text:
Drupal Association 2013 Election Candidates – Q&A with Steven De Costa
Drupal, Online, Services September 23, 2012 at 10:00 am
Briefly introduce yourself, and outline what you will bring to the board of the Drupal Association. I'm the Executive Director of a digital agency in Canberra, Australia. I founded the company in 2001 and we do a lot of Federal Government work with Drupal. I have a background as a developer but now focus mostly
Briefly introduce yourself, and outline what you will bring to the board of the Drupal Association.
I'm the Executive Director of a digital agency in Canberra, Australia. I founded the company in 2001 and we do a lot of Federal Government work with Drupal. I have a background as a developer but now focus mostly on business strategy and execution. From mid 2010 to early 2012 I was the Chief Marketing Officer for Australia's fastest growing cloud services company, where I developed and executed on a multichannel strategic marketing framework that proved highly effective within the context of global IT service trends.
I want to help the DA define its position within a broader economic view of the IT services industry and leverage the flow of value to benefit the Drupal project. 1st up: I'll aim to bring new funds via Govt memberships and a grants funding initiative.
stevepurkiss: If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the Drupal Association, what would it be and why?
I'd hope to refresh the perception people hold of the Association. From what I've learnt the DA appear to be doing a great job and are remaining within the boundary of their responsibilities as outlined in the Association statues and regulations.
Senpai: QUESTION: How much money should the DA spend each year on furthering Drupal? Followup Q: How much of that money should come from the users of Drupal vs sponsorships or advertising?
They should spend it all, but of course within the constraints of remaining financially responsible for the ongoing activities of the Association from year to year. My view is that the Association should not be a conservative when it comes to executing on its goals, but should aggressively promote the adoption of Drupal within new markets while actively providing every support it can to the existing community.
QUESTION: How would you help make the Drupal Association reach out to parts of the world that aren't yet active in our community? How can we be more international?
The first step is to revisit what the community actually is. I think there is a very strong perspective that the community is a bunch of developers that have been contributing to the core and contrib modules and that's certainly true, that's the inner circle of the community; however there is a very broad and very international user group. I'd be seeking to really engage with that user group and see how we can bring them deeper into the core [of the community], and into that inner circle of contributors.
So that kind of comes back to my core [election] platform; that Government is a great place to be sparking that sort of fire and to get them to be contributing significantly, whether it be through resources, financing or getting their developers on board to contribute code. From that international perspective Drupal already has massive adoption worldwide, so it's a great place to start I feel.
QUESTION: What is your biggest annoyance with Drupal.Org currently? [the website]
So this might be a tiny, little thing but my biggest frustration with the site is breadcrumbs. The amount of times I've come across a really great page and read some great content, just in terms of an informational point of view, and thought well this must be part of a really good body of information. But, there's no way to just backtrack and just find it.
I guess that leads me to the broader question of, what should the DA be doing about it? There's that saying that a mechanic doesn't always fix his own car and I'd just be saying that it doesn't sound like a big problem to solve [improving drupal.org]. There are ample companies around the world that tackle these sort of problems, [they] step in, look at the information architecture, look at the structure of the site, look at the user groups and stakeholders and actually just fix it.
I wonder if using the community's efforts to actually solve that problem is the best use of the community's time. If you could have an external group come in and just review it [Drupal.org] with a fresh perspective then you might get some really good feedback.
QUESTION: What role do you see for the DA in developing and/or certifying formalized Drupal training/testing?
Coming at this from a fresh perspective, training is something that I think the community is doing quite well. Its maturing its level of sophistication around providing training – at least that's what I see here in Australia and I saw a bit of that when I was in Munich as well.
Going back to a broader perspective, what you see when you have a mature ecosystem is a wide range of companies providing a wide range of services in all areas. Training is just one of those. I think the DA should look to always go to the highest viewpoint here and promote the industry view. So whether it's training, whether its enterprise support or whether its supporting content authors in how they work with systems in the long term – these are all things the DA can elevate as a discussion and make sure people are working on it.
j_matthew_s: My question is related to Governance VS Operations at the DA. Where are the lines between what the Board should do vs Staff? For example – who should be directing mission vs strategic planning vs program management?
DA staff will always develop expert knowledge in their field but the community feeds into the Board so things like Governance are bout reporting back to that community, the operations should be driven by the needs of the community but the strategy sessions should be taking inputs not just from the community but from a broader world view and make sure they are setting in place operational objectives that make the Drupal project successful in the long term. That is certainly what the statutes are about, and the regulations.
So, where an operational need is identified then you have that program setup and where you have the need for staff then the staff obviously contributes into that program – and therefore develops that sort of cyclical nature where they develop expert skills, feedback into the Board [via strategy sessions] – but, clearly, the Boards role is governance and administration.
joebachana: What is the greatest threat to the Drupal project today and what should the DA's role be in ameliorating/resolving that threat?
I think it's the competing platforms. So, the Adobe platform with regards to it getting reach into the CMOs and such, things like Sitecore, things like Documentum… where are those projects going? The companies behind them aren't going to just give up and walk away so we've go to look at that [competitive] view.
starl3n: Q: How do candidates define the Drupal 'community'? And, developers Vs users…
Although I didn't answer my own question in the session, I put this forward as I wanted to see how broadly people would define the community and how much significance they would give users of Drupal in their community perspective.
My view is that users are an extremely important and largely overlooked majority member of the Drupal community. Active code contributors can be measure in the thousands, while there are millions of Drupal sites on the Internet and behind these there are people who can be encouraged to have a voice within the active Drupal community.
Let's engage with Drupal users and inform them about the fantastic community which is ready to support them. Let's interact with users and create initiatives that cater to their needs. Let's also transact with users and raise new channels for membership funds that will advance the Drupal project toward long-term success, ahead of all competition.
beeradb_: QUESTION: What community leadership have you show that you think positions you well to be a community representative on the board?
In terms of community leadership I've had a sporting background and in the past I've played a lot of inline hockey. It's hard to think about community without having a personal reflection on things, and I think it's the interpersonal skills that really matter when it comes to forming community – having those one-on-one relationships. I draw back to the experience I've had in developing my own company, managing my staff, and working with them in a flat level management system – and, just that whole set of life skills that develop around that.
beeradb_: QUESTION: If you weren't running, which of the other candidates do you think would be great for the board?
I'd vote for Pedro [and wear the t-shirt J] Simply because, if it's a popularity contest, I love that one liner.
aimeem: What is the best/ way that the association can find out about the top 4 benefits that members see the associations as needing to provide to make the association more relevant for members
Develop a suite of simple initiatives, give some support to kick-starting them within the community and then let the top four emerge because they are fundamentally successful.
valthebald: What threats to the Drupal community do you see, which are not handled by DA? How CAN they be handled?
If you look at the entire IT industry, it is simply part of a supply engine. Actual production of economic output occurs either via the platforms implemented or is facilitated by them (such as with an eCommerce site).
From what I've experienced so far, the Drupal community currently represents the aggregated needs of those working within this supply ecosystem. It has very little involvement with the actual outputs being produced by customers.
I see two significant threats to the Drupal project if it stands only within this economic footprint:
The contraction of the IT services chain is real, so the market for Drupal will shrink and ultimately be replaced with services that emerge directly within hosted service platforms and are click-configured directly by user organisations.
The Drupal services ecosystem will begin to cannibalise itself. Groups are already providing hosted distributions that can be deployed directly by clients without any additional partner support. Distribution contributors are pivoting toward monetisation strategies that will also aim to capture the direct customer dollar. In a more competitive atmosphere, where the business process IP of coded modules and distributions is seen as a possible revenue model, groups will begin to hedge their community efforts in favour of entirely commercial efforts.
To handle these threats the DA can support initiatives to engage with actual customers and begin to better understand and aggregate their needs. The entire project could benefit significantly by stepping more into the world of end users, understand how to best add unique value to their production capability, then capture each vertical by investing resources to support that special interest group.
Drupal Planet


text:
Genshin Impact, Breezing Through Teyvat – Chapter 28: An Eccentric Bard Bahasa Indonesia
Genshin Impact, Breezing Through Teyvat Bahasa Indonesia Chapter 28 • January 1, 2023
As the group disbanded, Paimon dragged Lumine away. She put her small hands on her hips and said, "There is something you didn't tell them. The dragon and the crystal weren't the only things we saw…."
"I don't think he was a bad guy, I'd like to investigate him on my own first," Lumine replied with a hesitant gaze. The green-clothed boy who was playing on his lyre, sending pleasant waves of melody to the dragon didn't seem that dangerous to her. She didn't know why, but she felt like she shouldn't mention him.
"So you do remember him! That green guy we met before arriving in Mondstadt! It seemed like he could communicate with the dragon." Paimon saw someone run in the distance and muttered, "He looked just like that guy down there."
Lumine followed her gaze and indeed saw the person Paimon was pointing at, "Well… it looks like him…Or is it a girl? The exact same shade of green too, what a coincidence."
Paimon let out a chuckle, the sound of it undefined, "…See? See…? I told you!"
"…Wait…hold on just a minute…! That…That's the same guy!" she panicked and looked around, no longer able to see the man.
"The green guy had disappeared! Let's follow his elemental trace! We might be still able to get him."
Lumine and Paimon said their farewell and left off somewhere.
Amber said she was itching to try out her new glider so she was currently busy with that.
Kaeya left while saying he was going to take a nap. He overused his Vision and he needed rest. He also brought the puppy with him for now, although he wasn't sure what he will do with it.
Neither Jean nor Lisa seemed to be surprised, nor question where the wolf cub came from.
That only left Hu Tao, who also dipped, telling Yomite she was going to talk with the black-haired lady from the guild about the contract that was established.
She wanted to know more details about it.
Before she left, Yomite told her to ask the lady behind the counter for new daily missions, as the previous ones have expired and they couldn't collect any rewards from them.
After saying goodbye, Yomite found himself standing in front of Angel's Share pub once again.
This time, he had both money and the mood to drink as no one was bothering him, although there was still the worry about finding himself a place to stay at.
The last time Kaeya brought him here was by force, but this time, he was alone and planned to enjoy himself fully.
Just as he was about to enter, a girl in bright green clothes rushed from his side and touched the doorknob simultaneously as he did.
Seeing that her hand was on top of his, holding it gently because of her mistake, she quickly pulled back apologizing, her face flushed.
"I am sorry!"
"It's fine…" Yomite replied, feeling a bit weirded out by her behavior.
She was blushing from touching his hand? How can she get embarrassed about that?
Both of them entered the tavern, and Yomite sat down at the bar chair. The girl did the same and sat next to him, planning to order some ale for herself.
"What'll it be today?" Charles, the bartender, asked while wiping away at a glass as usual. He turned to Yomite, recalling his face, "If it isn't "Kaeya's" brother. I see that you are still alive…Lucky you."
Yomite smiled wryly, "Still alive?… Well yeah…Kaeya is a very interesting person. Anyway, I am here to drink and not to talk about him. I am kind of new when it comes to drinks around these parts, so can you give me a recommendation for today?"
"Sure thing, but make sure you have enough Mora, or else I will put it onto Kaeya's tab." He poured him the special of the day and placed the glass on the table in front of him.
"This drink is the strongest we have currently. It was transported from a faraway land called Snezhnaya. The drink is called Cyka Vodka. No Idea what it means, don't ask me…We tried to sell it to a few people already, but they said it was too strong."
"Vodka?"
Yomite squinted his eyes at the familiar brand.
He brought it before his lips, then gulped down the entire contents of the container. Immediately, feeling a hot change inside of his throat and stomach.
He wasn't really used to having a heavy drink for the leisure of it. It wasn't something he usually indulged in, but once in a while, it wasn't bad.
Back in his world, he indulged in things such as wine, beer, or sake. He never tried anything stronger, but seeing the familiar alcohol he heard so much about in his old world, he couldn't help but want to try it out, now that it was here before his eyes.
"Yes, today's special is indeed the limited edition Cyka Vodka, but so far, no one was able to handle more than two shots." Charles turned to the girl sitting next to him and continued, "So, you are here again, Venti the bard…If I am correct, Master Diluc doesn't allow you to drink as you are still too wet behind your ears. So keep those hands away from my alcohol."
The woman giggled and begged with a soothing voice, "I drank lots of drinks yet too many to remember, so pretty please let me have some mister Bartender!"
Charles rolled his eyes and replied, "Keep those rhymes away from me, please…I listen enough to bards every day, and at this point, it's hurting my head. Like…for real."
Yomite's interest was piqued, "A bard? You are a bard?"
Venti turned and faced Yomite, "I am a bard, big shot, oh yes! Hurray to the Seven gods that bless!"
Yomite snorted at her reply, and Charles sighed, "This bard comes here almost every single day lately, expecting payment in apples or alcohol…"
"Hoh, a bard how great. I always wanted to listen to one, and it's even a cute girl at that. Sing me something." Yomite anchored his elbow on the table and tucked his fist under his chin, turning his head to look at "her".
He then grabbed the Vodka bottle from the counter and poured himself a few more shots. Charles didn't stop him, as he finally found someone he could use to get rid of the bottle. It would be a shame to just throw it away as it was pretty expensive.
After four more shots, Yomite could already feel the alcohol now dominating his system, his sight blurred a bit and his temples pounded.
He then reached out his hand to his bag, giving Venti three hundred Mora, expecting to hear her beautiful voice, adequate for his payment. He didn't know how much he was supposed to give to a bard, so he didn't give out too much or too little.
He felt like listening to something refreshing during his relaxing drinking session. Sometimes it was just better to drink your worries and problems away.
In his old world, he always had headphones tucked into his ears.
While working, while reading novels, while eating. Pretty much whenever he had the opportunity to.
The lack of technology and music was starting to bother Yomite and it wasn't even two days since he arrived here.
He would have to do something about this in the future, but he already had a few things on his mind and planned on getting rich by selling his ideas.
As such, he wanted to hear the unknown melody and songs of this world.
He was even more interested when he noticed that the girl had a lyre, which was an instrument you could almost never even see in the popular genres.
"Heh…I'm honored, I'm flattered, this meeting really mattered…But as for the rest, I came to the conclusion, to wake you up from your delusion…I spied my little bundle of joy, but to correct you, I am just a little boy! Te-he!" Venti sang with his calm and soft voice, strumming the lyre and sending Yomite a cute wink afterward.
Upon hearing that, Yomite widened his eyes, "You? A boy? No, you are fucking not! Stop spouting jokes! You are clearly a girl!" He chuckled, closing his eyes and taking yet another sip of the beverage he bought. It was truly delicious.
He may have been a bit drunk, but even then he didn't believe Venti's words one bit.
Venti seemed conflicted as he murmured, "No, really, I am a—"
"—I Said… No… You're… Fucking… Not…" He spelled it out for him, almost crushing the glass in his hands.
"—Ok-Okay…" Venti recovered from Yomite's sudden outrage and continued singing, "*Cough* *Cough*…Who are you that I should have to lie? When the night comes falling from the sky…"
"Hear the voice of the male Bard! Who present, past, and future sees, whose ears have heard, the Sevens Word, for I am Venti the Bard, Traveler, Musician and a Rhyming star. Also the three-times best bard of the city of Mondstadt, but that's beside the point." He gloated about his accomplishment towards the end of his introduction.
"I get it, I wanted you to sing me a song… not to spout these cringe-worthy rhymes in a form of a poem…They are killing me…please stop…" Yomite let out a cross between a snarl and a groan as he pounded his head onto the table.
Charles nodded in agreement. He never really understood the beauty of poems or rhymes so he was glad when Venti finally stopped.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Horrocks, ook wel Horrocks Beach genoemd, is een plaats in de regio Mid West in West-Australië.

Geschiedenis
Horrocks werd vernoemd naar Joseph Lucas Horrocks, een gevangene die in 1852 in Fremantle arriveerde. Hij werkte er in de medische afdeling van het gevangenendepot en werd een jaar later door een tekort aan medisch personeel naar de nieuwe nederzetting Port Gregory gezonden. In 1856 werd Horrocks' straf opgeheven. Hij bleef zich voor de gevangenen in de streek inzetten en bouwde het eerste kerkje van Northampton.

Het dorp ontwikkelde zich als vakantieoord op het einde van de 19e eeuw. Het gebied werd door de eigenaars van de aanpalende pastorale lease aan het district afgestaan. Een kreeftenvissersvloot vond er tijdens het kreeftenseizoen beschutting in de nabijgelegen baaien.

Beschrijving
Horrocks maakt deel uit van het lokale bestuursgebied (LGA) Shire of Northampton, een landbouwdistrict met Northampton als hoofdplaats. Het is een vissersdorpje dat in de vakantieperiodes door vakantiegangers wordt aangedaan.

In 2021 telde Horrocks 161 inwoners.

Ligging
Horrocks is een kustplaats aan de Indische Oceaan, 488 kilometer ten noordnoordwesten van de West-Australische hoofdstad Perth, 92 kilometer ten zuidzuidoosten van Kalbarri en 22 kilometer ten westen van het aan de North West Coastal Highway gelegen Northampton.

Externe link
 Shire of Northampton

Plaats in West-Australië

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Finding appropriate space-saving storage solutions in London can be a tricky task, especially today when organizing additional storage at home has become a hot topic.
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It must be everyone's dream to celebrate something big in a very intimate way surrounded by your loved ones. That's what Charlie & Yonna exactly did on their wedding day. It was very intimate and memorable, and the most interesting part is they chose to throw the holy matrimony on December 1st, at Yonna's house in BSD area. While the reception was held on December 4th at Mulia Hotel Ballroom.
We stood by for the two events in two different venues and in separated days. We made sure every single detail of preparation was perfect. So that Charlie & Yonna's big day wouldn't be ruin because of unneccesarry errors. Charlie is a very fun guy to be with and Yonna is such a bubbly darling, they are really a perfect match. The house was decorated beautifully by Stupa Casea for tents and flooring decoration, and also by Emerys Florist for the flowers decoration, handbouquet and corsages. While the reception venue was decorated by Lotus Design.
Gratefully, everything ran really well which make Charlie & Yonna, and also the guests really enjoy this wedding. We were helped by some of the best vendors in town, Susi Kleo for make up & haird do, Tina Andrean for wedding gown, Levina for catering, Freyja for photography, Life Style for video, Gordon Blue for wedding Cake, Princess for sound system and lighting, entertainment by us, and MC with the one and only Bigson Alandro and also with the lovely Ary Kirana.
While for the reception, the MC was Emil Ariyanto, and entertainment was by Acoustic Punch (Chamber & Sound System) and DJ Crip (After Party), wedding cake by Timothy Cake, invitation by Siem Offset and souvenir by Red Ribbon.
We couldn't ask for a more well-prepared event than this. We believe the marriage which started as happy as this one shall continue with a lot of much happiness ahead.


text:
Superyacht sales rise amidst pandemic boom and billionaire splash out
Category: #business | By Nikita Chaurasia | Date: 2021-11-10 |
The world is reportedly witnessing an unprecedented surge in the demand for superyachts amidst growing number of billionaires and elevated inclination towards escaping crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per The Superyachts Group, an industry publication, purchases of luxury watercrafts longer than 30 meter (98ft) rose by over 8% in the first nine months of 2021 as compared to the same period in 2019. According to sources, sales in 2021 have been at a peak, significantly outperforming the revenues generated during the past 12 years.
It is worth noting that Superyachts are priced at a steep USD 10 million if purchased secondhand and can cost nearly USD 600 million when new.
Over 200 new vessels have left the port for the first time between January and September 2021, marking an increase from just 165 yachts in the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, an additional 330 new orders have been placed and are in the pipeline for delivery.
Alberto Galassi, CEO of Italian yacht builder Ferretti was quoted saying that the pandemic has highlighted how fragile life is. Delaying a luxury item is no longer an option for those who can afford it, Galassi added.
Notably, the number of people who can purchase these boats has increased tremendously, with Forbes reporting that there are 2,755 billionaires in the world right now; up by 660 from 2020.
In this context, Azimut Benetti, another prominent Italian yacht builder stated that U.S. clients have played a crucial role in propelling the demand, with a 'real boom' that began last spring.
Prominent industry tycoons who own superyachts include Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, music producer David Geffen, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; whose superyacht supposedly cost approximately USD 500 million.
Last May, Mr. Geffen was criticized after he posted about being 'isolated' on his luxury yacht and hoping everyone else was 'staying safe' during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source credit: https://news.sky.com/story/superyacht-sales-soar-thanks-to-pandemic-and-growing-numbers-of-billionaires-12463991


Do you have a blog or a website? Do you currently have a large following of subscribers? What if you quickly experienced a change in visitors or in ranking of your online portal? These help website success tips will help you to maximize your websites presence on the Internet.
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In addition to updating keywords, descriptions and Meta Tags as needed, you will also need to resubmit your website to Search Engines on a set schedule. Every month or so is a good strategy. Also you will need to compose great and intriguing content that gets people talking and sharing your posts on major social media outlets.
Be sure to have a Google Analytics account and to have your website properly tracked. Also, be sure your Google Webmaster account is appropriately linked to the account and connected to the relevant domain name. Requesting that your website be crawled is a good option. Hiring a competent Webmaster is probably the best idea.
You will need to do routine maintenance to stay in visible position on Google and other Search Engines. This work is time intensive so unless you have a lot of free time you should benefit the expertise of a qualified Webmaster or SEO company.


text:
package fi.cosky.sdk;
import java.util.Date;

/*
 * This file is subject to the terms and conditions defined in
 * file 'LICENSE.txt', which is part of this source code package.
 */

public class RoutingProblemSummaryData extends BaseData{
	public static String MIMEType = "application/vnd.jyu.nfleet.problemsummary";
	public static String MIMEVersion = "2.0";

	private int Id;
	private String Name;
	private Date Modified;
	private String State;
	private int Progress;
	private RoutingProblemSettingsData Settings;
	private SummaryData Summary;

	public int getId() {
		return Id;
	}
	public void setId(int id) {
		Id = id;
	}
	public String getName() {
		return Name;
	}
	public void setName(String name) {
		Name = name;
	}
	public Date getModified() {
		return Modified;
	}
	public void setModified(Date modified) {
		Modified = modified;
	}
	public String getState() {
		return State;
	}
	public void setState(String state) {
		State = state;
	}
	public int getProgress() {
		return Progress;
	}
	public void setProgress(int progress) {
		Progress = progress;
	}
	public RoutingProblemSettingsData getSettings() {
		return Settings;
	}
	public void setSettings(RoutingProblemSettingsData settings) {
		Settings = settings;
	}
	public SummaryData getSummary() {
		return Summary;
	}
	public void setSummary(SummaryData summary) {
		Summary = summary;
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Mintel Press Office
Fashionistas cause sales of sportswear to sprint: UK sports goods sales estimated to surpass £7 billion in 2016
Mintel Press Team
Available 24 hours a day, Mintel's global public relations team is pleased to provide accredited journalists with access to our research, arrange interviews with our expert analysts and share the latest insights across categories and countries.
August 08th, 2016August 08th, 2016
Move over athletes, it's the fashion-set who are causing a surge in sportswear sales. New research from Mintel estimates that sales of sports goods will reach a personal best of £7 billion in 2016, up 6% compared to 2015.
The race in sales comes as more Brits are lacing up their trainers and donning their tracksuits all in the name of fashion. Half (50%) of those who have bought sports clothing, footwear, equipment or accessories in the past 12 months* did so for non-sports use. And while 34% of Brits have bought fashionable sportswear that can be worn when not exercising, 11% have purchased celebrity sportswear collections. Furthermore, one third (32%) of purchasers say they prefer to buy from sports retailers who follow the latest fashion trends.
What's more, it seems high levels of consumer interest in health and wellness trends is also driving growth in the athleisure market. Currently, over half (53%) of UK consumers take part in sport at least once a week, with almost one in six (16%) exercising five times a week or more. Younger consumers, in particular, are taking the 'no pain, no gain' mantra to heart, with over one quarter (28%) of those aged 16-24 exercising five times a week or more. As a result, younger consumers are the most likely group to have bought sports products over the past year, with three in four (75%) Brits aged 16-24 purchasing new items.
50% of Brits who bought sports clothing, footwear, equipment or accessories in the past 12 months* did so for non-sports use
Samantha Dover, Retail Analyst at Mintel, said:
"The sports goods market continues to grow at an exceptional rate. Driven by a rising interest in health and wellness amongst young consumers, coupled with an increasing acceptance of casual dressing, the athleisure trend is dominating the sector. The success of the market has seen increasing levels of competition from non-specialists, and more than ever, retailers need to establish their position in a crowded sector."
In particular, with the Olympics and Paralympics taking place this summer, Mintel predicts that the Games will heighten consumer interest in sports fashion and fitness. Previous Mintel research reveals that growth in the sports product market peaks in the years that key sporting events fall. For instance, in 2012 during the London Games sports goods sales rose by 7%.
"A number of high-profile designers have kitted out the Olympic teams again this year and, with all eyes on the athletes, merchandise and associated sports products are particularly well-placed to succeed. Beyond official merchandise, general activewear sales are likely to lift as consumers get caught-up in the Olympic hype." Samantha adds.
Overall, 54% of Brits have bought sports clothing, footwear, equipment or accessories in the past 12 months*, rising to 59% of men. While they're most likely to purchase sports goods, Mintel research indicates that men are also more likely to have bought sporting apparel for non-sports use: on average 50% of purchasers bought sport clothing for non-sports use, rising to 55% of men.
Additionally, it seems it's those channelling the likes of Mo Farah and Christine Ohuruogu are the most fashion-savvy. Of those who have bought sports goods in the past year, 45% did so for running or jogging. In comparison, over one quarter (28%) bought new sports gear for going to the gym and 23% did so for cycling. However, it seems that some sports are less fashion-forward than others, as just 7% bought new items for yoga or pilates and the same proportion (7%) did so for rugby.
When deciding which items to invest in, it seems it's a case of the best foot forward as trainer sales are gaining speed. Of specialist sporting goods sales, Mintel forecasts that footwear sales will make up 34% in 2016, up from 29% in 2014. However, clothing will still dominate at 54%; however, this is down from 59% in 2014.
"Whilst clothing continues to be the dominant category, footwear is an increasingly crucial part of any sports retailer's assortment. The substantial growth we're seeing in the footwear segment is likely driven by the increased acceptance of sports clothing in society. In particular, athletic footwear has become a big, mainstream fashion trend." Samantha adds.
Finally, Mintel research reveals that there are a number of consumers who are looking to invest in products in order to avoid getting hot and sweaty when exercising. Over one third (37%) of Brits say they have bought or would be interested in buying beauty or grooming products that improve appearance during or after exercise, for instance, redness reducing creams. Consumers aged 25-34 are particularly interested in these products, with almost one quarter (23%) having already purchased them and a further 34% saying they haven't yet bought these products, but would be interested in doing so in the future.
"Beauty products that appeal to consumers with an active lifestyle are increasingly prominent in the sports sector. An emerging theme, we have seen a number of brands and retailers entering and trialing this market over the last year, and the interest from consumers indicates that there is definitely room for the trend to grow." Samantha concludes.
*12 months to May 2016
Press review copies of Mintel's Sports Goods Retailing UK 2016 report and interviews with Retail Analyst Samantha Dover are available on request from the press office.
Hungry for a bargain: Food discounter sales set to grow over 10% in 2020
While COVID-19 has proved catastrophic for many of Britain's retailers, new research from Mintel reveals that this year has been a success story for food discounters, such as ...
Christmas is still on the agenda as festive spending set to fall just 0.4% in 2020
While Christmas 2020 will be challenging for retailers and consumers alike, latest research from Mintel reveals that most Brits are striving to have a good festive period with ...


Melt the butter at high temperature, but without browning it, in a sauté pan. Brown the meat approx. 2 min. on every side. Add the other ingredients. Boil the meat approx. 5 hours at low heat. Take the meat out and pull it apart with forks.
Cut the avocados, remove the stone and scrape the flesh out with a spoon. Mash it with a fork. Half the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Chop the rest of the tomato into small cubes and mix them together with the avocado and the rest of the ingredients. Taste and season, then place the guacamole covered in the fridge until serving.
Mix corn flour, wheat flour, salt and baking soda. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and crumble it into the flour mixture. Add the water little by little and knead the dough. The dough must not be sticky or dry. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll them into thin tortillas (about 15 cm in diameter). Let a pan heat up. Bake the tortillas one at a time with high heat approx. ½ min. on each side - until they are baked through. Keep them warm in a towel until serving. Serve the warm tortillas with beef, guacamole, crème fraiche and shredded cheese. Decorate with cilantro and chili.
Add finely sliced iceberg lettuce - it tastes good and adds extra filling.


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Fall STEAM Week
Spring STEAM Week
The Imperative for Fostering Creativity in Students
By Joshua Bolkan
Peter and Paul Reynolds say that human beings are superheros and that our superpower is creativity. And the twin brothers know a thing or two about creativity. Peter is a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator and co-founder of FableVision, an educational media company. Paul is also a co-founder of FableVision and runs the company as CEO. Peter and Paul recently gave a keynote address about creativity at the CUE 2018 conference in Palm Springs.
STEAM Universe: You describe creativity as a "human superpower." It made me think about how it supercharged our ability to adapt. Is that what you were getting at or something else? What's different about human creativity that makes it a superpower?
Peter: When I read my books about creativity to kids in school I will always follow up with discussions about creativity and I often refer to it as a "superpower" they all possess — which, if not used on a regular basis, will disappear from their grasp. It elicits some great gasps from the audience and of course, I am there encourage them NOT to let go of it. Planting this seed to retain control of their creative compass, their own navigation decisions. Creative thinkers know how to adapt to the unexpected. Life throws you curveballs. Your "superpowers" can help you hit the ball — or throw down the bat and go sailing.
Paul: Certainly the ability to adapt is a key attribute of creativity. As Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia make clear in their book, Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry Into the Nature and Implications of Expertise, that we must fundamentally rethink how we understand and nurture "adaptive expertise," which is the only thing that leads to completely new insights, innovation, invention. They warn, "In what is coming to be called the 'knowledge age,' the health and wealth of societies depends increasingly on their capacity to innovate. People in general — not just a specialized elite — need to work creatively with knowledge."
Our species thrives today because we have the power of imagination — to imagine things that do not yet exist. To vision solutions that emerge as dreams — captured as words scribbled down — sketch in the margins — and brought to life by making, failing, trying again.
As historian and author Yuval Noah Hirari (Sapiens — A Brief History of Humankind) notes, "The real difference between us and chimpanzees is the mysterious glue that enables millions of humans to cooperate effectively. This mysterious glue is made of stories, not genes.... This is why we rule the world, and chimpanzees are locked up in zoos and research laboratories." Because we humans share a common imagination, we can work together to imagine, build, invent and change the world.
STEAM Universe: How do you mitigate fear and self-doubt to nurture creativity? How do we know the difference between unreasonable fear and self-doubt and reasonable caution and self-assessment?
Peter: That's a great question. Becoming completely fearless can get you in trouble, or worse, but I'd venture to say that public education doesn't offer nearly enough opportunities to give kids practice exploring those boundaries of reasonable and unreasonable fears when learning something new.
Paul: We're often our own worst enemies when it comes to fostering our own creativity. It's easier to say, "I can't" than "I can." Our own negative self-scripting can shut us down before we even try. And if you don't try, you'll never be on the road to mastery. "Create Bravely" is increasingly our mantra these days. It's a message for kids and adults — maybe even more for the grownups who gave up on their creativity long ago and opted for a safer journey where they'll be unlikely to discover their unique potential.
We're happy to see that the power of storytelling can help shape and reshape our self-concept — our belief in our own potential. Our picture books, which are created for all ages — like The Dot, Ish, Sky Color, Happy Dreamer, Going Places — have proven to be powerful tools to inspire and transform lives. The nice things is, if you spot someone questioning their creative potential, handing them a storybook is a pretty non-threatening way to help them out.
Within the practical constraints of physical safety, we encourage throwing caution to the wind. Take risks you feel comfortable with, taking little steps toward the big goals. You'll be happier if you can say, "I can be this innovative and not get fired" rather than wonder why you never tried to unbox your creative spirit.
STEAM Universe: In an education environment in which it often seems like every minute must be devoted to preparing for one mandated test or another, how can teachers devote more time and energy to creativity?
Peter: That's a hugely important question. I'm not a fan of high-stakes standardized testing which eats up a lot of resources — time, money, energy — and its ripple effect changes the way classrooms breathe. The lack of "oxygen" is a problem, but — ah! — creative thinkers LOVE problems. When the going gets tough, the creative get going. With enough of us noodling through how to a) dismantle the high-stake tests and b) support and properly resource creative educators, we will make dramatic changes in the way kids learn.
I also like to encourage teachers to nurture their own creative spirit. It doesn't have to be about the students and curriculum primarily. Splash paint, sing, build, read a poem, write a picture book … anything that stirs your own creative spirit. I guarantee that this renewed energy radiates. It is bound to change the way your classroom feels, the way it breathes.
Paul: Creativity is a disposition toward all learning — it can be an overlay to everything you're mandated to do. You may have to deliver 418 facts about the Civil War, but is there a more creative way to do that? Is there a more creative way for your students to show what they know? It's hard work, but creative educators know how to satisfy the current demands of the system while navigating more creative ways to teach and learn.
We need to move past the often debilitating effects of mindless standardized testing on teachers and students. As the world wakes up to the critical need to foster creativity, our hope is that we will also see innovations in how schools measure success.
STEAM Universe: It seems we can't talk about education for five minutes these days without someone bringing up STEM or STEAM ed and the gaps around it, from gaps in STEM achievement for girls and some minority groups to the gap between the workforce's skills and employers' needs. What role do you see for creativity in helping educators fight to fill some of those holes?
Peter: I love that this is happening. A decade ago we were not chatting every five minutes about this evolved way of connecting disciplines. We were still stuck in the "silo era." I'm an advocate for continuing to "connect the dots" between subjects, between school and the community it exists in, but also to communities of kindred spirits around the planet. Technology is blurring boundaries. Creative teachers, who are supported by a culture of creativity in a school, will continue connecting dots in wild and wonderful ways that we have not yet discovered. A great example is a teacher in Iowa, Terry Shay, who created International Dot Day based on my book The Dot, which has brought together over 10 million students, educators and librarians who celebrate creativity and courage, across every grade level and subject, including STEM.
Paul: It's important to define what we mean by the "A" in STEAM. Arts made the STEAM acronym easier to remember, but that often has people thinking it's an activity you'd find in the art room or arts & crafts workshop. It would lead to less confusion if the letter "A" was replaced with "C" representing Creativity, which is what the essential driver is in the model. "STEM" is a tool kit. "Creativity" is the set of attributes that allows one to use the toolkit in ways that produce novel solutions to problems at hand.
Performing well on standardized STEM tests doesn't produce innovation and invention. Creativity does. Industry is hungry for invention — the next breakthrough — and the torrent of revenue generated by disruptive innovations. Society demands innovation to solve increasing complex problems — and in coming decades countless millions of lives will increasingly depend on it.
Research is suggesting that we need to foster these creative skills as early as we can in young learners. As San Francisco-based Center for Childhood Creativity notes, "Identifying and nurturing creative potential in the early years of childhood is crucial for raising the next generation of innovators whose mindset and problem solving skills will solve today's (and tomorrow's) greatest challenges." (Inspiring a Generation to Create: Critical Components of Creativity in Children. Hadani, et. al., 2015)
STEAM Universe: I think a lot of people tend to think of creativity as something mysterious that we don't control, and that it's often something we're born with, that it's more akin to a talent than a skill. Have your experiences as twins involved together in creative work that's about creative work informed your thinking about that nature/nurture divide with creativity? Could you talk a little about how, please?
Peter: So true. There seems to be a "switching yard" which might happen as early as 5th and 6th grade that sorts the creatives from the non-creatives, the artists from non-artists. So many folks fold up their creative wings early and tuck them away. You don't get better at the things you give up on. I suggest nurturing one's own "gentle rebel" spirit. Challenge any message that suggests that you are not creative — or that you have to be "proficient" according to someone else's rubric — tell the world to back off if you are finding joy in your own creating, your own creative musings and dabblings.
Paul: The foundational research is clear. Creativity is not some kind of gift from the gods. It is a set of skills that can be developed over time — comfort level with ambiguity, associative thinking, ideation fluency, convergent and divergent thinking, etc. But pursuing a creative journey requires courage. You have to be OK with failure, and the "ish-ful" results you may experience as you navigate your way toward your most creative self.
As identical twins, who have always enjoyed a close relationship, we always had each to cheer each other on — and be each other's critical friend — with love, support and constructive input. If you want to stay the course as you navigate your most creative self, find that critical friend who can support you.
STEAM Universe: What questions do you have about creativity after working with it and trying to inspire it for years?
Peter: My big question is how do we break the cycle of "creativity crushing?" People who spend time with kids bring a lot of their own experience and baggage with them. The best way we can teach kids to be brave, expressive, creative is to show them what it looks like, but if you grew up without adults who were showing you how it is done, it is much more difficult to do. So we have some quick repair work — a good dose of mass therapy — to help adults get over it and to get them to stop denigrating their own art in front of kids — or worse, never showing their creative spirit to kids around them. I'm trying to do my part with my Creatrilogy series (The Dot, Ish, Sky Color). It's a stealth strategy by getting the message delivered via a "children's book" which I refer to more accurately as a picture book, but knowing full well that adults read with kids and they get a dose of the message themselves.
Paul: How can we remind "grown up children" to revisit their creative selves — and take on the hard fun of being creative makers and not just passive consumers — in a world where we are being numbed by a torrent of incoming content?
We like to ponder what would happen if we could help tap just 10 percent of the positive, creative human potential that goes undeveloped and wasted around the globe. It's exciting to imagine how we could help solve complex problems, and move the world to a better place.
To that end, how can we better foster creativity in young learners — with a focus on positive, purposeful work?
Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at jbolkan@gmail.com.
How Esports Can Support Powerful Learning
Competition Heats Up Among Esports Leagues
Gaming Skills Net Thousands in Scholarship Money
How Immersive Learning is Changing STEAM Education
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Gioca nel ruolo di palleggiatrice nel .

Carriera
La carriera di Taylor Brauneis inizia a livello scolastico, giocando per la formazione della Prairie Ridge High School. Terminate le scuole superiori continua a giocare anche a livello universitario, prendendo parte alla Division I NCAA: dal 2010 al 2011 gioca per la University of Louisville, per poi trasferirsi alla University of Florida, dove gioca dal 2012 al 2013.

Nella stagione 2014 firma il suo primo contratto professionistico, ingaggiata nella Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino dalle Lancheras de Cataño, senza tuttavia terminare l'annata. Dopo un periodo di inattività, torna in campo nella stagione 2016-17, ingaggiata dal , club dell'Austrian Volley League Women col quale vince lo scudetto.

Palmarès

Club

2016-17

Collegamenti esterni


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Fosjoas Self-balancing Electric Scooter Affects Andy's Life Significantly
Andy, as a software engineer, has been working too late every day. When asked why he always works overtime, he told us that there is nothing to do when he gets home early. Hence, he always pays almost all of his attention to work. His life does not change until he finds the Fosjoas electric self-balancing unicycle, a smart and cute gadget. It has become his commuting tool, exercise tool and entertainment tool. A boring and uninteresting life will be changed by something small.
In the first place, the Fosjoas self-balancing electric scooter is Andy's commuting tool. Sometimes, he takes his car to go to work and sometimes, he goes to work by bus, which is as boring as his work. After he rides Fosjoas intelligent electric scooter to go work, his working efficiency has greatly enhanced, to his surprise, as he has more time to enjoy the beauty of the city and a better mood and spirit is the key factor for a higher efficiency.
Then, the Fosjoas electric self-balancing scooter is Andy's exercise tool. A regular riding of self-balancing scooter is helpful to people' health and state of mind, as it builds up rider's body. Riding half an hour of self-balancing scooter will consume certain calories, which is conducive to reduce weight and keep a good figure.
Also, the Fosjoas electric self-balancing unicycle that is adopting aerospace attitude control theory, fuzzy software algorithm and gyroscope system to maintain balance by leaning forward and backward is Andy's entertainment tool. Taking picnic or a journey will be much more intriguing with Fosjoas electric self-balancing scooter. In a word, Fosjoas self-balancing electric scooter affects Andy's life significantly, from daily commute and daily exercise.
Previous:Fosjoas Sitting-Posture Electric Scooter U1 Knows What Riders Need
Next:With Fosjoas V2 Unicycle Electric Scooter Being Yourself and Liberate Human Nature


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"NICOS NEOPHYTOU & CO." was established in 1994 by its General Manager, the Lawyer Mr. Nicos Neophytou. On 2006 the partnership changed the name to "NICOS NEOPHYTOU LAW PARTNERS".
The firm has grown steadily and despite the firm is small in terms of number of lawyers recruited, it is considered as highly reputable in terms of skill and experience as well as for its professionalism in treading clients, it's practicality in approaching legal issues and for the comprehensive services it offers for modern businesses and individuals.
Furthermore, the Firm offers legal services for modern business such as Corporate Law, Commercial Law, Business Law, Property Law, Trusts and Taxation, Civil Law, Criminal Law, Financial Law, Construction and Engineering, Contract Law, Immigration Law, Agency arrangement, Shipping maritime Law and International Financial Transaction, Investments, Securities.
Our Firm cooperates extensively with foreign law firms in Kiev, Moscow, Athens and all over the world. Fully staffed by local lawyers who advise a wide range of clients in all of the above aspects.
Through our extensive network of corresponding and associations around the world we are able to offer our legal advice in every part of the world when is necessary. Through our knowledge, dynamism and confidence we are ready to meet and service the needs of our client.
The firm employs a number of secretarial staff and associates with a number of auditors, accountants, agents who provide the necessary back-up support to the firm's Lawyers, dealing separately with bookkeeping and accounting, banking, and corporate matters etc.


875 Happy Valentine's Day Cards Distributed!
This year we teamed up with DoSomething.org, a national website dedicated to students doing positive things for others, through an initiative called Love Letters to have 520 cards made for our seniors. Additionally, the Kiwanis Club along with their affiliates Iroquois Elementary K-Kids, Klein Elementary Library Kids, Harborcreek Builders Club and Circle-K at Penn State – The Behrend College made another 355 cards.
We were so pleasantly surprised to see 875 cards some to our office! With just over 300 clients, each senior client and under 60 client with disabilities will receive from 2 to 3 delightful home made cards! We are grateful to all who participated in this program from across Pennsylvania from the brand new DoSomething.org project and The Kiwanis Club right here in Erie County.


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Published: August 26, 2015, 4:00 pm
Tags: News, National
Baby panda dies days after birth at National Zoo
Remaining cub appears to be strong, behaving normally
One of the two panda cubs born this weekend at the National Zoo has died, according to the zoo's official Twitter account.
"We are sad to report that the smaller of the two panda cubs has died," the zoo said in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon.
Giant panda Mei Xiang delivered two offspring hours apart on Saturday night. Zoo officials said at the time that the cubs were "vulnerable" given their size, but both appeared to be healthy.
The remaining cub appeared to be strong and behaving normally, The Associated Press reported.
Mei Xiang has two other children: Tai Shan, born in 2005 and who lives in China, and Bao Bao, who is 2.
KSAT


Adam Tony Olsson, 23, died on April 22 last year when a dead tree he was helping to bring down fell on him on a farm near Bertrand Bridge, Tikorangi.
He had only been a week on the job.
Mr Olsson's death was one of 10 in the forestry industry last year.
As a result the Government is putting a $3 million investigation in place to look into work practices.
The Taranaki forestry company R&S Dreaver Shelter Trimmers Ltd appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety in Employment Act in failing to keep Mr Olsson safe.
It was ordered to pay a total of $80,000.
But despite fessing up in court, the company owner – a bloke by name of Richard Dreaver – later said the intense Government scrutiny the forestry industry was receiving as a result of industry deaths, coupled with the hefty fines, was undeserved.
Neither had there been any trainers in the region for the last 5-6 years at the very time the industry was booming with unskilled labour, he said.
To give him his due, Dreaver has done the hard yards in his industry.
He said he started his business when he was 20 and was now 48.
He prided himself on being very focused on training and cited his company's apprentice achieving the top national apprenticeship award in 2008.
He probably raised a good question when he asked why Mr Olsson's supervisor on the day of the death, one Warren Lerke, had not been charged too. He was no longer an employee.
Mr Olsson was "desperate" to learn to be a tree feller, Mr Dreaver said. He had spent $3500 on his own chainsaw and other tools.
His family was very angry at his death, Mr Dreaver said.
We have learned a bit more from Worksafe.
It says its investigation found that after making chainsaw cuts into the tree Mr Olsson initially went to a safety zone outside the area where the tree could fall so that his colleague could use an excavator to complete the felling of the tree.
But he subsequently moved back towards the tree and was struck by falling debris, which caused fatal head injuries.
"Adam Olsson was fresh on the job. He had no formal forestry industry qualification and had never previously worked on a tree-felling operation. His employer had a legal duty to ensure he was properly supervised," said WorkSafe New Zealand's general manager Health and Safety Operations, Ona de Rooy.
"Mr Olsson was felling trees with a colleague who was operating a long track excavator with a grapple hook, which meant under the best practice guidelines for tree-felling he was effectively in control of the operation – despite only having a matter of days' experience on the job.
"He should never have been put in that position.
It does seem to Alf that you don't have be an industry expert to know that it might not be too bright, putting a rookie in charge of an operation like this.
Blaming a lack of safety inspectors is like a burglar saying – as he pleads for leniency – that it was the police's fault for not having a patrol car in that area at the time of the offence.
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 15th, 2014 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Safety.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


If you can't make it work on paper, it's going to be freaking difficult to make it work in real life.
It is one thing to take a piece of paper, fold it into an airplane shape, hurl it across a room, and make it fly. It's quite another to construct an airplane in real life. This might seem like an obvious thing to point out, but this is often what happens when people try to build a business. Because they are so eager to build and test their idea, they often overlook certain elements of the business plan. Then, when they try to make it fly in reality, unexpected surprises or unplanned for events prevent it from getting off the ground. Here are three solid ways to make sure that the business you are building in 2D can stand on its own two legs (or four legs, or 1,000 if you're building the business equivalent of a millipede) when it goes to market. You want to create a killer business plan, not a business plan killer.
Desirability is at the core of any business model. But it's not enough to simply solve a customer problem with a product/service.
We often say that innovation is the exploitation of creative ideas. Therefore, the goal is not only to build an amazing product or service that people totally love, but also to create a sustainable business around it. And yes, even for NGOs or social innovations who aren't in the game to get rich or die trying, it is important to have a sustainable business. You won't be able to help your target group for long without one.
You need to make sure that the problem being solved is one that somebody is willing to pay for.
Understanding your solution's growth potential is crucial to determining the viability of your business model.
If you need 1 million customers to make 10 million in revenue in a market of only 4 million customers, that's going to be extremely difficult.
Testing with throughput models can help you gauge the viability of your business and understand whether to pivot and focus on other markets.
What are throughput models? Conversion funnels that determine how many leads you need to generate in order to secure a certain amount of paying customers. For example, if you assume a conversion rate of 10% and you need 1 million customers to make 10 million in revenue, this means that you need 10 million leads. Ask yourself: are there even 10 million people in the market for your product/service?
Conversion rates of SaaS (Software as a Service, aka. on-demand software) are notoriously low. Dropbox, for example, has a free-to-paid conversion rate of about 4%, which is considered a really good rate. Spotify, which has a ridiculously high conversion rate of 27%, is considered extremely rare. Like super Blue Moon eclipse rare. Most companies can be happy with a conversion rate of 1%.
Unit economics are the bread and butter of a business model. They determine whether you're getting more value per unit (i.e. revenue per unit) than the variable costs to produce and deliver it. Basically, unit economics establishes whether there is a good balance between what you're going to earn and what you're going to spend. For example, on the spending side, you need to consider how much it will cost to sell your goods and how much it will cost to acquire your customer.
Unit economics are the key indicator of how profitable your business is going to be as it shows you are making enough money per unit to contribute to the fixed costs and eventually break even. This is important for startups since they will have heavy investments up front. Even though they might not be making a profit in the early days, unit economics should show that profitability is possible down the line.
Research industry benchmarks for the cost of goods sold (COGS) and the customer acquisition cost (CAC). Compare this with your assumptions.
It's important to analyze different possible market scenarios to stress test your unit economics. If your CAC increases by 20%, do your unit economics still add up?
Is your business plan still alive? Great. If it needs resuscitating, or simply validating, this content should get you on the right path. We're sure that, like any good student, you still have questions. You're in luck! We're releasing a Business Model Innovation Playbook in a little under a month. In the meantime, keep tinkering and keep your eyes on the prize.


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The Philadelphia Eagles already made a big NFL Draft splash this year, trading up for the No. 2 pick to take North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz.
But their work isn't done, even if the rest of it figures to be less glamorous.
Though the Birds don't have a second-round pick -- they traded it to the Rams last offseason in the deal that brought Sam Bradford to Philly -- they are set to be on the clock Friday night in the third round of the draft.
With potential areas of needs at offensive tackle, running back and linebacker, among others, the Eagles have a multifaceted decision facing them.
The Eagles' starting left tackle, Jason Peters, is 34 and missed two games with injury last season. The team has talented right tackle Lane Johnson signed through 2020 but could use another young offensive lineman on the roster to make the impending transition away from Peters as smooth as possible.
Hawkins, projected as a second- or third-round pick would be a good candidate for the task. He was a four-sport athlete in high school and served as the Tigers' starting left tackle in 2015.
Perkins made a pre-draft visit to the NovaCare Complex and seems to have the traits coach Doug Pederson covets for a starting running back. After the Birds traded DeMarco Murray last month, there's room for a ball-carrier to compete or a starting spot.
We detailed Perkins' game and fit with the Eagles earlier this week.
Ngakoue also visited with the Eagles, which raised questions because many experts consider the Maryland product more suited to play in a 3-4 defense. Perhaps Philly would be interested in using Ngakoue's pass-rushing skills at defensive end in its 4-3 scheme, or seeing if he could transition into a role as a traditional standup linebacker, where the team needs depth.
Another pre-draft visitor, Kwiatkoski might be a reach in the middle of the third round but fits the mold of a versatile 4-3 linebacker. A converted safety, Kwiatkoski's quickness would be well-suited in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme, in which he'd play behind two aggressive defensive tackles.
The Eagles have a young wide corps that struggled to find its footing last season, and the group might welcome an infusion of talent. Mitchell, one of several wideouts to meet with the Eagles before the draft, is a former five-star recruit who ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.


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Wentworth House / MHN Design Union
The site is located on the southern ridges of Sydney Harbour at the crest of a gully which feeds into Vaucluse Bay. It is heavily wooded with mature eucalypt and palm trees dotted around the site. The site is characterised by a series of sandstone rock shelfs which occur at various heights as you descend from the street level.
© Richard Glover
Architects: MHN Design Union
Location: Vaucluse, Australia
Architect In Charge: Brian Meyerson
Photographs: Richard Glover
Text description provided by the architects. The site is located on the southern ridges of Sydney Harbour at the crest of a gully which feeds into Vaucluse Bay. It is heavily wooded with mature eucalypt and palm trees dotted around the site. The site is characterised by a series of sandstone rock shelfs which occur at various heights as you descend from the street level.
Fourth Floor Plan
The design brief was to provide a family home which provided generous amenity yet sat quietly within the landscape. Our intent was to capture the story of the site through the design of the house. From the outset we wanted to merge the house and land in a seamless way. Our response was to create a series of planar elements in both plan and section to define the spaces which interlock and extend into the landscape. Overlaying this idea is the l...


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When Miranda Rights Are Not Required
Since 1966, no court decision has been more impactful in criminal situations than the Miranda warning. In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court ruled that a suspect must be informed of his rights against self-incrimination and his right to legal counsel. While there is no precise language that must be used in advising a suspect of their Miranda rights, the warning must inform the suspect of his right to remain silent and that anything that is said can be used against the suspect. Also, the suspect has a right to counsel. Specific verbiage is not require to fulfill the Miranda warning requirement.
Normally, Miranda must be given if the suspect is not free to leave and is about to be questioned. There are essentially six elements for Miranda to apply:
1)Evidence must be collected;
2)Evidence must be testimonial, i.e. that is provide information relevant to the matter at hand;
3)Evidence must be obtained while suspect is in custody;
4)Evidence must be the fruit of the investigation;
5)Evidence must be proffered by an agent of the state;
6)Evidence must be offered by the state during the criminal prosecution;
So, are there incidents when the Miranda warning does not apply? Yes, there are. It's called the Emergency Exception or public safety exception and is applicable when the officers involved are responding to an emergency situation. The public safety exception applies where circumstances present a clear and present danger to the public's safety and the officers have reason to believe that the suspect has information that can end the emergency.
Miranda is a key element in the preservation of the rights of a suspect. In most instances, the law enforcement officers that have detained a suspect know more about the intricacies of Miranda than the suspect so the suspect should in most instances take advantage of the warning and keep silent while seeking legal counsel.
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Adobe Animate, previously Adobe Flash Professional, is an authoring environment (IDE) that can produce interactive solutions for running inside web browsers or for the desktop.
Adobe Animate CC is also a platform with 4 apps listed on AlternativeTo. Browse all 4 apps for Adobe Animate CC.
Adobe Animate CC (sometimes referred to as Adobe Flash, Flash, Flash Professional, Adobe Flash Professional, Adobe Animate, Animate) was added by edmsampaio in May 2009 and the latest update was made in Apr 2019. The list of alternatives was updated Mar 2019 There is a history of all activites on Adobe Animate CC in our Activity Log. It's possible to update the information on Adobe Animate CC or report it as discontinued, duplicated or spam.
Easily create engaging HTML5 animations and interactive web content without coding skills.
Alternatives to Adobe Animate CC for Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, Android and more. Filter by license to discover only free or Open Source alternatives. This list contains a total of 25+ apps similar to Adobe Animate CC.
In this post Adobe announces that Flash Professional is becoming Adobe Animate CC and suggests to use HTML5 in place of Flash!


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Police locate electric guitars stolen from Edmonton
The Calgary Police Service has located four electric guitars that are believed to have been stolen in Edmonton early on Sunday, April 1, 2018.
At approximately 6 p.m., on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, Calgary 9-1-1 was contacting various pawn shops around Calgary to alert them that five autographed, high-end electric guitars had been stolen from the Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton. The society is a not-for-profit organization that, in part, works with at-risk youth to help them develop their musical interests.
During one of these calls, the Calgary 9-1-1 call taker was told that someone was currently in the store trying to sell guitars matching that description. Police were immediately dispatched to a pawn shop in the 700 block of 16 Avenue N.W., and a man was arrested in the store with three of the guitars. A fourth guitar was later recovered during a search of a vehicle parked near the shop.
Police are still working to recover the last missing guitar.
Abubakar BAKAL, 24, of Edmonton, is charged with one count of possession of stolen property over $5,000 and faces six other unrelated charges in connection with outstanding warrants.
The Calgary Police Service is now in contact with the guitar owners to arrange the transportation of the property back to Edmonton.
The Edmonton Police Service investigation into the break and enter where the guitars were allegedly stolen is ongoing.


The adult moth has off-white forewings with black spots, with a black overlapping cluster around the margin. The hindwings grey or brown colour,fading to white at the bases. The head is white, and the thorax is white with two prominent black spots. The abdomen has alternating bands of brown and white hairs. The wingspan of the moth is about 2 cms.
Part 28 (1863), pp. 533-532, No. 20.


You have a couple options if you want to add beads to your knitting and we detail two of them – beading with a crochet hook and beading by pre-stringing them.
We'll be reviewing the crochet hook method in this tutorial.
This method is pretty simple! You just need an extra tool – a steel crochet hook in a very small size.
Often, these will have 2 ways to indicate the size – millimeters (pretty straightforward) and a simple number (like here, it's 11). The 11 actually stands for 11 zeroes and the more zeroes, the smaller. So, think of it as DOT ELEVEN ZEROES 1 (0.000000000001). So, a size 11 is actually smaller than a size 6. That's counter-intuitive so it's good to know.
BTW, I first heard about this when learning about paint brush sizing from my mom (thanks, Mom!) and it's served me well here too. Lesson – you never know when a seemingly random fact might come in handy, so soak up any information you learn because you never know when it might come in handy (and numerous studies show that continuing to learn as an adult is a great way to exercise your brain and stave off those nasty illnesses). So, you could learn something *and* be more healthy. A win-win, right?
Ok, back to what you came here for – beading with a crochet hook.
I actually have several sizes – started innocently when I realized that my hook didn't fit into the bead I wanted to use (and then I just decided to buy a set so the problem wouldn't happen again).
Although that also meant I had lots of sizes to lose around the house and in my notions boxes. IOW, I own LOTS more steel crochet hooks than I can find at any given time. YMMV and you've been warned.
I like to dump my beads into a small bowl with a lip that's a good couple of inches tall. This keeps the beads from running all over the place, but also allows me to take a look at them.
Make sure that your crochet hook will fit through the center of the bead and also that you can grab the yarn with it without splitting it too much (it can be a fine line). Unless you're using a laceweight yarn, be prepared for it to require a bit wrangling to get the bead onto to stitch, but it should be doable.
Once I'm done, I do return what's left of the beads to its original container – so be sure to keep that as well.
Work up until the point where you need to add a bead.
Take the crochet hook and put a bead on it.
Take your crochet hook with the bead on it, snag the stitch from the LN and then slide the bead down so it's on the stitch. Replace the stitch back on the LN so it's ready to be worked!
Here are a few detailed pics in case you feel confused or overwhelmed.
Knit that stitch (with the bead). You're done!
Here is our swatch after we've knit a few rows. You can see how secure it is.
And here is the WS – you see the bead on that side too.
See? Beading really isn't that hard. Honest.


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Local Food Banks Receive Boost From The Port Of Tyne.
in Featured, Ports and Shipping
Two food banks South and North of the River Tyne have received a boost in donations from employees at the Port of Tyne.
Donation boxes for Hebburn Helps in South Tyneside and The BAY Foodbank in North Tyneside have been put in place in locations across the Port – and they're filling up fast!
As Port of Tyne Chief Executive Officer, Matt Beeton explains:
"We recognise the importance of a thriving local community, and we're always looking at ways in which we can show our support. We've found that the donation boxes have been really popular with our staff."
Since being introduced in early November, the food bank initiative has seen all manner of non-perishable foodstuffs and healthcare items being donated, from tinned goods to toothpaste; sanitary products to baby food, helping hundreds of families who rely on the food banks.
Jo Durkin, Co-Founder of Hebburn Helps, said:
"We were delighted to hear that employees from the Port of Tyne wanted to help us out with donations for our food bank at Hebburn Helps.
"We support around 4,000 families locally, and we believe that no family should go hungry; the donations from the Port will go a long way towards making that happen."
Jackie Dickinson, Warehouse Manager at The BAY Foodbank, said:
"We are extremely grateful to staff at the Port of Tyne, who have pulled together to help their local communities.
"It's amazing how much of a difference a little kindness can make, and the impact it can have on those who are struggling the most. The donations from the Port will really help people living locally who are on low incomes or whose benefits have been delayed or changed."
Donation boxes are situated at the International Passenger Terminal in North Shields, the Harbour Office, as well as at various locations on the Port's Tyne Dock estate.
European short-sea and feeder ship operators are challenging efforts by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) to redefine container lashing...
GMA Warehousing & Transport is launching Microlistics' Warehouse Management System (WMS) across its Suffolk based warehousing operations, commencing with the...
Shipping Sector Proposes USD 5 Billion R&D Board To Cut Emissions.
The global maritime transport industry has submitted a proposal to form the world's first collaborative shipping R&D programme to help...


With over 20 years experience in the pawnbroking industry Nikolas Patrick showcase all their professional knowledge in Channel 4's new TV show Posh Pawnbrokers. Watch us daily on Channel 4 at 4.00pm!
At Nikolas Patrick we are available on the phone, via email or better still come and visit Patrick at Chislehurst or Charlie at Bexleyheath. For those wanting a private home consultation then just call or email us to arrange.
The Swiss watch collection at Nikolas Patrick is composed of refurbished, serviced and great condition watches from top designer brands such as Rolex, Cartier, Tag Heuer, and Breitling.
There are a variety of reasons as to why someone would want a valuation on their goods, whether you are looking to sell, pawn or trade we will give you a fair and well priced valuation.
Genuine Swiss watches have never been so popular. Gone are the days of one watch for life, ever changing trends make for constant timepiece upgrading. Get the right price with us.
Diamonds really are a girl's best friend, but they don't have to cost the earth. Contact us for a fully bespoke jewellery design service where we can make your vision a reality.
A full coat of armour may be a little big for the hallway but a trumpet is something to blow about! We have a range of specialist items that will be the talking point of any home or showroom.
Nikolas Patrick is a family run pawnbroking business with over 30 years experience in the industry. We offer high quality watch repair and servicing, making sure all of our items are in the best possible condition before being sold. We are passionate about our work and take great care when handling any of the goods in our possession – going from one loved home to another is a delicate process.


BCBG Max Azria the first fragrance under the name of the fashion house was launched in 2011. Created by Givaudan perfumerStephen Nilsen the fragrance defines the fruity flowery spirit of womanhood with a powdery shroud. The top notes dominate the lively nature of women with wild strawberry and cherry. The floral heart of jasmine rose lily of the valley and violet manifests tenderness. While the fougre base of musk sandalwood and orrisroot hint at the secretive feature. The exquisite flacon with the modified logo of the brand's butterflies as flower petals arouse your desire for this eau de toilette.


Paradigm shifts don't happen often, but lately they seem to have a way of creeping up on the payments and commerce ecosystem. Checks may be losing their grip on B2B payments, consumers are going digital and competitors are becoming partners to push the ecosystem forward.
The new era of retail is upon us as the digital disruptors are quietly — but pretty completely — turning the tables, and consumers are increasingly voting with their feet (and dollars) for the omnichannel age to become ubiquitous. And it's not just retail that's increasingly wired up. Even the massive B2B market looks like it's ready to throw off the shackles of the paper check (and all the fraud that comes with it). The smart move is increasingly to think differently, adaptively — and perhaps with an eye to partnerships, à la Samsung and Paypal.
$120 trillion: The value of the global B2B payments market.
71 percent: The share of businesses that report being the victim of actual or attempted check fraud.
55 percent: The share of mass merchant consumers who say they shop in both digital and physical channels.
41 percent: The share of grocery shoppers who only shop in a physical store.
$5.00: The gift balance PayPal users who link their PayPal accounts to Samsung Pay will receive.


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Honoring Ronald Reagan in London
Posted on June 11, 2009 by Baron Bodissey
Our Flemish correspondent VH writes:
Only a few days after the D-Day WWII memorials, concerning which the Dutch blog GeenStijl paid tribute to American soldiers with an impressive photo-series, it has been made public that there will be a President Ronald Reagan memorial in London as tribute to freedom and the victory of the Cold War: a statue, a plaque, and a piece of the Berlin Wall.
From The Young Conservative:
Westminster Council approves Reagan statue
London is to have its memorial to freedom after Westminster council granted full planning permission for a statue of Ronald Reagan outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. The monument will, appropriately, feature a section of the Berlin Wall. At a meeting of the council the planning request met with unanimous approval, and the council waived its 'minimum 10 years after death rule' to grant permission.
Steve Summers, chairman of Westminster City Council's planning applications sub committee, said: "Regardless of politics, nobody can dispute that President Reagan was a true ally of this country.
"During his presidency the term 'special relationship' reflected not just the close working partnership of our respective governments, but helped reinforce Britain's unquestionable cultural and historic ties with the United States. "Subsequent presidencies have continued that unique bond between our countries so it is only right and proper we exempt President Reagan, as a former head of state, from the usual rules on statues."
The memorial to Reagan will also feature a section of the Berlin wall, reflecting his decisive leadership which brought the Cold War to a bloodless end and dismantled Communism in Europe.
Mr Summers added: "Those who witnessed the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 described the feeling in the air that night as electric, as if some great force had been let loose and it is fitting we should pay tribute to Reagan's contribution to bringing down this barrier between east and west, and subsequently changing the world.
"The site which houses the US embassy is a fitting place to acknowledge this great man."
We understand that the Council's decision is a victory for the Conservative Way Forward group who have been pushing for the erection of the memorial for several years. The application was formally made on behalf of "The President Reagan Memorial Fund", by Mrs Jennie Elias, a CWF Executive member.
American Chas Fagan, who also crafted a statue of Reagan for the US Capitol, will sculpt the 10ft high bronze statue, which will stand on a circular 6ft Portland stone plinth; perhaps a fitting synthesis of British and American. Architects drawings and mock-ups of the statue can be viewed at Westminster Council's website.
TYC's Verdict: We look forward to the unveiling ceremony, and to London having a rallying point for freedom-lovers.
An afterword from VH:
The first comment underneath the GeenStijl article is [translated] "Can they please liberate us one more time?" and another: "Respect for the soldiers who fought and died there." and "Very impressive, should never be forgotten, Respect, serious…" and "Thanks soldiers, for one of the best operations executed ever" and "Heroes" and "A big thanks to these men…" and "The biggest respect to these men (still boys then) as far as I am concerned this may be commemorated long after" and "These men are heroes, period!" and "Nothing but respect, for them. Thank you." and many, many more comments like this.
21 thoughts on "Honoring Ronald Reagan in London"
Henrik R Clausen on June 11, 2009 at 10:31 am said:
spackle on June 11, 2009 at 1:01 pm said:
It s good to know that us Americans are not hated by everyone. Because that is sure how it feels. It reminds me of an episode of a TV show I used to love called 'Northern Exposure'. In the episode in question one of the main characters asks a young German visitor to his small Alaskan town "Whats it like always being the bad guy? To which the German looks at him inquisitively? "Whats it like always being the bad guy in the movies"? The German just shrugs. Thats how I feel most days. But sometimes it is just too much.
Robin Shadowes on June 11, 2009 at 1:33 pm said:
And now we are only waiting for the endless whining of the British Board of Beards…
Henrik R Clausen on June 11, 2009 at 3:14 pm said:
Spackle, I've been reading up on economy lately, and am tentatively coming to the conclusion that the anti-American sentiment may have to do with the fact that the US Government tries to purchase influence, basically with money it doesn't have. While hard to pinpoint, it is frequently percieved anyway, for instance in Turkey. Others, like the Serbs, have quite solid reasons for their anti-Americanism.
Since this is related to the monetary system, the 0bama administration, Ben Bernanke and other geniuses, the power of the dollar will soon be history, as will worldwide American influence. Unfortunately, I'd expect anti-American sentiment to last longer than that.
I'm sorry, but you guys are in for a really hard time. Being the perpetual 'bad guy' is probably going to look less bad than that.
Afonso Henriques on June 11, 2009 at 3:29 pm said:
Spackle, get used to it; take advantage of it.
I remember a Brazilian actress who had to play the bad guy said: "It's difficult in the beggining because the character was almost the opposite of what I try to be. But after a few days, it was a liberation to be bad and act accordingly".
Ah! And at the end of the day, even the girls like the bad boys…
Get used to it; take advantage of it.
Natalie on June 11, 2009 at 8:25 pm said:
From the article: The memorial to Reagan will also feature a section of the Berlin wall, reflecting his decisive leadership which brought the Cold War to a bloodless end and dismantled Communism in Europe.
Don't get me wrong, I adore Reagan and I think he was an excellent president. And I think it's great that this statue is going up. But does anyone else take exception to the emphasized part of the article that I quoted? I think that there's one big myth about Reagan: the idea that he single-handedly brought the Cold War to an end. Gorbachev was the one who really brought it to an end, and he was also instrumental in dismantling Communism in Europe. Reagan obviously did great things, but Gorbachev deserves more credit for bringing about the end of the Soviet Union than he is usually given by conservatives especially.
islam o' phobe on June 11, 2009 at 9:47 pm said:
"But does anyone else take exception to the emphasized part of the article that I quoted?"
Yes but for a different reason. While Communism may have been dismantled in Europe, the Communists themselves thrived.
In Hungary they never went away politically and they're still in power as the Hungarian Socialist Party, though they did quite badly in the recent EUP elections.
In Western Europe their focus shifted inward, with the Maastricht Treaty being signed the year after the Soviet Union dissolved. Though I'm sure that would have happened anyway as the design for "ever closer union" was set out in the Treaty of Rome.
I have a small piece of the Berlin Wall in my study. I'd like a piece of EU Building in Brussels to go with it.
"Gorbachev was the one who really brought it to an end, and he was also instrumental in dismantling Communism in Europe."
I agree that Gorbachev, more than anyone, caused the collapse of Soviet Union but I don't think he deserves any credit because this does not seem to have been his intention. He's still a Communist even now.
Natalie on June 11, 2009 at 10:10 pm said:
Yes, you are correct: making the Soviet Union collapse wasn't really his intent. He realised that the whole system needed restructuring, so he attempted to restructure it, but the whole system ended up collapsing. And of course you're correct about the Communists in Europe. They're alive and well, unfortunately. I also see them in the United States too.
Has anyone here read Archie Brown's The Gorbachev Factor? I had to read it for a class at my university. It's pretty good–it provides a pretty decent analysis of the collapse of the Soviet Union. (But be warned: the author has a serious man crush on Gorbachev, which kind of biases him, obviously. It's amusing, though.)
Perhaps I was too strong in my words when I said that Gorbachev deserved credit for the collapse. I mean, I still think that he does deserve credit for helping the corrupt system fall, but I didn't mean for that to absolve him of his wrong views. He's still dead wrong on politics, even now. I didn't know much about his political views until recently, but one thing clinched it for me: he's associated with the newspaper Novaya Gazeta. (I personally think that paper is absolute rubbish. And yes, I do realise that it was the paper for which Anna Politkovskaya wrote.)
Henrik Ræder on June 11, 2009 at 11:52 pm said:
Natalie, I don't take issue with crediting Reagan for the collapse – but of course these matters are complex, and Gorbachev played a vital role in making criticism permissible – something the system couldn't bear.
Not without parallel, the EU elections last week (I wasn't close to being elected – but participating was fun and useful) did the same, empowering eurosceptics and letting blind europhiles fall by the wayside.
Back to the quote, for I do have some issues with the detail. The use of the word 'leadership' bugs me, for it implicitly endorses the principle of the Great Leader. Also, it takes attention away from what Reagan did that worked:
He demonstrated in practical ways that the United States was ready and willing to defend Europe from any military threat from the Soviet. That deterred the Soviet from attempting any attacks, and forced them to look inwards. Towards the rotten heart of Communism, finally letting the system lapse in cardial arrest.
The best way to honour the legacy of Reagan is to understand what exactly he did right, and learn.
Rich Rostrom on June 11, 2009 at 11:54 pm said:
I would note that GeenStijl's photo-series honors all the Allied soldiers of D-Day: Britons and Canadians too, not just Americans. We didn't do it by ourselves.
Gorbachev may still be a Communist, but he's also now a devout Christian. He recently made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
In any case, Gorbachev wanted to save Communism, not end it. Reagan wanted to end Communism, said so publicly (to the horror of the bien-pensant), and acted resolutely to achieve that goal when hardly anyone else thought it was possible. Others played very important roles: Pope John Paul II, the heroic dissidents of eastern Europe, Lady Thatcher, the Afghan mujahideen, even Gorbachev (in spite of himself). But Reagan was central.
Henrik R Clausen on June 12, 2009 at 1:23 am said:
'cardiac arrest', of course 🙂
Now, if only Communism and the like had gone the same way. But it seems we've all decided to take that route again, with state control of just about everything. This is wrecking havoc on our currencies, too.
Related, I just noticed that IMF members are not permitted to use gold for international transactions. That is a very interesting detail.
EscapeVelocity on June 12, 2009 at 1:33 am said:
Quote: I agree that Gorbachev, more than anyone, caused the collapse of Soviet Union but I don't think he deserves any credit because this does not seem to have been his intention. He's still a Communist even now. End Quote
Bingo. Not only that, but he is still a Russian Imperialist.
Dont count the US out just yet.
Long term, America is still a strong buy. However, if its power does wane, it will drive the cost of doing business up for everyone else, as they have to provide for their own security arrangements, and the US has the worlds best military hardware…for sale.
Dont bet against the US.
and acted resolutely to achieve that goal when hardly anyone else thought it was possible — Rich Rostrom
A lot of people knew it was possible…hard and difficult but the fight was worth the effort. A lot of people (and Westerners) were pro Communism, that was the real problem….as it is now, the Western Left, the 5th column.
EscapeVelocity, I'd happily purchase US military hardware 🙂
There's a catch to this, though. The US has (rightly) been complaining that it spends disproportionate amount of money on defense. But defense is usually payable in dollars – which is created by the US government and the Federal Reserve. If the US Federal Government had the discipline to balance its budget (the Danish Government had that over the last decade) and still was spending as much on defense, it would be a more fair comparison.
Further, I think the Iraq war was a mistake.
islam o' phobe on June 12, 2009 at 7:02 am said:
Rich Rostrom,
Gorbachev's visit to Assissi's shrine was misunderstood and overblown by the press.
Gorbachev dispels 'closet Christian' rumours; says he is atheist
Declassified documents show that Reagan secretly tried to convert Gorbachev. Arguably this attempt went against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution but I imagine it was a part of the former's strategy for winning the Cold War.
Ronald Reagan tried to convert Mikhail Gorbachev to Christianity, aide claims
Conservative Swede on June 12, 2009 at 10:05 am said:
Islam O'Phobe,
Reagan secretly tried to convert Gorbachev.
Arguably this attempt went against the spirit of the U.S. Constitution.
Also very cute.
Henrik,
We would need a Gorbachev in the EU Commission.
Profitsbeard on June 12, 2009 at 10:32 am said:
This statue will be a magnet for loons to deface.
It had better be made of stuff as strong as its original.
That would be good!
Not that I find it realistic – you need to be a genuine europhile to get into the Commission – but at least we've opened the door to making critical statements about EU. Next step:
To make EU take criticism seriously.
Conservative Swede on June 12, 2009 at 7:06 pm said:
Not that I find it realistic – you need to be a genuine europhile to get into the Commission.
Yes, I guess that the EU Commission is such a hopelessly sealed system, impossible for a sane and hounorable man to enter, compared to the Soviet politburo.