will Your cape be ready?
Have you heard the news? Clinton County Department of Waste Management is taking car and light truck tires for free at the April 27th Clean Community Event thanks to a grant from the MI Department of Environmental Quality.
Clinton County residents must register by Noon on April 24 for an appointment for this event as restrictions apply.
More information is always available on the website https://www.clinton-county.org/196/Waste-Management.
Ashley Community Schools have announced plans for their upcoming Flea Market, Craft and Greenhouse sale to be held on Saturday, May 11.
The Clinton County Historical Museum, located just west of the courthouse, is looking for photos and documents relating to the Soap Box Derby that was held in St. Johns in the 1960s and 70s.
They will have a year long display celebrating the return of the Soap Box Derby to St. Johns and would like to use your photo in the display. They can scan your photos so you can keep the originals.
They are also in need of vintage photos or other artifacts relating to police, sheriff, and fire departments in Clinton County to use in our featured exhibit this year. Please help if you can because they would like to honor the memory of those who served our community in years past.
You can contact the museum by phone 989-224-2894 or e-mail pgsmuseum@gmail.com.
Suzie Brown, the new president-director of His Cup Runneth Over, is excited to be starting the 2019 season of Free Meals.
His Cup Runneth Over provides nutritional meals at no cost to everyone who stops by. A meal typically consists of a bowl of soup, bread, fruit and dessert that are all served in a lunch bag that can be taken to go or eaten at our table outside. In 2018, we served over 5,000 free meals.
They are excited to announce that this year their season will be kicking off on Tuesday, April 30. They will be at the following stops in St. Johns and serve meals thru October 31.
Every Tuesday: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 110 Maple Ave.
Every Thursday: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at The Meadows of St. Johns, 2265 W. Parks Rd.
1st, 3rd, and 5th Thursday of each month: 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church/Beacon of Hope (Salvation Army Produce Distribution), 512 S. Whittemore St.
2nd Thursday of each month: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Suntree Apartments, 1100 Sunview Dr.
*No meals served week of July 4th.
His Cup Runneth Over is a non-profit 501(c)3, licensed food trailer, funded by donations and ran by hardworking volunteers. Volunteers are needed for 3 hour shifts to assist with prepping and serving meals each week. If you'd like more information, or would like to get involved as a volunteer please call Suzi Brown at 517-388-2005.
Approximately 100 years ago our ancestors stood before a photographer and their image appeared upon a 5″ x 7″ piece of glass. Amazingly, 300+ of those panes of glass remain but most of the people are still unidentified. That's where archivests need your help.
There is now a webpage showing you these faces with hope that you know someone. There is an email address link for you to tell them the name and how you know them.
We all love a good mystery and it would be wonderful to be able to put a name to the face in the glass.
Spring Clean-Up is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2019. Please do not place items out by the curb before Saturday, May 4th but all items must be out by 6:00 am on Saturday, May 11th. Items placed out after the contractors has passed through will not be picked up.
*Refuse is limited to 3 cubic yards (approx. size of a regular pick-up truck box).
Items accepted: Appliances (appliances containing any food will not be picked up. Doors must be removed from refrigerator or freezer unit); Electronics (T.V.'s, VCR's, computer equipment); Lawn Mowers (must be drained of fuel and oil); Hub Caps; Copper or brass tubing with wire; Large Toys; Bicycles; Furniture (indoor and outdoor); mattresses; Scrap Metal (bed frames, aluminum lawn chairs, file cabinets, etc.); Odd pieces of lumber under 4 foot long (please bundle); Carpeting (bundles less than 6 foot long.
Items not accepted: Household Trash or Recyclables (cans, bottles, etc.); Liquids or Hazardous Waste; Automobile Components; Yard Waste including Stumps; Batteries (lead and alkaline batteries can be recycled); Books, Magazines, or Newspapers (these can be recycled); Construction or Demolition materials from major household repairs; Concrete, Bricks, Stone or Blocks; Dirt or sand piles (any volume); Latex paint (can be dried out by using saw dust or kitty litter and can be placed into your weekly household green bag collection).
*Refuse that is contaminated with any of the above items may be only partially picked up or left behind by Granger.
This event is for City residents only who live in one to four unit dwellings. Property owners of these units pay a refuse fee on their summer taxes. Apartment buildings over four units, commercial/industrial properties and the trailer park are not eligible for the Spring Clean-up. City residents please do not allow non-residents to place refuse in front of your property. City police will be monitoring Non-City resident trash dumping. All violators may be prosecuted and fined $500.


text:
Amur Tiger overlooking the crowd in Zoo360's Big Cat Crossing. August 24, 2016. Philadelphia Zoo Franck Bohbot—INSTITUTE for TIME
The Future of Zoos: Challenges Force Zoos to Change in Big Ways
Justin Worland
For a mother escorting her kids through the Philadelphia Zoo, it was a close encounter of the ferocious kind. Directly in front of her as she strolled down the zoo's main walkway was a Siberian tiger, a 400-plus-lb. carnivore capable of tearing apart a wild antelope. But rather than panic, the family laughed. The tiger was out of its lair, but its pathway was at a safe, meshed-in distance from onlookers, and after a few moments of looking around, the tiger moved on.
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Colorado Highway Rocked By 8.5 Million-Pound Boulder's Crash Landing
The tiger's trail, dubbed Big Cat Crossing, is part of a bigger initiative called Zoo360 that has changed the way humans and animals experience the nation's oldest zoo. There's no question the experience is compelling for the humans. On a recent visit, I watched children drop their lunches in awe of white-faced saki monkeys hanging out in the trees. I witnessed one couple stop midconversation when a gorilla lumbered overhead, and saw more than a few families startled by the appearance of a large cat that seemed eerily close to them. But the bigger impact of Zoo360, says its chief operating officer, Andrew Baker, may be its effort to transform the experience of animals in captivity.
At a time when scientists know more than they ever have before about the inner lives of animals--and when concerns about animal rights loom large--many experts think that zoos need a major overhaul if they're going to last.
To some leaders in the field, the Philadelphia Zoo is the best model out there, but on the other side of the country, a different vision of the future is playing out. At Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, the elephant exhibit, where countless children have watched pachyderms play, now sits empty. The zoo, long recognized as a world leader in innovative design, built a $3 million state-of-the-art facility for the species in the 1980s. But in recent years, animal-rights advocates had criticized the exhibit as inhumane for being too small and not reflective of the elephants' natural habitat. Under pressure from activists following the death of an elephant in 2014, and thanks to new guidelines from the nation's main zoo organization, Woodland Park officials decided to close one of its most popular exhibits and place the elephants elsewhere.
"I am cautiously optimistic we'll be able to overcome this, but I'm not sure," says David Towne, who once oversaw the Woodland Park Zoo. "The animals-rights people have imposed their will on the elephants. I'm not sure that they aren't going to move on to gorillas, then other primates, and then what?"
Nearly two centuries after the first modern zoo opened in London's Regent's Park, the very concept of a place where families can visit and observe animals is being questioned like never before. Across the U.S. and around the world, zoos are finding that balancing the demands of entertainment, education and conservation is increasingly difficult.
Ethical concerns have been coupled with safety fears--both for people and for critters--following an incident in May when officials at the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed a 17-year-old gorilla named Harambe to protect a child who'd fallen into the exhibit. More broadly, there's a greater sensitivity to the environmental implications of zoos.
Ask a dozen zoo directors why these places should exist today and you'll get a different answer every time. Education, conservation and science all come up. But the most common answer--fostering empathy for animals--is becoming harder to do while providing humane care to these animals.
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A Bizarre 'Ice Circle' Is Turning Heads in Maine. Here's the Science Behind It
Study after study has shown that many animal species are far smarter and more feeling than previously understood, giving new insights into how they may suffer from anxiety and depression when they are removed from nature. That has forced a difficult existential question: If we acknowledge that creatures suffer when they're confined, should they be held in captivity? Not even those who have advanced the cause for more-humane exhibits have an answer. "Even the best zoos today are based on captivity and coercion," says Jon Coe, the legendary zoo designer who invented the Zoo360 concept for Philadelphia. "To me, that's the fundamental flaw."
"That moment at a zoo, when a person sees a gorilla look them back in the eye, helps them grasp their role in a greater natural world," says Mike Clifford who works with zoos at GLMV Architecture. Clifford's job title is curator of innovation, but colleagues consider him the firm's chief philosopher: he's charged with contemplating the difficult questions about the future of zoos. He thinks the answer lies in fostering human-animal connections--and making sure those experiences also help sell tickets. That's what GLMV has tried to do in Wichita, Kans., where visitors to the Sedgwick County Zoo can now ride in a boat to see the elephants in a 5-acre exhibit. The boat ride breaks down the barrier between animals and people while giving the elephants room to roam freely.
In Philadelphia, officials hope Zoo360 will provide those moments of connection, but they have also invested in other unusual ways of structuring their exhibits. Pigeons, rats and cockroaches may not qualify as exotic fauna, for instance, but they do occupy prime real estate. While I was there, children gathered around a zookeeper putting a rat through tests designed to show its intelligence.
Zoo designers are also well aware of the need to address growing public skepticism of animal captivity, which means more zoos are working not only to make their exhibits better suited for the animals--but also to be able to demonstrate that to their visitors.
A good example is the St. Louis Zoo's new polar bear exhibit, a $16 million facility tailored to reflect the latest research about the animal's needs. The 40,000-sq.-ft. exhibit includes areas dedicated to each one of the polar bear's native environments: sea, coast and tundra. Designers built it to be spacious enough to accommodate up to five bears, allowing them to have a social environment. Finally, for any visitors still not convinced that the zoo has the bears' best interests at heart, the zoo has a 2,600-sq.-ft. animal-care facility where vets can tend to the bears' health.
Pressure to develop state-of-the-art exhibits like this one means that most zoos will eventually need to reduce the number of animals they house. The footprint, and the cost, is simply unsustainable, several zoo experts told me.
Consider the growing challenge of providing a home to elephants. Research consensus over the past decade suggests that most current exhibits are woefully inadequate. The most recent study--a comprehensive article published in the journal PLOS One in July--shows how elephants thrive best when they have social connections and the challenge of having to gather their own food. When those factors aren't present, elephants tend to have impaired mental states and do not carry out basic functions like reproduction. The study confirms what zookeepers have known for years. In fact, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) approved rules in 2011 requiring any accredited zoo with elephants to keep at least three of the species and a full-time elephant scientist on staff, among other things.
But not every zoo has the space or budget to meet those guidelines. Some, such as the zoos in Omaha, San Diego and Houston, have doubled down with better facilities. Others--in San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, to name a few--have given up on keeping elephants entirely. (Other zoos, known derisively as roadside zoos, might keep elephants but lack certification from the AZA and largely fall outside the scope of this story.)
Coe believes these changes are just a taste of what to expect next. He has been one of the zoo world's foremost thinkers for four decades. His Philadelphia Zoo360 project is only the latest brainstorm in a career that has spanned innovative designs at the Bronx Zoo, Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and others. When Coe looks ahead, he sees an even greater divergence between the biggest, best-funded zoos and the rest of the pack.
The top zoos, Coe believes, will evolve into something he calls the "unzoo"--turning upside down the traditional approach of bringing animals to humans for their edification. The unzoo will reverse the setup, giving animals space to roam and bringing the humans into their environment. Think Wichita's elephant boat ride, but on a grander scale.
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Here's Why This Forest Looks Like It's 'Breathing' in That Viral Video Making the Internet Hyperventilate
The hitch is that many established zoos may not be able to fund a transformation of that scope. More institutions may need to follow the lead of Seattle and others in closing down exhibits that fail to meet new standards and expectations--and the zoos that are most squeezed may be forced to close entirely as requirements from accreditors and patrons grow more taxing.
Coe also thinks zoos could face new competition from virtual-reality technologies, which could provide people an up-close experience without their having to leave home. As the wealth gap grows, the best zoos may become more exclusive, while the rest become more like theme parks. "Most people think of progress as an ascending line on a graph--zoos will just get better," Coe says. "But evolution is like a tree or a bush branching in all directions."
When David Hancocks assumed the role of director of Woodland Park Zoo in 1975, it looked a lot like any other major-city zoo. Hancocks, an architect by training, had long been concerned about what he saw as zoos' indifference to animal life. "These people aren't designing for the animals," he recalls thinking. "They create exhibits in which they can put animals on show."
That, of course, was the original idea. In the 16th and 17th centuries, European explorers captured and brought home the exotic animals they encountered, giving their benefactors a glimpse of the far-off lands they had visited. Animals were housed in facilities called menageries and were often placed in the gardens of palaces.
The first true zoo, founded in London's Regent's Park in 1828, did seek to further scientific understanding of animals. Those scientists observed animal behavior behind closed doors at first but eventually decided to open the facility to entertain paying guests. The public loved it, and since then zoos have spread across the globe to practically every major city, from Buenos Aires to Kabul. But for decades, even the most progressive zoos were often centered on cages with bars meant to keep the animals inside--and on display.
Hancocks had something different in mind. Within a year of taking charge in Seattle, he hired Coe to rethink how zoo animals are kept in captivity. Coe had been waiting for such an assignment since graduating from design school. He proposed creating a landscape with gorillas rather than a gorilla exhibit and developed a plan that incorporated natural vegetation, room to roam and abundant light.
Zoo traditionalists greeted the idea with skepticism. Gorillas would tear up the place, they said. But Seattle moved ahead with the concept--and in the span of a few years, Coe's reputation evolved from impractical hippie to zoo visionary. His approach--now known as immersive design--soon became a global standard for major zoos.
The timing was prescient. Within a few years, the animal-rights movement would see growing mainstream interest. Zookeepers began to understand that animal-rights activists do not like zoos. For some animals, like the polar bear, zoo life means enduring warm temperatures at odds with their evolution. Predators--like the lion--will never hunt, even though that behavior is deeply wired in their DNA.
"There are legitimate arguments for retaining some species of animals in captivity," says Princeton University professor Peter Singer, whose landmark 1975 book Animal Liberation helped launch the animal-rights movement. "That doesn't mean that people have to go and look at them."
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Greek Beach Completely Covered in Giant Spider Webs
Research in just about every discipline of science relevant to zoo animals over the past few decades has bolstered the moral arguments against captivity. Neurology research has shown that mammals possess the same brain chemicals that give humans self-awareness. Behavioral studies have demonstrated that some species experience social relations previously not understood. Animal psychologists have concluded that animals experience many of the same mental-health ailments suffered by humans.
Popular culture has helped make the case. The documentary Blackfish showed the emotional damage wreaked upon orca whales at SeaWorld. (The company has since announced that it will phase out killer-whale shows.) Last year, social media was suffused with outrage following the May 28 killing of Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo. Critics asked whether the zoo needed to kill Harambe, a member of an endangered species, to save the child who had fallen into his exhibit.
After doing so much to shape the zoos we experience today, Hancocks now spends more time thinking about what he sees as their imminent downfall. Zoos are more interested in the illusion of making visitors think animals are well cared for than in actually helping them, he argues. A modern exhibit may look better than a cage, but an animal may derive little benefit from it. Landscape details are artificial, and fake grass is electrified to keep animals in one place.
"A concrete tree is as useless as a light pole," says Hancocks. "They give an illusion that they're making progress, but I think from the animal's point of view, they're really no better off."
Most zoo officials, unsurprisingly, don't agree. Many have dedicated their life to working with animals and have formed deep bonds with the creatures under their care. But these days, even while they push to improve the lives of their charges, they're also fending off protests, lawsuits and publicity stunts by animal-rights groups. Some of the zoo officials I spoke with used words like "extremist" and "zealot" and said they feared the movement would ultimately end the good they believe comes from their zoos.
Conservation--the work of protecting endangered species--is at the top of their list. The AZA strongly encourages zoos to spend at least 3% of their budgets on field conservation efforts. Foremost among those efforts are breeding programs. The AZA creates in-depth survival plans for endangered species and has saved, among others, the red wolf and the California condor. Both have been reintroduced to the wild after living on the brink of extinction.
Other endangered animals bred in captivity--particularly large animals like elephants, lions and bears--could never adapt to the wild and will inevitably live the rest of their lives in zoos. And then there are the big efforts that fail--like the case of Lonesome George, the last remaining Pinta Island giant tortoise when he died in 2012. Researchers in the Galapagos spent years trying to breed him with females of a closely related species (at one point some even considered showing him an X-rated tortoise film), but he had no interest. His species died with him.
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Massachusetts Suffered Its First Fatal Shark Attack in Decades. Here's How Common They Really Are in the U.S.
Against that backdrop of success and failure, more zoos have broadened their definition of conservation. Instead of saving a species, some argue, they advance conservation work by educating patrons and pushing them to donate to the cause. Other zoos tell their visitors to act on climate change to protect animal habitats across the globe. "If you cannot connect every single exhibit to something in the wild, then you shouldn't build it," says Rick Barongi, a former Houston Zoo director. "You have to be part of the conservation story. You can't just be writing checks."
Not everyone buys the conservation mission. "I think this conservation quilt that zoos are wearing is quite dubious attire," says Hancocks. "I would go so far as to say I think they are doing a disservice to conservation. They tell visitors over and over that zoos are saving wildlife, and visitors think, Oh good, the species are saved."
Zoos are fundamentally conservative institutions. Many of the most respected ones have been around for more than a century and have built their facilities over time and devoted countless resources to breeding. The people who run them are slow to make changes and, when they do, those changes can take years to implement.
Most of the zoo officials I talked to acknowledged some concerns about the future--but many were also reluctant to embrace dramatic shifts like the unzoo. Indeed, some in the field have already criticized Zoo360 as outlandish, calling it a lot of hype without substantially changing the exhibit. Coe has largely turned his attention to developing international zoos in developing countries like Afghanistan, where he works pro bono and can share his vision of the future of zoos.
On the human side of the equation, one thing remains clear: people still enjoy a chance to see and get close to animals. More than 170 million people visited zoos in the U.S. in 2015, according to the AZA, up 10 million from 10 years prior. And many zoos have experienced record attendance. "The business continues to change and evolve--like any business," says David Walsh, who founded Zoo Advisors, a zoo financial-consulting firm. But, he adds, "people are still going to zoos. And they're going in bigger numbers than they were before."
Still, those numbers will do little to diminish the growing outrage of animal-rights activists, and if cockroaches replace elephants in the country's top zoos, strong attendance will undoubtedly decline. "Where are we going?" asks Towne, formerly of Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, repeating my question. "I guess I'm worried."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
American national socialist
NSDAP Plan For Agricultural Self Sufficiency
From the Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth
Chapter Twelve: The Soil as a Source of Food Supply
The first necessity of all living things is food. From man's first day he must be fed by the gifts of earth, fruits of the field, and the flesh of animals. Vegetation and animal life are in turn dependent upon the nature of the soil and climate. The soil, which supplies food for a people, has therefore the greatest economic significance for men.
The quality of the soil in the German Reich is not equally good everywhere. A large part of the German Reich is covered with sandy, marshy and rocky soil. The main part of this rather unfruitful soil comprises the non-arable mountain ranges and the north German plains once covered with ice. Only a proportionately small region has very good soil. It is distributed in the main along the lower courses of the German rivers (Rhine, Oder, Vistula), in south Westphalia, along the borders of Hanover, around the bays and inlets of Saxony, the Rhine basin, in Württemberg, lower Bavaria, and the Rhine-Main region, as well as the southern parts of Thüringia and middle Silesia.
Nor is the climate equally good everywhere in the German Reich. The mildest weather prevails along the Rhine, since warm air currents from the Mediterranean penetrate Germany through the doorway between the Alps and the Vosges Mountains. Along the coast a moderate, seasonable climate prevails because the sea brings about a balance of temperature and humidity. The farther the land is from the coast, the more extreme the climate. Hot summers and cold winters in the eastern sections allow only a comparatively short growing period. By reason of these influences of soil and climate the productiveness of the different farming areas in Germany varies greatly.
The German territory belongs within the great forest zone which stretches over the north of Europe, Asia and North America. Originally Germany was covered by a more or less dense forest. But now the encroachment of man has pressed the woodlands back to their present confines and opened up soil for cultivation.
From time immemorial men have not only gathered the products of the German soil but have regularly farmed it. The Norsemen of the early stone age cultivated twelve different kinds of grain. They raised fruit, flax, and many kinds of vegetables. With the exception of poultry they had all our domestic animals. The Germans went on to develop husbandry and cattle raising. They were a settled peasant folk who worked the soil without stint. When they came into contact with the Romans, their agrarian culture was already so high that the southern people took over from them, among other things, the wheel plough and the cultivation of rye. It was not the Romans nor even the monks who introduced farming into Germany. During the middle ages in Germany the transformation of the original soil into land for agricultural purposes began on an even larger scale. Forests were cleared, moors and marshes drained, and dams built to prevent the overflow of sea and river. This work has been continued down through the centuries. It is only necessary to recall the work of cultivation of Frederick the Great in Orderbruch and his homesteading activities in the rest of the German east. This work, even today, has not yet come to a halt. The Labour Service continues to win and make land for the German farmers. By persistent work the original land of nature became that kind of cultivated farm land which gives the central European space its marked German imprint.
The quality and limitations of the German land
Since 1919 the political territory of the German Reich has extended over an area of 472,000 square kilometers. More than a fourth is covered with forests; about 5 per cent is taken for dwelling purposes, streets, railroads and parks; 2 per cent is covered with water. Four per cent is wilderness. The remaining two-thirds (around 312,000 sq kilometers) is left for agriculture. The soil is used in the following ways:
-Farming includes an area as large as the provinces of Rhineland, Hesse-Nassau, Saxony, Brandenburg together with Grensmark, Silesia, East Prussia and Mecklenburg.
-Meadows and pasture lands are as great as the area of Hanover, Schleswig-Holdtein and Pomerania.
-German forests extend over an area as large as all of Wüttemberg, Baden and Bavaria
-The amount of wasteland is as large as a whole province the size of Westphalia.
In farming a variety of plants are cultivated, each according to the climatic conditions and the productiveness of the soil in the individual districts.
-Rye thrives best on the barren, sandy soil of North Germany and in the cool, mountain regions. -Wheat prefers the better soil of the hilly slopes in central Germany, the heavy, marshy soil along the Elbe and Vistula, and the loose soil of Silesia.
-Oats are better adapted to the niggardly soil of north-western Germany.
-Sugar beets are raised principally on the nutritive soil in Silesia and in the foothills of the mountains in central Germany.
-The potato has spread out over all Germany, but is raised especially in the central and eastern parts of the north German lowlands and on the mountains along the Rhine.
-Fodder in large amounts exists only in East Prussia, Saxony, Thüringia, Holstein and the Rhine valley.
-Truck farming is carried on principally in the vicinity of large cities. In addition there are rather large areas devoted to truck farming in Saxony, Thüringia, Holstein and the Rhine valley.
-The only vineyards today are along the Rhine and its tributaries (Mosel, Saar, Nahe, Neckar and Main), comprising nearly 10 per cent of the agricultural area. In this region a great deal of fine fruit is also cultivated.
Animal husbandry provides the German people with meat, fats, dairy products and eggs. Cattle raising is carried on primarily in regions along the northern coast of Germany, in the Alps and its foothills, while horse breeding takes place in East Prussia, Hanover, Bavaria and Brandenburg. Hog and sheep raising go on mainly in northern and central Germany. The principal regions of poultry farming are Pomerania and central Germany. [See map in online book here]
The German Reich is the most important producer of oats in Europe. It also produces a fourth of the world's rye. In spite of the increased consumption of sugar since the War, German sugar production is still greater than the domestic needs. Rye, oats, and sugar beets were formerly exported therefore. All remaining agricultural products cover, however, only a part of Germany's requirements. The German Reich could assure the feeding of its population only by means of imports.
During the preceding century as well as during the last decades those in responsible positions have faced this fact without concern. They have neglected German agriculture because of cheaper foreign prices. And so the basis for feeding our thickly populated Reich was destroyed. The experiences of the World War have taught us, in this regard, that the basis for feeding the German people must not be looked for abroad. For as sacrifices to the enemy blockade 88,000 undernourished women, children and old men died in 1915; 122,000 in 1916; 260,000 in 1917; and 294,000 in 1918. We will always experience this fate if we have not assured the feeding of our own people within our own territory.
The dictate of Versailles, by separating and taking away large surplus agricultural regions in West Prussia, Posen, North Schleswig and in Alsace, and by robbing German colonies, made the basis for feeding our people far worse. With the loss of the colonies, the Reich lost every chance for producing colonial products herself, such as cocoa, tea, coffee, bananas and tropical plants (coconuts and citrus fruits) and was made completely dependent upon imports so far as these are concerned.
In the regions taken away along the frontiers, the Reich lost, along with one eighth of its territory, a yearly production of
5,000,000 tons of grain
11,000,000 tons of potatoes
3,200,000 hogs
2,600,000 head of cattle
790,000 horses
535,000 sheep
In 1914, the German colonies had the following areas devoted to plant husbandry:
42,000 hectares of cocoa palms
5000 hectares of oil palms
13,200 hectares of cocoa
4800 hectares of coffee
2200 hectares of bananas
Rescuing German farmers from impending ruin
National Socialism has not remained inactive in the face of the present condition of our food supply. It has learned the lessons taught by the World War, and has done everything to assure the feeding of our people from its own soil. To this end agriculture had to be rescued from impending ruin first of all. Protection against foreclosures, reduction of the debt burden, and lowering of interest rates served this purpose. Then, by the National Inheritance law of September 29, 1933, farmers were relieved of the burdens of the capitalistic land law which treated land as an article of trade. From now on peasant estates are fundamentally non-saleable, non-distrainable, and indivisible. Any further pernicious breaking up of peasant holdings is thereby checked. The Reich Food Estate Law of September 13, 1933, supplied the legal basis for organising the agricultural estate itself. The farming population, broken up into many hundreds of organisations, associations and groups, was brought together into one great front and transformed into a mobilised instrument of National Socialist agrarian policy. By the same law a comprehensive system for regulating markets was also set up which assured the sale of agricultural products and provided an economically just price for them. And so the most important requisites for the work of reconstruction in the sphere of feeding a population were created. The Reich Peasant Leader could now issue the call for the battle of production which he did at the second Reich Peasant Day in Goslar in 1934. This battle should guarantee for us, in addition to the military independence which we have again won, an independence so far as food supplies are concerned, and free us so far as possible from the necessity of importing foodstuffs from abroad. Since it is actually impossible to reduce the consumption of foodstuffs, everything hinges on our ability to increase our domestic production of food supplies to equal the need.
The best methods of doing so are:
first, enlarging agriculturally usable areas;
second, increasing the productivity of existing farms;
third, reducing waste and destruction of agricultural products;
and finally, cultivating needed products which have up to this time not been produced at all, or not in sufficient quantities.
The extension of agriculturally usable areas is being realised by cultivation and land reclamation. From 1933 to 1936 the Office of Land Cultivation cultivated an area of 1,500,000,000 hectares with the help of official subventions and credits. One assumes an average increase in yield of 20 per cent, so this signifies a winning of 300,000 hectares of new land, whereas from 1929 to 1932, using the same method of reckoning, only a winning of 85,000 hectares of new land resulted. The accomplishments in the field of land cultivation, however, evidence only a beginning. During succeeding years the work will be continued and should, as the following presentation shows, make possible the recovery of about 6,500,000 hectares. [see chart on page 91 in online book here]
Increasing domestic production
The principal agency for carrying out the work of land rehabilitation is the National Labour Service. Besides numerous smaller reclamation undertakings, it is for the time being at work on 30 large projects, which alone comprise an area of 600,000 hectares. [see map at top of page 92 in online book here]
To increase the yield of existing farm lands, it is first of all necessary to strengthen the working forces on the land. On newly reclaimed land, as well as on other land which is not being profitably tilled, homesteaders and farmers are being established for this purpose. And here, too, National Socialism has done far more than the previous system, as we perceive from the following presentation: [see charts on page 92-93 and 94-95 here]
This presentation shows that we are still dependent upon imports for some important foodstuffs. Within the scope of the Four Year Plan efforts to increase still further the domestic production will be extended. The most important measures are:
strengthening of land reclamation within the program of land cultivation,
reduction in the price of fertilizer,
speeding up the unification of diversified land-holdings,
government aid for building manure tanks and sunken pits,
raising the prices for rye and early potatoes,
reducing the prices for seed potatoes through government aid,
government aid for breaking up meadows and fencing in meadows and pastures,
short term credits for construction purposes,
government aid for building dwellings for land workers,
building up of economic advisory services.
These government subventions obligate the German farmers, but not less so the German consumer. For the greatest efforts can only be fruitful naturally if they are supported by German comrades in every possible way. It is the public duty of every German, for the sake of attaining the goal which is being striven for, namely self-sufficiency in food, to cooperate by adapting his needs to those products over which Germany exercises control in fullest measure.
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I carefully reviewed each agent before I queried. I decided on querying Jen because she's aggressively seeking women's fiction and I got a full request the same day. So I am very excited that I found this thread!
VPierce, let us know how it goes. I'm interested in querying Jen for the same reason, but I'm waiting to get feedback on a partial.
So Pam rejected my partial, but at the other agency. (This was when she was in transition, I think). I will have to check and see if I can query the others. ???
Is anyone else getting a bounceback email when querying Jen Karsbaek?
Following this topic with interest - Jen Karsbaek's name is on my list of agents to query.


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Nefetari Spencer aka "Queen Nef" hails from Chicago. She's always been one with a vivid imagination so it wasn't a surprise when Nef decided to quit her day job to pursue comedy. For years she studied comedy and drama all while being mentored by the great Bernie Mac until his untimely passing. Bernie always encouraged Nef to follow her true passion. It is with his words in mind that she decided to leave that job and stop hiding behind a desk. "It was so dark and cold under there, not to mention the back problems it created." Nef has studied improvisation at Improv Olympic West, The Groundlings and helped form the sketch group "Cleo's Apartment" that led to the multi-million viewed youtube sensation "Condilicious." She even went on to test for a coveted spot on Saturday Night Live. SNL's incomprehensible decision not to cast Nef gave her the time and inspiration to create the all female sketch group "Elite Delta Force 3" whom become known for their "Real Housewives of Civil Rights" sketch: www.elitedeltaforce3.com.
While EDF3 is taking a break from the stage you can find Nef all over the web, in several national commercials and this season in "Don't Trust the B**ch in Apt 23", "The Young and the Restless" and "Goodwin Games". Nef is currently seeking 13 red vines, a pink dual cassette player and an Oscar. Follow her on twitter: @nefetaris.
Robin Thede is an accomplished writer, actress, sketch and improvisational comedian. Currently, Robin can be seen in recurring roles on "Second Generation Wayans" on BET (2013), "Goodwin Games" on FOX (2013) and as a guest star on Comedy Central's sketch comedy hit "Key and Peele." She also appears in several upcoming feature films, including the Marlon Wayans comedy "A Haunted House" (Open Road, 2013) and the Kathryn Hahn indie feature "Afternoon Delight" (2013).
Episodes 4 – 7 are available at www.youtube.com/myFMOtv. Support this series so they can have a Season 2!! See also Clutch Magazine, TubeFilter and TheUrbanDaily!
NOTE: *Tune in next Monday, April 8th to the "The Madness Collective" to hear our interview with the uber talented and always hilarious Nefetari Spencer!!


text:
Česká spořitelna é o maior banco tcheco medido pelo número de clientes (4,7 milhões) com sede em Praga. Faz parte do Grupo Erste, na Áustria.

Serviços
Os principais clientes são:

 indivíduos
 pequenas e médias empresas
 cidades e municípios
 grandes corporações

Os principais produtos incluem:

 empréstimos
 consultoria em mercados financeiros
 emitiu mais de 3,4 milhões de cartões de pagamento
 fornece cerca de 1.244 caixas eletrônicos, a maior rede da República Tcheca
 banco on-line para cerca de 2,1 milhão de clientes
 cerca de 640 agências incluem serviços de varejo, hipotecas, centros de desenvolvimento etc.

Dados financeiros

Artigo contém texto traduzido de Česká spořitelna na Wikipedia tcheca recuperado em 7 de março de 2017.

Ligações externas

 Pagina inicial

Empresas fundadas em 1825

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Arthur Robert Jensen memorial site
Dedicated to the memory and works of the great psychologist (1923 – 2012)
Works about Art
Quotes by Art Jensen
The Art wrote many wise things in his numerous publications. Below are some of the quotes we like. Quotes are always presented with the entire paragraph to avoid misunderstandings and quote mining by (political) opponents.
Way back in 1972, at the Davis campus of the University of California, I was having lunch with the evolutionary geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky. He had invited me to come to Davis and discuss the manuscript of my book Educability and Group Differences (Jensen, 1973), on which I had solicited his comments. (He was a respectful and friendly critic.) On that same day, the campus newspaper gave notice of a speech to be delivered by one of the leading figures in the Creationist crusade that aimed to banish Darwin from the biology textbooks used in California high schools. The article also stated that this Biblical Fundamentalist had challenged Dobzhansky (who was then the world's foremost expert on the genetic theory of evolution) to a debate on Creationism, and that Dobzhansky had declined the offer. I asked him why. He said he had long since reached the conclusion that any argument between persons who were not in at least ninety percent agreement on the issues was a total waste from a scientific standpoint, although he conceded that a poorly informed audience might find it entertaining. I have remembered Dobzhansky's wise advice ever since, but have rarely had occasion to act on it. In reading Brace's review, however, I deemed it is most appropriate to do so.
Arthur R. Jensen (2000) Name-calling is a Disappointing Substitute for Real Criticism. Psycoloquy: 11(009) Intelligence g Factor (25)
15. It is amazing to see a reference to Wissler's (1901) primitive study, which has been used in generations of psychology textbooks to discredit the Galtonian analytical-physical approach to the study of individual differences in mental ability. The great amount of fruitful research in recent years showing highly significant and theoretically important relationships between chronometric measures of information processing speed in various experimental tasks (Jensen, 1998, Chapter 8; Vernon, 1987) has completely contradicted the conclusions nearly every psychologist in the past (except Spearman, 1904) drew from Wissler's conspicuously flawed study.
16. Indeed, the uncritical acceptance of Wissler's findings inhibited research on mental chronometry for more than half a century. The gist of this story is that Wissler reported an utterly nonsignificant correlation of -.02 between measures of reaction time (RT) and "intelligence." There were no IQ tests at that time, so class grades in mathematics and classics were used as the measure of intelligence. The subjects were undergraduates in Columbia University, a group highly selected for scholastic aptitude (which is highly g-loaded). The reliability of the RT test is estimated at between .15 and .20. In those days virtually nothing was known about psychometrics, so the attenuation of the correlation coefficient by low reliability and severe restriction of the range-of-talent was not considered.
17. The failure to reject the null hypothesis in this famous study is an extreme and classic case of the statistician's Type II error, i.e., not rejecting the null hypothesis when it is false. The same was true of the other Galtonian tests used by Wissler, such as measures of visual, auditory, and haptic discrimination. In recent years, all these variables have been found to be correlated with g. These Galtonian kinds of measurements, implemented by modern technology, may afford more direct and pointed means of discovering the physiological basis of g than the much more complex mental tasks used to measure IQ. Psychology is now moving, I believe, in both a more analytical and a more biological direction and shows healthy signs of recovering from the scientifically unfortunate influences from its past history — dualism, subjectivism, hollow-organism behaviorism, and environmentalism sans genetics.
Arthur R. Jensen (2000) Psychometric Scepticism. Psycoloquy: 11(039) Intelligence g Factor (38)
28. Finally, a word on behalf of the consilience of scientific knowledge. I have read E. O. Wilson's book "Consilience" (Wilson, 1998) and liked it a lot, mainly because long before I even knew this word, I had been a consilience seeker in my personal philosophy, as a way of seeking the interrelatedness of many different things within a scientific context. This appeals to me as an absolute non-believer in anything supernatural and as one who has sought a scientifically satisfying general philosophy or world view. Therefore I am happy to find that Anderson characterizes my notion of the "g nexus" (Jensen, 1998, Chapter 14) as an example of consilience, even though it is quite limited in view of Wilson's all-embracing conception. Admittedly, the "g nexus" is at present just an idea for a broad research program, which I expect to come about as a connecting (not to say unifying) theme in the behavioral and social sciences. With or without a structural theory of intelligence per se, the g construct is there and its role in extra-psychometric variables of educational, social, economic, and personal importance can be determined and studied, even while our understanding of the physical basis of g is far from complete. Progress in understanding that most central aspect of the g nexus will accelerate along with the technical advances and discoveries being made today in brain research. More than one path will lead to the scientific understanding of g, which is clearly one of the most important constructs in human psychology.
Arthur R. Jensen (2000) "the g Factor" is About Variance in Human Abilities,. Psycoloquy: 11(041) Intelligence g Factor (40)
12. Even in livestock, after intensive artificial selection over many generations for a given trait (e.g., egg-laying capacity in chickens, milk yield in cows, back fat in pigs, or beef yield in cattle), the traits maintain moderate heritability, which, under relaxed selection, rapidly increases. Selection reduces mainly the additive component of genetic variance, thereby causing the interactive or nonadditive components (dominance and epistasis) to constitute a larger proportion of the total genetic variance. Less advantageous alleles at a given locus are gradually eliminated by natural selection when heterozygosity lends no advantage to fitness. Heterozygosity with moderate to high heritability is maintained in polygenic traits with balanced selection, such as height and IQ. At this point in history, however, arguments that genetic factors do not play a major role in human variation in mental abilities, particularly in the component of test score variance identified as g, can truly be likened to the creationists' rejection of evolution by natural selection.
Arthur R. Jensen (2000) Nothing 'mystifying' About Psychometric g. Psycoloquy: 11(042) Intelligence g Factor (41)
Differential Psychology: Towards Consensus (1987)
This reflective ending chapter in the book contains particularly many interesting comments.
Modgil, Sohan, and Celia Modgil, eds. Arthur Jensen: Consensus and Controversy. Vol. 4. Routledge, 1987. "DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY: TOWARDS CONSENSUS"
I had begun by trying, for the sake of scholarly thoroughness, merely to write a short chapter for my book on the 'culturally disadvantaged' that I expected would succinctly review the so-called nature-nurture issue only to easily dismiss it as being of little or no importance for the subsequent study of the causes of scholastic failure and success. I delved into practically all the available literature on the genetics of intelligence, beginning with the works of the most prominent investigator in this field, Sir Cyril Burt, whom I had previously heard give a brilliant lecture entitled The Inheritance of Mental Ability' at University College, London in 1957. The more I read in this field, the less convinced I became of the prevailing belief in the all-importance of environment and learning as the mechanisms of individual and group differences in general ability and scholastic aptitude. I felt even somewhat resentful of my prior education, that I could have gone as far as I had—already a fairly well-recognized professor of educational psychology—and yet could have remained so unaware of the crucial importance of genetic factors for the study of individual differences.
It was little consolation that I had been 'in good company' in my ignorance of genetics; in fact, that aspect of the situation seemed even more alarming to me. I was overwhelmed by the realization of the almost Herculean job that would be needed to get the majority of psychologists and educators fully to recognize the importance of genetics for the understanding of variation in psychological traits. Hence, rather than attempting at first to add small increments of original empirical research to the body of knowledge on the genetics of human abilities, I thought my most useful role at that point was a primarily didactic one.
The study of inbreeding depression seems to me especially important in the study of human abilities, because inbreeding depression indicates genetic dominance, and the presence and degree of dominance are related to natural selection for the trait in the course of its biological evolution. It was of great interest to me to discover, for example, that of the several ability factors that can be extracted from the various subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, the one that shows the greatest susceptibility to inbreeding depression is the g factor (Jensen, 1983b). This finding indicates that one of our most widely used standard psychometric tests of intelligence yields scores that reflect some part of the variance in the biological intelligence that has developed in the course of human evolution.
The key theme in Gordon's chapter, that lends it theoretical coherence, is his clear perception that the guiding force in my own work in mental measurement arises principally from my constant search for construct validity that can embrace the widest range of phenomena in differential psychology. In my philosophy, science is an unrelenting battle against ad hoc explanation. No other field in psychology with which I have been acquainted has been so infested by ad hoc theories as the attempts to explain social class, racial, and ethnic group differences on various tests of mental ability. My pursuit of what I have called the Spearman hypothesis (Jensen, 1985a), which is nicely explicated by Gordon, represents an effort to displace various ad hoc views of the black-white differences on psychometric tests by pointing out the relationship of the differences to the g loadings of tests, thereby bringing the black-white difference into the whole nomothetic network of the g construct. It is within this framework, I believe, that the black-white difference in psychometric tests and all their correlates, will ultimately have to be understood. Understanding the black-white difference is part and parcel of understanding the nature of g itself. My thoughts about researching the nature of g have been expounded in a recent book chapter (Jensen, 1986b). Enough said. Gordon's chapter speaks for itself, and, with his three commentaries on the chapters by Osterlind, Shepard, and Scheuneman, leaves little else for me to add to this topic.
pp. 430-1
The study of race differences in intelligence is an acid test case for psychology. Can behavioral scientists research this subject with the same freedom, objectivity, thoroughness, and scientific integrity with which they go about investigating other psychological phenomena? In short, can psychology be scientific when it confronts an issue that is steeped in social ideologies? In my attempts at self- analysis this question seems to me to be one of the most basic motivating elements in my involvement with research on the nature of the observed psychological differences among racial groups. In a recent article (Jensen, 1985b) I stated:I make no apology for my choice of research topics. I think that my own nominal fields of expertise (educational and differential psychology) would be remiss if they shunned efforts to describe and understand more accurately one of the most perplexing and critical of current problems. Of all the myriad subjects being investigated in the behavioral and social sciences, it seems to me that one of the most easily justified is the black- white statistical disparity in cognitive abilities, with its far reaching educational, economic, and social consequences. Should we not apply the tools of our science to such socially important issues as best we can? The success of such efforts will demonstrate that psychology can actually behave as a science in dealing with socially sensitive issues, rather than merely rationalize popular prejudice and social ideology. (p. 258)
Given the present state of our knowledge, and insufficient thought on my part, my own prescription for the time being is to deal as best we can with individual differences and let the statistical group differences fall where they may. Society's general concern with race and other social group differences is not the product of research on these matters, but arises from chauvinist-like attitudes of racial group identity and solidarity in connection with political power and economic interest. It might be termed meta-racism. The 'race problem' from that viewpoint is lower in my own hierarchy of values than concern with individual justice and alleviation of individual misfortune. Though it would be blind not to acknowledge the reality of certain statistical differences among populations, I would find it difficult to be the least concerned with any given individual's racial heritage. Perhaps I may be too insensitive on this score, never having felt much sense of racial identity myself.
The comments on value-free psychology are so vague as to have no teeth. I wish Sternberg had delivered on whatever point he was trying to make by pointing to some actual examples of how my values (or their lack) have led me to 'comparisons that should not be made' or inferences predicated on untrue assumptions. The 'value-free' psychology I would advocate is not free of scientific values, or humanistic moral values, or the value of social responsibility, but I do decry the infestation of psychology, or any science, by political and social ideologies. Ideological contamination of psychological research can only make suspect the claim of psychology to scientific status.
But the most frequently heard objection to further research into human genetics, particularly research into the genetics of behavioral characteristics, is that the knowledge gained might be misused. I agree. Knowledge also, however, makes possible greater freedom of choice. It is a necessary condition for human freedom in the fullest sense. I therefore completely reject the idea that we should cease to discover, to invent, and to know (in the scientific meaning of that term) merely because what we find could be misunderstood, misused, or put to evil and inhumane ends. This can be done with almost any invention, discovery, or addition to knowledge. Would anyone argue that the first caveman who discovered how to make a fire with flint stones should have been prevented from making fire, or from letting others know of his discovery, on the grounds that it could be misused by arsonists? Of course not. Instead, we make a law against arson and punish those who are caught violating the law. The real ethical issue, I believe, is not concerned with whether we should or should not strive for a greater scientific understanding of our universe and of ourselves. For a scientist, it seems to me, this is axiomatic.
1972. Genetics and Education.
We must clearly distinguish between research on racial differences and racism. Racism implies hate or aversion and aims at denying equal rights and opportunities to persons because of their racial origin. It should be attacked by enacting and enforcing laws and arrangements that help to insure equality of civil and political rights and to guard against racial discrimination in educational and occupational opportunities. But to fear research on genetic racial differences, or the possible existence of a biological basis for differences in abilities, is, in a sense, to grant the racist's assumption: that if it should be established beyond reasonable doubt that there are biological or genetically conditioned differences in mental abilities among individuals or groups, then we are justified in oppressing or exploiting those who are most limited in genetic endowment. This is, of course, a complete non sequitur. Equality of human rights does not depend upon the proposition that there are no genetically conditioned individual differences or group differences. Equality of rights is a moral axiom: it does not follow from any set of scientific data.
I have always advocated dealing with persons as individuals, and I am opposed to according differential treatment to persons on the basis of their race, color, national origin, or social-class background. But I am also opposed to ignoring or refusing to investigate the causes of the well-established differences among racial groups in the distribution of educationally relevant traits, particularly IQ. Purely environmental explanations of racial differences in intelligence will never gain the status of scientific knowledge unless genetic theories are put to the test and disproved by evidence.
[Interview: Responding to a question about whether it was smart to publish his 1969 article at the time he did] In retrospect, however, I would hope that I would not have changed a thing in that article, even if I had been able to imagine the supposed "storm" it caused. I will be ashamed the day I feel I should knuckle under to social-political pressures about issues and research I think are important for the advance of scientific knowledge.
Profiles in Research Author(s): Arthur Jensen, Daniel H. Robinson and Howard Wainer, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Autumn, 2006), pp. 327-352
I doubt that scientific understanding is advanced by one's trying to consider every facet of a phenomenon simultaneously and wallowing in the subjective complexity of raw observations. A highly analytical and abstractive approach … will lead to a knowledge of the elements or most fundamental relationships from which we can then reconstruct the full complexity of the phenomenon we had originally set out to study, but now in a way that permits us to understand it in a scientific sense. I find considerable appeal in Newton's famous motto, 'Nature is simple', which I take to mean that relatively simple conceptual relationships can be found within Nature's phenomenal complexity, and it is the scientist's job to discover these.
Jensen, A. R. (1984). Jensen oversimplified: A reply to Sternberg. Journal of Social and Biological Structures, 1, 127—130.
Quotes by others
That APA has multiple aims is explicit in its constitution. The influence of ideology (obvious or latent) is discernible in some of its actions. I offer one recent and clear example of which I have direct personal experience. In 1997, Division 5 conferred awards on some two dozen elder psychologists, commending their lifetime achievements in contribution to scientific knowledge and applications of evaluation, measurement, and statistics. I was pleased to be one of the recipients and like to think I deserved the award; but I was also a bit embarrassed. There was one name conspicuously missing from the list, some – one whose contributions, in both quality and quantity, certainly excelled mine, namely, Arthur Jensen. At least a third, and arguably the majority, of the recipients would have to say that about themselves in relation to Jensen. No informed rational mind can have the slightest doubt as to the explanation of this distressing social phenomenon: Arthur Jensen's facts are unpleasant to face, and his theoretical inferences from the facts are politically incorrect.
Meehl, P. E. (1998). Psychology of the scientist: LXXVIII. Relevance of a scientist's ideology in communal recognition of scientific merit. Psychological reports, 83(3_suppl), 1123-1144.
Emil O. W. Kirkegaard June 22, 2014 March 21, 2018


text:
Starbucks After Earnings: More Room for Growth
The latest earnings report from Starbucks confirms that demand remains remarkably strong for the company, and this caffeinated growth story has a long way to go.
Andrés Cardenal
(TMFacardenal)
Source: Starbucks.
On Friday, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) reported earnings for the quarter ended on March 30, and performance was remarkably strong, especially in comparison to the numbers reported by competitor Dunkin' Brands (NASDAQ:DNKN) for the same period. Even better, on a forward-looking basis, Starbucks looks strongly positioned for growth over years to come.
Hot performance in a cold environment
Total sales grew by 9% to $3.9 billion during the quarter, as global comparable-store sales increased by 6% and the company opened 335 new stores during the quarter for a total of 20,519 stores on a global scale at the end of the period.
Performance was strong across different geographies, comparable sales in both the Americas and EMEA grew by 6% during the quarter, and the China/Asia-Pacific region delivered an increase of 7% in comparable-store sales. Channel development sales grew by 10% during the quarter.
All of the company's reportable segments produced increases in profitability, and overall operating margin expanded by 130 basis points to 16.6% of sales. Earnings per share excluding a nonroutine gain in the prior year increased by 17% to $0.56 during the quarter.
Management is expecting sales during fiscal 2014 to increase by 10% on the back of a mid-single-digits increase in comparable-store sales and approximately 1,500 new store openings. Starbucks also raised earnings guidance for the year to between $2.62 and $2.68 per share, versus a previous guidance in the range of $2.59 to $2.67.
The numbers look quite strong, especially considering the challenging environment affecting the industry lately. Rival Dunkin' Brands reported earnings on April 24, and the company is no match to Starbucks when it comes to financial performance.
Dunkin' Brands delivered a total increase of 6.2% in revenues during the quarter ended on March 29 to $171.9 million. Performance in Dunkin' Donuts U.S. was quite disappointing, though, with an increase of only 1.2% in comparable-store sales during the quarter, which management attributed to harsh weather conditions.
Dunkin' Brands is particularly concentrated in the Northeast region, so there are valid reasons to believe that the weather was especially problematic for the company over the last several months. Still, this makes Starbucks look even stronger in comparison, as the company is demonstrating its ability to generate solid performance under difficult conditions for the industry.
A steaming-hot future
Even in the U.S., where the company has reached a significant level of market penetration, Starbucks is generating solid growth, with same-store sales increasing by 6% during the quarter, and this is a very healthy sign for the company when it comes to evaluating demand strength.
In the China/Asia-Pacific region, where the company has abundant room for store base expansion, total sales jumped by a remarkable 24% to $265.3 million during the quarter, so Starbucks is far from reaching saturation point.
From the earnings conference call:
Despite currently operating over 20,000 Starbucks stores in 64 countries, our research clearly demonstrates that Starbucks still accounts for very small share of total global coffee occasions and that we are significantly under-stored in many markets, including North America, China, Brazil and India, today our fastest growing international markets.
Besides, menu innovation is a considerable growth driver for Starbucks, and the company is leveraging recent acquisitions, such as Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, and Teavana, to expand its portfolio of offerings.
Starbucks has been experimenting lately with cold carbonated drinks via its Fizzio machine in select markets in the U.S. and Asia. Management described the experience as "an overwhelming success," so the company will be rolling out Fizzio in 3,000 stores across different countries.
According to Israeli business publication Globes, Starbucks is in advanced talks to purchase 10% of home soda pioneer SodaStream (NASDAQ:SODA) for $1.1 billion. There has been no confirmation or denial by the companies, and it's hard to tell at this stage if such a deal is likely to go through or not.
But SodaStream is making big inroads in the home-soda category while gaining rapid acceptance from customers and business partners, so a deal with SodaStream could fit quite well into the multiproduct and multichannel strategy for growth being implemented by Starbucks.
SodaStream would unquestioningly have a lot to gain by partnering with such a popular and recognizable brand as Starbucks, so partnership between Starbucks and SodaStream sounds like a convenient move for both companies.
Starbucks has also moved beyond the testing phase with its evening offerings, which includes wine and beer in combination with more sophisticated food items. The company is advancing with the rollout of its evening offerings over the coming years, and management believes that more than 1,000 Starbucks stores across the U.S. will include such offerings in the medium term.
Increasing sales in the evenings could provide a big boost not only to sales but also to profit margins, as it would allow for growing sales without any big investments in new stores.
The latest earnings report form Starbucks confirms that demand remains quite strong for the company, and the coffee powerhouse still has a lot of room for store base expansion. In addition, menu innovation and expansion into new categories bode remarkably well when it comes to growth opportunities. Starbucks is well positioned for caffeinated growth in the years ahead.
Andres Cardenal, CFA is a tenacious researcher of the best investment opportunities around the world. Andres is an economist and CFA Charterholder living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Naturally flavored. Follow me on Twitter for more investment ideas: Follow @andrescardenal
NASDAQ:SODA
DNKN
Dunkin' Brands Group
NASDAQ:DNKN
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text:
The wall? Let 'El Chapo' pick up the tab, says Ted Cruz
by WorldTribune Staff, April 26, 2017
The U.S. government is currently seeking the forfeiture of some $14 billion in illicit profits from "El Chapo" (drug lord Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Lorea).
That should cover the cost of the promised "great, great wall" that Donald Trump made the centerpiece of his successful campaign for the U.S. presidency.
"Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border," Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said.
Related: Do the math: Use Mexican drug cash to pay for the wall, Jan. 29, 2017
Cruz on April 26 introduced the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act.
The bill would reserve "any amounts forfeited to the U.S. Government as a result of the criminal prosecution of 'El Chapo' and other drug lords for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border," Cruz said in a press release.
"El Chapo", the former Sinaloa drug cartel kingpin, was recently extradited to the U.S. and indicted for several drug-related cases, including conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering.
The indictment alleges that between January 1989 and December 2014, the drug lord led a continuing criminal enterprise responsible for importing into the United States and distributing massive amounts of drugs and conspiring to murder anyone who posed a threat to his narcotics enterprise.
"By leveraging any criminally forfeited assets of El Chapo and his ilk, we can offset the wall's cost and make meaningful progress toward achieving President Trump's stated border security objectives," Cruz said.
' says Ted Cruz, Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Lorea, Sinaloa drug cartel, The wall? Let 'El Chapo' pick up the tab, Trump's wall, U.S.-Mexico border wall, WorldTribune.com
The wall? Let 'El Chapo' pick up the tab, says Ted Cruz added by World Tribune on April 26, 2017


Yoga Teachers: They're Just Like You!
Last week in one of my classes, while demonstrating a difficult pose and doing it with the class, I tried to come back into the pose while talking about it, and I failed. My muscles were tired, I didn't have the correct alignment, and I wasn't focused, so I tried to push up into it, and nothing happened. I laughed, said "lets try that again," and proceeded to do it correctly in order to try and show the class what I was talking about. I was completely fine with messing up in front of a room full of people (I've done it many times before and will do it many times again), but right after I messed up, one of the students close to me in the front row said, "Wow! I'm glad to see that you get tired too!," and this comment really stuck with me.
"Are you kidding?" I thought!? Um, yes, obviously I get tired, too. I get really tired. I often get so tired that I have to stop functioning and go to bed immediately. And yes, my muscles give out in class all the time--I'm not susceptible to muscle failure just because I'm a teacher--you know that, right?
I've heard many stories from my fellow teachers about falling in front of their classes (I've done it), tripping on a student, saying something crazy without even realizing it, or completely forgetting sequences half-way through the class and having to ask the students what to do next. It's not always easy teaching yoga, and as teachers, we're bound to make lots of mistakes.
Similarly, in my Yoga & Body Image workshop last weekend, someone said that it really helps them with their body image issues and negative self-talk when a teacher tells the class that they can't do a certain pose, or that they're working on it, but don't have it yet, as it makes the student feel less judgmental towards themselves if they realize that the teacher can't do certain poses, either. Therefore, I think that "messing up" or failing to do a pose correctly every once in a while would have the same effect.
So, here's the kicker: teachers of any kind--and also coaches, therapists, group leaders, successful managers, and "role models"--they're just like you. We're all human, we all make mistakes, and none of us have superhuman powers. It can be really helpful for us to remember this, as we all have people in our lives who we put on a pedestal or can't see clearly, because we come to them looking for knowledge and guidance and they are often able to give it to us. I have my own teachers that I idealize (or idolize?) and in the past, have projected my own ideas of perfection onto them, while knowing that really, it's much healthier for me, and much more realistic for them, if I can see them as normal, flawed (albiet wonderful) human beings.
One of the things that we often talk about in Teacher Trainings is how many times, students will label their teachers in their minds--sometimes without even realizing it. Just as people do with other types of teachers in their lives, it's easy to think that the person who is leading you has all the answers, or never messes up, or, in the case of yoga, can do every pose perfectly. But really, when you think about it, we all know that's not true.
1. For my fellow teachers out there, it's okay to share your "flaws," your inabilities, and your own struggles with your classes. As long as you aren't forgetting about the flow or energy of the class and/or doing it all the time (which could become distracting!), it's wonderfully humanizing and freeing to tell your students that you can't do something. In fact, I think you should, as it often gives people perspective and allows them to lighten up on themselves (i.e., "If the teacher can't do it, it's okay that I'm not there yet!").
2. For my fellow students, remember that your teachers are just like you! They mess up, they get tired, they fall on their faces, they hurt people's feelings accidentally, they get angry, upset, and moody, and they, too, fall apart every once in a while. Just like you, they're trying their best--but if you put them on a pedestal, you'll eventually have to watch them come down off of that pedestal, and that can often be harder than just seeing them as they are.
Are you with me? I hope this makes sense and allows you to ease up the pressure on yourself this week. Sometimes we all need a little reminder that we're not striving for perfection (as it's unttainable!)--we're all just doing the best we can with every given moment. So lighten up!!!


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Fleets >
Oct 14, 2016 - 07:34 am
UK, ABB, U.S. Navy, Carloh, Evolt.
ABBCarlohEvoltU.S. NavyUK
UK invests further in electric mobility: The UK government announced that it will spend a total of 30m pounds on charging infrastructure and another 5,75m on subsidising electric two-wheelers and fuel cell vehicles. It will also take delivery of two more Nissan Leaf.
Rapid bus charger for all: ABB has opened its first fast-charger for electric buses at the Volvo bus terminal in Gothenburg. It is based on the OppCharge interface, due to which buses and chargers from different manufactures are made compatible. The goal is to simplify the introduction of electric bus systems.
transportengineer.org.uk, volvobuses.com
U.S. Navy goes EV: The California Energy Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of the Navy, according to which the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy will lease a total of 250 electric vehicles for its location in the Golden State. It is the biggest U.S. government deal for electric vehicles to date.
Luxembourg shares electric: The carsharing scheme Carloh, which kicked off about a year ago, will also offer EVs to share from November, as well as open nine new stations. How many electric cars will be made available has not been announced.
wort.lu
Connecting Western Isles: Charge point supplier Evolt has installed another 11 chargers on the islands of the Outer Hebrides (UK). That includes three 50 kW chargers and three 22 kW fast-chargers. The remaining five chargers have an output of 7kW.
Author: Stefan Koeller
Munich, Cannon, BlueCity, Evercar, EVGo.
UK, Royal HaskoningDHV, Greenspot, Indianapolis, New Zealand.
https://www.electrive.com/2016/10/14/uk-abb-u-s-navy-carloh-evolt/


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Beckingham cum Saundby ....
back to contents ...
The Recreation Room ...
This was originally a Primitive Methodist Chapel, the date on the building is shown as 1836 but it is believed to be earlier. There are records of a Society of Methodists in Beckingham consisting of 10 members in 1788. The Chapel was built in front of the old Pinfold, which is shown on the 1777 Enclosure map but the chapel is not. Whites directory 1832 states that a Methodist Chapel was built in Beckingham in 1807 then extended in 1821, which may refer to this building or the original Wesleyan Chapel in the High Street. It was used as a "Free Prayer" Chapel in 1841. A Certificate stating that it was used as a place of worship before 1852 and would continue to be used as such by Primitives was granted in 1861.
Kelly's directory states that there was still a Primitive Methodist Chapel in use in the village in 1925. It is unclear exactly when it stopped being used as a Chapel, but after the 2nd World War it was used for recreational purposes. When Misterton Rural Council existed, they used the building for their meetings. Other purposes included being used as a hairdressers' two days a week. Although no longer a place of worship it was still registered as a place to be married up until the 1960's. However, it gradually fell into a state of disrepair and was eventually closed in 1971.
The Watson family obtained the building and Miss Nora Watson sold it to the Parish Council for £50 in the late 1970's, on condition that it was used for the benefit of the whole community.
A major renovation took place at a cost of £14,000, with the help of donations from local firms, BP Explorations, Trent Wharfage and Brashes, as well as money received from Parish Council funds and a Bassetlaw District Council Grant. The renovations included an extension for toilets and a kitchen as well as furniture and fittings. It kept its distinctive Victorian appearance with the 2 arched windows on both its front and side and a clay tiled roof. The original low wall and the iron railings were removed long ago, the railings probably going to the war effort.
It was reopened as a new Recreation Room in October 1983 with a cheese and wine buffet, to which 70 people attended. The opening ceremony was performed by the then Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council, Mrs Connie Tucker. Rob Clarke of BP Explorations, Robert Marshall of Brashes, Richard Adams Chairman of the Parish Council and Councillor Derek Weir also attended.
There is a plaque on the outside wall of the building commemorating Beckingham winning the Best Kept Village Competition in Group B in 1985, for which the village was presented with an Oak Tree, £100 and a Commemorative Certificate. A ceremony was held with refreshments in the Recreation Room with everyone in the village being invited. People were asked for suggestions on what the £100 should be spent on, and it was decided to purchase a bench seat to be placed somewhere in the village, this was duly done. The Oak Tree was planted on the Green and the certificate was framed and can be seen inside the building. Beckingham has come close to winning several times since then, including coming 3rd in 2007.
Also on display inside is a wooden model of a ship, presented by the Watson family and made by a Mr Jervis who was a draughtsman for Watson's Shipyard. The model was later framed in a glass cabinet.
In the late 1980's the Parish Council applied to have the building listed, this was refused. A ramp and railings were added to the front of the building in 1993. There is a useful map on the outside wall showing all footpaths in Beckingham and Saundby, along with a Parish Council notice board. Today, the Recreation Room is well used for small functions, various meetings and activities and also used in conjunction with activities on the Green. The location of the Recreation Room is particularly useful to those who are less mobile, being in the centre of the village.
It was well known for some time that the building suffered from damp problems, the outside rendering was in a bad state of repair and among other things the boiler needed replacing. After some discussion the Parish Council decided to undertake improvements and refurbishments and these were carried out in July and August of 2008, organised by the Parish Clerk.
This included removing some of the plaster on the walls inside and replacing, along with damproofing and complete redecoration. The kitchen was refitted with new units and worktops along with new flooring. A new central heating and hot water boiler was fitted. New carpeting, curtains and blinds were added generously donated by Baris Facades and Linings Ltd. A new facility of a projector and screen were also fitted with the expert help of Chris du Feu and is available for use by the community, local organisations and businesses using the building. Outside the old rendering was completely removed, the walls damp proofed and re rendered with a Tyrolean finish as before. The outside was repainted, the guttering replaced and the flat roof of the extension was also replaced. These improvements to the building along with the Spinney landscaping and the already established Green will hopefully make for a far more attractive and useful amenity for the community.
Click here for more on Recreation Room today ....
www.beckingham-northnotts.org.uk
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Can 'Pupil' Upstage Former Master In Sunday's Taree Cup?
History beckons should premier provincial trainer Kris Lees's gallopers be beaten by his former 'pupil', Port Macquarie gelding Glitra, in the $80,000 Stacks Law Firm Taree Cup Showcase at Taree-Wingham Race Club's $305,000 TAB meeting on Sunday.
Five-year-old gelding Glitra is now in the stable of trainer John Sprague after originally having two wins for Lees and qualified for a start when recording its fourth win for the new stable in the Taree Cup Prelude.
Lees is aiming for back-to-back wins in the event with seven-year-old gelding Olympic Academy and along with five-year-old gelding Admiral Jello is striving for his third cup win in the past four years.
He said Glitra "licked out the bin" after the Prelude win by three lengths over 1624m and the big query is whether the gelding can get the 2000m of the cup for its first time beyond the Prelude distance: "My horse is jumping out of his skin and was given a special gallop on the main track at Port on Wednesday," Sprague said.
He won the cup as a jockey on Just Prince for Port trainer Glen Hodge in 1980 and dreams of winning a country cup as a trainer. But the might of Lees cannot be denied as he has planned the assault on the cup many months ago. He said that its past three city runs up to 1600m should have Olympic Academy "looking for 2000m".
Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker had three wins from three starters at Canterbury on Wednesday and is confident of a good showing from five-year-old gelding Gold Ambition: "He has to be ridden for cover and is a hard horse to catch; his last win was at Bathurst last prep," he said.
Wyong trainer Damien Lane is fairly bullish about six-year-old gelding Pirate Ben which has been thereabouts in city races: "He hasn't been beaten far and the 2000m is more to his liking," he said.
Another Wyong trainer, Kim Waugh, had an emphatic win with five-year-old gelding King Viv over 2000m at Rosehill last Saturday and it is a big hope after having four wins from only 12 starts.
Of the mares, Coffs Harbour's Sofin's bad run last start on its home track should be erased as it did bolt in in the Port Macquarie Cup over 2000m last October and has a good record at this track whereas Who Is Game, trained on the track by Michael Byers is on trial at the distance.
Meanwhile, the Mid North Coast's "Horse of the Year" for the 2015/16 season, Tuncurry's seven-year-old gelding Arise Augustus, looms as the galloper to beat in the $35,000 Taree Kia Manning Lightning Showcase over 1000m at Taree on Sunday.
Evans is aiming Arise Augustus towards the $200,000 The Shorts over 1100m at Royal Randwick on September 16. On Sunday he has Hawkesbury's Chelsea Ings taking the ride, the apprentice having had two mounts on the galloper for two wins.
Last year's Lightning winner, eight-year-old gelding Plateau Gold, trained at Coffs by Jim Jarvis, was third behind Arise Augustus and has improved immensely since.
"He is older and usually takes a little longer to hit top gear. It would be nice to get back-to-back wins," Jarvis said. Also in the mix is six-year-old gelding Ice Bucket, trained at Wyong by Allan Kehoe, which had no luck when drawn wide in the Kirby at Grafton.
SELECTIONS RACE 1: Play Now 1, Miss Victa 2, Mamzar 3. RACE 2: Azcannyaz 1, Texas Tycoon 2, Sepae 3. RACE 3: Reggenza 1, Dark Elixir 2, On My Terms 3. RACE 4: Magic Arli 1, Oakfield Costa 2, Lozza 3. RACE 5: Smokey Ora 1, Natural Predator 2, Lobban Hood 3. RACE 6: Shrapelli 1, The Iron Maiden 2, Triple Hero 3. RACE 7: Admiral Jello 1, King Viv 2, Glitra 3. RACE 8: Arise Augustus 1, Plateau Gold 2, Ice Bucket 3.


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The gated 3,651 square foot 4 bedroom/3.5 bath (main house) + 1 bedroom/2 bath (guest house) mid-century residence features large scale public rooms, an open floor plan and great indoor-outdoor flow. A large guest house with kitchenette and full bath, swimming pool, expansive lawn area and majestic Redwoods are reminiscent of a weekend retreat.


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Why Spotify and Netflix Need to Worry About a Global Recession | Music Industry Blog
A growing body of economists is becoming increasingly convinced that a global recession is edging closer. The last time we experienced a global economic downturn was the 2008 credit crunch. Although the coming recession will likely be a bigger shock to the global economy, it nonetheless gives us a baseline for what happens to consumer spending habits. When consumer income declines or is at risk, discretionary spend is hit first and often hardest. Crucially, entertainment falls firmly into discretionary spend so, as in 2008, it will be a canary in the mine for recessionary impact. However, streaming is the crucial difference between 2008 and 2019, and is one that could prove to be like throwing petrol on a fire.
Streaming has driven the rise of the contract-free subscriber
The growth of streaming music and video has been a narrative of the new replacing the old; of flexibility replacing rigidity. Crucial in this has been the role of contracts. Traditional media and telco subscriptions are contract-based, legally binding consumers into long-term relationships that typically need to paid off in order to be cancelled. Digital subscriptions, however, are predominately contract-free. For video this has created the phenomenon of the savvy switcher – consumers that subscribe and unsubscribe to different streaming services to watch their favourite shows. For music, because all the services have pretty much the same music, there has been negligible impact. In a recession, however, all of this could change.
No contract, no commitment
Faced with having to cut spending, the average streaming subscriber would most likely look to cut traditional subscriptions first. For example, a Netflix subscriber with a cable subscription may want to cut the cable subscription and keep hold of Netflix because a) it is cheaper, and b) it is a better match for their content consumption. However, that consumer would quickly learn that cancelling a cable subscription mid-contract actually costs a lot of money. So, they would end up having to cancel Netflix instead, because there is no contractual commitment. The irony of the situation is that a consumer is having to cut the thing they least want to cut, simply because that is all they can do.
Music subscriptions could be collateral damage
The same consumer may also find themselves having to cancel their Spotify subscription, because cancelling Netflix did not save anywhere near as much money as cancelling cable would have done. On top of this, they probably would not feel the impact of cancelling Spotify anywhere near as much as cancelling Netflix. When Netflix goes, it just stops. Spotify on the other hand has a pretty good free tier, and that's without even considering YouTube, Soundcloud, Pandora and a whole host of other places consumers can get streaming music for free. Streaming music is essentially recession-proof, but in a way that works for consumers, not for services.
If we do enter a global recession and it is strong enough to dent entertainment spend, then a probable scenario is that traditional distribution companies will be the key beneficiaries through the simple fact that that have their subscribers locked into contracts. This could even give these incumbents breathing space to prepare for a second attempt at combatting the threat posed by streaming insurgents. It would almost be like winding back the clock.
Tech majors may bundle their way out of a recession
Some companies could use this as an opportunity to aggressively gain market share. Amazon's bundled approach could prove to be a recession-buster proposition, giving consumers 'free' access to a range of content as part of the Prime package. Similarly, Apple could decide to take its suite of subscription services (including Apple Music and Apple TV+) and bundle them into the cost of iPhones. This would enable it to help drive premium-priced device sales in a recession by positioning them as value-for-money options.
Stuck between contracts and bundles
For Spotify, Netflix and other streaming pure-plays, a recession could see them squeezed between traditional distribution companies and ambitious tech majors with contracts on one side and bundles on the other. Streaming services have been the disruptors for the last decade. A recession may well role-switch them into the disrupted.
[from https://ift.tt/2lL5wtK]


The 21st century has witnessed the burst of a technological bubble whose noise is drowning the entire population. Business to business or B2B is no exception even though it barely targets consumers directly. Interestingly, the alternate names for B2B aree-commerce and e-biz on the internet due to the mode of its communications.
B2B's are today participating in the revolution of digital selling and implementing strategic planning has become inevitable. It's a competitive market and digital marketing is the differentiator which makes or breaks a business. The internet revolution started with B2C, but it is forecasted that B2B revenues will far exceed B2C.
Framing your audience via the website. Complying to google analytics will keep your site at the top as per industry standards. B2B has a focussed, smaller, niche market. 46% of B2B buyers are millennials. This group research online before reaching out to make a purchase. SEM is #1 paid & webinars #2 unpaid tactic for marketing online.
Mapping the right channel for the right audience. Better leads come from a better understanding of the customer. Improving lead quality is a major challenge faced by most B2B marketers for digital success. This is done by mapping the customer journey accurately. Time and money have to be invested to better understand the data-driven and in-depth analysis of the buyer's journey.
Tapping the social buzz. Know what is trending with predictive analysis. 55% of B2B marketers have hired marketing analysts as they get twice the benefits of: annual revenue growth rate, larger market share compared to competitors, and exceeding returns on ROI. Social media has become a powerful marketing tool for B2B. Long term relationships with clients can be built with social media.
Avail Accessibility for users. B2B Marketers are investing heavily on automation tools to boost sales. Also, the increasing use of mobile devices has to be taken into consideration while planning any marketing campaign. Both access and navigation of websites across all devices have to be made feasible.
Increase visibility and reach. Not just content, use image and video. Experiment repurposing the content as slideshare, articles, infographic. Youtube and publications too should be utilized. Efforts should be towards building online engagement and customer retention. This calls for content quantity and quality.
Brand building should be the end goal of any marketing campaign digital or otherwise. To help you get through the challenges in marketing your IT Businesses we have developed a free downloadable eBook on "Effective Marketing Ways For It Businesses".


Great article Alan. The time savings are the justification alone for ECM products. Browser based makes it much more assessible and like you mentioned easier to update. Now how about adding electronic faxing to the product so we can easily get those documents to those customers not up to date in the digital world? thanks.
Thanks Joe. I understand the suggestion and I will pass it along. Right now you can use the "view locally" feature and once the document is downloaded into its native viewer and a PC Fax application like efax to fax the document(s).
If you're looking at sending faxes from iDentifi we have some customers using it with 3rd party applications (such as http://www.efax.com) today. End users print the documents from iDentifi as they normally would but they choose the fax solution as the printer. It will then bring up the 3rd party interface so you can enter a destination phone number.