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Hotels in Western Cape
The Moorings, Knysna
Hotels in Eastern Cape
EL ICC, East London
Regent, East London
Mpongo Game Reserve
Hotels in KwaZulu-Natal
The Richards, Richards Bay
Bayshore, Richards Bay
Cutty Sark, Scottburgh
Sani Pass, Drakensberg
Premier Hotel Umhlanga
Premier Splendid Inn Umhlanga
Hotels in Gauteng
O.R. Tambo, JHB
Falstaff, Sandton
Quatermain, Sandton
Mapungubwe, JHB
Roodevalley, Pretoria
Hotels in Mpumalanga
The Winkler, Mpumulanga
Hotels in Free State
Premier Splendid Inn Bloemfontein
Premier Resort Sani Pass (Drakensberg)
Premier Resort The Moorings (Knysna)
Premier Resort Cutty Sark (Scottburgh)
Premier Resort Mpongo Private Game Reserve
East London ICC
EL ICC Events
EL ICC Event Types
EL ICC Wine & Dine
EL ICC Event Enquiries
EL ICC Exhibition Manuals
Conferencing in the Western Cape
Conferencing in the Eastern Cape
Conferencing in Kwa-Zulu Natal
Conferencing in Gauteng
Conferencing in Mpumalanga
Conferencing in Free State
Premier Clean Check Promise
Latest Government COVID-19 Regulations
Premier COVID-19 Operations Protocols
Premier COVID-19 Cancellation Policy
COVID-19 Essential Travel Downloadable Forms
Premier Rewards
Mr Samuel Nassimov
Samuel Nassimov is the Managing Director of one of South Africa's fastest growing, independently owned hotel groups, Premier Hotels & Resorts.
Nassimov attended hotel school in Tel Aviv in the 1970's and started his career at the bottom of the ranks at the city's famous Dan Hotel. Driven by a passion for cooking, his next step was as a trainee chef, a position in which he excelled and which resulted in a promotion to Head of the Grill Room.
Like any successful entrepreneur, Nassimov has always been driven by a love for developing, creating and completing new projects. This led him to South Africa where, his passion for hotels took flight and in 1990 he acquired the Carlton Hotel in East London. Very dilapidated and in much need of a revamp, he closed the hotel for a full year, reopening in 1991 as the King David Suites and Conference Centre.
Later that same year, Nassimov won a tender bid for the land upon which he would build the Regent Hotel. He developed the hotel into the largest conferencing venue in East London and it is on this property that he later developed the East London International Convention Centre (ELICC) and Premier Hotel EL ICC.
From a humble 40 bedrooms, Nassimov has grown the group's portfolio to encompass 16 hotels and resorts, providing almost 2000 bedrooms to discerning business and leisure travellers and employing in excess of 1500 employees.
With an industry background spanning over 3 decades, Nassimov cites the growth in online bookings, research and marketing as an industry revolution. "Technology is radically shifting the way we conduct business and while the South African hospitality industry still has a lot to learn from our international counterparts, at Premier Hotels and Resorts we have massive plans in place to become the industry leader in this arena."
With a superior collection of hotels, resorts and conference facilities in the principal business and travel destinations in SA and with Samuel Nassimov at the helm, Premier Hotels & Resorts is a rapidly growing force in the South African leisure, business travel and conventions industry.
Mrs Sigal Nassimov-Geva
Group Human Capital & Social Responsibility Manager
Sigal Nassimov-Geva oversees the day to day operations of the Human Resources department.
Sigal completed a BA (Bachelor of Arts, specialising in Computer System Analysis) degree first class and went on to complete a MBA at the University of Manchester before immigrating to South Africa to join Premier Hotels & Resorts in August 2004. Immigrating to South Africa as an inexperienced yet qualified foreign national, Nassimov-Geva has, through hard work and passion, established herself as a well-known and recognised businesswoman within the Hospitality Industry (2012 Regional Business Woman of the Year – Corporate Category).
Since becoming involved at senior management level, Sigal has played a pivotal role in the transformation of the company from a traditionally family run business into a contemporary corporate environment, in keeping with the company's vision for growth and future expansion plans.
Mr Richard Bray
Group Operations Manager
A born Hotelier, with over 30 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, Group Operations Manager of Premier Hotels & Resorts, Richard Bray has made an impressive career of living his passion. Richard Bray studied Hotel Management at the Wits Hotel School and holds a Postgraduate Diploma from the University of Pretoria. Before joining Premier Hotels & Resorts, Bray followed his passion for the hospitality industry with Southern Sun Hotels, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Three Cities Hospitality. Over the years Richard Bray has received numerous people management accolades as well as a Hotel of the Year award during his time with Southern Sun.
He is one of the key catalysts in the group's drive to offer guests consistency, an exceptional experience, tangible memories and impactful differences in people's lives.
Keeping abreast of local and international trends, Bray acknowledges that information technology is radically changing the operations of the hotel business, providing consumers with access to information like never before and giving them a strong voice to hold hotels accountable.
He firmly believes in a service orientated approach and is dedicated to offering the best possible service and value for money at Premier Hotels & Resort's range of luxury hotel accommodation.
Connect with Richard on LinkedIn
Mr Bruce McKay
Group Food and Beverage Manager
Bruce McKay oversees the day to day operations of the Food & Beverage Departments within the Group by providing leadership and support to all F&B HOD's in the achievement of their financial and operational targets through 18 properties located throughout South Africa.
Bruce has completed a National Diploma in Hotel & Catering Administration and Food & Beverage Management as well as a Professional Chef Training. Through Bruce's hard work and passion he has achieved many accolades and professional membership, Member of the esteemed South African Chefs Associations Honour Society – Academy of Chefs, Winner of Local Hero Eastern Cape 2017, World President 41 Club International, to name but a few. He has established himself as a driven individual within the Hospitality Industry since 1987.
Since becoming involved at Premier Hotels & Resorts Bruce has played a pivotal role in the re-focusing of cost control and the attention to detail within all aspects of the hospitality industry providing the guidance to maintain the highest of standards at all times. He has implemented innovative menus and concepts and ensured that the implementation of standards in guest service are met creating a destination of choice for both hotel and external guests.
Bruce is the founder of the Let's Hear Foundation, serving those with hearing impediments. He is a well-travelled individual having visited more than 272 cities in 23 different countries
Connect with Bruce on LinkedIn
Mr Mark Jakins
Group Sales, Revenue and Marketing Director
A man with hospitality marketing and delivery in his veins, honed through a successful career spanning over 25 years, Mark has held senior executive marketing and commercial positions, which include Group Marketing and Operations Executive at Peermont Hotels and Casino Resorts, Chief Commercial Officer Primedia, Chief Executive: Commercial Enterprises at the SABC, and in February 2019 was appointed Group Marketing, Revenue and Sales Director at Premier Hotels and Resorts.
He prides himself in inspiring and motivating commercial teams to deliver results, building strategic partnerships in travel and tourism markets, marketing communications and loyalty programmes that deliver, and working closely with staff in hotel operations to deliver excellence for guests – and is determined to make Premier the preferred hotel company in South Africa for corporate, government, international and leisure guests.
At Peermont from 2006 to 2017, Mark was responsible for most property Operations, as well as Marketing and Sales. He regularly initiated and managed profit improvement plans, brand launches, marketing campaigns, and sales strategies for the various Peermont properties, ran the annual strategy and budget process for operations, and was a member of all subsidiary Boards within Peermont. The Group delivered industry-leading EBITDA margins continuously.
As Chief Executive: Commercial Enterprises at the South African Broadcasting Corporation from 2001 to 2006 he directed the new brand portfolio strategy and commercial operations of the 23 radio and television channels, including airtime sales, which led to the financial success and turnaround of the broadcaster in the early 2000's. In 2004 and 2005 he was voted as one of the top marketers in SA in the Sunday Times survey. He was also a founder of the new Marketing Association of SA, and served as a Trustee of the Vega School.
Mark has also held senior management / director positions in marketing and sales at Budget Car Rental, Southern Sun and Sun International where he earned a reputation of results in sales and brand-building. He began his marketing career as a former Unilever brand office graduate and pioneered brand launches at Nabisco.
Mr Nigel Easterbrook
He attended Slough Hotel College, in the United Kingdom studying City and Guilds in all aspects of Hotel Management. On completion, he joined Holiday Inns throughout the UK and worked for a year in the Caribbean – Trinidad and Tobago. During his time in the UK he was part of the opening Team for Holiday Inn Glasgow. In search of the promise of "Sunny South Africa", he emigrated to South Africa over 30 years ago.
He joined the Southern Sun brand for 8 years, then spent 20 years establishing the African Sky Hotel brand, in various positions and in the latter years Sales and Marketing. Nigel joined Premier in January 2018, to take up the position of Group Sales Manager, based at the Cape Town office. He regularly travels throughout South Africa visiting the Units and the Regional Sales Offices.
Mr Pierre Roux
Group Financial Manager
Pierre Roux is the Group Financial Manager for Premier Hotels & Resorts and since joining the group at the beginning of 2014, Pierre has instilled a culture of accountability, risk control and sustainability. Pierre believes that financial awareness across all levels of the business is core to the development of short and long term business strategies.
Pierre Roux completed his B.Com (Accounting) at the University of Pretoria and is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). Pierre has over 20 years' experience in the hospitality industry, beginning in February 1992 as the Financial Manager of the Grand Roche Hotel in Paarl and through his 17 years with TsogoSun/Southern Sun fulfilling various positions from Regional Financial Manager to Brand Financial Manager.
Connect with Pierre on LinkedIn
Mrs Nola Nassimov
Group Revenue Manager
Nola Nassimov is the Group Revenue Manager for Premier Hotels & Resorts. Nola Nassimov joined Premier Hotels & Resorts with husband Sam Nassimov at its' inception in 1991 in a largely administrative role but soon found herself managing multiple facets of the business. Across all spectrums, Nola has had a huge impact on Premier Hotels & Resort's first customers and sowed the seeds for many of the group's customer service standards today.
As the business grew so did Nola's role within the organisation and Nola was instrumental in the initial setup of the Academic College (2002), sales infrastructure (taking on the role of National Sales Manager in 2004); and Central Reservations department (2006). "With the rapid Growth of Premier Hotels & Resorts in the hospitality sector the business has attracted the best of talent from within the industry and roles have naturally become more specialised" says Nola Nassimov when asked about her role as Group Revenue Manager. Nola believes that the revenue department needs a complete understanding of the business to ensure Premier Hotels & Resorts always meets customer demand in a competitive and consistent manner.
Connect with Nola on LinkedIn
Premier Hotels & Resorts Nears Completion of Amazing Hotel Development in Umhlanga, and legendary Cutty Sark in Scottburgh also due for opening in December!
Following on from the recent announcement by Premier that phased re-open
Premier Hotels and Resorts continues with extensive development programme
Following on from the recent announcement by Premier that phased re-openings of its Hotels and Resorts have commenced, the independent Hotel Group has also revealed plans for various re- furbishments and new builds due to come to market soon.
RESERVATIONS 086 111 5555 | INFO@PREMIERHOTELS.CO.ZA


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Looking for golf course communities in North Carolina? You've come to the right spot. North Carolina's private gated communities, set among mountain peaks and sandy beaches, stretch 560 miles from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the famed Outer Banks. Pinehurst is home to several golf course communities situated around quaint historic districts and major metropolitan areas making it ideal for a vacationers and retirees.
As a matter of fact, if you're thinking about vacationing or retiring in North Carolina's, then you should definitely consider checking out the various private gated communities throughout the state.
Raleigh and Wilmington golf communities provide immediate access to manicured fairways and the conveniences associated with larger metropolitan areas.


Whether you are making simple upgrades to your existing bathroom or you are planning a complete overhaul, we can help you design the perfect bathroom without blowing your budget.
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Internal audit reports
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2020 OIAI Audit Report on the United Nations Humanitarian Response in Yemen
https://www.unicef.org/auditandinvestigation/documents/2020-oiai-audit-report-united-nations-humanitarian-response-yemen
The report contains summary of observations from internal audits conducted by selected members of the United Nations Representatives of Internal Audit Services (UN-RIAS) including UNICEF Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI). The related report on OIAI's internal audit of the Yemen Country Office was issued in October 2019. 2020 OIAI…, R REPORT 2020/033 29 September 2020 Assignment No.: AN2020-590-06 INTERNAL AUDIT OF UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE IN YEMEN By selected United Nations entities U nite d N atio ns R epre sent ativ es o f In tern al A udit Ser vice s 1 BACKGROUND, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY The humanitarian crisis in Yemen was declared an Inter-Agency Standing…
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2014 OIAI Audit Report on the Regional Office for Central Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
https://www.unicef.org/auditandinvestigation/documents/2014-oiai-audit-report-regional-office-central-eastern-europe-cee-and-commonwealth
The audit, in June 2014, reviewed UNICEF's Regional Office for Central Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The audit covered governance, oversight and support to country offices, and administrative and operational support. 2014 OIAI Audit Report on the Regional Office for Central Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of…, Internal Audit of the Regional Office for Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States December 2014 Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI) Report 2014/41 Internal Audit of the CEE/CIS Regional Office (2014/41) 2 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary…
Principles of public disclosure
Having regard for greater accountability and transparency, the UNICEF Executive Board decided in its annual session of June 8, 2012, that the Director of OIAI will make publicly available all internal audit reports issued after 30 September 2012.
It also decided that before making disclosure of an internal audit report that contains findings related to a specific Member State, UNICEF will provide a copy of the report to the concerned Member State and provide the concerned Member State with adequate time to review and comment on the report.
Where information contained in a UNICEF internal audit report is deemed by the Executive Director or the concerned Member State to be particularly sensitive (relating inter alia to third parties or a country, government or administration); or as compromising to a pending action; or as being likely to endanger the safety or security of any individual, violate his or her rights or invade his or her privacy, such UNICEF internal audit report may be redacted or withheld in its entirety. The decision to withhold or redact is entirely at the discretion of the Director of OIAI.
The principles of public disclosure apply only to Internal Audit Reports issued by OIAI to the Executive Director. Investigation reports conducted by the Investigation function, and advisory reports, are not publicly disclosed.
Reports issued on or after 1 October 2012 are available for viewing. The reports may be searched by date range, year, type of audit, and location.
UNICEF internal audit reports are made publicly available in accordance with decisions of the UNICEF Executive Board. Readers should understand that these reports are covered by the immunities set out in the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, 1946, and other relevant instruments; and that those immunities are not waived and are expressly reserved. Otherwise, the use of information contained in disclosed internal audit reports is governed by the UNICEF terms of use.
UNICEF appreciates the public interest in internal audit reports and the resultant questions that may arise. However, due to resource constraints, the office is unable to respond to individual questions regarding internal audit reports.
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Study Reports on the Importance of Cultural Competence
In today's global marketplace, cultural awareness is becoming a necessity for all employees operating in multinational organizations, even if they never leave their desks.
Having cultural awareness used to be seen as a prerequisite for employees going on international assignments. But in today's global marketplace, it's quickly becoming a necessity for all employees operating in a multinational organization, even if they never leave their desks.
"Because of the changes in business, [cultural competence is] becoming very important for people who never even leave their home country," said Charlene Solomon, executive vice president of RW3 LLC, a provider of interactive tools and resources for online cultural learning, global business effectiveness and international relocation support. "Organizations are finding this is a useful skill for people in their everyday work life."
According to a recent survey of 107 multinational organizations by RW3 and ORC Worldwide, 95 percent of the respondents said cultural competency is an important or very important skill for business leaders in today's organizations. As such, 80 percent of the respondents said international work experience also is important for a business leader to have. And 85 percent of the larger organizations that responded provide some form of cross-cultural training.
But there's an inconsistency. Even though cultural competency is important, the study found that only 20 percent of the larger companies included a cultural learning course in their e-universities.
"It means there's a large opportunity to bring the learning facility in line with the perceived need," said Michael Schell, CEO of RW3.
It's critical for organizations to teach their employees about the nuances of culture because these subtle nuances affect business behaviors. And just as business becomes more globalized, these skills will become more necessary, even in the rudiments of work life.
"Business behaviors, as well as social behaviors, are almost all culturally based, so it's anything from adherence to schedules to the manner of communication. They're all culturally based and culturally bound," Schell said. "For example, Americans are quite transactional. They want to get right down to business; they don't need a lot of time to build a relationship, and a relationship is not necessary to work together. The exact opposite is true in Asian cultures, where the notion of trust needs to be established."
When providing learning to employees in other countries, understanding culture becomes even more critical. It's not enough to just translate the language. You also must change the style.
"If we expect to train Asians using an American cultural style, we'll fail," Schell said. "Any training curriculum has to be made culturally appropriate for the environment it's going to be delivered in. You can't imagine a trainer in the [United States] not developing interactive, participative exercises as part of their training. But if you take that same exercise to Asia [or] to India, you'd need to modify it significantly because people will not comfortably participate. They look more for an instructor-led design."
The best way to provide intercultural training is to give your employees a blueprint for understanding culture so they can recognize certain behaviors, what those behaviors mean and then adapt to them.
"So if you notice that people are very deferential, refer to each other by their surnames, use honorifics and titles, you recognize that you're in a hierarchical society," Schell said. "It's recognizing the manifestations of cultural values and then knowing what they mean and how to adapt to them."


Come one come all to support your 2018 Los Angeles Warriors as we compete against the best on the road to the championship! 2x league MVP and 3x all star, our very own #43 Priscilla Gardener will take the field with an arsenal of weapons to go head to head for a ticket to the big show and championship title! Don't miss out on this historic year in women's football!


After a long time, sharing on platforms such as facebook or Instagram what is happening in my day to day, my experiences with coffee, the places I visit and the people I am getting to know, it is time to take a step forward, follow growing, sharing and recording everything in the form of a blog.
Borgarnes is only 60 kilometers up north of Reykjavík, on the Borgarfjörð coast.
Settlement of the famous Egill saga and village where the cozy cafe Kaffi Kyrrð is located, an oasis on my trips between Snaefells and Reykjavik, is in turn a florist and gesthouse in the same building.
A special place full of magic and tranquility where time stops.
In the lower part of the house, as soon as you enter, you will find the florist, the gift shop and the cafe. The space dedicated to the cafe has two spacious lounges with armchairs and low tables where you can enjoy the coffees, cakes and sandwiches that you can find in their menu.
Walls full of pictures and shelves full of books and various art forms that embrace you warmly.
The cafe gives way to a privileged terrace that, when the weather permits, is the best place to enjoy the sun's rays.
On the top floor is the guesthouse that has three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom and terrace.
But above all the soul of this place is the family that gives a warm welcome to all who visit them.
My heart keeps wonderful moments in Kaffi Kyrrð chatting with Katrín, daughter the owner, about coffee and life while drinking sip to sip the wonderful cafes that she prepares so fondly.
Katrín was the one who presented me the Bulletproof Coffee, to which we will dedicate a complete entry to know where, how and when of this preparation.
Very great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I have really loved browsing your blog posts. In any case Ill be subscribing to your feed and I'm hoping you write again very soon!
COFFEELOVERS #3 Reykjavík Coffee Culture Intro.


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Chelsea Attack Highlights Trend
By NICHOLAS BOSTON
As queer visibility increases, advocates say hostility follows in its wake
Solis was assaulted just after leaving the annual Folsom Street East block party, on 28th west of Tenth Avenue, sponsored by Gay Male S/M Activists, and his case illustrates the spike in violence against the community which many leaders believe is, in part, a response to greater visibility. Official actions taken in the wake of his assault also raise questions about whether the NYPD has uniformly improved its ability to respond effectively to anti-gay violence.
Three days after Solis was attacked, on June 23, an employee of the Eagle, a gay bar also on 28th Street west of Tenth Avenue, was reportedly walking on the same block on which Solis was beaten and was assaulted by two men who punched him in the face, a source close to the victim told Gay City News. The victim did not report the incident to police.
There were other reported incidents of violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community carried out over Pride Week, some of which are being treated by police as hate crimes, others that simply carry the sting of a homophobic intention felt but not officially recognized.
Paul Colville of Long Island City, Queens, was beaten and robbed in the entrance to his co-op complex as he returned dressed in drag from a Gay Pride gathering at nearby restaurant in the early morning hours of June 27. Since his attackers did not verbally abuse him, but money was taken from him, his case is being treated by police as an assault and robbery.
An attack made on three men in a White Castle restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, at roughly the same time as the Long Island City assault, is the subject of a hate crimes investigation because the four perpetrators taunted the victims with homophobic slurs before physically assaulting them.
Officials who joined Solis at the June 26 press conference, including out gay state Sen. Tom Duane (D-Chelsea), said his assault underscores the need for heightened vigilance by the public and law enforcement officers of homophobic violence, particularly in heavily gay areas of the city and at times of high gay visibility.
The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) cited a 43 percent rise in reported incidents of hate crimes against LGBT individuals from 2002 to 2003. According to statistics provided by the New York Police Department's bias crimes unit, that increase is even greater, at 82 percent.
"This is the first time that NYPD's numbers have been higher than ours," said Basil Lucas, coordinator of hate crimes and police relations at AVP. "This is unprecedented in our history."
The block where Solis was attacked has basketball courts and open areas where young people, some of them residents of the neighboring housing projects, socialize.
"It's been a delicate dance since the Eagle moved in," said Lucas. "This is not the first time we've had problems in that area."
Lucas and other community leaders and elected officials who work closely with the LGBT community say the NYPD's bias crimes unit is "doing an excellent job" at tracking and addressing hate crimes.
But the details of Solis' case suggest that one unit of the NYPD, the Public Service Area, or PSA, responsible for patrolling housing areas such as those belonging to the New York City Housing Authority, may require additional training in order to deal effectively with offenses against the LGBT community.
"The PSAs receive the same training that the rest of the force does," said Christine Quinn, the lesbian Chelsea city councilmember, who called the press conference at which Solis spoke. "Perhaps it's not training that they need—it's retraining."
Quinn said that she has arranged to meet with the presiding officer at PSA 4 to discuss how officers from that unit failed Solis on the night he was attacked.
It was around 9 p.m. on Sunday, June 20, when Solis, 38, of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, departed the Folsom Street East event, one of whose beneficiaries, ironically, was the AVP.
Solis was walking east on 28th Street, accompanied by a friend, around whose shoulders he had put his arm. At the middle of the block, next to Chelsea Park, a concrete playground, the pair encountered, according to Solis, a group of "kids, about 20 years old. There were no fewer than 15. There was a lot of motion and yelling."
It soon became apparent to Solis that the crowd was spraying water on men departing the block party, some dressed in leather or fetish wear.
When Solis himself was sprayed, he turned to the person who had wet him and asked, "What the fuck is your problem?"
The young man was quickly joined by another, both of them carrying bats, and the pair began beating Solis.
"I was hit at least three times," said Solis. "I was hit in the head and on each forearm at least once."
Solis got away from the attackers by moving closer to them, diminishing the space available for the assailants to wind up and swing at him.
"I would run toward them," he said. "They started backing away and tried to swing. I followed them for a couple of yards and then they turned their backs and ran away."
Solis then called 911 to request police assistance. Pain from his injuries began intensifying and he feared that he had a broken bone in his left arm.
According to Solis, the officers dispatched to the scene, from PSA 4, which patrols the area's public housing residences, were negligent and unresponsive. He said the officers remained seated in their cruiser, and when told he had been attacked by a group of men, one of them "looked over his shoulder and said 'They're not there now. We're not going to catch them.'"
Solis said the officers "scribbled something from my license" in a note pad and then prepared to leave, asking him, "You good to go?" The victim requested an ambulance and that the officers write up his complaint about the incident.
"For statistical reasons, I want Bloomberg to know that faggots are getting the shit kicked out of them in Chelsea," Solis recalled telling the officers.
Their response, he said, was, "Ah, Bloomberg doesn't care."
When an emergency medical vehicle arrived shortly afterward, one of the PSA officers pointed to it and said to Solis, "See that—there's your ambulance. They'll take care of you."
And the officers drove off.
Solis was treated for a broken wrist and bruises at Cabrini Medical Center before being released.
The following day, Solis' mother, a retired NYPD officer, phoned PSA 4 to get the complaint number on her son's case, only to find that none existed. No record of the incident had ever filed. After four days passed without any sign of a report, Solis' mother called the NYPD Internal Affairs office to complain. Within hours, officers from the 90th precinct in Williamsburg arrived at Solis' home to take a report. The report was then transferred to the 10th precinct in Chelsea, since that is where the crime had been committed.
Solis was contacted by "a sergeant, a desk captain, and a detective," all in the space of an hour.
"In short, basically what happened was my case got blown off by the PSAs," Solis said. "Quinn's office said they saw notes in the officer's book about what happened that night, but it never got processed."
The officers in question have been issued "command discipline" for their inaction, according to both Quinn and Solis, who said he does not intend to file a formal complaint.
Beyond the inadequacy of the police response, this incident also points up the simmering tensions between neighborhood youth and patrons of the Eagle and other gay men in the area. Several nights later, one gay man at the Eagle, who asked not to be identified, noted that men who leave the establishment can often be spied nearby, in dimly-lit, tree-lined stretches, engaged in sexual behavior.
"There might be some perception of the gay men as sexual predators," said Solis, when asked about the comment from the Eagle patron.
The unnamed man was more direct.
"It's the new blowjob alley," the source said, referring to the name some people had dubbed an area surrounding the Eagle's old location on 22nd Street, where outdoor cruising and hook-ups were said to be common.
On a calm Tuesday evening at 9 p.m., around the same time that Solis was attacked, the block was still. At the northeast corner of 28th and Ninth, at the location where Solis entered the emergency medical vehicle the night of the attack, a police cruiser idled with two officers inside. About a third of the way up the block on 28th, going east from Ninth Avenue, a car was parked at the curb. Inside the car—a small, slightly battered four-door sedan, with its headlights dimly beaming—a man who looked to be in his late 30s leaned back in the driver's seat. His shirt was pulled up to his neck, exposing his bare chest. From the passenger seat, a younger man, wearing a baseball cap and a sleeveless T-shirt leaned over the driver, licking his right nipple while manually jerking the man's fully exposed penis up and down.
This may have been the sort of occurrence to which Solis and the anonymous man at the Eagle referred in describing the surrounding night scene. Meanwhile, police say they are investigating the attacks.
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Each cat will be assessed individually however this is a guide only to get started with a Tapazole trial. Feel free to send us information on any cat that may be interested in Iodine Treatment and we can set up dates with you in a form letter. All cats must be off Tapazole 14 days prior to iodine treatment.
Please call for current treatment pricing.
NOTE: We have several registered technicians in our group therefore providing any necessary medications will be provided i.e. insulin, supplements, antibiotics etc.
We will do our best to assess their kidney function however as hyperthyroidism mask true renal function the client will be made aware that this is a factor that we cannot accurately assess.
For cats that are on the younger side for this disease i.e. ~8-10yrs, with a T4 of 100 or below and urine specific gravity greater then 1.040 would be considered for Iodine Treatment without a Tapazole trial. This can be discussed on a case by case basis.
Day 0 - start of Tapazole - dosage and type i.e. cream/oral to be determined by home veterinarian.
Day 14 - re-check T4 to ensure that it is within the euthyroid range or at minimum decreasing. Dose may need to be altered at this time.
i) if euthyroid at Day 14 request Bun, Creatinine as a minimum and any other enzymes you feel are necessary and recheck the T4.
ii) If the cat is not euthyroid at Day 14 request a T4 only however inform owners that an additional charge may apply if the T4 comes back in the normal range so that the Bun and Creatinine can be evaluated.
If the ALP, ALT are elevated in the initial blood work it would be interesting to see if they have decreased when the cat is euthyroid.
At this time we can go ahead and book the cat in for the next Iodine group. Method of treatment i.e. standard dose or step-dose will be determined on kidney function post Tapazole trial.
Please do not take the cat off Tapazole until a date has been confirmed for treatment.
Day 0 - start of Tapazole – dosage and type i.e. cream/oral to be determined by home veterinarian.
Day 21 - re-check T4 to ensure that it is within the euthyroid range or at minimum decreasing. Dose may need to be altered at this time.
i) If euthyroid at Day 21 request Bun, Creatinine as a minimum and any other enzymes you feel are necessary and recheck the T4.
ii) If the cat is not euthyroid at Day 21 request a T4 only however inform owners that an additional charge may apply if the T4 comes back in the normal range so that the Bun and Creatinine can be evaluated.
At this time we can go ahead and book the cat for the next Iodine group. Method of treatment i.e. standard dose or step-dose will be determined on kidney function post Tapazole trial.
These cats will be provided treatment over two separate sessions separated by approximately 4 months. The cats dose will be calculated according to the T4, symptoms etc. The initial dose will be 2/3 of the calculated dose. The T4, BUN and Creatinine will be rechecked at the home clinic 14 weeks post initial dose. The 2nd dose will be determined on the T4. We will do our best to have the cat back in the next group that we are running.


The College has always given great importance to sports and games and its infrastructural facilities are made available to the local public and other institutions. Facilities for all the major games and athletics are provided for both men and women. The students of the College are divided into different houses, which compete in healthy rivalry in Inter-House Tournaments in all major games. Traditionally the College has been a centre of excellence especially for football. The men and women teams in football are university champions for the last several years. For more than 40 years the College has been organizing Mar Thoma Trophy All Kerala Inter-Collegiate Foot ball Tournament for men teams. It has become a prestigious Trophy for which the best teams of the Colleges from all the Universities in Kerala compete. The Department of Physical Education also helps other Sports Associations in organizing various tournaments.
The College has Sports Hostel for Women where free boarding and lodging are provided for sports persons with the assistance of the Kerala Sports Council. The Council also makes available the services of a State Coach to the students. Sports women are given free accommodation and food in the women hostel with management funding.
Annual Athletic Meet of the College.
Mar Thoma Trophy All Kerala Inter Collegiate Football Tournament.
Running the Sports Hostel sanctioned by the Kerala Sports Council.
Imparting Advanced Coaching and Training to the various Teams of the College.
Extending the facilities and expertise of the Dept. to local Schools and other Associations for promotion of Sports and Games.
Women Hockey team won Second Place in M. G. University Inter-collegiate Hockey Championship, held at U. C. College, Aluva.
Women Handball team won Second Place in M. G. University Inter-collegiate Hockey Championship, held at Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla.
Men Football team won Second Place in Inter-collegiate Football Tournament, held at St. Stephan's College, Uzhavoor.
Dr. A. J. Nigi. M.P.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Dr. Reginold Varghese. M.P.Ed.,M.Phil, Ph.D.
Tel: 0469 – 2618783 Mob: 9447410101.


text:
Pope canonizes Australian saint
NICOLE WINFIELD
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed Australia's first saint on Sunday, canonizing a 19th-century nun and also declaring five other saints in an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands.
Chants of "Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!" echoed throughout St. Peter's Square as a raucous crowd of flag-and-balloon-carrying Australians used a traditional sports cheer to celebrate the honor bestowed on their late native, Mary MacKillop. In Sydney, huge images of the nun were projected onto the sandstone pylons of the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Speaking in Latin on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict solemnly read out the names of each of the six new saints, declaring each one worthy of veneration in all the Catholic Church.
Among them was Brother Andre Bessette, a Canadian brother known as a "miracle worker" and revered by millions of Canadians and Americans for healing thousands of sick who came to him.
"Let us be drawn by these shining examples, let us be guided by their teachings," Benedict said in his homily, delivered in English, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish to reflect the languages spoken by the church's newest saints.
A cheer had broken out in the crowd when MacKillop's name was announced earlier in the Mass, evidence of the significant turnout of Australians celebrating the humble nun who was excommunicated for a few months in part because her religious order exposed a pedophile priest.
Even more MacKillop admirers — an estimated 10,000 — converged Sunday at the Sydney chapel where she is buried and at Sydney's Catholic cathedral, where a wooden cross made from floorboards taken from the first school that MacKillop established was placed on the steps.
Thousands of other Australians spent Sunday evening watching live broadcasts of the Vatican ceremony on television at home or on large outdoor screens in Sydney, in Melbourne where she was born, as well as in Penola, where MacKillop established her first school.
Born in 1842, MacKillop grew up in poverty as the first of eight children of Scottish immigrants. She moved to the sleepy farming town of Penola in southern Australia to become a teacher, inviting the poor and local Aborigines to attend free classes in a six-room stable.
She co-founded her order, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, with the goal of serving the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged, particularly through education.
"She supported Aboriginal people because she believed in supporting people who were disadvantaged," said Melissa Brickell, a pilgrim from Melbourne who was in St. Peter's Square for the ceremony. "She is a friend of Aboriginal people from the early days."
As a young nun in 1871, MacKillop and 47 other nuns from her order were briefly dismissed from the Roman Catholic Church in a clash with high clergy. In addition to bitter rivalries among priests, one of the catalysts for the move was that her order had exposed a pedophile priest.
Five months later, the bishop revoked his ruling from his deathbed, restoring MacKillop to her order and paving the way for her decades of work educating the poor across Australia and New Zealand.
In his homily, Benedict praised MacKillop for her "courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer."
"She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women's community of religious sisters of that country," Benedict said in English.
MacKillop became eligible for sainthood after the Vatican approved a second miracle attributed to her intercession, that of Kathleen Evans, who was cured of lung and brain cancer in 1993.
In a statement Sunday, Evans said she was humbled by MacKillop's example, grateful for her healing and overjoyed that MacKillop will now be more widely known.
"I think she would be delighted to see so many people looking at their own lives and considering how they can live better and care more," said Evans, who brought relics of MacKillop up to the altar during the canonization Mass.
Veronica Hopson, 72, was MacKillop's first miracle, cured of leukemia in 1961. She broke half a century of silence about her case, telling Australia's Channel Seven's Sunday Night program: "How does a miracle feel? I feel very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to live my life, have a family, have grandchildren, so that's a miracle."
Hopson was 22 when she was diagnosed with leukemia and given only weeks to live. She said her mother contacted nuns at Saint Joseph's convent in northern Sydney where Hopson was taught as a schoolgirl and where MacKillop once lived. The nuns brought cloth that MacKillop had worn and prayed for Hopson.
Hopson, who went on to have six children and four grandchildren, is recovering from recent bowel cancer. She said her miracle also carried a message for people who did not believe in God.
"I guess they must have some sort of hope, not just give in and just let the illness or sad things that happen in their life take over their life. Just keep hoping that it will get better," she said.
Quebec's blue-and-white, fleur-de-lis flag was also out in force in St. Peter's Square in support of Brother Andre, a Canadian who legend says healed thousands of sick who prayed with him at his Montreal oratory.
Born in 1845, Brother Andre was orphaned at the age of 12. After taking his religious vows, he devoted his life to helping others and gained a reputation as a healer. When he died in 1937 at the age of 91, an estimated 1 million people came to pay homage.
"I think all the people from Quebec are happy now," said Alain Pilote, a 49-year-old pilgrim from Rougemont, near Montreal, who came to Rome for the Mass.
Benedict noted that Brother Andre was poorly educated but nevertheless understood what was essential to his faith.
"Doorman at the Notre Dame College in Montreal, he showed boundless charity and did everything possible to soothe the despair of those who confided in him," Benedict said in French.
Francoise Bessette, whose grandfather was Brother Andre's first cousin, was among the Canadians in attendance Sunday at St. Peter's.
"I didn't think this would happen while I was alive," said Bessette, whose brother Andre was named after the saint. "So to be here today is very special for me."
Australia's foreign minister, Kevin Rudd, was in Rome for the canonization, as was Canada's foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon. The Polish president, Bronislaw Komorowski, joined thousands of Polish pilgrims to honor that country's latest saint, Stanislaw Kazimiercyzk Soltys.
Also canonized Sunday were Italian nuns Giulia Salzano and Battista Camilla da Varano, and Spanish nun Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola.
Associated Press reporters Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, and Gianfranco Stara and Oleg Cetinic in Rome contributed to this report.


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Back in late 2006 and early 2007 a few (soon to be very rich) people were warning anyone who cared to listen, about what cracks in the subprime facade meant for the housing sector and the credit bubble in general. They were largely ignored as none other than the Fed chairman promised that all is fine (see here). A few months later New Century collapsed and the rest is history: tens of trillions later we are still picking up the pieces and housing continues to collapse. Yet one bubble which the Federal Government managed to blow in the meantime to staggering proportions in virtually no time, for no other reason than to give the impression of consumer releveraging, was the student debt bubble, which at last check just surpassed $1 trillion, and is growing at $40-50 billion each month. However, just like subprime, the first cracks have now appeared. In a report set to convince borrowers that Student Loan ABS are still safe - of course they are - they are backed by all taxpayers after all in the form of the Family Federal Education Program - Fitch discloses something rather troubling, namely that of the $1 trillion + in student debt outstanding, "as many as 27% of all student loan borrowers are more than 30 days past due." In other words at least $270 billion in student loans are no longer current (extrapolating the delinquency rate into the total loans outstanding). That this is happening with interest rates at record lows is quite stunning and a loud wake up call that it is not rates that determine affordability and sustainability: it is general economic conditions, deplorable as they may be, which have made the popping of the student loan bubble inevitable. It also means that if the rise in interest rate continues, then the student loan bubble will pop that much faster, and bring another $1 trillion in unintended consequences on the shoulders of the US taxpayer who once again will be left footing the bill.
Fitch believes most student loan asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions remain well protected due to the government guarantee on Family Federal Education Program (FFELP) loans. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that as many as 27% of all student loan borrowers are more than 30 days past due. Recent estimates mark outstanding student loans at $900 billion- $1 trillion. Fitch believes that the recent increase in past-due and defaulted student loans presents a risk to investors in private student loan ABS, but not those in ABS trusts backed by FFELP loans.
Why is the bubble starting to pop now?
Several macroeconomic factors are putting pressure on student loan borrowers. The main ones are unemployment and underemployment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the current unemployment rate for people 20 to 24 years old at nearly 14% and for those 25 to 34 years old, 8.7%. Underemployment is difficult to measure for these demographics, but it is likely having a negative impact.
Actually, no: the unemployment for 18-24 year olds is 46%. Yup: 46%.
A month ago, Zero Hedge readers were stunned to learn that unemployment among Europe's young adults has exploded as a result of the European financial crisis, and peaking anywhere between 46% in the case of Greece all they way to 51% for Spain. Which makes us wonder what the reaction will be to the discovery that when it comes to young adults 18-24) in the US, the employment rate is just barely above half, or 54%, which just happens to be the lowest in 64 years, and 7% worse than when Obama took office promising a whole lot of change 3 years ago.
But fear not dear banks: taxpayers got your back, as usual.
However, we believe that ABS trusts backed by FFELP loans are unlikely to be affected by employment trends, as they are at least 97% backed by the federal government. In addition, recent securitizations have been structured more robustly and many have backup servicing agreements.
While FFELP loans are largely protected from these trends, private student loan ABS trusts, especially those that were structured aggressively and with less stringent credit standards before the recession, are expected to continue experiencing high defaults and ratings pressure. Fitch will continue to monitor these political and macroeconomic factors as they evolve and will determine any impact they may have on ABS trusts.
And as a courtesy reminder to our young up and coming "thinkers", this is $270 billion in debt that can not be discharged. Go ahead - file for bankruptcy - see what happens.
The question then is - what is the student loan version of the ABX trade. After all if Bernanke is willing to blow another bubble, someone has to be able to profit when this latest soon to be failed attempt at central planning.
Finally, here are some more perspectives on the student loan bubble direct from the New York Fed's blog.
Unfortunately, this is not the case—some special accounting used for student loans, not applicable to other types of consumer debt, makes it likely that the delinquency rates for student loans are understated. In the case of federally backed loans, which represent a majority of total lending, repayment is deferred until the student graduates from school and can then be pushed back by another six-month grace period. How do these student loans in deferment or grace periods show up on credit reports and contribute to the delinquency statistics? Given that no payment is necessary until graduation, these deferred student loans are not included in the past due balance but they are included in the total balance from which the delinquency rate is derived. This may help explain the low proportion (12.6 percent) of borrowers with past due student loans among those under thirty years old, compared with 16.9 percent among those between the ages of thirty and thirty-nine, since many of the younger borrowers are still in school and don't yet have to make any payments.
To address this potential bias in calculating delinquency statistics, we exclude individuals who appear to be temporarily exempt from making payments because they are in school or newly graduated from school. These are students who, as of third-quarter 2011, owed as much as or more than they did in the previous quarter while maintaining a zero past due balance. We will be able to make our inference more precise when loan-level panel data are available, but this is our first-cut analysis given the available data. We warn that there is room for misclassification in this analysis. For example, there could be borrowers who are subject to the income-based repayment plan whose payment fell short of the accrued interest, resulting in a balance that increased. Recall that this exercise looks at the student loan borrowers who have a balance as of third-quarter 2011; therefore, those who had taken out a loan at one point but paid it off before third-quarter 2011 are not accounted for.
From this exercise, we find that as many as 47 percent of student loan borrowers appear to be in deferral or forbearance periods, and thus did not have to make payments as of third-quarter 2011. Specifically, 17.6 percent of borrowers had exactly the same balance in the third quarter as in the second quarter of this year, and 29.1 percent increased their overall student loan balance by taking on new originations or accruing interest to the balance.
We then recalculate the proportion of borrowers with a past due balance excluding this group of borrowers. We find that 27 percent of the borrowers have past due balances, while the adjusted proportion of outstanding student loan balances that is delinquent is 21 percent—much higher than the unadjusted rates of 14.4 percent and 10 percent, respectively (see charts below).
In sum, student loan debt is not just a concern for the young. Parents and the federal government shoulder a substantial part of the postsecondary education bill. Moreover, the student loan delinquency picture is not fully captured in the broad statistics since a significant proportion of borrowers and balances are not yet in the repayment cycle. The implications of this last fact for future changes in the student loan delinquency rate are a very important area of research.
Given that student loans are an indispensable tool for educational advancement, this form of debt will remain a critical policy focus for generations to come. Going forward, we will continue to monitor the student loan market with new data each quarter, and we will try to provide useful information on the landscape of student debt.