text:
Why Indian Corruption Is a Global Security Concern
Posted on November 27, 2015 by WHN Reporter
India is in the throes of what some are calling a "second freedom struggle." Across the country, citizens are on the streets, in the courts and on the internet, fighting to break corruption's chokehold on the nation. It is a critically important battle, not only for the future of India, but for global security — corruption in India enables some of the world's most dangerous terrorist networks.
The reason is, illegal money needs illegal methods to move it around. And the amount of corruption-generated money flowing through India is vast. According to Interpol: "In South Asia, the 'black' or parallel economy is 30 percent-50 percent of the 'white' or documented economy."
In terms of Indian political corruption, the 2011 2G-spectrum scandal alone is estimated to have lost Indian taxpayers close to $40 billion. And, as soon as the money needs to cross borders, say to get to a Swiss bank account where it can be washed clean, an Indian politician on the take goes from being a national security concern to a global security concern.
Hawala Networks
That is because a preferred method of transferring illegal money is called hawala. A very simplified version of how the hawala system works is shown below in a graphic from INTERPOL. Say Abdul in New York wants to transfer $5000 to his brother Mohammed in Pakistan. Abdul would go to a local New York hawala trader and give her $5000 cash. The New York trader would then call her colleague in Pakistan and instruct him to pay $5000 cash (in local currency) to Mohammad. And that's it.
The Pakistan trader might get the money back from the New York trader through money transfers the other way, by doctoring invoices using participating import/export companies or other methods. In the meantime, Abdul sent the to money to Mohammad in hours and there is no official trace of the transaction.
From a criminal perspective the advantages of hawala are:
No paper trail.
No taxation.
No customs declarations.
Often preferential exchange rates.
Money laundering.
Due to the illegal nature of the process, the people transferring money (in this example Abdul and Mohammad) are now open to blackmail, giving the hawala traders and their associates leverage over their clients if needed.
For hawala to work, there has to be a high level of what Interpol calls 'trust' between the hawala traders. With hawala, that 'trust' is often guaranteed by brutal enforcement. If the money disappears en route, the hawala trader involved is likely to be 'disappeared' as a result, possibly along with his or her family.
The need for this high level of enforced 'trust' is why many hawala networks are controlled by terrorist and related criminal groups. The terrorists are not only willing to be brutal, but also require the quiet transfer of large amounts of untraceable cash. In a coordinated attack, in Mumbai on July 11, 2006, terrorist bombings on trains killed over 200 people. $10,000 that was used to carry out the attacks came from Saudi Arabia to India via halawa networks. The material recovered from Abbottabad shows Osama Bin Laden spent much of his time going through the "corporate" account books, tracking money generation (often through decidedly unspiritual means such as drug dealing) and cash flows.
Like a criminal Western Union, terrorism financiers use vast international hawala networks to move money around the world quickly and quietly. Due to their effectiveness, those same hawala channels also attract cash flows from other illegal sources, including arms traders, prostitution, narco-traffickers and human traffickers.
The problem is compounded when these same networks are used by those whose job it is to shut down criminal networks, such as (corrupt) politicians and law enforcement.
As all these money streams combine and flow through the same channels, each participant, from terrorist to politician, needs to protect the whole system in order to protect their own money flow. Very broadly, those common interests result in a division of labour.
The terrorists and associated criminal groups provide the system 'hardware,' such as physical money transfer, enforcement, etc.
Meanwhile the corrupt politicians and associated 'legitimate' groups such as (compromised) police, bureaucrats, media, etc., provide the system 'software' by keeping cases out of court, losing files, ensuring no coverage of embarrassing incidents, etc.
Recently J. Dey, one of Mumbai's top investigative journalists was shot dead. On the list of suspects are politicians, terrorists, gangsters, industrialists and policemen. It pretty much sums up what has happened to India. As dirty money flows between politics, extremist groups, narco-traffickers, business, media houses, and police, it mixes together forming a torrent of intermingled corruption that is drowning the security of the nation, and pouring over the border, carrying terror and crime with it.
Hassan Ali Khan Case
Those dynamics have been on display in the case of Hassan Ali Khan. Khan is sitting in jail in India awaiting trial on charges of running a massive, high value hawala network for an astoundingly varied cast of top-level players, from narcotics dealers to industrialists to politicians. Even Saudi arms broker Adnan Khashoggi's name has come up.
In the case of Hassan Ali Khan and his associates, the sums were too large to be moved around invisibly like Abdul's $5000. As a result vast amounts, sometimes up to $8 billion, periodically popped up in tax haven bank accounts, creating a brazen paper and e-trail.
For example, according to investigators, when millions were transferred to a Khan-linked bank account for the purchase of a hotel in Switzerland, it came with an unusual note attached.
According to the letter rogatory from the Indian government to the government of Singapore on criminal case no. ECIR/MZO/02/2006-07 (the case involving Khan):
Deal for purchase of property i.e. Chateu Gutsch [sic] in Lucerne was finalized and during payment, USB [bank] informed that USD 300,000,000 the fund have arrived tagged with comment "Funds from Weapon Sales.
The note shows just how sure Khan and others involved were that they were protected from prosecution. And, until now, people like Khan had good reason to feel safe.
Among Khan's known associates were three Indian Chief Ministers and a top member of the ruling Congress Party. To protect themselves, they have to protect him, and the system he represents. And so, the case against Khan languished. Interrogations were cursory, files were sloppy, deadlines were missed.
But then, in an echo of what is happening all over India, someone said "enough is enough." In the case of Khan, it was the Supreme Court of India. In a remarkableorder issued on July 4, 2011, the court explained why vast flows of illegal money are a national security concern:
the issue of unaccounted monies held by nationals, and other legal entities, in foreign banks, is of primordial importance to the welfare of the citizens. The quantum of such monies may be rough indicators of the weakness of the State, in terms of both crime prevention, and also of tax collection. Depending on the volume of such monies, and the number of incidents through which such monies are generated and secreted away, it may very well reveal the degree of 'softness of the State.' […] If the State is soft to a large extent, especially in terms of the unholy nexus between the law makers, the law keepers, and the law breakers, the moral authority, and also the moral incentives, to exercise suitable control over the economy and the society would vanish. Large unaccounted monies are generally an indication of that.
The court instructed: "Follow the money." It ordered that the Khan case be taken out of the hands of existing (failing) investigative units, and be given to a special investigate team composed of top officials comprising, among others, two former Supreme Court Justices and the Director of the Research and Analysis Wing.
If properly investigated, the case has the potential not only to bring down governments, but it could also be a huge blow to global terror, drugs, child prostitution, and human trafficking networks.
Anti-Corruption Campaigns
Needless to say, those networks are fighting back. At midnight on June 5th, tens of thousands of fasting, sleeping anti-corruption demonstrators were stormed by the police and cleared from their demonstration site in central Delhi. Reportedly ordersfor the action came from the very top. But the anti-corruption elements of the system are standing firm. The Supreme Court has ordered the Government to explain its actions on the night of June 5th. Point, counter-point.
Similarly, this week, anti-corruption demonstrator Anna Hazare and hundreds of his supporters were arrested. Subsequently, tens of thousands took to the street to protest the arrests. India is not new to demonstrations, but this fight back mood is different. It will not go away. And it's spreading. Sympathy protests have taken place in the U.S.,Singapore and Hong Kong. And there are more to come.
It is fitting that the protests are going global. Political corruption in India, facilitated by hawala networks, has not only undermined India, it has compromised global security. For years some, like journalist and strategist M.D. Nalapat, have been warning about the deepening and spreading security vulnerabilities resulting from Indian corruption. Now, the Cassandras are being proved right.
Luckily for those around the world concerned about terror, drugs, human trafficking and other multinational criminal organization, the Indian people, from the streets to the courts, are working hard to make India, and by extension the world, a more secure place. This fight concerns us all.
Source: The Huffington Post
This entry was posted in LATEST NEWS, LATEST NEWS - Highlights, STRATEGIC AFFAIRS, STRATEGIC AFFAIRS - Highlights. Bookmark the permalink.
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Chatham-Kent, ON – Students across the country have an opportunity to help a local family become a Habitat homeowner, thanks to the Meaning of Home contest, a national writing contest in support of Habitat for Humanity Canada.
Launched on Friday, January 11th, the Meaning of Home contest asks students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 to share what home means to them.
Three grand prize winners, one for each grade, will have the opportunity to direct a grant of $25,000 to a local Habitat for Humanity of their choice. Nine runners up will receive a grant of $5,000 to the Habitat build of their choice. For every contest entry, a donation of $10 will be made to that student's local Habitat, ensuring every student can help build Habitat homes in their community.


The ultimate home for Clemson Tigers news, rumors, player and team updates, commentary, recruiting, analysis, and opinion. Covering Clemson football, Clemson basketball, Clemson baseball, and more!
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Representatives from the EU's institutions, African embassies based in Brussels, Africa's regional parliaments, African Science and Research Directors, and leading NGOs will gather at a morning round-table discussion to be held in Brussels. The discussion will centre on forging stronger partnership between Africa, the E.U and the U.S in the fields of security, defence and health.
The morning's principal presentation will come from Pax Mondial - a crisis response, stabilisation and development organisation in operation in Africa and around the world. The organisation's overarching goal is to help individuals and institutions build safe, stable and productive societies and, to this end, it delivers integrated operational support services to enable its partners to build capacities and operate effectively in high-risk environments. Pax Mondial believes strongly that partnership and local ownership of the activities they support are crucial to the long-term success of those efforts, and have therefore developed enduring relationships with local partners in African countries.


Ada Therapist: Robert Funaro - Therapist 49301.
Send A Message To Robert.
Session Fees: Fees are determined on an individual basis - insurances not accepted.
Hi, I bring 35 plus years of experience to the practice. I am married 37 years, have 4 children (2 biological and 2 adopted), and has 5 grandchildren.
I am honored to hold degrees in Education, Theology, Psychology. Bob is a Supervised Limited Licensed Psychologist, a Clinical member of the AAMFT, Hospice Volunteer, Associate Spiritual Director and holds three Masters Degrees and a Doctorate Degree. My practice has grown and evolved over the years because of reading, praying, and learning from colleagues and clients, I experience more and more the relationship between the human, spiritual, psychological dimensions of each person looking at the way that one lives one's life.
Practice, for me, is an active, learning term which implies that I continue to learn and have for over 35 years. Whether working a person through a difficult time of anxiety or depression or helping a couple renew their love, commitment, or even helping a couple discern if marriage is appropriate for them any longer, therapy/counseling is interactive challenging, exciting, and reflective of the human condition (and the spiritual condition).
Sometimes, couples wonder if they are adequately prepared to enter marriage and seek assistance in looking at the personal and interpersonal dynamics of relationship building. I have been involved since 1978 in Pre-Marriage counseling and therapy, working with the couple in looking at, and developing the skill sets necessary to respect their individuality and their process of growing together. Whether there are similarities, differences, cultural nuances, religious beliefs, etc, pre-marriage counseling assists one to see the dynamics of interactive exchanges to uncover their path toward a life-time of a growth producing relationship.
My philosophy is very simple - accept each client(s) as unique and working through a human moment of need and want. Pain is real, anger is real, healing is also real. I am personally a believer in the relationship of psychology, counseling, theology and the search we all have for the meaning of our lives. I am interactive in the session, reflective, open to guidance and prompted by the needs and wants of my clients. Each one is unique, looking for a special something in their lives.
I believe therapy/counseling gives each and every client the opportunity to seek a deeper meaning and purpose to their individual or marital lives.
It is also important to say that age, race, gender choices, spiritual dynamics etc. are not an issue for me. It is my belief that all are and ought to be welcome into the process of self-growth, discovery, healing. There is no discrimination when it comes to searching out life, its meanings and purposes. No better or worse, no good or evil issues - if one is carrying a "secret" that needs a place to lie, then I believe that I can create a safe, comfortable, and challenging environment within which one can be freed of their stress and distress. We all, in my eyes, all invited to take that step towards personal and couple freedom.
It is my hope that if you choose to contact me, that you will find a welcoming, receptive and open-minded fellow journeyer extending a hand so you can be more at peace; more personally gratified; and, more integrated in the dynamics life presents to you. Welcome to this practice.


The 214 Girder Bridge is a common accessory. Practically every postwar Lionel layout had at least one -- if not several -- of these bridges on the layout. Additionally, many operators used the 214 bridge in conjunction with either the 110 Graduated Trestle set or 111 Elevated Trestle set.
A hard-to-find version of the 214 Girder Bridge surfaced in 1957 and 1958. For a brief two year period, the bridge was available with either 'Lionel' lettering or 'U.S. Steel' lettering on the sides. The U.S. Steel version is difficult to locate as few were produced.
Although the 214 bridge is common, its original box is difficult to locate. Most original boxes have not survived and those that have are usually in poor condition.
The 214 Girder Bridge includes the following features: two black plastic sides with either 'LIONEL' or 'U.S. Steel' letters outlined in white and a black sheet-metal base. Each side is permanently secured to the base.
The girder bridge is 10" long and 4.5" wide.
Lionel - Shown in the photo above - Almost all 214s are black with the 'Lionel' name outlined in white lettering.
U.S. Steel - A difficult variation to locate, the U.S. Steel lettering was only available for two years, 1957 & 1958.


text:
Russula rosea (synonym Russula lepida), known as the rosy russula, is a north temperate, commonly found mushroom of the large "brittlegill" genus Russula.

The cap is convex when young, later flat, mostly bright cinnabar to carmine red; often with yellow spots and up to 10 cm in diameter. The gills are pale straw-yellow, brittle, and occasionally with a red edge at the rim of the cap. The spores are pale-cream. The stem is usually flushed carmine, but can be pure white. The flesh is hard and bitter-tasting; some consider it edible, others inedible.

This mushroom is commonly found in coniferous forests or near beech trees.

Similar species
The rare Russula pseudointegra is distinguished by its hot-tasting flesh. Red-stemmed forms of R. rosea could also be confused with Russula xerampelina, but the latter has softer flesh and no woody flavour.

See also
List of Russula species

References

E. Garnweidner. Mushrooms and Toadstools of Britain and Europe. Collins. 1994

External links

rosea
Fungi described in 1796
Fungi of Europe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Steep Clean Mattifying Toner Pads lists alcohol as the second ingredient, which makes these pads too irritating for all skin types. Salicylic acid is on hand at about 1% concentration, however, the alcohol content is too high to overlook.
Get a multitude of skin benefits in one handy padyou can have the power to regulate oil and sebum, fight blemish-causing bacteria, refine pores, and maintain moistureall in the palm of your hand! This advanced solution is ideal for oily skin. Its complex of purifying ingredients and smart sponge technology delivers decidedly clear, smooth, Bliss-fully matte results.


I've started wondering what kind of dress I should make this spring (my annual "spring dress"--traditionally, the only dress I make in a year, although I've thrown that balance off over the last year) - I have a California wedding to go to in May, after all!
So, we haven't seen a robin redbreast yet--but, on the 25th of February (dare I say it?), it is starting to feel like Spring! in Northern Alberta.
Unfortunately, I've lived here for enough years to know that no matter how convincing the false start might be, chances are we've got at least one good -20C snap yet, and more than likely a snowstorm or two. I am not normally a pessimist--but I would call this realism, not pessimism.
For now, though, I will not think about that. For now, I am going to revel in sunshine on my bare hair as I walk my dog... in my Sorels... through 18 inches of snow!


Indiana cannot boast a Lady Anne Mowlson and her support for a poor scholar at Harvard University in 1643. Neither can Indiana take credit for the passage of the National Defense Education Act in 1958, nor the fashioning of the first need analysis document. But Indiana's proud history of professionalism is everywhere apparent.
Since 1935, thoughtful Indiana educators have sought means of identifying scholarship talent and making awards to impecunious students. Without any formal system of need analysis available in the 1930's and 1940's, Indiana colleges were fashioning their scholarship applications to ask questions about family income and assets, numbers of dependents, and support available to students. Awards available from non-federal sources, state, corporate, and institutional, were awarded on a composite analysis of scholarship and need. Not only were colleges and universities making independent judgments on this information but also they were, through their state association, sharing their standards for such selection.
In the early 1950's, institutions from the Big Ten and Big Eight conducted a series of annual meetings, which caught the attention of institutions from the midwest to the far west and east. In 1952, a number of administrators met at Purdue to informally exchange information. They were concerned with ways of preventing the use of student aid as a means of buying athletes. Byron Doenges of Indiana University co-chaired the meeting with Purdue officials.25 Indiana aid administrators such as Doenges and Jean Harvey of Purdue were leaders in promoting these cooperative meetings. Harvey remembers a Big Ten-Big Eight meeting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in October 1953.26 John Monro of Harvard was on hand to discuss possibilities of a need analysis system, which was born in the 1954-55 school year. Doenges remembers assisting in the development of the CSS need analysis system. He remembers working with Monro, Homer Babbidge, Jr. of Yale, and Harriet Hudson of Randolph-Macon in 1954, 1955, and 1956.
Byron Doenges resigned in February 1955 as Indiana University's Director of Scholarships and Loans in order to give full time to his new assignment at Indiana University, Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He continued to work as a consultant with the College Scholarship Service and the U. S. Office of Education during the late fifties. From 1958-59 he took leave from Indiana University in order to serve as Program Development Head of the National Defense Student Loan Program in Washington. While in this position he participated in the development of all aspects of the NDSLP, including the writing of promotional material, directing regional informational meetings throughout the country, and allocating the first $43 million appropriated by the Congress for the NDSL program.
One of the earliest publications of financial aid literature was the manual published by the College Scholarship Service. The procedure and practices of aid administration prescribed in this manual became the benchmarks of the national profession. Jean Harvey was a member of a subcommittee of college and secondary school administrators, which developed the manual used in 1957-58.27 Indiana developed its own solution to overlap candidates through its first choice system developed in the 1950's. All of this was happening long before the advent of the NDSL program in 1958. When the first sample application for the NDSL program was designed in 1958 it was indeed a first student financial aid application for many institutions, which embraced the sample form and used it in the administration of their first aid program. Not so in Indiana. Here all ISFAA members were already requiring an aid application, a CSS Parents Confidential Statement. They therefore found unnecessary any further NDSL applications.
Also, at this time, many corporate and national scholarship programs were emerging. The General Motors Scholarship Program, introduced in 1956, literally rocked the profession. The awards were sizeable, the program excellently administered. General Motors set the pace for other programs to follow. Jean Harvey was a member of an early selection committee for General Motors. In 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program adopted an award based on scholarship testing and a stipend based on need. Byron Doenges played a role in the development of procedures for determining stipends for both the General Motors and National Merit Scholarship Programs. He spent many weekends during the winter and spring of 1954 through 1957 in Princeton with John Monro and others on this work.
State scholarship programs began emerging in the mid to late 1950's. Indiana was not a pioneer state but did feel the vibrations from Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Josephine Ferguson at Valparaiso University was asked to assist in the fashioning of the Rhode Island Program and Connecticut State Program and interchanged ideas from Indiana with states in the east. She served on the Need Analysis Group for these and other programs administered by the Educational Testing Service.
In 1954, the College Scholarship Service was formed and several Indiana institutions joined from the outset. Saint Mary's College and Saint Joseph's College of Indiana were early CSS members; 28 and DePauw, Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, VaIparaiso, Wabash, and Saint Joseph's were early College Board members. In 1957, several Indiana colleges adopted a formal need analysis--the CSS system. By this time a number of the Indiana colleges were requiring the College Board examinations. Although perceived by many as an eastern organization in those years, the College Board did begin to include Midwest representatives on its CSS committee, such as Rodney Harrison of the Ohio State University and Josephine Ferguson.
Eighty persons attended a 1960 meeting of the Big Ten-Big Eight at the University of Colorado at Boulder with a goodly representation from Indiana. In 1962, before the passage of the Higher Education Act, the Big Ten-Big Eight group was hosted by Purdue University and the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators was founded. George W. Risty of the University of Minnesota was elected the first president.
The Indiana Association, meantime, was active in publishing rosters to announce scholarships and conducting meetings for parents and students. It also joined with the Indiana Committee on High School College Cooperation to publish handbooks for high school counselors and to otherwise promote aid for students in the state.
Information about the Midwest Compact was distributed to prospective students by the use of a brochure, which contained a Statement of Principles and Practices and a list of participating schools. A copy of the Midwest Compact on College Financial Aid is found in Appendix V.
At about the same time, Indiana colleges were active in the Commission V on Student Financial Aid of the American Personnel and Guidance Association. Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana was co-sponsoring the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Indiana colleges, under the auspices of the American Personal and Guidance Association, were testifying on behalf of that 1egislation.30 And the story goes on and on. In the mid-1960's, Indiana financial aid administrators assumed other national leadership roles.
During the first quarter century of its history the state association through its members gave impetus to the growth of the profession in the Midwest region and throughout the nation. They assisted in shaping the values, which became the profession's code of ethics; they encouraged interstate and inter-regional cooperation similar to the cooperation they had achieved at home.
As the Association moved into its second twenty-five years, the tradition of leadership went on. Hoosiers continued to share their influence with those outside their state boundaries. In 1964, the College Scholarship Service in an effort to stimulate training for the profession, co-sponsored a week-long training effort with the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ronald Brown, Director of Financial Aid at Boulder, hosted the session. Donovan Allen, Financial Aid Director at Indiana University, was asked to attend and observe the training workshop with the expectation of hosting a similar meeting in Indiana the following year. The 1965 training workshop at Indiana University developed a curriculum, which serves as a model for week-long basic training to the present time. It covered the history and principles of aid, discussion of state programs, federal programs, and corporate and foundation programs. It included need analysis training and other agenda items, which are still included in basic training sessions now, twenty years later. The workshop was co-sponsored for its first two years by CSS and Indiana University. In 1967, CSS withdrew its sponsorship as its purpose was achieved in establishing a solid training activity. This very successful conference was repeated at Indiana University in 1967, 1968, and 1969. In 1969, Edson Sample, who had succeeded Allen as Indiana University's Director, and who was then the President of the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, offered the sponsorship of the workshop to MASFAA. MASFAA accepted responsibility for the effort and annual basic training sessions have continued. The location of the workshop is rotated between a number of public and private institutions in the different MASFA A states.
Subsequent to the establishment of this basic training opportunity in the midwest, other regional associations of student financial aid administrators began week-long training sessions following the outline of the workshop conducted at Indiana University. Twenty years after the pioneering effort of the CSS, responsibility for these essential workshops conducted across the country is shared by NASFAA and the regional associations. Financial support has been given by the U. S. Department of Education through its contract for training with NASFAA. This cooperative training venture existed from 1974 through January 31, 1984 when the contract was not renewed by the Department of Education.
Indiana University, through its officials, has responded to training needs in student financial aid in other ways. In 1968, under the direction of William Walters, the Bursar at Indiana University, Indiana University and Region V of the Department of Education jointly sponsored the first National Defense Student Loan Billing and Collection Conference. The NDSL Program was then in its tenth year and default rates were beginning to threaten the future of the program. Lloyd Keisler, Controller of the University and an active leader in the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and other Indiana University officials aided in the effort. This billing and collection conference was moved to other locations such as Marquette University in Milwaukee and returned to Indiana University in 1971. It was shortly after the 1971 conference that NACUBO with sponsorship of the U. S. Department of Education expanded the conferences to five per year held in different parts of the country. Keisler continued his leadership in this effort until his retirement.
Even though responsibility for the Loan Collection Conferences had shifted from Indiana University to NACUBO, officials at the University grew increasingly disappointed when the design of the NACUBO agenda was modified to encompass NDSL administration with less emphasis on billing and collection techniques. At the same time, under the direction of Indiana University's Steve Beard, Director of the Office of Student Loan Administration, and James Fariss, Collection Manager, the University had developed a highly computerized and sophisticated billing and collection administration. In 1982, Indiana University again assumed leadership when it called for a new series of billing and collection conferences. The first of a new series of conferences was conducted at the University in November 1982. All Indiana institutions were invited as well as all Big Ten and other institutions in the Midwest. Repeating the meeting in 1983 and in 1984, invitations were extended to all institutions across the nation participating in the NDSL Program. The Region V Office of the Department of Education was at that time also involved in a default reduction effort and lent support to the meetings.
Contributions of Edson Sample to the growth of the profession in the nation have been evident elsewhere. During his term as MASFAA President (1969-70) the Midwest Association assumed sponsorship of the training workshop, established the Distinguished Service Award to recognize outstanding financial aid administrators, published its first monograph, and began the tradition of providing pocket calendars, which serve each day as a reminder of one's membership in a professional association. In 1974-75, he was President of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. It was during this period that NASFAA began its actions to move from a dues structure based on individual memberships to one based on institutional dues. He has chaired and served on numerous NASFAA committees. Sample is responsible for the idea of the Federal Monitor and for the NASFAA Hotline--both very useful techniques for providing information to the NASFAA membership. In addition to service in MASFAA and NASFAA, Sample has held several important positions in CSS including the Vice Chairmanships of the CSS Council and the Committee on Need Assessment Procedures. Recently, he served as Chairman of the CSS Thirtieth Anniversary Steering Committee. Other assignments have included, for example, service on the United Student Aid Funds Advisory Council, membership on the Cabot Corporation Scholarship Committee, and the Chairmanship of the Society for the Advancement of Financial Aid Management in Higher Education. At home, it was Sample who in May of 1968 first suggested that the essential direction of ISFAA should change from one of administrative concerns to one of professional development. Through his years in student financial aid, dating from 1961, Sample has kept Indiana interests at the forefront of the fledgling profession.
Just as Indiana University has provided much leadership to the growth of the profession its sister institution, Purdue University, has made very appreciable contributions. As mentioned earlier, MASFAA was organized at Purdue University and Jean Harvey and Nelson Parkhurst contributed much. Later, however, it was Richard Tombaugh and Donald Holec who brought the further attention of the nation on Indiana student financial aid leadership.
While Tombaugh was Director of Financial Aid at Purdue, the first NASFAA Central Office and Placement Service was located there in October of 1970. A completely voluntary effort on the part of Tombaugh and Purdue, the NASFAA Central Office activities took their genesis at Purdue. Tombaugh left Purdue in 1972 to become Associate Director of Financial Aid at George Washington University in Washington, D. C. Through a joint appointment with GWU, Tombaugh conducted NASFAA affairs from his office at the University until NASFAA hired him on a full time basis on January 1, 1974.
Another financial aid director at Purdue University has made important contributions to the profession. Donald Holec came to Indiana in 1973 from the University of Wisconsin where he had been Associate Director. He served as Purdue's director until December 1, 1984. Upon his arrival in Indiana he immediately began to establish himself as a leader and served as President of MASFAA. In NASFAA he was an outstanding Chairman of the Title IV Committee and from that position he was appointed Director of the Commission on Governmental Affairs. His leadership of the Title IV Committee in 1978-79 earned that committee the Committee of the Year Award from NASFAA. He served as NASFAA President during 1981-82. Important CSS committee assignments have included the Committee on Need Assessment Procedures and the Software Advisory Committee. He has served on the CSS Regional Assembly governing body, been a consultant to the Advanced Technology company, and was a member of the Cabot Corporation Scholarship Committee.
Norman Beck, the Financial Aid Director at Ball State University until 1981, also provided leadership to the profession. He has been the only practicing financial aid administrator appointed to the State Scholarship Commission other than Josephine Ferguson who only served a few months. He served as president of MASFAA and was elected the President-Elect of NASFAA. Beck was obligated to resign his NASFAA post when he changed positions at Ball State and was no longer employed in financial aid administration. Prior to his election to the NASFAA position he held a number of important committee and commission assignments. He has been Chairman of the College Scholarship Service Assembly and Council and presently is a member of the Board of Trustees of The College Board.
Ball State University has continued to provide service to the profession. In 1973, the MASFAA training workshop was conducted there under the leadership of Clarence Casazza. Casazza has also held important positions in the regional CSS governance structure and served on a number of MASFAA and NASFAA committees.
In 1978, Joseph Russo, previously at Genesee Community College in New York came to the University of Notre Dame as Director of Financial Aid. Eager to develop a graduate level course in financial aid administration, Russo has successfully given such a course at Notre Dame in the summers of 1982, 1983, and 1984. Indiana University's practicum in the administration of student financial aid is a part of its program in the administration of higher education.
The College Scholarship Service has selected Indiana for the site of two conferences. One of the first CSS workshops in the Midwest was held at Valparaiso University in 1966. The first CSS colloquium ever held was at French Lick in 1962 on the topic: "Student Financial Aid and National Purpose."
Each decade of ISFAA's history has produced men and women with unique talents. Building on the cumulative accomplishments of those who went before them, these Hoosiers have all contributed to making ISFAA and the regional and national associations what they are today.
Each president listed in Appendix VI has in his or her own way helped shape the profession. But there were many more, some who were around for long and some who touched ISFAA only briefly, who left a permanent mark on the profession.
Earlier it was noted that Richard L. Tombaugh, while at Purdue University, played a key role in the establishment of the Washington Office of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). His role as first Executive Secretary of that group was only one of the many leadership roles, which would be occupied by ISFAA members.
Donald E. Holec, also of Purdue, and Edson W. Sample of Indiana University both served as President of the National Association. Both men have also been given high honors being named recipients of Distinguished Service Awards and Sample receiving the Meritorious Service Award. Both Holec and Sample also served on numerous key committees of NASFAA through the years. Other Hoosiers, Barbara Thompson of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and Jimmy L. Ross of Indiana University-Bloomington have been involved in committee activity for NASFAA.
Walter Schmucker of Goshen College was chosen for the first Experienceship to NASFAA and carried out his assignment at a crucial time in NASFAA's development. His tenure in the Washington Office spanned the time between the services of Tombaugh and the coming of Dallas Martin. His influence on NASFAA during this evolutionary period was significant.
Joseph Russo of Notre Dame and Norman E. Beck of Ball State both have been active in the publications of NASFAA, both serving on the editorial board of the Journal.
Sample was also a dominant figure in the development of the NASFAA Fact Book, an invaluable record of archival significance, and also the development of a Manual of Policies and Procedures. Both he and Tombaugh served as Newsletter editors, 'Sample from 1971 to 1974, and Tombaugh in 1974-75.
Harvey Grotrian, at one time very active in ISFAA, was responsible for a major research effort of NASFAA. He completed a definitive study of the profession in his Survey of the Profession completed in 1978.
Contributions of ISFAA members began early in NASFAA's history and have continued throughout the two decades of its existence.
ISFAA members have worked closely with professional groups at all levels. The Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators took its beginning in Indiana, at Purdue University. A few current ISFAA members were present at that organizational meeting. Since that time, ISFAA members have continuously given freely of their creative ideas and their hard work to support the regional association. Donovan Allen, Edson Sample, Norman Beck, and Donald Holec have served as President of the group. Judy Taylor of Purdue, Harriet Whittenberg of Marion College, and Pat Jeffers of St. Francis College served as delegates at large. Richard Bellows is currently a delegate at large. Sample, Beck, and Holec have received the highest honor MASFAA confers, the Distinguished Service Award. Josephine Ferguson was presented a Special Award by MASFAA in 1976.
Editorship of the MASFAA Newsletter has been held by three members of the Indiana University staff. Edson Sample edited the Newsletter from February 1967 through September 1969. Stephen Arthur and Susan Pugh each edited the Newsletter during periods in the 1970s.
The many, many contributions to MASFAA by Indiana representatives is indicative not only of the level of professionalism this state has had to offer, but also of the attitudes of the individual institutions of the state which released their aid directors to make these many contributions.
No ISFAA history would be complete without mention of Robert Sinnaeve, first a Director of Aid at the University of Notre Dame, for a time Executive Secretary of SSACI, and later Vice President of the United Student Aid Funds. Donovan Allen, Director of Financial Aid at Indiana University went on to serve the U. S. Office of Education as head of the College Work-Study Program. Richard Tombaugh, who followed the Harvey-Moreland era as Director at Purdue University, served as Deputy Director for Financial Aid Programs in the U. S. Office of Education before becoming the first Executive Secretary of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Harvey Grotrian, who while at Valparaiso University missed becoming President of ISFAA because of his move to Michigan, went on to serve as President of the Michigan Association and later as President of MASFAA. G. David Hunt, Financial Aid Director at DePauw University, served briefly as Executive Secretary of SSACI and was twice ISFAA President before assuming the position of Financial Aid Director at Rice University in Texas.
And so it was with Linda Handy of Indiana Central University, Harriet Whittenberg of Marion College, Susan Pugh of Indiana University, Jimmy Ross also of Indiana University, Clarence Casazza of Ball State University, Richard Bellows of Manchester College, Walter Schmucker of Goshen College--all of whom have been very active in the profession well beyond Indiana's borders. And there are so many others who will be long remembered because of their endless work that has made ISFAA what it is today.
In the 1950s'in addition to the many individuals already named, there was Paul Bowman, for many years in charge of admissions and aid at Manchester College; Frank Blanning, who played the same dual role at Hanover College; and Lowell Hildebrand of Wabash College. In the 1960s, Brother Kieran Ryan of the University of Notre Dame; Father Charles Robbins of St. Joseph College; Ed Teets of Franklin College; Ralph Ross of Rose Hulman College; and Earl Smith of Valparaiso and Indiana Universities are well remembered. From the 1970s many are still around. Who will forget the initiative and energy of those three great women from Indiana University: Shirley Boardman, Alice Duncan, and Susan Pugh. The University of Notre Dame, Huntington College, DePauw University, and St. Meinrad contributed four more loyal and energetic women in the persons of June McCauslin, Charlotte Singer, Thursa Evans, and Helen Hagedorn. And there were H. L. Baker from Anderson College, Charles Bedford from Hanover College, William Ehrich from Indiana University East and Earlham College, Roy Schuckman from Earlham College, Clark Defler from Indiana University Northwest, Larry McDaniel from Indiana University at South Bend. Only space and time prevents the mention of so many more.
The leaders for the 1980s are still moving to the center stage of the profession. We will hear much more from them: from the two dynamic Linda Handy from Indiana Central University and Maxwell from Ball State University; from Stephen Morris at Indiana University; Mark Franke of Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne; Patti Hochstetler of Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing and Susan McKinley of Purdue University.
And so the story goes on and on. This is not intended to be, nor could it be, a complete story of all of those ISFAA members who have molded and continue to influence the body of knowledge which we now call student financial aid. Surely no chapter in student financial aid is complete without noting the immense contributions of Hoosier professionals.
The United Student Aid Fund (USAF), which foreshadowed the concept of guaranteed student loans, came from the efforts of Indiana insurance men, bankers, and attorneys. The early success of USAF was nurtured by financial aid administrators in Indiana institutions, all members of ISFAA. The concept of using private capital to make loans to students rather than encumbering governmental funds for this purpose may not have been legislated except for the efforts of John Burkhart, President of the College Life Insurance Company which was headquartered in Indianapolis, and W. W. Hill, Jr. who was hired by Burkhart from his position as Director of the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. In 1958 these men began their efforts which resulted in the formal establishment of USAF in 1960.32 The provision of federal insurance or reinsurance, which has become the backbone of the largest of all student aid programs, was at first resisted by USAF; but the original plan of private funds for loans to college students clearly was promulgated by the thinking of these Hoosiers, supported by a favorable climate in the aid administration profession. USAF maintains its corporate headquarters and endorsement center in the Hoosier state at Indianapolis, where over four hundred persons are employed. It recently looked to Indiana for its new President. Roy Nicholson, who was Executive Director of the Indiana Secondary Market for Education Loans, became USAF President in May of 1984.


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**Classic hits filmmaking competition information (2017) is at the end.
"Tell me what you think about before you write a Grammy Award winning song."
Bernie looked out the window. "I'll have to tell a story first."
Maxine pressed the red button on her voice recorder.
Bernie's eyes moved back to rest on Maxine. "My adoptive parents got me when I was fourteen. I was a dark haired Crow boy suddenly mixed in with a bunch of white, blue-eyed farmers."
"My mother knew that I was lonely and floundering. She bought me my first guitar and sent me to music lessons. The teacher wasn't much help. But I'd take that old guitar out in back of our place through the corn fields to a big oak tree where I'd sit and practice."
"One day there was a woman there. She was beautiful; blonde, full-figured with long legs and huge…." Bernie grinned sheepishly.
"She was sexy but I still didn't want her there. She stood, at least, a head and shoulders taller than me."
"'What's your name kid?" Her voice sounded like a frog with sandpaper caught in its throat. "Bernie doesn't sound like a Cherokee name," she commented after I'd told her.'"
"I shrugged my shoulders flippantly. 'You don't know squat about Cherokee…or C-R-O-W.'"
"She kicked at the dirt. She said that her nickname was Tiny and that it was a bad family joke. She also said that she'd heard me mutilating my guitar. She'd come to help… and to wait for the words. She looked at the tree strangely while patting its trunk."
"We met every day for the rest of summer. She showed me things that my guitar teacher never did. I learned that she'd been a music teacher and that she came back to the tree because 'she got lost sometimes.'"
"When I asked if my parents could hire her to teach me, her eyes blazed and she spoke harshly, 'If you say anything about me, they'll never let you out of the house.'"
"As the weeks passed, Tiny taught me to say what I was feeling with music. Then I reached a block. By this time, I was in full-blown lust – or in love with her. One afternoon when we were getting nowhere she yelled, 'What do you want?'"
"When I didn't answer, she stepped closer and asked the same thing again, quieter this time."
"Before I realized what I was doing, I blurted, 'I want to hold you.'"
"I would have curled up and died on the spot if she hadn't been smiling. She told me to close my eyes and follow her directions. So I did."
"She told me to imagine that the guitar was her – to run my hands over its surface, to feel its curves and to let my fingers stoke the strings. 'Hold me closer,' she'd say, 'Then let the music sing softly and slowly.'"
"She broke through my wall. After that, she'd bring her guitar and we'd make music together – until fall came."
"I remember the last time I saw Tiny. A cold breeze was blowing at sunset. I heard melody she played through my open window. It sounded crazed. When it stopped suddenly, I knew that I had to go find her. As I ran through the dry stalks of corn. I saw her guitar lying on the ground. I jumped over it, running faster. When I found her, she was barefoot, shivering and unresponsive. I was terrified. Eventually, I screamed, 'Tiny! What do you want?'"
"At this, she paused, turning toward me. 'I just want to go home.'"
"Suddenly, we were both crying. I said, 'Me too!'"
"She reached out a hand to cover my heart. 'The difference between us, Bernie, is that I am yearning for home, but you are already there.' Then she kissed me."
Bernie reached up to trace a finger where Tiny's lips had left an invisible mark.
A sad expression settled on his face. "A full moon rose up behind the bare branches of the oak tree. I didn't realize, until later, that all its leaves had been there the day before. When she reached it, Tiny started running her hands all over around the trunk."
"'I'm looking for the words. They have to be here!'"
"'Tiny, stop!' I cried. She didn't answer but kept frantically searching. 'There it is!' she sighed, 'I knew you'd show me the doorway sooner or later.' She leaned into the tree hugging it like a lover."
"'You won't be seeing me again," she said over her shoulder."But I'll always hear you…." she paused, waiting for me to fill in the space.
"I couldn't get anything out around the lump in my throat. I knew that she was waiting for me to tell her my Indian name."
The unexpected silence that followed Bernie's last statement was stifling.
Maxine blinked. "That's it! What happened to her?"
Bernie shook his head while reaching for his guitar, "That wasn't part of the question."
Maxine watched as he traced the contours of the tool that had millions of fans singing and humming his haunting tunes.
With eyes closed, he began to play and speak, "My Crow name is, Still Water Dancer."
A soft, lilting melody filled the room. "My guitar is named after my muse, Tiny."
Maxine leaned toward him, waiting for THE scoop of her career.
"Before I write one word or play one note, I say to myself, 'Hold me closer Tiny Dancer.'
Bernie winked playfully.
This short story was written for a 24 hour Writer's Weekly writing contest. All or part of the prompt (listed below) could be used. The background and history of Elton John's Tiny Dancer classic was woven into the story theme.
Story Prompt: The barren, tan corn stalks behind her snapped in the cold evening breeze, the only sound louder than the dry, fiery red leaves swirling around her tiny, shivering bare feet. She'd lost her bearings again and she hoped the dinner bell would ring soon. A gray tree with endless arms and fingers, devoid of any remaining foliage, loomed before her. She gazed at the odd markings on the trunk, which appeared to outline a hand-cut door of sorts. And, as she stared, it opened…
2017 – 50th Anniversary Celebration of Elton John & Bernie Taupin partnership – Directors & filmmakers – compete to win a chance to make the official music video for Tiny Dancer, Bennie and the Jets, or Rocket Man. Learn more here: https://thecut.eltonjohn.com/
Elton John | Tiny Dancer music and karaoke tunes on Amazon
Lisa Redfern	Family Life, Fantasy, Psychological Thriller, Relationships, Teen Age	Leave a comment February 6, 2016 December 19, 2016 4 Minutes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Dinosaurs, space, and the future! As far back as I can remember I've been obsessed with all things sci-fi. It could have been the first of countless viewings of the original Star Wars trilogy, the moment the T-Rex stomped it's way on screen in Jurassic Park, or falling asleep staring up into my own personal galaxy with the glowing stars I stuck to my bedroom ceiling as a child.
Where did I go to fulfill even more adventures? Books! Here our imaginations can run wild -- Just like the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. The sci-fi genre has a plethora of novels to choose from. The past is slowly becoming our present. 1984 has passed as well as the day Marty McFly went back to the future on October 15, 2015.
The future is coming fast. Are you ready? Get prepared with these 11 sci-fi novels you need to read (or read again), along with my estimation on whether the book or movie is better. Zombies, Big Brother and dystopian futures….oh my!
Why it's great: Brooks takes us through the history of the contamination of the human world to a zombie virus.
Book or Movie? The book is amazing with tons of details. It is pretty hard to ever beat the book, but the one thing the movie did that really shines is the Doctor Who Easter egg. Doctor Who was on the verge of announcing it's new doctor Peter Capaldi stars in World War Z as W.H.O. Doctor. Bravo.
Why it's great: One of the most influential novels of our time, The Giver is a haunting story of the human species now living in an "ideal," if colorless, world of conformity and contentment.
Book or movie? Book. But I must say as a book snob, I judged the movie prematurely. In the end it was as beautiful and haunting as the book. Definitely a must see for fans of the book.
Why it's great: Foreshadowing of what could be to come if humans continue to rely more on technology and not human interactions. All babies are born in laboratories, everyone takes pills to combat depression and the popular form of entertainment is movies that stimulate the senses.
Book or movie? The TV movie from 1998 starring Leonard Nimoy is worth checking out. But book wins this round.
Why it's great: Though 1984 has come and gone, we all can't stop thinking/believing that Big Brother is always watching us.
Book or movie? Both now classics in their own right, read the book for sure, then watch the 1956 movie adaptation. Then make sure to cover up that camera on your computer, phone and iPad!
Why it's great: The book has a ton more in depth detail and the movie. You learn so much more about the park, the dinosaurs and its visitors than you can in a two-hour movie.
Book or movie? That being said, Jurassic Park the film has had an even bigger impact on our pop culture than the book in my opinion. Though it took me 10 years to read the book and I loved it, the movie will always be number one in my heart.
Why it's great: A book so lively, imaginative, and wacky, you cannot put it down. All your deepest questions will be answered, as long as you always carry a towel!
Book or movie? In a book series that out there, your imagination can take it anywhere! Sometimes that is better left in your head than on the big screen. That being said, Alan Rickman as a depressed robot: A+!
Why it's great: Wells coined the term "time machine." Badass.
Book or movie? Book. Many movies, tv movies, and comics have been made about this iconic classic, but the book is the one that holds up the best through time.
Why it's great: An untraditional love story following uncontrollable time traveller Henry DeTamble as he falls in love with Clare Abshire and artist whose life takes the normal sequential course.
Why it's great: Space-travel adventure, turned marooned survival story with a great sense of humor. An immediate classic.
Book or movie? Both. I loved the book so much I was wary of the movie. And Matt Damon. But the comedy and despair of the book carried over quite well to the movie, with a beautifully-fulfilled image of Mars.
Why it's great: Every pop culture reference ever. Generation-X will love everything about this book and want to be able to live it themselves. Another recent classic.
Book or movie? Movie slated from March 2018. So there is bit of time for you to read the book before you judge the movie! But seriously, read the book. Then go play Joust.
Why it's great: A well-known classic story, gets an upgrade for the zombie age.
Book or movie? The beautiful movie was recently released in February of this year. Both carry out the gothic theme in a bloody good way.


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Hosp Brings Ai-enabled Tool For Diabetes Care, Health News, ET HealthWorld
Chennai: A tool that enables doctors to estimate the risk of complications such as eye or kidney disease in newly diagnosed diabetics, classifying them such as insulin resistant or insulin deficient and help offer tailor-made treatment and drug regimens, was launched by a city-based diabetic hospital on Thursday.
The tool, Diana (DIAbetes Novel subgroup Assessment) is part of the AI-enabled digital innovations under the hospital's digital transformation. "We decided to bring in digital innovations based on our experience during the pandemic when we faced difficulties in managing our patient's needs," said Dr V Mohan, senior diabetologist and chairman of Dr Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre. "Through AI-powered innovations, we offer expert medical advice accessible to everyone round the clock," he said.
Besides Diana, the hospital launched two apps Dia and Diala. While Diana is for the doctors, the other two apps are for patient use. "We are hoping to prevent complications and improve treatment outcomes besides keeping in touch with patients constantly," he said.
Dia is a chatbot offering information about diabetes, medicines used and diet. It helps patients schedule appointments and reminders for visits, lab tests and teleconsultation. During an emergency, or in pandemic situations, it connects with caregivers and patients.
Diala (DIAbetes Lifestyle Assistant Mobile Application) tracks weight, counts steps and diet plan adjustments. It also helps patients avail reports of tests done, glucose monitoring data and much more. The app is available on android and soon will be available on iOS.
"Today everyone has a smartphone and seamless data connectivity. Use of technology to provide information and assist our patients will not just keep patients informed but also improve care," diabetologist Dr Anjana Mohan.
MISS MOLY Women's Oversized Round Neck Long Sleeve Sweatshirts Vintage Boyfriend Style Graphic Pullover Tops
Korean police reportedly arrest first person involved in Terra collapse


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Núria Berengueras i Costa (Sant Feliu de Codines, 1955) Filla de Pelegrí Berengueras i Llobet de Castellterçol i Nuria Costa i Fuster de Barcelona, i casada amb Francesc Miralles membre del grup de rock dels anys 60 Los Salvajes, és una cantant d'havaneres catalana.

Va ser la primera dona a impulsar i liderar un grup d'havaneres català. L'any 1978 juntament amb Andreu Tura, Joan Colomer, Antoni Uyà van fundar el grup Quatre Veus de Granollers que poc temps després va passar a anomenar-se Núria Berengueras i Quatre Veus. A finals dels anys setanta, quan la presència de la dona en aquest gènere musical era gairebé inexistent, com a solista del grup,va introduir noves harmonies poc habituals.

Com a directora de Quatre Veus, ha actuat arreu de Catalunya i de l'Estat espanyol. Ha participat, entre altres festivals, en tres edicions de la Cantada de Calella de Palafrugell, en la Mostra de l'Havanera Catalana de Palamós, en la Cantada al Serrallo, des dels seus inicis i en la Mostra d'Havaneres de Granollers, de 1982 a 1992. A Salou, als anys vuitanta, el grup Quatre Veus va actuar davant de l'aleshores reina d'Espanya, Sofia de Grècia, i les infantes amb motiu del Certamen Internacional de Regates. El 1991 va participar en el Sant Jordy's Day de Tòquio i va actuar a l'Auditori Pau Casals de la ciutat nipona. El mateix any 1991 va crear l'espectacle Antologia de l'Havanera que es va poder veure a Teatre Condal el mateix any i el Teatre Goya de Barcelona. L'any 1998 Quatre Veus va celebrar el seu vintè aniversari en el marc de la Fira i Festes de l'Ascensió de Granollers. El concert, celebrat al Centre Cultural de la Fundació La Caixa, va ser enregistrat en un CD. Era la primera vegada que s'enregistrava un concert en directe en el món de l'havanera.

L'any 2000 Núria Berengueras i Quatre Veus va passar a anomenar-se Ultramar, integrat per Joan Ramon, Francesc Membrives i Àngel Riba. L'any 2003 van presentar el seu primer treball discogràfic, Homenatge a Ortega Monasterio, i el 2005, conjuntament amb Los Manolos, van presentar l'espectacle La ruta del rom, on es fusionava la rumba i les havaneres. L'any 2008 Ultramar va presentar el seu darrer treball Ronda Litoral.

El 14 de febrer de 2020 rebé el guardó Premi 2x4 de la Fundació Ernest Morató.

Referències

Persones de Sant Feliu de Codines
Havanera
Cantants de l'àmbit metropolità de Barcelona contemporanis
Músics del Vallès Oriental


Everyone is welcome to join this event to catch up with your BSA friends. Come down to the Oceans Ballroom and Beach, look for the BSA signs, and be ready for fun! There will be drinks and a surprise team game to start the convention with some friendly competition. Don't forget to bring some sunscreen and sunglasses/hat.
Dress up for an evening to honor the Godfather and BSA President Jim Scardina. We will start at 6:30 pm in the Flagler Hall for cocktails. At 7:00 pm, bring your drink into the Grand Ballroom to let the party continue with dinner and Dueling Pianos. This event will have assigned seating. Your table number can be found on the back of your Name badge onsite.
Attire: Men and women are asked to dress in Black or White semi-formal attire.
Join us for a casual dinner poolside Chicago Blues themed dinner event. Unwind, and enjoy food and drink as you enjoy time with fellow BSA attendees.
Attire: Dress is casual for this event, come as you are or dress in blue.
Join us on the last night for a block party, Italian style. Chat about memories of the Bearing Specialist Association and making new ones as you go! This block party theme will have the finer versions of Chicago's famous Italian food.
Attire: Dress is casual for the event.


We like to think our pork pies are a delightful treat to be enjoyed all year round but did you know they are the perfect heartwarming option during the winter months?
Usually enjoyed cold with servings of chutney, Piccalilli or sauces, we now see a rejuvenation of the traditional pork pie; we give you the hot pork pie!
In a surprising twist this summer during our sampling roadshows and conversations with you, our lovely customers, we have found that many of you have secretly been enjoying our pork pies, hot. Though it may be obvious to many, perhaps strange to a few, we thought this was certainly worth a try.
Perhaps it's a question of a good old north south divide, but we have found that whilst many people in the north are accustom to this delicious warm treat, many in the south have not yet experienced our wonderful hot pie delight.
To be enjoyed after a brisk winter's walk or snuggled around the fire with family and friends, indulging in a warm pork pie is the perfect way to restore you on a cold winter's day.
Pork Farms brand marketing manager, Michael Holton said: "Over the summer we were somewhat surprised by the amount of people who asked us to warm our pork pies up. Although we have tried this before, we were pleasantly surprised by our customer's positive reaction, as we don't promote it as a hot pie. This has now encouraged the Pork Farms team to get thinking about exciting new products and different ways to enjoy our delicious pork pies.
So, what are you waiting for? Enjoy served with a steaming helping of mash and peas or simply pair it up with your favourite brown sauce. Whether this is a different eating habit for you or a regular occurrence, we are certain that whether you are from the north or south, our pork pies will be the perfect comfort food for you this winter season.


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Pavel Durov to Hand Telegram to Russian Owner After TON Failure, Source Says
Pressured by aggrieved TON investors and disillusioned by the U.S., Pavel Durov is rumored to hand control over Telegram to a Russian internet company
Cover image via www.instagram.com
SEC nips TON in the bud
Durov's criticism of the U.S. grows louder
According to an unconfirmed insider report, Telegram founder Pavel Durov plans to part ways with the messenger following the failure of its blockchain project.
Russian internet giant Mail.Ru Group or an undisclosed Russian billionaire are among the top candidates to take over Telegram, according to the source.
Russia lifted its "ineffective" two-year ban on the hit messaging app in mid-June.
The main reason why Durov—whose net worth is estimated to be $3.4 bln—is allegedly abandoning Telegram is because he is in dire need of cash after the Telegram Open Network (TON) was shut down in May.
This was preceded by a tedious legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The regulator barred the company from distributing gram tokens to investors who participated in its $1.7 bln ICO right on the verge of the TON launch.
Those who wanted to get out of this predicament immediately had the option of getting 72 percent of their money back. Otherwise, a 12-month-long waiting period is required to receive 110 percent of the initial sum.
Given that $405 mln in ICO funds were invested in developing both TON and the messaging app, disgruntled investors who were left with a dead project threatened to take Telegram to court.
Image by icodrops.com
Russia Opens Its Largest Mining Farm to Date
In his recent post, Durov amped up his criticism of the U.S. government, claiming that the controversial decision to ban Chinese social media app TikTok could "kill" the internet:
The problem with the US-TikTok case is that it legitimises an extortion tactic previously employed only by authoritarian regimes. For decades, the US has been perceived as the defender of free trade and free speech. But now that China has started to replace them as the main beneficiary of global trade, the US (or at least the Trump administration) seems to have become less enthusiastic about those values.
His growing distaste for the U.S., coupled with a recent visit to St. Petersburg, fueled speculation that he might hand Telegram over to a Russian owner, but the entrepreneur continues to insist that that he's not parting ways with Telegram despite the insider report.
Durov left Russia in 2014 after being forced to sell shares in VK, the most popular social media network in the post-Soviet space. It is now owned by the Kremlin-friendly Mail.Ru Group.
#Telegram Open Network (TON) News#Russia
Ethereum Searches in Google Finally Reached New All-Time High While ETH Revisits $1,200
Bitcoin Miners Raked In $20 Billion to Date
One More IOTA Application Released on Microsoft Azure Marketplace. How Does It Work?


Power's projectors were, along with Edison's machines, the first American projectors produced on a commercial scale. They were extremely popular and a large number were exported to Britain and around the world. A dabbler in real estate before being involved with film presentation, Power was acting as projectionist at Koster & Bial's Music Hall New York in the autumn of 1896 or spring of '97, and later at a vaudeville theatre in Brooklyn. Dismantling the intermittent movement of an Edison projector he was unable to re-assemble it in time for the evening show - and quit, either voluntarily or 'by request'. Shortly afterwards he started a repair shop for Edison projectors, and in 1897 or '98 developed his own machine, the Powers Peerless Projector. Few were sold, but shortly afterwards came the Power's No. 1 and several subsequent models, with the No. 4 of 1905 selling thousands, and the No. 5 proving equally popular. Powers 'Cameragraph' projectors incorporated a novel variation of the Maltese cross, designed to speed up the pull-down of the film and thereby reduce flicker on the screen. In a 1925 presentation to the SMPTE, F.H. Richardson regretted that Power 'has passed to that bourne whence no traveler ever returns, into the shadows of which so many of the pioneers of the industry have already entered'.


There was once a young fellow who had learnt the trade of locksmith, and told his father he would now go out into the world and seek his fortune. Very well, said the father, I am quite content with that, and gave him some money for his journey. So he traveled about and looked for work. After a time he resolved not to follow the trade of locksmith any more, for he no longer liked it, but he took a fancy for hunting.
Then there met him in his rambles a huntsman dressed in green, who asked whence he came and whither he was going. The youth said he was a locksmith's apprentice, but that the trade no longer pleased him, and he had a liking for huntsmanship, would he teach it to him. "Oh, yes," said the huntsman, "if you will go with me." Then the young fellow went with him, apprenticed himself to him for some years, and learnt the art of hunting. After this he wished to try his luck elsewhere, and the huntsman gave him nothing in the way of payment but an air-gun, which had, however, this property, that it hit its mark without fail whenever he shot with it. Then he set out and found himself in a very large forest, which he could not get to the end of in one day. When evening came he seated himself in a high tree in order to escape from the wild beasts.
On this the youth went up to them and told them he was a skilled huntsman, and that whatever he aimed at with his gun, he was certain to hit. Then they said if he would go with them he should be well treated, and they told him that outside the forest there was a great lake, behind which stood a tower, and in the tower was imprisoned a lovely princess, whom they wished very much to carry off. "Yes," said he, "I will soon get her for you." Then they added, "But there is still something else, there is a tiny little dog, which begins to bark directly any one goes near, and as soon as it barks every one in the royal palace wakens up, and for this reason we cannot get there, can you undertake to shoot it dead?" "Yes," said he, "that will be quite fun for me." After this he got into a boat and rowed over the lake, and as soon as he landed, the little dog came running out, and was about to bark, but the huntsman took his airgun and shot it dead.
When the giants saw that, they rejoiced, and thought they already had the king's daughter safe, but the huntsman wished first to see how matters stood, and told them that they must stay outside until he called them. Then he went into the castle, and all was perfectly quiet within, and every one was asleep. When he opened the door of the first room, a sword was hanging on the wall which was made of pure silver, and there was a golden star on it, and the name of the king, and on a table near it lay a sealed letter which he broke open, and inside it was written that whosoever had the sword could kill everything which opposed him. So he took the sword from the wall, hung it at his side and went onwards, then he entered the room where the king's daughter was lying sleeping, and she was so beautiful that he stood still and, holding his breath, looked at her.
He thought to himself, "How can I give an innocent maiden into the power of the wild giants, who have evil in their minds?" He looked about further, and under the bed stood a pair of slippers, on the right one was her father's name with a star, and on the left her own name with a star. She wore also a large scarf of silk embroidered with gold, and on the right side was her father's name, and on the left her own, all in golden letters. Then the huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut the right corner off, and put it in his knapsack, and then he also took the right slipper with the king's name, and thrust that in. Now the maiden still lay sleeping, and she was quite sewn into her night-dress, and he cut a morsel from this also, and thrust it in with the rest, but he did all without touching her.
But when the king in the castle awoke, he saw the three giants lying there dead. So he went into the sleeping-room of his daughter, awoke her, and asked who could have killed the giants. Then said she, "Dear father, I know not, I have been asleep." But when she arose and would have put on her slippers, the right one was gone, and when she looked at her scarf it was cut, and the right corner was missing, and when she looked at her night-dress a piece was cut out of it. The king summoned his whole court together, soldiers and every one else who was there, and asked who had set his daughter at liberty, and killed the giants.
Now it happened that he had a captain, who was one-eyed and a hideous man, and he said that he had done it. Then the old king said that as he had accomplished this, he should marry his daughter. But the maiden said, "Rather than marry him, dear father, I will go away into the world as far as my legs can carry me." But the king said that if she would not marry him she should take off her royal garments and wear peasant's clothing, and go forth, and that she should go to a potter, and begin a trade in earthen vessels.
So she put off her royal apparel, and went to a potter and borrowed crockery enough for a stall, and she promised him also that if she had sold it by the evening, she would pay for it. Then the king said she was to seat herself in a corner with it and sell it, and he arranged with some peasants to drive over it with their carts, so that everything should be broken into a thousand pieces. When therefore the king's daughter had placed her stall in the street, by came the carts, and broke all she had into tiny fragments. She began to weep and said, "Alas, how shall I ever pay for the pots now." The king, however, had wished by this to force her to marry the captain; but instead of that, she again went to the potter, and asked him if he would lend to her once more. He said, no, she must first pay for what she already had.
Then she went to her father and cried and lamented, and said she would go forth into the world. Then said he, "I will have a little hut built for you in the forest outside, and in it you shall stay all your life long and cook for every one, but you shall take no money for it." When the hut was ready, a sign was hung on the door whereon was written, to-day given, to-morrow sold. There she remained a long time, and it was rumored about the world that a maiden was there who cooked without asking for payment, and that this was set forth on a sign outside her door.
The huntsman heard it likewise, and thought to himself, that would suit you. You are poor, and have no money. So he took his air-gun and his knapsack, wherein all the things which he had formerly carried away with him from the castle as tokens of his truthfulness were still lying, and went into the forest, and found the hut with the sign, to-day given, to-morrow sold. He had put on the sword with which he had cut off the heads of the three giants, and thus entered the hut, and ordered something to eat to be given to him. He was charmed with the beautiful maiden, who was indeed as lovely as any picture. She asked him whence he came and whither he was going, and he said, "I am roaming about the world." Then she asked him where he had got the sword, for that truly her father's name was on it. He asked her if she were the king's daughter. "Yes," answered she. "With this sword," said he, "did I cut off the heads of three giants." And he took their tongues out of his knapsack in proof. Then he also showed her the slipper, and the corner of the scarf, and the piece of the night-dress.
Hereupon she was overjoyed, and said that he was the one who had delivered her. On this they went together to the old king, and fetched him to the hut, and she led him into her room, and told him that the huntsman was the man who had really set her free from the giants. And when the aged king saw all the proofs of this, he could no longer doubt, and said that he was very glad he knew how everything had happened, and that the huntsman should have her to wife, on which the maiden was glad at heart. Then she dressed the huntsman as if he were a foreign lord, and the king ordered a feast to be prepared. When they went to table, the captain sat on the left side of the king's daughter, but the huntsman was on the right, and the captain thought he was a foreign lord who had come on a visit. When they had eaten and drunk, the old king said to the captain that he would set before him something which he must guess.
"Supposing someone said that he had killed the three giants and he were asked where the giants, tongues were, and he were forced to go and look, and there were none in their heads. How could that have happened?" The captain said, "Then they cannot have had any." "Not so," said the king. "Every animal has a tongue," and then he likewise asked what punishment should be meted out to anyone who made such an answer. The captain replied, "He ought to be torn in pieces." Then the king said he had pronounced his own sentence, and the captain was put in prison and then torn in four pieces, but the king's daughter was married to the huntsman. After this he brought his father and mother, and they lived with their son in happiness, and after the death of the old king he received the kingdom.


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El McMillan Tac-50 es un fusil antimaterial producido en Phoenix, Arizona, Estados Unidos, por la empresa McMillan Brothers rifle Co. Este fusil es un modelo antiblindaje/antipersona de largo alcance basado en diseños anteriores de la misma empresa que se remontan a fines de la década de 1980. McMillan produce varias versiones de fusiles de 12,7 mm basados en su propio sistema de cerrojo para uso civil, militar y policial.

El McMillan Tac-50 es un arma militar y policial. Bajo la denominación C15 es el fusil usado por francotiradores del Ejército de Canadá desde el año 2000 ya que tiene largo alcance estándar. Los fusiles de la familia del Tac-50 tienen una precisión excepcional y garantizan ofrecer agrupaciones de 0,5 minuto de arco al emplear municiones de grado competitivo.

De las 5 muertes registradas realizadas por francotiradores a mayor distancia, 3 han sido usando el fusil Tac-50.

Diseño
El McMillan Tac-50 es un fusil de cerrojo rotativo, accionado manualmente. El gran cerrojo tiene dos tetones de acerrojado frontales y su cuerpo tiene entalles en espiral para reducir el peso.

El cañón pesado de la competencia, hecho por Lilja Barrels, también tiene entalles para disipar el calor rápidamente y reducir el peso ya que está equipado con un efectivo freno de boca para reducir el retroceso. El fusil es alimentado desde un cargador extraíble recto, con una capacidad de cinco cartuchos. La culata es de fibra de vidrio y está hecha por McMillan Stocks (diseñada para emplearse únicamente sobre un bípode). La cantonera es ajustable con espaciadores de caucho, pudiendo retirarse para un almacenamiento compacto. El fusil no tiene alza ni punto de mira lo cual permite colocarle una gran variedad de miras telescópicas e incluso nocturnas.

En la variante empleada por las fuerzas armadas canadienses, la mira telescópica estándar era la Leupold Mark 4-16x40mm LR/T M1 sugerida por McMillan, hasta que fue reemplazada por la Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56 PMII. McMillan también sugiere la mira telescópica con retícula Mil-dot Nightforce NXS 8-32x56 para montarse en el Tac-50.

Variantes

Tac-50 A1

En 2012 se introdujo la variante Tac-50 A1. Esta nueva versión incluye una culata de fibra de vidrio desmontable con un guardamanos que es 127 mm más largo que el del Tac-50. Esto mueve el punto de balance desde el bípode hacia adelante. La culata incluye una carrillera integrada y un monópode en la cantonera, con opción de ajuste en vertical. También incorpora un pistolete más pequeño para que pueda ser empuñado por las manos con distintas formas sin necesidad de usar guantes. La palanca del retén del cargador ha sido reubicada delante del arco del gatillo para que sea más fácil de accionar al usar guantes. Para la variante A1 también se ha desarrollado un nuevo bípode más ligero, cuyas patas pueden ajustarse en vertical u horizontal para ajustar la elevación del fusil.

Tac-50 A1-R2

La variante Tac-50 A1-R2 fue introducida en 2012, al mismo tiempo que el Tac-50 A1. El A1-R2 es básicamente el sistema del Tac-50 A1 con un sistema hidráulico de mitigación de retroceso (un pistón hidráulico dentro de la culata) añadido para reducir la considerable cantidad de retroceso que genera el cartucho 12,7 x 99 OTAN, aumentando la comodidad del tirador.

Despliegue
Dos francotiradores canadienses del equipo del regimiento Infantería Ligera Canadiense de la Princesa Patricia lograron en su momento la baja a mayor distancia de la historia con este fusil en el valle de Shahi-Kot, Afganistán, durante la Operación Anaconda. En una tarde de marzo de 2002, el Cabo Maestro Arron Perry eliminó a un enemigo a 2.310 m (2526 yardas/1453 millas) y el cabo Rob Furlong eliminó a un enemigo a 2.430 m (2675 yardas/1509 millas), empleando balas con baja resistencia al aire Hornady A-Max de 750 granos. Estas fueron las bajas en combate a mayor distancia producidas por francotiradores, superando el récord de 2.286 m (2500 yardas/1420 millas) fijado por el Sargento Artillero del Cuerpo de Marines de los Estados Unidos Carlos Hathcock durante la Guerra de Vietnam. El equipo canadiense de francotiradores - compuesto por el Cabo Maestro Graham Ragsdale (comandante del equipo), el Cabo Maestro Tim McMeekin, el cabo maestro Arron Perry y los cabos Dennis Eason y Rob Furlong - eliminaron a más de 20 enemigos y cada uno de ellos fue nominado para la medalla Estrella de Bronce de las Fuerzas Armadas de los Estados Unidos.

Estos dos récords fueron superados más tarde en noviembre de 2009 por el Cabo de Caballería Craig Harrison del Household Cavalry. Harrison eliminó a dos ametralladoristas talibanes con un solo disparo al sur de Musa Qala, en la Provincia de Helmand, Afganistán, a una distancia de 2.475 m (2707 yardas/1,538 millas), usando un fusil de largo alcance británico L115A3 calibrado para el cartucho .338 Lapua Magnum. Recientemente, un soldado de las fuerzas especiales canadienses(Join Task Force 2) ha batido un nuevo récord de distancia en disparo matandoa un terrorista de ISIS.
Un francotirador canadiense estableció un nuevo récord mundial en la historia militar al haber eliminado a su blanco desde una distancia nunca antes alcanzada. Disparando con su fusil McMillan TAC-50, la nueva marca se realizó desde 3.450 metros de distancia entre el comando y su blanco. La bala recorrió ese camino de terreno iraquí en diez segundos.

Usuarios

  Canadá: Empleado por las Fuerzas Canadienses, con la denominación C15 Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW).
  Estados Unidos: Empleado por el Navy SEAL con la denominación Mk 15.
  Filipinas: Utilizado por el Ejército filipino (unidad desconocida)
  Francia: Marina Francesa.
  Georgia: Brigada de Fuerzas Especiales.
  Israel: Utilizado por las unidades de fuerzas especiales.
  Jordania: Utilizado por el SRR-61 (Regimiento de Reconocimiento Especial).
  Perú: Utilizado por el Ejército y la Marina.
  Sudáfrica: En servicio con la Fuerza Especial de Policía de Sudáfrica.
  Turquía: En Turquía, el McMillan TAC-50 es Utilizado por el Comando General de la Gendarmería. También es empleado por los Comandos de Montaña del Ejército turco.

Futuros

: 4 fusiles comprados en proceso de entrega para las Fuerzas Especiales de la Fuerza Aérea Argentina.

Véase también
 KSVK
 Zastava M93
 PGM Hécate II

Referencias

Enlaces externos

 Página web oficial del McMillan Tac-50 (en inglés)
 Datos técnicos del McMillan Tactical Tac-50 (en inglés)
 Fusil de francotirador McMillan Tac-50 (en inglés)

Fusiles de cerrojo
Fusiles de francotirador
Fusiles de francotirador de 12,7 mm


Amber Anderson is a mother and wife. She is also a creative, a strategist and co-founder of Tote + Pears, the agency that designs and markets products, services and experiences for women. Amber helps businesses and brands connect with women authentically by highlighting the multidimensional experiences that shape their identities. Her intersectional approach to product development and marketing, which she calls The Tote +Pears Way, has helped businesses of all sizes — from startups to enterprises — address market challenges, launch new products and services, and adapt to changing markets by bringing their customers into sharper focus.
After the premature birth of her son, Amber re-evaluated the pressures put on working parents and invested in creating space for families to thrive, together. In 2016, she and her husband, Kai-Saun, co-founded MORE, an innovative community dedicated to helping working parents enjoy both family and professional life.
Amber is a graduate of Arizona State University. She has been featured in media outlets such as NPR, Forbes, Inc., BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post, YFS Magazine, Women 2.0, SUCCESS, Thrive Global and The Business Collective. Amber is also an active member of the Young Entrepreneurship Council (YEC) and a frequent contributor to American Express Open Forum.


The Hawaii Skunk is a short strong outdoor plant that grows well outdoors in warm climates. It is a compact plant with wide leaves that have bright coloured pistons and is heavily crystallized. The smell and taste is a typical hashy skunk which is quite musky, and the effect is a trippy sativa high that is uplifting.


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US sends militants to Ukraine to organize terrorist underground, SVR chief says
It is noted that currently, the US sees its main task in "prolonging the conflict as much as possible, making it as costly as possible both for Moscow and Kiev while simultaneously not letting the escalation spread further to the West.
MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Washington sends militants to Ukraine in order to organize a terrorist underground movement in the country, according to an article by Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin published in the National Defense (Natsionalnaya Oborona) magazine.
"[Washington] is using the most underhanded methods, up to dispatching armed militants to Ukrainian territory who are instructed to organize and maintain the so-called partisan but actually terrorist underground in the country," he pointed out.
According to the intelligence chief, currently the US sees its main task in "prolonging the conflict as much as possible, making it as costly as possible both for Moscow and Kiev while simultaneously not letting the escalation spread further to the West." That said, "the US, much like the majority of the rest of NATO members, is clearly not ready to go beyond providing moral and financial support to the Kiev junta and openly enter direct armed confrontations on its [Ukraine's] side," he asserted.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Russian State Duma delegation to visit Turkmenistan
According to the Duma's press service, the visit will include meetings where the lawmakers will discuss the new formats of interparliamentary cooperation


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Reclaimed Gym Flooring and Bleachers from Pioneer Millworks Puts Eco-Minded School Design Firm Ahead of the Class
Ashley McGraw Architects uses locally salvaged gym flooring and bleachers from Pioneer Millworks in their new office to highlight sustainable school design.
Original gym flooring with reclaimed bleacher boards add character to the Ashley McGraw office in Syracuse, NY.
"Sourcing this so close to our headquarters, from a school I attended and specifically from a gym I played sports in, was remarkable."
Syracuse, New York (PRWEB) September 09, 2015
Two local businesses have teamed up to make a workspace a little more fun for employees at a Syracuse, NY architectural and interior design firm. Ashley McGraw Architects collaborated with Pioneer Millworks, a Farmington, NY-based reclaimed wood company to bring reclaimed gym flooring and bleacher boards into the design firm's remodeled office space.
The material was sourced from Geneva Middle School, just 55 miles from Ashley McGraw and 28 miles from Pioneer Millworks. "Sourcing this so close to our headquarters, from a school I attended and specifically from a gym I played sports in, was remarkable," shares Jered Slusser, reclaimed wood expert at Pioneer Millworks. "When Ashley McGraw reached out looking for reclaimed wood for their office remodel, I knew immediately that we had the right product. It is a great fit and it feels good when a local company gives reclaimed wood a second life."
Ashley McGraw specializes in school design and they were excited to bring iconic school building materials into their space. The office remodel utilized Geneva Middle School bleachers and gym flooring. Original surfaces were maintained allowing the mixture of court lines and varying school colors to be celebrated. "It looks like confetti!" said Susan Angarano, interior designer with the firm. Tonal differences from the various schools helped create a border from the circulation spaces into the office areas at the company. Bleacher boards were incorporated as screen walls and ceiling accents.
The Pioneer Millworks team salvaged the hard maple flooring and Douglas fir bleachers from the 1920s gymnasium during the building's deconstruction. Special attention was given to maintaining the original appearance of the wood, including surface finishes, bolt-holes, colors, and milling.
"Gym flooring is one of our most colorful reclaimed products with a history most folks quickly relate to," says Slusser. The painted planks from the gymnasium were sorted from the others and used in the circulation spaces of the office, while a small balance of flooring from two other schools was used in the materials library. The old gym flooring has varying lengths, some up to five feet long while the bleachers boards are up to sixteen feet long.
Both NY companies have found likeness in their commitment to sustainability and conserving the world's resources. "Every day, we challenge ourselves to embrace the possibility of a fully sustainable world," states Ashley McGraw. "Our contribution is schools and campuses that respect, support, and nurture the learning experience and work in concert with the earth and its resources."
David Ashley and Ed McGraw founded Ashley McGraw Architects in Syracuse in 1981. Their work includes classrooms, laboratories, recreational, and residential buildings, as well as sustainability strategies and master plans for public and private primary, intermediate, secondary, and high education facilities.
Pioneer Millworks is the leader in the reclaimed wood industry. To date, they've rescued nearly 24 million board feet of old wood from rot and landfills, giving it new life as flooring, paneling, millwork, cabinetry, and more. All wood is manufactured in a way that's healthy for customers, employees, and the environment. Pioneer Millworks is FSC certified and Green America approved. All of their products are LEED point eligible.
Megan Dean
Pioneer Millworks
@pioneermillwork
The gym flooring was reclaimed by Pioneer Millworks from Geneva Middle School in Geneva, NY. Reclaimed oak boards were used for wall cladding in the entry way. Reclaimed oak boards were used for wall cladding in the break room. Reclaimed from educational institutions around the country, gym flooring can be re-installed as is, with the color schemes creating a random and playful reminder of its source.


Today is End the R-Word day. You know what word I'm talking about. It was once a commonly used term for someone with intellectual disabilities. The word itself – retard, a verb meaning "to delay or hold back" – is benign. But when used as a noun, it becomes something else, a pejorative, a hurtful, offensive, derogatory way of categorizing and excluding those in the disability community.
But I understand that if you've never known a single person with special needs, it's easier to categorize them all into one box and put that box up on a high shelf, where it can't frighten you and you don't have to look at it.
So when I wrote The Chocolate Comeback (Love at the Chocolate Shop Book 7) , I deliberately included a young man with Down syndrome. I wanted to introduce readers to a character they may have never encountered before, and let them get to know him. I thought, once they met Mark, they might see that he's just a person, with a person's thoughts and feelings.
It was a risk, I knew. These are romance readers. They might not want to read about this much "real life." People might judge my portrayal of this young man harshly, either painting him too idealized or too "old-school". They might avoid the book, thinking the story would be dark or sad.
What I loved most about this book was that it tackled such a heavy topic – developmental disabilities – and didn't sugarcoat the reality of it. We saw both angles, that of the family member and that of an outsider with zero experience joining that family. While her first book in this series [The Chocolate Cure (Love at the Chocolate Shop Book 4) ] remains my favorite, I think this one gets so deep and made me want to be a better person.
…this story is realistic. It's well thought out and researched. It is believable and at times brutally honest. I've come to realize that there are three categories of humans, those that accept people no matter their differences, those that are afraid of what they don't know and will do everything to tear down a person for their differences, and those that might have a touch of non-thinking cruelty but soon discover that people are people no matter their differences and come to accept and enjoy every person in their own right. We encounter all three of those in The Chocolate Comeback. And Mark's portrayal and that acceptance of reality is a major part of what made this story so believable for me – and enjoyable as well.
Wow. There are so many big messages and even bigger emotions in this book. Messages of respect, understanding, tolerance, love, hope, and redemption fill the pages and are so skillfully woven into the story you almost don't even realize you're hearing them.
I particularly loved writing this book. Below are a few scenes. For a bit of backstory, my heroine, DeeDee, is a failed fashion model who's taken a temporary position as companion to Mark, a young man with Down syndrome, who lives with his older brother, Isaac, the hero. DeeDee doesn't start off as a very sympathetic character. Here, while jogging in the park, DeeDee sees Mark and Isaac for the first time, when her sister Maddie points them out, knowing Isaac needs to hire a companion for Mark.
One was tall and athletic, the other short and wide, like a fireplug. Even from this distance, DeeDee could see he was handicapped in some way. The tall guy jogged backward and forward as if impatient to get going.
"How would you feel about being a care aide?" Maddie asked.
In fact, DeeDee still has a lot of growing to do. But grow, she does. Toward the end, she has just organized a baby shower for a single expectant mother named Portia, and half the town has turned up, including a nasty, bigoted woman named Carol Bingley. This is a scene that had readers cheering.
Isaac had joined her just in time to hear this part of Carol's rant, and DeeDee saw him stiffen at her words.
She put up a hand to keep him from talking. She had this, cold.
She shoved her through the door and closed it behind her, barely managing to resist kicking it.
Our fictitious world of Marietta, Montana is full of wonderful characters. Sara Marie, the girl with autism, comes from Melt My Heart, Cowboy (Love at the Chocolate Shop Book 1) by my pal C.J. Carmichael, and I introduced Jade in Her Montana Hero (Montana Home Book 1) . Have you read any books that with characters with special needs?
Recently, I picked up a copy of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown. You know what they say about the teacher appearing when the student is ready? It feels as if this is the book landed in my sight-line at exactly the right moment.
It's about vulnerability and transformation.
If you've been reading me for any length of time, you know that one of my key-words is authenticity. I strive to tell the truth in my books, to dig into the real issues of a character, a relationship, and figure it out. I strive to be real, to be honest with myself and with others.
This is REALLY HARD. Because being honest, being authentic, means being vulnerable.
I've always secretly believed this desire for authenticity to be my super-power, however I'm extremely aware that vulnerability is not valued in much of our culture and that you have to have really good boundaries to remain safe, while being authentic and vulnerable. I'm not always that great at determining the people who are safe, the times and places where this part of me will be valued. Which means, I can get really hurt. And when I get hurt, I withdraw, like a turtle, into my shell.
I've spent a lot of time inside my shell. Note: it's not a great place to be.
Brené Brown's book, and her videos and TED talks, addresses this fear – terror really – that we all have of revealing our true selves… and being rejected. Her research is about the true power that lies within vulnerability, how we can't fully engage in our own lives unless and until we embrace it.