text:
Sociable | The Steeple Times
Tag: sociable
Obituary – Marisa Masters (1925 – 2016)
by Matthew Steeples
Remembering one of London's great ladies, Marisa Masters
Brooke Barzun
by General
Art curator, philanthropist and ambassador's wife Brooke Barzun is of Pilgrim Fathers ancestry and hails from the family that controls Jack Daniel's.
Thomas Gilbert Jr.
Privileged and 6'3" tall, Princeton graduate Thomas Gilbert Jr. stands accused of the January 2015 slaying of his hedge fund manager father Thomas Gilbert Sr.
Amanda Eliasch (née Amanda Brown)
A London and Los Angeles based filmmaker, writer, poet and photographer, Amanda Eliasch was born in Beirut and is a regular on any "most invited list".
A cover for Coral
Artist Peregrine Heathcote's cover for Jane Huxley's new novel 'A Woman Named Coral' revealed at the Royal Thames Yacht Club
He's not passed Go, he's out
Anthony Marshall to be released from jail We featured the convicted and finally jailed swindler Anthony Marshall already once today. Sadly, now, we feature him again as it has been ruled that he will be paroled after serving just 60 days.
"Lady" Sandra Bates
This voluptuous art dealer and public relations consultant goes by the name "Lady Sandra" and claims to have been "born in The Playboy Club". She auditioned for Big Brother 2009 and drinks champagne for breakfast. Of life, this rather eccentric sort states: "I'm a very, very happy lady". How terribly swell.
The Julian Assange lookalike
He parties here, he parties there, he parties absolutely everywhere. Some say he looks like Julian Assange and others comment on his champagne loving companion.
The cult of "celebrity"
Matthew Steeples bemoans an overused word They're everywhere: you'll find them on magazine covers, on the television and at events. They stalk out the cameras, they behave badly and make utter fools of themselves. In fact, they'll do just about anything to keep in the "media eye". Allegedly, Lindsay's one, Katie's one and Justin's … Continue reading "The cult of "celebrity""
Pass the Chablis
ASmallWorld gets even more small minded When it started in the same month in 2004 as Facebook, the social network ASmallWorld was ahead of the game. Founded by Erik Wachtmeister with the help of such people as Rob Hersov, it fast found favour with the so-called "elite" of London, New York and Paris. It … Continue reading "Pass the Chablis"
The Royal Borough is alive with the taste of fondue
An evening of fondue at Bodo's Schloss in Kensington Bodo's Schloss, a restaurant, bar and disco reminiscent of an Austrian alpine lodge, opened late last year and became an instant hit with the Chelsea set. For them and personalities such as Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow, in fact, it's rather like a little slice … Continue reading "The Royal Borough is alive with the taste of fondue"
Anna-Louise Felstead: "What's on your mantelpiece?"
The Steeple Times asks artist Anna-Louise Felstead: "What's on your mantelpiece?" The Steeple Times shares "wit and wisdom". What's your guiding force? My old headmaster Peter Pyemont once said in a Friday assembly: "The more you put into life, the more you get out of it". I have lived by those words ever since. … Continue reading "Anna-Louise Felstead: "What's on your mantelpiece?""
Deborah Walker: "What's on your mantelpiece?"
The Steeple Times asks matchmaker Deborah Walker: "What's on your mantelpiece?" The Steeple Times shares "wit and wisdom". What's your guiding force? 'The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible".
Wintering with the elite
by steepleadmin
Thomas James explores the winter holiday destinations of the jetset The season is upon us and I like to think the thing that is most cherished of all this time of year is creating memories with those we love. Moreover, "my tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best," once stated Winston … Continue reading "Wintering with the elite"
Robert Bourne and Sally Greene OBE
Well-known for their numberplates "2 BE" and "NOT 2B," this power couple live on Cheyne Walk and are a little bit like Marmite. In Chelsea, Bourne has aroused controversy by attempting to gain planning permission to turn George Best's favourite boozer, The Phene, into a house and in Soho, Greene's makeover of Ronnie Scott's caused … Continue reading "Robert Bourne and Sally Greene OBE"
Jocelyn Wildenstein (née Périsset and also known as "Jocelynnys Dayannnys da Silva Bezerra")
If one spent $2,000,000 on cosmetic surgery, one would expect to end up looking fantastic. It didn't quite work out in the case of the billionairess "Bride of Wildenstein," though, as instead she discovered the husband she thought she'd please in bed with a 19-year old Russian. Feline like in appearance, the purr of this … Continue reading "Jocelyn Wildenstein (née Périsset and also known as "Jocelynnys Dayannnys da Silva Bezerra")"
Timo Weber
This affable German's address book spans continents and cultures. A graduate of the Cass Business School and the University of Madrid, Weber's projects have variously included The Cuckoo Club, Salon Club and Wanted Gallery. Here's a gent who knows how to combining partying and business and one whose invites are most definitely like gold dust.
The Hamptons: where the upper classes of New York holiday
by Thomas "T.J." James
Thomas James on the playground of the rich and famous that is The Hamptons One of the most popular guest features on the blog that preceded The Steeple Times was this article by Thomas James. The summer may well have passed along with Sandy and her might but as the article continues to … Continue reading "The Hamptons: where the upper classes of New York holiday"
Fry's delight
Andreas Kirchberger captures the atmosphere at a private view of the works of Robert Fry On Thursday 25th October, Ilona Pacia and Jesper Thomsen of Mews42 Gallery hosted a private view of the works of Robert Fry in Princes Gate, South Kensington. Andreas Kirchberger was on hand on behalf of The Steeple … Continue reading "Fry's delight"
Urs Schwarzenbach
This Swiss born son of a printer has spent over £85 million buying up properties in the Henley-on-Thames area of Oxfordshire. Schwarzenbach also owns 123,000 acres in Australia, 26,000 acres in Scotland and has his own polo team, the Black Bears. This financier's foreign exchange dealership, Interexchange, is the biggest in Switzerland and betting against … Continue reading "Urs Schwarzenbach"
Blind dining
Christian Huhnt takes his first foray into the world of supper clubs I don't usually find myself in the east of London. It's not because I don't like it but simply because it's just an awful journey to get there from where I live. Eventually, though, a "secret" was able to convince me to … Continue reading "Blind dining"
Sir Benjamin Slade Bt.: "What's on your mantelpiece?"
The Steeple Times asks the right-wing businessman and owner of Maunsel House and Woodlands Castle, Sir Benjamin Slade: "What's on your mantelpiece?" The Steeple Times shares "wit and wisdom." What's your guiding force? Money, power, sex, success, land, trees, books and fine wine. "Don't get even, get medieval" is, in our humble opinion, … Continue reading "Sir Benjamin Slade Bt.: "What's on your mantelpiece?""
Lord & Lady Black (Conrad Black & Barbara Amiel)
She's a British-Canadian journalist most famous for having an "extravagance that knows no bounds." He was a media baron who denounced his Canadian citizenship to become a British peer. Life began to unravel in 2005 when he was charged and subsequently convicted on various charges of defrauding Hollinger, the company he led. "Citizen Black" got … Continue reading "Lord & Lady Black (Conrad Black & Barbara Amiel)"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Home → Blog → Who's driving your trade compliance bus?
The short answer to the question who's driving the compliance bus is your corporate compliance department. The driver's seat, should not be filled with personnel from your transportation and logistics operation, the sourcing, or import management groups. All parts of your organization need to be involved in your culture of compliance, but the compliance department is where the rubber meets the road, so it should be staffed with highly focused compliance experts. Companies also should ensure that Customs is not in your driver's seat.
In 1993, the U.S. Congress amended the Tariff Act of 1930 by enacting, as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Customs Modernization Act (Mod Act). Inherent in the legislation was a shift of responsibility, to the importer, to ensure that imports are compliant. In addition, a series of recordkeeping requirements with tough penalty provisions were established. The Mod Act also introduced the two concepts of informed compliance and reasonable care into the legal and trade lexicon. Customs must explain the rules, and importers, and others in the trade community, must take care to understand and follow the rules.
The legislation gave the bus key to the importers. But, an important thing to remember is that although, the importers are driving the compliance bus, the route is dictated by Customs. Most times importers find that they do not travel on the most direct route. Often, there are bumps in the road and unexpected detours. You must be prepared for these inevitabilities.
Over the last few weeks, it has become obvious that international trade will be a priority for U.S. policy makers. The trade community can expect a greater emphasis on the enforcement of laws and regulations, and possible changes to current trade legislation, especially as it relates to preferential access to U.S. markets. Our traditional trade relationships will be tried and tested, and may see unexpected changes to the current norm.
From past experience, the federal government pendulum tends to swing in wide and sweeping arcs. Establishing a predictable balance can be difficult to achieve as guidance and focus shift. Often, the importing community gets caught in the middle.
Put yourself in Customs shoes and do a complete review of your operations and document how you believe your company is meeting a reasonable care standard.
Enhance your corporate internal controls, as needed.
Ensure a transparent and understandable supply chain for all phases of your overseas production.
Don't fly under the radar screen. Develop a regular outreach to Customs and other federal regulatory agencies.
Review your business relationships to guarantee that there is an understanding that compliance is key to working with your company.
Become a CTPAT tier three partner or an Authorized Economic Operator, and keep abreast of Customs Trusted Trader programs.
Work closely with a professional broker to navigate complex trade issues. A broker dedicated to compliance is a force multiplier for your company.
Understand the nature of any perceived risk, e.g., forced labor, anti-dumping circumvention, trade preference non-compliance, and how your products and partners might be affected by such risk.
Review your sourcing strategies in light of the potential risk you identify.
If you uncover a problem seek legal advice on the best way to move forward to mitigate any potential downstream penalties.
Ensure that all corporate departments are pulling in the compliance direction.
Provide regular compliance training throughout the company.
Work through industry associations to have your voice heard when changes in government policies and procedures affect your business model.
Start your engines, buckle up, and try to enjoy the ride.


Father, Son & Holy Coach.
While the milieu is football, the gently humorous one-act play is more so an exploration of a father-son relationship that our protagonist ultimately finds deficient. It's a fairly familiar homespun tale of a man determined to live his dreams through his son, in this case coaching and propelling the boy towards a pro football career at all costs.
Written and performed by John Posey.
Runs until August 30, 2015.
Running time: 75 minutes, no intermission.


text:
Memorial to stay open
Project manager Matthew Barrow talks to the assembled business people abut rerouting Memorial Drive. - photo by Alena Parker / Coastal Courier
It's supposed to take just over a year to rebuild and realign Memorial Drive and Washington Street and traffic will be affected, but never blocked, business owners and their employees were assured Thursday.
The assurances came at a forum on the Memorial Drive realignment project, where they could also voice concerns.
"At no point will traffic be completely prohibited...there will always be access," project manager Matthew Barrow said.
"I think they answered all my concerns and question in a very timely manner," Barbara Meador, who works for VIP Office Supply store, said.
Barrow said the project would take "400 calendar days from start to finish," and "the first road closures will be for a 10 month span."
While it will take stopping traffic for some of the construction, Barrow assures that there will be detours.
No hard date was given for the start of construction. Funding is already in place and contractors are now only waiting for the go-ahead notice from the Department of Transportation to begin work.
When complete, the corridor from Highway 84 to just outside of Fort Stewart will have a 16-foot median, between 2 two-lane roadways, with a traffic circle in the downtown area. The median will be lighted with park benches on the shoulder.
"When this project's finished, all dry utilities will be underground," Barrow said.
He described how people would be able to enjoy the scenery more without poles and wires overhead.
Business representatives were guaranteed the "least impact on business as far as services are concerned."
While Meador said her questions were answered, she did still have concerns over the traffic circle.
It could "make a lot of anxiety to get in and trying to get out," she said.
The realignment also moves the major traffic corridor in the area away from her store.
"Once the project is complete, the main traffic won't be on (what is now) Memorial drive," the businesswoman said. "It'll affect sales and people coming in the store...people will have to go out of the way."
But Meador said the store is willing to make the necessary changes.
"We're positive and we'll work with the city to adapt," she said.
Daniel Clark, Promotional Products manager, questioned how the project would affect accessibility to his business.
"With the street being renovated behind us, I didn't know if we would have to move our store front from Memorial over to the new street," he said. "We've seen the drawing and everything, but we didn't really understand the impact it was going to have on us."
City Manager Billy Edwards said he would discuss Clark's questions after the form.
"We pulled it up on satellite and he showed me how the road was going to go," Clark said that discussion. "He showed me the city's plans for our store front, so we don't have to make any changes."
"It's definitely going to affect the business because of the road closures, but it's not going to have a major impact on it, mainly because I don't depend on so much walk-in traffic."
Barrow said the new traffic circle and roads will still be accessible to 18-wheelers and school buses, addressing a question from Rick Evans, school board director of maintenance and operations.
Barrow encouraged commercial traffic to use other routes, but said he understands buses and trucks must be accommodated.
HDDA director Vicki Davis encouraged business people to share the information they received at the forum.
"But that information shouldn't be to avoid downtown," Davis said


text:
Q: Class contraints for monads and monad functions I am trying to write a new monad that only can contain a Num.  When it fails, it returns 0 much like the Maybe monad returns Nothing when it fails.
Here is what I have so far:
data (Num a) => IDnum a = IDnum a

instance Monad IDnum where
  return x = IDnum x
  IDnum x >>= f  = f x
  fail :: (Num a) => String -> IDnum a
  fail _ = return 0

Haskell is complaining that there is
No instance for (Num a) arising from a use of `IDnum'

It suggests that I add a add (Num a) to the context of the type signature for each of my monad functions, but I tried that it and then it complains that they need to work "forall" a.
Ex:
Method signature does not match class; it should be
  return :: forall a. a -> IDnum a
In the instance declaration for `Monad IDnum'

Does anyone know how to fix this?

A: The existing Monad typeclass expects your type to work for every possible type argument. Consider Maybe: in Maybe a, a is not constrained at all. Basically you can't have a Monad with constraints.
This is a fundamental limitation of how the Monad class is defined—I don't know of any way to get around it without modifying that.
This is also a problem for defining Monad instances for other common types, like Set.
In practice, this restriction is actually pretty important. Consider that (normally) functions are not instances of Num. This means that we could not use your monad to contain a function! This really limits important operations like ap (<*> from Applicative), since that depends on a monad containing a function:
ap :: Monad m => m (a -> b) -> m a -> m b

Your monad would not support many common uses and idioms we've grown to expect from normal monads! This would rather limit its utility.
Also, as a side-note, you should generally avoid using fail. It doesn't really fit in with the Monad typeclass: it's more of a historic accident. Most people agree that you should avoid it in general: it was just a hack to deal with failed pattern matches in do-notation.
That said, looking at how to define a restricted monad class is a great exercise for understanding a few Haskell extensions and learning some intermediate/advanced Haskell.
Alternatives
With the downsides in mind, here are a couple of alternatives—replacements for the standard Monad class that do support restricted monads.
Constraint Kinds
I can think of a couple of possible alternatives. The most modern one would be taking advantage of the ConstraintKind extension in GHC, which lets you reify typeclass constraints as kinds. This blog post details how to implement a restricted monad using constraint kinds; once I've read it, I'll summarize it here.
The basic idea is simple: with ConstraintKind, we can turn our constrain (Num a) into a type. We can then have a new Monad class which contains this type as a member (just like return and fail are members) and allows use to overload the constraint with Num a. This is what the code looks like:
{-# LANGUAGE ConstraintKinds #-}
{-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies    #-}

module Main where

import Prelude hiding (Monad (..))

import GHC.Exts

class Monad m where
  type Restriction m a :: Constraint
  type Restriction m a = ()

  return :: Restriction m a => a -> m a
  (>>=)  :: Restriction m a => m a -> (a -> m b) -> m b
  fail   :: Restriction m a => String -> m a

data IDnum a = IDnum a

instance Monad IDnum where
  type Restriction IDnum a = Num a
  return        = IDnum
  IDnum x >>= f = f x
  fail _        = return 0

RMonad
There is an existing library on hackage called rmonad (for "restricted monad") which provides a more general typeclass. You could probably use this to write your desired monad instance. (I haven't used it myself, so it's a bit hard to say.)
It doesn't use the ConstraintKinds extension and (I believe) supports older versions of GHC. However, I think it's a bit ugly; I'm not sure that it's the best option any more.
Here's the code I came up with:
{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
{-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
{-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies #-}

import Prelude hiding (Monad (..))

import Control.RMonad
import Data.Suitable

data IDnum a = IDnum a

data instance Constraints IDnum a = Num a => IDnumConstraints
instance Num a => Suitable IDnum a where
  constraints = IDnumConstraints

instance RMonad IDnum where
  return        = IDnum
  IDnum x >>= f = f x
  fail _        = withResConstraints $ \ IDnumConstraints -> return 0

Further Reading
For more details, take a look at this SO question.
Oleg has an article about this pertaining specifically to the Set monad, which might be interesting: "How to restrict a monad without breaking it".
Finally, there are a couple of papers you could also read:

*

*The Constrained-Monad Problem

*Generic Monadic Constructs for Embedded Languages

A: This answer will be brief, but here's another alternative to go along with Tikhon's. You can apply a codensity transformation to your type to basically get a free monad for it. Just use it (in the below code it's IDnumM) instead of your base type, then convert the final value to your base type at the end (in the below code, you would use runIDnumM). You can also inject your base type into the transformed type (in the below code, that would be toIDnumM).
A benefit of this approach is that it works with the standard Monad class.
data Num a => IDnum a = IDnum a

newtype IDnumM a = IDnumM { unIDnumM :: forall r. (a -> IDnum r) -> IDnum r }

runIDnumM :: Num a => IDnumM a -> IDnum a
runIDnumM (IDnumM n) = n IDnum

toIDnumM :: Num a => IDnum a -> IDnumM a
toIDnumM (IDnum x) = IDnumM $ \k -> k x

instance Monad IDnumM where
  return x = IDnumM $ \k -> k x
  IDnumM m >>= f = IDnumM $ \k -> m $ \x -> f x `unIDnumM` k

A: There is an easier way to do this. One can use multiple functions. First, write one in the Maybe monad. The Maybe monad returns Nothing upon failure. Second, write a function that returns the Just value if not Nothing or some safe value if Nothing. Third, write a function that composes those two functions.
This produces the desired result while being much easier to write and understand.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


And while we're on the subject of amazing women who have left a career track to explore a creative interest, I have to mention artist Abby Glassenberg. Four months ago, I was lucky enough to meet Abby when our kiddos ended up in the same kindergarten class at school. A Hopkins- and Harvard-educated former teacher, Abby began reading craft blogs and revisiting her love of sewing while on maternity leave with her first child. What followed was a decision to dive into art-making and motherhood full time, and a fabulous and fun blog on crafting and motherhood. I have no doubt that Abby was an incredible teacher, but she happens to be a really incredible artist, creating pieces with which I would love to fill my house -- handmade, beautiful and filled with personality.
I've seen her work up close and it is even more amazing in person than when photographed. The detail is incredible, the craftsmanship is exquisite, and oh, those incredible faces! But make no mistake, while her soft sculptures are meant to be adored, they are not meant to be tossed around like a stuffed animal (for hands-on lovin', Abby offers a selection of soft toys).
Late next year, we can all get an inside glimpse of the talent and work that goes into her soft sculpture when her book of fabric bird sewing patterns published by Interweave is released. But until then, the only way to own an Abby Glassenberg original is to visit her etsy shop or one of the boutiques and galleries that carries her work.


text:
Policing undergraduate course at university
Dr Julie Adams-Guppy was this week unveiled as senior lecturer for the first BA (Hons) Policing undergraduate degree
crewechronicle.co.uk
Dr Julie Adams-Guppy was this week unveiled as senior lecturer for the first BA (Hons) Policing undergraduate degree at Wrexham Glyndwr University.
The University is recruiting for this September, and Dr Adams-Guppy is looking forward to overseeing students and engaging them in learning through seminars, workshops and accompanied patrols with experienced officers.
A Special Constable herself, she sees the further professionalisation of the police service as a positive move enhancing officers' practice and future career prospects.
Having lectured at universities across the UK and receiving a degree in Law from Oxford University, Dr Adams-Guppy is ready for the challenge.
"It's an exciting time to be launching this new course, and I'm thrilled to be here at the very start of it," she said.
"It's going to be a balance of practical, vocational and taught learning, as well as work experience out on the streets, not just in the lecture theatre.
"We will be looking at role play, different scenarios – such as dealing with people in custody, interviewing, and stop and search – and seminars and tutorials.
"The degree is a great platform for officers to go forward into the workplace and further develop, or start to develop, their careers."
Dr Iolo Madoc-Jones, a Reader in Social and Criminal Justice at the University, said current Special Constables interested in joining the course should not be put off by the university setting.
"This degree is as much about recognising the learning police staff already have to do, and the skills they come to possess, as much as it is about teaching them new things," he said.
"There is no guarantee of a job as a regular constable at the end, but this full and part time programme will make students knowledgeable about policing activities and in a good position to apply for relevant roles"
"It's a Welsh programme for a Welsh force so we're looking forward to building on what is already a strong relationship with North Wales Police."
Plans for all police staff to be educated to degree level were drawn-up by the College of Policing, which is responsible for setting training standards for the service.
The College's Chief Constable, Alex Marshall, said there was currently not enough investment in training new officers, and only 38% of those entering the police arena have a degree or postgraduate qualification.
Mark Owen, Chief Officer for the North Wales Police Special Constabulary, congratulated the University on launching the degree.
"Policing has changed so much over the years, there are different challenges and a more modern outlook on crime and other incident types and how to tackle it is required," he said.
"The fact this is not a purely class-based degree - it will be a blended balance of practical and academic - makes it a more attractive prospect which develops the careers of current Special Constable and prospective paid police officers."
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones was in agreement and said officers must be given the tools to cope with advances in crime.
"I wish Wrexham Glyndwr University well with their new degree course," he said.
"In addition to having the right personal qualities, it is important that we equip our officers with the right skills to the job in an increasingly complex world.
"While officers need be streetwise, knowing where crime goes on and how to react, a great deal more training is required these days because policing is changing so much."
"I am particularly pleased the degree course is based within North Wales and Wrexham Glyndwr University are aiming to recruit candidates from the communities served by North Wales Police."
For more information, visit www.glyndwr.ac.uk or call the University's enquiries line on 01978 293439. Visit the University's open day on August 19 from 10am-2pm.
SponsoredHow do you fancy living in a luxury home?Well now's your chance. Check out the new homes for sale in Cheshire's Milton Green
EducationFolk singer Kate is on track for successEven when Boyzone star Ronan Keating came knocking, the enigmatic folk singer turned the opportunity down.
EducationPlumber entrepreneur returns to universityPhil Simmonds was a student at the former Aston College – now Wrexham Glyndwr University – in the late 1970s, before going on to co-found the award-winning Spatial Office Environments in Manchester
EducationUniversities work together on hospitality, tourism and event managementAt the Manchester headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a team from the Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management degree at Wrexham Glyndwr university in North Wales held a campaign launch, wine and canape evening in aid of EMERGE 3Rs, which runs the food redistribution partnership, FareShare Greater Manchester.
EducationUniversity aims high with space entrepreneur projectA UNIVERSITY technology centre is launching a project to get more entrepreneurs into space.


If she were insane they would observe it in her letters.
I have a bed every single night, it's insane," she said.
The 11-strong Airdrie Insane group is among nine organisations and individuals to benefit from the latest round of creativity awards from the national nurturing talent fund.
com)-- Insane Realm Radio is excited to announce that we are going to be holding a 24-hour Fundraising Marathon with all proceeds going directly to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.
In a video posted on Wednesday, Wurtzbach said the online support she has been getting from fans was insane.
Testamentary incapacity, undue influence, and insane delusions are recurring doctrines in the context of an impaired, weakened, or confused individual leaving a will, the validity of which comes under question.
SHUTTER ISLAND Channel 4, 9pm A US marshal, traumatised by his past, heads to a hospital for the criminally insane on a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a woman who murdered her children.
That overcrowding, here and in many asylums of the time, gave rise to great concern about the treatment of the insane.
They have the attitude of, The time is now to do it, and they are none other than Test Insane.
ONE group is known for their insane wrestling, the other for their insane nights out - so bringing them together was bound to result in fireworks.
A Friends of the Earth spokesman said: "To be zigzagging across Europe in a private jet at taxpayers' expense is insane and shows why this is one of the least green governments ever.
What makes ICW different from ordinary wrestling I couldn't honestly say and all the fighters seem incredibly sweet rather than insane.


Appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg started its going-out-of-business sales on Saturday, following its bankruptcy protection filing.
The company plans to close all of its 220 stories by the end of next month, including in the Chicago area.
The company decided to begin liquidating assets after having no luck finding a buyer by its deadline Friday.
About 5,000 people will lose their job.


Super cute multi level home in the heart of Gilbert. Close to downtown and all it has to offer, and in the other direction all the shopping your heart desires. Three bedrooms and three FULL baths make this a wonderfully laid out space. Complete with 2 car garage and a low maintenance yard, this home is well priced under 250k and all you could ask for!


Besides, Departments, Faculty of Education also governs the functioning of all affiliated colleges, in the city of Karachi, teaching "Education" in general and Teacher Education in specific.
The Faculty is very active in developing linkages with other programs both at National and International levels. The target areas are teaching, research, publication and collaborative assignments between Universities and institutions both at National and International levels.
The University of Karachi has 7 medical and dental colleges affiliated with it. The only public sector college is Karachi Medical & Dental College and the Dean, Faculty of Medicine is the senior most professor of Karachi Medical & Dental College. The colleges running both MBBS & BDS programmes are Karachi Medical & Dental College, Jinnah Medical Dental College and Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry. Those running BDS programs alone are Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine and Fatima Jinnah Dental College and those having MBBS programme alone are Liaquat National Medical College and Sir Syed College of Medicine. Admissions in this college are as per PMDC regulations.
Over the past years, there have been vast changes in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes of the University in the fields of Medicine and Dentistry. The teaching methodology and the examination system of the University has changed from MCQ system to the internationally acclaimed Short Essay Questions and Best Choice Questions few years ago. In this regard, training workshops for all faculty are held twice a year under the supervision of the Dean. The Board of Studies has constituted 2 committees, a Coordination Committee and a Quality Assurance Committee for examinations. The Semester system is being studied for possible implementation within the next year.
The Postgraduate programmes in clinical fields are the M.S. and M.D. programmes and in Basic Sciences, the MPhil, PhD. Details of these are available on the website.
The MS, MD programmes has changed from a 2 year programmes to a full 4 year, structured programme with 1 year course work at the University and 3 years clinical work in the supervisors department. For Admission, clearing the University of Karachi Entry Test is mandatory. Subsequently, candidates are chosen on the basis of merit. The synopsis of each candidate is reviewed by the supervisor and the Dean before submission to the Board of Advanced Studies & Research, University of Karachi for final approval. Standardization of the Masters examination is ensured by having external examiners only, a change which has been implemented recently. The curriculum of each specialty is being reviewed by a M.S, M.D Curriculum Committee headed by the Dean.


text:
← Hulkenberg targets 2012 race seat
Lowe lands McLaren technical director role →
Ridley Scott behind TV racing drama series
Famed British directors Ridley and Tony Scott- the men responsible for movie hits such as Blade Runner, Gladiator and Top Gun – have put their weight behind a TV series project set in the world of motor racing of the fifties and sixties, with a focus on Le Mans.
The brothers' Scott Free Inc organisation will join forces with production companies Headline Pictures and Sennet Entertainment in creating The Drivers, with funding from Freemantle Media Enterprises.
The series is based on the book, Shelby: The Man, The Cars, the Legend written by Cobra/GT40 expert Wallace A Wyss, and according to FME "…tells the true story of wild young drivers from the US, Germany, France, Italy and Britain, friends and rivals, amateurs risking everything for a shot on the tracks." Sounds good!
The Scott brothers have already produced successful TV series such as cop show Numb3rs, and The Good Wife. Tony Scott has had a crack at motor sport before, with the critically panned 1990 Days of Thunder Tom Cruise movie.
Series such as Mad Men have demonstrated that there's an appetite for period TV drama.
"I grew up in the North of England at a time when Stirling Moss was a hero," said Ridley Scott. "Everyone wanted to be a racing driver. This is a hugely ambitious project and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell the story of these iconic and legendary men who risked everything to win at Le Mans. It's an epic story of courage and ambition and a history of racing which has never been told on such a grand scale."
David Ellender of FME said: "Having Ridley and Tony on board brings something really special to the project. They are indisputably two of the best filmmakers in the world today and their involvement raises the bar on this project to a much higher level of storytelling and production. Their vast international success combined with their British background puts them in a unique position to understand characters and stories from both sides of the Atlantic."
No more details are forthcoming, but one presumes there will be lots of money to be made by owners of period race cars who are willing to loan them out…
2 responses to "Ridley Scott behind TV racing drama series"
Jumpy Bob
I would like to be first in line to pick up a copy of that. No pushing! I'm first.
Holy awesome!


That's certainly not true. There are lots of florists offering cheap distribution of floral agreements, and that cheap bloom delivery does not come at the expense of quality or by supply at annoying hours. There are lots of common wonderful floral plans that may be provided cheaply sometimes convenient to the recipient.
You will find numerous techniques florists use to lower distribution costs. They might use packaging that is less ostentatious or rather plain. They could restrict the forms of plants that may be selected to include in a arrangement without affecting the quality of the actual flowers used. By reducing the expenses of creating a arrangement, florists can profitably deliver these bouquets at a savings to you.
Everyone understands the delight that the sent arrangement can bring, but not everyone has the money to spend of costly plants and expensive delivery. Inexpensive rose distribution may make the big difference for several people that are small on money but extended on affection. It creates a significant passionate or supportive motion possible.
Many florists provide floral arrangements that can be provided inexpensively. Nice ribbons, cellophane protecting, and extravagant baskets are amazing at the time of supply, but many, or even all this packaging is removed by the individual when showing the bouquet. If applying cheaper presentation makes it possible for you to afford giving plants, by all means go for it. The sweetness and mental appearance is in the flowers, not the packaging.
If you've hesitated to deliver flowers before because you believed that it might price a lot of, explore it again. There are economical choices for every budget. Cheap bloom delivery has managed to get possible for several, who might not need previously had the oppertunity, expressing their thoughts with a delivered bouquet http://www.sendflowersuk.org.uk/.
The entire world will be a much happier position if everybody was the occasional beneficiary of a bouquet of fresh flowers. Relationship could certainly perform at a higher level. When one individual directs flowers to another, equally feel enriched, happy, and more strongly bonded. Should you desire to let some one realize that you treatment, and perhaps not separate the lender while doing this, inexpensive rose delivery is the greatest method to go.
The rose agreements which can be available for cheap distribution are top quality, new, beautiful flowers. No florist providing inexpensive delivery skims on the quality of the product, only on the pointless appearance frills. When the individual receives a flowered bouquet in a simple box and starts it, she'll maybe not notice the box, only the lovely plants and the charming statement created by their distribution to her home. Now you understand that it's probable to send plants to all of your favourite people. That would be a good time for you to start.


Italy Under 20 coach Paolo Nicolato has named the 26 players who will meet from Sunday, February 10th to Wednesday, February 13th in Tirrenia to start building the team that will play at the World Cup in Poland, between May and June. On the official website of the FIGC, the list was published with a surprise that concerns Lazio: it included the first call for André Anderson, a Lazio-owned playmaker on loan at Salernitana. Anderson, who is Brazilian by birth, also has an Italian passport from his mother (surname Pomilio). Therefore, perhaps André has an Azzurri future ahead of him? Below is the complete list.
Alessandro Plizzari (Milan), Michele Cerofolini (Bisceglie), Simone Ghidotti (Fiorentina).
Gabriele Zappa (Inter), Federico Valietti (Crotone), Nadir Zortea (Atalanta), Alessandro Tripaldelli (Crotone), Luca Pellegrini (Cagliari), Riccardo Cargnelutti (Roma), Alessandro Buongiorno (Carpi), Luca Ranieri (Foggia).
Andrea Marcucci (Foggia), Andrea Danzi (Hellas Verona), Emanuele Torrasi (Milan), Davide Frattesi (Ascoli), Andrea Colpani (Atalanta), Shady Oukhadda (Albissola), Domenico Roberto Alberico (Hoffeneim), Mirko Antonucci (Pescara), Christian Capone (Pescara), Filippo Melegoni (Pescara), André Anderson (Salernitana).
Andrea Pinamonti (Frosinone), Gabriele Gori (Livorno), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo), Marco Olivieri (Juventus).


text:
'Television Supplement'
Kit Coppard
Two Television Documentaries
our society contains many divisions besides those of class. Some of these divisions are of a kind in which 'they' are detached from 'us' by some special expertise, or because they operate as relatively closed communities—such as hospitals, the police, the probation service—which directly enter our lives only in times of trouble. Because of this, these communities hold a fascination for many of us—a fascination often tinged with fear or resentment.
The television authorities have been shrewd enough to exploit this interest. Emergency Ward 10 has been followed by several other programmes of a semidocumentary type in which 'we' are able to experience the work of 'them' without a trip in an ambulance or black maria. The two programmes I want to deal with— Dixon of Dock Green and Probation Officer—are at least in part concerned with describing the work and social impact of the police and probation service; they are also committed to the firm but somewhat vague duty to entertain. It is an axiom (it may be nonsense but it's an axiom all the same) among practitioners in almost every mass medium that entertainment and instruction conflict. Do these programmes try to reconcile this apparent conflict, and if so do they succeed?
Dixon (subtitle, 'Some Stories of a London Policeman'; signature tune, 'An Ordinary Copper') is a product of what some call the Ted Willis factory. It has the slowness, predictability and rigid structure of some traditional ceremony. Though the script appears to vary from week to week, the show has its own hard and fast set of rules. At the beginning, Dixon appears in front of the police station, touches his forelock and announces the text for today. During the course of the story (whatever the plot) two things must happen: the audience's excitement must be relieved by a short break for risibility; and Dixon the Family Man must be worked into a sketch involving his daughter, son-in-law policeman and sundry extras in a tea-drinking ritual. Finally, Dixon again appears in front of the police station, points the message preached in the show and speeds us on our way with a quotation from the highway code.
There was the possibility (and Willis might once have grabbed it) of making this, within its fictionalised setting, an entertaining and informative account of London police work. The depressing thing is that this possibility does not even seem to have been realised, far less attempted. It fails as entertainment because of the weakness of Dixon himself. While the show is written and produced almost entirely from his point of view (it is not so much about law-breakers as about how Dixongets-his-man) he resolutely fails to come alive. He is not so much a type as a piece of jetsam salvaged from The Blue Lamp. So free is he of personality or even of idiosyncracy, one feels that to catch him picking his nose would be like the revelation of some great truth.
The programme fails as documentary because it shows little interest in the subtleties of the relationship between police and public or in the characters and motives of the law-breakers with whom it deals. There is no attempt to place Dock Green police station in some sort of community; it is a hermetically-sealed oasis surrounded by an amorphous, shifting desert in which live the masses—or rather, as Dixon would say, 'ordinary folk, just like you and me'.
V. Dudintsev, 'The Bandit's Story'
James Topsell, 'The Brighouse Defeat'


text:
Featured News Travel
Kurumba Maldives wins 'Excellence in Hospitality' title at Maldives Business Awards
m@ldives	74 views December 24, 2019
Kurumba Maldives has won the award for 'Excellence in Hospitality (Resorts)' at the Maldives Business Awards 2019.
Established in 2018, the Maldives Business Awards recognises business excellence, and rewards local corporations and business individuals for maintaining industry best practices as well as introducing revolutionary and innovative services.
"The team at Kurumba is honoured to accept this award, and we will continue in our efforts to be a recognised market leader for the tourism industry here in the Maldives," a statement issued by the resort read.
Opened by four young Maldivians on an uninhabited coconut plantation island in October 1972, Kurumba marked the beginning of the tourism industry in the Maldives.
Kurumba began with 30 huts built of coral and thatched with coconut leaves; the first guests were barefoot backpackers in search of sand, sea and sun.
Today, the resort is still Maldivian owned and managed. About 1,000 tourists visited the island in 1972; now, it is over 1.5 million tourists, staying in over 150 resorts throughout the Maldives.
Kurumba is set on a tropical island in the North Male Atoll, conveniently situated a brief 10-minute speedboat ride from the airport. It draws on its proud history, charismatic personality and heartfelt service, to offer compelling and diverse experiences amidst a stunning island setting.
The resort offers an array of eight styles of accommodation, ranging from comfortable Superior Rooms to the spacious Two Bedroom Villa, spread amongst the island's lush tropical gardens with easy access to the beach.
With eight different restaurants, three bars and one shisha lounge to choose from, Kurumba will charm you with its unparalleled choice of dining experiences and a wide range of recreation activities and entertainment — all the while maintaining idyllic spaces of relaxation to create the perfect balance for a holiday in paradise, perfect for honeymooners and families alike.
TagsAwardAward winning resortsAwardsKurumbaKurumba MaldivesMaldives Business Awards


The first major shower of 2016 is the Quadrantids meteor shower. This annual shower has one of the highest predicted hourly rates of all the major showers, and is comparable to the two of the most lively, the August Perseids and the December Geminids.
Those living in the northern hemisphere have an opportunity to experience a much better view of the Quadrantids, as the constellation Boötes never makes it above the horizon in the southern hemisphere. This is great for those living in North America, much of Europe, and the majority of Asia. Unfortunately, those of you living in Australia and lower portions of South America will have a difficult time observing the Quadrantids. Observers in higher latitudes will have better gazing conditions, but nevertheless will need to be wary of cloud cover, as conditions are typically cloudy during this time of year.
This year, the large and bright Waxing Gibbous Moon (98% full) will coincide with the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower. This is a stark contrast to the Quadrantids of two years ago, which occurred during a moonless night. While the light of the moon may reduce the quantity of meteors you'll be able to see, you should still be able to observe all but the faintest meteors. While year will not be ideal for watching this January event, those willing to patiently wait it out in the cold (or warmth, for those in warmer environments) will be treated to the very first major meteor shower of 2016.
The constellation Quadrands Muralis was made up of a faint group of stars between the top of Boötes and the handle of the Big Dipper. Quadrands Muralis is now part of the constellation Boötes, thus making Boötes the radiant of the Quadnrantids meteor shower. To find the location of the radiant, we recommend you first find Polaris (a middling-bright star, also known as the North Star) and observe in close proximity to that area. For more specificity, it lies between the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the four-sided figure of stars marking the head of the constellation Draco.
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Quadrantids shower gazing conditions may not be ideal. The moon will obstruct all but the brightest Quadrantids.
The Quadrantids meteor shower was first observed in Italy by Antonio Brucalassi during the mid-1820's on the morning of January 2nd. After this period, several other individuals asserted seeing the "falling stars" during the second day of January. The first re-discovery of the shower occurred in the year 1835, and then again in 1838. By 1839, it was believed that this activity in the sky was annual.
The meteor shower formally became known as the Quadrantids due to its proximity to the now extinct constellation named Quadrans Muralis, which was situated near the point meeting the constellations Hercules, Bootes, and Draco. A range of observations of the shower since the year 1864 have revealed that activity generally occurs between December 28 and January 7th.
The Quadrantids are particularly fascinating due to their incredibly sharp rise in activity during the 3rd and 4th days of January. During its recorded history, the Quadrantids meteor shower has had observed rates as low as 65 meteors per hour, and as high as 160 per hour.
Although much has been revealed about the characteristics of the shower, the Quadrantids has not been consistently studied by observers due to numerous factors. The wintry weather in the Northern latitudes is a deterrent for many, and the shower itself occurs too far north to be plausibly studied by those observing in the Southern Hemisphere.
The plant Jupiter plays a major role in the orbit of the Quadrantid meteor shower, and it is believed that the Quadrantids will no longer be visible on Earth by the year 2400. Throughout its history, this has also been one of the most interesting showers to observe due to their ability to produce occasional fireballs (bright meteors) that leave sporadic trails.
The first major shower of 2016 is the Quadrantids meteor shower. This annual shower has one of the highest predicted hourly rates of all the major showers, and is comparable to the two of the most lively, the August Perseids and the December Geminids. This celestial event is active from December 28th through January 12th and peaks on the morning of January 4th. In relation to meteor showers, the peak is defined as the moment of maximum activity when the most meteors can be seen by the observer.
This year, the Waning Crescent (27% full) will coincide with the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower. TWhile the light of the moon may reduce the quantity of meteors you'll be able to see, you should still be able to observe all but the faintest meteors. Those willing to patiently wait it out in the cold (or warmth, for those in warmer environments) will be treated to the very first major meteor shower of 2016.
While this wintery spectacle appears to radiate from a constellation, they are actually caused by the Earth passing through the dust particles of the minor planet 2003 EH1. Every January, Earth passes into a trail of dust left by this minor planet, and as a result, all the dust and debris burning up in our atmosphere, produces the spectacle known as the Quadrantids meteor shower, or what are popularly recognized as "shooting stars".
There's no danger to sky watchers, though. The fragile grains disintegrate long before they reach the ground. While the meteors are certainly bright, they are typically not much larger than a grain of sand. However, as they travel at immense speeds, these tiny particles put on an exciting show.
During the 3rd of January, shower rates will be a portion of what they could be due to the radiant lying low in the northwestern sky. On average, and under clear skies, observers should see 40 to 60 meteors per hour. However, every so often, these rates can exceed up to 120 meteors per hour in dark-sky locations. In ideal condition—no cloud cover, precipitation, city lights, and no moonlight, the Quadrantids meteor shower should host a spectacular viewing experience!
Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites. Once you have settled down at your observation spot, face toward the northeastern portion of the heavens. This way you can have the Quadrantid's radiant within your field of view. If you can see each star of the Little Dipper, your eyes have "dark adapted," and your chosen site is probably dark enough. Under these conditions, you will see plenty of meteors.
For many meteor showers it is often recommended to look straight up, but for this year's Quadrantids we advise that observers face as low as possible toward the horizon without being looking at the ground. In other words, have the bottom of your field of view on the horizon. While you can still catch meteors while looking straight up, you will have an improved opportunity to observe more by looking toward the horizon. Meteors will grab your attention as they streak by!
Waning Crescent Moon. Quadrantids shower gazing conditions will be good. The moon may obstruct some Quadrantids meteors.


On February 27 and 28, 2015, I helped to moderate AFTERTASTE, Parsons's annual interior design conference. The year's theme was "Inside Imagination," and the presenters included musicians, fashion designers, chemists, performance artists, lighting designers, documentarians, architects, and psychologists. I was honored to have been invited to share the moderation duties with the sharp and talented David Lewis of LTL Architects. Here's a video of one of the panels.


As a community psychologist, I work across settings and ecological levels (e.g., individual, program,organizational, community) to promote collective wellness using strength-based approaches. I have a background in clinical-community psychology and business, and particularly enjoy projects that involve interdisciplinary collaboration. My interests relate primarily to capacity building and the processes involved in spreading capacities across systems to elevate social impact. I am passionate about working with health care systems and community organizations. Currently my colleagues and I are working with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement on the Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation (SCALE) Initiative, a national effort to enhance the readiness and capabilities of communities for healthy outcomes. My research team is also collaborating with the Kennedy Forum and Morehouse School of Medicine to develop an instrument for measuring and improving the readiness of organizations for integrating behavioral health and primary care. Additionally, we are working in partnership Palmetto Health and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia to study the impact of frontline nurse engagement in quality improvement activities. With a commitment toward bridging the gap between research and practice, we are continuously working to bring the fruits of our research into to hands of practitioners.


Chris Messina, developer experience lead at Uber and inventor of the hashtag, said back in January that 2016 is "the year of conversational commerce." Today, he's launching his own personal assistant chatbot, called MessinaBot.
MessinaBot responds to people who message Messina on Facebook and can make appointments on his behalf. It also lets you see his most recent posts and comments on Product Hunt, tells you about upcoming events where he'll be speaking, shows his recent podcasts and articles, and presents Messina's favorite cocktail recipes. Users can also ask to speak directly with Messina.
"I think there's an element of discovery, in addition to the things that I'm interested in that you're not going to get just by sending me an email," Messina told VentureBeat in an interview.
Ethan Sutin and Esther Crawford, formerly the marketing lead at Stride Labs, built MessinaBot, and Crawford's own EstherBot served as inspiration for the bot.
A chatbot that can stand in for a real human being for certain tasks is novel these days — it's very different from, say, an NBA bot, which sends you the highlights of a game, or Poncho, which tells you the weather.
Other people should make their own bots, and they will soon, Messina said.
Messina believes a massive shift is happening to bring more conversation to computing and return power to users who have been impacted by "enormous amounts of perhaps unintentional pressures" from so many apps on computers or phones.
Bots, and personal bots known as "personal assistants," will make people's lives simpler, Messina said.
"We've created this conundrum in the tech space where attention is increasingly valuable, so we've got to start to step in the middle of that process and meet users where they are and make our software more discreet and more contextual and more responsive and respectful than the way we've been doing it," he explained.
Outside of his own bot, Messina has discovered some favorites since he declared chatbots representative of a shift in how people access and design software.
"I like Purple, and I like Operator, but those are more representative of conversational services. I like the Quartz news app, and Luka is interesting too — as a 'metabot' pattern," he said.
There are two ideas Messina is particularly excited to watch progress: bots made specifically for events or temporary use and image filter bots, like GameBoyCameraBot.
Over this next year, Messina also expects to see big brands getting bots on every platform, along with the kind of experimentation and exploration that was common in the early days of the web.
"Even if [the bot is] built for you and your friends, experimenting and playing with technology is actually a really great way to figure out how technology can and should work, as opposed to taking the approach of, 'Oh I've got to build a business'," he said.


Understand what get period and money to consult with an expert your home designer, subsequently that Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas photograph is usually your personal alternative. You can acquire lots of inspiration that is useful if you want to build or upgrade the home. You will encounter lots of substances that can be figured out with this incredible Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas pic. It is possible to content various points involving Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas photograph along with put it on to your residence. In the dimensions, that is definitely 888 x 637 as you move the size is 94 KB, you can easily conclude which Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas pic is usually a top quality snapshot. Not surprising if until recently just 1 site visitors offers experienced Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas image considering that it published upon September 17, 2017 at 11:25 pm.
A lot of these info point out that will Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas graphic is one of the most loved illustrations or photos around White Bedroom Set For Girl snapshot gallery. Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas image will highlight what sort of house should be assembled. It is possible to submit this wonderful Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas photograph for your very own blog, nevertheless most people strongly recommend that you just always include the URL. Satisfy just make use Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas pic meant for your own objective, not necessarily with regard to store-bought employ. You should also need that Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas picture surprisingly easy, anyone only need to click this link to help you save the application. Develop Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas image can be a perfect method to obtain suggestions for your needs. Thanks a lot for seeing Nice White Bedroom Set For Girl Image Of: Kids White Bedroom Set Ideas pic, satisfy discover White Bedroom Set For Girl graphic gallery designed for a lot more ideas.


A copy of an advertisement for the Berlin Telegraph and German Canadian newspaper published by Elias Eby. The advertisement was copied from the County of Waterloo Gazetter and General Business Directory for 1864.
A diary kept by Dr. Aaron Eby for January 1 to October 23, 1868. It records activities related to his medical practice in Sebringville, Ontario as well as some family events.
A diary written partly in English and German. The entries for January 1, 1862 to April 25, 1862 are written in English. The later entries are written in German. The topics covered include the author's religious life and his medical school attendance.
A photograph of the Ministers of Canada Conference, Mennonite Brethren in Christ. The men pictured are numbered and identified as: 1. Menno Bowman, 2. R. Etherington, 3. John Ball, 4. S. Goudie, 5. C.F. Krauth, 6. T. Ford Barker, 7. Solomon Eby, 8. David Fretz, 9. Alex Bell, 10. C.N. Good, 11. H.S. Hallman, 12. E. Sievenpiper, 13. C.R. Miller, 14. John Hiltz, 15. D.S. Shantz, 16. Peter Geiger, 17. Peter Cober, 18. H. Goudie, 19. Amos Eby, 20. N. Detweiler, 21. S. Cressman, 22. Sam Stouffer, 23. J.B. Detweiler, 24. J.A. Sider, 25. Henry Wismer, 26. John McNally, 27. Joshua Shell, 28. a visitor, 29. Henry Cressman, 30. Christ Raymer, 31. Fred Carlton, 32. John McNally.
A short church history and teachings of the faith of like-minded Christians and Mennonites by Benjamin Eby. The cover is worn leather.
A small Fraktur birth record (Geburtschein) for Benjamin S. Eby. The text is done in black and purple, and is surrounded in a border which resembles a frame. Above the name is a plant (rose ?) with six pink flowers, and black leaves. The background of the drawing is filled with short, black horizontal lines.
A small, colourful Fraktur birth record (Geburtschein) for Isaac Eby. The text, framed in a red and yellow border, reads: "Isaac Eby ist Geboren den 30 ten July im Jahr Anno. 1808." The name is in green, red , black and brown, while the rest of the German text is done in red only. The record is embellished with black scroll work. The initials of the Fraktur artist are in red, in the calligraphy of the second "A' in Isaac, however they cannot be made out.
A Windlass made by William Harley Abernathy. The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound around the winch, pulling a weight attached to the opposite end.
Status: Located; In addition to the Coat of Arms found on the cover of "The History of the Eby Family", by Ezra E. Eby this Aebi Hausmark is found of the cover of "The George Ebey Family", prepared by George W. P. Ebey(6).
The Aebi Hausmark in colour and with a detailed explanation as taken from "The Abee's of North Carolina - Descendants of Andrew Abee", compiled by Charles Moran Abee.


Does the world need a new medium format camera system? If it does what other systems do not do, then the answer is an emphatic yes!
And when you learn the new camera system is from Fujifilm (who lent a big hand in the production of Hasselblad's digital cameras for many years), you can be sure it will be innovative and fun!
Adding to the successful X-series marque, the new GFX 50S is expected to be released early in 2017. The mirrorless camera will feature a Fujifilm G format 43.8x32.9 mm sensor with 51.4-megapixels resolution and uses a new X-Processor Pro imaging processor, which provides, Fujifilm claims, outstanding colour and tone reproduction.
Compared to conventional medium-format digital SLR cameras, the GFX is much lighter and smaller, making it more suitable for a wider range of subjects – including travel and documentary. In terms of functionality, the camera follows in the footsteps of the X-Series by featuring physical buttons and dials, and boasts an ergonomic grip, shaped and optimised for a balanced camera body and lens.
The GFX also becomes Fujifilm's first model to use a detachable electronic viewfinder, which you can remove when using an external monitor or wanting to make the system even lighter. In addition, an optional adaptor makes it possible to fit the EVF at any angle, giving greater freedom in the choice of shooting angle.
The Vertical Battery Grip (an optional accessory) makes it easier to use the camera in the portrait orientation as well as holding more power. The GFX also supports tethered shooting, which has become an essential part of the professional photographer's workflow and will be compatible with various raw conversion programs.
At launch there should be six new G Mount lenses, designed to take advantage of the mirrorless system's short flange back distance of just 26.7 mm. This prevents vignetting and helps achieve edge-toedge sharpness, especially with wide-angles.
The lenses will include a standard GF63mm f2.8 R WR (equivalent to 50mm in the 35mm format), GF32-64mm f4 R LM WR, GF120mm f4 Macro R LM OIS WR, GF110mm f2 R LM WR, GF23mm f4 R LM WR and a GF45mm f2.8 R WR. And based on the X-Series system to date, this range is sure to expand further.


as a debit card transaction. They mis-key the amount by an extra $100.
fresh check and pay them again.
and going with a different service. What utter assholes!
to clear and no other electronic debits scheduled that I know of.
Perhaps it is a good thing I did not get hired there after all.
Ya'know, you are not the only one complaining about them. jaylake found out the hard way that if your credit card bills to a P.O. BOX they won't accept it. With what they did to you, I wait to get an Iphone/Ipad/etc. until there are options.
Well one of the things that I've decided is that they will be paid with a money order every month at the local ATT store.
And my wife has agreed with me that once our contract is up or if we can afford to break our contracts we will be unlocking our iPhones and moving them to T-Mobile.
Apple won't support them if anything breaks but that's within my skill set so no big deal there. And all the functions of the phone will work provided we only upgrade with jailbroken/unlocked firmwares.
So yeah, as soon as our contracts are up we're not going to be ATT customers any more.


text:
Wilder appointed Blades boss
May 17, 2016 May 17, 2016 joa15agw 1399 Views 0 Comments Football, League 1, Sheffield United, Sport
By Jordan Fenlon
@jordjourno
Chris Wilder has been appointed as the new manager of Sheffield United after the sacking of Nigel Adkins
The former Northampton town boss has signed a three year deal at Bramall Lane following his League Two title success and turned down offers from various clubs including recently relegated Charlton and Bolton.
The appointment comes after another disappointing campaign in the third tier of English football after finishing in 11th place, eight points off the play offs.
Wilder becomes the 5th manager in a six year stint in the division and describes the opportunity to manage the club as his 'dream job'.
He arrives at Bramall Lane with his assistant, Alan Knill, who worked together during their time at Northampton Town.
Wilder, 48, said "As soon as the interest was made, the opportunity to lead this proud and historic club, one that I know well through all different angles, from being a ball boy to playing for the football club, it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down"
Former Blades defender, Matt Hill, believes that the club has the right man for the job. He adds that "I think it's great for the club and the fans to have a former player as manager as you know he will have the same passion as the fans."
The decision has not gone unnoticed by the fans as some believe the new manager possesses the right attributes in order to take to club forward.
Sheffield United fan, Calum Higginbottom, said "I think Wilder is not afraid to make decisions and he knows what he wants from the team and he will bring out the passion in the players. He has already shown this by making Billy Sharp captain, it was a quick decision that the fans agree with."
"The aim has to be promotion to get out of this league. I think he has next season to do that because we have been stuck in this division for far too long."
The reaction around Bramall Lane has been positive and has given some fans belief for the upcoming season. Wilder now has the opportunity to prepare his squad and bring in new players, but he is yet to rule out signing any stars from his former club.
← Busted return to Sheffield after 11 years
Springs Leisure Centre re-opens following chemical leak →
Sheffield Eagles head coach Aston says they "can't take anything for granted" going into Barrow clash
May 16, 2019 Kasey Smith 0
Sheffield United Promotion Parade: Everything You Need To Know
May 7, 2019 Alex Brotherton 0
Twitter reacts as Alan Pardew is linked with the Sheffield Wednesday job
May 16, 2017 Harry Tedder 0


text:
So, apparently it was the IRVINE Great Park all along. Who knew.
Vern Nelson
– January 10, 2013Posted in: "The OC", Beth Krom, Fresh Juice, great park, irvine, Jeffrey Lalloway, larry agran, steven choi, Todd Spitzer
The "editorial staff" of the Liberal OC produced a surprisingly mature and balanced editorial yesterday entitled "Let's See What A Republican Majority Can Do With the Great Park." It was especially remarkable coming right on the heels of their typical piece of Agranista agitprop entitled, with characteristic LOC awkwardness, "Democrats Seek Rallying Cry in Irvine."
That's right, let's do see what the Republican Majority can do with the Great Park. And let's watch them closely (as we probably should have been watching before there was a Republican majority.) That's all we can do for now.
Because the one big lesson most of the County learned this week – who knew? – was that this was never an "Orange County Great Park" in the first place, despite its name and despite the fact that we county voters approved it back in the 90s:
Nearly all the land belongs to the city of Irvine – a fact for which Supervisor Todd Spitzer takes credit and blame;
Every employee and dollar spent, as Councilman Lalloway won't fail to remind you, is an Irvine employee and dollar;
And, thanks to Mr. Agran's *cough* unswerving faith in himself, every decision made regarding the Park, for many years now, has NOT been made by the (now-disbanded) nine-member Board, but by the Irvine City Council (which Larry may well have thought he would control in perpetuity.)
Dr. No at the Helm
The pain. The pain of sitting through the interminable droning of a meeting led by Irvine's new Mayor Dr. Steven Choi. Especially the first forty minutes or so of his proclamation of Korean-American Day. Any swelling of ethnic pride was undetectable behind the Mayor's monotone voice and blank countenance, as 30+ local Korean-American elected officials and public servants stood there dutifully, stoically, getting honored. If it was worth it for anything, it was for watching the irrepressible and dapper Assistant DA Susan Kang Schroeder fidgeting and rolling her eyes through the endless proceedings.
Next, "100 Black Men in Orange County" livened things up briefly with their MLK Day proclamation, and then it was time for the newly rejiggered council to finally begin hashing out all their grievances – beginning with the Mayor's committee assignments.
The two brainy liberals, Krom and Agran, seated on the dais at "Do I have to separate you two" extremes, had just discovered to their chagrin that they'd been taken off the committees they loved and had been busily involved with, and stuck into committees that NOBODY wants, like the hated Vector Control Board up in godforsaken Garden Grove. Clearly, with electoral tables turned, the Republican majority was visiting upon them just the sort of indignities the Republicans used to suffer.
(At one point Mayor Choi pointed out "I had to do Vector Control for three years under Mayor Kang" to which Krom quipped, "And during those three years I had absolutely no issues with Vectors, which reflects very well on your work there!" A rare light moment.)
The liberals were also put out at having to learn their committee assignments by reading the agenda, not having been extended the courtesy of a meeting with the Mayor to even ascertain their time availability. Choi and Lalloway were quick to respond that that's the way they'd been treated under the previous majority. Larry Agran bristled and insisted that when HE was mayor he ALWAYS met one-on-one with each member regarding committees. Gradually it became clear that it was only under the last mayor – Sukhee Kang, an Agran-allied Democrat – that such niceties were dropped and Republicans were flung willy-nilly into the vector. Finally Larry went so far as to say, "Well, if Mayor Kang did that, SHAME ON HIM!" That's right – it was Korean-on-Korean rudeness, something we round-eyes cannot presume to fathom or judge. And fancy that – apparently Agran's mayorship was in some respects a Shangrila of comity, at least in comparison to what's come since.
But more problematic than Mayor Choi's committee assignments were his planned Committee Decimations: As some sort of fire-ready-aim plan to "streamline" Irvine's government he had proposed to 1) abolish the "Greenlight Environmental Committee" and 2) boot all the public volunteers off of a popular Education Committee. Krom, Agran, various distressed committee members and members of the public AND staff tried for ninety minutes to talk sense into the grim Mayor – these committees did invaluable work, and they did it at no expense to the city. And he just kept repeating, at first like a robot and later like a deer in headlights, the words "efficiency" and "streamline."
Eventually Beth Krom, in one of her rants, observed that "If 'streamline' were a drinking game word, we'd all be on the floor by now." Diamond, who must be a less close observer of council meetings and blog comment threads than I, recently penned the sentence, "There's no love lost between Agran (and to a lesser extent Krom) and the Council conservatives." To a lesser extent? NOBODY pisses off the political foes of the Agranistas more than Beth Krom. She is strident, theatrical, and loves to insult her opponents (as Christina Shea pointedly complained.) She can also be really fucking funny.
And Jeffrey Lalloway, with his Gandolfini grin, certainly at least APPEARS to be Mayor Choi's brain. Maybe the Mayor thinks brilliantly in Korean, but he seemed clueless and paralyzed during this committees controversy, seeming to take in no new information, and repeating the same meaningless lines, while occasionally Lalloway whispered in his ear. I'd been told, by a Democrat, that these two are enemies, since Lalloway is "Don Wagner's boy" and Wagner beat Choi for Assembly back in 2010. But then I was told, by someone who would know better, that that's all in the past, that Lalloway busted his ass to get Choi in the Mayorship, and that they're now tight as ticks. Which comports with what I observe.
At long last it was Christina Shea, she of the Olive Oyl eyes, who, weary of the impasse, offered a compromise forward. This might be something we see in the future.
So it was that, after all the squabbling, Mayor Choi ended up with only a small fraction of the dubious "efficiencies" he craved – the Education Committee was left as is, and the Environmental Committee's meetings were merely reduced from bimonthly to quarterly. Pretty nearly a faceplant for Dr. Choi in the first two hours of his Mayorship. But on the other hand he did show that he can listen, even if it takes a while.
By now it was two hours into the meeting, Beth's flying monkeys my Democrat friends were growing restive, and it was finally time to address the burning issue of the Great Park.
Coup? What Coup?
After the Mayor's lengthy recitation of his reasons for dissolving the (merely advisory) Great Park Board, Larry Agran was allowed five minutes, which became fifteen minutes, to defend the progress made thus far. He did so using a truckload of boxes, documents and maps, as well as with a slideshow showing beautiful scenes of the bits of the Great Park that have been accomplished. This impressed those who wanted to be impressed, and impressed others not so much.
I was more impressed with the business plan which he keeps in his pocket everywhere he goes. The first item on that plan is "We will not spend money that we don't have." Of how many large public projects can that be said? We all know that the Park's original plans were hit by a trifecta of economic body blows – the housing crash, the recession, and the abolition of redevelopment agencies. And this was always intended to be a long-term project, a couple decades long. So maybe folks should be more patient with the progress made. Or maybe not. I cannot say.
The millions of dollars in no-bid consultant contracts is another story, and I look forward to the results of the forensic audit – what DID Forde and Mollrich do for all that money? One bizarre spectacle this week has been to see all my Democrat, Agran-apologist friends theorizing, "They may have been secretly doing this great thing, they may have been secretly doing that great thing." Don't they keenly feel the absurdity of their position? Why should any of us – and why should the Republican majority – have to GUESS what the firm was doing? How does a PUBLICIST working for a PUBLIC PROJECT not PUBLICIZE that to the heavens?
The Fury of Spitzer
In attendance, and sitting restlessly in the front row, was the area's new (and former) County Supervisor Todd Spitzer. Sworn in only the day before, the hyperkinetic born-again had hit the ground running on Monday with a press conference making it clear that he aspires literally to be SuperVisor. And ONE of the County's many intractable problems which he resolved to take firmly in hand was the Great Park, partly because he felt a responsibility for putting it in Irvine's hands rather than the County's. And from his perch that day he had issued an ultimatum to the Council – either make serious progress on the Park THIS YEAR, or Todd Spitzer will put before OC voters the question of whether the County should take it back from Irvine. (Actually it's not clear if that's legally possible.)
Agran, during his presentation, reacted with defiance to that threat (even though the threat was mainly aimed at the Republican majority.) Waving the flag of Irvine pride, he reminded his audience of all the County's grievous offenses against Irvine – the attempt to build an airport at El Toro, the attempt to extend a jail right up to Irvine's borders, and more, I forget.
And Spitzer took THAT personally. The first public speaker, he strode to the microphone and THUNDERED at the whole Council for their childish bickering, and at Agran in particular for his attacks on the County (which Spitzer took as attacks on Spitzer.) I'M THE ONE, he declaimed, who SAVED Irvine from the airport, I'M THE ONE, he cried out, who turned the Marine base over to Irvine. He thundered at Larry for the lack of progress on the Park! He thundered at Larry for the no-bid contracts! Then he said, "I'm upset because you attacked me. Now I'm going to ratchet it down." And next, demonstrating the emotional agility gleaned from both Christianity and Yoga, he dropped his voice an octave and calmly assured the whole Council that that all his resources as Supervisor would be at their disposal as they strove to "move forward" with Irvine's Great Park, and wished all five of them well.
At this point I had to leave, so I missed all the keening of Beth's flying monkeys my Democrat friends. But as I understand, the votes on the Park went as foreordained – there will be a forensic audit (that was unanimous); the current consultants' contracts are terminated; and the Great Park Board is now the Irvine City Council, no more and no less.
So What Can Go Wrong Now?
Well… How do Republicans usually fuck up?
It seems unlikely after all the hooplah that they'll again offer no-bid contracts, to their own cronies. But how are they going to continue to "make progress," and better, quicker progress, with the Park? One tidbit that The Voice of OC's Norberto got on video, but hasn't made it into print yet, is Lalloway's answer: "public-private partnerships … an awful lot of land out there and an awful lot of people who want to build recreational facilities."
That could mean many things, but I don't really like the sound of it, do you? "An awful lot of land." "Awful." Land that they could do stuff with. Profitable stuff. "Public-private partnerships." What could THAT mean?
Irvine residents – since this IS YOUR Park – you'd better keep a close eye on these characters this year. If they go too far, Lalloway will have to be defeated in '14.
But, how much damage can they do – how much irreversible damage can they do, if damage is what they do – in two years? If the irreversible damage is fast-tracked, then maybe you lot need to gear up to Recall Mayor Choi. THIS year. I do not get the feeling he will be a very popular Mayor.
Nelson, over and out.
Tags: Beth Krom, Christina Shea, Forde and Mollrich, great park, irvine, Irvine Great Park, Jeffrey Lalloway, larry agran, Orange County Great Park, steven choi, Sukhee Kang, Todd Spitzer
About Vern Nelson
Greatest pianist/composer in Orange County, and official troubador of both Anaheim and Huntington Beach (the two ends of the Santa Ana Aquifer.) Performs regularly both solo, and with his savage-jazz quintet The Vern Nelson Problem. Reach at vernpnelson@gmail.com, or 714-235-VERN.
DC M
Posted January 10, 2013 at 6:22 PM
Did "the public" have any comment or response ?
Whatever happened to Irvine's 10,000 unit deficit of affordable housing?
Any plans for housing?
Ltpar
DC M – As Vern so eloquently put it, "Beths Flying Monkies" also known affectionately as Agranistas, were out in number. They had been actively recrutied by Krom and Agran to show up and raise hell with the new Council. Two of the members, Choi and Shea are old hands at this Agranista tactic, but newby Jeff Lalloway seemed to be caught by surprise. Still, I thought Jeff did an excellent job in keeping his composure, throwing a few hard left jabs of his own and even adding a little humor to the mix from time to time.
This meeting dealt specifically with three issues that needed to be handled quickly. The housing development issues did not come up at this meeting, but are sure to arise in the future. The developer Five Points is currently approved to build ain the ballpark of 5,000 units. I could be off but as I recall, the Irvine Housing Elements requires 10% of those to be dedicated to low and moderate income families. Five Points wants to triple the density of the housing to be built. However, due to the negative impact it would have on North Irvine there will be major debate on that, regardless of whatever additional perks Five Points promises the Great Park. If we are very lucky, Five Points will follow in the footsteps of its predecessor Lenner, go bankrupt and sell the development rights to the Irvine Company. Then all development and infastructure would be done to the first class standards of all Irvine Company projects. Stay tuned for previews of coming attractions on Great Park housing. It won't be dull watching.
skallywag
"Eventually Beth Krom, in one of her rants, observed that "If 'streamline' were a drinking game word, we'd all be on the floor by now.""
I like that line by Krom – pretty funny. It gives me an idea for a Santa Ana Council drinking game. The oft used line there is "with that being said .." That little stall for time until they can think something relevant to say line drives me nuts. Cheers!
Greg Diamond
Nope, Vern — I'll stand by my opinion that they hate Agran more than they do Krom. Beth is funny and aggressive and a powerful counter-puncher, so their interactions with her may look like hatred. But Larry commits the worse sin — he's been extremely successful in his political career. Your depiction of Spitzer shows how a lot of the noise-making in politics can be showtime. But when it comes to engendering resentment … well, to deploy an old phrase in a new context, there's no arguing with success.
The big organic farming enterprise that you and I learned about while at Occupy Irvine (you were there for that, right?) is not a secret. It's just not well-publicized. I have been critical of the previous majority for not publicizing better to the public what was so great about the Great Park, given what they spent on PR, but I realized in arguing with Patrick here recently that Forde & Mollrich were not supposed to be in the business of selling the public on what a shining jewel the GP was.
After so many years of Republican political administrations, we think of PR as another word for "propaganda." But public funds really ought not be spent on that — and apparently were not, hence your complaint. (It's like when a state tourist board advertises within the region of the state itself that they're trying to market — I always think "aren't you supposed to be getting other people to come spend their money here?) But of course, tourist boards do that so that the people who vote on them see what they are doing, even if what they are doing does little good.
PR doesn't have to be that — and at it's best it's not. It's part of what is sometimes called "External Affairs." It can be a flavor of diplomacy (although that can be domestic, not just international.) Their PR efforts (like Townsend's lobbying) were largely focused outwards — towards things like getting the franchise to the Solar Decathlon, as I discussed yesterday (http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2013/01/choi-power-deployed-at-possible-expense-of-solar-power/). That's not something that we homies would learn about until and unless it was successful — and it won't even seep into the public's attention until it opens in early October — assuming that it does….
Do I wish that more about the actual contractual arrangement with Fo&Mo were open to the public? I think that it should have been — because it is otherwise too easy to misrepresent. But I'm still not actually convinced that it was as hard for someone in Irvine to find the information as people claim that it was. The critics had a political reason for feigning ignorance. Maybe now we'll find out if Choi was really out of the loop or not — and, if not, whether he was muzzled or could have cleared up mysteries any time he wanted to do so.
I think that the miscalculation that Agran & Co. made — pure supposition here, no inside info — is that if a new City Council majority ever tried to come in and not merely do a forensic audit, but prepare to chuck the whole Great Park concept overall — people would be enraged and ride them out of town. (You'll notice that they didn't actually campaign on "let's trash the grand plan"; it was mostly on whether Agran was corrupt and helping out child molesters, and to the extent the Great Park came up at all it was just that it was too slow — possibly for good reason — and that they used no-bid contracts — also possibly for good reason. I remember arguing not that long ago at OCTA for the nicer name of "design-build.")
I suspect that they expected the public to come out for them more and for the media to press harder on why the hell they were in effect throwing out all of those nice plans. Maybe if the election had happened after the success — or what would have been the success, as the case may be — of the Solar Decathlon, they would be right. Or maybe we in the media are just afraid of being accused of being someone's flying monkeys.
Too bad if we never see anything like those plans built, though. On the other hand, it might be a great place for a Great Walmart.
Hey Vern, not a bad commentary and light years ahead of what Dan the "Spin Man" usually throws out in the OC Liberal. I enjoy your humor in some of the topics and even though we are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I enjoy reading your work.
Just as a point of reference, we have been doing public-private partnerships in Irvine long before the Marines stopped flying at El Toro. Community Policing is one such example of that partnership. That relationship between the Police and their stakeholders is one of the key contributing factors why Irvine is America's Safest City. I know that comes as a shock since all this time Sukee Kang, Beth Krom and Larry Agran suggested they did it single handedly. On the City side there has also been a number of partnerships with business stakeholders, multi-culturral groups, the School District and other entities.
The Great Park is in dire need of a long term funding strategy. The past Advisory Board was a rank group of amateurs in both major development and fund raising. Their abject failure at real Park development supports that theory. What is needed is a new Advisory Group of non-political experts on major development projects, creative fundraising, and business connections to bring in major players to the Park. In addition to the housing, there is going to have to be some commercial enterprise in Park sections to bring in long term money for development and maintenance. If the people want just a park of endless grassy fields with nothing on them, then such funding is not necessary. The point I am making from a layman perspective and speaking only for myself is, Jeff Lalloway is right on target with a goal of developing a public-private partnership. That partnership will make or break the Great Park.
In conclusion, I do not share your doom or gloom about either Steven Choi as Mayor or the Council going too far in making changes at the Park. Steven Choi is a honest dedicated public servant. Stevens heart is in the right place and he will get his feet on the ground and do well. People know and appreciate this, which is why he was elected. If the Council goes anywhere with the Park, they will be a mile ahead of what the Agranistas did. I believe with the public concern over the Park, the Council will make it their number one priority and make substantial progress during the next two years. The buck stops at their door and it is their turn to show what they can do.
PAR over and out
So, spike the grand plan and turn the area into not only just another park, but just another part of Irvine. (Well, except for the areas with toxic waste.)
I think that people would like something like the plan that was designed. Not enough profit in that, though, I suspect.
Let me correct something, Patrick. That's not why he was elected. Political money laundered through out of state, and maybe some dealings in-state, would have a lot more to do with it. But that is a forensic audit for another day.
Not sure who the money backers of Steven Choi were, but having worked in his campaign, I am confident he even knew. That's why it is called an Independent Committee, because the Candidate cannot have any control over it. Since you brought up the topic of money laundering, let me just state the saying, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks". Larry Agran has for the past fifteen years been the master of legal campaign money laundering schemes through the Measures and Initiatives he has written and placed on the ballot. This time out it was the "Schools Initiatiative" and Agran was the Chairman of the committee. Unlimited amounts of money were donated by Agran political supporters, many of them feeding at the Great Park trough. Add to that the Public Employee Union money and that from the Teachers Groups and Agran was in his usual "field of clover." As usual that money funded many glossy slate mailers in our mail boxes with 90% extolling the virtues of the Agranista candidates and 10% devoted to the Schools Initiative. This usually allows Agran to bury the competition, but because of the opposition Independent Committee's mailers, the Agran attack was blunted. In the end the good guys won the election. Such is the life in Irvine.
File a complaint against him, if you must. Many have. He's never even been scarred by it. It's not illegal.
What the backers of Choi did, by contrast, looks more like what the Arizona PAC that laundered money for the Prop 30/32 campaign did — and the FPPC went after them for it. So, you're defending something probably illegal by attacking something legal.
Posted January 11, 2013 at 10:57 AM
Greg, you are getting to be as bad at twisting words as "Dan the Spin Man" at the OC Liberal. You were the one who brought up the topic of "money laundering" in the first place, trying to put the onus on Steven Choi, like he had done an evil deed. In fact the only deed Steven did was a good one, in upsetting Larry Agran. I merely pointed out the fact that my understanding was the money had come from an Independent Committee and Steven knew nothing about it. Since the money and the slate mailers it paid for were handled by a person completely detached from the candidates or their campaign, I can't see how it would have been illegal. In fact, it is just as legal as the orchestrated process that the Agranistas use in every election to run their big money through. What I find most unethical in the entire process is vendors who do business with the City of Irvine or Great Park making large donations to an Independent Committee that directly or indirectly benefits any candidate, Republican or Democrat. Any way you slice the loaf, it is a conflict of interest. If Irvine is really interested in campaign reform and transparency, someone should figure out a way to plug that hole in the dike.
Hope I have cleared up this issue.
Observe and protect
Pat, why is your car parked at Shea's house overnight? Still have those handcuffs?
Patrick, if you want the above comment anonymous spiked, just let me know. (Subject to Vern's override.)
Ron & Anna Winship
*We suppose this all goes to prove: "Build it and they will come….." is certainly an Irvine Mission Statement. They don't say when ….of course!
Posted January 10, 2013 at 10:16 PM
I've been to the park a few times and one time saw Vern there and he played the piano in the tent visitor center.
There is a lot of parking and some stuff has been built. But I would question why there is not an adequate access road? A little two lane road for a great park?
I think that is proof that the focus was on spending the funds on reports and not a future park for the people.
".. the focus was on spending the funds on reports and not a future park for the people."
Don't forget cook that Agran got a pile of papers in front of his desk for the $200 million $$. Larry is proud of his pile of papers – and he can use those papers to line his bird cage when he becomes the Bird Man of Alcatraz.
anonster
Parks don't generally have highways through them genius. Little two lane roads slow people down so they can enjoy the park and hikers and bikers can be safe.
Have you ever even been to a park or is this just more cook cranky nonsense?
anonster (genius),
Apparently you don't know much about the park. What cook is talking about is the access road into the park.
Sure. Cook (who usually hates cars) was complaining that there was ONLY a little two-lane road, and not something bigger and faster. Anonster said that a little two-lane road is just right for a park, and sarcastically suggested Cook was calling for a highway thru the park. It's called hyperbole, scholar.
that is crap Vern (professor) .. you expect me to believe that?
Yes. Read it again, grasshopper.
Yellowstone has a highway running through it, as does Yosemite, and the Red Wood Forest in N Calif. to name just 3.
But that wasn't my point, the lack of access to the park was. Next time you are in Irvine, stop by the great park and check out the access road.
I go to the Great Park once a month for the flea market and the short access road is adequate (for now).
I do see your point though, that it has not been upgraded and is not as nice as the new two lane roads inside the park itself.
I apologize cook, you had a legitimate criticism for once.
*We thought "Design and Consent" was the perview of the people. Since this is to be a City/County Park area……..why are not several designs presented to the people as options at the next election? Did they already do that ….and we missed something along the way?
Are you trying to reference "Advise and Consent," which is the purview of the U.S. Senate in Presidential nominations? I've never heard of "Design and Consent." Does everyone need to learn CAD now?
Yeah you missed something along the way. Several things in fact, including the public input period, the design competition, and selection of the master design about seven years ago. Smooth.
http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article/6517
"We will not spend money that we don't have."
But we will distribute all the money we do have to our friends and political allies, for not doing much of anything.
Katherine Daigle
I was there at the City Council meeting, thank you for the humor, that's it, enjoyed reading it!
Is the Irvine City Council following the model of Newport Beach?