text:
newswire article commentary united states 08.Sep.2005 11:20
government | imperialism & war | katrina aftermath
New Orleans becomes a war zone- A dress rehearsal for martial law?
author: Bill Van Auken
The disaster that struck New Orleans and the southern Gulf Coast has given rise to the largest military mobilization in modern history on US soil. Nearly 65,000 US military personnel are now deployed in disaster area, transforming the devastated port city into a war zone.
Squads of combat-equipped troops toting assault rifles and columns of humvees with gunners at the ready crisscross its flooded streets. Soldiers with bayonets mounted have begun house-to-house canvassing of the city to enforce the complete removal of its civilian population.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the disastrous delay in providing aid to the city's beleaguered citizens was in large part a matter of waiting until this massive military force was ready to deploy.
With New Orleans under de facto martial law, its Mayor Ray Nagin issued an order Tuesday for the forced evacuation of its remaining residents, estimated at anywhere between a few thousand and tens of thousands. New Orleans police officials indicated that they were prepared to forcibly drag people from their homes.
US military spokesmen initially said that they would support the operation, but claimed that uniformed soldiers would not participate directly in these evictions. But Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge, deputy commander of US Northern Command, told Pentagon reporters Wednesday that national guard units, which are formally under state control, could be used to compel people to leave.
Nagin's proclamation asserted that the presence of civilians in the city would "impede" and "distract" from the recovery operation. Some officials have cited a potential public health disaster resulting from the city's inundation by waters polluted by toxic chemicals and decaying corpses.
Whatever the validity of these motives, the proposed forced evacuation will constitute the most massive military operation mounted against the people of an American city since the Civil War.
While the US military deployment includes medical teams, search-and-rescue helicopters and other forms of relief, the largest troop contingents have been deployed as a military occupation force, to protect private property and suppress civil disturbances.
The Pentagon has issued continuous press releases touting how many millions of meals, gallons of water and pounds of ice it has delivered to the city in the last few days. These reports, however, beg the question of why such supplies were not made available during the first four days after the hurricane hit, when impoverished residents of the city were literally dying in the streets.
With the bulk of the population having left the city, the greatest supply operations now will involve not the relief of hurricane victims but logistical support for the tens of thousands of troops themselves.
The Bush administration's defenders have made demonstrably false claims that no one could have expected a disaster on this scale, while attempting to shift blame onto state and local officials. The deadly delay in the relief effort has been attributed by the administration's opponents to the government's criminal incompetence and seeming indifference to the plight of New Orleans' largely poor and black population.
While no doubt incompetence and indifference played a major role, there is also strong evidence that aid was deliberately withheld by the White House and the Pentagon as part of a strategy for asserting unfettered military control over the city.
Both hurricane victims and public officials have given multiple accounts of US authorities actively turning back aid and blocking rescue attempts in the days that followed the breaching of the city's levees.
Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, for example, broke down in tears Sunday during an appearance on the NBC television program "Meet the Press," declaring, "It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area."
He cited repeated actions by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) that involved the deliberate sabotage of relief efforts. He reported that FEMA turned back trailer truckloads of water sent by Wal-Mart, claiming the city didn't need them. He also said that the Coast Guard's offer of fuel urgently needed to power generators was countermanded by FEMA.
Finally, he said that just a day earlier FEMA agents had come in and "cut all of our emergency communication lines" without any warning. The local sheriff, he added, had the lines reconnected and then posted armed guards to see that they were not cut again.
This last, and most sinister, example is in keeping with the Pentagon's "information war" doctrine, which demands the complete control of communications in an area targeted for invasion and occupation.
Denise Bottcher, press secretary for Governor Blanco, also charged that FEMA deliberately blocked offers of aid from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and others.
And a spokesman for Sen. Mary Landrieu (Democrat, Louisiana), told the media that FEMA held up aid from both public and private agencies, withholding approval for the US Forest Service to use water tanker aircraft to put out fires and delaying the arrival of Amtrak trains to evacuate people from the city. Offers by private companies to provide communications equipment were also held up by the agency. There were also reports that the Red Cross was prevented from going into the city and that FEMA refused to allow the unloading of food, water and medical supplies brought by ships into New Orleans harbor.
The apparent aim of this organized obstructionist behavior by the agency that is supposedly charged with coordinating relief was to block any significant aid until the military could intervene in the city with overwhelming force.
This came on Friday, with military commanders treating New Orleans as a combat operation. This was the term used by Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, commander of the Louisiana National Guard's Joint Task Force, in an interview with the Army Times.
"This place is going to look like Little Somalia," said General Jones. "We're going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control." The newspaper clearly got the message, referring in its report to troops coming in to "fight the insurgency in the city."
There were numerous reports from New Orleans residents of being treated as if they were indeed "insurgents," with police and troops sealing off the city to prevent attempts to leave.
Over 1,000 National Guard troops and police were sent in Friday to seize control of the New Orleans Convention Center, one of the areas where evacuees had been left to die. Military officials referred to the operation as a "clear and hold" mission, using the phraseology employed by the Pentagon to describe its attacks on towns in Iraq where there is substantial resistance to the US occupation.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, bragged of having "stormed the convention center," while acknowledging to Pentagon reporters, "We waited until we had enough force in place to do an overwhelming force."
Asked specifically by a reporter if the buildup of this force was reason why it took until Friday before the National Guard came in with any significant aid, Blum responded, "That is not only fair, it is accurate. You've concisely stated exactly what was needed, and I told you why. We took the time to build the right force."
Also on Friday, Bush administration officials sent Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco a legal document demanding that she sign over control of the state's National Guard as well as state and local police units. The memo sought their federalization under the Insurrection Act, a statute that allows the president to take control of state militias under conditions in which state governments themselves are unable to "suppress rebellion."
Blanco rejected this demand, no doubt seeing it as an admission of failure by her own administration.
For Bush, the assumption of full military control was a matter of political importance. Under the Insurrection Act, the US president is required to issue a public order for those in "rebellion" to cease and disperse. There is little doubt that had he gained the acquiescence of the Louisiana governor, he would have taken to the airwaves as the "commander-in-chief," in an attempt to dispel the wave of outrage sweeping the country over the government's response to the disaster.
As early as Wednesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan was telling the press that "martial law has now been declared in Mississippi and Louisiana," an indication of the administration's intentions but not the legal reality in either state.
Blocked from achieving total military control, Bush dispatched Lt. Gen. Russell Honore from the US Northern Command to develop a parallel command structure overseeing active duty troops.
The media has lionized Honore, portraying him as the "John Wayne" of New Orleans—with the city's residents presumably assuming the role of Indians. The general thrust of such commentary is that the military is the only institution that can "get the job done."
That the civilian agency which was created to deal with such disasters—FEMA—has been gutted, with an unemployed former horse show organizer, Michael Brown, placed at its head, has everything to do with such perceptions.
The most adamant proponent of the thesis that the military must take charge is the Wall Street Journal, whose editorial board enjoys the closest political relations with the Bush White House. In a Tuesday editorial titled "Bush and Katrina," the Journal commented: "The New Orleans mess improved only after the Pentagon got involved. Though the military is normally barred from domestic law enforcement by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, Defense officials have been doing a lot of creative thinking about what they can do and what the public now expects post-September 11."
Washington's response to the disaster in New Orleans is hardly a manifestation of "creative thinking," much less "what the public now expects."
In reality the US ruling elite and both major parties have used September 11 as the pretext for implementing far-reaching attacks on democratic rights and breaching legal barriers—such as Posse Comitatus—against the use of military force against the American people.
Just last month, the Washington Post published an article revealing that US military's Northern Command had developed a series of "war plans" for the military "to take charge" in domestic crises. (See: "Pentagon devising scenarios for martial law in US".)
While apparently these plans involved a response to supposed terrorist attacks, including the detonation of a nuclear device in a major American city, the catastrophe that struck New Orleans provided ideal conditions for testing the plans out.
The growing reliance on the military, however, is a response neither to terrorist threats or natural catastrophes. On the international arena, the US ruling elite has turned toward the use of military aggression and the seizure of strategic assets and territories as a means of offsetting the relative decline of American capitalism's position in the world economy.
At home, the turn toward martial law is a manifestation of growing fears within America's fabulously wealthy financial oligarchy that conditions of social polarization and steady decline in the living standards of the vast majority of working people have created a social powder keg.
The deliberate denial of food, water and means of escape to tens of thousands of suffering New Orleanians in order to prepare a massive military exercise is a crime. It is moreover a warning that the deepening of the social crisis in America raises the threat of military repression and dictatorship.
YES 08.Sep.2005 14:31
TheTroll link
read "katrina's silver linning" in the post above this one.
exercises 08.Sep.2005 19:22
Tim link
military exercises were used on 9/11 to allow the aircraft to be ignored by ATC.
PART ONE OF THE SHRUB THAT ATE THE U.S. AND NEW ORLEANS AND WHY 08.Sep.2005 23:55
Madame Karnak link
Dear Everybody,
What is going on is pretty simple and it's been around for a long time. Yes, there is martial law, but originally it was for the purpose of stealing all of New Orleans for a bunch of rich white shits like President Dubly-inept who evidently could screw up his own wet dream, let alone his Daddy's plan. See since Big Daddy and his Wife, Babs the Baleful, were in the White House serving cocktail wienies to dignitaries (true story) on paper plates, they have wanted to install themselves and their genetically-blighted offspring as the permanent potentates (or in this case---impotentates) of the United States. When they met Cheney and Rum-filled and Co, well those boys wanted a cut of the action, so the plan grew.
First, they were going to take over all the drug routes in South America and use those to import cocaine in the U.S., first as they told President Senile [Reagan] to fund the contras, but eventually it became their bank for all their little projects. The real goal was for Bush and his highly genetically-challenged inbred offspring of the house of PERCY to make the potloads of money that their royal blood entitled them to, even if their brains could not cash those checks.
Well, Bush friends (not being quite so short on DNA strands that they had to use the second-hand stuff) quickly began to realize that if they helped out the Bushes, each friend could make a pot of money. Well, by this time, there were a lot of cars on that money train, so the Bushes expanded the scheme. They formed a committee of themselves and their buddies and decided to use the cocaine not just to make some money, but get serious money by preying on those that they despised anyway: poor blacks and whites.
Now they came by their hatred of both groups quite honestly. Their grandaddies on both sides and a horrible Uncle that profited from the Nazis all hated blacks, poor whites and well, anybody that wasn't like them--which lets face it, how many traitorous in-bred former English lords who were tossed out of Britain for trying to kill their king are there?--not too damn many. They could tolerate toady friends who went to Yale or Harvard or who had truly gifted criminal imaginations, but pretty much everybody else they hated--including uppity women that did not "get" that their role was to have and semi-rear vast families for the family's outreach program. None of them trusted women with educations, because they weren't natural breeders.
So, first, the Bushes and their trusty extended family of slime-crime got their friends into a position to influence policy at HUD and then Fannie Mae and the other vehicles intended to provide poorer people with a chance at upward mobility. First, they gave them loans from Fannie Mae and HUD. Then they got them hooked on drugs (and they were SOOOO happy when Crack turned out to be SO ADDICTIVE SO FAST). Then, when the poor people had become incapable of functioning without crack, the houses were repossessed, sold again (with those lovely down payments) and the cycle repeated.
Over time, these skuzz ballz accelerrated the game by reducing wages, sending jobs out of the country and making the houses turn over faster. Once an area was all burned out, then they bought it up cheap, loaned themselves development money from the government, redeveloped it and started allllllll over.
The real estate-drug thing was okay to build up the monies for the kids, but Bush Sr. had been to the Arab countries and he knew that they had the sort of unliminted power and super-Bling that he REALLY wanted without the nuisance of running for office (he hated to lose), so he got rid of this itsy-bitsy inconvenient little law (passed during the Depression when his family was writing Chapter One of how to BANKRUPT THE COUNTRY AND GET RICH AT THE SAME TIME... that law said that politicians could not accept money from foreign governments. Well, you know that law had to go, because Papa Bush needed to have a way to bring back the money that he was going to get or make with Arab oil (and other things).
Okay, so far so good. Next Bush Sr. had to get himself elected so that he could begin working the REAL plan which was to make himself and his demon spawn into IMPORTENTATES (a lot like a Potato but with less flavor and more arrogance). So, after kissing numerous and sundry butts and using Reagan to put his teensy-weensy little laws in place, Bush ran for Prez. Of course, he won because he made everyone else lose (don't ask--just think about it). He planned to stay for a second turn, but somebody caught him in the act transporting DRUGS into Arkansas and that somebody cut a deal with him. They would be in charge for a while in exchange for not telling anyone what they saw.
So, Bush cut the deal. While he was out of the spotlight, he spent his time undermining the judiciary across the country with "campaign" contributions in exchange for favorable rulings (as required) and a little taste of some future change from the every expanding pots. See, by this time, they had DIVERSIFIED from drugs to drug accessories like C-1 Transports and weapons to fight off pesky anti-drug people. Which was totally great, because now the COMPANY was making money shipping, selling, buying back real estate, selling weapons to the people who brought in the drugs, selling weapons to people that tried to keep the drugs out and anti-drug chemicals to sell to people who would kill the plantations of their competitors and then fertilizer to their competitors so that they could grown the new hybrid strains of "drug" plants faster. In other words, they got everybody coming and GOING. They also sold gasoline and oil to run the planes, trucks and equipment to process the drugs and ship them. It was a good life...except that when you run a crime empire, you can't let anyone know 'cause not only will you probably not become an IMPORTENTATE, but you won't get any respect. Daddy Bush was still pissed off about that WIMP thing and he wanted not just respect but FEAR.
So, he had to reinvent himself and his Demonspawn into new and more acceptable forms of electable future IMPORTENTATES. So, he and some of his devoted TOADY friends created A merchant bank that would be respectable and invest in all kinds of things that they were already doing except now, they would give the money to other people to do them, they would get profits but it would all be several steps removed and therefore more respectable.
So, they called this little company something like Carlyle after the Carlisle Military Academy or something like that. Of course, Daddy B did not want to look like he was so crass as to be doing what he was doing, so he called himself a "consultant" and that way Carlyle could pay him for setting up the deals with his buddies that he used to do for free. Only ASAP, carlyle would get a bunch of big contracts, it would go public and they would get that money and then keep on plowing dirty money into clean weapons and war stuff and launder it.
The story goes on and on...until it reaches New Orleans where the entire cycle was just about to start again, but they got impatient, because they have SO MANY friends who need POTS ful of MONEY to feel good, that they decided to use an acceleration method called NATURE.
There is more to the story, but I will get back to you on that. In the meantime, GO TO THE PETITION SITE AND WRITE AND SIGN A PETITION (AND PASS IT TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS) AND ASK FOR A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO BE APPOINTED FROM A LIST OF CANDIDATES SELECTED BY THE NATIONAL TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION WHOM BUSH'S SON (SON OF SHRUB) JUST GUTTED BY MOVING ALL THEIR CASES TO FEDERAL COURT.
I am sure that they will pick some superb attorney to look into WHY EXACTLY IT WAS THAT A COMPLETE IMBECILE NOT EVEN FIT TO MUCK OUT A BARN WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF DISASTERS...OH, I'M SORRY RECOVERING FROM DISASTERS. Was that a freudian slip?
Tune in next time when I explain just exactly how the king of potted plants got his oldest son, Rutabaga Jr., elected even though the Constitution doesn't actually allow vegetables to hold office.
Madame Karnak
FEMA'S real role 11.Sep.2005 00:09
marcos link
fema's real mandate is to keep the federal government intact in case of nuclear war. disaster relief is a by-product of that mandate.


text:
Z6_589D8OF0QG6Q30IHM3VGOC1HJ2
Z7_589D8OF0QG1150A6CK18850084
[News from Institutions] HKDI and IVE(LWL) Kickstart "Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" With Young Designers Who Leverage Different Media to Redefine the Cultural Landscape of Tomorrow
Published Date : 2022-08-08
"Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" exhibition HKDI and IVE (Lee Wai Lee)
Advanced Design Studio: HKDI Well Being – VR for Pain Management project
One of the robotic exhibits of Advanced Design Studio: Family Emotional Bonding project - Cuddle
The Advanced Design Studio: Dragon Boat Festival – Ritual, Community and Environment project
The design of a Chinese opera cosmetic box
"Flow" is a design magazine dedicated to the discovery of visual platforms
Graduates of HKDI Department of Fashion and Image Design showcase different styles of scavengers beginning from the 16th century
"Playful" under the Advanced Design Studio: Memphis and the Post-Contemporary Object project
"WE Park Adventure", an augmented reality (AR) application
The interactive installation and application "Reading the Terms"
Design is the manifestation of culture. While studying the history of culture, a new generation of designers is continuing to explore the cultural power of the future. To shine a light on this process, the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) and the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) (Lee Wai Lee) have officially kickstarted its "Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" exhibition from now until 21 August 2022.
The exhibition this year is themed around the concept of "Culture Future" and gathers graduates across 40 Higher Diploma, Bachelor's degree, Diploma of Vocational Education, Diploma of Vocational Baccalaureate, and Diploma of Foundation Studies programmes covering areas of Architecture, Interior and Product Design, Communication Design, Digital Media, Fashion and Image Design, Information Technology, and Jewellery Arts and Design. The collaborations between the industry and HKDI are also featured in Advanced Design Studio (ADS) programmes, which are dedicated to solving real-life issues and facilitating community development through design. The works also explore the root of culture through various technologies and media formats, from the application of virtual reality (VR) technology in the medical field or the heritage of the Dragon Boat Festival. The exhibits examine the relationship between people and objects and encourage visitors to think about the future of culture together.
"Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" is held in the campuses of HKDI and IVE (Lee Wai Lee). In the highlighted "Advanced Design Studio: Stage Fantasy Experience - Dance Imagination in VR City" special exhibition, visitors will get to understand more about the culture of the city through VR technology. On 20 August, visitors can also enjoy the "Denim Fridays" dance and busking performances prepared by graduates of the HKDI Department of Fashion and Image Design.
The many works displayed at the exhibition explore the concept of human beings as the source of culture and navigate their connections with all things in the world as well as their roles as propagators of culture for future generations. The event also features many photo-worthy spots, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the cultural future while also capturing beautiful memories.
Highlights of "Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future":
The Origins of Culture – the Relationships between Humans
Human relationships encompass the connections between our individual bodies and our health. In a fast and high-pressure living environment, many people struggle with various illnesses. To design a comfortable environment for surgical treatments, a design team from HKDI worked alongside students from the ADS programme and IVE's Health and Life Sciences Discipline as well as a number of surgeons to co-create the "Advanced Design Studio: HKDI Well Being – VR for Pain Management" project. Using a diving-themed VR game, the programme creates a more pleasant experience for patients undergoing surgery. This technology is gradually being adopted around the world and has recently been introduced to Hong Kong, where it holds the potential to shape the future development of the health and medical field.
We share the closest relationship with our family members. However, in a fast-paced city like Hong Kong, it can be easy to neglect our connections with our families. Centring on the theme of "loneliness", graduates from the HKDI department of Communication Design worked with various design methods and industry professionals to create "Advanced Design Studio: Family Emotional Bonding" project. The project reminds visitors that they have strong support from family even when they feel lonely or distant from their families amid the city's hustling and bustling pace. One of the exhibits from this project is "Cuddle", which aims to change the public's conception of robots. Not only does "Cuddle" have different facial expressions and a warm body temperature, it can also record audience's conversations, photos and text and send them a loving embrace, just like a family member would.
The Heritage of Culture – the Relationships between Humans and History
The advancement of culture needs to be based on the examination and inheritance of history. Because of this, passionate creators must constantly excavate and create. This year, HKDI joined forces with the Stanley Dragon Boat Association for the "Advanced Design Studio: Dragon Boat Festival – Ritual, Community and Environment" project. This interdisciplinary collaboration explores the culture of the Dragon Boat Festival in the local community and uses art and design to facilitate cultural exchange between the East and the West as well as between the traditional and the modern. Graduates from different programmes formed six groups to showcase their skills, which included establishing the brand image for the Stanley Dragon Boat Association; developing conceptual design of various landmarks, such as the Stanley Cultural Water Sports Centre, the Dragon Boat Centre and the Stanley Promenade, to showcase the culture and traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival. Aside from gaining an in-depth understanding of the Dragon Boat Festival and Stanley's community culture, audiences can also experience first-hand the wonders of this unique cultural heritage by boarding a newly designed dragon boat, where they can take photos and even try their hands at beating the drum.
Aside from exploring the culture of the Dragon Boat Festival, graduates from Diploma of Foundation Studies - Design also incorporated different Lingnan cultural elements into their works with the hope that, in inheriting the past, they can lead the cultural development of the future. For example, the design of a Chinese opera cosmetic box includes an exterior adorned with stickers bearing a pattern from the Tang Dynasty – the peak period for Chinese opera – as well as a drawing with inspiration from the classical Chinese drama, "Peony Pavilion". At the same time, to encourage the young people to pay attention to the cultural heritage.
In today's digital age, an HKDI communication design graduate pays homage to the declining magazine industry with "Flow". With this tangible, physical object, he hopes to redefine the culture of reading and create a more authentic and emotional experience for audiences. "Flow" is a design magazine dedicated to the discovery of visual platforms. The graduate believes that even in the digital age, a physical magazine is still an effective way to draw the public's attention to the world of graphic design. It may seem like a step backward, but it is actually a continuation of a long-standing reading culture.
The relationship between people and history can also be reflected in fashion design. Using scavengers as their theme, the graduates of HKDI Department of Fashion and Image Design showcase different styles of scavengers beginning from the 16th century, focusing on everything from their tools to their street features. Modern streetscapes are digitally printed on natural fabrics, combining modernity with history to showcase the endless possibilities of fashion.
The Extension of Culture – the Relationships between Humans and the Environment
In addition to exploring the ego, our interpersonal relationships and our historical inheritance, it is also crucial to examine our interdependence with the environment when looking ahead to the future of culture. In Hong Kong, one of the biggest issues is the living environment. Collaborating with the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Furniture and Decoration Trade Association, Memphis Group and Novalis Art Design, graduates from HKDI's Architecture, Interior and Product Design department have created the "Advanced Design Studio: Memphis and the Post-Contemporary Object" project. Working in five groups, the students designed a series of furniture that reflects the bold and colourful style of Memphis Group in 1980s Italy while also staying in line with the new aesthetic sensibilities native to today's digital networks. Among this furniture collection is "Playful", which is based on classic amusement park facilities, such as merry-go-rounds and seesaws. This design encourages audiences to put down their mobile phones and to instead fully immerse themselves in the sense of carefree joy that a child feels when playing with their friends in a park. This design will also be showcased at the 25 Years of Design exhibition at the International Design Furniture Fair and at K11 Art Mall later this year.
Looking at the current leisure landscape in Hong Kong, graduates from IVE Information Technology Discipline have also found many areas that could be improved to create greater convenience and more engaging experiences for visitors. That's why they've created "WE Park Adventure", an augmented reality (AR) application designed especially for WE Park, the outdoor play space in Sha Tin District that integrates environmental protection with smart technology. Leveraging AR technology to introduce virtual characters and storylines to WE Park's game area, the programme creates a fun and immersive experience that allows visitors to better understand and enjoy WE Park and the cultural charm that comes from its unique environment.
The human environment in today's society has also aroused the interest of graduates from the HKDI Department of Digital Media. Through an AR lens, the interactive installation and application, "Reading the Terms", uses intuitive animations and simple language to explain the tedious terms and conditions that have infiltrated our lives. By doing so, this installation encourages viewers to think about protecting their rights and interests.
Showcasing a number of outstanding works from this year's graduates, the "Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" exhibition invites visitors to explore the myriad cultural possibilities of tomorrow with a new and talented generation of designers. In accordance with social distancing measures, there will be a limit on the number of visitors allowed into the exhibition at each session. Visitors will need to book their preferred timeslots in advance at https://HKDILWL-EDT2022.eventbrite.com before visiting. For the latest arrangements of the exhibition and other COVID-19 preventive measures, please refer to HKDI's website.
"Emerging Design Talents 2022: Culture Future" (Free Admission)
Exhibition Period: From 5 August 2022 to 21 August 2022
Opening Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Hong Kong Design Institute and Hong Kong Institute of
Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee)
3 King Ling Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories,
(Tiu King Leng MTR Station Exit A2)
Website: https://edt2022.hkdi.edu.hk/en/
https://HKDILWL-EDT2022.eventbrite.com (Online
booking)
Facebook &
Instagram hkdi_hongkongdesigninstitute
Enquiries: 3928 2566 | ivelwl_hkdi@vtc.edu.hk
* "Denim Fridays" will be held at Design Boulevard and Jamming Space on 20 August 2022 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Visitors will need to make reservations online in advance.
Z7_589D8OF0Q06LF0AUD4O9IB0064
Quick Link - Alu Acct
Activate your account Account Activation Guide
Quick Link - Alu
Alumni Quick Links
Library Services Alumni Webmail Subscribe to Alumni eNews Be our Advocate Giving to VTC Graduate VISA Card Application
Quick Link - VTC
VTC Quick Links
VTC Website
PageView (News Home)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Last Monday, I was rushed (Well not exactly because I had to wait 45 minutes for help! Welcome to Norway!)to the emergency because of the excruciating lower back pain and abdominal pain. I do not usually whine but the pain is unbearable. Every single nano movement I took is a torture! The waiting time was horrible too, there were three to four patients ahead of me and there was only one doctor that time! The nurse whom I talked to on the phone said that I could come at 6pm and so that's what I did, came there 10 minutes before 6 then sat there and waited. Waiting seemed like forever and I couldn't bear it anymore so I talked to the nurse at the reception and told her my situation. She immediately assisted me and took blood samples, checked my body temperature and asked for my urine but the problem is I've already peed so she didn't get any urine samples from me. After the tests I still had to wait for the doctor, so the tests were at the moment useless for me since I was still curling up in pain.
After 15 minutes of waiting the second doctor finally came and checked me right away and his theory is that my UTI (urinary track infection) came back and this time it's worse. He based his theory on my past record that for a month ago I was diagnosed with UTI. So he gave me an antibiotic prescription that is stronger than my previous ones. He also adviced me to drink lots of water and avoid drinking sodas and alcohol for a week (booo!).
On the brighter side I'm still lucky because I didn't catch a fever because if I did then the infection has already gone into my kidneys and it means admission into the hospital and more pain.
Then yesterday I went to my GP he immediately asked for my urine sample and there the emergency doctor's theory was confirmed, it was UTI again! I got frustrated because I thought that I'm already done with that but no.
I know it's my fault, I love to drink cola, eat chips, and sleep late.
Anyway, I hope that the pain will go away soon. I miss working out and I miss Zumba!
Oh man. So sorry to hear. Hope you get better soon.
Thank you.:) I'm better now. Less pain now. I just have to take my meds and keep myself from drinking sodas.


It's love at first squeak!
Everybody Needs a Buddy Sometime!
So many people love our dogs and would like to foster or adopt them, but for various reasons they are unable. We have come up with a program for those people who can become one of our many foster dogs' "Buddy" until they get adopted. The Buddy Program allows you to provide support for a specific foster dog that you have seen on our Web site that touches your heart.
A Buddy is a special person who provides a donation to help support a GSRNE dog in foster care. Your generous donation will go toward the dog's vet care, food and any other necessities. Since GSRNE is a 501(c)(3) corporation, your donation is tax deductible.
If you send your donation by mail to the P.O. Box, please provide us with your email address, contact information, and the dog that you would like to be your Buddy.
Below is the average cost of some of the supplies we use for the dogs. You may also visit our Wish List section to purchase specific items we use.


At Sapphire Furnishings we specialise in antique furniture restoration using the old traditional methods of upholstery which include horse hair, calico, webbing & hand sprung seats. Hand stitched dining chair seats, stuff over ,seats, settees, chairs, winged chairs, can all be upholstered.
We can supply FireFenders or recover existing.
We can reupholster existing, modern furniture & can organise French Polishing and re caning . We can work in leather, horse hair fabric or fabric of your choice..


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

using Xamarin.Forms;
using NUnit.Framework;

namespace Xamarin.Forms.Xaml.UnitTests
{
	public partial class Bz24910 : ContentPage
	{
		public Bz24910 ()
		{
			InitializeComponent ();
		}

		public Bz24910 (bool useCompiledXaml)
		{
			//this stub will be replaced at compile time
		}

		[TestFixture]
		class Tests
		{
			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void AllowNullableIntProperties (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control0;
				Assert.AreEqual (1, control.NullableInt);
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void AllowNullableDoubleProperties (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control0;
				Assert.AreEqual (2.2d, control.NullableDouble);
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void ConversionForNullable (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control1;
				Assert.AreEqual (2d, control.NullableDouble);
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void AllowNull (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control2;
				Assert.Null (control.NullableInt);
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void AllowBindingToNullable (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control3;
				Assert.Null (control.NullableInt);

				page.BindingContext = 2;
				Assert.AreEqual (2, control.NullableInt);
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void NullableAttachedBPs (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control4;
				Assert.AreEqual (3, Bz24910Control.GetAttachedNullableInt (control));
			}

			[TestCase(true), TestCase(false)]
			public void AllowNonBindableNullable (bool useCompiledXaml)
			{
				var page = new Bz24910 (useCompiledXaml);
				var control = page.control5;

				Assert.AreEqual (5, control.NullableIntProp);
			}
		}
	}

	public class Bz24910Control : Button
	{
		public static readonly BindableProperty NullableIntProperty =
			BindableProperty.Create ("NullableInt", typeof(int?), typeof(Bz24910Control), default(int?));

		public int? NullableInt {
			get { return (int?)GetValue (NullableIntProperty); }
			set { SetValue (NullableIntProperty, value); }
		}

		public static readonly BindableProperty NullableDoubleProperty =
			BindableProperty.Create ("NullableDouble", typeof(double?), typeof(Bz24910Control), default(double?));

		public double? NullableDouble {
			get { return (double?)GetValue (NullableDoubleProperty); }
			set { SetValue (NullableDoubleProperty, value); }
		}

		public static readonly BindableProperty AttachedNullableIntProperty =
#pragma warning disable 618
			BindableProperty.CreateAttached<Bz24910Control, int?> (bindable => GetAttachedNullableInt (bindable), default(int?));
#pragma warning restore 618

		public static int? GetAttachedNullableInt (BindableObject bindable)
		{
			return (int?)bindable.GetValue (AttachedNullableIntProperty);
		}

		public static void SetAttachedNullableInt (BindableObject bindable, int? value)
		{
			bindable.SetValue (AttachedNullableIntProperty, value);
		}

		public int? NullableIntProp { get; set; }
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The music started and the scrolling text and seriously I got misty eyed. Everyone in the theater was cheering, like real cheering, you could hear the excitement in their voices. Applause again for the Falcon, and when Han and Chewie showed up, and then it slacked off until the end, maybe because we were too absorbed in the movie by then.
Finn and Rae were so cool! What a brilliant idea to have a converted Stormtrooper character! And a girl who is destined for Luke's lightsabre and knows her way around a cockpit! I hope they get married! To each other!
BB-8 is the best droid ever! BB-8 is cuter than R2D2! BB-8 has a brilliant design and more personality than a sphere with a hat should rightfully have! BB-8 can go down stairs but has to be very careful!
Kylo Ren was actually a pretty awesome villain! The way he moves when he's got the mask on is incredibly sinister and his backstory is so freaking personal!
I cannot even deal with this movie guys! I don't know how long it's going to take before I can say a sentence about it that doesn't end with an exclamation point!


How to get rid of a flirty relative/family member?
We women are the most beautiful creations of God-so much so that sometimes even near and dear ones "lose it" and start flirting with us. Only God knows what gives them the courage to take such gigantic risks, risks of being exposed and tainted relationships, apart from the definite guilt of flirting with a relative ever lurking in their conscience.
1. Make your intentions clear from the very start.
You should sternly assert that his behavior is unfitting and that he must respect their relationship as relatives.
Turn your head or look away when he starts to flirt or uses come-hither signals. If you are naturally flirtatious (with everyone you meet), make it a point to lessen it with him.
3. Do not react positively.
Do not react positively when he flirts. On getting positive response, men usually assume that you are alright with them flirting with you. Relatives are men too. They, therefore, need really negative response from you in order to stop their advances. So make it sufficiently clear that you are not interested in him, or his talks. Try not to nod, laugh or comment. Be mean, if you absolutely have to.
4. But, don't be overly mean.
It is probable that, by nature, he is coquettish with everybody, so he may get confused about your reaction. And your objective is not to cancel your relationship forever as relatives but to curb any unpleasantness. So the safest thing to do here is to keep distance and, at the same time, remain friendly.
You simply do not have to endure him when you do not want to. Walking away from him when he crosses his limits is as clear a message to him as it can be. Keep your eyes open and steer clear of any possible situation where he can get to you and try to isolate you from others. Go talk to other people if you are in a social event and make it hard for him to get close to you again. Just try to abandon him. Shake him off your tail.
Any attempt from him to grab your hand or hug you should, without exception, make you utter these words: "Stop right away". Withdraw and don't ever let him touch you. And don't ever be so foolish as to feel guilty if you walk away from him. By all odds, it is not your fault.
As a last resort, discuss the matter with other family members or relatives who you believe will believe you. If they don't believe you, because of the incredibility of the notion, ask them to witness it themselves when you, and they, next meet him. That is, almost always, all it takes to put an end to the matter.
After you have stopped interacting with him, try to discourage the past conduct in the future as this will send a mixed message and could elicit past behavior. Meet him only in group situations and maintain limited contact with him, if any at all.
Lastly, remember that the one single thing to your advantage in this case is that he is afraid of it all, too.


Top by Alo and black legging by Adam Selman, both @ Nordstrom, Aventura Mall. Sneakers by Prada @ Saks Fifth Avenue, Brickell City Centre. Helmet by Gyro and Aero Race Propel Advanced Bike by GIANT, both at Fusion Pro Bike Shop, North Miami.
Black knit by Adam Selman, yellow shorts by P.E. Nation and sneakers by Nike, all @ Nordstrom, Aventura Mall. Sunglasses by Oakley, neon green gloves by Gyro and Propel Advanced Bike by GIANT, all @ Fusion Pro Bike Shop, North Miami.
Visor by Dior, black T-shirt by Alexander Wang, both @ Saks Fifth Avenue, Brickell City Centre. Gloves by Gyro and Limited-Edition Lamborghini Bike, both @ Fusion Pro Bike Shop, North Miami.


Silver horses   run down moonbeams      in your dark eyes.
Dawnlight smiles   on your leaving,       my contentment.
I'll wait in this place where the sun never shines.
You said no strings could secure you at the stations.
As I walked out felt my own need just beginning.


text:
12-Year Charts for the Top 2 S&P 500 ETFs in 2017
Home » 12-Year Charts for the Top 2 S&P 500 ETFs in 2017
12-Year Charts for the Top 2 S&P 500 ETFs in 20172017-05-232017-05-23https://www.securities-research.com/wp-content/uploads/src-logo-for-website-5.pngSecurities Researchhttps://www.securities-research.com/wp-content/uploads/ic-snp500-020216-newscom.jpg200px200px
Photo: Snider Advisors
Investopedia — Are you wondering if the S&P 500 is a good place to park your investment dollars? No less a sage than Warren Buffett says that the best retirement plan is to put 10% of your funds in short-term government bonds and 90% in an S&P 500 exchange-traded fund (ETF). As Buffet is one of the world's foremost investors, you could do worse than to take his advice.
The S&P 500 is perhaps the best depiction of the U.S. economy, covering all the main sectors and representing roughly 80% of the nation's market cap. It's not surprising that some $7.8 trillion of investor cash is tied to the equities that make up the index – over $2 trillion of which is in index ETFs.
Of course, not all S&P 500 ETFs are created equal. Some do a much better job of replicating the benchmark, and others do so at enviably low costs compared to their competitors. You've found your investment sweet spot when you discover a fund that manages to do both equally well.
If you're thinking of moving some cash into an S&P 500 index ETF, here's a look at some top picks for 2017. Funds were chosen on the basis of a combination of year-to-date (YTD) performance, assets under management (AUM) and expense ratio. YTD performance figures reflect the period from Jan 1, 2017, through May 11, 2017. For comparison purposes, the YTD performance for the benchmark index during that period was 7.74%.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Issuer: State Street Global Advisors
AUM: $232 billion
YTD performance: 7.56%
Expense ratio: 0.09%
While technically not an ETF (SPY is a unit investment trust, which is typically more tax-efficient vehicles than managed funds), this is the oldest of the S&P 500 benchmarked funds and by far the largest in terms of AUM. It is also extraordinarily cheap to hold, with an expense ratio of just 9 basis points, and it very closely tracks the performance of the benchmark index.
The fund is also extremely liquid, with a trading volume in excess of $15 billion per day, which makes it attractive as a tactical trading instrument as well as a buy-and-hold investment for fleshing out a 401(k).
SPY 12-Year Chart:
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)
Issuer: BlackRock, Inc. (BLK)
If you're looking for straight-up S&P 500 exposure at rock-bottom prices, IVV is the fund for you. It's difficult to find a fund that delivers tight benchmark performance with such low holding costs. Of course, it can't come close to SPY in terms of volume, but IVV is plenty liquid for just about every class of investor, with over 3 million shares changing hands every day. It's also a true ETF, which means it avoids the cash drag inherent in a unit investment trust like SPY. (See also: SEC Shines a Floodlight on ETFs.)
IVV 12-Year Chart:
Ford's 25-Year Chart Amid Recent Leadership ShakeupBlog
HP Posts Strong Q2, Driven by Demand for Printers and PCs (12-Year Chart)Blog


Have you stopped checking your email first thing in the morning?
Everywhere you turn, the media is pumping the populace with self-improvement platitudes. And that's good. New Year's resolutions are a wonderful thing.
But speaking from experience as a 20-year business owner myself, you face problems totally unlike those of the typical worker. Because you don't have a job. You run a business.
And being a small business owner, just losing a few pounds or tweaking your morning ritual won't even begin to conquer the complexities that plague your burgeoning enterprise.
You don't need resolutions. You need revolutions.
You've already made good progress on the personal front, so before January comes to a close, momentarily set aside your New Year's resolutions and start making some New Year's revolutions in your business.
There are seven things most business owners know they should be doing… but don't because these habits are counter-intuitive. They seem scary. 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
As a consultant, I see this all the time. And although my specialty is production companies, content marketing firms and motion design studios, this pattern is common to all creative service businesses. So these seven practices likely apply to your enterprise, too.
Pay yourself first. Let me say it again: pay yourself first. This also means you should never pay anyone at your firm more than you pay yourself.
Pay yourself first. Let me say it again: pay yourself first.
I know this is hard. You appreciate your employees so much. You feel a crushing obligation to pay your rent on time each and every month. And so on. I get it.
Here's the trick: if you keep putting yourself at the end of the line (paying everyone else before you pay yourself), you will never develop the critical habits required of running a healthy company. You will be underpaid, you will live in fear, and you will be unable to make wise investments in your business.
Step back, make realistic goals and set boundaries for 2016. This revolution will force you to be disciplined in how you charge, how you set aside savings and how you maintain scalability at your firm.
If most all your studio's work comes from your local market, you will never be viewed as an expert. The answer? Don't build a better mousetrap and wait for the world. Get out into the world. Expand your bubble… until it pops.
This little gem was of the biggest difference makers when I ran my production company, Impossible Pictures. One year I made a conscious decision to overcome a debilitating fear of flying and travel regularly to New York, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles. Within two years, more than half of my studio's $4 MM in annual revenue was coming from TV networks… outside of my local market of Denver.
In 2016, your clients and prospects should view you as the expert that you are. Make the revolution to define your firm by what's possible, not what's presently visible.
Expand your bubble until it pops.
Now that you are paying yourself first, start saving. The best tool a business can have is accumulated cash which gives you leverage.
Use some of your profits to build yourself a savings account – not a payroll savings account, not a "3-month cushion" account – that you never withdraw from. Ever.
Years ago when your business was small, you did the books yourself. Now you've grown and your books are a mess. Get an expert accountant to do a one-time clean up of your books. Next, hire an inexpensive contract bookkeeper with expertise in your space. Finally, hire a consultant (like RevThink) or a part-time financial manager to create for you a custom financial dashboard while also overseeing said bookkeeper, accountant and CPA.
Defining what profit is – then consistently earning it and setting some aside – is the revolution.
Define what profit is, earn it, set some aside. Make money that you never spend.
Doing this in 2016 will generate a big return in two ways. One, your ability to focus will skyrocket. Two, your increased peace of mind will enable you to sleep much better at night.
You are convinced your email blasts irritate your followers. You're wrong. Because you hardly ever send out email blasts. That inconsistency causes your followers to worry that you've gone out of business.
You are convinced your email blasts irritate your followers. You're wrong.
You know your firm should be sending regular emails to thousands of followers. What you might not know is that for every email that gets opened, clicked or shared, you can send a personalized follow-up reply… automatically.
Your goal is to be always moving hundreds of prospects along the sales cycle from unaware, to aware, to interest, to intent, to close. And the majority of that process can be automated, yet highly personal. Note: tools like MailChimp and Constant Contact are just the start. Go further. That's where the revolution lies.
2016 is the year you can finally ensure your opportunity always exceeds your capacity.


A FIANNA Fáil councillor, and general election candidate, has said he finds it "hard to accept" a joint statement from Waterford's Oireachtas members welcoming funding for a second permanent cath lab at Waterford University Hospital (UHW).
One of the deputies and senators who issued it was Fianna Fáil TD Mary Butler.
The statement was issued by John Halligan, David Cullinane, Paudie Coffey, Grace O'Sullivan and Ms Butler after they met Minister for Health Simon Harris, cardiologists from UHW and the hospital's new manager Grace Rothwell.
It said they were told a design team was to be appointed for the new lab. They had discussed where the cath lab should be located and were told that its funding was a priority in the 2019 capital plan.
"The joint statement from our Oireachtas members was hard to accept," said Cllr Eddie Mulligan.
I'm not the only person who's more than a bit suspicious about this capital plan, especially in the context of the controversy surrounding the National Children's Hospital.
"I understand that there is strength in numbers, but surely it has become counterproductive for our Oireachtas members to continue to jointly accept the promises that are being fed to them, with seemingly nothing concrete to back them up.
One of the TDs who issued the joint statement, Sinn Fein's David Cullinane, welcomed the allocation of funding for a design team but said a close eye needs to be kept on this project to ensure no further delays.
He warned there were "voices within the HSE who have been against this project since day one".


Jamaal Lascelles believes there is more to come from Newcastle United after they close in on Premier League safety.
Newcastle coach Rafa Benitez says his side have plenty of potential but still need to improve after Friday's victory over Leicester.
Newcastle should have Mo Diame back from a muscle strain in time to feature in Friday's Premier League clash at Leicester City.
Rafael Benitez claims he has not had any answers to questions over his new Newcastle deal offer ahead of the league trip to Leicester.
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez would be tempted by a move to Celtic this summer, according to the club's former defender Johan Mjallby.
Newcastle have been told to forget about making a move for Ryan Fraser after Bournemouth insisted he is not for sale.
Newcastle are reportedly planning a cash-plus-player move for Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser.
Newcastle are tracking Nurnberg defensive midfielder Patrick Erras but other Bundesliga sides are understood to be interested.
Ayoze Perez is attracting interest from Italian side Napoli and La Liga outfit Real Betis, according to reports.
Newcastle defender Fabian Schar believes it is imperative the club secure their Premier League status as soon as possible.
Newcastle have confirmed the knee injury Florian Lejeune suffered against Crystal Palace will sideline him for the rest of the season.
DeAndre Yedlin has urged Newcastle to put the disappointment of a home loss behind them and go on and secure their top-flight future.
Newcastle defender Florian Lejeune is facing another spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury against Crystal Palace.
As they attempt to agree a new contract to keep him at the club, Rafael Benitez has told Newcastle "the ball is in their court".
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez will be boosted by Fabian Schar's return when his team take on Crystal Palace this weekend.
Newcastle skipper Jamaal Lascelles says he will do everything in his power to get Rafael Benitez to stay on as manager.
Newcastle defender Paul Dummett claim his side are confident of securing Premier League safety when they face Crystal Palace this week.
Newcastle United striker Elias Sorensen says he has been left devastated by how his loan move at Blackpool worked out.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is close to being offered a new deal by owner Mike Ashley, reports claim.
Isaac Hayden says Newcastle United must keep pushing and reach the magical 40-point mark to ensure safety is achieved this season.
Rafael Benitez feels Newcastle may need to spend as much as '£75million' to bolster their attack this summer.
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez admits Arsenal were the better side but says he was proud of his players following last night's 2-0 defeat.
Newcastle will be without Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar at Arsenal on Monday as Jamaal Lascelles returns from injury.
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has told midfielder Miguel Almiron not to worry about his lack of goals.
Rafael Benitez will not allow Newcastle to ease up as they attempt to drag themselves away from the relegation places.
Despite the player hinting he may leave Newcastle, boss Rafael Benitez remains relaxed over the future of striker Ayoze Perez.
Rafael Benitez insists Newcastle can "compete against anyone" in the Premier League as they look to beat Arsenal on Monday.
Ayoze Perez appears to have concluded that this summer is the right time to leave Newcastle and return to Spain.
Newcastle United forward Salomon Rondon has urged his team to keep their guard up when they take on Arsenal on Monday night.
Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden insists he is looking forward to returning to Arsenal with the Magpies on Monday evening.


My Alameda maze map will take you back to childhood when you solved mazes with pen and paper. (Remember those days!?) This inventive map art will be a conversation starter in your home as guests realize it's not a map; it's actually a maze. That's right, it's a maze you can solve! Designed using the actual street data of Alameda, can you find your way from Park Street Bridge to Crab Cove?
Your purchase supports the work of a California-based artist whose imaginative map designs combine science and art. I screen print each map print by hand in small batches using environmentally friendly inks.
Shop local and take home a handmade print that is a fun and beautiful reminder of Alameda!


When an aging oil pipeline began leaking into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River two summers ago, it was more than 12 hours before anyone even noticed.
And it wasn't Enbridge Energy's pipeline leak detectors that picked up the problem--it was nearby homeowners, who noticed the stink of oil. Before the leak near Marshall, Mich., was stopped, nearly a million gallons of crude oil were flowing down the river toward Lake Michigan.
The notification shortcoming is only one of the problems facing America's pipelines, according to a recent panel of speakers assembled by Michigan Law's Environmental Law & Policy Program. The panel discussion, ''Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Oil Pipelines in the Great Lakes Region,'' focused on some of the issues attendant on inland pipelines and drew a standing-room-only crowd to a Michigan Law classroom this month.
Panelists included Nick Schroeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center; Polly Synk, a 2001 Michigan Law grad and assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan; and Carl Weimer, executive director of Pipeline Safety Trust.
The talk was moderated by Michigan Law Adjunct Professor Sara Gosman, who also serves as a water resources attorney for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Together with Michigan Law students, Prof. Gosman is researching the legal framework governing oil and gas development and the extent to which laws protect water resources in the Great Lakes region.
One aspect of the project, which is co-sponsored by Michigan Law and NWF and funded by the National Sea Grant Law Center, is oil pipeline safety. Gosman and her students will issue a report within a few weeks that will summarize their research and provide policy recommendations.
The Enbridge disaster, the largest inland oil spill in Midwest history, highlighted several problems related to inland pipelines, Weimer said.
First, many of them were built in the 1950s and 1960s and are showing their age. And their routes were chosen in an era well before most environmental laws took effect, which means that many run straight through environmentally delicate areas.
Weimer has a thorough understanding of that particular phenomenon: A judge essentially created his organization in 2003 by ordering that $4 million in criminal fines levied in the wake of the Olympic Pipeline explosion be used to establish a safety trust. The 1999 explosion killed three youths and happened, Weimer said, after gasoline from the pipeline leaked into a salmon stream in the state of Washington and blew up.
And while a series of damaging and often deadly pipeline accidents followed over the next several years, Weimer extended blame for problems with pipelines to all of us. Among other issues: The lack of a national energy policy means the free market helps set policy to maximize pipeline profits, not safety; the lack of a national climate change strategy means consumption continues relatively unabated; and the public's appetite for low-priced energy encourages shortsighted action.
For Gosman, interest in events like the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the proposed Keystone Pipeline, and the recent panel discussion of the Enbridge spill mean more people are paying attention to the state of our environment and our waterways than ever before.


This traditional and popular engraving product is polished and protected with a heavy black vinyl coating on one side only. This sheet metal is available from stock in a choice of thickness'.
Highly suited for rotary engraving, using carbide cutting tools. Paint in-filling is an option using acrylic paints.
CZ120 Brass can also be laser marked using the markSolid 114 Metal Marking Spray.
This metal will require regular cleaning to ensure the original polished finish is maintained.


TOBY'S The Dessert Asylum: Foodies in the West Alert!
This quiet little cafe is located in Tradehub21, all the way far west so all the westies rejoice! Known as a heaven for dessert lovers, this is a go-to for anyone with a sweet tooth.
BLACK MAMBA serves premium frozen yogurt with charcoal to help digestion and detoxification process. You can also choose to have toppings on top of your froyo!
Ben & Jerry's FREE CONE DAY is back on the 4th of April!


Jesus says: "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10).
"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).


WASHINGTON (AP) � Spring buying pushed home prices up for a third straight month in most major U.S. cities in June. But the housing market remains shaky, and further price declines are expected this year.
The Standard & Poor�s/Case-Shiller home-price index showed today that prices increased in June from May in 19 of the 20 cities tracked. Prices rose 3.6 percent in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter. Neither of those numbers is adjusted for seasonal factors.


We are busy making plans for the two hog harvest classes, possibly three, we have on the schedule so far this year.
October 20-22: Come help us harvest Shady Grove Farm's hogs in Michigan's beautiful Upper Penninsula. We'll start Friday afternoon with scalding and scraping the pigs, sampling some of the quickest and most nutrient dense gifts the animal has to offer: the internal organs. On Saturday and Sunday we'll break the pigs down so that by Sunday afternoon we have all the pork on salt, ground into sausage, or wrapped and in the freezer. You'll get to do it all HANDS ON, so you take this knowledge home in a deeper way than if you just watched. To get more information, and to sign up, contact Randy Buchler and Shady Grove Farm.
November 3-5: Baker's Green Acres will host the Anyone Can Farm class. We'll start in the pasture and end up with meat for you to take home (included in the class as a bonus). You will get to do the work, guided by Mark, Sam, and Jill, to turn the pigs into bacon, ham, sausage, pork chops, and all the other good things the pig has to offer. If proscuitto and coppa is your interest, we'll get those started with you as well. Read more about the class here: Homestead Hog Harvest.
As an added bonus, at both classes you get to spend the weekend on a sustainable, regenerative permaculture minded farm and get to pick the brains of some thoughtful farmers while touring their farm and sitting around a dinner table sampling world class pork. For free!


The venue rental in St. Catharines is centrally located near downtown. The venue fully renovated, with two versatile event rooms. The larger of the two, The Gathering Room is 2000 square feet with an exposed ceiling, giving the space a modern downtown loft feel and large windows that bring in the perfect amount of light. The Board Room is 600 square feet and is the perfect venue for intimate business meetings. The lobby is a beautiful space that can be used as a reception area to meet and greet your guests. The venue has a warming kitchen with brand new appliances, ready to use. The upgraded washrooms are kept immaculate.
Looking for a venue for an upcoming birthday party, baby shower or a wedding LOFT 123 event venue will fit all your needs. We thrive to be an affordable and intimate venue. With ample parking and a security system to make you feel safe we have thought of your needs first.
Chairs + Tables, Linen, Dishware, Flatware, Glassware, Speakers, Projector, and Screen.
To bring you a clean, versatile, safe and economical venue to host your future events.
A completely renovated room with a bar, exposed ceiling and large windows to let the light in.
An intimate space to hold your business meetings, workshops and board meetings.
Please contact us for pricing of the venue and added ancillaries.
© 2019 Copyright LOFT 123 event space .


Does your employee benefit plan require an audit by an independent auditor? Generally, federal law requires that employee benefit plans with 100 or more eligible employees include a plan financial statement audit report from an independent auditor with the annual Form 5500 filing.
Count on Clayton & McKervey to provide an audit that complies with professional auditing standards, assists you in meeting your responsibility for safeguarding your plan's assets and assists in complying with the reporting and fiduciary requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The Clayton & McKervey employee benefit plan audit team receives extensive, ongoing specialized training to keep them ahead of the curve on new developments, changing requirements and best practices. We strive to stay aware of the important changes in federal regulations governing retirement plan compliance, and provide you with timely updates and recommendations.
Even before your plan meets the audit requirement, the Clayton & McKervey employee benefit audit team can provide a plan "check-up" to help determine if you are properly administering your plan.
Clayton & McKervey is a member of the American Institute of CPAs Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (AICPA EBPAQC), which has specific requirements in order to be a member.


The TV show host just opened up about her recent on-air fall.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, Wendy Williams addressed how she fainted during the show just one day earlier, and the 53-year-old let everyone know that it was not a stunt.
"First of all, I was trending all day — fabulous," Williams told viewers (via Us Weekly). "But a lot of people thought that was a joke. No, that was a not a joke. I don't want to fall. I'm a tall woman, and it's a long way down. I'm also a woman of a particular age, and I'm not trying to break anything. Also I don't do stunts and jokes for you like that. I don't need that."
She also said that she had sensed that something was wrong moments before she passed out but had chosen to persevere despite feeling unwell. "I'm like, 'Alright, Wendy, at least you're wearing flats and you're holding on to this and there's only 12 more minutes of the show. You can do it, girl," Williams told viewers (via E! News). Williams added that she'd felt hot, dizzy, and "weird."
"It was scary. It was really scary," she continued. "It was so scary, all I could think of in the middle of the scare was, 'Don't pull the podium over on you, because that'll make it worse.'"
As for the way she fell, Williams said she tried to have it look "as cute as I could make it."
As Nicki Swift previously reported, Williams passed out during the live taping of The Wendy Williams Show during the a segment about Halloween costumes. Wearing a Statue of Liberty costume for the Halloween episode, Williams appeared to struggle with her words mid-sentence, sounding out of breath. Looking alarmed, she stumbled backwards, arms shaking, and then collapsed onto the floor.
She later returned to finished the episode, after the show's crew cut to a commercial, and told the audience that she'd simply gotten overheated in her costume.
Fortunately, Williams does not appear to have been seriously injured in the fall. She told viewers that she'd first fallen onto her behind before her back and head hit the floor. Luckily, she said that she has "no lump" on her body and no headache.
"My blood pressure was fine, my heart rate was fine, everything was fine. I'm a 53-year-old middle-aged woman going through what middle-aged women go through, if you know what I mean," Williams, who paramedics reportedly said was low on electrolytes, explained. "The costume got hot. Right before passing out, I felt like I was in the middle of a campfire."
Hopefully, Williams will choose a more airy costume next year. It's just not worth risking her health for a cute Halloween look.


text:
dating-questions
dating questions
5 Relationship Red Flags to Look Out For
Save yourself the time and send them packing.
By Suzannah Weiss
Here's How You Can Actually Meet Someone IRL
Yup, it still happens.
5 Dating Rules You Should Throw Out the Window
Like, now.
By Andrea Syrtash
So, Khloé Kardashian Says You Shouldn't Google Your Dates...
Is she right?
Can Your Spit Reveal Your Dating Compatibility?
These Are the Best Cities for Singles
Why Aren't Guys Investing More in Online Dates?
By Telisha Bryan
Reader's Dilemma: We've Been Dating for 9 Months, but I Don't Know If He's My Boyfriend
Our reader is crazy about her guy but not sure where they stand despite nearly a year of dating. Let's help her out. She writes: I've been seeing this guy for about nine months. Recently it was his birthday, and I met and had dinner with his friends, plus we had a dinner, just the two of us, on the day of his birthday. We go out every week at least once and sometimes during weekend. We text every day and have since the beginning. But we've never had the talk of what are we. I kinda have the feeling that somehow he does love me. He's the kind of guy who is more about actions than words. But he says he misses me while hugging me, and he said he loves the way I touch him. He is sweet, very gentlemanly, and generous. When he went to Japan, he brought me a present. I want to ask him what are we, but I'm scared as hell that if I do I'll lose him and the moment we are having. Please put some sense into my mind because I'm so confused! From what you've said, things with this guy sound
By Gena Kaufman
It Takes a Village to Online Date, at Least According to This New Service That Lets Friends Manage Your Profile
Group activities: sports, drinking games, managing your online dating profile. Not suggested for common-sense purposes: combining drinking games with managing your online dating profile. (Or with sports, for that matter.) But let's back up. A group activity? I spend most of my time with my OkCupid and Hinge and Coffee Meets Bagel and Tinder profiles—dear Lord, how do I get anything else in life done?—alone at my kitchen table, flipping through profiles with a glass of red wine and a judgmental eye. It's awfully addicting for something that's not even that fun, but there is tendency to get in your own head about it. Enter Mitro Access, a new service from a team of former Google employees, which allows you to invite your friends into your online dating life. Here's how it works, according to a test run by ABC News: It generates a unique link to send to friends, which gives them access to your online dating profile to edit and star other users. (ABC News tested the app via an OkCupid profile.) Your friends can browse matches, change your settings, and edit the answers on your profile, but they can't actually message people. I've always been a huge
Reader's Dilemma: Does He See Me Only as a Hookup?
This reader has a guy that claims he sees her as more than a hookup, but do his actions say otherwise? Let's help her out. She writes: Hello! So I'm in a bit of a confusing situation with this guy. I've known him since I was in middle school, and now we're in college. We "went out" for a while when we were younger, and when it ended, we didn't talk for years. About a month ago he got in touch with me and he asked me out to dinner just to catch up. We went to eat and then he spontaneously took me to a movie and to the park, and at the end of the night he kissed me. I was very confused because he made it clear it wasn't a date. I told him I don't hook up, and he was very understanding and actually said he liked that about me. We kept talking and hanging out and we ended up sleeping together. He asked me what I wanted out of this, and I told him that eventually I want a relationship and that I was not going to be friends with benefits. He told me he
Why Does the Early Phase of Dating Have to Feel Like a Bad Game of 20 Questions?
In the back-and-forth conversations of online dating that happen before you meet a guy in person or on your first date, you want to gather some basic information: Where does he live? What are his hobbies? Does he know the difference between your and you're? For me, I mostly just want to get a sense of whether he seems genuine, smart, and nice. The rest of the details I can learn later. But it seems not everyone feels that way. Yesterday, I was G-chatting with a fellow single friend in NYC, and she was feeling totally fed up by the guy she's coming into contact with online, who seem to think that intro emails and texts are a time to fire away a series of personal questions as a means of testing her to see if she's right for them. Some of the questions were a little stalker-y and presumptuous ("Where do you work out"?), but some were just downright rude. Like the guy who asked her, not jokingly, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is your Long Island accent?" Not only is that question impolite, it's also, as my friend pointed out, pretty easy to find
7 Etiquette Rules for Drinking on Dates
Thanks to the slight hangover I've been battling all day thanks to a third glass of wine I probably shouldn't have had* on a weeknight date when I had 8 A.M. breakfast plans the next morning, I've got the topic of dating and drinking etiquette on the brain. Thanks to a few sticky situations I've found myself in of late and a few horror stories from friends, it has come to my attention that since so many dates take place at bars or liquor-licensed restaurants, there are unspoken rules about the appropriate rituals for imbibing while trying to impress. Only now, I'm going to speak (well, write) them, because it seems there are a lot of people out there who aren't following them as unspoken. Here, seven rules that everyone should follow when mixing drinking and dating. 1. A second (or third) round is a universal symbol that you are enjoying yourself. If you're not, end the date to avoid mixed signals. 2. On the other hand, a second (or third) round is just a symbol that you are enjoying yourself in that moment. It's not a promise to marry you. You don't get to expect anything out of your
A Sure Sign a Guy Is Not Remotely Interested in You
He makes this face, for one. People are always asking for the signs that someone is romantically interested in them, but maybe it would be easier just to know when someone definitely is not interested. And lucky for you, I just experienced one. Seriously you guys. You haven't heard much about my love life because I've been quite the man repeller lately. My most promising connection was the time I went out with a guy three times, only for him to announce he was moving all the way across the country. Otherwise, there have been several first dates that turned into absolutely nothing. And on one, I learned a way a guy might let you know he is most certainly not even a little attracted to you. On a recent date, about two-thirds of the way through my second glass of wine and mid-conversation, I excused myself to use the restroom. When I came back, my date had not only requested the check, but already paid it. OK, guess I will just chug this remaining Malbec and no, I didn't want another one, thankyouverymuch for not asking. (But on the bright side, he did pay for my drinks, so…score?)
Reader's Dilemma: Why Did He Stop Calling After We Had Sex?
This reader's guy seems to be pulling the Fade after they started having sex. Is there any chance of him coming back around? Let's talk. She writes: So I met this guy almost a year ago. It was like love at first sight! He was the first guy I met in three years that just seemed perfect to me. We talked for a few minutes and that was it. I didn't try to talk to him until about eight months later. It was nothing serious, but I enjoyed his company and he enjoyed mine. After about a month we started having casual sex. I don't wanna say things changed when we started having sex, but it just became weird after a while. Even before then I would always initiate the conversation. Every now and then he would contact me, but most of the time I was the one who put forth the effort. Now he doesn't call at all. We only talk briefly on social media. He'll comment on my picture or something. By the way, he comments on almost every picture I post, which makes me feel like there's still hope left for me. I don't know what I
Why "It's Just Bad Timing" Is Always a Lie When It Comes to Dating
I met my ex boyfriend many years ago in Australia, three weeks before his Australian visa ran out. He was British and I was Australian, and at the time I was in Law School. It took us those three weeks to fall madly in love, all the while knowing that he would inevitably have to leave, and we would both have to return to our regular lives without each other. Everything about the situation screamed "bad timing." But it's rare to connect with someone, and rarer still to fall in love, so we decided not to let a little thing like bad timing— the fact that we lived oceans apart, that I had yet to finish school, and that we were both super poor— hamper our relationship. After four months of long distance, I deferred uni (as we call it down under) and moved to London. We spent two incredibly happy years together. Being that he's my ex-boyfriend now, the distance eventually overcame us. I didn't want to stay in London (seriously, that place is horrible) and he didn't want to go back to Australia. I have been asked if I have any regrets, and I don't. I'm glad
By HowAboutWe
Would You Fly Across the Country Just to Find Love?
Dating services tend to match people based up on all kinds of criteria: mutual friends, personality types, geographical location. But what if you were a geographical match not because you lived in the same area but because you lived in totally different areas with opposite male-to-female ratios? Well, that's the idea behind a Crowdtilt campaign to raise money for the Dating Ring, a matchmaking start-up that wants to fly women from New York City to San Francisco to meet men, based on the theory that there's an abundance of single women in NYC and an abundance of single men in San Francisco. Exactly how I imagine the crowd of women strutting onto the plane, prepared to meet their matches. I hope it goes more smoothly than it did for these ladies. The company is hoping to make at least $10,000 and then fly a crowd of NYC women to San Francisco over Memorial Day, where they will arrange "matchmaker-curated" dates between the East Coast women and the West Coast men. (This service clearly is only geared toward heterosexual daters, at least in its current form.) Would you ever try something like this? While I'm pretty much always up for a
Read Some Hilarious Highlights From Aziz Ansari's "Modern Romantics" Questions on Reddit
Exciting news: Aziz Ansari is working on a book about modern romance with NYU professor Eric Klinenberg. And if you want a little preview into the kind of stuff you can expect to read in it, you're in luck, because he's reaching out to the Reddit community with questions about being single, dating, social media, falling in love, and marriage. Some of the answers may be used in his book, so head on over and submit your best stories for your 15 minutes of sort-of fame. Here are a few highlights of the questions from the subreddit and some answers that made me laugh because they were hilarious, true, or just a tad suck-up-ish. Question: "What's the best first text you've ever received from a guy/girl after meeting at a bar or social event?" "I'm deleting your number because I don't like the look of your area code" Shallowness to a whole 'nother level. I met her at a bar in town, 2-3 AM after getting her number I drunkenly text her, "I'm that tall guy you made out with." In the morning I woke up to a message that said, "which tall guy?" I was incredibly impressed with
Swiper's Remorse: How Do You Deal With All Those Tinder Matches?
I've noticed myself following a funny little pattern when it comes to online dating these past few weeks, and I've gone ahead and coined it a case of Swiper's Remorse, in case any of you are suffering from it too. Let me explain… While perusing various dating websites, I've been happily selecting guys—swiping right, rating them four stars, whatever the ranking system on that particular site might be. And then I feel a little swell of pride and excitement when I get the notification that there's been a mutual match between the two of us. Yay! We like each other. It's clearly a match made in heaven. Until the guy actually contacts me, and I take a look back at his profile to remind myself of who he is. Then all of the sudden, bam! I can't remember why I was interested in the first place. Was I drunk when I chose this guy? (Well, occasionally, yes. But not usually.) Now, of course, at least 50 percent of the time my sudden disinterest is based on the guy opening his mouth (or rather, using his fingers to type) and saying something totally lame. Like the Tinder guy who texted me
6 Most Annoying Things Guys Do When Texting
Despite my professed preference for text over phone calls in general, the other day as I was helping a friend navigate her initial text messages with a guy she had recently met, I was reminded of how absolutely frustrating it can be to try to converse with a man this way. Now, I don't want to stereotype all guys, but we all know some of them can be kind of unfortunate when it comes to communication. Here are six of the things guys do over text that drive all the women I know a little crazy on occasion: Adding an LOL after things that aren't funny. Look, I'm anti-LOL under the best of circumstances, because I'm a grumpster. But the worst kind of LOL guy is the guy who uses it like some kind of vocal tic, ending two out of three sentences with it, including at times when laughter out loud would be completely nonsensical. "My mom would really like you lol." Huh? Is that funny because you never plan to introduce me to her? Or because I'm fundamentally unlikable? I don't get the joke. Help. Being frustratingly vague about plans of any kind. Him: "We should get a
9 Answers for the Online Dating Questions Everyone Asks
Years ago, I was just out of a terrible relationship and in no mood to date again. My friends were all excited for my between-boyfriend time. I'd enjoy an exhilarating freedom—I could learn how to paint or wear yoga pants all weekend long if I wanted. Best of all, there were hundreds of online dating sites waiting for me to sign on. There was just one problem: I didn't want to throw myself back into the dating pool. It was exhausting and often demoralizing. An attractive guy would send me a message. We'd meet up later that day, when I'd discover that he was (a) five inches shorter than he listed in his profile; (b) "fun-employed" and no longer looking for a job; (c) still in some kind of relationship; (d) possibly a serial killer; (e) all of the above. I wasn't interested in meeting dozens of single men. I just wanted to find the right man, someone who was perfect for me. Between the time I started online dating and now, I've discovered exactly how dating websites work. I've tracked and analyzed data, spoken to computer scientists, and figured out what makes certain profiles successful. I even wrote


text:
Keene State Is Named a Top Regional College by US News and … – Keene State College
Keene State College earned high marks from U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges rankings in five categories – this time, as part of the media company's 2022-23 rankings among regional colleges in the North.
U.S. News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, consumer advice, rankings and analysis.
Keene State rankings this year include:
Regional colleges in the North are in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Maryland. See more details about Keene State's distinctions from U.S. News and World Report.
Keene State's No. 11 regional ranking was out of 54 regional colleges in the North Region, according to U.S. News and World Report. Colleges are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
The best-value calculation considers a college's academic quality and net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student that received the average level of need-based financial aid. Only colleges ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News and World Report considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.
"Keene State is proud of this recognition and buoyed by it because it confirms the collective vision and hard work that is our ambition," Keene State President Melinda Treadwell said. "It does not happen by accident. We like to think we do a great job of producing workforce-ready thinkers and doers and doing that takes a team of dedicated and passionate students, faculty, and staff."
A public institution founded in 1909, Keene State has an undergraduate enrollment of 3,099 (fall 2020) and utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. The college, set at the foot of the city of Keene's downtown, offers more than 40 areas of undergraduate study, in the liberal arts, social sciences, sciences, and professional programs, as well as selected graduate degrees.
Ranking strengths cited for Keene State include:
To learn more about educational opportunities and student support services for veterans, click here.
To view the full rankings report, click here.
1-800-KSC-1909
Keene, New Hampshire 03435
Categories US News
Evergrande: China property giant misses debt deadline – BBC
'The costs are absurd': international students on studying at … – Varsity Online


Workers wait until the ice reaches a safe thickness – about 33 centimeters — before the harvest begins. They mostly use a device called an ice saw —a large, round piece of metal with many sharp points. It cuts deeply as a powered sled moves it across the ice. The blocks of ice it makes can weigh as much as 54 kilograms.
Dennis Picard is a former museum director in Massachusetts. He is considered an expert on ice harvesting. He told the AP that ice harvesting began in 1805. A man named Frederic Tudor came up with the idea of shipping ice around the world. Picard says at its peak, ice was shipped as far away as Asia.
storage /ˈstɔːrɪdʒ/ - the action or method of storing something for future use.
The chair can be folded flat for easy storage.
harvest /ˈhɑːvɪst/ - The process or period of gathering in crops.
Farmers work longer hours during the harvest.
thickness /ˈθɪknəs/ - the distance through an object, as distinct from width or height.
The wall is several feet in thickness.
sled /slɛd/ - A small lightweight vehicle, either on runners or having a smooth bottom surface, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice.
We pulled the sled out of the snow .
1. When was Rockywold-Deephaven Camps first opened?
2. What is the harvested ice used for?
3. How much ice is collected each winter?
4. When did ice harvesting start?
1. Tom sat on the ____ behind Mary.
2. The eggshell _____ varies among different species of birds.
3. Her new house is much smaller, so she had to rent additional _____ .
4. An average of 60 tons of watermelon is produced each _____.
1. What do you think about this tradition? Do you think it should keep happening in the future?
2. Would you like to see how ice is harvested or try this yourself?
3. What traditional crafts are popular in your country or area?
4. Is there a traditional craft that you would like to know more about / learn how to do?


We are MarriageMentors on Twitter!
We are Brian & Felicia Fucuals, Certified Marriage Educators (CME's) and high school sweethearts celebrating over 20 years of marriage and are the proud parents of two beautiful children.
We are very honored to be registered marriage educators for the Twogether in Texas, healthy marriage initiative of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission as well as Certified SYMBIS Facilitators, Certified Marriage Mentors and Relationship Coaches for SYMBIS and the Marriage Mentoring Academy.
As people of faith who have experienced Christ's restoration power, we are blessed to be carriers of hope for marriages. We are absolutely confident in His awesome ability to bring dynamic change and stability to your marriage.
With more than twenty years of ministry experience, we are humbled that God has so graciously included us in serving the body of Christ through Marriage Leadership. We enjoy teaching, encouraging and coaching couples; watching them grow and walk victoriously in their relationships.
We believe that through Christ, equipped and dedicated couples, --married, rebuilding or engaged, CAN have awesome marriages!


CIMB Bank Singapore is another foreign banking institution in Singapore but this time this bank is not far away from Singapore. It belongs to another Asian country which is Malaysia. They are one of the other Islamic banking institutions in the country which mean that they do not offer services such as interests but they have other types of products which offer the same amount of income that an interest offer. They have various branches all around the Singapore and they have various agreements with other banks in order to use their ATM machine common with the other banks.
In this way, they increase their banking network in all around the country and any of their customers can withdraw as well as deposit money to their accounts whenever they want. In addition to this, they are able to perform all types of transactions through the ATMs. Moreover, they offer services via various channels such as telephone banking, internet banking, branches and ATMs as we mentioned above. In the event that you are looking for banking services with the Islamic terms then CIMB Bank Singapore will be glad to offer you services whether you are an individual customer or retail customer.


text:
K K Birla seeks right to challenge purported 1999 Will
Kolkata, Apr 5 (UNI) Mr K K Birla, one of the named executors of the 1982 Mutual Will of Mr M P Birla, today sought the right to contest the probate proceedings, initiated by R S Lodha.
Senior counsel S B Mookherjee, appearing for Mr K K Birla before Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Tapan Kumar Dutta of the Calcutta High Court, asserted that a suit had been filed against the propounder of the ''bogus'' 1999 Will disentitling him to deal with the estate of Priyamvada Birla in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of her 1982 Will and for other consequential reliefs.
Further, applications for grant of probate of the Mutual Wills executed by the Birla couple had also been filed.
Mr K K Birla's bundle of rights and duties emanating from the Mutual Will would be prejudicially affected if the 1999 Will is not allowed to be dislodged, the counsel said.
Interpreting various sections of the succession law, Mr Mookherjee insisted that the consistent view of the courts in numerous cases is that all persons claiming to have the barest possibility of interest in the estate of the deceased are entitled to maintain caveat. The courts are also vested with wide discretion to issue citation to any person claiming to have the slightest interest, he said.
Concluding his arguments, Mr Mookherjee submitted that the 1999 Will had been challenged on all conceivable grounds. It is the most unnatural Will where under everything has been bequeathed to Mr R S Lodha, to the exclusion of all others, who was in a fiduciary position vis-a-vis the deceased lady, he added.
The estate of Ms Priyamvada Birla is valued at a staggering Rs 5000 crore. After inventory at her residence at 17B, Gurusaday Road, by the Joint Special Officers, assets worth crores were recovered.
Hence, Mr K K Birla's caveatable interest cannot be overlooked and denied, the counsel argued.
Further hearing of the matter has been fixed on April 10.
UNI XC SJC VJ RK1903


Further price cut of 5% when shopping in sanncestore. Offer for acquisitions for a minimum order of $200.
Plus free shipping. Expires 05/04/2019.
$25 additional saving when ordering from the sanncestore website. When ordering above $799.
Order with Free shipping costs when buying in the sanncestore website.
Get more for your money in Deals and promotions. Big price cuts of up to 59% on an ample assortment of products that the sanncestore online shop recommends.
Check out sanncestore where you will be able to see incredible promotions.
Sanncestore can be defined as a prestigious firmfrom which you will be able to find a vast catalogue of promotions and offers of Home, Electronics. As you must know, this firm offers us a great catalogue of articles belonging to the section Home, Electronics, all of them with very interesting sales. Are you interested in Home, Electronics? Probably you are looking for good value for your money. Sanncestore has chosen for us the best selection of Home, Electronics with the best prices and offers. Probably, you want a Discount Code for Sanncestore your first choice must be to first visit www.MyDiscountCode.com. Hundreds of stores send us their Coupons Codes so that we transmit them to you. However, in order to improve our work we always track on the Internet so that we can share with you the best and most updated coupon codes. With a valid Coupon Code for Sanncestore, it is very simple to save money in your orders. We advise you to order online. The number of clients raises every day because it is a simple and secure way to save money from home.
Very likely, you were trying to find a store on the Internet where getting your products of Home, Electronics, etc. we are pleased to present a great shop on the Internet that will completely satisfy the needs of the most advanced customer. As we all know one of the biggest incentives for you to decide to open your computer and buy online is the easiness of it. You can use Internet whether you want to locate articles, to compare prices or, the most important, to get good deals thanks to our web site in your orders on the Internet. Currently almost everything you need can be bought online; online sales are really trustworthy, as much as buying from a normal shop. Today, you can find many stores on the Internet with similar products to Sanncestore. However, not all of them usually offer Discounts Codes as amazing as this one. Luckily, Sanncestore very often offers huge reductions that you can benefit from by means of a Discount Code. If you were trying to find Home, Electronics online, you have clicked on the best place. In Sanncestore you will find what you were looking for, with the help of www.MyDiscountCode.com and our Discounts Codes you will be able to get great discounts in your purchases from Sanncestore without moving from your seat. We currently have a great number of online firms that we can easily found on the Internet, chooshing the perfect store where ordering can be a hard task, we want to help you to get it.
Using a coupon from Sanncestore is very quick. Follow this steps in order to use the Discounts Codes from Sanncestore.
First: Choose the discount you would like to use in order to save money in your order in Sanncestore and double-click on it to see it. In www.MyDiscountCode.com we always try to get the best deals for you.
Secondly: You will see that a new window has opened. It will show you the code and, behind it, the website of Sanncestore so that you can make your order. Now cut the code and click outside the small window to go to Sanncestore. Now, type or paste the code before the end of the checkout process.
Thirdly: Copy the code in the right square, the discount will be automatically applied so that you can get you discount very easily.
Enjoy this substantial extra discount of 50% on your electronic purchases of bargains from this online shop. Expires 31/12/2019.
Enjoy this superb reduction of up to 37% on your online acquisitions from Akg. Expires 31/12/2020.
Make a purchase in this online shop and obtain Free shipping expenses for a minimum order of £30. Expires 31/12/2020.
Further price cut of 34% when shopping from the 7dayshop website. Expires 16/06/2020.
Internet Offer. Order your running GPS from merely £98. Expires 31/12/2020.