Dr. Susanne Lockhart and submarine pilot John Hocevar prepare to dive to the Antarctic sea floor.
The seabed of this truly special place is home to corals and other animals that create 3D-structures, providing shelter for fish and habitat for countless other organisms. They are an indispensable element in a complex ecosystem which feeds the Antarctic Ocean and all the other larger and more well-known species in it, like penguins, seals and whales.
The reason why right now I'm more excited than I've ever been in my 25 years as an Antarctic biologist, is that this time, I get to go to the bottom of the sea myself! Having done lots of expedition-based research into the depths of this unique ocean, now I can see firsthand what I have been studying for so many years.
Usually this type of scientific research is hard labour; digging through the large amount of bycatch caught in trawl nets and the time-consuming job of sorting it into taxonomic groups for analysis. But the destruction that this method causes has always disturbed me. But here we are gently gliding by, in a two-person submarine, taking photographic evidence and collecting a few specimens that might even be new species.
I became pretty obsessed with the marine invertebrate life of the Antarctic region at quite a young age. Since then I've encountered and studied some truly impressive seabed communities in the Antarctic and now I'm venturing out to locate additional areas that are in need of special protection.
In a really meaningful way, our exploration of the bottom of the sea will help determine specific areas that should be a priority for protection from an expanding commercial fishing fleet, which jeopardises the wellbeing of one of the world's last pristine marine ecosystems; an ocean that connects all oceans.
The evidence of any 'Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems' that we encounter on this expedition will be submitted to the Commission for the Antarctic Ocean. It is our hope that registering these ecosystems will support and strengthen the proposal that has been submitted for what will be the largest protected marine area in the world.
Hopefully my dream as a scientist coming true just now – going to the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean – will help achieve an even bigger dream: to see it protected!
Dr. Susanne Lockhart is an Antarctic biologist with the California Academy of Sciences, currently onboard Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in the Antarctic Ocean.


No official word on "why" and there was not even an announcement that it would increase(price). If you want to raise prices, fine, but what is the reasoning? 2 guesses: 1) Slight increase in price will move more units(price goes up, people scramble to get them before price goes up again). 2) 650 driver barrel is bottoming out and soon the 6XX will be discontinued.
Maybe because this drop is going to end soon?
I've been on here for a bit, the whole reason for the drops was that they start at one price and would only go down as more were sold over time. I've never seen a drop go up in price. Massdrop is pulling a total BS move on it's customers. Like myself, I was going to order this morning, instead I was greeted to a surprise and I thought it was safe. So I'm pissed at Massdrop because this customer feels betrayed. Though I seriously doubt they care but hey I could be wrong.


text:
Pirates Weber/Gerbe to Start in AHL All-Star Classic
The American Hockey League announced this afternoon that Mike Weber and Nathan Gerbe have both been selected to play for the PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars in the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic being held January 18th and 19th at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Weber, a 22 year-old Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, is one of only two members of the Pirates to have played in all 34 games this season. The third-year defender has 10 assists this season (fifth most on the team) and his plus-16 ranking is tied for the second-best in the AHL.
Gerbe was voted as a PlanetUSA All-Star starter for the second straight season. The 22 year-old native of Oxford, Michigan, who missed the game last season due to injury, is currently on recall by the Buffalo Sabres. In 23 games this season the defending AHL Rookie-of-the-Year has collected five goals and 15 assists for 20 points. He also collected his first career NHL goal earlier this season.
Among the members of the PlanetUSA team are 18 first-time AHL All-Stars, including 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth of the Hershey Bears. The PlanetUSA club features five former first-round NHL draft picks: Lars Eller of the Peoria Rivermen, Jack Skille of the Rockford IceHogs, John Carlson of the Hershey Bears, Bobby Sanguinetti of the Hartford Wolf Pack and Ivan Vishnevskiy of the Texas Stars. Rochester's Graham Mink will make his All-Star debut and serve as PlanetUSA captain.
Tickets for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game as well as an official commemorative All-Star Classic event program – are $49 (rows 1-12 in all sections) and $42 (rows 13-24 in all sections). To purchase tickets call (207) 775-3458, visit the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or go on-line at www.portlandpirates.com.
The Pirates (16-12-4-2) get back at it Thursday night when the Worcester Sharks visit the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Pirates and the CCCC are proud to bring you the annual Kid's New Year's Game featuring New England's largest indoor fireworks display following the 5:30 pm contest. The UNUM Challenge between the Pirates and Sharks continues with Portland leading the eight-game series 2-0-0-1. At each game in each city, one lucky fan is chosen from the submitted entrees as the UNUM Challenge Fan of the Game. Each fan wins a replica jersey and receives five (5) tickets to a future game. Special youth ticket pricing is in effect for the game with Main Deck and Quarter Deck tickets only $9 in advance and $10 day of game. Tickets for the game are available by calling (207) 775-3458, visiting the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or going on-line at www.portlandpirates.com.
--PORTLAND PIRATES COMMUNICATIONS--
Posted by MattyMSM at 2:12 PM
Labels: AHL, AHL All Star Classic, Buffalo Sabres, Portland Pirates
Maroussia said...
It will be great to watch Pittsburgh Pirates, i have bought tickets from
http://ticketfront.com/event/Pittsburgh_Pirates-tickets looking forward to it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


But you'll have to be verrrrrry patient.
Brace yourselves, Apres Ski fans: a new ski area is on its way into the world, and it sounds beyond fabulous.
The proposed recreation area won't be here for at least another 20 years, but plans for it received a crucial approval recently from the provincial government. The resort-centered area would be planted right on Brohm Ridge near Squamish, British Columbia. Proposed by Garibaldi at Squamish Inc., this massive compound is estimated to require $3.5 billion to fully construct. And now we have the all-clear to start daydreaming.
Some of the features proposed for this ski area include 23 ski lifts, 124 developed trails, a car-free village, Alpine and Nordic skiing, as well as snowshoeing, summer recreation, and base activities. As well, it will have 1,675 hotel units as well as private accommodations.
On one hand, there are plenty of resort ski areas that already exist in the Whistler area and are perfect for skiing and apres ski activities. But on the other hand, this area sounds over-the-top impressive —and it's supposedly supported by the Squamish Nation. Plus, the plan is under tight scrutiny to ensure that the environment is protected as much as possible during the process.
So if Whistler Backcomb — the direct competitor of this future ski area — is sold out or just isn't your bag, something else is in the pipeline for you. You just won't see it IRL until 2036.
Here's Your Chance to Win a Trip to Whistler!


Discussion in 'Recurring Events' started by J a i b y r d, Aug 13, 2018.
Every 3rd or 4th sunday of the Month I hold a tea party in my back garden at my home in Jade Valley. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes we just sit and talk about life in Novia. Not only are you welcome to join us but I would like to find out how to have this added to the community calendar here in the forums.
Tailz, Sher Shadowleaf, Sean Silverfoot and 9 others like this.
J a i b y r d and Fionwyn Wyldemane like this.
@Mad Hatter please come if you are otherwise unengaged. I didn't know you'd fallen into the void with us all.
Yes. I've been learning to bake and you shall be my first um... Participants. No one has died yet.
Jay Nord and Fionwyn Wyldemane like this.
Fei Akhart, calkano (PAX), HannahAlpenglow2 and 1 other person like this.
I need tea and cake!
It's teatime today at 3pm NBT. This is not a dance party. See you then!
Rinaldi and Fionwyn Wyldemane like this.
Note the new address: near the covered bridge, along the river toward the lake.
See the map above for the address.
We are having the tea party on 24 of February cause it was my birthday and I was eating cake. See you there.
Wonderful tea party, thanks Lily!
Lily Byrd and Fionwyn Wyldemane like this.
Lily Byrd and Fei Akhart like this.
Oh Fei, it was really fun to play Musical Chairs with you all. Thai giggled a lot. Thanks for the pictures. I simply forget to take any.
Fei Akhart and Fionwyn Wyldemane like this.


text:
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 05: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) raises her arms with recording artist Katy Perry (L) during a get-out-the-vote concert at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts on November 5, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With three days to go until election day, Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Florida and Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Katy Perry Launches Worldwide Treasure Hunt To Promote Single "Chained To The Rhythm"
by UInterviewFebruary 13, 2017, 12:26 amFebruary 13, 2017, 12:26 amFebruary 13, 2017, 12:26 amDaily Digest, News, News Feed >
Katy Perry released a new single "Chained To The Rhythm" on Friday and posted a mysterious video message on her Instagram account. On the video, viewers see Perry's feet in a high heels chained to a faceted ball with some notes of music. To mark the occasion, the singer has organized a worldwide treasure hunt for her fans. Faceted balls have been hidden in Europe, South America, North America and Australia.
Perry has posted a photo with faceted balls on a map, if you click on a glitter ball there is the name and the picture of the place. If you go there, you can find a faceted ball with a headset and listen to the single.
Une photo publiée par KATY PERRY (@katyperry) le 8 Févr. 2017 à 7h45 PST
Some fans have already found the balls and posted pictures on social media. The general public will get to discover the song on the stage of the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Grammy Awards 2017 Katy Perry
Katy Perry Goes Viral With Strange Concert Clip Showing Her Dealing With Eye Issue
Katy Perry Adds Dates To Las Vegas Residency – Ticket Info & Setlist
Hilarious Clip Of Katy Perry Tossing Pizza Slices Into Crowd Goes Viral
Article by UInterview


Road Blocks Help Keep Alabama Highways Safer | Martinson & Beason, P.C.
This past Friday night my wife, 3 month old and I were traveling on U.S. Highway 82 which connects Tuscaloosa to Pickens County, Alabama when we came upon a road block in the city of Gordo. If you have ever driven through Gordo you know to slow down. I was driving my wife's SUV and after a minute of panic by my wife who couldn't find her insurance card, we pulled up to have my license and insurance information checked. I must admit I knew the Sheriff's deputy so he didn't really even look at my information; however, while we were waiting on the next officer to check our information and allow us on our way I said to my wife I think road blocks such as this are a good thing.
Think for a minute all the things that can be checked in such a simple roadblock. These items include: drivers license, tag, automobile insurance, seat belt, car seat for children, and drivers who are driving under the influence. While these types of road blocks can be a "pain" and certainly give you an adrenaline rush as you look for your license and insurance card they serve a good purpose to help keep our highways safe. While I have no statistics to back it up, I firmly believe drivers who do not have a driver's license and/or are uninsured tend not to be as safe a driver.


The biggest movie of bollywood Bahubali's director SS Rajamouli will release his next big movie RRR on 30 July, 2020. It will be a multi starrer film and it will released in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and many other Indian languages also. The star cast was revealed few days ago and it includes the Alia Bhatt also.
As we already know, S. S. Rajamouli is known for big budget, strong story, good star cast movies. His next movie RRR will show the story of freedom fighters Alluri Sitaram Raju and Komaram Bheem. As per Rajamouli, he wants to present the characters in a new way.
He stated, "I want to paint the whole canvas totally with a brush, so the universe that I make, there ought to be courage, energy and patience." the warriors of reality – Alullari Sitaram Raju and Komaram Bhim have begun shooting for the film. He researched on the movie very well.
Ram Charan and Alia's new chemistry is worth a watch and people are waiting for it eagerly. Ajay Devgan is also assuming an essential role in the film. English actor Daisy Edgar Jones is debuting with the film in Indian film.
The budget of the movie is Rs. 400 crores as per the news. Created under the DVV Entertainment by DVV Danayya, the film will be relesed in 10 Indian dialects on July 30, 2020.


Numerical or other information represented in a form suitable for processing by computer.
The excerpt is the definition of data with regards to computer science. Data is raw material for data processing. data relates to fact, event and transactions. Data refers to unprocessed information.
A more generic definition of data is : Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions.
For death year, should I use N/A or — if person still alive?


text:
HIBERNIACHURCH@GMAIL.COM
HIBERNIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Sunday Worship | 10:30 am ET
No matter your background, we welcome you here!
Advent 2017 Devotional - Dec. 14
1 Samuel 2:1-11 Long before Elizabeth and Mary, a childless Hebrew woman named Hannah prayed for a child. When God heard her prayer and gave her a son, she dedicated him to God's service. He was the great Israelite leader and prophet Samuel. Then she offered this psalm in honor of God, a poetic prayer much like Mary's expression of praise when she met Elizabeth.
Hannah's song said "those who stumbled are armed with strength…those who were hungry are hungry no more….The Lord…raises the poor from the dust." God came to earth, and was born, not in a palace, but in an animal shelter. How can you,as a Christ-follower, more fully live into God's attitude toward material wealth and poverty?
1 Samuel 1 says Hannah's husband had another wife, Peninah (common in that day). She had children, and taunted Hannah, causing her great pain. Do some parts of Hannah's song carry a tone of triumph over her rival that wasn't in Mary's? How do you see the difference between healthy joy in God's goodness and hurtful gloating?
220 Hibernia Rd,
Coatesville, PA 19320
©2021 | HIBERNIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH


text:
package com.stratio.ingestion.source.rest;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue;

import javax.ws.rs.core.MediaType;
import javax.ws.rs.core.MultivaluedMap;

import org.apache.commons.collections.CollectionUtils;
import org.apache.flume.Event;
import org.codehaus.jackson.map.ObjectMapper;
import org.quartz.Job;
import org.quartz.JobExecutionContext;
import org.quartz.JobExecutionException;
import org.quartz.SchedulerContext;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

import com.stratio.ingestion.source.rest.exception.RestSourceException;
import com.stratio.ingestion.source.rest.handler.RestSourceHandler;
import com.stratio.ingestion.source.rest.url.UrlHandler;
import com.sun.jersey.api.client.Client;
import com.sun.jersey.api.client.ClientResponse;
import com.sun.jersey.api.client.WebResource;

/**
 * RequestJob. Quartz Job that make a request to a RESTful service.
 */
public class RequestJob implements Job {

    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(RequestJob.class);

    public static final String APPLICATION_TYPE = "applicationType";
    public static final String METHOD = "method";
    public static final String HEADERS = "headers";
    public static final String DEFAULT_REST_SOURCE_HANDLER = "com.stratio.ingestion.source"
            + ".rest.DefaultRestSourceHandler";
    public static final String HANDLER = "restSourceHandler";
    public static final String URL_HANDLER = "urlHandler";

    private Map<String, String> properties;
    private LinkedBlockingQueue<Event> queue;
    private Client client;
    private MediaType mediaType;
    private JobExecutionContext context;
    private RestSourceHandler restSourceHandler;
    private UrlHandler urlHandler;

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     *
     * @param context
     */
    @Override
    public void execute(JobExecutionContext context) throws JobExecutionException {
        this.context = context;
        SchedulerContext schedulerContext = null;
        try {
            log.debug("Executing quartz job");
            schedulerContext = context.getScheduler().getContext();
            initProperties(schedulerContext);

            WebResource.Builder resourceBuilder = getBuilder();
            ClientResponse response = getResponse(resourceBuilder);

            if (response != null) {
                String responseAsString = response.getEntity(String.class);
                final List<Event> events = restSourceHandler
                        .getEvents(responseAsString, responseToHeaders(response.getHeaders()));
                queue.addAll(events);
                urlHandler.updateFilterParameters(getLastEvent(events));
            }

        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    protected String getLastEvent(List<Event> events) {
        String lastEventAsString = "";
        if (CollectionUtils.isNotEmpty(events)) {
            final Event lastEvent = events.get(events.size() - 1);
            lastEventAsString = new String(lastEvent.getBody());
        }
        return lastEventAsString;
    }

    private WebResource.Builder getBuilder() {
        WebResource resource = client.resource(urlHandler.buildUrl(properties));
        WebResource.Builder resourceBuilder = setApplicationType(resource, properties.get(APPLICATION_TYPE));
        addHeaders(resourceBuilder, properties.get(HEADERS));
        return resourceBuilder;
    }

    private ClientResponse getResponse(WebResource.Builder webResource) {
        ClientResponse response;
        if ("GET".equals(properties.get(METHOD))) {
            response = webResource.get(ClientResponse.class);
        } else {
            //TODO pending review POST request implementation
            response = webResource.post(ClientResponse.class);
        }

        return response;
    }

    /**
     * Convert Multivalued Headers to Plain Map Headers accepted by Flume Event.
     *
     * @param map multivaluedMap.
     * @return plain Map.
     */
    private Map<String, String> responseToHeaders(MultivaluedMap<String, String> map) {
        Map<String, String> newMap = new HashMap<String, String>();
        for (Map.Entry<String, List<String>> entry : map.entrySet()) {
            newMap.put(entry.getKey(), multiValueHeaderToString(entry.getValue()));
        }
        return newMap;
    }

    /**
     * Convert a multivalue header to String.
     *
     * @param list
     * @return
     * @see w3.org
     */
    private String multiValueHeaderToString(List<String> list) {
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        for (int i = 0; i < list.size(); ++i) {
            sb.append(list.get(i));
            if (i != list.size() - 1) {
                sb.append(", ");
            }
        }

        return sb.toString();
    }

    /**
     * Initialize properties that are received in the {@code SchedulerContext}.
     *
     * @param context
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    public void initProperties(SchedulerContext context) {
        queue = (LinkedBlockingQueue<Event>) context.get("queue");
        properties = (Map<String, String>) context.get("properties");
        client = (Client) context.get("client");
        restSourceHandler = (RestSourceHandler) context.get(HANDLER);
        urlHandler = (UrlHandler) context.get(URL_HANDLER);

    }

    /**
     * Set an Application Type to the request depending on a parameter and its corresponding
     * {@code MediaType}.
     *
     * @param webResource     Current target url.
     * @param applicationType ApplicationType to set.
     * @return
     */
    public WebResource.Builder setApplicationType(WebResource webResource, String applicationType) {
        if ("TEXT".equals(applicationType)) {
            mediaType = MediaType.TEXT_PLAIN_TYPE;
        } else {
            mediaType = MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON_TYPE;
        }

        return webResource.accept(mediaType);
    }

    /**
     * Map raw Json to an object and add each key-value to a headers request.
     *
     * @param builder     Current REST request.
     * @param jsonHeaders raw json.
     * @return
     */
    private WebResource.Builder addHeaders(WebResource.Builder builder, String jsonHeaders) {
        ObjectMapper mapper = new ObjectMapper();
        try {
            Map<String, Object> headers = mapper.readValue(jsonHeaders, Map.class);
            for (Map.Entry<String, Object> entry : headers.entrySet()) {
                builder.header(entry.getKey(), entry.getValue());
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new RestSourceException("An error occurred during headers parsing", e);
        }

        return builder;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Search here for Kitchen clean up clipart collection out of 50 ready to use vector and photo images. You can use them for free.
Already 1024 visitors found here solutions for their art work. 10 users visited kitchen clean up clipart this week.
Here some moast popular keywords people search on out site: clipart, kitchen, clean, clip, images, free, sink, yourself, cartoon, after, washing, signs, dishes, cleaning, panda, restroom, small, messy, cliparts, black.


Therefore … be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
We could well understand it if this verse had been written about an apostle. He does major work for the Lord so, of course, his work is not in vain. No! This verse was written by an apostle for plain, ordinary Christians in Corinth, Paul's "beloved brethren." Their work — the work of people just like you and me — is never in vain.
Let me give you two examples of people helping our ministry.
*First, there's Debbie, Linda, Mike, Jordan, Sarah, Dail — our regular Newsletter stuffers — assisted from time to time by others. What do they do? Several times a year they insert items — newsletters, response cards, return envelopes, flyers — into business size envelopes so this Newsletter can go out to you and thousands of others.
They might conclude, "I'm glad to help but how much help is it really?" Over the thirty year history of the Newsletter countless people have written or called to say that something in the Newsletter — an article, a testimony, even a letter from a reader — had significant, lasting impact on their lives. How could the Newsletter have done that if the faithful "Stuffing Crew" was not about their business preparing it for mailing?
*Jesus' first miracle occurred when unnamed servants filled with water six large stone jars, ladled out some of it and took it to the steward of the wedding feast. We don't know their names and their part in the story was small but God used it (John 2:1-11).
*Jesus needed to feed five thousand people who had just been hearing Him teach. Present was a young lad who had five barley loaves and two fish. From this Jesus worked a miracle of feeding. This unnamed young man did not work the miracle but he played a part in what Jesus did (John 6:1-14).
1. With confidence. Never think that what you do for the Lord is insignificant.
2. With quality. Give it your best, whatever it is. God deserves that.
3. With devotion. Serve so that God gets the glory and His Name is uplifted.
4. With caring. Work so that others are truly helped and loved.


text:
2017 is here
DAB What's New January 6, 2017
Free, efficient, and equal government
Let's not leave 2016 without a few comments about December. At Grand Rounds Andrew Peterson, visiting professor from Duke, and Daniela Wittmann gave excellent presentations on urologic cancer survivorship. Andrew explained his remarkable survivorship/reconstructive fellowship in Durham and Daniela gave a 10-year review of our uniquely successful Brandon survivorship program.
Medical students raise money for our Galens Society annual "Tag Days" in early December. Founded in 1914, Galens supports Mott Children's Hospital and other organizations that benefit children in Washtenaw County. [Above: Paul Cederna of Plastic Surgery with MS1s Alex Tipaldi and Michael Klueh at the Taubman 2 Urology ACU.]
Our holiday party at Fox Hills entertained over 350 people with the expected surprise of Santa who had gifts for all the children (above). Pat Soter, her husband Jim, as well as Sandy and Bob Heskett, did the heavy lifting for this event and we thank them. Pat's retirement leaves a major challenge filling her shoes. A faculty evening meeting (below) discussed residents progress, urology divisions, strategic planning, and John Stoffel's stint as Acting Chair.
Now that we are 6 days into 2017, Happy New Year from Michigan Medicine's Department of Urology.
Liberty, once attained, is taken for granted. We grieve its loss, fight for it, but are not good at maintaining it. On this day in 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms State of the Union address. Pearl Harbor would happen 11 months later. FDR came to the presidency in turbulent times and became enormously popular, serving nearly 4 terms. Some people disparaged his social policies, yet few disputed his belief in essential freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
[Washington @ Delaware. Sully 1819. Boston Fine Arts Museum]
The State of the Union address is prescribed by Article II Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution. George Washington gave the first to Congress in New York City on January 8, 1790, 9 months into office. The new government had recently come to power after 11 of 13 states accepted the Constitution, but North Carolina waited to ratify, pending a Bill of Rights. Washington's address, praised North Carolina's acceptance two months earlier. (Rhode Island became the last of the 13 original colonies to ratify, later that year on May 29.) That first State of the Union address at 1089 words (page 1 below) is shorter than any of its successors.
Washington set the tone in the opening sentences.
"Fellow Citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives. I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity, which now presents itself, of congratulating you on the present favourable prospects of our public affairs. The recent accession of the important State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States (of which official information has been received) —the rising credit and respectability of our Country — the general and increasing good will towards the Government of the Union —and the concord, peace and plenty, with which we are blessed, are circumstances, auspicious, in an eminent degree to our national prosperity."
The conclusion was optimistic.
"The welfare of our Country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. And I shall derive great satisfaction from a co-operation with you, in the pleasing though arduous task of ensuring to our fellow Citizens the blessings, which they have a right to expect, from a free, efficient and equal Government."
We anticipate President Trump's State of the Union will seek reconciliation of political polarities without yielding on core issues that decided the election. Healthcare will be heavily weighted to the legislative agenda of Paul Ryan and operational agenda of HHS head Tom Price (UM alumnus and orthopedic surgeon).
Year 1 UMMG. The ability to practice and innovate in healthcare drew many of us to medical careers, but these freedoms have become constricted. Specialization, systemic organizational impingements, economics, and regulation drive much of the constriction. Some laws restrict conversations between patient and physician, as if healthcare providers were agents of government rather than citizens with first amendment rights (after all, free speech was first in the Bill of Rights).
Consumer discontent over healthcare delivery dominates the news, but discontent from the perspective of practitioners is equally important; dissatisfaction within healthcare professions affects delivery, efficiency, education, innovation, and pipeline of future practitioners. We can't solve all the national and regional healthcare problems from Ann Arbor, but we can influence their solution and serve as a best-of-class example.
The structure, governance, and policies of the UM Health System have re-assembled over the past year. Our new Michigan Medicine governance is certainly less monumental than Washington's new union in 1790 and contains key differences. Whereas the US federal system depends on a three-way balance of power, Michigan Medicine intends an integration of authority. "Silos" that evolved over the past 150 years at UM – namely the Medical School (UMMS) and its faculty, clinical departments, hospital administrative structure, and research enterprise – while related and sharing many of the same people, often worked at cross purposes to defend budgets, becoming archipelagos of cost centers.
One year ago the UMMS and its Health System merged the positions of Dean and EVPMA (Marschall Runge). Three vice dean positions were created: Clinical Vice Dean/President of UM Health System (David Spahlinger), Academic Vice Dean (Carol Bradford), and Scientific Vice Dean (TBD). A new UM Hospital Board with healthcare expertise and regental participation will oversee the entire health system and medical school.
The re-organized health system has 3 main operating units: Hospital Group I (Main & CVC), Hospital Group II (Mott & Women's), and the UM Medical Group (UMMG, formerly the Faculty Group Practice = FGP) that manages ambulatory practices as well as regional affiliations. In the 2007 FGP, UM ambulatory activities were divided into 90 Ambulatory Care Units (ACUs) intended to function under local control by the healthcare providers to maximize lean principles. The ACUs have grown to 150 and Timothy Johnson was just named UMMG Executive Director. Tim ran the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Program, served as Division Chief of Cutaneous Surgery and Oncology, led the very successful Mohs Ambulatory Care Unit director, served as training director of the ACGME fellowship in Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology, and is the Lewis and Lillian Becker Professor of Dermatology.
Tim's skin cancer programs involve over 25 departments, divisions, service lines, and centers, and consistently earn superb ratings of patient satisfaction, employee engagement, and access. His programs generate significant grant funding, publications, and clinical trials.
New governance structure, expanded facilities, and growing affiliations should allow Michigan Medicine to carry out its missions no matter how the greater US healthcare system evolves. The UM has a history of innovative morphology beginning in 1869 when a faculty house became a hospital – the first occasion for a university to own and operate a hospital. While this originally happened for the purpose of teaching, the mission evolved to become a conjoined one of education, research, and state-of-the-art clinical care.
Inclusion of a hospital within the Medical School, extended medical education from classrooms to bedsides, a first step in building the UM Health System. Clinical and investigational laboratories later brought science into medical education and created new opportunity for investigation and innovation. An ambulatory care building in 1953 and offsite clinics carried UM into outpatient healthcare that is now expanding into homes, workplaces, and other daily living spaces of patients. This fourth dimension of healthcare (1=classroom, 2=bedside/OR, 3=ambulatory clinic, and 4=patient life circumstances) complements health services research, as practiced in our Dow HSR division, opening doors between medical schools and schools of public health, pharmacy, natural resources, nursing, kinesiology, and sociology. Our North Campus Research Center (NCRC), acquired from Pfizer, facilitates integration of all healthcare dimensions. [Below: David Canter Executive Director NCRC & Marschall Runge]
Polar arguments related to the future of health care are being fought simultaneously in political battlegrounds and marketplaces. One argument is that health care is "too expensive" and we often hear that "we're giving too much away." The other argument was summarized in The Lancet cover quotation just before the November election: "Whichever way the election goes, one issue is certain: the next president of the USA will inherit a country in which deep health and health-care inequalities exist along multiple lines, including income, race, and gender." [Editorial. "America decides." The Lancet. 2016; 388: 2209]
There is little doubt that healthcare as deployed today is expensive and many factors account for this, significantly the insurance-based paradigm, corporatization of healthcare, and regulatory costs. Fee-for-service (FFS) factors and waste in the system are also blameworthy. Although both can be mitigated, waste will never be eliminated in human processes and FFS always finds a place in any free society. When people complain that too much is being given away, they are likely referring to suspicion that "other people" benefit from services that they, as taxpayers, support. This sense of unfairness is deeply seated.
Just as deeply seated at the other pole of belief is outrage over the unfairness of healthcare disparities. The right to healthcare, many will argue, is essential to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, ideas deeply ingrained in American civic belief. No less important is the fact that it is in the public interest for everyone to have a basic level of health care. It is in your interest that the person next to you, next to your family members, next to your colleagues, and next to your friends – whether on the street, in a store, at a restaurant, or on a plane – doesn't have TB, measles, Ebola, or some other communicable disease. It is in all of our interests that air and water quality are good. It is in our interest that violently mentally ill people are not disrupting work places or driving on streets. It is in your interest that homeless people have health care. Every civilized country recognizes some national responsibility to provide health care, differing mainly in the mechanisms and extent of coverage.
Reconciliation of these polar beliefs is a political problem, an economic problem, and a public policy problem. No simple solution or model will likely satisfy all these problems and beliefs. The public wants availability, affordability, and quality, but finds it easier to provide any two of these attributes instead of all three.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide one avenue to health care. These community-based organizations target underserved health care needs. Established to provide comprehensive health service to the medically underserved and reduce emergency room care, the FQHC mission has shifted to enhance health care services for underserved, underinsured, and uninsured individuals in urban and rural communities. Care is provided to all patients, including migrant workers and non-US citizens, regardless of ability to pay, based on sliding-fee scales established by FQHC community boards. In return for serving all patients FQHCs receive government cash grants, cost-based reimbursement for Medicaid patients, and malpractice coverage under the Federal Trot Claims Act (FTCA) of 1946. The ACA set aside $11 billion dollars over 5 years to cover FQHC costs. FQHCs serve one in 13 people in this country.
Some of the approximately 2000 FQHCs in the US are small operations, while others like the Hamilton FQHC in Flint are substantial enterprises. Two federal agencies oversee FQHCs. One is the Bureau of Primary Health Care, under the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The other is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), also under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Health Center Consolidation Act of 1996 (commonly called Section 330) brought together funding mechanisms for community health facilities, such as migrant/seasonal farmworker health centers, healthcare for the homeless, and health centers for residents of public housing. Previously, each of these organizations was provided grants under other mechanisms.
The Bureau of Primary Health Care is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA helps fund, staff and support a national network of health clinics for people who otherwise would have little or no access to care.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administering the Medicare program and partnering with state governments to administer Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and health insurance portability standards. In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities (more commonly referred to as nursing homes) through its survey and certification process, clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, and oversight of HealthCare.gov.
Seven.
The Hamilton Community Health Network (HCHN) began in 1982 as the Hamilton Family Health Center under St. Joseph's Hospital (now Genesys Health System) in response to unmet healthcare needs in Flint, Michigan. Moving to the present site (now the administrative headquarters shown above) in 1988 it began receiving federal funds to provide healthcare for the growing homeless population. Becoming HCHN in 2001 the organization assumed financial and operational responsibility from Hurley Hospital for primary and preventive care at the hospital's North Pointe facility, and the following year began operations at a combined medical-dental site in partnership with the Genesee County Health Department. Hamilton, now a part of a national network of primary care centers (Section 330E), provides comprehensive healthcare services for underserved urban, rural, and homeless populations in addition to operating a family medicine residency program under HSRA funding since 2014. Hamilton has 6 clinical sites: the Main Clinic, the Burton Clinic, the Dental North Clinic, the Clio Clinic, the Lapeer Clinic, and the North Pointe Clinic. The Main Clinic is a new $5 million facility of 31,000 square feet, funded by federal dollars, local grants, a capital campaign, and debt that has been totally paid off.
The pairing of urology and primary care practices is natural. The Hippocratic Oath 2000 years ago recognized the unique nature of urologic expertise and the need for specialists. Every human being will have urologic issues of one sort or another and there will never be enough urologists to "go around." Working side-by-side with primary care providers, urologists can teach them, just as they can teach urologists, providing comprehensive health care where and when it is needed.
[Above: Hamilton FQHC in Flint: Board of Directors. Below CMO Mike Giacalone Jr., CEO Clarence Pierce]
The UM Urology Department began clinics at Hamilton in 2015 working with an excellent clinical team including a superb physician's assistant Ben Busuito (below). Urology clinics are now staffed nearly every week by myself, John Wei, John Stoffel, Anne Pelletier Cameron, Ganesh Palapattu, Meidee Goh, Chad Ellimoottil, and Gary Faerber – who has been coming back periodically from Salt Lake City. Our faculty have never been assigned to Hamilton nor subsidized to travel to clinics; we simply created the arrangement and our urologists saw the need and the opportunity. My clinic at Hamilton is streamlined for patients and providers, so my time in Flint is also a learning experience to improve our UM ACUs.
[Clinic team: Melanie Slackta, Alice Yanity, Ben Busuito, Michelle Durall, Michelle Williams]
True facts. Legendary professor Don Coffey at Johns Hopkins often admonished trainees: "You have to understand the difference between facts and true facts," advice that resonates with me in this new milieu of fake news on social media. Don taught the importance of critical thinking and insistence on truth. The truth matters in science, in politics, and in all human interactions.
American philosopher Harry Frankfort wrote an important book entitled indelicately, but appropriately, On Bullshit (Princeton University Press, 2005) and this demanded a sequel the following year, On Truth (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006). Both books are worth your attention. (friend at Emory gave me a copy of the former book). If you've read them once you should read them again. True facts seem to have diminished influence today and false news is on the rise. Expect change in 2017. Worldwide social media communication will drive much of it, but dig critically for truth and its impostors.
[Oct. 31, 1938: Orson Wells telling reporters no one expected the broadcast would cause public panic. Acme News Photos. Wikipedia]
The infamous War of the Worlds radio play in 1938 is a cautionary tale. The HG Wells story was directed and narrated by Orson Wells (no relation), but listeners who tuned in after the introduction misinterpreted the play as an actual alien invasion. Modern social media technology has increased the ease of dissemination of erroneous stories or deliberate manipulative propaganda. A single false story or conspiracy theory can spread around the planet in minutes to reach a sizable part of our 8 billion gullible global citizens. With print media and professional journalism on the decline, the world is dangerously vulnerable to manipulation by a random or purposeful catalyst.
The best defense against tomorrow's War of the Worlds will be based on two foundering, elements of civilization. One is education – teaching critical thinking skills. That education needs to begin in grade school and sharpened later on the educational ladder in math, physics, physiology, and pharmacology just as well as in English, art history, or architecture. Broad critical thinking needs to continue in professional schools, graduate medical education, and beyond in our jobs and communities. The other element is a multiplicity of robust, trusted, and critical media sources providing timely scrutiny and analysis – and these are the fourth and fifth estates.
Nine.
Medieval social power structure can be conceptualized to three estates of the realm, namely the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. The American colonies that united under George Washington disrupted that traditional model to create representational democracy and it is no mere coincidence that one of its early builders was a printer, Ben Franklin. Imperfect as it was and is, representational democracy surpasses anything else that has been attempted for civilized governance, but it demands an educated populace and continuous vigilance by the press, known as the fourth estate.
The immediacy of social media led to the concept of a fifth estate, consisting of web-based technologies. Curiously, that was the name of a countercultural underground newspaper, first published in 1965 in Detroit. The first issue included a review of a Bob Dylan concert, a "borrowed" Jules Feiffer cartoon, and announcement of a march in Washington. The periodical remains active and is believed to be the longest-running anarchist publication in English. The Fifth Estate archives are held here at the University of Michigan in the Labadie Collection at the Harlan Hatcher Library. [Below: First page first edition Nov 19-Dec 2, 1965. Courtesy UM Labadie Collection & Julie Herrada]
What's New/Matula Thoughts, this particular small-scale electronic posting, was intended as monthly essay for colleagues and friends. It has worked its way around the global village although we can't track the What's New email version that gets forwarded beyond its initial recipients, we can track the MatulaThoughts website version through WordPress analytics.
[Above: MatulaThoughts analytics in mid-December]
Most web postings of this sort feature short blurbs linked to aggregated articles that may, or may not, contain verifiable reporting or critical analysis. MatulaThoughts differs in that its 10 items contain some streams of continuity, random observations, and specific references usually to scientific literature. Striving to keep this under 4000 words, we view this as a monthly essay for Michigan Urology family and friends, recognizing that while many find time for only a cursory scan, others pick out one or more items to read more carefully. Some readers around the globe, however, read this better than I write it, and communicate back related observations, different opinions, or find mistakes I've made. My thanks, especially, to those critical analysts.
Ten.
The Fifth Estate, just as the fourth, was heralded as a boon to free speech, human liberty, and democracy. Outrageous claims or gross propaganda, however, bring a perverse twist to social media, abetted by public tolerance and even an appetite for fake news. The boundary between fake news (mainly enjoyed as entertainment) and true factual news is indistinct and the difference doesn't seem to matter to many people. This imperils democracy for it cannot be doubted that truth matters in a free and civilized society. Social media can provoke a presumably rational person to enter a church and open fire on parishioners, to take weapons to "investigate" restaurants in distant cities, to target-shoot highway drivers, or "execute" policemen in their cars. The truth matters to all of us. Its distortion undermines civilization.
Truth matters in science and is absolute in the health professions. Deception in the reporting of a blood test, cut-and-pasted notes, conversations with colleagues or patients, or manipulated scientific results may sneak by in the workplace or in the literature for periods of time, but eventually get discovered and demand public scorn and long-standing distrust. One rascal, even among thousands of "honest brokers" diminishes the public trust. Trust matters in engineering, construction, food safety, nuclear power plants, the transportation industry, water standards, air quality, and so on. It matters too in journalism, law, politics, and life in a cosmopolitan world. Purposeful exploitation of truth, whether self-serving lie, propaganda, or mischief should be called out. A related deception is that of careless or deliberate plagiarism, when another person's distinct intellectual property such as sentences, images, etc. are claimed as one's own.
How then can we distinguish these threats to free speech from fiction? To me, fiction is the art of creating a story that entertains and may give insight to our lives. The proper purposes of fiction (that is, the purposes that civilized and educated people should accept) are distinct from propaganda, deception, and plagiarism.
Freedom of speech carries with it the responsibility to be critical and intolerant of gross distortions. Preservation of the freedoms we claim as humans (namely, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) demands an attention that in this country we elevated to a cabinet-level status under Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. This was the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) with the motto, "Hope is the anchor of life." In 1979 the Department of Education was split out and HEW became the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These organizations have spent much taxpayer money and have done great good, but are complex and imperfect. These have been, I believe, the only cabinet-level departments created by presidential reorganization. The ability of the president to create or reorganize bureaucracies, as long as neither house of Congress passed a legislative veto, was removed after 1962. Fifteen executive cabinet-level departments currently exist.
[Above HEW seal; below HHS seal]
Although seemingly arcane, these matters demand our attention for a free, efficient, and equal government.
Posted in Academic medical center, Graduate medical education, Health care, Health services research, Medical education, Medical humanities, Nesbit Alumni Society, University of Michigan, University of Michigan Health System
Tagged Michigan Urology


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Huawei Founder Slams U.S. Charges as 'Politically Motivated'
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Ren Zhengfei had previously avoided passing judgment on the case, citing respect for the legal process. Now he appears to be sharpening his language.
in Asia, Business, Economy, Featured, Government, National, National Security, Politics, Technology, United States, World News
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Ren Zhengfei, the founder of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, has accused the United States of having political motivations in leveling criminal charges against the company and his daughter, a top Huawei executive.
The comments, made in an interview with the BBC that was published Monday, mark a rhetorical escalation. Mr. Ren and the firm had previously declined to say much on the case, citing respect for the legal process. But he appears to be sharpening his language as a hearing nears on whether his daughter should be sent to the United States to stand trial.
"I object to what the U.S. has done," Mr. Ren told the BBC. "This kind of politically motivated act is not acceptable."
Whistleblower now willing to take Republican questions
Huawei Tells Texas Judge That U.S. Law Denies It Due Process
What did Huawei do to land in such hot water with the US?
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Spying claims show US is 'ignorant of technology', say Huawei bosses
Late last month, the Justice Department unveiled sweeping charges against Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, outlining yearslong efforts by the Chinese firm to steal American industrial secrets, obstruct a criminal investigation and evade economic sanctions against Iran.
Ms. Meng, who is Mr. Ren's elder daughter, was arrested in December by Canadian authorities acting at the request of the United States. She remains in Canada while awaiting a decision by its legal authorities about whether she will be extradited to the United States to face charges.
The criminal case against Huawei and Ms. Meng coincides with a campaign by American officials to pressure Western governments not to use Huawei's equipment in their mobile networks. Washington has long held that the company's networking gear could be used to help Beijing spy on Americans, charges that Huawei has consistently denied.
Relations between China and the United States have already been tense as efforts to resolve their monthslong trade war plod forward.
Mr. Ren, 74, has generally preferred to avoid the spotlight as he built Huawei into the world's largest supplier of the equipment that enables modern telecommunications.
In an interview last month with a group of journalists from international news outlets, Mr. Ren said: "I trust that the legal systems of Canada and the United States are open, just and fair, and will reach a just conclusion. We will make our judgment after all the evidence is made public."
Mr. Ren's latest comments appear to be aimed at a Canadian audience. A Canadian judge is set in the coming weeks to hear arguments about whether Ms. Meng should be extradited.
One issue that is likely to factor into the Canadian authorities' decision is whether her arrest was politically motivated. Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign minister, has warned the United States not to use the extradition process to pursue political ends. And last month, John McCallum, Canada's ambassador to China at the time, said Ms. Meng had a good chance of avoiding extradition because of remarks by President Trump, who had said he was willing to intervene if it would help secure a trade deal.
Mr. McCallum backpedaled on his observation. But he was pushed out of his job soon after.
Tags: Chrystia FreelandHuaweiJohn McCallumMeng WanzhouPresident TrumpRen ZhengfeiWestern governments
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Home/News/Quadrupling USPS' parcel rates would cause economic catastrophe, report warns
Last MileNewsParcel
Quadrupling USPS' parcel rates would cause economic catastrophe, report warns
Charles River study says Postal Service could be forced to exit parcel business
Mark SolomonThursday, October 1, 2020
Image: Flickr/Travis Wise
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) could be forced to exit the parcel-delivery business and e-commerce customers could face up to an $865 billion increase in shipping costs over the next five years if USPS quadrupled its parcel rates as President Donald Trump has demanded, according to a study published Monday by a prominent consulting firm.
The 66-page report, written by Boston-based Charles River Associates and commissioned by the Package Coalition, a group of 25 large postal users that strongly opposes dramatic increases in USPS' parcel rates, is believed to be the first attempt to quantify in detail the marketplace impact of Trump's demands of the Postal Service.
The co-authors, Charles River economists Debra Aron and Justin Lenzo, said that even "above-market increases at significant lower levels" than Trump wants would "divert most or all of the package delivery business from the Postal Service" to competitors like UPS Inc. (NYSE:UPS). UPS and others could then "substantially increase their own prices and still retain the entire market," the report concluded.
Based on different price-increase scenarios, consumers would pay between $7.86 and $16.95 more for each package, which would translate into total cost increases of $473 billion and $865 billion over five years, the report warned. This would trigger a vicious cycle in which consumers would drastically curtail their e-commerce ordering, thus hurting a wide range of industry players, the report said. USPS would need to shed about 154,000 jobs, nearly one-third of a workforce estimated by research firm Statista at 497,000 in 2019, if it exited or dramatically scaled back its presence in the parcel delivery market, according to the report.
Big retailers like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) would be impacted, but their pain would be mitigated by an ability to shift deliveries onto their own vehicles, said the authors. However, smaller retailers that lack those alternatives would be crushed, according to the report. Their shipping costs would rise by $11.35 to $26.51 for each package, the report estimated. Lost sales and profits would be measured in the many billions of dollars, the report said. Those losses don't factor in the threat of businesses' insolvency due to failures to cover their fixed costs, the report said.
Trump warned in April that he would not sign any coronavirus-relief legislation if it included direct aid to USPS, which has struggled mightily during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any future direct aid, Trump said at the time, would be conditioned upon USPS quadrupling its parcel rates. USPS eventually received a $10 billion loan from the last round of funding known as the CARES Act. The loan came with strings attached by the Treasury Department, however.
Trump had USPS' parcel rates on his radar screen long before the novel coronavirus hit U.S. shores. He has repeatedly charged that USPS loses money on every shipment tendered to it by Amazon, its largest parcel-delivery customer. However, USPS made $1.6 billion in profits from Amazon in its 2019 fiscal year, according to a trove of 10,000 pages of documents unearthed by nonprofit ethics watchdog American Oversight and reported in mid-September by The Washington Post. The Post is owned by Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, who is believed to be the target of a Trump vendetta resulting from the many negative articles published about his presidency.
Satish Jindel, CEO of transport consultancy ShipMatrix, has said that Amazon often pays USPS more to move its parcels than it would cost to do the same work in house. Amazon today self-handles about two-thirds of its deliveries, a figure expected to rise to 85% to 90% in a couple of years as it continues to scale its shipping network. At the same time, Amazon's percentage of deliveries handled by USPS has been cut in half since early 2017, according to a highly publicized report by Rakuten Intelligence. Amazon's self-handling push is focused on heavily populated urban areas where package density and short trips help drive down its shipping costs.
For months, Jindel has warned the massive price increases contemplated by Trump would cost USPS about three-quarters of its parcel business as millions of merchants flee to competitors. USPS is a low-cost lifeline to many small to midsize businesses, especially those that ship lightweight parcels where USPS has a strong cost advantage over private-sector rivals.
The beneficiaries, according to the report, would be private-sector carriers like UPS, which with USPS out of the parcel picture could sharply raise delivery rates with little resistance from suddenly captive shippers. UPS has been embroiled in a long-running legal and regulatory battle to force USPS to raise its parcel prices, which the Atlanta-based company has long said is illegally subsidized by the agency's monopoly on its core first-class mail product.
One of the arguments has centered on how much USPS' "competitive" products such as its parcel offerings have contributed to the total costs of running the agency. Critics like UPS have said that the required contribution from the competitive products segment hasn't reflected its actual cost or its significant growth over the last decade. An increase in the segment's overall contribution rate would raise its costs and, by extension, the floor on shipping prices. However, the Charles River authors cited data from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), a separate agency that regulates USPS' pricing programs, that competitive products contributed 23.4% to total USPS expenses in its 2019 fiscal year, well above the PRC's minimum threshold of 8.8%.
UPS declined comment on the Charles River report. Ironically, UPS is a big user of USPS' Parcel Select service, in which high-volume postal users induct bulk parcels deep into the postal infrastructure for last-mile deliveries to every U.S. residence. The inexpensively priced service benefits merchants as well as UPS, which doesn't have to utilize its own assets to make the deliveries.
The report comes as USPS, which has been financially battered by declining mail volumes and higher costs associated with responding to the pandemic, looks for billions in aid from a hoped-for congressional relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin have been negotiating for several days. However, they are reportedly far apart on the size of the aid package. House Democrats have scaled back their proposal to $2.2 trillion. The White House has set a cap of $1.5 trillion.
The House has proposed $25 billion in direct aid to USPS. In July, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced legislation that would also provide $25 billion in aid.
Charles River Associates Trump USPS washington post
Mark Solomon
Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.
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Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 9:52 pm
USPS needs to put rates in that reflect the real cost of delivery. The customers need to pay the real cost.


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Q: How is the DPS value calculated? I'm interested to know which factors affect the calculation of the DPS number. It seems from some minor experimentation that adding mods which boost Accuracy or Crit Damage increase your DPS score, yet Stability does not.
This minor experiment yields some odd results when equipping weapon mods, as to me it means that a DPS focused build would just stack lots of Accuracy and Crit Damage, but there must be more to it than that. As that would make most other mods pretty useless.
To me a high Stability score would mean more shots landing on target due to reduced recoil which would surely increase your damage. Whereas a highly accurate assault rifle, for example, with low stability fired for a sustained period wouldn't land as many shots, due to it needing far more 'manual correction' to compensate for the recoil.
To compound matters, there is a loading hint which even states that DPS isn't the be all and end all of if a weapon is good, and to consider other aspects. Which is very pertinent when considering my First Wave M1A with both Balanced and Accurate talents.
If this is the case then why, when browsing weapon mods, are these 'other' bonuses not made apparent to the player through the UI?

A: The DPS value as you say is influenced by many things which aren't possible to show as a number.
As you point out, if you don't land any shots your DPS is zero and if you headshot everything then your DPS will be higher than shown on your character sheet. DPS is not feasible to calculate for stats like stability/accuracy as their impact will be specific for every player.
Add to that things like skills (pulses) dmg bonuses for different enemy types and it becomes very tricky to give 'one number'.
This video gives a good breakdown of why the DPS number is 'wrong' and goes a long way to showing the types of numbers you could use to calculate your own DPS.
There is link to their DPS calculator in the video.

You can find the spreadsheet I mention during the video at:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lOh5fD3l1xhh1NE8HG0iQfY-d2Q_3-Yi9euvx_MH4Lg/

The link to the mentioned website www.divisiondps.com is currently dead (and redirects to an unrelated advert).

A: According to this page:

A weapon's DPS is calculated as such: weapons damage · mag size · RPM / 60 - weapons damage · RPM · reload time / 60

But there are some online calculators that also take into consideration the accuracy and head-shot chance.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Oklahoma 4-H is dedicated to helping Oklahoma youth, families, and communities reach their full potential. By providing hands-on programming and events in a large variety of projects, 4-H is not only helping youth learn the life skills they need to be the leaders of tomorrow, but it is also teaching its members they can lead today and can make tangible, significant changes in their clubs, their communities, their state and their world.
Whether you enjoy working with animals, building robots, taking photographs, singing or even collecting bugs, Oklahoma 4-H has a place for you and – if you put forth the effort – will give you a firm foundation to succeed in life, no matter what career path you choose!


Learn about the Institute without Boundaries and the theme we plan on exploring over the next five years, Future Ways of Living. How we bring together an interdisciplinary group of students, faculty, and industry experts to address issues of inequality, climate change, migration & displacement, affordability, as well as many other issues that will impact the ways in which we will live.
Information Session attendees will receive a tour of the IwB studio and working space and will get a chance to catch our current cohort in the midst of their Fall Charrette.


Cisco Chain of Lakes - Jay's Resort in Watersmeet Michigan U.P.
The Cisco Chain abounds with walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, lake trout, musky, and pan fish. All 15 lakes and 271 miles of wooded scenic shoreline are accessible by boat. Jay's Resort is right on beautiful Thousand Island Lake. Named for its size and many islands, Thousand Island Lake is spring-fed, clear and deep, the largest of the famous Cisco Chain of 15 Lakes. The Cisco Chain of Lakes is made up of 15 lakes with over 271 miles of scenic shoreline. The lakes are dotted with many islands for picnicking and the spring-fed waters offer excellent fishing for walleye, northern pike, muskies, bass and pan fish. The current state record musky was caught in Thousand Island Lake in 1980.


Summary: Lois vows to beat Clark to the latest story but unfortunately gets stuck in traffic.
Author's Notes: Thank you to htbthomas for the excellent beta and to bistyboo1974 for creating this community.
Lois restlessly tapped her pen against the side of the table. Today's meeting was taking longer than usual. She was no longer listening to what Perry was saying; she just hoped he would finish soon. Lois noticed the chief's eyes dart toward the door of the War Room and she, as well as the majority of her coworkers, turned to see the cause.
Clark Kent had his hand on the door but froze as he felt the combined weight of the entire room's gaze.
Lois glanced at the empty seat next to her. She hadn't even heard him get up. For someone who seemed so awkward in his own body, Clark was amazingly stealth when he wanted to be. She could ask him about it, but would probably get an answer like Oh, we used to go cow-tipping in Kansas and I spent hours practicing sneaking up on cows. Or something to that effect.
"Going somewhere, Kent?" Perry asked.
Finally, Lois thought as she collected her notes and waited for the crowd to filter out of the war room.
She wondered how much trouble Clark was in. She smiled at the thought. She liked him, but as of late, he was getting on her nerves. Not that he had done anything wrong – just the opposite. He was always the perfect picture of country-boy civility. Which made it even harder to hate him.
Lately Clark had scooped Lois for several stories. She wasn't quite sure how he managed it. He had some sort of sixth sense for news; it was almost as if he knew about stories before they broke. Which is why she seriously doubted Clark was in any real sort of trouble. As much as she hated to admit it he was too valuable to the paper. It just irked her to no end that he continued to out-scoop her, and Lois wasn't going to let it happen again.
Lois dropped her notes onto her messy desk and parked herself at her computer. She was just about to log back in when she saw Jimmy running over.
Lois didn't respond to Jimmy. Instead she hopped out of her seat, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair, and darted for the elevator.
Once inside the elevator, she pressed the button for the ground floor. She noticed Clark jogging in her direction. Not this time, Kent. Lois thought. She frantically pressed the button for the doors to close. I will not let you scoop me. The doors closed before Clark was within distance of stopping them.
As the elevator descended, Lois wondered about the reason Clark had gotten up from his seat during the meeting. Had he somehow known about the fire?
She reached the ground floor and decided that Clark's mysterious premonitions about the news would have to wait. She had a story to write.
"Yes, ma'am." The cabby replied. She had barely closed the door behind her when the driver slammed down on the accelerator. Lois knew she had made her point.
In her experience, most cab drivers already had a pretty loose interpretation of road rules. But all respect for the law, and general safety of pedestrians, went out the window when a large tip was involved. She held on to the seat and closed her eyes. Then she noticed they had come to a stop.
"What's wrong?" she asked, despite the fact that she could clearly see traffic was at a standstill.
They were in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Was he considering going up on the curb and cutting across the sidewalk?
Lois reached into her purse and pulled out a fifty. It was only a 9 dollar cab ride and even though they weren't quite there, she had made a promise. It would be worth it as long as she got to the fire before Clark.
She gave him the bill but didn't even wait to hear his reaction – she was already sprinting toward the building on fire. After two blocks, she decided to take off her heels. She sprinted the next four blocks barefoot, carrying her purse in one hand and her shoes in the other. Lois probably looked like a crazy person but at the moment she didn't care.
She arrived at the scene of the fire and pushed her way through the crowd, flashing her press pass.
"Daily Planet," she gasped, out of breath. She cursed her lungs and the years of smoking.
"Great. So far are there any leads?" Lois replied, finally beginning to catch her breath.
Lois' heart stopped as she looked over and saw Clark Kent talking with the chief of the fire department. Unbelievable.
Clark looked her up and down, and Lois realized that she must have looked a mess in addition to now acting like a maniac.
Clark only smirked in response.
Lois got home and went straight to the shower. She hadn't run like that in a long time. As the water poured over her, she couldn't keep her mind from thinking about Clark and how he beat her to the scene of the fire. It was physically impossible. Had he sprinted all the way there? If he had, he didn't show any signs of exertion. Still her cab had made great time until they hit traffic. Clark should have hit the same traffic had he been in cab. It just didn't make sense. There was no feasible way for him to have gotten there before her.
After her shower, she changed into a fresh set of work clothes and headed back to The Daily Planet.
Once she was back at the office, she marched straight up to Clark's desk.
"I thought you were taking the afternoon off," Clark smiled when he saw her but she was not going to put up with this innocent farm-boy routine.
"I don't see why you're so upset." He answered, avoiding the question.
She expected to hear Clark's jovial, Oh, Lois, that's ridiculous. But he paused. His face was expressionless, almost scared. Then his blue eyes held hers. For a second she saw a lightness – an expression of hope – dart through them.
Then he replied, "That's impossible." Yet his answer was off; he said it with too much seriousness.
The full implications of her discovery hit her like an oncoming truck. She wasn't one to faint normally, but the enormity of her realization, perhaps combined with the fact that her body was unaccustomed to the exertion from before, completely knocked her knees out from under her.
With preternatural speed he was up from his seat to catch her. She felt his strong, familiar hands on her back, supporting her.
She realized, as he said her name, that it was the voice of the man she loved.


Picture Post: Watching some soccer – or is it football here? – before tonight's walk.
Picture Post: Heh. Definitely not Wal-Mart of 2015.
Picture Post: Canned coffee while waiting on the bus.
Previous post Picture Post: Hello, Mitcham.
Next post Picture Post: Someone at Bandai must've had fun with this.


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Thoughts on all things Digital The Digital Echidna Blog
How to build your own tech talent pipeline
Are you an agency located in a city that doesn't have a lot of Drupal developers? It sometimes feels like Drupal is the world's best-kept secret, hard to find a supply of good developers.
Recruitment requires more than just putting out an ad and waiting for the next superstar to apply. Effective recruiting for junior developers requires a proactive approach that starts even before a role opens up. There is value in having quality talent in the pipeline at all times.
Digital Echidna is a Drupal development firm located in a small Canadian city with a population of 300,000. We went from 15 staff to 80 and counting, in a little less than four years - without sacrificing on Drupal talent or lowering hiring standards. In July of 2020, Echidna announced our merger with Northern Commerce, another 80-person company specializing in Magento and Digital Marketing.
At this year's DrupalCon Global, I discussed recruitment tactics in a live session, "How to build your own tech talent pipeline." This recorded session is now available to you and the general public to view on the Drupal Association Youtube channel, and covers the following topics:
Best practices for making your agency an attractive place for interns & co-ops
62% of our full-time developers come from our internship and co-op programs
Get your company culture right. Talented developers can come by nature, but it's how you nurture them as young employees that helps their potential bloom.
Help the talent get to know you early -- there are a lot of agencies looking for talent. Invite them in as students for a tour. We have team members who deliver presentations to student developers to explain all the opportunities they can consider to help direct their careers.
Host events that help them understand your company culture. We host a variety of Drupal, UX, and other educational events that show our expertise and help us make connections with other tech talent in our city.
Teach and share what you know -- we teach 12-week beginner Drupal programs that we developed with the colleges and universities in our city. Our senior staff and tech leads volunteer their time to mentor pre-selected high achiever students through workshops, coaching, and small classes.
How to set up a peer mentor program
It's a long-term investment, and that means it's going to take some time to set up. Student selection, course coordination with program managers and our teachers, presentation prep time, post-class Q&A sessions, reviewing exercises, and student performance evaluation and feedback -- it's a lot of work.
We have six teachers that each teach for two weeks in our 12-week program, which allows them enough preparation time to give students the best possible learning experience and to also keep up with their regular workload at Digital Echidna. Remember these teachers are full-time developers whose schedules are often planned months in advance to accommodate any number of current projects and potential projects that may come up in our pipeline.
Our course is also free for the selected students. The course allows our teachers to learn how to coach and train, and provides us with a direct line to local talent. Our internships are paid because we're investing in talent we believe has potential to become a great employee for us -- and because they're doing the work, it's the right thing to do. We teach them our way and set them up for success.
Be a great mentor. Within the video posted earlier in this post, there are tips and tricks on how to be the best mentor you can be, and how to understand mentee expectations.
With everyone becoming more comfortable with working from home, agencies are competing for talent all around the world. It can be worrying -- but it's also a great opportunity to come up with new ideas to attract talent. Can you run an online course? Can you host networking events for the specific type of talent you're searching for? Get creative, be yourself, and share what makes your company unique.
Learn more about our training program with Fanshawe College or learn with us through one of our professional training workshops.
We are also looking for talented people to join our team and we have many roles available.
Yan Zhang
@yandesign
Thoughts On All Things Digital
© 2020 Digital Echidna. All Rights Reserved.
Digital Echidna Services
Web: www.echidna.ca
Twitter: @digitalechidna
Facebook: Digital Echidna on Facebook


A U.K Registered London Training Provider.
Working in health and social care sectors is a rewarding career. It enables you to commit your time, knowledge and skills to others who may be vulnerable and require your assistance in certain aspects of their life. Crownlinks Academy work with a number of top UK's awarding organisations to offer you qualifications in health and social care.
Our qualifications are delivered through distance learning or e-portfolio and even through flexible support one-to-one. These flexible online and one-to-one program will enable you to develop in depth subject knowledge- ideal for developing your career or preparing you for a role in your organisation. Also the distance learning means you can complete fully accredited qualifications from the comfort of your home and work through your learning materials at the times to suit you.
With the help and guidance of our dedicated industry expert nominated as your Personal tutor or Assessor who is dedicated to your success.
We deliver an independent quality monitoring service for both adult and children's services including your Audits. We produce and deliver a quality monitoring service, including a bespoke audit tool for individual service. This can be delivered in a number of ways e.g: quarterly or annually.
Crownlinks Consultancy has provided exceptional service to our company with innovative and professional training and support. Through thorough initial concepts and requirement briefing to development and delivery of bespoke training and support tailored to the needs of the Customers. I have complete trust in Crownlinks support network to be able to respond to any customer's needs, understanding them and most importantly for us, make process of achieving an outstanding performance with CQC, a hassle free and enjoyable process. You will not be disappointed.
Join our mailing list to receive the latest offers, news and updates from Crownlinks Academy.


All players begin at level 1 with a basic Castle made of wood. As you advance in through the League system, your Castle will transform from wood to stone to gold - becoming bigger and more glorious!
Your Castle will upgrade automatically (if you have fulfilled the necessary requirement) at the end of each week when the Weekly Challenge closes. Note: the Weekly Challenge ends at different times for the different versions of the game.
You can view your Castle's current level, along with the Rank List placement needed for subsequent upgrades and images of future Castles, in the game by clicking on the "My Castle" button and then on the "Upgrade" button.
Castles can NOT be downgraded. Once a Castle reaches a particular level, it will remain at that level until the requirement for the next upgrade is met.


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WWE 2K17 - Soundtrack Curated by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs
Following the footsteps of Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z curating prior editions of NBA 2K, 2K Sports has announced that Puff Daddy himself, Sean Combs, will produce the WWE 2K17 soundtrack.
The soundtrack consists of 13 songs including artists such as Black Sabbath, P. Diddy, Twenty One Pilots, and Travis Barker.
Continue on to see a video of Combs discussing the soundtrack along with the full soundtrack listing.
Diddy will be laying the smackdown as an executive producer for WWE 2K17, the forthcoming soundtrack for World Wrestling Entertainment's video game franchise. The esteemed rapper, producer, entrepreneur and WWE enthusiast will be curating the in-game soundtrack following his past contributions to the franchise, including providing the theme song for Wrestlemania 29 with his Skylar Grey collaboration "Coming Home," performing at the 2010 Tribute to the Troops and partnering with WWE in a campaign against bullying.
"I am a huge WWE fan. I love the intensity and the competition and I wanted fans to feel that energy in the soundtrack for WWE 2K17," said Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs in a release sent to Billboard. "While prepping for the upcoming Bad Boy 20-Year Family Reunion Tour, I've been thinking a lot about the past and the artists that inspired me. I mixed some of my favorites with some of the best new acts in the game today to create something really special."
The hip-hop mogul incorporated a mix of artists from various genres including hip-hop, heavy metal, rock and electronic dance. The tracklist for the soundtrack, presented by Combs' music cable network Revolt Media & TV, can be seen below:
Action Bronson & Joey Bada$$ (feat. Rico Love) – "What About The Rest Of Us"
Anderson .Paak – "Come Down"
Andy Black – "We Don't Have To Dance"
Axwell Λ Ingrosso – "This Time"
Black Sabbath – "Paranoid"
Bring Me The Horizon – "Run"
FIDLAR – "Drone"
French Montana (feat. Kojak Black) – "Lockjaw"
iSHi (feat. French Montana, Wale, & Raekwon) – "We Run"
P. Diddy, Black Rob & Mark Curry – "Bad Boy For Life"
Travis Barker & Yelawolf – "Out of Control"
Twenty One Pilots – "Ride"
Yellow Claw (feat. Lil Eddie) – "We Made It"
Diddy will also be making an appearance on the Aug. 8 episode of WWE's Monday Night Raw, according to Rolling Stone.
Courtesy: Billboard
This article was originally published in forum thread: WWE 2K17 - Soundtrack Curated by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs started by cdj View original post
Hence he's a guest star on Raw tonight....


With its pedigree style, Chateau Figeac epitomises the elegance of the great wines of Bordeaux. Its unique style gradually shows through and develops over time.
This great wine displays a distinctive rich nose that has wonderful aromatic complexity. On the palate, the Cabernet Sauvignon reveals lovely floral aromas in the first year then, as the wine ages, great structure on the palate. The Cabernet Franc brings lots of freshness in the tannins, and the Merlot contributes roundness and flesh. The attack on the palate is clean, the texture is silky, and the complexity elegant. The characteristic freshness of Figeac is underpinned by great length of flavor. With its long aging potential, the wine goes on in time to reveal hints of forest floor, leather, cigar-box and licorice – always with its hallmark elegance.
This is powerful and concentrated, with the high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend standing out firmly. It is dark, rich, packed with ripe black fruits and sweet tannins. Drink from 2018.
This 2011 is starting to take on some tertiary aromas of meat, fruit and walnuts. Hints of mushrooms, too, as well as cinnamon and nutmeg. Medium to full body, tight and silky tannins and a lightly austere finish. Love the aftertaste. Licorice undertones. Drink or hold.
The plum and black cherry fruit has a floral edge, giving this version an elegant feel overall, while subtle tobacco, singed tea leaf and wood spice notes fill out the lengthy finish. This lovely wine has dropped serious muscle since the barrel tasting and is showing elegance and finesse that belies its age. Best from 2015 through 2025. 8,330 cases made.
Tasted in Bordeaux from an ex-château bottle, the 2011 Figeac has a healthy deep garnet hue. The nose is quite vibrant and well defined with blackberry, briary and a touch of graphite, though not as much as I remember showing out of barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, crisp in the mouth with a fine line of acidity. This actually surpasses my expectations. It has a natural sensibility, offering attractive blackberry and cranberry fruit, a sprig of mint, with a breezy, unpretentious finish that suits this down to the ground. You could almost broach this now, unusual for Figeac,, but suffice to say it will offer a decade's worth of drinking pleasure, possibly more.
Figeac is a very ancient property. In the 2nd century, the Figeacus family gave its name to the estate. Traces of this Gallo-Roman villa still exist today. In the 15th century, FIGEAC was one of five noble houses in Saint-Emilion and passed from the Lescours family, who at that time also owned Ausone, into the hands of the Cazes family, who transmitted it through marriage to the Carles in the 17th century. After the Manoncourt family acquired the property in 1892, FIGEAC was mainly managed by agricultural engineers. However, in 1943, the year in which Thierry Manoncourt made his first vintage, a period of resurgencebegan for Figeac. Thierry Manoncourt realised in that year the huge potential of FIGEAC's terroir and urged his mother, a Parisian, to hold on to the estate. In 1955 CHATEAU-FIGEAC became a First Great Classified Growth. Today, Madame Manoncourt and her daughters are ably supported by highly skilled wine-growing teams and are as eager as ever to guarantee the long-term continuity of FIGEAC.
Figeac is the largest estate of Saint-Emilion, covering 54 hectares (133 acres). Besides its 40 hectares (99 acres) of vines, a variety of landscapes combine to form a balance in nature, today known as biodiversity. Figeac has large areas of space which add to the majesty of the place and allow the flora and fauna to flourish. Figeac has an outstanding terroir consisting of three gravelly rises. In keeping with the nature of this soil, Figeac is the Right Bank estate with the highest percentage of Cabernet. This atypical combination accounts for wines that are elegant, long-lived and extremely well-reputed.


Hotel Laguna Materada is surrounded by a crystal clear sea and lush pine forests, located just 3 km north from the beautiful historical town of Porec. The sunbathing lawns and parks around the hotel provide a peaceful and safe environment where the whole family can rest and enjoy a well deserved holiday. There are plenty of natural beaches nearby but if you prefer to swim or sunbathe near the hotel then you can enjoy the comfort of sun beds, umbrellas and showers. The sea and beaches in the area have been awarded the international Blue Flag for their excellent quality.
The charming town of Porec also has a lot to offer its visitors; beautiful old cobble stone streets, enchanting old squares, centuries old monuments, museums and galleries and of course a rich offer of restaurants, cafés, bars and night clubs. Porec is also famous for its many (water)sport facilities, including tennis, golf, mini golf, scuba diving, water skiing and much more. The variety of activities available in and around Porec makes this area a perfect holiday destination for families, couples, youth, adventure seekers, and nature and culture lovers. This popular coastal resort has won many national tourism awards for its outstanding quality.
Hotel Laguna Materada offers 400 air conditioned rooms with telephone, satellite TV, bathroom with shower and hairdryer. A fridge is available at an additional charge. The rooms have park side or sea side views but not all rooms have a balcony. Suites with a bedroom and living room are also available. The fully air conditioned Hotel Laguna Materada has a restaurant that offers a breakfast and a dinner buffet and guests who book half board enjoy free drinks with dinner. The hotel has a beauty parlour with solarium and offers massages, physiotherapy and there is a hairdresser. Wi-Fi internet access is available at an additional charge at the reception and in the bar.
There is a TV room, an exchange office, souvenir shop and newsstand and a safe can be rented at the reception. Private parking is available at an additional charge. The outdoor fresh water swimming pool has a pool bar, a children's area and there is a children's playground nearby. A mini-club and mini-disco are available for the little ones while their parents relax or enjoy the hotel's (water)sports facilities such as tennis, table tennis, mini golf, volley ball, bicycle rental or pedal boats.
Hotel Laguna Materada also organises sports tournaments (such as volleyball and football) and each morning guests can join the gym workout or aqua aerobic lessons. During the evening you can enjoy a drink while watching a show or listening to live music.
The hotel is child friendly but not all areas are easy to access with a pram or buggy and access to the sea right in front of the hotel is via pool ladders, which may not be very suitable for young children. Excursions to popular destinations in Istria, such as Pula, can be booked at the hotel.


text:
Christopher J. Wright
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, et al. v. Hawaii, et al.
Brian Tuttle v. Allied Nevada Gold Corp., et al., No. 18-5548
Federal Communications Commission, et al. v. Prometheus Radio Project, et al., No. 19-1231
for Former FCC Commissioners
FNU Tanzin, et al. v. Muhammad Tanvir, et al., No. 19-71
for American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee


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US Investor Group provides real estate investors from around the world with exclusive property investments in the Metro Detroit market. We examine the entire real estate market to identify the most profitable opportunities for our clients. Our approach is truly unique; the cornerstone of our business is to get to know our clients first. No generic sales pitches, no gimmicks. We have a proven track record of providing real, profitable, and sustainable real estate based investment to clients from over 20 countries worldwide.
Quite simply, we provide investors from around the world with access to profitable Metro Detroit real estate based investment opportunities. We do things differently. Typical sales companies make their clients choose properties from a short list. We don't believe in this approach because it can cause a conflict of interest and doesn't take into consideration the specific needs of each client.
We work with a team of licensed, professional, and experienced real estate agents that scour the real estate market hunting for new deals every day. In addition to public listings, we also have access to exclusive investment opportunities through our local contacts. We also work with licensed, accomplished contractors that have conducted hundreds of property rehabs throughout the City of Detroit and its suburbs, because among the most important aspects of real estate investing is to ensure construction work is carried our correctly, to ensure a quality finish and limit maintenance.
We do things differently. Instead of making you choose properties from a short list of limited inventory options, our approach is to select the investments that best suit your needs. Being part of the US Investor Group puts the entire Metro Detroit real estate market at your fingertips.
Our professional advisors are certified experts with extensive knowledge on the local real estate market. We help you complete the due diligence process to ensure you are well informed, and confident about investing with us.
We are the only company in our market that presents multiple real estate investment strategies to our clients. We look at the entire market, offering our clients a plethora of options beyond a limited list of inventory.
We first get to know you and learn more about your goals, and then work to identify the most profitable opportunities in the market that match your targets. We are there at every step thereafter to realize your plan and maintain prosperity.
Our personalized approach to business means you never have to deal with answering services or recorded messages. You can always reach us by phone or email, and we pride ourselves on our excellent response time.
No other market in America presents profitable opportunities at such a great value. Low entry point and high yields make Metro Detroit the most attractive market in the country.
The first step in our process is to learn more about your goals to present you with the investments that make the most sense for you. For some investors, the top priority is capital appreciation while others prefer investments with higher cash-on-cash returns. Custom targets form the basis of our approach to the investment process.
Once we find out more about your goals, we work to identify the most profitable opportunities in the market. We sort through all opportunities to determine the investments that maximize your return. USIG considers multiple factors to present you with a customized investment proposal built around your needs.