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Accessories Business Law Intellectual Property Menswear Womenswear
Retailing with Foam and A Good Swing
Photograph Copyright © 2019 by Alan Behr
Two cappuccinos worthy of a caffè in Milano started my last visit, with a fashionable friend, to the Brooks Brothers store on Madison Avenue, here in New York. The chain's mother ship had recently opened a bright and hospitable Red Fleece Café, and so my friend and I met right on the ground floor, within handshake distance of displays of shirts and ties, had a refreshment and then, coupons in hand, went shopping, women's first, men's second. On our way, we passed a golf simulator, where a pro patiently guided a customer on improving his swing—with a real club toward a virtual green. Retailers have always offered something besides what are now universally called "items." From lunch counters to hairdressing and beyond, stores have been attracting generations of visitors with more than just merchandise.
What has changed, however, is both the breadth and the layered complexity of it all. Even the décor matters as it never has before. The luminescent, open-plan renovation of the Saks Fifth Avenue store is a veritable invitation to come on in and have a look. As for services: soon after our visit to Brooks Brothers, this note arrived by email: "Your trousers are ready… We can pull nice coordinating pieces for you." Personal shopping used to be a benefit given to the best customers of a retailer, but with physical ("bricks-and-mortar") retailing challenged so completely now by online competition, all shopping has become personal, and stores must engage and entertain customers as they never have done before.
When a business expands, however tangentially and however much in pursuit of the raison d'ê·tre for a store—selling goods—the store should be aware of the likely importance of protecting its brand for the other activities. That means reexamining the retailer's portfolio of registered trademarks. There should already be a registration for retail store services and there is likely one for online sales, but if a café or coffee bar has just been added, the next application should be for restaurant services (if not already there as a legacy from the days when even modest-sized retailers had soda fountains). But that virtual driving range? Entertainment services. I was recently invited to a delightful event at Saks, hosted by Switzerland Tourism. Two of my favorite things converged within a roped-off area of the sales floor: great retailing and Swiss chocolate. From a trademark point of view, however, that would be providing catering services and event location services. And so on.
Insurance policies need to be examined to be sure that the new range of activities is covered. The cappuccino is foaming, the Champagne is popping and the golf clubs are swinging—check with your carrier to be sure your coverage is current and sufficiently comprehensive.
Finally, be sure your employment policies are up to date. A dress code that applies to salesmen in men's suits doesn't necessarily apply to a golf pro, after all, to say nothing of a barista.
Credit: Alan Behr
See posts: "Brooks Brothers at 200"
Tags Brooks Brothers, employees, intellectual property, retail, retail store, retailers, trademarks
Accessories Footwear Intellectual Property Menswear Textiles
Perfect Fit – Part II
An interview with Simon Crompton, creator of the blog Permanent Style
In my last post, I reported on my conversation in London with Simon Crompton, who runs the website Permanent Style (www.permanentstyle.com), which is devoted to the world of bespoke (custom-made) menswear. We discussed elements of style for men, but when the conversation moved to the topic of how a website proprietor protects his own intellectual property, Mr. Crompton had some decidedly pragmatic ideas.
Permanent Style is authored almost entirely by Mr. Crompton, who, last year, was finally able to devote his full professional time to it. The site features the latest developments in bespoke, from tailoring to shirtmaking to shoemaking, around the world. It is supported by advertising, and it also promotes its own limited line of products, from surprisingly stylish watch caps (ski caps) to Oxford shirting for readers to provide their bespoke shirtmakers. Prominent on the site are reviews of makers of bespoke clothing and shoes, with Mr. Crompton serving as live mannequin and photographer's model throughout, reporting on each step of the process.
I asked Mr. Crompton what kind of legal protections he employs for his work. Because his writing originates in Britain and not the USA, he is spared the unique (and to those of us who have done it for clients or ourselves, often frustrating) requirement of registering his copyrights. His pragmatic view: "It isn't as if it is a novel or song lyrics. Anything on the site obviously comes from me, and no one is going to run out and say I'm Simon, I wrote this."
As for protecting his brand, he holds to an equally pragmatic approach: be first out, keep a solid reputation, and you win. "The site has been up just over ten years, and it is well-known. That's a very good position in the world relative to others who might be trying to establish themselves."
Mr. Crompton also noted a key advantage to prose authored in Internet time: "What I write is so fast-changing, and there is such a high volume of it that it's not that easy to protect, but at the same time, there is not much virtue in somebody copying. I already have the biggest traffic. If someone were to start copying my articles, that would never generate much traffic for him. He would still have to attract readers and then subscribers by offering something different, and unless that should happen, I would always do better on search engine optimization."
That goes to the heart of a key debate in copyright circles—what utility is legal protection in a world in which almost everyone can read just about anything, and anyone can publish just about whatever he or she chooses to write, on platforms from Twitter on up? Registering the copyright, to say nothing of suing to stop infringement, can look old-fashioned in the context of a business (and social-media) model that values "reach," often by free access, and loyalty for the generation of revenue more than it does traditional legal protections.
In short, Mr. Compton is conducting a very contemporary business to promote many very traditional crafts. If by so doing he helps craftsmanship flourish, we can only commend him-even if the model depends more on lawyers reading about dressing well (and, we hope, attempting to do so) than on offering legal advice. When it comes to what we do, however, lawyers can only continue to recommend to their clients that they reach out and consult with their counsel whenever making important decisions about their intellectual property. If you do not make these decisions yourself, the marketplace will very likely make them for you.
Tags bespoke, fashion, fashion law, men's fashion, menswear
Perfect Fit – Part I
Readers of our blog have probably noticed my interest in custom-made clothing. There is a professional reason: because we represent so many different brands of ready-made clothing, wearing something more esoteric allows me not to show favorites.
For over ten years, Simon Crompton has been reporting online, in his website Permanent Style (www.permanentstyle.com), about the refined world of custom-made menswear—which, in British English, is known as bespoke (as in, asked for in advance). Mr. Crompton may be familiar to intellectual-property lawyers from his years of service as the lead writer for the International Trademark Association's annual meeting newsletter—among other publications. I recently sat down with him at a café in London, and we talked about lawyers, protection of his own intellectual property and the finer things in menswear.
"I like the fact that lawyers seem to man the last bastion of dressing a little bit formally—because that's generally what you want from your lawyer," said Mr. Crompton, echoing the advice of the American tailor and author Alan Flusser. And he agreed on the reason: it is all about building a sense of trust. He hastened to add, however, that it is not about conformity: "All over the UK, and I'm sure it happens in the US as well, you see young lawyers outside of a pub on a Friday night, and eighty percent of them will be wearing a navy suit, white shirt and black lace-up shoes. It looks completely predictable. There is no expression of individuality."
Bespoke, he explained, is about looking smart but in your own way: all fine tailors have a "house style," but within what is typically quite a broad range, the customer in effect participates in designing what he will wear. Indeed, I had just come to Mr. Crompton from visiting my own London tailor, Henry Poole & Co., where I was able to plan a future suit as purposefully as a chef planning a meal: a gray pin-dot cloth in wool and cashmere. A peak or a notch collar? This time, the notch. Lining: abjure the bold prints for something more reserved, a contrasting gray pattern, but still quite unique. And a collared vest (called here a waistcoat)—because, as a transplanted New Orleanian, I still am not quite used to New York winters and because, to be frank, it adds a touch of style. That is what bespoke is all about.
Our next topic was dear to my editorial heart: I have delved several times on these pages into the mysteries of the necktie—that one item of a man's workday dress that has absolutely no discernible function except to make him look better. It also relates to a very important fact about the male physique: a well-cut suit jacket forces the eye upward, to the neck and then the face. Having it pass along a v-shaped crop of chest hair does not support an impression of a man of consequence. "A suit without a tie can work sometimes," Mr. Crompton offered, "if it is a very casual suit, but most times, it just looks as if something is missing."
Indeed, although Mr. Crompton was wearing a dark green Neapolitan suit (by the tailor Ettore de Cesare) made of corduroy—that ribbed cotton cloth that is the winter-weight mirror to the informality of linen for summer—he was quite correct that it would have worked far less successfully without his blue woolen knit tie by Trunk Clothiers of London.
But what about those—relatively speaking—more casual days even lawyers are sometimes afforded? "I think it is important for a lawyer to try to master the art of wearing sports jacket and trousers," said Mr. Crompton. His use of the word master was not an accident. Most professional men wear that outfit often; doing it in a stylish way, however, is a challenge to many. "Start off with Navy jacket and gray trousers and start experimenting slightly—with brown trousers and a different kind of jacket with subtle patterns." In other words, make it stylish, but make it your own—even if every bit of it was purchased off-the-rack. Remember that bespoke customers also buy most of what they wear, from jeans to raincoats, ready-made.
And that is what bespoke is really about: doing it smart, doing it stylishly and most important, doing in a way not necessarily done by others.
In my next post, I will explore how Mr. Crompton looks to protect his own intellectual property.
See post…"Perfect Fit – Part I"
Tags bespoke, fashion, fashion law, luxury, luxury goods, men's fashion, menswear
Accessories Cases Footwear Intellectual Property Textiles Womenswear
A tale of red soles
Much has been said and written about Christian Louboutin's iconic red sole brand. It has sparked endless debates about trademark law in various courts around the world, including in the U.S., France, Switzerland, and most recently at the EU Court of Justice.
Christian Louboutin began selling his high-heeled red-soled women's shoes in the early nineties. The red soles gradually became a signature brand, somewhat comparable to the famous Burberry check pattern. The creator's idea starts as a mere decorative design, just like any fashion design. But over the years, it gradually becomes a brand in itself because the public begins to perceive it as a source identifier even without any concurrent word mark on the product. Burberry registered its design as a two-dimensional trademark around the world; it recently sued Target in the U.S. for selling scarves with a similar design. As has been the practice of Burberry over the years, that is a trademark claim, not a copyright claim—which would present greater challenges to Burberry under U.S. law.
Back to Louboutin's red soles: The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in 2012 that Louboutin owns a valid trademark for his red sole shoe design. Louboutin had taken Yves Saint Laurent to court for trademark infringement. The red sole trademark was deemed inherently distinctive, Louboutin having given ample evidence that the trademark had acquired secondary meaning. Those words sound like music for the fashion brand owner and its lawyers because it means that the court rewards years of investments in sales, advertising and free publicity. (As the court duly noted, Louboutin shoes are popular items to wear when walking red carpet events in the entertainment industry.) Louboutin's victory was unfortunately limited to the court having confirmed the validity of the trademark; the court also ruled that the same trademark registration could not be invoked against shoes – such as those sold by YSL – that are monochrome red, covering the insole, outsole, heel and upper part.
The U.S. thereby paved the way for Louboutin, which is, after all, a French brand. A long-awaited judgment in the European Union was recently rendered by the EU Court of Justice. This time, it was the Dutch discounter Van Haren that was selling red-soled women's shoes. The court held, after a long debate, that a red sole applied on the sole of a shoe can be a valid trademark in the EU. Under pre-2018 EU law, the shape of an object that "gives substantial value" to the product itself could not be registered as a trademark. (An example would be the distinctive shape of the Perrier bottle.) The court that the color red, as applied to a shoe, was not as a "shape," as Van Haren had asserted; after all, Louboutin had not sought to register a shoe but merely a color applied at a certain location on shoes. Following the EU court's guidance, the District Court in the Netherlands that had referred the issue will now ban the sale of Van Haren's shoes throughout the European Union.
The Louboutin trademark registration
A crucial takeaway from this case is the reward given for the smart way in which the trademark had been registered. In many trademark systems, the registrant is allowed to specify its two- or three-dimensional object with a brief description. Louboutin's lawyers had wisely specified the filing as follows: "The mark consists of the color red (Pantone 18‑1663TP) applied to the sole of a shoe as shown (the contour of the shoe is not part of the trade mark but is intended to show the positioning of the mark)."
That victory may not last very long, however. EU trademark law was recently amended, with the effect that not only "shapes" but also "other characteristics" giving substantial value to the product may be barred from trademark registration. This change in the law opens a new can of worms: in particular, it remains to be seen whether pre-2018 trademarks, such as the one owned by Louboutin, can be invalidated on the basis of the new law.
Credit: Diederik Stols | Guest Post
Phillips Nizer would like to thank Diederik Stols for the contribution of this post to the Fashion Industry Law Blog. Diederik is a partner at the law firm BOEKX Advocaten in The Netherlands where he specializes in intellectual property, media and entertainment and e-business. (http://www.boekx.nl/en/)
Tags Burberry, Christian Louboutin, European Union, lawsuit, trademark infringement, trademark protection, trademark registration, trademarks, Van Haren
Accessories Childrenswear Footwear Menswear Textiles Womenswear
Textiles and Tariffs
Just as fashion designers and retailers have been struggling to adapt to changing consumer demands, they now must face a new battle: a trade war.
Back in May, the White House announced its plan to impose tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods in the hope of pressuring China to stop alleged unfair trade practices and intellectual property infringement. After the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert E. Lighthizer, released the final list of goods subject to the new tariffs, China responded with tariffs of its own on U.S. goods. Upping the ante in July, the U.S. next threatened to impose a second round of levies, resulting in 25% aggregate tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods. Once again, China hit back with more tariffs of its own.
Many economists have warned that the effect of a prolonged trade war between China and the U.S. will ultimately increase prices for American consumers and will damage U.S. businesses. Those working in the fashion industry are likely to agree. The May round of tariffs placed on Chinese imports, which covered a range of industrial, agricultural, and medical goods, left the fashion industry relatively unscathed. But the next round of tariffs, initially rumored to include textiles, handbags and suitcases, is likely to hit designers, retailers and, ultimately, the American shopper.
Following the U.S. threats made in July, Mr. Lighthizer agreed to hold a hearing to discuss market opposition to the proposed tariffs. In attendance at the hearing, held in August, were more than 350 stakeholders, including the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Accessories Council.
To say that the American apparel industry relies on Chinese manufacturing may be an understatement. Kathryn Hopkins of Women's Wear Daily (WWD) has noted that "China is vitally important to the industry with government data showing the U.S. imported $27 billion worth of apparel from the country last year, accounting for 34 percent of all apparel imports. That is more apparel than was imported from any other country, dwarfing second-place Vietnam at $12 billion."
Concerned about impending tariffs, Edward Rosenfeld, the CEO of Steve Madden, told WWD: "We and others will certainly try to pass on a good chunk of this to the consumer in the form of higher retail prices." Steve Madden is also looking to move its handbag manufacturing from China to Cambodia in response to the higher duties.
National Retail Federation President and CEO, Matthew Shay, told WWD: "This round of tariffs amount[s] to doubling down on the recklessness of imposing trade policy that will hurt U.S. families and workers more than they will hurt China – it's two-and-a-half times the amount already imposed."
Smaller businesses are particularly vulnerable to the proposed levies. Anne Harper, the CEO of OMG Accessories (annual sales: approximately $2 million), expressed her concern for the impending tariffs, stating: "I can't just absorb that percentage…. The bread and butter of my business is selling to retailers, so that's a big challenge. Q4 is where we ship all of our holiday goods. If the 10 percent comes into effect right before the goods ship from China, we're subject to that extra 10 percent so it represents hundreds of thousands of dollars for my business. It's basically a loss."
On August 26, 2018, China filed a formal dispute with the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that the U.S. tariffs violate WTO rules.
On September 17, 2018, the White House made good on its warnings in July, confirming that tariffs of 10% would be placed on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports – ranging from silk to handbags. China promptly responded again, stating it would impose its own tariffs, of 5% to 10%, on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods. Meanwhile, the U.S. has threatened to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to 25% total on January 1, 2019, unless the two countries can conclude a trade deal.
Is there an endgame in sight? At this point, there are more questions than answers. The White House is slated to share more information following its September 17th announcement. One can only wait for the next episode of Textiles and Tariffs.
Credit: Candace Arrington
Tags China, National Retail Federation, tarrifs, trade, Vietnam, Women's Wear Daily, World Trade Organization, WTO, WWD
Accessories General / Musings Intellectual Property Menswear Textiles Womenswear
Brooks Brothers at 200 – Part 1: Background
At a time when the fashion press engages in a group hug with brands over how labels can stay viable in the digital age, it is fitting that we should pause to consider a brand that has been doing just fine, thank you, since James Monroe was president of the United States. Brooks Brothers, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, has had different owners and various designers (with Zac Posen now directing womenswear), but has adhered to a consistent philosophy that can be described in abstract terms as "wearable and confident American style." Brooks Brothers can also be described, more explicitly, as one of the few places where, no matter what you buy, if the color and fit work, you can forget the term "fashion victim." To celebrate its anniversary, the brand mounted its first show at Pitti Uomo in January. Sixty-one models (including eight women who made the term American style into a synonym for chic) were presented to the accompaniment of a full symphony orchestra; unusual for almost any show anywhere, every piece could have been worn out the door of the Palazzo Vecchio onto the streets of Florence (or New York, London or Tokyo).
As a branding lawyer, constancy in branding message and in legal protection are always on my mind. Managing that from the flagship at the corner of Madison Avenue and E. 44th Street in Manhattan may have been easy enough back when, if someone said he was going to Brooks Brothers, you just assumed that he meant going to that corner and into that store. Keeping consistency in message and legal protection became a bit more complicated when the brand expanded across the USA (eleven stores by the 1970s) and then, in 1979, to its first international location, in the prosperous Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo. The challenges are global now, with the brand maintaining hundreds of stores in nearly fifty countries, and with a wholesale business that places Brooks Brothers products onto shelves and racks of many third-party retailers.
I sat down recently with Arthur Wayne, the vice president of global public relations at Brooks Brothers, in his office in the tower behind the company flagship, to gain some understanding on how it is done.
The first thing that became clear in speaking to Mr. Wayne is that Brooks Brothers adheres to the strategy (which I fully support in general and for fashion in particular) that a brand is its story made temporal. The Brooks Brothers story is the American experience. There are many examples, but consider just three outlined briefly by Mr. Wayne: when miners landed in New York from around the world and headed (one might say herded) west in 1849 during the gold rush, Brooks Brothers innovated, with the ready-made suit. No need to wait to be measured and return for fittings. Pick one off the table,* let it out or take it in, and off you went to California, well-dressed, with a pickaxe in hand. Then came the Oxford button-down shirt, which has been copied by nearly everyone trying to look American.** And I have gone into detail on these pages about why the stripes of American ties, led by Brooks Brothers, go from right to left instead of left to right, as do the British regimental ties of their inspiration.
In my next post, I will pick up with what brought the company to where it is now—and what it is doing to keep its brand on message.
* Until comparatively recently in the company's long history, men's jackets were neatly folded and presented in stacks on counters.
** American style is about looking effortless; that does not mean it is easy to do. I shared with Mr. Wayne how I once knew the American representative of a renowned British shirtmaker. As he explained it to me, after several failed attempts on Jermyn Street to get that American collar right, he walked over to Madison & 44th, bought two Brooks Brothers button-down shirts off the shelf and sent them back to England with the message to please just copy this.
Tags apparel, Arthur Wayne, branding, brands, Brooks Brothers, Brooks Brothers 200, fashion show, Florence, Zac Posen


Ray Dalio, who heads the $160 billion Bridgewater Associates, says bitcoin is a bubble.
"It's very much speculative. People are thinking, 'Can I sell it at a higher price,' so it's a bubble," he said in an interview this morning on CNBC.
"With bitcoin, you can't make much transactions in it and you can't spend it very easily," he said. "It's not an effective store hold of wealth because it has volatility unlike gold."
I take a different view on purchasing bitcoin. I think not in terms of making a profit but rather in putting the fruit of my labor into an appreciating asset against the dollar that also allows me to spend it whenever I want without intermediaries. The retailers accepting bitcoin grows everyday, including just announced today, a grocery store chain in South Africa. The more it can be used globally, the more it will appreciate against the dollar, not even necessarily because bitcoin is "worth" more but because the dollar continues to buy less and many are realizing that.
The banks and government officials still can't fathom an economy where they can't just add zeros to their ledgers and control all aspects of its flow. From comments I have read from government officials and bank heads about bitcoin, their main "concern" is the lack of government oversight/regulation of it or block chain exchanges in general. From this I deduced a second thing they can't fathom, that their first reason is exactly why bitcoin and all forms of block chain means of exchange are so desirable by so many.
Have you ever stopped to ponder how Bitcoin is perceived so positively when compared to the intentionally squashed precious metals market and the sinking dollar is because the financial world is making it too appealing to stay away from it?
Whenever its adopted by any central bank is when you better flee to the exits because they seek ultimate control over the transaction of a virtual trading medium based on less than the paper the dollar is made out of.


Have you seen the new refreshing and revitalising Pantone colour trend?
As 2017 is off to a good start, with Pantone releasing this new colour trend which has been shocking people for all the right reasons!
Since 2000, Pantone has released a colour that embodies visual and design trends in homewares, fashion and interior design.
Greenery is also described as "illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors." In addition to that, Greenery is a versatile "trans-seasonal" shade that lends itself to many colour combinations.
You can see how it could be used in Pantone's promo video.
To top it off, there's a growing desire to reconnect with nature and what is real. As technology is getting more advanced, you can also find ways to immerse yourself in the natural world.
Green has become a more popular colour in recent months across the fashion and interior design worlds. With green providing a pop of colour in accessories and shoes, or as a bold accent in patterns.
Greenery has already made an appearance at the beginning of the year, standing out in the collections of designers like Lacoste, Emilio Pucci and Michael Kors.
From what we've seen so far, dark green was the key colour trend for the new year. Whereas, surprisingly 'greenery' is becoming more dominant in design so far.
So, get ready to reconnect with nature!
Green is often thought of as colour not for the faint-hearted when it comes to interiors, but if you choose the right green and use it in the right way, this colour can transform your home!
Perfect to use to bring the outside in, green can introduce an earthy feel to your home especially when teamed with house plants, botanical wallpaper and natural accessories.
Don't be afraid of green; embrace it and you will find your living spaces transformed in an instant.
When you look back at the recent trends of 2016 including copper, concrete and marble. This trend fits in if done right! Just by painting your walls, or getting new furniture, you can complement previous trends.
It is surprising how green can be used with other colours to create so many moods in your home. Whether you intend to dabble with a little splash of green here and there or introduce a full-on green colour scheme.
Here's our 'Greenery' Pinterest board, filled with interior design inspiration for you!
We've pulled together some tips to help you go green in your home.
A great way to introduce green is on your floors. A green rug will introduce a beautifully natural base to the room allowing you to decorate around your chosen shade.
For instance, neutral décor gives you the freedom to choose any green you fancy – how vibrant do you dare go?
But hang on a minute. Don't restrict rugs to just living rooms and dining rooms; this flooring choice is growing in popularity for use all around the home with good reason.
If you want to try the colour trend, but want to go for something a little more out there – a green feature wall is something that looks set to remain for some time. It is a great way to add a bit of zing to a room.
Having a single wall to splash some colour on allows you to be creative and add your own personality to your living spaces.
Greenery would look fantastically fresh against bright white or pale grey, but it can also surprisingly complement purples, reds or orange – if you are brave enough.
If you love green and want to introduce it into your interior design but don't want to commit to walls or flooring, there are lots of accessories that can add that zest.
Choose cushions, throws and rugs for your living room. Or kitchen containers, tea towels and candle holders to add a bit of fruity fun to your kitchen.
1. Mercury Row Elysian Scatter Cushion, £29.99.wayfair.co.uk.
2. Athena Chair, £179,99. Sofasworld.co.uk.
Feeling inspired? What do you think of the colour trend, do you love the greenery trend as much as we do?
Leave a comment below, as we'd love to know your thoughts!


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Home 2017 June
Sanctioning Qatar: Coercive interference in the State's domaine réservé?
Published on June 30, 2017 Author: Alexandra Hofer and Luca Ferro
On 23 May, the Qatar News Agency published content attributing statements to Qatar's Emir which laid bare simmering regional sensitivities and quickly escalated into a full-blown diplomatic row between Qatar and other regional Powers.
Indeed, on Monday 5 June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt adopted what has been dubbed a 'diplomatic and economic blockade' (to the annoyance of some). Not only did these States close their land, naval and aerial borders for travel and transport to and from Qatar, the three Gulf States also appeared to expel Qatari diplomats and order (some) Qatari citizens to leave their territory within 14 days. In addition, websites from the Al Jazeera Media Network, as well as other Qatari newspapers, were blocked and offices were shut down in several countries. At the end of a feverish week, on Friday 9 June, targeted sanctions were furthermore adopted against Qatari organizations and nationals believed to have links to Islamist militancy.
In justification of the measures, the sanctioning States invoked the Gulf Cooperation Council's 2013 Riyadh Agreement and its implementation mechanisms as well as the Comprehensive Agreement of 2014. Although the contents of these agreements are not public, it is believed that the Gulf States expected Qatar to curtail its support to groups that purportedly pose a threat to the region's stability, such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, Sanctions, Terrorism
Tags: Al Jazeera, Comprehensive Agreement, diplomatic and economic blockade, non-intervention, Qatar, Riyadh Agreement, sovereignty
Can the International Court of Justice Decide on the Chagos Islands Advisory Proceedings without the UK's Consent?
Published on June 27, 2017 Author: Dapo Akande and Antonios Tzanakopoulos
As Marko has noted in this post, last week Thursday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice provide an advisory opinion on the legality of the separation by the United Kingdom of the Chagos Archipelago from the colony of Mauritius prior to the grant of independence to Mauritius by the UK in 1968. Under Article 96 of the UN Charter, the General Assembly can request from the ICJ an advisory opinion on "any legal question." However, in the process leading to the adoption of the General Assembly resolution, the UK argued that the question put to the Court is essentially about a bilateral dispute between States, and that it is inappropriate for the ICJ advisory opinion procedure to be used to obtain adjudication of a bilateral dispute between states that have not consented to ICJ jurisdiction over that dispute (see summary of debate here and UK statement here). As Marko noted in his post, the Assembly resolution is drafted so as to try to demonstrate that the matter is not (or not just) a bilateral dispute over sovereignty to the Islands but rather a question of self-determination within the remit of the General Assembly. Undoubtedly, the question of the Court's competence to render the opinion, and of the appropriateness of doing so will be raised again before the Court. This post focuses on the role of state consent in the Court's advisory jurisdiction, and explores the previous jurisprudence of the Court on whether it can render an advisory opinion which requires it to pronounce on the obligations of states and in particular to pronounce of disputes between states. A key preliminary question the Court will be faced with in the Chagos Islands advisory opinion is whether it (the ICJ) should, for the first time, exercise its discretion not to give an advisory opinion on the ground that the request offends against the principle requiring consent for international adjudication of inter-state disputes. If it does that, the Court would be following a decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice refusing to give an opinion on such grounds.
Filed under: International Court of Justice, Self-Determination
Tags: advisory opinion, chagossians, colonialism, diego garcia
A Sermon from the Bench: Some Thoughts on the ECtHR Judgment in Bayev and Others v Russia
Published on June 27, 2017 Author: Kushtrim Istrefi and Emma Irving
On 20 June 2017, the ECtHR rendered a judgment in the Bayev and Others v Russia. The judgment brought some much needed good news for LGBT rights. Against the backdrop of persecution of gay men in Chechnya and the steady deterioration of the position of LGBT people in Russia generally, the ECtHR showed its activist colours in ruling that Russia's so-called 'gay propaganda' law violates human rights. The authors enthusiastically welcome and applaud the outcome. That being said, the Bayev judgment at times seems to leave the law 'behind' and strays from judicial decision to sermon, in a way that may ultimately undermine the efforts of the Court to move protections forward. Of note in this regard is the wording at times employed by the Court, and its understanding of the boundaries of its competence.
The Bayev case is the result of a challenge, brought by three gay activists, against what is often referred to as Russia's 'gay propaganda' law. Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, European Convention on Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Prohibition of Discrimination
Tags: Bayev, LGBT
The ICC Assembly of States Parties Prepares to Activate the ICC's Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression: But Who Will be Covered by that Jurisdiction?
The states parties to the Statute of the International Criminal Court have been meeting in New York recently to begin discussions that it is hoped will lead to a decision at this December's Assembly of States Parties to activate the Court's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. These discussions are taking place seven years after the ICC states parties, meeting in Kampala, Uganda, adopted a series of amendments to the ICC Statute dealing with the crime of aggression. Those amendments remedied the failure to agree in 1998 in Rome on the definition of the crime of aggression and the conditions under which the Court can exercise jurisdiction over aggression. However in Kampala, states parties decided that the Court's exercise of jurisdiction over aggression would require 30 ratifications or acceptances [(Arts. 15 bis (2); Arts. 15ter (2), ICC Statute], and could not happen prior to the taking of a decision by the states parties to activate that jurisdiction, with such decision not to be taken before 1 January 2017 [(Arts. 15bis (3); Arts. 15ter (3), ICC Statute]. In Kampala states parties "Resolved to activate the Court's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression as early as possible" [Resolution RC/Res. 6]. States parties now face the moment of decision.
It was a privilege to be invited to a meeting of states parties held on June 2, at the UN Headquarters in NY, to present my views on what has turned out to be the most contentious question in the current discussions about aggression: who will be subject to the ICC's jurisdiction with respect to the crime of aggression? It should be recalled that states parties to the Rome Statute may choose to opt out of the ICC's jurisdiction over aggression under Art. 15bis (4) of the amended ICC Statute by simply lodging a declaration with the Registrar of the Court. However, some states that have not yet ratified the amendments are of the view they should not be required to opt out in order for their nationals to be exempt from ICC jurisdiction over aggression. Thus, the most important question on which there are different views among state parties is this:
Are nationals of states that do not ratify or accept the Kampala amendments, and which also do not opt out of ICC jurisdiction as provided for in those amendments, subject to ICC jurisdiction over aggression in cases where the situation is referred to the Court by a state, or the prosecutor takes up the matter propio motu?
In summary, my view on that question, which I will set out below, is that the Court will not have jurisdiction in such a situation. Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, International Criminal Court, Use of Force
Tags: Crime of Aggression
Announcements: University of Oxford Departmental Lecturership in Law; CfA Junior Faculty Form for International Law; MILC Workshop on Democratic Governance; New additions to the UN Audiovisual Library of International Law; CfA Dialogues on International Law; BIICL Vacancy – Research Fellow on International Law of Territorial Disputes; CfP Utrecht Journal of International and European Law
Published on June 25, 2017 Author: Mary Guest
1. The Faculty of Law of the University of Oxford invites applications for a fixed-term Departmental Lecturership in Law, from 1 October 2017 for one year. The postholder will be required to pursue internationally leading research in Public International Law; to teach and supervise undergraduate and graduate students for the Faculty and St Peter's College; to provide administrative and pastoral support; and to examine. Applicants must have a proven record of high quality research and publication in Public International Law commensurate with their career experience; relevant teaching experience; a doctorate in Public International Law, or at least have submitted a completed doctoral dissertation for examination, or have attained a comparable level through their publications; demonstrate the capacity to pursue an independent scholarly and research agenda; and have the ability and willingness to undertake pastoral responsibilities associated with undergraduate and graduate teaching, and administrative duties as required. To apply for this role and to download the further details see here (Vacancy ID: 129045). Applications, written work and references must be submitted before noon on Friday 30 June 2017. Interviews will be held in Oxford in early July 2017.
2. Call for Applications: Seventh Annual Junior Faculty Form for International Law – University of Melbourne, May 2018. Earlier this week, Anne Orford (Law – Melbourne), J.H.H. Weiler (Law – NYU) and Dino Kritsiotis (Law – Nottingham) launched the annual call for applications for the Seventh Annual Junior Faculty Forum for International Law, which will be held at the University of Melbourne on May 28, 29 and 30, 2018. The deadline for applications is 15 December 2017, and further details of the application process can be found here.
3. The Manchester International Law Centre (MILC) Workshop on Democratic Governance. MILC is organizing a workshop on 3 November 2017 dedicated to the question of democratic governance with a view to revisiting the state of the practice in international law twenty-five years after this narrative attracted attention in international legal scholarship following the publication of Tom Franck's seminal article. The workshop aims to foster debate about current problems surrounding the theory of democratic governance, and will take a critical look at international legal discourses and practice pertaining to democratic governance, including the practice of the European Union. We invite contributions which adopt new theoretical perspectives on the topic. Those employing inter-disciplinary methods and/or drawing on contemporary developments are especially welcome. Early career researchers are encouraged to apply. Abstracts of no more than 1000 words should be submitted by email to milc {at} manchester.ac(.)uk by 15th August 2017. Confirmed keynote speakers include Steven Wheatley (University of Lancaster), Russell Buchan (University of Sheffield), and the workshop will conclude with a presentation by Brad Roth (Wayne State University). The organisers anticipate that selected papers will be published in a volume of the newly established Melland Schill Guidebooks on International Law. You can find the Call for Papers and register to attend the event on Eventbrite. Read the rest of this entry…
Tags: Announcements
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ICJ Advisory Opinion Request on the Chagos Islands
Yesterday the UN General Assembly voted, by 94 to 15 with 65 states abstaining, to issue a request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the Chagos Islands. Readers will be familiar with the many legal disputes that have arisen from this leftover UK colonial possession in the Indian Ocean, ranging from the human tragedy of the Chagossians expelled en masse from the islands to make room for what is now a US military base of enormous size and importance, to the role that the Diego Garcia base played in the war on terror, to the applicability of human rights law to these issues, the designation of real or pretextual maritime protection areas, and the actual sovereignty dispute with Mauritius. Here's a useful news item from the Guardian, and here is GA resolution itself, A/RES/71/292. This is the operative part, i.e. the request that the Court will have to address:
(a) "Was the process of decolonization of Mauritius lawfully completed when Mauritius was granted independence in 1968, following the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius and having regard to international law, including obligations reflected in General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965, 2232 (XXI) of 20 December 1966 and 2357 (XXII) of 19 December 1967?";
(b) "What are the consequences under international law, including obligations reflected in the above-mentioned resolutions, arising from the continued administration by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the Chagos Archipelago, including with respect to the inability of Mauritius to implement a programme for the resettlement on the Chagos Archipelago of its nationals, in particular those of Chagossian origin?".
The precise drafting of these questions can be enormously consequential, as shown most recently and most clearly with the Kosovo advisory opinion – I would refer interested readers in that regard to the volume edited by Michael Wood and myself on The Law and Politics of the Kosovo Advisory Opinion (OUP, 2015), particularly chapters 3, 6 and 7 which deal with various aspects of the 'question question.' At first glance, the drafting of the Chagos request is not only interesting, but also quite intelligent, especially regarding the (a) part.
Why? Well, one almost ritualistic aspect of these advisory opinions are the objections made to the jurisdiction of the Court and the propriety of its exercise by states who opposed the issuance of the AO request in the first place. These objections almost never work, but the good fight is nonetheless always fought. And there are cases, like the Kosovo one, in which a particular objection (there regarding the relationship between the UNSC and the UNGA) could find significantly more purchase than could otherwise be expected. In the Chagos case in particular, one could expect the UK to make the objection that the AO request is trying to circumvent the consent requirement for contentious ICJ jurisdiction, and is in effect litigating a bilateral dispute (see e.g. the Wall AO, para. 43-50). And in fact there clearly is a set of bilateral disputes on Chagos between Mauritius and the UK.
Note, however, the clever drafting of part (a) of the request: it doesn't directly speak of whether Mauritius has sovereignty over the Islands, but asks whether the process of decolonization of Mauritius was lawfully completed because of the separation of the Chagos Islands from its territory. It also makes links to numerous GA resolutions, in order to reinforce the view that this is a multilateral issue, raising broader questions of principle which the GA has been dealing with for decades.
When it comes to part (b) of the request, what's particularly notable is that it doesn't simply ask what the consequences would be if the Court found that the UK acted unlawfully in part (a). Rather, the consequences are those arising from the UK's continued administration of the Chagos Islands. This would allow the Court to deal with various questions that not directly related to sovereignty or any faults with the decolonization process, like the plight of the Chagossians. On the other hand, the drafting of part (b) is also such that it could allow the Court to 'properly interpret' it in such a way as to avoid some of the more controversial issues, as it in fact did in the Kosovo AO. We shall, of course, have to wait and see what happens – but watch this space.
Filed under: General Assembly, International Court of Justice, States and Statehood
President Erdogan versus Jan Böhmermann: Do Bad Poems Make Bad Law? – Reforming the Defamation of Foreign Heads of States under German Criminal Law
Published on June 23, 2017 Author: Andreas Zimmermann and Robert Pfeiffer
Note: Revised and translated version of a statement made before the Legal Committee of the German Bundestag at an expert hearing on 17 May 2017, further elaborating on questions that were raised by Veronika Bílková in her EJIL:Talk! post "Thouh shalt not Insult the (Foreign) Head of State?", dated 28 April 2016 and commenting on subsequent developments.
1. Prologue
In 2016, after the Turkish government had requested the deletion of a satirical song about Turkish President Erdogan, aired on a German TV show, the Turkish Head of State became the subject of another, rather vulgar, satirical poem fittingly titled "Schmähkritik" ("defamatory critique"), recited by the German comedian Jan Böhmermann on his TV show in March, 2016. This in turn led to the initiation of a criminal investigation against the said German comedian, instigated both by the Turkish government, as well as by Turkish President Erdogan personally. Thereafter, President Erdogan also pressed civil charges against Böhmermann before German courts. As far as the criminal proceedings initiated by the Turkish government were concerned, a violation of Section 103 Criminal Code was claimed which currently still provides as follows:
Section 103 German Criminal Code
Defamation of organs and representatives of foreign states
(1) Whosoever insults a foreign head of state, or, with respect to his position, a member of a foreign government who is in Germany in his official capacity, or a head of a foreign diplomatic mission who is accredited in the Federal territory shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine, in case of a slanderous insult to imprisonment from three months to five years.
Section 104a German Criminal Code further provides that before any such criminal proceedings under Section 103 German Criminal Code may be initiated, the German government has to formally authorize such proceedings: Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: Customary International Law, Defamation, EJIL Analysis, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, International Law and Domestic Law
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Revising the Treaty of Guarantee for a Cyprus Settlement
Published on June 21, 2017 Author: Costas M. Constantinou
On June 28th, 2017, the UN-sponsored international conference in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, will attempt to comprehensively settle the Cyprus Issue. The Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot delegations will be joined by the delegations of the three 'Guarantor Powers' (Greece, Turkey and the UK), and one from the EU as an observer, in order to discuss the issue of security and guarantees – an issue that appears to be the major stumbling block for an agreement. The existing Treaty of Guarantee (1960) has failed in so many respects. It has been violated by the Greek side, which suspended basic articles of the Constitution under the doctrine of necessity in the 1960s and sought to unite the island with Greece following the junta-led military coup in 1974. It has also been violated by the Turkish side, which used it to militarily intervene in 1974, without seeking to reestablish the state of affairs created in 1960 and instead opting to partition the island.
The current position of the Greek side is that guarantees should be abolished altogether, whereas the Turkish side considers that they have provided effective security and should be maintained in some form or another. In public discourse, both sides selectively interpret the notion of guarantee and what it is meant to serve so as to support their positions. If not treated as a political cover but in a legal sense, however, a guarantee refers to 'any legally binding commitment to secure [an] object' (Oppenheim's International Law, vol. 1, 9th edition, p. 1323). Creating binding commitments is the gist of the matter that should concern us. Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, European Union, International Court of Justice, Jurisdiction, Peace Keeping, Reservations to Treaties, Territorial Disputes, Treaty Law, United Nations, Use of Force
Tags: Cyprus, Greece, security, Treaty of Guarantee, Turkey
Protecting the Environment at the World Trade Organization: the Eventual 'Greening' of Trade?
Published on June 20, 2017 Author: Gregory Messenger
This post is the result of work conducted for the ILA Committee on Sustainable Development and the Green Economy in International Trade Law.
In a recent post, Diane Desierto discussed the Port State Measures Agreement ('PSMA') and its role in attempting to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported ('IUU') fishing. Aside from the numerous interesting aspects of the PSMA identified in that post, the Agreement is also expected to play a key role in regulating IUU fishing beyond the law of the sea. At the World Trade Organization ('WTO'), members are currently in negotiations to prohibit the use of subsidies which contribute to IUU fishing, as well as those that contribute to overfishing or overcapacity. While the elimination of fisheries subsidies which contribute to IUU fishing have been on the agenda of WTO members since the Doha Declaration in 2001, little progress has been made. The adoption of Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals ('SDGs') in 2015 has changed this, giving new energy to the international community to achieve a specific set targets. Of most relevance here is SDG 14.6 which requires
'by 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing, and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation.'
The objectives of SDG14.6 extend beyond subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing to include those that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing. Disciplining such subsidies raises a number of challenges for the WTO. While the regulation of subsidies is a standard feature of world trade law, fisheries subsidies present unique challenges. For example, where a member considers a subsidy to harm their interests, they have two options under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM): through direct challenge under the WTO's dispute settlement system, or through the imposition of countervailing duties as a self-help remedy which seeks to counteract the effect of the subsidy. In each instance, the rules on subsidies seek to avoid harm to members' interests, understood (inter alia) as injury to domestic industry, lost opportunities in third markets, or nullification or impairments of benefits.
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, International Economic Law, International Environmental Law
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The Jadhav Case and the Legal Effect of Non-Registration of Treaties
Published on June 19, 2017 Author: Ashrutha Rai
Those following the legal tangle of the Jadhav Case closely would have noticed India's (attempted) coup de grâce in its oral submissions regarding the bilateral Agreement on Consular Access of 21 May 2008 between India and Pakistan ("2008 Agreement", Annex 10 in India's Application Instituting Proceedings) – that it is unregistered and thus, incapable of being invoked. Pakistan's oral submissions indicate that this Agreement will form a large part of its case on merits, which in fact, is far stronger than the Indian or Pakistani media give it credit for. Pakistan claims that, irrespective of guilt, the fact of arrest on "political or security grounds" exempts Jadhav from the right of consular access, as per paragraph (vi) of the Agreement, which reads as follows: "In case of arrest, detention or sentence made on political or security grounds, each side may examine the case on merits." Pakistan interprets this examination "on merits", as regarding the grant of consular access itself, making it a matter of discretion rather than right.
India met this contention head on in the oral stage, with a two-pronged argument. First, it argued that the 2008 Agreement does not purport to restrict or reduce consular access rights provided by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 ("VCCR"). According to India, the 2008 Agreement is for the purpose of "confirming or supplementing or extending or amplifying" (Art. 73 VCCR) the VCCR rights, to the extent that the Agreement "further[s] the objective of humane treatment of nationals of either country arrested, detained or imprisoned in the other country" (preamble of the 2008 Agreement). To that extent, the first part of the Indian argument is one of interpretation of paragraph (vi) of the 2008 Agreement. The argument is that the Agreement must not be interpreted as exempting those arrested on political or security grounds from consular access since such an interpretation would be contrary to its preamble, to the VCCR, and to the law of treaties, since Art. 41 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969 ("VCLT") permits subsequent bilateral agreements only when they are harmonious with pre-existing multilateral treaties. India has not yet offered a counter-interpretation of paragraph (vi). However, a fair guess is that it will argue that the envisaged "examin[ation]…on merits" is for determining the grant of additional rights conferred by the Agreement (such as immediate release and repatriation) and not for the grant of basic VCCR rights themselves. Read the rest of this entry…
Filed under: EJIL Analysis, International Court of Justice, International Tribunals, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Treaty Law

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Alfred Nobel (foaled 27 January 2007) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a two-year-old in 2009 he was beaten in his first two races but after winning a maiden race at his third attempt he went on to record major victories in the Railway Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes. He was beaten in three subsequent races that year and failed to recover his form in two starts as a three-year-old. After his retirement from racing he stood a breeding stallion in Ireland and Australia.

Background
Alfred Nobel is a bay horse with a narrow white blaze bred in Ireland by Lodge Park Stud. As a yearling in October 2008 he was consigned to the Tattersalls sale where he was bought for 220,000 guineas by John Magnier of the Coolmore Stud. The colt was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. Like many Coolmore horses the details of the colt's ownership changed from race to race: he sometimes raced in the colours of Derrick Smith or Michael Tabor, while on others he was described as the property of a partnership between Tabor, Smith and Susan Magnier. He was ridden in all but one of his races by Johnny Murtagh.

He was sired by Danehill Dancer, who won the Phoenix Stakes, National Stakes and Greenham Stakes before becoming a very successful breeding stallion. His other progeny have included Choisir, Mastercraftsman, Legatissimo, Lillie Langtry and Dancing Rain. Alfred Nobel's dam Glinting Desert showed little racing ability, winning one minor race from eight starts. However, as a granddaughter of the outstanding racemare Park Express she was closely related to many major winners including New Approach and Was.

Racing career

2009: two-year-old season
Alfred Nobel began his racing career in a maiden race over five furlongs at Naas Racecourse on 18 April when he started at odds of 7/2 and finished second of the eight runners, beaten half a length by Pilgrim Dancer. On 4 May he started favourite or a similar event over six furlongs at the Curragh but finished third of the twelve runners after briefly being denied a clear run in the last quarter mile. Later that month he was stepped up to seven furlongs for a maiden at Leopardstown Racecourse and recorded his first success. Starting at odds of 4/5 he tracked the leaders before going to the front approaching the final furlong and won by one and a half lengths from Sparking Power. On 28 June the colt was moved up in class for the Group 2 Railway Stakes over six furlongs at the Curragh and started 6/4 favourite ahead of five opponents including the Rochestown Stakes winner Love Lockdown and the Fillies' Sprint Stakes runner-up Kitty Kiernan. After racing in fourth place Alfred Nobel took the lead a furlong and a half out and stayed on to win by one and a quarter lengths and a head from the outsiders Dragon Fighter and King Ledley. After the race Aidan O'Brien said "He progressed from his first run to his second, his second run to his third, and now he's come forward again. He was green when he hit the front, and leaned away from the ground, and you'd hope he'd get a mile in time".

The Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh on 26 July saw Alfred Nobel narrowly preferred in the betting to the Tommy Stack-trained filly Walk On Bye who had won the Anglesey Stakes on her last start. Dragon Fighter and King Ledley were again in opposition with the best-fancied of the other four runners was Beethoven. After being restrained toward the rear by Murtagh he moved up into second behind his unfancied stablemate Air Chief Marshal inside the final furlong. He gained the advantage in the final strides and won by half a length with a gap of two and a half lengths back to Walk On Bye in third. O'Brien commented "The last day he won very snug but Johnny said he just got there too early on him, so today he was going to wait and wait. The worry was whether he could change gears on that heavy ground but obviously he's a very good horse". Bookmakers responded by offering odds of between 6/1 and 8/1 against the colt for the following year's 2000 Guineas.

With Murtagh required to ride Changingoftheguard in the St Leger on 12 September, Seamie Heffernan took the ride when Alfred Nobel started favourite for the National Stakes at the Curragh on the same day. After racing towards the rear of the field he made some progress in the last quarter mile but never looked likely to win and finished last of the six runners behind the Kevin Prendergast-trained Kingsfort. On 2 October he was sent to England for the Tattersalls Timeform Million, a valuable race restricted to juveniles sold at auction at Tattersalls, and finished fifth of the 22 runners. He appeared somewhat unlucky as he raced up the stands side (the left-hand side from the jockeys' viewpoint) whilst the first four finishers all raced up the far side. Alfred Nobel ended his season with a trip to California for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on the synthetic Cushion Track at Santa Anita Park in which he finished tenth of the thirteen runners behind Vale of York.

2010: three-year-old season
Alfred Nobel made his first appearance of 2010 in the Listed Loughbrown Stakes over seven furlongs at the Curragh on 11 April in which he started 3/1 second favourite but came home seventh of the eight runners. He produced a better effort in the Greenlands Stakes over six furlongs at the same track on 22 May as he finished third to the British gelding Markab.

Stud record
After his retirement from racing Alfred Nobel stood as a breeding stallion for the Coolmore Stud in Ireland and was also shuttled to stand in Australia for the southern hemisphere breeding season. In March 2015 he was bought outright by Lynward Park Stud, who had previously owned a 50% share in the stallion and moved to Western Australia. The best of his offspring has probably been Snowy Chloe who won the WATC Sires Produce in 2015.

Pedigree

References

2007 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Ireland
Racehorses trained in Ireland
Thoroughbred family 19-b

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I called David Winters, the owner and asked for an estimate for advise on my plants because they looked like they were dying. I wanted to discuss mulching and weeding for my front and back yards. I was concerned about using pesticides and harsh fertilizers for the safety of my pets. David returned my call right away and was very pleasant on the phone. He promised to come out the next day. He showed up on time and began a quick but thorough evaluation. He discussed a few options and I hired him to start working the next week.
He pulled weeds, especially the ones which get stuck on my dog's fur, and didn't use any harsh chemicals. He did an irrigation evaluation and installed mulch. He did a great job and I have hired him to care for my lawn permanently. I'm so glad to have found him.


text:
Top 10/
Desktops/
System/
Wearables/
PCMag Asia | Smartphones | Mobile App | iPad Apps | Review
Universal Zoom: All About Sizes and Distances (for iPad)
byTony Hoffman Jan 01, 2016
Editor Rating: Excellent (4.5)
US Street Price$2.00
Lets you see the relative sizes of more than 200 objects, from subatomic particles to galactic superclusters. Attractive illustrations. Several ways to navigate.
Choice of objects shown is somewhat arbitrary.
Universal Zoom is an informative, educational, and fun iPad app that explores the size and scale of various objects in the universe. It's a treat for both your eyes and your brain.
Universal Zoom ($1.99) is an iPad app that explores the scale of the universe and the relative size of various objects and distance between them, from the tiniest subatomic particle to superclusters of galaxies. It depicts representative objects of different sizes for comparison, and is an excellent choice for a student or a curious layman who wants to learn more about the world around us.
Universal Zoom is similar in concept to Cozmic Zoom, but it depicts far more individual objects. Also, I experienced none of the operational glitches that I did in testing Cozmic Zoom. It also bears some similarity to Back in Time, exploring space and physical dimensions much like that app does with time.
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View All 6 Photos in Gallery
Design and Features
I tested Universal Zoom with an iPad Air 2. The app works with the iPad, the iPhone, or the iPod touch. The opening screen shows a human silhouette, with the label Average Male Human Being: 5 feet 9 inches in height. To the man's left are illustrations of progressively smaller creatures, all presented to scale: an emperor penguin, a porcupine, a meerkat, a hedgehog, and others. To the right of the man is a drawing of an ostrich. Along the bottom and left-hand edges of the screen are horizontal and vertical axes, with 5-foot intervals marked, At the top of the screen are tiny thumbnail icons, with the middle one again depicting the person. Icons showing progressively smaller objects, down through cells, atoms, and particles, are arranged to the left, while icons ranging up through mountains, planets, stars, and our galaxy lie to the right.
When you click on the label identifying one of the approximately 200 objects or creatures depicted in the app, a voice recites the label's text, and a popup window provides a description. For instance, clicking on the human's label reveals that the average height for each sex within a population varies significantly. The tallest man in modern history was 8 feet 11 inches, while the shortest human is 1 foot 9.5 inches in height. The popup also includes an Explore button, which allows you to compare the sizes of objects. For instance, you can find that 20 walruses can fit (lengthwise) in an Airbus A380 jetliner.
In the top right corner of any screen is a Gear icon that, when touched, opens a Settings menu. You can toggle the music and the narration voice on and off, or you can set the narration voice for any of five different English-speaking countries, so you can hear a robotic voice narrate in English with an American, British, Australian, South African, or Irish accent! You can increase or decrease the text size. You can also switch the unit system between Imperial/US, Metric, and Scientific. There are links to report a problem, and to write a review of Universal Zoom in the App Store.
The Large and the Small of It
Navigation is easy: Clicking on one of the thumbnails at the top of the screen enlarges the thumbnails and labels them. For instance clicking on the silhouette labels it as Human; to its left are Insects, Cells, and DNA structure, while to its right are Trees, Mountains, and Planets. The thumbnails move carousel-style if you swipe them, revealing a whole new set of larger, or smaller, items. Tapping on one of the thumbnails takes you to a view of the object that's represented. For instance, touching Trees takes you to a view showing the largest sequoias (General Sherman and Hyperion), as well as the comparably sized Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. They are grouped by size, rather than object type.
You can also navigate by swiping the screen right or left. Moving your finger to the right reveals smaller objects, and shrinks the scale, while a new set of smaller creatures and objects appears. (Soon the axes are divided into one-foot increments.) Moving it left shows larger things. After the human and ostrich come a walrus, a Tesla Model S, an elephant, a giraffe, a whale shark, a sperm whale, an Airbus A380. The choice of object seems somewhat arbitrary. While some of the objects are the largest of their kind, others are representative.
At the far end of the scale are clusters and superclusters of galaxies, which the app depicts beautifully, and finally the size of the observable universe (some 28 billion light-years in diameter)—at least the size based on the distance of galaxies at the time the light we're seeing was emitted from them. The app notes that the diameter of the observable universe is now some 90 billion light years, as the galaxies we see are moving rapidly away from us, and they have been traveling billions of years since the light we're now seeing set out from them.
At the other extreme is the micro scale. Molecules, then atoms, then atomic nuclei are shown to scale. Protons and neutrons are the smallest particles shown whose approximate size can be measured. Neutrinos and electrons are depicted, but they are effectively point-like and don't have a measurable size as we know it. The smallest thing depicted is not an object but a unit of measurement, the Planck length (some 1.616 times 10 to the -35th power, to be precise), which is derived from several physical constants and is many orders of magnitude smaller than any current instruments could detect.
Universal Zoom is an excellent educational app for exploring the scale of the universe. It's well-designed, easy to use, and lets you compare the relative sizes of about 200 different objects, from subatomic particles to cells, animals, mountains, planets, and galaxies. And it's great fun.
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Tony Hoffman Senior Analyst, Printers, Projectors, and Scanners
As Analyst for printers, scanners, and projectors, Tony Hoffman tests and reviews these products and provides news coverage for these categories. Tony has worked at PC Magazine since 2004, first as a Staff Editor, then as Reviews Editor, and more recently as Managing Editor for the printers, scanners, and projectors team.
In addition to editing, Tony has written articles on digital photography and reviews of digital cameras, PCs, and iPhone apps
Prior to joining the PCMag team, Tony worked for 17 years in magazine and journal production at Springer-Verlag New York. As a freelance writer, he's written articles for Grolier's Encylopedia, Health, Equities, and other publications. He won ... See Full Bio
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The Reg Lamy Cultural Centre houses the Hockey Arena, Curling Club and Golf Club-House. The facility is open year round and is located at 195-5th Street.
The first construction of the local arena started in 1950, and it officially opened in 1952. In 1997, further construction started with the new Reg Lamy Cultural Centre and was completed in 1999. The new centre was able to accommodate more spectators by creating a larger entrance wing, as well as a basement level for change rooms and equipment storage.
The arena opens October 1, 2o17. Click here to see the 2017-2018 public skating schedule.


RSPCA Victoria – Adoption – Find Your Perfect Pet Today!
NO FEE FOR FELINES – $0 CATS AND $50 KITTENS UNTIL APRIL 30!
We have over 350 fantastic felines currently available for adoption, so we're reducing our adoption fees to help them find their forever homes!
Please help us find homes for every single one of them!
Offer available at RSPCA Burwood East, RSPCA Peninsula and Epping Animal Welfare Facility.
Do you know the costs we cover to prepare our animals for adoption?
Our adoption fees are well under our animals' treatment and care costs, costs that we will not recover, but we want to do all we can to find every one of these beautiful creatures a forever home. Any contribution great or small will help us ensure many more animals get the happy ending they deserve.
and Peninsula adoption centres are now open until 7.30pm every Wednesday and Thursday until mid-March 2015.
Did you know that RSPCA adoptions receive no government funding? As a not-for-profit organisation, the RSPCA relies on the generous Victorian community to help us care for 'all creatures great and small'. Please donate today. All donations over $2 are tax deductable.
If you're willing to give our cats or dogs aged 7+ years a loving home and lifetime commitment, there will be no fee to adopt!
Find out information about the adoption process and our policies on animal transfers and holds.


Fire can bring us together. Think of candles or a campfire. They are symbols of romance and good times, but fire can also tear us apart. When I was a teenager, the house next door burned down to the foundation. At one point, there was a serious possibility that the flames might spread to our house as well. It was terrifying and heart retching to watch, as our friends slowly lost everything they owned.
There was such a sense of powerlessness. I will never forget it. Something like that will give you a serious respect for fire and the importance of using it safely. Candles are a big part of my life. They are one of the small ways I treat myself, but I never let myself forget that they can be dangerous when used carelessly.
This is something I am particularly aware of now that I am a mother. I never leave my candles unattended, out of sight, or in a high traffic area of the house where a child or a pet could easily knock them over.
For me, candles can bring such a sense of relaxation. They are like a little piece of a holiday that can just drain the stress of a busy day away, but it is important to never fall asleep when a candle is burning. I can understand the temptation — believe me, but it just isn't worth the risk. If you are having trouble falling asleep, use a lava lamp. It's a lot safer!
Our children love to imitate us. If we love something, they are automatically attracted to it. That means keeping your candles, matches or lighters in a safe place when they are not in use and teaching kids that real candles are not toys.
I know how much my son likes them, so I have given him battery operated ones of his own. They aren't as nice as real candles, obviously, but he can use them whenever he wants. The little, electric tea-lights that you can find in dollar and discount stores make great stocking stuffers, and they actually teach children not to leave candles lit when they aren't around to enjoy them because the batteries will go dead.
It's actually the cutest thing. My son is very empathetic, and he likes to surprise me with a candle lit snack or an offer to cuddle up together with popcorn and a movie with a pair of his electric candles. It's his way of keeping Mommy happy and creating the perfect atmosphere for a happy home. Is that training for the future or what! Candle purists might think I'm crazy, but they've actually become something that is an important part of our family life.
Curtains are also something to keep in mind when choosing a location to burn your candles and any other flowing or portable textiles, like blankets, bedding, flammable party decorations or towels. I love to have a candle-lit bath, sweet milk bubbles up to my chin, the works, but candles and towels do not mix!
Curtains can blow around in the breeze of an open window, so you can't forget about any objects or other factors that might move into the danger zone. Be aware of any drafts or air currents, vents or fans.
Candles can also mark some areas, just because their container can get hot, especially as the candle burns down. In fact, it's suggested that you never burn a candle right down to the end, for just that reason. Getting some cheap, nonflammable coasters are a good idea, and if they get wax on them, you can always throw them out. It's always possible that the heat can cause what they're sitting on to burst into flame as well, so don't use a book instead, and make sure they are somewhere stable that won't get knocked down.
Maybe it isn't always a safety issue, but wax is something else to consider. It can easily stain fabric or other surfaces. That's more of a worry with candlesticks, obviously, than votives. That's one of the reasons why I prefer candles that burn into a container. There is less mess and everything is more controllable. They aren't perfectly safe, but there is a bit of a shield there when it comes to pets and kids. Don't use candles with wooden or plastic holders that can catch fire or that have flammable decorations like ribbons or tree-bark.
Remembering to trim your wick to 5-7 mm or 1/4 inch before you light it can also make a big difference, and do it after that every 2-3 hours to prevent the flame getting too big. Extinguishing it with a snuffer cuts down on wax splatters too and don't even think about putting it out with water if it's in a glass container. That can be really dangerous and cause the glass to shatter.
Every day is special enough to deserve candles in my house. I don't know about you, but they always put a smile on my face. If you always keep in mind that they can also be dangerous, and you follow common sense and safe practices, then they will always put a smile on your face too.
Thanks for pointing out that the handle must not be made of wood or plastic since it can catch a fire. I will keep that in mind when I go shopping this weekend. I just needed candle holders with the theme of Halloween since we will be decorating the outside of our house for the competition in our neighborhood. This tip will keep our property safe.


The Hong Kong Government released the first Talent List of Hong Kong today (Aug 28), highlighting 11 specific professions needed most for Hong Kong's economic development. In order to attract relevant world talents to Hong Kong, immigration facilitation is provided to eligible persons under the Talent List through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS). Successful applicants under the QMAS are not required to have secured an offer of local employment for settlement in Hong Kong. For more details, click here.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau has called on the US to exclude Hong Kong from the US tariff increase plan for imports of aluminum products. Calling the proposed tariff "totally unjustified," Mr Yau said these minimal exports would not threaten the US national security nor the viability of the US domestic industries. He raised the request at a meeting with the US Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau Kurt Tong (Mar 15). In 2017, the US had a surplus of US$32.5 billion in merchandise trade with Hong Kong, making it the economy with which the US has the highest trade surplus. Details here.
The Hong Kong Commissioner to the United States, Clement Leung, welcomed the report's findings which reaffirm Hong Kong's commitment to free trade and open markets. "Hong Kong's adherence to free market principles, buttressed by the rule of law, has enabled our city of 7.3 million people to prosper and become an internationally competitive business and financial center. Hong Kong will continue to proudly fly the flag of economic freedom," Mr. Leung said. Details here.
Clement Leung, Hong Kong Commissioner to the United States, welcomed the publication of the 2017 Economic Freedom of the World report which once again ranks Hong Kong as the world leader in economic freedom. The report is co-published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute of Canada and more than 70 think tanks around the world. It measures economic freedom (levels of personal choice, ability to enter markets, security of privately owned property, rule of law, etc.) by analyzing the policies and institutions of 159 countries and territories. "The report affirms Hong Kong's commitment to upholding free market principles and the rule of law which sustain a healthy business environment," said Mr. Leung. Details here.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen said that the review of sentence was dealt with strictly in accordance with the law. He reiterated that the defendants were convicted and sentenced for their unlawful conduct, not for their political ideas. In a published op-ed (Aug 24), Mr Yuen outlined and explained the different stages of the legal and judicial process, emphasizing that Hong Kong upholds judicial independence and the city's Judiciary is recognized for its independence and professionalism. He called on the public and the international community to continue to respect Hong Kong's judicial independence and refrain from baseless attacks. Details here.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam rejected claim of political interference in Hong Kong's courts, adding that the rule of law and judicial independence are vital to the city's stability and prosperity. In response to the procession on the case of the sentence review, the Government has issued a statement (Aug 21) stating that the decisions to prosecute and appeal were made in accordance with the Prosecution Code, applicable laws and relevant evidence, as clearly pointed out by the Department of Justice earlier, and that there is absolutely no political consideration involved. Further, allegations that the Court is under political interference are totally unfounded and groundless. The Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong have pointed out the errors in these allegations in a joint statement.
As the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s first innovation node in the world, MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node offers new opportunities to study and practice methods of accelerated innovation. "In Hong Kong we nurture a positive environment for innovation, technology and entrepreneurship to flourish…We have all the ingredients to succeed in this area…The government will spare no effort in realizing Hong Kong's potential…I wish the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node every success in its new home…I am confident that in partnering with MIT, our future is very bright," said The Honorable Mrs. Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administration Region, in her speech as the ceremony's Guest of Honor. Details here.
A research team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has created a new protein-based, stimuli-responsive smart hydrogel that could open doors for future material biology and biomedical applications. For details, click here.
Hong Kong has been crowned the world's most competitive economy for the second consecutive year, according to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Yearbook 2017. Among the four competitive factors, the IMD highly recognized Hong Kong on its government efficiency and business efficiency while the city's ranking in 'infrastructure' also showed an improvement. Financial Secretary Paul Chan welcomed the ranking saying the ranking is a clear recognition of the city's steadfast fiscal discipline, as well as the incessant effort put into building a favorable business environment and a robust financial system. Details here.
Hong Kong, with its unique advantages, can make an important contribution to the Belt & Road initiatives - a visionary, long-term initiative launched by the Chinese government to foster closer economic, political, cultural, and social links across Asia to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. As a "superconnector" and an international trade and business center, Hong Kong can leverage its strengths in financial and professional services, transport and logistics, legal services and dispute resolution. For more information on Hong Kong's advantages, click here.
For travelers and students outside Hong Kong, you would find the new app "Safeguard HK" useful. It provides useful information on safety and assistance in handling emergencies that may occur during travels outside of Hong Kong, e.g. major emergency incidents happening around the world, outbound travel alerts, contact information for Chinese consulates in host countries, etc.


Between 1 December 2018 and 21 January 2019, a total of 201,803 CapMan Plc new shares have been subscribed for with the company's stock options 2013B. The entire subscription price of EUR 167,496.49 shall be recorded into the invested non-restricted equity fund.
As a result of the subscriptions, the number of CapMan shares increases to 147,343,966.
The shares subscribed for under the stock options have been registered in the Trade Register on 11 February 2019, as of which date the new shares will establish shareholder rights.
The shares will be traded on the Nasdaq Helsinki Plc. together with the old shares as of 12 February 2019.
The share subscription period for stock options 2013B started on 1 May 2017 and will end on 30 April 2019 and the share subscription period for stock options 2013C started on 1 May 2018 and will end on 30 April 2020.
The terms and conditions of stock options 2013 with additional information are available on the company's website at http://www.capman.com.


20 March 2015, 15:03 p.m.
Few of us can name a place by its latitude and longitude, but I bet most know several locations by its name. Up until today, developers have only been able to add location pickers using co-ordinates. With the launch of Google's new 'Places' API for Android, and in beta for iOS, users can specify where they are with actual place names instead.
Google wrote in a blog post: "People don't think of their location in terms of coordinates on a map. They want context on what shops or restaurants they're at, and what's around them."
Several features are available in the new API including; a place picker in the form of a drop-in UI widget, autocomplete support for searches, the ability to determine the place where a user is currently located, and detailed information about each spot.
Users can also help bolster Google's already extensive database of more than 100 million locations with their own locations if they so choose.
"By providing native support for Android and iOS devices, you can optimize the mobile experience with the new APIs by taking advantage of the device's location signals." Google wrote.
Will you be implementing Google's new Places API in your applications? Let us know in the comments.


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Home 2328-44 North Second Street
Permits Issued for 33-Unit Project at 2328-44 North 2nd Street in West Kensington
View of the site via Google.
By: Colin LeStourgeon 7:00 am on April 8, 2021
Permits have been issued for the construction of a multi-family structure at 2328-44 North 2nd Street in West Kensington. The building will stand four stories tall, hold 33 residential units, and feature a green roof atop the structure. In total, the structure will include 41,940 square feet of space. Construction costs are estimated at $6 million.
Aerial view of the site via Google.
The building will replace an industrial lot. A low-slung single-story industrial structure sits at the rear of the property, featuring a bland façade. A wall meets the street at the front, barricading pedestrians from its junkyard interior, where many worn out vehicles are scattered about, likely used for spare parts and scrap metal.
While eliminating the junkyard will be an improvement on its own for the area, the addition of 33 residential units in a space formerly occupied by none is a further bonus that will help the neighborhood continue to grow. A massive amount of development is in progress in the general area which spans Northern Liberties, Norris Square, East Kensington, Fishtown, and Olde Kensington. It seems as though West Kensington is the next neighborhood in line, and hopefully this project will help jumpstart its forward progress.
No completion for the project is known at this time, though construction may be finished by 2022 or 2023.
2328-44 North Second Street Kensington Mid-rise North Philadelphia West Kensington
1 Comment on "Permits Issued for 33-Unit Project at 2328-44 North 2nd Street in West Kensington"
James | April 9, 2021 at 9:01 am | Reply
Renders of the project?
Permits Issued for 2003 North 9th Street Near Temple University in North Philadelphia


Mr. Yi Wang is Partner at ECOVIS Ruide China in Shanghai, having joined the firm since its establishment in 2004.
He has more than 10 years of experience providing tax and audit services to multinational corporations in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, automotive and service. Before joining ECOVIS Ruide China, he worked for a bank for more than five years.
Besides his title of Certified Public Account (CPA) in China, he has been a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Certified Tax Agent (CTA) in China for more than seven years. In 2008, he was selected to become a member of the CICPA's "CPA Leading Professional Talents Training Program" in China.


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Genuine redesign MVP site
I was tasked with the redesign of the genuine website. I worked with the president/owner of the company in an effort to produce a streamlined, MVP site that could be a showcase for our prospective clients and employees.
The intent was to provide a high-fidelity, simple site build that would ensure a low development scope, but still provide a first-class digital window into the company and it's competitive nature in the digital advertising arena.
© 2018 - Matthew Nagy / Interactive Designer. Genuine client work owned by Genuine Interactive and their respective clients.


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The Ignoble Order / IGNOBLE
The Ignoble Order is an established multi-game clan that shines in competitive gameplay and fun, humorous sessions. We are composed of casual and hardcore gamers that have reached #1 on a number of competitive ladders.
The Ignoble Order was founded in 1994 by Fluffytuff (aka Ashen Shuger) in the Ultima Online MMO, as a PK guild on the Lake Superior server. After establishing our dominance for a few years, we moved on after the infamous anti-pk patch to play Call of Duty, and bring TIO to the fore-front of the FPS competitive gaming scene first in TWL and then moving on to CAL. We have since played the competitive Battlefield and Call of Duty titles. We also play ARMA III which encompasses popular tactical mods such as Wasteland, Breaking Point, and King of the Hill, using our competitive FPS experience to destroy other teams that we come in contact with.
In the MMO world, The Ignoble Order has established itself as a major force in World of Warcraft during launch until the first expansion, in which we were the largest Alliance guild on the Laughing Skull server, where we were ranked #3 overall on the server. Recently, we established ourselves in Star Wars: The Old Republic, where during launch we were the #1 guild on our server, achieving world firsts in raiding, in which other guilds would commonly look up to us to learn how to defeat raid bosses and share that information with the rest of the server.
We will currently be digging in and establishing ourselves in Star Citizen as a multi-tasked corporation in which we will make our name known.
Our base of operations and CIC is an indomitable Idris-M Frigate.
The Ignoble Order constructs relations with other organizations through trading contracts and security contracts.
Capitalism is key, and The Ignoble Order's trade fleet is self-sufficient through its own personal security fleet of hot-shot pilots.
1. No Douchebaggery to each other
(Discord Server)
Apply to IGNOBLE
Fleet Applicants!
We will initially accept any applications, and you will be put on a 1 month trial period. During this time, you will be judged based on your teamwork, overall personality type, communication, and how well you accept criticism. If you survive our group during that time, you will be a part of the TIO family.
Please outline what you are interested in (commerce, security, etc...) so that we know what roles you will specialize in, this will not impact your acceptance.
We are all here to have fun, so bring your best attitude to our TeamSpeak 3 server which will be provided during the acceptance process.
The only rule we have is no douchebaggery. As long as you follow the orders of those in higher command than you, there will not be any problems.


Generates an irregular parity check matrix that is used by MT LDPC Encoder for LDPC encoding. In this node, the number of ones in each column is kept constant, and the number of ones in each row is random.
The number of rows in the irregular parity check matrix.
The irregular parity check matrix generated by this node.


The car repair process can be very overwhelming. When we evaluate your vehicle for damage, our staff will guide you through the entire process.
If your repair involves an insurance company, our estimator will serve as the liaison to the insurance company's representative making this a very simple process for you.
As the customer, you have the choice to select the shop to perform your repairs. There is a big difference between facilities. Any collision repair facility can give you a lower price by leaving something out, overlooking parts, or sacrificing quality and service. The certified and highly trained technicians of Dayton Auto Rebuilders will do an exceptional job restoring your vehicle.
When you schedule your car for repair, you are given an estimated date of completion. During the repair process, one of our staff members will call you with updates on the progress of your vehicle. If an insurance company is involved, our staff will serve as your liaison.
We use the latest technology when repairing your vehicle. Here are just a few pieces of equipment that are used to ensure your vehicle is accurately repaired.
Color match is a top concern for people who are having their cars repaired. We use a high-quality paint and color match on-site. This helps shorten the amount of time your vehicle is down and ensures an invisible repair.
Our detailing technicians will thoroughly clean the exterior of your vehicle. Before delivery, the vehicle undergoes a final inspection. When you receive your vehicle, you can expect to see a professionally repaired vehicle.


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Colorado Town Votes to Open Path to Local Broadband
Erie, Colo., has opted out of an old senate bill, and joins several other communities that have voted in recent years to open up a path to alternative broadband solutions to their communities' connectivity issues.
by Anthony Hahn, Daily Camera / November 7, 2018
(TNS) — The majority of Erie, Colo., voters on Tuesday said yes to Ballot Issue 3D, according to unofficial election returns, freeing the town from a 2005 statute that now allows it to explore a variety of options for alternative broadband Internet services.
With that approval — 86 percent — Erie joins a host of Colorado communities to date that have opted out of Senate Bill 152 via voter-sanctioned ballot measures, including several of its Boulder County neighbors.
Lafayette and Superior voters said yes to the measure in 2016, and Louisville joined them last November.
Greeley, Colo., Mulls Outcomes of Broadband StudyLawmaker, Industry Discuss Potential for Broadband Expansion in New YorkThere's Broadband Money Available for Alabama Towns, ISPs
Town leaders have said they have no immediate plans to usher in a town-provided Internet service, though a system of sophisticated fiber-optic cables could take shape in a variety of ways throughout Erie, according to a report compiled last year by South Dakota-based consulting firm, Vantage Point Solutions.
The report suggests that the town could benefit from building a "middle-mile network:" a system that serves community anchors such as schools and libraries and government buildings, rather than directly to homes and businesses.
©2018 the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Greeley, Colo., Mulls Outcomes of Broadband Study
Lawmaker, Industry Discuss Potential for Broadband Expansion in New York
There's Broadband Money Available for Alabama Towns, ISPs