea, make it our own and expand on it in a personal way.
Reverend Billy Graham, possibly the most beloved preacher of our time, was just such a leader. His daily life mirrored the exhortation he gave at the pulpit.
The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not, "What a lovely sermon!" but, "I will do something."
-Rev. Billy Graham
One of my favourite followers was a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien in the realm of Middle Earth: Samwise Gamgee. Sam is given the task of following Frodo Baggins to the gates of evil to save Middle Earth. Over and over Sam's loyalty is tested and he proves unwaveringly faithful. He supports, protects and encourages Frodo throughout the books, even when Frodo himself is weak, confused and disloyal. In fact, in a letter to his publisher, Tolkien suggests it is Sam who is the true hero of the book, not his master Frodo or even Aragorn, who would eventually be crowned king. Despite Sam's acts of heroism he consistently defers to Frodo's leadership. The words Tolkien used for Sam were "heroic, determined, steadfast, loyal, virtuous, humble, noble and resolute." Similarly the "ring bearers" of companies, organizations or ministry who are called to carry the burden of leadership must have followers who have all of those traits.
In the coming posts I will explore five styles of followership illustrated by five amazing followers in the Bible:
If you find yourself frustrated in a role of seeming submission, you're in good company. Joshua the warrior, Ruth the dedicated daughter, David the king, Paul the apostle and Jesus the savior. No one could match our perfect savior in his loving guidance, lavish encouragement and relentless pursuit of his bride (the church). And he was perfect. He both followed his Father's instructions flawlessly and led his followers without error.
Each of these followers showed not only the value, but the critical need to be a follower. Their lives demonstrated that following and leading go hand-in-hand in the same person, not just different groups of people. Following takes every bit as much strength, resolve and determination as leading. Perhaps more.
Posted in Devotional, InspirationTagged Bible, church, following, freedom, God, Jesus, leadership, power, spiritual
Warning: This is Ridiculous
The Best Leaders Are Followers: 3 Qualities of Joshua
4 thoughts on "The Best Leaders Are Followers"
Great post! I had a conversation earlier today with one of the VPs where I work (he's a Christian, like me) about pride and humility. And he said that the concept of humility was not really introduced until about 2000 years ago (right around Jesus). And that before then there was just no concept in the languages, no documentation in the literature of humility as a virtue. To be a leader but also not just willing to be a follower, but excited to be one at that, it can take a lot of humility. Being a follower as a trait of leader is so crucial and biblical. Great stuff thanks for sharing!!
justasheep1 says:
It's something I'm still working on! The humility. I'm so encouraged by the great followers of the Bible!
Same here! Trying to stay malleable for God to work on me. God bless!
Pingback: The Best Leaders Are Followers: 3 Qualities of King David – reMake


text:
Домой asteroid How many plants does it take to supply oxygen to a spacecraft?
How many plants does it take to supply oxygen to a spacecraft?
Recently one of our subscribers sent the following question:
The answer to the first question is very easy — no, plants are not used for these purposes and, as far as I know, have never been used. In general, the idea of providing a space station or spacecraft with oxygen through photosynthesis looks logical, but in reality it is difficult to implement.
Calculations show that approximately 10,000 leaves are required to provide oxygen to one person through photosynthesis. The ISS has a crew of 6, i.e. you will need about 60,000 leaves. There is nowhere to grow trees on the ISS, so most likely these leaves should grow on some small plants, such as, for example, tomatoes.
One tomato bush has an average of 30 leaves, i.e. the ISS will need somewhere to put 2,000 pots of tomatoes. Mark Watney from the movie «The Martian» with his potato plantation nervously smokes on the sidelines.
Photosynthesis requires light, but sunlight obviously cannot be used. Firstly, the ISS is only 50% of the time on the sunny side, and secondly, there are very few windows in the ISS and they are almost always battened down. Almost no sunlight enters the ISS.
Artificial lighting can be used, but this will require additional energy, and besides, it will be necessary to somehow dissipate and remove the heat generated by the lighting elements.
Also, water, soil and nutrients (fertilizers) for plants must also come from somewhere, and I'm not even talking about the fact that the crew will have to devote almost all the time, instead of scientific experiments, to caring for plants.
However, there is a good alternative. In the 60s of the last century, a series of experiments BIOS-1, BIOS-2, BIOS-3 was carried out in the USSR to create closed ecosystems. During the BIOS-1 experiment, using 20 kilograms of chlorella (green algae), it was possible to fully provide a person with oxygen, while the aquarium with algae had a volume of only 8 cubic meters.
In theory, a large enough algae farm could meet the oxygen needs of the ISS or other space station crew. Subsequent experiments, both in the USSR and in the USA (Biosphere-1, Biosphere-2, etc.) showed the fundamental possibility of creating a closed ecosystem self-sufficient in oxygen.
It still makes no sense to introduce reservoirs with algae on the ISS to provide people with oxygen. The Earth is close enough and it is not difficult to replenish oxygen reserves from the Earth, and shifting the care of the crew's breathing to plants that require careful care and may die is a deliberate decrease in reliability. A chlorella tank is less reliable than a compressed oxygen tank. But for long flights to other planets, as well as for potential colonies on Mars, the Moon, etc. algae can become a truly irreplaceable renewable source of oxygen.
Предыдущая статьяExposing lunar myths
Следующая статьяWhat is encrypted on the Voyager gold plates?
Distribution of unprecedented generosity-2.
POCO M3 Pro 5G premiere: powerful processor, smooth display and triple...
Lada will soon «come together» with Romanian Dacia.
Updated Lada Niva Bronno — 8 options for a popular SUV


text:
Old Sacramento Waterfront
Order a Visitors' Guide
Beer Activities
Bars and Restaurants for Beer Lovers
Sacramento Region Breweries
Sacramento Brewery Map
Sacramento Brewery Passport
LGBT Visitor Resources
Outword Magazine
TAG Approved Sacramento Hotels
Sacramento History
Race for the Arts
Conventions & Meeting Services
Memorial Auditorium
Cal Expo
Raley Field
McClellan Conference Center
Golden 1 Center
Meeting & Hotel Areas
Downtown & Midtown/Convention Center
Sacramento Point West Marketplace
Airport/Natomas/Interstate 5
Contact Sales Manager
Convention Center Expansion
Student Youth Travel
Top Student Attractions
Sample Student Itinerary
STEM Learning Facilities
Tourism, He Wrote
Contact the Tourism Team
Travel Talk Newsletter Signup
Submit a FAM/Site Tour Request
Film Commission Services
Film Directory
Gold County Film Directory Info
Location Images
Film Festivals/Offices/Groups
Filming History
Photo Download
Reimagined Partnership
Online Partner Application
S.P.I.N.
STMD
Convention Sales & Services
Communications & Public Affairs
Visit Sacramento Board Meeting Information
The Sacramento Kings and a Sports & Entertainment Complex in California's Capital city: Does it Really Matter?
Why all this hoopla from regional business leaders—the SCVB included—to keep the Kings in Sacramento and to build a new sports & entertainment complex?
Is it about the Kings needing a pretty new arena to bounce their balls in and make more money—or is it about the Sacramento region generating jobs, increasing the hotel transient occupancy tax, and providing sales tools to local companies, all while increasing the bottom line of hundreds of local businesses?
Why can't it be about both? What's so bad about a scenario where everybody benefits?
It's no secret that Sacramento is mired in a heated debate on the merits of professional basketball and the creation of a new regional sports & entertainment complex. And when arguing those collective merits with the Kings as the lead motivation, some people answer with a resounding NO! After all, if you're not a basketball fan, why would you care what type of facility they play in—or if they even play at all?
But that argument misses the point of what a new sports and entertainment complex would mean for Sacramento.
It's About so Much More Than Basketball.
A new sports and entertainment complex, built in the right location, serves as a catalyst for new development.
Specific examples from other cities show that downtown Phoenix saw a 20 percent increase at arts and cultural venues after America West Arena opened, not to mention $2.5 billion in development investment in their Central City. The San Francisco Giants pay the City of San Francisco millions of dollars in rent and taxes annually for AT&T Park, which has also acted as a catalyst for development in a previously underutilized area of that city. Coors Field in Denver brought not only a world-class stadium but also an investment in restaurants, shops, hotels and offices that revived a pre-stadium downtown depression. And the revival of the neighborhood surrounding the HP Pavilion in San Jose post-arena construction is nothing short of amazing.
All that aside, and taking the construction of a new facility out of the discussion, you'd still have tremendous value from professional sports in Sacramento.
A recent article in the Sacramento Business Journal estimated that the loss of the Kings would top $100 million for this region. That same article noted that the Kings provide 773 full and part-time jobs for area residents, fund the largest contract for off-duty Sheriff officers in the region and have donated $19 million to local charities in just 11 years.
How about the game night business that the restaurants in Natomas do? What about a few years ago when the team was one of the best in the league? How many bars—from Elk Grove to Roseville—were packed with jubilant Kings fans buying drinks and food while they cheered the team on—and how many tax dollars did that generate for local governments that was used to pay for services utilized by the residents of those regional cities?
What other businesses did the team touch? Uniforms for arena staff, legal services paid for by the team to local law firms, chiropractors, taxis and limos companies, sales for local beer distributors, real estate agents and the list goes on and on.
Sacramento Kings Good For Tourism
What about tourism? With about 40 rooms used by the visiting team per game (sometimes for two nights) for 41 home games the numbers add up to more than $320,000 spent on hotel rooms and transient occupancy taxes.
That's a decent number but it pales in comparison to the $2 billion generated annually by visitors to Sacramento. Our ability to attract business and leisure travelers relies heavily on the image that our city portrays to the rest of the world—and professional sports helps to create that image and identity internationally on our behalf.
Win or lose, the name "Sacramento" appears in newspapers throughout this country for the majority of the year. That's exposure for this region, which translates into visitors, which benefits the people who live here.
It's also about proactively leveraging the team to generate more business. The SCVB, for example, has attended Kings games in Chicago and Washington, DC, in an effort to meet with various national association groups. At those games, we hosted prospective clients and had upwards of three hours to talk to them about bringing their convention business to Sacramento.
In just two seasons, the SCVB booked four convention groups that delivered more than $4 million worth of economic impact to our city. We also generated leads that, if closed, will provide an additional $10 million in economic impact. The tax revenues generated from those groups (or any convention group, for that matter) goes into the City's general fund which is then used to improve roadways, build new parks and hire police and fire officers.
But it's certainly not just the SCVB that leverages the appeal of the team. Local companies buy suites for the opportunity to conduct business while at the game. They buy sponsorships to increase the visibility of their business. They do these things to increase sales and grow profits—which in turn creates more jobs for those of us who live here.
Wanting to keep the Kings or build a new sports and entertainment complex in Sacramento is not about paying for a team facility that is owned by billionaires. It is about investing in Sacramento, growing local business and tourism dollars to improve the resident's quality of life—all while continuing to foster regional pride. Whether you're a Kings fan or not, professional sports make your life better if you live in Sacramento.
Alyssa Green (56)
Brandon Darnell (98)
Dawn Brown (62)
Heather Crivellone (2)
Jamila Khan (1)
Kari Miskit (3)
Lindsey Adams (32)
Maddie Atlee (1)
Matthew Guillory (26)
Melanie Light (2)
Melanie Neumeyer (1)
Nick Leonti (24)
Sacramento's Hometown Tourists (44)
Sacramento365 (393)
Sheri Graciano, SPHR (1)
Sidney Scheideman (7)
Visit Sacramento Staff (1)
Convention & Meeting Info (63)
Convention Center Services (7)
Explore Sacramento History (28)
Festivals & Events (239)
General Sacramento Information (26)
Getting Around (14)
Meeting Planners (71)
Restaurants & Nightlife (42)
Sacramento Meeting Advice (21)
Sacramento Savings (3)
This Week in Sacramento (184)
Tour Itineraries (24)
Tour Operator Services (31)
Travel Professionals (66)
Unique Venues (32)
Visitors (164)
by the people and places of Sacramento in the digital Visitors Guide.
1608 I St. Sacramento, CA 95814
© 2019 visit sacramento


SOAP Vault is a cloud-based practice management solution integrated with an email marketing tool. The solution can be used by small massage therapy businesses and individual therapists. Key features include charting, scheduling, arrival tracking, patient management, reminders and billing.
SOAP Vault allows labeling patients under various categories as well as creating customizable intake and consent forms that can be signed electronically. Electronic signatures for practitioners can be created and included automatically on the receipt. SOAP Vault also allows users to create and assign a percentage discount that can be directly applied to invoices.
The solution can track treatments by practitioners, and it can track historical revenue and revenue by city. Users can also see reports for new or returning patients and total arrivals or no-shows. Patient-specific reports and financial reports such as accounts receivable and practitioner sales can be generated and downloaded as CSV file. SOAP Vault allows inviting external practitioners who can access clinic data via permitted IP address.
Services are offered on per month subscription basis and support is available via email and phone.
Amazing! I got this soap notes system for my massage therapy practice and haven't looked back!
I have no need for an intense physical filing system, so far! And as my business grows and I add practitioners, it will be easier to provide tablets rather than store endless reams of paper!
The recently added ability to attach files has been a huge bonus, as my regulatory requires certain documents to be linked with EVERY clients chart note.
Being able to draw on images was probably one of my favourite updates as well.
I love how fast the responses are of the help centre as well. Great customer service. Keeping everything digital has been made almost flawless with SOAPvault!
The inability to create my own fields on my health intake forms is a little limiting, as regulatory bodies for healthcare professions differ in their requirements province to province. I have had to find creative work arounds for the combination of having public healthcare and private, while only having a field for private insurance information.
More importantly, while it's easy to track how much money I bring in overall, I can't use soapvault to track how much of each treatment was paid by insurance and how much was cash/debit/credit. I only have a 'treatment paid by' and 'cost of treatment' option for my invoice. After working as a medical office assistant, I've found I much prefer a more detailed method of invoicing/inputting payment types, so I have a record of payment and insurance billing in one place. The SOAPvault lack of options regarding payment/insurance billing makes it difficult if my clients need to submit their invoice with amounts already paid to a secondary/spousal insurance coverage plan. This impacts my business especially because to gain and retain clients I am set up for direct billing with insurance companies.
Overall this is a great online program for charting and scheduling with attentive customer service.
This programming offered the chance to switch to an easy paperless and all in one place online charting and scheduling improvement. It also makes reminders for clients who have not been seen in 3, 6 and 12 months easier and keeping track of client Birthdays. It has also made receipt issuing easier now that it is paperless and generated automatically by the program.
My biggest disappointment is that there has still not been a change to the HST function in the accounting that I have mentioned to your team. Because you do not have the option to input the price amount along with HST the only choice is to pick a percentage for the HST and the program automatically rounds it up. As the price becomes inconvenient. I cannot use the entire financial side that is offered in this program. Instead, our receipts are issued for the price and it says "no HST" to get around this. I would still love to see a change made to this to have the option to input the prices manually to be able to make use of the financial portion offered in this program.
For the most part I like Soapvault, it's much easier for me to take soapnotes.
Less paperwork for me to fill out, saves time for me which is important. Clients provide more health information when they don't feel pressed for time, so I am able to provide better service for them and communication improves.
At one point I worked in multiple locations, so not having to carry around paperwork was nice.
Many clients appreciate being able to fill out the forms online, especially if they have complicated health problems that would take up time from their treatment if they filled it out in my office.
Hippa compliance was a must and this has that.
It's kind of bloated for the average therapist. I use different services for bookkeeping and fee proccessing, so it feels like I'm paying for things I will never use. I would like to use the online booking, however clients have no choice but to make accounts, which adds time and confusion to the process, and the steps to book online are more confusing than other online booking services, so I don't use that either. (for example, the color coded spots for morning and afternoon appointments is unnecessary). It would be nice if there was a less expensive choice for therapists who use Soapvault only for soapnotes.
It has everything I need and works great. The online booking system has saved me a huge amount of admin time and being able to have all of my notes for every client in one place with their treatment history and receipts that get sent out once completing soap notes is great. The way the notes are set out so that it is easy to see what areas of the body have had treatment and pain makes it great when dealing with a high turn over of clients. My time spent doing notes has halved using Soap Vault as being able to select areas on a body and add treatments ect and notes specific to the area make everything so simple. Also the customer service team are amazing - they are always very helpful and look into any issues as soon as they can (within 24 hours normally - I am in New Zealand so there is a huge time difference and this is a great response time for being international). The team are also always making improvements to the system and are happy to take on any feedback about things that may work better as a customer or new ideas).
It would be nice to have the ability to track memberships for each client. This isn't a big deal though but would be a nice addition.
What I really love is that notes can be done from anywhere which makes it very convenient for me if I don't have a chance to complete them right after seeing the patient.
One thing I would like to see changed is the ability to alter or even delete a note. I accidentally put a duplicate note for a patient and there is no way to remove it. I would also like to have the ability to print all soap notes in a single report, rather than having to do each individually.
I teach business at a massage therapy school, and I always recommend SOAP Vault!
I love how seamless it is. When I initially entered the clients information, and their first soap note, I love that I don't have to re-create the wheel every time. I also really like the automatic client notifications. This program saves a lot of time in the office for me.
I have a lot of reoccurring clients, but they don't happen weekly. Some are every other week, some are every three weeks, I wish that there were a way that I could customize the frequency of reoccurring appointments.
Thanks for the feedback. You can customize the frequency of repeating appointments. You can define how often (eg: every 3 weeks) and for how many occurrences (eg: until 10 occurrences). If you need any help setting this up, just email us at support@soapvault.com for help.
I LOVE soapvault! The appointment reminders, and the online intake form are so worth.
Soapvault saves a lot of time for me and my clients. The online health history form is the major benefit; the client can take their time filling it out at home, or where ever, which means you get more information up front, usually. The appointment reminders, are extremely handy! Its like having a part time receptionist making those reminder calls for you. The biggest benefit is the price. I only work part time, so my income is very low. The price of this software is affordable, which is why I chose to use it. If it were more expensive, I wouldn't bother. Overall, I am very satisfied with this product. Thank you soapvault!
The online intake form, appt. reminders. The time that it saves me when my client arrives (not having to wait for them to fill out the form). Also, that saves paper! YAY!
How long it takes to get a receipt printed. It would be nice not to have to go through creating a soap note first, but I don't know how to make that better.
There could be a homecare section, and also a "next treatment" section. I think those would be helpful.
Thanks for your feedback. We are developing a better financial tracking solution.
They are constantly making improvements and are quick to respond to requests & help.
Ease of completing treatments notes at home after work. Better prepared for new clients with having their health history filled out online ahead of time. Email automated reminders greatly reduce the number of last minute cancellations and no shows.
As a Massage Therapist I love having the health history intake online. It allows me to better prepare for the initial assessment with my client.
I also love the automated email reminders, it drastically reduced no shows or last minute cancellations.
It is not fully customizable especially with 2 practitioners with 2 available locations.
Would like to see online signature options for clients to sign documents.
Soap Vault allows me to easily manage my day while running a business. Love this!
It keeps my life organized as both a user and business owner!
1) How user friendly this is.
2) Amazing customer support and "personalized" emails re: updates.
3) Clients absolutely LOVE the online booking!
4) The reminders for upcoming appointments via email and text are very beneficial.
5) I love that we can do email marketing.
6) I don't use the Add-Ons yet but am grateful to have that option.
The one thing - which is minor - is when on the mobile app and I'm setting my personal time, I don't like that I have to "scroll" to set the duration. I'd rather type in the time (mins., hours, etc.). It's just not as functional as I'd personally like as there is more room for error.
Overall the soap vault experience has been excellent. Easier use of platform over time.
Financial reports have made my life easy!
Thanks for the feedback. One-way-sync (SOAP Vault Calendar to Google Calendar) is available. See this link: https://soapvault.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204365534-How-to-connect-your-External-Calendar-Google-Calendar-iCal-Outlook-etc- Two-way-sync (Google Calendar to SOAP Vault) will be supported in the future.
Absolutely Great Customer service and love the professional look of the system!
Soap Vault is easy to use and looks very professional. The customer service is top notch. If you have a request or need an adaptation they are always willing to hear your ideas and make it better for you.
Would love to be able to embed into my own website rather than having a book now link button. And wish I could remove the charge rates or make them variable instead of one set price.
Thanks for the feedback. You actually can embed SOAP Vault into your website and set variable rates. Please email us at support@soapvault.com and we'll walk you through it.
Soap vault is easy to use, easy to access for my patients, and has streamlined bookings.
I gained online booking, paperless charting, email reminders for patients of their appointments and digital intake forms. All super useful and my patients love it.
I like the online booking, It's easy to use and the patients really like it. I like the email notifications both for myself and my patients. I like that the chart notes are saved to the cloud, and secure, and that I don't have to sort through paper files anymore.
I wish Soap vault would offer a domain service for their online "book now" button. As it is, I have to purchase my web domain and hosting elsewhere, just to put the "book now" button on it. It's a hassle and costs me extra.
Thanks for the feedback! Your suggestions will be passed to our Product Team!


We are an independent accounting firm with regionally focused offices in Huddersfield and Wakefield in West Yorkshire, Darlington in County Durham, and Peterborough and Ely in Cambridgeshire. We are easily accessible from major cites such as Leeds and Newcastle, and we have clients throughout the UK who have joined our accountancy firm through word of mouth and recommendation. A number of our team members have trained with Top 10 accountancy firms and have many years of experience working in industry. However, for our clients V&A Vigar remains a local accountancy firm that happens to have national clout.
We understand and champion business – big and small. After all, we have grown organically ourselves since 1988 and therefore fully understand the risks, stresses and needs of owner-managed businesses. We understand local pressures, how the local economy works, and how wider Government initiatives impact on a business' ability to thrive. Our specialist accountancy services include Corporate Finance, Business Advice and Support, and providing tax efficient solutions for Contractors, Freelancers and high net worth individuals. At V&A Vigar, we provide a highly confidential accountancy service with full continuity by dedicated professionals who work in partnership with entrepreneurial businesses and SMEs.
We draw on our expertise in business accounting and our experience of working with people to simplify what can be complex accountancy matters. We are a hands-on firm yet unobtrusive. From basic book keeping to MBOs (management buy-outs) to exit strategies, we always work in the interests of our clients – in good times and bad – to deliver accounting services that get results.


…I picture the millions of this city's inhabitants at this exceptional time of the day standing in the streets, on balconies and on roof tops, with their hands stretched to the sky. I feel their power swaying me in waves. What if they are still asleep or having a hasty breakfast or are off to their jobs? Today it is me and my brother re-enacting the ritual, tomorrow it will be the rest of the world. As we go down the slope, I feel like I have just woken up, together with everyone else in the city. I feel I'm in high spirits while I am walking to the cafe. It is the same one I have been frequenting for years. I am thinking of visiting my old neighbourhood next, the one I grew up in. It's been a while since the last time I went; it would be a wonderful opportunity to show my brother how the area has ended up. The street, that used to look enormous to us then, now looks quite ordinary. In our childish eyes, the dimensions of the buildings looked impressive but now they have shrunk. Still, because of our current emotion, they retrieve their immense volume. I was certain that my brother wouldn't recognise the place after all these decades. But I was wrong. Our family house was not a traditional neoclassical house, but a luxurious flat in a block of apartments built in the 30's. The whole neighbourhood has changed since then. Only a playground and a couple of blocks have remained the same. Not to mention that they look far better than the most recent ones. The secret was not to be found within their layers of paint, constituting a glorious lifting, but rather inside the mass of cement itself. Apart from the pillars and beams, concrete was used for the external surface as well. This was not the case with the next generation of buildings, which, mainly for financial reasons, were only covered with plaster. Our father was a senior civil servant and our mother a rather conservative lady from a well-known family. Father was a really selfish fellow and never wished to receive the tiniest sum from her dowry; everything went to her younger sister. But he was rather well-off himself and on top of that he had an innovative sort of taste for that time. His choice of house when the time came to buy one was proof positive of this. In a small town, like this city was in the beginning of the century, buying a mere "box" of a house – that's what they called flats back then – was quite extraordinary to say the least. When modern architecture was imported from Europe it was met with plain hostility. After a while the upper class considered modern architecture to be a new trend and many of them found it a great opportunity to show off. I was born between the two World Wars, at the time when the town was enriched with these cubic cages. These blocks of flats were made of reinforced concrete, providing security against bombings. As a matter of course, they were equipped with all the comforts of the time, like radiators, lifts, rolling shutters and bathrooms. That architectural trend somehow fought against all bonds with the past and history, a fact utterly outrageous for a country which had idolised its roots to the maximum extent. On our way to our old house I close my eyes and try to recall how the building used to look. First it's the entrance: a small step brought the entrance a bit higher than the pavement. The whole front was framed with pleated pilasters and faced the street. —It used to have two plaster columns, one on each side, my brother mentions. How could I ever forget? Then there was a spacious lobby with high ceilings. —There were plaster strips on the ceiling. That much I remember. Likewise, I remember the egg-shaped porter's lodge. I can even see the porter himself sulking behind it. Everywhere around, the wall was covered with beige marble and right in front of it was the metal cage of the lift. I take my brother by the hand to go up the stairs. We don't need to take the lift; we used to live on the first floor. My eyes are filled with dust. I can't keep my hands still, so I tighten my grip around my brother's hand, to gain some strength. It might be better if we went on another day but it couldn't be because they were already expecting us. The key unlocks, the door knob turns, the hinges screech and we find ourselves in. Father is seated on the armchair reading the paper while mother is setting the table for lunch. —Off you go and wash your hands. My brother rushes to the bathroom while I'm staring at my parents, rather confused. My father sees me and nods at me. —What's wrong with you? I don't say a word. —Come over here. I go close to my father, sit next to his legs and turn my head away from him. —Why are you sulking? I don't reply and he continues reading his paper. I am not sulking, it's quite the opposite. After all these years we are all together again.


text:
The 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Magdeburg in a final victory against defending champions Milan. It was the first–and only–win for an East German side in a European tournament.

First round
Albania refused to play.

|}

First leg

Second leg

Sunderland won 3-0 on aggregate.

Sporting CP won 2-1 on aggregate.

3-3 on aggregate, Zürich won on away goals.

Malmö won 11-0 on aggregate.

Magdeburg won 2-0 on aggregate.

Baník Ostrava won 3-1 on aggregate.

Beroe Stara Zagora won 11-1 on aggregate.

Athletic Bilbao won 2-0 on aggregate.

AC Milan won 4-1 on aggregate.

Rapid Wien won 2-1 on aggregate.

Lyon won 2-0 on aggregate.

PAOK won 2-1 on aggregate.

SK Brann won 9-0 on aggregate.

Glentoran won 4-2 on aggregate.

Borussia Mönchengladbach won 16-1 on aggregate.

Rangers won 6-0 on aggregate.

Second round

|}

First leg

Second leg

Sporting CP won 3-2 on aggregate.

1-1 on aggregate, Zürich won on away goals.

Magdeburg won 3-2 on aggregate.

Beroe Stara Zagora won 3-1 on aggregate.

AC Milan won 2-0 on aggregate.

PAOK won 7-3 on aggregate.

Glentoran won 4-2 on aggregate.

Borussia Mönchengladbach won 5-3 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

|}

First leg

Second leg

Sporting CP won 4-1 on aggregate.

Magdeburg won 3-1 on aggregate.

Milan won 5-2 on aggregate.

Borussia Mönchengladbach won 7-0 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

|}

First leg

Second leg

Magdeburg won 3-2 on aggregate.

Milan won 2-1 on aggregate.

Final

See also
1973–74 European Cup
1973–74 UEFA Cup

External links
 1973-74 competition at UEFA website
 Cup Winners' Cup results at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  Cup Winners Cup Seasons 1973-74–results, protocols
 website Football Archive  1973–74 Cup Winners Cup

3
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup seasons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
African agency vs the aid industry
Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie
The welcome focus on Africa in western media and political discussion before the G8 summit has clarified the continent's problems: corruption, dependency, tradition, and bad leadership.
That is: corruption, dependency, tradition and bad leadership within the northern-dominated aid industry that dominates discourse about Africa. The increasing aid flows to Africa that this industry advocates will, at least, "make northern-NGO poverty history". Who else, after all, will implement all the new projects that will come?
This conflict of interest, in which those arguing most loudly for increased aid flows are the aid's biggest beneficiaries is inherently corrupt and corrupting. We disallow it in other areas of public life; so we should when it comes to the aid industry.
The aid industry is helplessly dependent upon seeing an Africa that is incapable, lacking in agency, in permanent need of external direction. If all the flies photographed around those emaciated babies had demanded royalties for their appearances in northern media, Africa would have the richest flies in the world.
The aid industry emerged out of earlier missionary and colonial interventions in Africa, and has been unable to break with this paternalist, overbearing tradition. The damage done over the years to young people of African heritage by the portrayal of Africa might justify a class action lawsuit to enforce real accountability. It has prevented Africans from moving forward under their own steam.
Discord over Live8
In the northern hemisphere Live8 has been celebrated as the biggest concert in history – an impressive feat – but most people in Africa found it irrelevant. Until Africans in Africa are the architects and planners of such efforts this perversity will remain.
The really corrosive damage of Live8-type initiatives is twofold. First, they demoralise and disempower Africans – in Africa and the diaspora – because they render Africans' own agency invisible. Second, they undermine local, African-led initiatives and help destroy trust and relationships between African organisations – the very stuff of any movement that will author the next stage of Africa's liberation.
Few people watching Live8 could have known – for who told them? – that the Johannesburg concert and, crucially, Nelson Mandela's appearance on stage there happened as a direct result of the efforts of an African-led coalition of organisations assembled in March 2005. It had originally planned a concert for 7 July, the first full day of the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Sadly, the coalition's co-option into Live8 has left a legacy of bitterness, distrust, damaged relations, and a small amount of (good) publicity. It will take months of conflict resolution to heal divisions and get the movement back on track.
The African coalition now has to assess whether the modicum of publicity was worth the aggro. Firoze Manji of Fahamu, a coalition member, is adamant that it wasn't. "We would have gained more political capital if we had refused to go with Live8", says Manji. "We would have made the important point that this is about Africa, by Africans, on their own terms".
The coalition's exchange (in Firoze Manji's words) of "short-term fame for long-term pain" is identical to the trap that African leaders themselves often fall into. Because they lack self-confident belief in what they can achieve on their own, they follow a lead from the north. But the north has interests and instincts that differ markedly from Africans'. When the two clash, those with more power win out.
Diasporas work for Africa
This is where the African diaspora is pivotal. We belong to both north and south, and could play a much more strategic role in shifting the balance of power towards Africa. What we need is more AID – accountability in development. Before they make poverty history, Africans in Africa will have to make aid that is ineffectual, insulting, undermining and demeaning history.
In Britain, that means an independent regulator of international development. At present, the department for international development (DfID), and to a lesser extent other funders such as Comic Relief, are the de facto regulators. Northern NGOs, especially those increasingly dependent upon government funding, dance to the pipers' tunes. This is hardly transparent or satisfactory. We need an independent regulator to assess the real impact of development efforts, to examine how NGOs use images, to look into employment practices within the sector. This will also enable us to acknowledge those northern NGOs that eschew bad practices and have a respectable track record of working in solidarity with Africans.
But for Africans to consume our energies in attempting to fix the northern aid industry, which will never reform itself and always remain marginal to the lives of ordinary Africans, would be futile. Rather, the focus should be on change in Africa by increasing money flows there from Africans themselves. That means remittances: the money that actually reaches households and communities in parts of Africa with significant stocks of migrants and diaspora communities.
Four reforms would help. First, reducing the transaction costs of remittances – but in a way that listens to Africans' own experience. So far, reduction strategies have had the perverse effect of undermining the very African money transfer companies that provide the cheapest and most accessible services. Listening to Africans at the heart of the business – as money senders, receivers and providers – would throw up a range of alternative approaches.
Second, as African diaspora groups have argued, governments like Britain's could apply tax relief to remittances; this would dramatically increase the flow of money into Africa at a stroke.
The benefits of remittances are not just to the receiving households and communities; they help to stimulate local economies. However, far more can be done to increase the positive impact that remittances can have by focusing on supporting local enterprises that will provide the much-needed jobs, hope and dignity that Africans in Africa say they crave.
Third, if Britain and other northern countries care about African development, they should allow more unskilled migrants from Africa to work there. Much of the money they earn will find its way as remittances back to Africa, with the beneficial effects mentioned above.
Fourth, legitimate governments in Africa will find acceptable ways to make use of these remittance flows to advance the interests of their people. Until then, the money will bypass governments and rightly so.
Meanwhile, what others can do is respectfully support Africans in Africa as they determine and shape their own fate. We must keep the baby of international solidarity and throw out the dirty bathwater of paternalism and hypocrisy. When outsiders take the lead in driving the agenda on the grounds that enlightened ends justify murky means, then we know it's more about them than it is about Africa and Africans. Let's make all that history.
http://www.afford-uk.org/
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/
Fahamu
http://www.fahamu.org/
Development Gateway
http://home.developmentgateway.org/
Had enough of 'alternative facts'? openDemocracy is different Join the conversation: get our weekly email


text:
Witch Wood
Ventigo Media Sp. z o.o.
Buchan John
The story is set in the scottish borders during the civil war and the main character is the new young minister in a small village. Witch Wood Ebook. The minister wrestles with his own christian faith as opposed to the severe presbyterianism of the kirk and also has to deal with a pagan coven, a wounded soldier from montrose's defeated army as well as falling in love. john buchan's own favourite among his novels, in which he dealt with the hypocrisy which can lie close to the surface of apparently god-fearing respectability. Witch Wood Pdf. The story itself is breathlessly exciting – a real page-turner – and buchan's characters really live, from the young minister david, with his gradual disillusionment with the kirk he is pledged to serve to the grace and gaiety of buchan's most attractive and well drawn heroine, katrine yester. .


KatlynKatt imASIANTOPLOVER livejasmin. LauraSecret18. Talszs. MARIANA4ISABELA.
ALEXLOVEECheeryAlinaHardKen4YouXJulianneReed .BlueJonessAndrewXZTalszsJohannaGold .BigWetDickSexBruneteObsessionSweetMelinda25EvelynRojas .DeniseKarineJulianneReedIsabellaCamJustyne007 .IsabellaCamyoungmuscles10SecretMadyBeautifulPrinces .EllaSkyChanellKuntPurpleAliceAajana .SecretMadyCherryLips3XCuteSandraxEvaGreat .SweetSky3BigWetDickSexWarisaJordanM .SweetMelinda25LuxuryNikkyMarselHotCheeryAlina .annyandsofiaClassySwanChanellKuntEllaSky .SharlystVelvetRopeDYLANXMANBIGSannyGabriela .
IsabellaCamFireSquirttIsabellaCamFireSquirtt .LaaylaakkatialoveAdaBurnsSarahhDivine .LoryJasmineagatawildfireSecretMadySecretMady .AnyutaAnyutaFireSquirttKittPlayfulBigWetDickSex .SannyGabrielaKateX69XDonaldRoseAndLilyBruneteObsession .HardKen4YouXFireSquirttVelvetRopeboyhot21 .KateX69XDonaldFetishBDSMDirtyHOTGlRLSforSEXEvaGreat .LolaDevereauxGoldieBabyMakoLoveXEvaGreat .fckincreativeBlueJonessTalszsCuteSandrax .HOTGlRLSforSEXWarisayoungmuscles10JordanM .MakoLoveXKatyBabbyMarieBlueSaphireMischelleD .


10 REASONS FOR ENTERING INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH US!
We've been on the market for almost 30 years.
With 24 regularly employed experts working as a team you will always find an available colleague who will take care of your needs.
Our staff attends regular training. It allows us to keep up with your business. Before entering a new story, together we can assess tax and administrative aspects of your business. Our work is based on the principle that prevention is better than cure.
You are regularly updated on tax and legislative developments that affect your business.
5. ARE YOU COMFORTABLE GIVING YOUR DOCUMENTS TO AUDITORS?
Do you talk to them in a professional way and with full confidence? We do. Our clients' audits have been all concluded successfully over the last 30 years. When we are recommended by the auditors, we know we've done our job well.
In the light of the experience and understanding of client's needs and in the interest of providing comprehensive services, we have increased the range of our services over the years. Today, we can support you not only in accounting but also in: HR and administrative services, business tools rental, process optimisation.
7. WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF OUR OPERATIONS?
Our clients range from micro, small, medium-sized to large businesses, with domestic or foreign ownership, public and private institutions and associations. We provide full-package services or just specific tasks (payroll, reporting, etc) – depending on your needs and organisation.
For communication, we use telephone, e-mail, Skype or the electronic document system. We can also provide on-site services at your location. We often use remote access, performing our services directly in your system. And of course, we can arrange regular business appointments either at your or our office.
With us, you can reduce your operating costs. Get a team of experienced professionals which you pay only when you need them. Take advantage of your space and get your employees focused on your main activity. We will take care of the rest.
Take advantage of our vast array of information technologies in collaboration with our strategic partners. We use MS Navision, Vasco, SPIN, MojArhiv document system and others. When it makes sense, we arrange the rental of individual models so you can update your main activity.
Meet us in person, contact us!