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17 Facts about the Queen of England
Max Hartshorne 0 Comments June 12, 2013
The Queen doesn't need a license to drive.
If you think of England, it's hard not to think of the famous Queen, who has presided over the throne for many decades. Here are some facts about England's most famous person.
This year, Queen Elizabeth celebrates the 60th anniversary of her coronation, which took place on 2 June 1953. On that day she was driven in the beautifully appointed Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey with her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh.
The iconic carriage was pulled by eight of the famous Windsor Grey horses and is known to be one of the largest and most lavishly decorated carriages in the world. It has recently been made available for viewing by the public at The Royal Mews — the office that provides all road transport for the Queen and Royal Family and that is one of the finest working stables in existence.
If you love your trivia, havebooked your London airline ticketsrecently and are getting ready to pay the city a visit, you might like to get in the Royal mood by reading up on these 17 fun facts about Queen Elizabeth.
In 2003 Queen Elizabeth sat for her first (and only) hologram portrait. Made up of over 10,000 individual layered images of her, the portrait has a 3D effect.
The Queen wasn't able to say her name properly as a child, thus creating her "Lilibet" nickname!
The monarch does not require an interpreter whenever she visits French-speaking countries as she speaks the language fluently and uses it regularly for audiences and state visits.
Although Queen Elizabeth's birthday is celebrated officially in June, her actual date of birth is 21 April. This tradition began after earlier British monarchs with winter birthdates decided that public celebrations were more fun in summer!
The Queen has visited several TV soap-opera sets. She has checked out the behind-the-scenes workings of popular shows such as "EastEnders" and "Coronation Street".
Queen Elizabeth sent her very first email from a British army base in 1976. The contents have never been documented.
The Queen is known for her love of the corgi dog breed, and in fact, she has owned more than 30 during her reign. Her first corgi, Susan, was an 18th birthday gift.
She also happened to introduce a new dog breed to the world a number of years ago. The "Dorgi" was created when one of her dogs mated with a dachshund that belonged to Princess Margaret!
The Queen, who learnt to drive in 1945, is the only person in Britain who is allowed to drive without a license or a number plate on her car.
Believe it or not, Queen Elizabeth is also handy with machines — she is apparently the only British monarch ever trained to change a spark plug (she took a car-maintenance course during World War II). She also learnt how to fix truck engines as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the female branch of the British army.
She works with more than 600 charities and organisations and has actually been a patron of over 400 of them since 1952.
The Queen has received plenty of unusual gifts over the years. On foreign tours she has been given two tortoises, a bull elephant named "Jumbo", two black beavers, a grove of maple trees and a box of snail shells!
She was the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary and actually met her husband, Prince Philip, when she was only 13 years old.
It's believed that at her coronation, the Queen found her official robes so heavy that at the start of the ceremony she had to ask the Archbishop of Canterbury to give her a push, saying, "Get me started!"
While Elizabeth is one well-travelled lady, she doesn't actually own a passport. The British monarchy's website says: "As a British passport is issued in the name of her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one".
Queen Elizabeth is woken every morning by the sounds of her personal bagpiper.
Although most people address her as "Your Majesty", to her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, she is just affectionately called "Granny".


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Morrison exits Once Upon A Time as series regular
by Doc on May.08, 2017, under Television
In a bit of a shocker announcement today, actress Jennifer Morrison has elected not to return to Once Upon A Time for a seventh season, should ABC renew the show.
Morrison's character of Emma Swan has been central to the show for the entire run, and to lose a central character like that can be difficult for the writers to deal with. But the show was looking at a re-imagining of itself already, with word on the street that four specific characters are targeted – Swan, Hook (Colin O'Donoghue), Regina (Lana Parrilla), and Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle). With all the original cast contracts up at the end of Season 6 (O'Donoghue still has a year on his), other current cast members were likely to be relegated to guest stars or even less. Parrilla and Carlyle are said to be close to signing, and Andrew J. West (Dead Of Summer) is expected to join as a regular after making his debut on the two-part season finale.
Morrison did agree to a guest appearance in Season 7. She announced her departure on her Instagram account:
As I reached the end of my 6 year contract on ONCE UPON A TIME, I was faced with a significant decision. ABC, Eddy Kitsis, and Adam Horowitz very generously invited me to continue as a series regular. After very careful consideration, I have decided that creatively and personally, it is time for me to move on. Emma Swan is one my favorite characters that I have ever played. My 6 years on ONCE UPON A TIME has changed my life in the most beautiful ways. I am absolutely blown away by the passion and commitment of the Oncer fans. I am so honored to have been a central part of such a special show. I will be forever grateful to Adam, Eddy, and ABC for giving me the gift of playing Emma Swan. As I move on to other creative endeavors, I will continue to attend the fan conventions whenever my professional schedule allows. I always look forward meeting the fans. If ABC Network does in fact order a season 7, I have agreed to appear in one episode, and I will most certainly continue to watch ONCE UPON A TIME. The creativity of the show runners has always inspired me, and I cannot wait to see the ways that they continue to develop and reinvent the show. #Onceuponatime #EmmaSwan #UglyDucklings
A post shared by jenmorrisonlive (@jenmorrisonlive) on May 8, 2017 at 4:48am PDT
:abc, once upon a time

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Considering the amount of time I spend in the Virtual World, there really pught to be more written about it from a poetic standpoint. Consider this notice that's going to happen, and that there's a tenable connection between life and data.
Again, another one for the 'very happy how it turned out' pile.


The Salewa Puez Half Zip jacket made with TirolWool Celliant textiles.
In 2016, Dr. Mehmet Oz testified in front of Congress for his promotion of a "miracle diet pill" due to a class action lawsuit against himself. According to their website, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not approve or give accreditation to such products and for good reason. Established in 1938, the federal agency is dedicated to overseeing and regulating the safety of drugs, tobacco, and medical products to name a few. In order to protect the consumer, the F.D.A. expresses that to make health related claims, companies must fulfill certain criteria proven by scientific research prior to being approved. A topic as serious as one's health puts pressure on the wellness industry which is why companies like Hologenix spend years working towards the necessary F.D.A. approval.
Developed over the span of 16 years, the textile has infrared fibers within its thread as a means of conducting blood flow and recycling the body's energy. Like something out of a sci-fi novel, Hologenix CEO Seth Casden explains that the "fibers were selected for their thermo-reactive ability to convert body heat into infrared energy and emit it back into the body, it's completely natural using the body's own energy." Created with a team of researchers, developers and scientists, Celliant can now make the physiological claim and be placed on the market giving consumers peace of mind to know it will help their blood circulation.
What can good blood circulation do for you?
The importance of blood circulation is simple, it supplies oxygen to the brain, heart and every organ of the body. To find out if poor blood circulation is an issue, all it takes is a quick Google search for "blood circulation medication" that yields over 1.8 million results. The epidemic is only set to grow because according to recent studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 Americans currently experiences chronic pain and 75 million have high blood pressure.
Geographical view of US population with self-reported hypertension according to data from 2011.
While technological advancements and innovations created comfortable lifestyles, they also brought out new physical ailments not dealt with before. Poor blood circulation is a hidden condition that impacts many Americans leading to varicose veins, hypertension, high blood pressure and more. "There's no energy organ, energy is made by every single cell individually and that process is dependent on blood flow and getting oxygen into the cell. This can improve and enhance the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cell thereby improving the body's ability to produce energy," Casden explains.
To aid circulation many turn to medication, therapeutic treatment and experimental trends which can prove to be expensive. Diet and exercise are important factors as well but having that extra tool full of thermo-reactive minerals that can increase blood flow will positively impact oxygen levels, enhance cell vitality, sleep quality, stamina and regulate body temperature.
Infrared has become more than a popular health buzzword in recent years with IR lights being implemented in saunas, yoga studios and now within textiles. Using the safe sun rays, not the harmful UV rays, IR has actually been a healing source for thousands of years with evidence dating back to ancient Greece and China. Today, hospitals and doctors use the technology to treat a number of ailments ranging from high blood pressure, to congestive heart failure, muscle tears and rheumatoid arthritis.
While the technology has been around for thousands of years, the F.D.A. still requires scientific backed research to prove its benefits before Hologenix could say that it "increased blood flow". Research and studies were done with animals and plants on whom the placebo effect wouldn't apply.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the health and wellness industry hit the $3.7 trillion mark in 2015, gaining momentum with each passing year. Predicted to accelerate by a growth of 17% in the upcoming years, it's doing this in correlation to the sportswear industry, respectively worth $1.6 trillion. Yet despite the saturation, there's still a disconnect between it and the medical industry. Innovative textiles are in constant demand as performance based products impact the way people shop. From instant-dry textiles to recyclable materials, activewear offers a grand variety though results-based attire is not guaranteed.
So what is the future of this invisible technology? At the current moment the textile is available in the form of apparel, bedding, veterinary items and medical devices. Hologenix is also focusing on working with various brands to have them use the technology within their garments while they focus on getting more certification. Having previously worked with Adidas and Reebok, Celliant is currently available in the products of over 30 companies though they aim for more than just apparel and bed sheets. Because Celliant is available in polyester and nylon, in both filament and spun yarns it can be used in countless ways. It also doesn't lose its mineral blend from the fibers during wash cycles creating a longer lasting product.
When looking for aids in health, it's important to remember that claims of instantaneous results and physiological improvements can be made by anybody but it's necessary to investigate the source and their accreditation. Having the F.D.A. designation opens many doors for various industries to take advantage of the Celliant technology. Moving forward, Casden expresses his strategy to take on the sportswear, the health and wellness industries, "now that we can legally make the claim 'blood flow', we're just getting started."


The shareholders of Cavotec SA are hereby invited to an Annual General Meeting to be held on Friday, May 10, 2019, at 15:00 CEST (doors open at 14:00 CEST) at Cavotec's headquarters, Via G.B. Pioda 14, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.
The Board of Directors proposes that the annual report, the financial statements and the consolidated financial statement for the year 2018 be approved.
The Board of Directors proposes that discharge be granted to all the members of the Board of Directors and the Persons entrusted with the Management for the business year 2018.
The Board wishes to establish a Long Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP") for certain key employees to increase and enhance its ability to recruit, retain and motivate employees, and to encourage personal long-term ownership of Cavotec shares among the participants. The intention is also to unite the interest of the employees with the interests of shareholders.
The decision on this kind of issue is, according to Swiss law, a matter reserved for the Board of Directors. Nevertheless, the Board wishes to consult the Annual General Meeting in a non-binding, consultative vote on the principle of implementing a long-term performance share program 2019-2021.
The Board of Directors shall be authorized to increase the share capital in an amount not to exceed CHF 24,126,259.20 through the issuance of up to 18,848,640 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.28 per share by not later than May 10, 2021. Increases in partial amounts shall be permitted.
The Board of Directors shall determine the date of issue of new shares, the issue price, the type of payment, the conditions for the exercise of pre-emptive rights, and the beginning date for dividend entitlement. In this regard, the Board of Directors may issue new shares by means of a firm underwriting ("Festübernahme") through a banking institution, a syndicate or another third party with a subsequent offer of these shares to the shareholders. The Board of Directors may permit pre-emptive rights that have not been exercised to expire or it may place these rights and/or shares as to which pre-emptive rights have been granted but not exercised, at market conditions or use them for other purposes in the interest of the Company.
c) for the issuance of shares to employees or directors of the Company or of the group companies pursuant to share based incentive plans approved by the Board of Directors.
• the CEO for the next business year (2020).
The Board of Directors proposes to approve the maximum aggregate amount of EUR 1,000,000 for the remuneration (covering fixed and variable pay, pension contribution, social charges, etc.) for the Board of Directors for the business year 2020.
The Board of Directors proposes to approve the maximum aggregate amount of EUR 2,500,000 for the remuneration (covering fixed and variable pay, pension contribution, social charges, etc.) for the CEO for the business year 2020.
Pursuant to Art. 13 of the Articles of Association the Directors are elected each year to hold office until the following annual shareholders' meeting. Directors may be re-elected.
Fabio Cannavale, Erik Lautmann, Patrik Tigerschiöld and Roberto Italia stand for re-election, while Annette Kumlien and Niklas Edling are proposed for election. Heléne Mellquist and Helena Thrap-Olsen do not stand for re-election.
The Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, proposes that Fabio Cannavale, Erik Lautmann, Patrik Tigerschiöld and Roberto Italia be re-elected as Directors for a further one-year term of office expiring at the AGM to be held in 2020.
The Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, proposes to elect Annette Kumlien and Niklas Edling to the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, furthermore proposes to nominate Patrik Tigerschiöld as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Pursuant to Art. 13 of the Articles of Association the members of the Remuneration Committee are elected each year to hold office until the following annual shareholders' meeting. Members of the Remuneration Committee may be re-elected.
The Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, proposes that Erik Lautmann and Patrik Tigerschiöld be re-elected as members of the Remuneration Committee. Fabio Cannavale is proposed for election.
The Board of Directors, based on the recommendation of the Nomination Committee, proposes that PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, Lugano, Switzerland be re-elected as Cavotec's independent auditor for business year 2019.
Pursuant to Art. 9a of the Articles of Association the independent proxy is elected each year to hold office until the following annual shareholders' meeting. The independent proxy may be re-elected.
The Board of Directors proposes that Mr. Franco Brusa, Attorney-at-law, Via G.B. Pioda 5, Lugano, Switzerland be re-elected as Cavotec's independent proxy for an additional one-year term expiring at the AGM 2020.
All material for the 2019 AGM is also available on the Company's website ir.cavotec.com, and shareholders may request copies at no cost of these documents at the following e-mail address: agm@cavotec.com.
The Annual General Meeting, deviating from the Swedish Corporate Governance Code (the "Code"), will be held in English and information and material will be available in English only. This is in accordance with an exemption granted by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
The Annual General Meeting will take place in Lugano, Switzerland, and will be chaired by Patrik Tigerschiöld, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Only shareholders entered in the share register with the right to vote on May 2, 2019, will be entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Admission tickets will be sent out from May 2, 2019, to shareholders indicating in the proxy form to attend the Annual General Meeting in person or the shareholder's legal representative, as the case may be. Shareholders whose shares are held through a bank or broker acting as a nominee with Euroclear Sweden AB must request their bank or broker to have their shares temporarily owner-registered with Euroclear Sweden AB. Such registration must be completed no later than May 2, 2019. Shareholders are requested to inform their nominees in good time prior to this date. Please note that you do not need to attend the Annual General Meeting in person and that you may appoint a proxy to represent you.
• Any third person, by contacting them directly.
Please note that the proxy form is also available on the Company's website ir.cavotec.com.
On the website http://anmalan.vpc.se/Cavotec2019 shareholders have the possibility to appoint the independent proxy and to give him instructions electronically. Registered shareholders will receive their personal login data (the "Individual Login") by regular mail. The proxy granted electronically (the "Electronic Proxy") has the same validity as the physical Proxy Form. Please note that you cannot vote twice (electronically and by mail); the instructions (electronic or by mail) which have been given later prevail. Additional information on the Electronic Proxy is available on http://anmalan.vpc.se/Cavotec2019.
The following information is to shareholders who hold their Cavotec shares through SIX SIS AG.
To attend the AGM and exercise your voting right, you must be registered in the share register of Cavotec SA ("Share Register") and complete the Proxy Form in accordance with the instructions set out below.
• Shareholders must instruct their custodian bank to register them as shareholders in the Share Register of Cavotec SA by sending a Proxy Form to Cavotec SA, c/o Computershare Schweiz AG, Share Register, Baslerstrasse 90, CH-4600 Olten.
• The registration in the Share Register may be requested at any time.
• The registration must be completed on the Record Date at the latest.
Shareholders who are already registered in the Share Register do not have to perform any additional steps and will be provided automatically with the Proxy Form as well as with the Individual Login.
Please note that the registration process may take time. To ensure their registration in time for the AGM, shareholders are therefore kindly invited to issue instructions to their custodian bank as soon as possible.
Shareholders, who are registered in the Share Register, will receive a Proxy Form as well as the Individual Login by regular mail directly from Cavotec SA. Shareholders will be able to appoint the Independent Proxy, Mr. Franco Brusa, Attorney-at-law, Via G.B. Pioda 5, Lugano, Switzerland or a third person as proxy or register to attend the AGM by using physical Proxy Forms. Alternatively, shareholders will also be able to appoint the Independent Proxy electronically on http://anmalan.vpc.se/Cavotec2019.
• The Proxy Form will be sent out via regular mail on April 2, 2019.
• In order to attend the AGM or vote by proxy, the Proxy Form must be returned to Cavotec SA, c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, PO Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden or (in case of a proxy conferred to the Independent Proxy) to Mr. Franco Brusa c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, PO Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden, well in advance and in any case before May 8, 2019. In order to vote by Electronic Proxy, the Electronic Proxy must be completed according to the instructions set out on http://anmalan.vpc.se/Cavotec2019 by May 9, 2019, at 2pm at the latest.
To be granted access to the AGM, the Proxy Form must be filled out and returned in accordance with the instructions set out above.
The following information is to shareholders who hold their Cavotec shares through Euroclear Sweden AB, which shares trade on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm Exchange ("Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares").
To attend the AGM and exercise your voting right, you must register your voting rights in the register of shareholders kept by Euroclear Sweden AB ("Register of Shareholders") and complete the Proxy Form or the Electronic Proxy in accordance with the instructions set out below.
Holders of Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares who hold their Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares on an account directly with Euroclear Sweden, a CSD-account (Sw: Vp-konto), will be automatically included in the Register of Shareholders and do not have to perform any registration regarding voting rights.
• Nominee-registered Holders must request the nominee to register their Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares temporarily in their own name in the Register of Shareholders.
• The registration in the Register of Shareholders will start on April 11, 2019, 21 calendar days prior to the Record Date.
• The registration in the Register of Shareholders must be completed at end of business day at the Record Date at the latest.
• Nominee-registered Holders with Non-affiliated Nominees must request their custodian bank or their nominee to register their Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares temporarily in their own name in the Register of Shareholders. To do so, you must instruct the institution where you have your account to forward the registration request to Euroclear Sweden AB through its own custodians and/or nominees.
Please note that the registration process may take time in such circumstances. To ensure their registration, shareholders are therefore kindly invited to issue instructions to their Non-affiliated Nominees as soon as possible.
Holders of Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares, registered on either a CSD-account (Sw Vp-konto) or a custody account with a nominee directly affiliated to Euroclear Sweden AB will receive a Proxy Form as well as the Individual Login by regular mail directly from Euroclear Sweden AB.
Recipients will be able to appoint a proxy or register to attend the AGM by using physical Proxy Forms. Recipients will also be able to grant a proxy and issue instructions to the Independent Proxy electronically by using the Electronic Proxy.
• In case Holders of Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares intend to appoint a proxy or register to attend to the AGM, the Proxy Form must be filled out, signed, dated and returned to the addresses below well in advance and in any case before May 8, 2019. In order to vote by Electronic Proxy, the Electronic Proxy must be completed according to the instructions set out on http://anmalan.vpc.se/Cavotec2019 by May 9, 2019, at 2pm at the latest.
• Download the Proxy Form from the web site www.cavotec.com. The form will be available from April 1, 2019.
• Print and fill out the Proxy Form downloaded from www.cavotec.com and return it signed and to the address below well in advance of May 1, 2019.
Non-affiliated Nominees are urged to forward the above information to their custody-account holders holding Euroclear Registered Cavotec Shares.
To be granted access to the AGM and to enable voting right both the registration of voting rights as described above and the Proxy Form must be filled out and returned in accordance with the instructions set out above.
Even if you intend to participate in person, you must fill out the Proxy Form.
No information meeting will be held before the Annual General Meeting. Interested shareholders are instead encouraged to participate in the company's annual Investor Information Meeting in Stockholm on May 7th, 2019. Please refer to the Company's website ir.cavotec.com for more information.
The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 13:00 CEST on 2 April 2019.


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Council - Monday, 28th September, 2020 6.15 pm, NEW
Agenda reports pack
Public questions_written responses PDF 209 KB
Maidenhead Community Centre Petition - Updated report PDF 221 KB
Maidenhead Community Options EqIA - updated PDF 337 KB
Contact: Karen Shepherd 01628 796529
To receive any apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bateson, W. Da Costa, L. Jones and Reynolds.
To receive any declarations of interest
Councillor Singh declared a personal interest in the item 'Community Options – Maidenhead' because one of the Trustees of Maidenhead Community Centre was a neighbour and acquaintance. He would take part in the discussion and vote on the item.
Public Questions PDF 112 KB
The deadline for public questions (directly relating to an item on the agenda) is 12noon on Tuesday 22 September 2020.
For information contact karen.shepherd@rbwm.gov.uk or 01628 796529.
(The Council will set aside a period of 30 minutes to deal with public questions, which may be extended at the discretion of the Mayor in exceptional circumstances. The Member who provides the initial response will do so in writing. The written response will be published as a supplement to the agenda by 5pm one working day before the meeting. The questioner shall be allowed up to one minute to put a supplementary question at the meeting. The supplementary question must arise directly out of the reply provided and shall not have the effect of introducing any new subject matter. A Member responding to a supplementary question will have two minutes to respond).
a) Andrew Hill of Boyn Hill ward asked the following question of Councillor Johnson, Leader of the Council:
The MCC submitted an Asset of Community Value nomination on May 11th 2020. By law the site MUST be designated or refused ACV status within 8 weeks. Was the RVS site designated an ACV (or not) under regulation 7 of the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012, and on what date?
Written response: Thank you for your question Mr Hill. There has been a delay in determining the application. An apology was provided to MCC as their email with the application was not picked up for a number of weeks due to staff being refocused on to the Council's response to COVID 19. Subsequent to that due to the existence of a development agreement and planning permission relating to the site specialist legal advice has had to be commissioned to support determination of the application. We are sorry for the delay and the application will shortly be determined.
By way of supplementary question, Mr Hill referred to paragraph 2.12 of the report where it stated that the ACV application was being considered in line with the relevant legislation yet in the written response to his question it was stated that this was not true and in fact regulation 7 had been breached. Worse still, it appeared that Councillor Johnson intended to go on defying the statutory deadline. Section 5 of the report (legal implications) did not inform Members of the statutory breaches. Mr Hill asked why this was the case and why had RBWM decided not to comply with all statutory requirements?
Councillor Johnson responded by restating that the reason the application had not been determined in the required timescale was due to the reallocation of resources to tackle the more immediate issue of COVID-19. The council would be determining the application in line with its statutory obligations. Although this was delayed, it did not mean the council would not pay regard to the due process going forward. It was also fair to say that the council had arrived at a solution which would be discussed later in the agenda; the question was somewhat academic given the information now in Part I.
b) Andrew Hill of Boyn Hill ward asked the following question of Councillor Johnson, Leader of the Council:
It is outrageous that the location for the proposed centre is "part 2" confidential. Councillors gave planning consent conditional on the understanding that Countryside would enter a legal contract for MCC's move: to pay £650,000 to improve the Desborough Suite. Is Countryside still obliged to pay £650,000 (s106), and what community facilities will it be spent on?
Written response: Thank you for your question Mr Hill. The proposed location was Part II so that the confidential discussions with the relevant parties could be completed. As soon as we can, this information will be made available in Part I.
Countryside are required to pay the contribution of £650,000 for improving the Desborough ... view the full minutes text for item 33.
Maidenhead Community Centre Petition PDF 148 KB
The Constitution provides for a maximum time of 30 minutes to debate petitions; this can be overruled at the Mayor's discretion.
In accordance with the Constitution, the order of speaking shall be as follows:
a) The Mayor may invite the relevant officer to set out the background to the petition issue.
b) The Lead Petitioner to address the meeting on the petition (5 minutes maximum)
c) The Mayor to invite any relevant Ward Councillors present to address the meeting. (5 minutes maximum each)
d) The Mayor to invite the relevant officer to provide any further comment.
e) The Mayor will invite all Members to debate the matter (Rules of Debate as per the Constitution apply)
Additional documents:
Maidenhead Community Centre Petition - Updated report , item 34. PDF 148 KB
Maidenhead Community Options EqIA v2 , item 34. PDF 255 KB
Members considered the following petition:
We the undersigned petition The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to Stop RBWM demolishing Maidenhead Community Centre and moving us to an inadequate temporary site!.
The Director of Place explained that the York Road development, the first of the Council's regeneration projects, required vacant possession of Phase II and Phase III, for these to proceed.
Phase II was currently occupied by Maidenhead Community Centre (MCC), with a head lease held by Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) and the freehold interest held by the council. The council had been in negotiations with both RVS and MCC regarding the surrender of the head lease and the relocation of MCC to an alternative facility.
The Part II report on the agenda set out a proposed way forward so that phase II of the York Road regeneration scheme could progress and the future location of MCC could be secured. The proposed way forward would involve MCC moving to 4 Marlow Road, Maidenhead. This would be a site in line with the requirements they had indicated and would not involve a move to a temporary site.
Jack Douglas, lead petitioner, explained that in late 2016 RVS had advised that the building would close. He ran a small church that used a room at the site. He had been aware the site was earmarked for development but the building would now be mothballed. It was felt that it would be a shame to simply board the building up therefore RVS had been asked if volunteers could run the facility. MCC had therefore been set up as a charity in 2017. The community centre had flourished; prices were kept low but over £100,000 of income had been raised. Given the level of demand for the building it would be a shame if what had been built up would be knocked down with the building. Several years and two petitions later, the same question was still being asked. During the three years of meetings with the council discussions had been friendly and constructive however financial constraints and the pandemic meant a solution had been difficult to find. An earlier offer of a temporary location followed by a permanent site had been considered deeply but it had been felt that a temporary move would have resulted in the destruction of the services provided. Mr Douglas provided a personal example of the difficulties of moving to a temporary location. Moving a whole community centre and leaving it in limbo for two years would not have worked. He believed the council cared about the services provided and that the petition had been heard. The opportunity of 4 Marlow Road had now arisen and Members would be asked to vote to put their trust in MCC. He believed that trust would be repaid by making full use of the site for the community for many years. He thanked the residents who had signed the petition, the council for providing the hearing and to those councillors in St ... view the full minutes text for item 34.
Local Government Act 1972 - Exclusion of Public
"That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 6 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act"
RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 6 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.
Community Options - Maidenhead
View the declarations of interest for item 36.
View the reasons why item 36. is restricted
To consider the above report
Recorded Vote
Recorded Vote text
Community Options - Maidenhead Motion Carried
View Recorded Vote for this item


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Iraq warns of 'danger of war' as Iran FM visits
Abdul Mahdi pleads for stability of region and upholding nuclear deal
Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Baghdad, Iraq May 26, 2019. Image Credit: REUTERS
What's behind rising US-Iran tensions in the Gulf?
Iraq urges Iran to respect nuclear accord
Iraq sending teams to Iran, US to calm tensions
Baghdad: Iraqi leaders have warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States.
Zarif's visit to neighbouring Iraq - which is caught in the middle of its two allies the US and Iran - follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi warned of the "danger of a war" during a meeting with Zarif on Saturday night, his office said.
Abdul Mahdi pleaded for the "stability of the region and the upholding of the nuclear deal," it said, referring to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh discussed with Zarif "the need to prevent all war or escalation," his office said.
On Saturday Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region "very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security."
It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets.
Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline.
The US this month ended the last exemptions it had granted from sweeping unilateral sanctions it reimposed on Iran after abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal in May last year.
On Friday, the Pentagon accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of being directly responsible for attacks on tankers off the coast of the UAE earlier this month.
Rear Admiral Michael Gilday, the director of the Joint Staff, on Friday described US intelligence portraying a new Iranian "campaign" that used old tactics, and stretched from Iraq to Yemen to the waters in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime chokepoint for the global oil trade.
This came as US President Donald Trump, declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran, swept aside objections from Congress on Friday to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan.
The Trump administration informed congressional committees that it will go ahead with 22 military sales to the kingdom, UAE and Jordan.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that US partners in the Middle East needed the contracts to be completed to help deter Iran, and that the decision to circumvent Congress was meant to be a "one-time event".
The US on Friday announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the Middle East, describing it as an effort to bolster defences against Iran.


Good product, but it is only the filters, not the stand, the company was contacted and quickly issued me a refund due to the wording in the advertisement not being clear. This is only the filters, which are really good filters. I would deal with this company again.
Have used this type of filter for many years and they save lots of good oil for more use.
, Makes it go thru better.
Product is good quality, and the correct size.
I ordered the cones to fit a filtration frame for renewing old fryer grease. Surprised me hat it worked so well. The fryer grease came out like new. Then i used the cones to drain whey from yogurt. That was better than the cloth bags i'd used. And i didn't have to launder. Just toss the used filter out. Finally, and likely controversial. I am a legally licensed medical marijuana caregiver for 4 patients, who, thanks to the filtering cones, has the benefit of canna-butter and canna-massage-oil. After simmering finely ground marijuana in coconut oil for hours, it is now simple to strain out the spent sludge.
Need to use with a large funnel since the oil drips from many locations as it flows through the filter, but works good for filtering my oil after deep frying a turkey, etc.
Purchased to filter mineral oil used in african small hive beetle traps, under honeybee hives, works great. As the oil is cool or cold it is slow to fillter but stills does the job.
Very good buy, tight weave cloth filters grease very well :).
Wonderful addition to the kitchen.
We fry a lot of fish and they work great. For the price you cannot beat them. Even cheaper than the 1 gallon paint filters in the hardware store.
Ok,so i was unsure about this filter. I purchased it exclusively to remove solids after frying french fries. I was unsure what to expect, did not even buy the filter stand (unitasker). I had an large empty tin can of pineapple juice, cut a 1′ hole on the bottom with a bi-metal hole saw, put the filter in it, poured the oil in the can and it worked like a charm. I had another person hold the can over the vessel which would house the used oil, but it was super quick, clean, efficient. The filter is great and it captured everything from the canola oil. Oh, the oil was room temperature, as well. Will buy again when i run out.
My husband complained about filtering grease after cooking fish. I found this one on amazon, read all the reviews and ordered it. My husband used this morning and loves it. I had a large pot to set the filters system in, used clothes pins to keep the filter in place, heated the grease a little and after filtering the grease is clear and ready for our next use. This is an inexpensive way to keep our grease clean. I recommend this filtering system. The chrome basket is made well and my husband was impressed with the filters.
Filters all the little stuff out so you can use grease over and over again. Suggest heating it up before pouring thru the filters.
Works better than trying to use coffee filters.
I got these with the 10′ filter stand. They were a perfect fit and they worked better than i expected.
While i don't have the stand(s), i just cut the in half and use a simple strainer to filter the oil.
Works great for reusing fish oil.
Great filters, don't have frame yet.
Will catch all the excess crap within your grease. If you fry foods you should obtain.
Cuisinart CPK-17 Programmable Kettle : Highly recommend.
Works great love the programmable temp.
I am a tea lover and thought this would be too much trouble choosing what type of tea, but this is the most simple electric kettle i have ever used.
Not bad , does what it should, i only heat with full pot use what i need and pore out the rest out while still hot leaving top open so it drys fast with no wiping. No complaints so far, owned about a month.
I actually really love this kettle. However less then a month after i received it, it started leaking excessively. I would come back after using it and turning it off and my counter and floor would be covered in water from the kettle. Because it's exactly past one month after the purchase date – not when i received it, i am unable to return it. I bought a square trade extended warrantee which is basically a joke. I don't think i'm going to see any help in getting a replacement or refund. I should have just bought this from a regular store where they would have replaced it.
Loved it but it started leaking only one month after I bought it. Can't return it, warranty from "Square Trade" useless!!
It is good, but the button are oven pressed by mistake, it becomes very hot , and it is heavy, but it functions good.
I used an external thermometer to test the accuracy and it was dead on. The "keep warm" function is useful as i like to walk away and take my time. I also use this for my french press coffee.
My son bought one for me for my birthday. I've had it over a year and it still works perfectly.
Our unit looks great and is good with making hot water at a variety of temperatures, its just that the lid won't close any time it gets even a little warm. I can close it afterwards (usually), but its rather annoying for the price we paid for it.
I've had two of these kettles, each purchased at bloomingdales. They do not last beyond two to three years. I like the programmable feature; however, they do not last long. Personally, i think they should last longer.
I replaced a more expensive breville product. I brew tea every day and i like the water temperature to be a specific temperature, this is good looking, easy to use, easy to keep clean.
I fought with myself over this electric verse a whistling kettle. I went with this one and i loveeeeee it.
We use this to heat the water for our french press.
I have been using this thing everyday for a couple weeks. It works very well and heats the water quickly. Common water temps are programmed for 1 button operation.
It does what it say it will.
It is as awesome at a tea pot can be.
Excellent product easy to use.
After reviewing so many tea kettles, i decided to purchase cuisinart cpk-17 programmable kettle. First of all, it's made of stainless steel which preserves the taste of water and doesn't give off hint of rusty taste. It looks so neat in our modern kitchen. I love having 6 temperature modes so you can choose a different setting for each kind of tea. I drink herbal teas all the time and it's a big no-no to use boiling water as it ruins the taste and its healthy properties. My husband loves green tea which needs even lower temperature. 7-liter capacity is pleanty for a big family or having guests over. As a mom, i love having non-slip stay-cool handle and ability to use the lowest temperature for my little one. Plus, it's bpa free and doesn't accumulate mineral build up on the bottom.
When we got the fryer the box was damaged and one of the heating elements was not working. I called customer service and they informed me that a little white button on the back had to be depressed when the element was seated properly. I bent the metal up a little cause the element would'nt go down far enough and it engaged the button. The owners manual is insufficient. But once i worked the bugs out, the unit works quite well and is worth the price.
My husband bought this for his knights of columbus councils annual fish fry after someone stole their large outdoor propane deep fryer. He was absolutely pleased with this product and it made life so much easier not having to go outside to fry fish. I would definitely suggest this product for purchase. For the most part it's easy to clean and the handle on the basket started to slip a little, but minor adjustments fixed it all.
We have been married for 52 years and have fried a lot of fish during this time. We were so disappointed in the gas fryer we have been using because we could never get all the fish cooked without being soggy and cold. We just fried 77 pieces of crappie in less than 15 minutes in this double deep fryer and we were very pleased. The deep fryer came 2 days earlier than we expected, everything packed to perfection and easy to assemble. Just one unit for the two of us and both units when the family (15 of us) comes over. I gave this a 5 rating because we have no complaints whatsoever.
Fries well but it pulls a lot of power uses way to much electricty.
Did not want to haste returning it.
I use this fryer in a small snack bar. This fryer held up very well on our first run. The heating units fired up right away and in less than 5 minutes, we were ready to fry.The recovery time is pretty quick and i love being able to alternate sides. I always have oil ready for a new batch. I hope it keeps up this momentum.
One the bracket that holds the main heating box snapped off when i touched it. There were marks / scratches on top of main heating box. N when it heated up the sticker that said cuisinairre came off. After i put screws to hold each bracket for main power worked great just don't like the temp in celsius.
Only used it once so far but it seem to work fine.
We use it every day,works great i will buy another one when i need one thanks.
Great fryer fast turn around on heating time.
This item isn't the best quality, but you can't beat the price. One of the two broke after only a few weeks, but the seller very quickly sent me a new one without trouble. I'm very appreciative for their wonderful customer service. And the fryers still work great.
Excellent for the price, works like commercial fryer, i use it for funnel cakes.
They should look at how to better attach the handles>can be very dangerous>>when basket falls back in oil, it splashes the oil on you>need a better way to attach the handles>>thank you bill anderson.
I bought it because it allowed me to cook two different things at the same time. The only thing i have to get used to is the temperature is in celcius.
I received the original product and was not satisfied with the max temperature and there was a welded piece broken off so i decided to return the product. I received a call from the owner of the company who wanted to find out what was wrong with the product and he explained the temperature was in celsius and that blew my mind. I received the product back and i tell you i'm glad he called because it really does the work that i needed. Lightweight, easy to move from place to place and it really heats up very well. I absolutely love it and highly recommend for home or backyard fryer for medium size occasions.
Its a very good fryer works very very well.
Handle comes away from the basket, i just had them welded on for safety reasons.
Had problem at first and the company responded right away, i fixed it and works wonderfully.
Great price and works perfectly. I recommend you purchase this fryer if you are looking for quality, satisfaction and price.
Space saving, efficient and professional look. Performance for the price is great. I would purchase this item again when needed.
I received this item before scheduled delivery, it came packed very well, put it together which was a snap, (maybe 5 minutes) filled it with oil and tried it out. It worked perfectly, looks awesome. I read in some reviews that it took a long time to heat up, i had two separate deep fryers holding three quarts each, these deep fryers hold 6 quarts each and it heated the oil just as fast as my single fryers, so if you are worried about that don't. The quality of the fryer is in my opinion outstanding, truly something you would find in a restaurant, very good quality and it's a pleasure that you can fit a whole bag of fries in one basket, leaving the other basket to cook something else. I would recommend this product to anyone wanting a very well built unit that enjoys deep frying and not have to do little batches at a time. Five stars for sure ten stars if possible.


As Gotabaya Rajapaksa lectures on "counter-terrorism," to the people listening, the truth behind this man won't hurt them. But to numerous others 'hurting' by this man, his speech at the Defence Services Asia Conference in Malaysia this last week would be most revolting.
Talk about illegal evictions, to 'White Van' abductions, to disappearances, to Matale 'mass graves', to Budu Bala Sena terrorism, to torture and sexual violence by the armed forces, to unwarranted militarisation, to land grab, to illegal military occupation, to detentions without charge, to extra-judicial executions, to mass killings, to violations of international law, to war crimes, to mass atrocities – the one name and the one family that is synonymous and inextricably linked to these and other multitude of human rights abuses and heinous crimes in Sri Lanka is none other than Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa family regime.
This man Gotabaya has the impudence to talk about counter- terrorism whilst him and his brothers, lording over their subjects, are actually presiding over a reign of terror in Sri Lanka after having allegedly wiped out 40,000 – 70,000 Tamil civilians and more than 146,000 unaccounted for after the war. They rule with an iron fist, these brothers one of whom is the president. They act as men above the law. To be more precise, these brothers and their henchmen think they are the law, having illegally impeached the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and put a puppet in her place.
If justice prevails, there is every likelihood Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his officers would be hauled for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide before an international tribunal as the international investigation, called for by the UN Human Rights Council, gets underway and reaches its conclusions.
And typically one of the ugly faces, tied to these war crimes allegations and of this "increasingly authoritarian" Sri Lankan government of Rajapaksa, referred to as such by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa who claims to have defeated terrorism has actually put Sri Lanka on the 'abuse watch list' as it were, now more prominently for its infamous human rights record.
Citing human rights abuses, the Canadian Foreign Minister, John Baird says he is, "suspending Canada's $10 million contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat," that's $20 million for the next two years as long as Sri Lanka is Chair.
" Let us take values first. The Commonwealth Charter, agreed in 2012, is historic: the first ever declaration of our common values in a single document. But, frankly, implementation is patchy. We have real concerns in Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth's Chair in Office, where there has been very little progress in investigating the terrible atrocities in the civil war that ended five years ago. The Prime Minister has shown great leadership in securing an international inquiry into this through the UN Human Rights Council," writes Hugo Swire.
It would seem if the two giants, Canada and the UK had their way, the Commonwealth would be fast moving toward removing Sri Lanka as Chair.
"…On learning about the negotiated surrender, the President's brother, the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had called the military commander in the sector concerned, the 58th Division's Brigadier Shavendra Silva, and ordered him not to accept any Tiger leaders trying to surrender. "They must all be killed," Gotabaya Rajapaksa was alleged to have said. Fonseka later backtracked on his interview, saying he'd been quoted out of context, as denials flew around the government. Fonseka lost the election and was hit with charges of corruption, sedition and so on. According to British magazine The Economist, he now sits in a cell wearing shorts, under a portrait of the Boy Scouts founder, Lord Baden-Powell. Yet his story still has legs. According to reports circulating around Sri Lanka and its diaspora, Washington officials have let it be known to the Sri Lankan government they have intelligence intercepts of the conversation in which Gotabaya Rajapaksa is alleged to have ordered the surrendering Tiger cadres be gunned down," Hamish MacDonald writes.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa against whom war crimes allegations have been heaped, based on definitive proof which the Tamil Diaspora say amount to genocide is also the "prime suspect" behind the Matale mass graves which the Sinhalese say also amount to genocide.
In anticipation, the Rajapaksa regime has issued a threat to those who may consider testifying at the international investigation. Rumour has it that many in Gotabaya Rajapaksa's army are ready to testify.
It has now become apparent that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a man much wanted for two sets of mass killings amounting to genocide in both cases. He is able to travel and address international foras but for how long. At the end of the international investigation what are now simply allegations will become established facts and then it will be time for the man who is Sri Lanka's Secretary of Defense to have to answer for his crimes.
The day will surely come when a postscript will be added to the book Gota's War under the heading Gota's Crimes…..


Before & After – 2 days post op.
Not everyone considering a facelift needs a traditional lift – or a traditional extended recovery period. The rapid recovery face lift performed by Dr. David Magilke is now available to improve your neck and jowls, while minimizing your time off work or away from the activities that keep you young.
The rapid recovery lift is a form of "short incision" facelift that limits that amount of surgery needed to reposition the effects of aging. It does not involve any surgery under the chin or neck, so bruising and incisions are easily hidden with hairstyle within days You can expect to recover fully in half the time of a traditional facelift.
Are You A Candidate For Rapid Recovery Face Lift?
You would like to bring back your youthful neck and jaw contour.
You do not have a heavy neck, or need neck liposuction to achieve your goals.
You are a non-smoker and healthy.
Excess skin will be removed from your neck and jaw line, giving you an improved profile. An overall "lifting" of the lower face will lead to a more youthful appearance. You should be able to go back to work a week later, although you may feel comfortable in public sooner.
If you are looking for a fast & easy way to revitalize your facial beauty without the need of major surgery with lengthy recovery time, book a consultation with Dr. Magilke to see if you are the right candidate for rapid recovery facelift surgery.
Patients who are considering facelift surgery can also take a look at our before and after gallery to see the procedure's successful results.


Following Jesus makes you weird.
I just felt like I had to warn you that that's true. Now that we have that out of the way, let's get into Paul's letter to the Philippians – because that's what Paul is telling the Philippians: Following Jesus makes you weird.
The city of Philippi was a Roman colony located on a major overland road. There was a great deal of commercial activity and a diversity of people in and out of the city. There would have been a diversity of deities and faiths, a great deal of religious ferment. In other words, it was a perfect place for a new congregation of Jesus followers to take root.
Paul loved the Philippians he was writing to. The congregation was very unlike the congregation in Corinth, for instance, with all its problems: where there were power struggles among the members; and there were members suing each other in civil courts; and there was a man who was sleeping with his step-mother; and when they gathered for the communion meal (which included bringing food and drink to it), those who were affluent ate too much and drank too much, and they weren't sharing their food and drink, so the poor in the congregation were going hungry. These are the kinds of things Paul addresses in First and Second Corinthians. You know those famous words by Paul that you often hear at weddings, about love? Paul wrote that to people who did not love each other, or him! But here are some of the first words Paul writes to the Philippians: I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now….It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
Yes, Paul is in prison while he is writing to the Philippians. Why is he in prison? Is it because his proclamation of Christ has been hurting the economy? (That's why Paul was imprisoned one time (in Philippi, in fact), for proclaiming Christ crucified and risen.) Was Paul imprisoned because his proclamation of Christ was causing a riot? (That was another time, when Paul was arrested in Caesarea.) Is Paul being held by guards, in protective custody? (That was another time Paul was imprisoned, to prevent a group of assassins from carrying out their plot to kill him.) In fact, the last thing we read about Paul – as the book of Acts ends – is that Paul is in the custody of Roman imperial guards.
It's hard to know which prison Paul is in while he is writing to the Philippians. Scholars have difficulty dating the letter. But here's what's important: when you read the short letter to the Philippians, you find that Paul's imprisonment is making him unusually reflective. He meditates on whether he will survive the imprisonment. He meditates on the example of Christ Jesus, and how he has modeled his own life on Christ Jesus – and this is where he describes how following Jesus will make you weird.
He writes these words to the Philippians that sound weird to any culture, back then or today: If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Humility? Regarding others as better than yourself? Caring about the interests of others? Who does those weird things?!
Paul bases his argument in Philippians on that hymn. Christ Jesus himself is our model for the weird behavior of "[doing] nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard[ing] others as better than yourselves!" Imagine this: Christ Jesus was God! And he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave!
On Jesus' resume, he could list this: "I am God! But he emptied himself. He took the form of a slave – to serve us, for our salvation.
Paul's weirdness is this: all that matters is the faith that we can only receive, and nothing that we can accomplish. Our lives are only our response to that.
Do you know that there were a couple of important college basketball games played last night? Last night, the tournament was down to its final four teams. For the first time, Virginia coach Tony Bennett got a team into the Final Four. What an accomplishment! It's the pinnacle of the coaching profession! He was asked how that felt. And he responded with these weird, weird words: "Of course, it's exhilarating! It's great! … There was a burning desire to get these guys to a Final Four and, hopefully, beyond. The moments are good. But I remember 19 years ago, sitting in the back of a press conference when my father took his team to the Final Four; they beat Purdue; and I memorized his quote. He said this: 'From a feeling state, euphoria, yes it is. But is doesn't compare with faith, with kids, family, grandkids.' He said, 'Because I know what truly matters, it enables me to enjoy what seems to matter, like this.'" Bennett said: "I've remembered that quote and tried my best to live by it." For a basketball coach to say that winning and being in the Final Four isn't the most important thing? That's just weird!
Well, there are other heroes of the faith (yes, even more heroic than a basketball coach!) who provide models of becoming very weird because they were following Christ. St. Francis, Dorothy Day, and Henry Nouwen come to mind immediately. (I don't have time to talk about them in detail, but I'd love to do that sometime over a cup of coffee or a beer with any of you!) I'm glad to say, though, that none of us need be so heroic. We all have opportunity to become weird, as followers of Jesus! In fact, this season of Lent offers us opportunity to practice.
Michael Gerson wrote this, in a remarkable newspaper column: "Of all the sacred holidays and seasons, surely Lent is the least congenial to the modern spirit. We move forward in life through accumulation. In Lent, we move forward by renunciation. Those who would call this "un-American" are correct, given that our economy is based on consumption and credit. There are no "Merry Lent" signs at the department store, no designer collection of hair shirts….
"A Lenten discipline is not the holy equivalent of a New Year's resolution. It is the annual invitation to focus on spiritual matters — on penance and prayer — by giving up certain luxuries or accepting certain charitable duties….
What is this that Gerson is talking about?! Turning away from our culture's worship of acquisition and compulsion for buying more stuff? Giving of ourselves to serve those in need? Experiencing gratitude? That's just weird.
Blessings on your continuing journey through Lent.
In the name of God who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
 Acts 16:16-40. See also Acts 5:12-26 for another story of apostles who are imprisoned for damaging the economy.
 Look for this on the Virginia Men's Basketball page on face book.
Pastor Andy Ballentine loves being a parish pastor! Pastor Ballentine took his BA degree from the University of Virginia (with a major in sociology) and earned the Master of Divinity degree at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He earned the Master of Sacred Theology degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, with the thesis topic of: "How Benedictine Monastic Spirituality Nourishes Parish Ministry." He has completed the program of Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. In the Virginia Synod, Pastor Ballentine has served as Dean of the Peninsula Conference and as chaplain to the candidates in the Virginia Synod's Candidacy process (those on the way to being approved for ordained and professional ministries in the church). He has staffed many, many Virginia Synod youth events!


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Drinks company finds its bottle for innovation
Mon, Oct 8, 2012, 01:00
OLIVE KEOGH
A long-established Galway company has energised its approach to new products from the factory floor
COMPANIES ARE constantly told that innovation is the lifeblood of business success and while many are willing to embrace the concept, they don't always know where to start. Getting into the innovation mindset can also be difficult for long-established companies that have been doing much the same thing for years.
This was the challenge faced by Joseph Owens, managing director of the 50-year-old Galway-based drinks manufacturer, Clada Group. "I'd describe us as having been reactive in terms of product innovation," he says. "There were people within the company who had the innovation brief, but they were thinly spread. When things got busy the new ideas tended to get shoved onto the back boiler.
"We were not coming out with new products as often as we would have liked and that was something I wanted to address. Clada was trading successfully but many of our products were in the mature phase of their life cycle and I felt we didn't have sufficient new products coming on stream to give us growth for the future."
Owens was ripe to push innovation right to the top of his company's agenda and by happy coincidence a flyer for an InterTradeIreland innovation seminar dropped onto his desk at the right moment. He went along and was inspired by what he heard. With practical guidance from InterTradeIreland his company has since branched out into nutritional drinks and has three new products almost ready for launch. With a focus and determination driven from the top by Owens, this was achieved in less than a year.
Owens took part in a pilot of InterTradeIreland's new Challenge programme which is designed to help companies get a foot on the innovation ladder "It was exactly what we needed," he says. "We received very practical help and mentoring and were taught how to be systematic about the innovation process. It soon became clear that we needed a rolling flow of new ideas in order to have products constantly in a growth phase to balance those at maturity and even on the decline."
The Owens family established Clada in 1962 to produce soft drinks. It now provides contract bottling services and produces its own brand of soft drinks and cordials as well as flagship product Galway Water. Clada employs 50 people and most of its sales are within the 32 counties with some to the UK. With the new products, this may change as they have export potential.
Owens says he took a number of valuable lessons from the programme. "You don't need a long product development cycle, you need to go through ideas as fast as you can, identify the killer threats and quickly count that idea in or out," he says. "The mantra is fail fast, fail cheap, which means not wasting time, energy or money on something with an impossibly high hurdle in the way. Spend as little as possible to challenge the idea and see if it will succeed or fail."
Owens formalised the innovation process at Clada by bringing 25 people together for a day-long innovation workshop. This included staff, customers, suppliers and the firm's external marketing consultants. Owens says suppliers and customers were very enthusiastic about being involved and he was keen to tap into their ideas and expertise.
The group brainstormed, shared and challenged each other's ideas and by the end of the day well over a hundred ideas had surfaced, 78 of which were deemed good enough to go on a "may have potential" list. "Time will tell how many of these come to fruition but we took the top 10, ranked them and are working our way through them," Owens says.
The company plans to repeat this workshop annually to drum up fresh ideas but it has also established an innovation team of five people from different disciplines to keep the momentum going. This group meets every two weeks. "It's more about time than money and we have made a commitment to it regardless of what else is going on," he says.
"This programme radically altered our approach to innovation. It created a shared sense of innovation within the company and provided a structure to get everyone involved. New ideas were generated at every level and there was buy in from the company as a whole to bring these forward and transform our business outlook. It also equipped us with the practical tools to deliver these ideas, making it less daunting to embrace innovation and breaking down some of the 'fear factor', which can surround this process."
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Cross-Canada Indigenous Blockades Highlight Idle No More Tactics' Tensions
January 16, 2013 · by David P. Ball · in Indian Country Today Media Network. ·
Published in Indian Country Today Media Network | January 16, 2013 | Circulation: 300,000 unique monthly visitors
Today's plans for cross-country blockades to disrupt Canada's economy and infrastructure are revealing tensions within both the Idle No More movement and aboriginal leadership in the country, sparking debate over what tactics are appropriate in the quest for Native self-determination and who gets to police that line.
After more than a month of protests, hunger strikes, social media–organized flash mobs, round dances and teach-ins—and in the wake of Friday's meeting between national aboriginal leadership and Prime Minister Stephen Harper—the sincerity of Harper's pledge to focus on First Nations issues is being discussed heatedly among activists from coast to coast.
Also under discussion is what to do about it. There are those who want to continue action, in line with Chief Theresa Spence's ongoing fast—which continues despite the January 11 meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 20 chiefs, including the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Shawn A-in-chut Atleo. And there are those who think the goal of getting Harper to the table was met, and are willing to see what happens before conducting more action. At the root of the debate is whether the meeting was too little, too late, and whether it even signifies that Harper is finally taking aboriginal concerns seriously, which many doubt.
"The best way First Nations and other Canadians can express their disappointment with federal indifference is to translate their concerns into action," said Patrick Madahbee, Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation, in a statement on January 15. "Harper may have pulled the wool over some people's eyes last week in Ottawa, but Chief Theresa Spence is still fasting for justice. We call on other Canadians to be understanding and supportive of our efforts in the days ahead to demonstrate to members of the Harper caucus that they were not elected to ignore the will of the people."
Civil disobedience activities are planned for January 16 across the country.
"This is a day of action," proclaimed a poster for railway blockades planned for January 16 on Gitxsan territory in British Columbia. "We will blockade the CN Rail to show that we are answering the call to all First Nations across Canada to oppose the bills that will affect the sacred waters and traditional territories of our Nation and future generations."
Another prominent railway blockade, of both CN and CP's major cross-Canada routes, has been announced by former Roseau River First Nation chief Terrance Nelson in Manitoba.
"This isn't a round dance, this will have consequences," Nelson told APTN News. "It will block everything going east and west."
Other highway and rail line disruptions have been announced in several other provinces, including Highway 401 near Windsor, Ontario; the Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest border crossing, between Ontario and Michigan; the Trans-Canada highway near Nipigon, Ontario; and New Brunswick's Centennial Bridge.
But the direct action plans were questioned by one of Idle No More's founding women in Saskatchewan.
"Those portray a message of aggressiveness," Sylvia McAdam told CBC News. "That's not peaceful. There has to be a purpose behind it."
For former Neskonlith band chief Arthur Manuel, chairman of the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade, an indigenous rights advocacy organization, direct action such as blockades are an important tool in resisting the loss of Native rights. His British Columbia community has itself seen such protests over ski resorts and mining.
"What the government's trying to do is force indigenous people into extinguishing their rights through these comprehensive land claims and self-government agreements—to relinquish those treaty and aboriginal rights," he told ICTMN. "These actions say, No, we're not going to do that."
On January 15, Manuel released a letter sharply critical of the AFN, which he alleged has been attempted to prevent economic disruption and "limit the scope of Idle No More (INM) actions" that have escalated with the rising tide of Native activism. Like Derek Nepinak, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and several other leaders, Manuel opposed the AFN's participation in talks with Harper, agreed to in the wake of Chief Theresa Spence's nearly 40-day fast, as lacking substance or success.
"They've ridden the coattails of Theresa Spence and Idle No More," Manuel said of the national First Nations leadership. "They agreed to negotiate process with the government; that's standard opportunist kind of activity. The people are not going to benefit at all. It's not going to change anything."
Another of Idle No More's founding organizers in Saskatchewan, Sheelah McLean, said direct action such as blockades are sometimes necessary, but only as a last resort.
"There are indigenous groups historically that have used blockades very strategically, with the help of elders, advisors and ceremony," she said. "Our vision was for education and building consciousness with Canadians to stop the bills. We do want to support peaceful actions, and we do feel that people hitting the streets in the thousands does have a huge impact. There's pressure to our Members of Parliament to actually represent citizens as they're paid to do. We believe this is the most powerful weapon, and what we'll continue to use."
The blockades come a day after Ontario's top police officer admitted that such actions could have a powerful disruptive effect on the entire country's economy, but said police are reluctant to intervene if it could escalate tensions.
"First Nations have the ability to paralyze this country by shutting down travel and trade routes," said Chris Lewis, commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, in a video statement on January 15. "It is a difficult situation no matter how we view or address it."
With some organizers of Idle No More, aides to Chief Theresa Spence, and Assembly of First Nations leaders chiming in with varying opinions of protest tactics over the past month, McLean admits that internally policing protesters simply isn't feasible with such a movement.
"To think that any one group or person could possibly police a movement this large is ludicrous to me," she told ICTMN. "People do have a lot of autonomy in how they enact the vision. But the vision of education and building community is really key to the movement. That's what so many people were originally excited about, and why it has resonated with so many people—because there's a truth to the idea that we are supposed to have a nation-to-nation relationship."
Manuel worries that the participation of AFN in government negotiations will isolate more militant grassroots indigenous people and the Idle No More movement alike, particularly if laws are broken as in blockades.
"The real ugly part of what they're trying to do by getting the AFN to collaborate with them through consultations about process is they are setting up the activists to be arrested and attacked by the police," he told ICTMN. "They're going to say that the 'reasonable' leaders like [Atleo] have agreed to consult with us; the INM is therefore no longer needed, and we're going to use the RCMP to crush it. It's really down to a crossroads right now. Indigenous people need to realize that the next level of the fight is going to be whether or not INM can maintain its credibility in view of the fact that the AFN has agreed to collaborate on consultations."
But as some leaders criticize blockades as unnecessarily alienating non-Natives as well as established leadership such as the AFN itself, Manuel explained that ultimately it must be up to each individual community to determine its best course of action in the fight for their rights, and there are risks with both approaches.
"I understand what they're saying with blockades," he said. "Sometimes people need to be very cognizant about whether or not they're taking two steps back and one step forward. It's the same kind of caution I'm telling people who are trying to negotiate at every twist and turn, when the government's totally stubborn and obstinate: Be careful there. But indigenous people taking action need to be careful too."
Tags: Environment, Human Rights, Idle No More, Indigenous, Social Movements
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Q: jqGrid on Clientside – paging/editing/sorting queries I'm trying to build a system using jqgrid which does everything on the clientside, i.e. use AJAX to retrieve a JSON object (using C#/.Net) and cache this in a javascript variable and then populate several grids from that cache (addRowData), depending on the data. That's all working very well.
However, I'm having problems discovering how to do some of the more advanced things now.
1) paging/sorting the data with no server interaction. Is this possible? Or does it require that I write custom paging functions (i.e. when the user moves to page 2, get the next 10 records from the cache and update the grid with them). Hopefully there's an automatic way to do this? How about sorting? Read some things that suggest its done server side but maybe they were old articles? Not sure.
2) Allow the users to see controls (mainly radio buttons and datepicker) on each row and have those changes reflected in the cache variable. I looked at the editing functions of jqGrid but this seems to be "click/edit/save". Ideally I'd like the grid's initial display to show, for example, one of the columns displaying pairs of radio buttons on every row and the user can just click the ones they are interested in (i.e. they don't have to explicitly "edit" the row to see/change the radio buttons). This data is updated in the grid and, more importantly, in the cache variable driving the grid. Is there an automatic way of tying controls on each row to an underlying client dataset? How do I create the controls in each cell and relate their value to the cell value?
Hoepfully someone could point me in the right direction?
Thanks for any help you can give,
Bill

A: All what you want to have in the part 1 of your question can be implemented with jqGrid 3.7.x. You should use both datatype: 'json' and loadonce: true parameters. The server should send all the data back. See jqgrid setGridParam datatype:local as an example.
What about the second part of your question. It seems to me that you try to make jqGrid too complex. I find much easier to set some controls (select/dropdown boxes, checkboxes or radio buttons) outside of the jqGrid (for example on top of the grid). If the user make changes in some of this control you should reload the grid from the server based on the new choosed parameters. See How to filter the jqGrid data NOT using the built in search/filter box as an example. If you will try to combine this way with the loadonce: true parameter you should understend, that after the first load of grid with loadonce: true the other parameter datatype: 'json' will be changed to datatype: 'local'. So to reload the grid you should additionally set datatype: 'json' every time before reloading the grid.
UPDATED based on comments: Well. If you have some predefined data sets, you want load all from the server and then quick display the grid needed you can just define some dives and place all jqGrids (table and paging div elements) inside the corresponding additional div (one div per jqGrid). You can start loading the data to all this grids at the page loading. You makes parents divs invisible or hidden with respect of jQuery.show() and jQuery.hide() anytime when you need. Divs which should be hidden at the page start can have CSS style display:none.
Another option to create grids dinamically with cached data is following. You can remove a jqGrid with jQuery.remove() and insert a new one <table> and paging <div> element with a method like jQuery.after(). With this way you can construct jqGrid absolutely dynamiclly. If you do so you should take in consideration, that jqGrid create some additional divs over table and paging div elements. So to delete whole jqGrid with id="list" you should remove div with id="gbox_list". Alternative if you place both <table> and paging <div> in a parent div element and you can use jQuery.empty() and jQuery.html() methods on the parent div to remove or insert a new one jqGrid.
Now about displaying of radio buttons inside of jqGrid. This is possible if you will use custom formater. See jqGrid: Editable column that always shows a select as example how to display selects (dropdown boxes) inside of jqGrid. By the way I see no advantage to use radio buttons compareing with selects. Radio buttons took only more place on the page and users will have to scroll the page friquently.
Nevertheless I don't recommend you to use complex elements inside of jqGrid cells. I recommend you to demonstrate to your users "Inline Editing" feature of jqGrid. It means if user select a row or make double-click on a row (you can implement one way which prefer your users) the row will be switched in the editing mode with checkboxes, select boxes (dropdown boxes), text inputs and so on. This is a standard way. It have some advantages over "form editing" from the side of users comfort. The more you go away from the standard ways the more problems you could receive in the future. To demonstrate "inline editing" you can open http://trirand.com/blog/jqgrid/jqgrid.html and choose on the tree left "Row Editing" and then "Input Types". As a code example you can use jqGrid - edit only certain rows for an editable column.
UPDATED 2: One more small remark. If the data on the server will be not changed friquently and you want more long time cache there on the client you can consider to use prmNames: { nd:null} parameter of jqGrid especially if you use Internet Explorer. If you do this the last HTTP GET results (inclusive jQuery.ajax requests) will be cached on the client and next ajax rwquests can load data from the local browser cache instead of sending requests to the server. If the server include any information about the allowed caching time in the response (HTTP headers) it will be automatically used on the client in jQuery.ajax.
UPDATED 3 based on the source code posted: You have some errors in the code. Here is the fixed code
var myGrid = $("#mygrid").jqGrid({
    datatype: 'local',
    colModel: [
        { name: 'AID', label: 'Some ID', key: true, width: 100,
          editable: false, sorttype: "int" },
        { name: 'Name', width: 300, editable: false },
        { name: 'Group', width: 100, editable: false },
        { name: 'Info', width: 100, editable: false },
        { name: 'AValue', width: 100, editable: true, edittype: 'text' }
    ],
    pager: '#mypager',
    rowNum: 10,
    rowList: [10, 20, 500],
    viewrecords: true,
    autowidth: true,
    sortname: 'AID',
    sortorder: 'desc'
});
myGrid.jqGrid('navGrid','#mypager',{edit:false,add:false,del:false,search:false});

var mydata = [];
for (var i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
   mydata.push({AID:i,Name:"123",Group:"456",Info:"78",AValue:"8"});
}
myGrid.setGridParam({data: mydata}).trigger("reloadGrid");

You can try it here http://www.ok-soft-gmbh.com/jqGrid/Clientside.htm
UPDATED 4: The same example inclusive the client side editing is here http://www.ok-soft-gmbh.com/jqGrid/ClientsideEditing.htm. It is based on the http://www.trirand.com/blog/?page_id=393/help/losing-edited-cell-data-after-paging/ and Losing edited cell data after paging.

A: The latest version of jqGrid has what you need, I believe.  From this link

*

*Added local paging, searching, sorting and virtual scrolling. Please see demo New in 3.7

A: My code is below. InitGridTestBulkLoad runs after the grid load is complete and the first page of 10 records display correctly. Paging controls indicate there I'm on page 1 of 10.
However, if I hit "Next Page" I see a brief "Loading" box but nothing changes. Also, if I click the first column heading to sort, nothing happens.
Grid def and code to store the "cached" data and load it into the grid is:
jQuery(document).ready(function() {
    jQuery("#mygrid").jqGrid({
        dataType: "local",
        data: {},
        colNames: ['AID', 'Name', 'Group', 'Info', 'AValue'],
        colModel: [
                        { name: 'AID', label: 'Some ID', index: 'SomeID', width: 100, editable: false, sorttype: "int" },
                        { name: 'Name', label: 'Name', index: 'Name', width: 300, editable: false },
                        { name: 'Group', label: 'Group', index: 'Group', width: 100, editable: false },
                        { name: 'Info', label: 'Info', index: 'Info', width: 100, editable: false },
                        { name: 'AValue', label: 'AValue', index: 'AValue', width: 100, editable: true, edittype: 'text' }
                      ],
        pager: '#mypager',
        rowNum: 10,
        rowList: [10, 20, 500],
        viewrecords: true,
        loadonce: true,
        autowidth: true,
        sortname: 'AID',
        sortorder: 'desc'
    });

});

var oJR = {};
oJR.rows = new Array();
function InitGridTestBulkLoad() {
    oJR.total = 100;
    oJR.page = 1;
    oJR.records = 100;
    for (var i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
        var s = i.toString();
        oJR.rows[i] = {};
        oJR.rows[i].id = i;
        oJR.rows[i].cell = [s, "123", "456", "78", "8"];
    }

    var mg = $("#mygrid");
    mg[0].addJSONData(oJR);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Lithium-ion batteries are found in many modern electronics, including, perhaps most importantly from an environmental standpoint, electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Technological breakthroughs have allowed for more affordable lithium-ion batteries with higher energy density. Batteries also play an important role in the transition of our transportation and electricity sectors away from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.
For example, lithium-ion batteries used in utility-scale and residential energy storage systems allow for the usage of renewable energy even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining. Though lithium-ion batteries help promote many sustainable actions, it's worth noting that the batteries themselves are not yet "environmental friendly." However, when compared to the alternative of using fossil fuels, lithium-batteries come out far ahead. Better yet, researchers continue to push for more sustainable battery technology.
Much of the world's lithium is extracted from the "Lithium Triangle": brines under the deserts of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. The area produced almost 12,000 tons of lithium in 2016, yet even that has not been enough to meet increasing demand for the mineral. Australia has become the second choice for lithium extraction, though geological differences mean that extraction is a much more energy intensive process. Australian lithium must first be crushed from rocks before being sent to China to be converted into battery-grade lithium.
According to David Deak, chief technical officer at Lithium Americas, formerly of Tesla, "In the short term the CO2 footprint from [lithium] hardrocks will be less than ideal, but it is still extremely beneficial in offsetting the CO2 emissions that otherwise would come from internal combustion engines." Furthermore, renewables are beginning to dominate every sector of society - including the mining industry. Thus, the impacts of a more energy intensive extraction process will be mitigated by the renewable energy that will power the mining operation.
Can Lithium-Ion Batteries Be Recycled?
Unfortunately, less five percent of lithium-ion batteries are currently recycled. Experts predict that between 2017 and 2030 around 11 million tons of lithium-ion batteries will be disposed of, which presents both a major need and opportunity for recycling programs. Some companies, like the Belgian mining company Umicore, are already recycling lithium-ion batteries and are looking to expand their recycling capacity. However, it would take major investment for worldwide capacity to sufficiently meet the large-scale influx of discarded batteries that will occur around 2025.
In the past, mining new lithium has been more economic than recycling discarded batteries. The recycling process has traditionally been expensive and time-consuming, but recent breakthroughs may change that. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a nanoengineering professor at the University of California, San Diego recently discovered a simpler way to recycle lithium batteries that preserves their most valuable component: their microstructure. This new process, as well as other recycling techniques that are currently being experimented with, could dramatically improve the economics of recycling.
Lithium-ion batteries are not a perfectly green technology - there is still progress to be made in the mining and recycling processes. However, it's important to note that they offer many substantial environmental benefits when compared to the alternative: fossil fuels. Battery technology has the potential to substantially reduced carbon emissions as more people adopt electric vehicles. It can also reduce our dependence on pollutive, inefficient coal plants by introducing a reliable way to use intermittent renewable energy. For homeowners with solar panels, home energy storage systems may allow them to store the energy they produced even after the sun has gone down & thus avoid paying higher electricity rates. Many utilities actually encourage investment in residential battery backups, such as PG&E's updated EV rate.
To learn more about your utility's benefits for owning a home energy storage system or what battery might be right for your, contact our energy experts today! To learn more about lithium-ion battery breakthroughs, electric vehicles, and the latest industry trends, subscribe to our blog.


The EABP is currently developing a more coherent stance towards Continuing Professional Development.
We accept submissions from members and organisations who have suitable workshops and trainings that can assist members to fulfill the above commitment. If the submission is deemed suitable we will place it on the website.
You get introduced to the movement patterns as they develop in early childhood and throughout the whole life,connecting to emotional, cognitive and bonding intelligence.This knowledge supports you in movement observation, assessment and intervention.
07.06. – 09.06.2018; 22.11.-24.11.2018; 31.01.-02.02.2019; 30.05.-01.06.2019; 26.09.-28.09.2019.
3-tägiger Einführungskurs für alle, die sich für den Lehrgang «Integratives Coaching / Integrative Beratung IBP» interessieren. Zum lebens- und praxisnahen Kennenlernen der IBP Konzepte.


The Luxembourg American Monument and Cemetery at Luxembourg City, Luxembourg provides the final resting place for three Citadel Men. Another Citadel Man is remembered on the Tablets of the Missing. Gold stars on the map indicate the general location of their graves.
Planning a visit to Luxembourg? Download here a memorial booklet for the Citadel Men interred and remembered in the Luxembourg American Cemetery to take with you.


When Americans think of India, one of the first things that comes to mind is the food. But it wasn't always that way. When Mafat Patel moved to Chicago in 1968, he couldn't find any Indian grocery stores to satisfy cravings for his native food.
Six years later, he and his brother, Tulsi, opened Patel Brothers on Devon Avenue, selling Indian ingredients like turmeric and rice flour. At the time, only four other grocery stores offered similar staples.
Once a small corner grocery, Patel Brothers now occupies a space, at 2610 W. Devon Ave., 10 times the store's original size with shelves filled with spices like cardamom, jars of mango-flavored pickles and specialty produce like kerala, a bitter melon.
Patel Brothers has grown to 36 stores throughout the United States, in cities like Houston, Atlanta and New York — started mostly by relatives emigrating from India whose first stop was Mafat Patel's three-bedroom home in Skokie. "My house was like Grand Central Station," says Mafat's son Swetal Patel.
The relatives, sometimes 20 at a time, would stay and work in the Devon Avenue store before his father and uncle helped them set up their own stores in other cities with growing Indian populations. Mafat and Tulsi Patel still own the Devon store, but Swetal and his brother Rakesh run the business, which they say generates revenue growth of 10% a year.
Having established themselves as grocers, the Patels soon turned their attention to a new enterprise: pre-packaged ethnic foods.
By the 1990s, two trends were changing the Indian food business: second-generation Indians began moving out of their parents' homes and Americans developed a taste for exotic entrees like chicken tikka masala and palak paneer.
In 1991, Patel Brothers capitalized on these new markets by forming a second company, Raja Foods, to supply its stores and others with frozen Indian foods and prepared dishes. With more second-generation Indians working long hours while living on their own, few had time to cook labor-intensive Indian meals. Raja Foods began attracting consumers like Punj Gupta, a 27-year-old physician, who drives 10 miles from his home in downtown Chicago to the Devon Avenue store to stock up on boxes of prepared Indian dinners.
"They're quick and easy," he says, and they remind him of the meals his mom made growing up in Los Angeles.
Raja Foods has also become popular among non-Indians at stores like Michael's Fresh Market in Naperville, where shoppers load their carts with jars of chutney and boxes of chickpea curry. When Michael's started selling Indian foods five years ago, John Marano, the store's manager, says, it dedicated one-fifth of an aisle to the products. Now it has a full aisle, mostly stocked with items by Raja Foods, which makes 2,600 products under seven brands.
With annual revenue above $30 million, Raja Foods is one of the three largest Indian food distribution companies in the country and has been growing 25% a year, according to its owners. Its core customers are the 3 million Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the United States. But since 1996, it's been gaining traction in non-specialty supermarkets like Jewel and Whole Foods.
Ten years ago, the family tried expanding into other businesses like restaurants and hotels, but they've since sold most of those off.
"It was distracting," Swetal Patel says. "That's not our business. Our business is selling Indian groceries."