Canyon Falls is celebrating the final month of summer with plenty of resident events and activities.
A priority for August is to keep cool while having fun, and two of our most refreshing events include a Watermelon Social and a Movie Under the Stars. Both take place at the Canyon Falls Club, the active social hub of our community, and part of more than 250 acres of parks, trails and recreation centers that residents enjoy every day.
Near the end of August, we're also keeping it cool with the annual Back To School Bash at our big pool and splash pad. The festivities will celebrate the end of summer and the new school year at our highly regarded Argyle and Northwest ISD schools. We're also continuing our summer-long Play Date series, which has been a very popular way for kids and their parents to connect with enriching activities.
For the many residents who love to stay in shape, we have classes for every age and fitness level, including Camp Gladiator and Zumba twice a week. Moms and the little ones enjoy Stroller Strides workouts on Mondays.
More activities such as Cookie Decorating and the Canyon Falls Book Club meetings round out our calendar of events.
See our residents having fun at recent events in our photo gallery.


Sema Menteşeoğlu returned to Köyceğiz in 1992, after thirty years, to find her family home in perilous disrepair. The black steward, linchpin of the estate, had died. Much of the land had been sold. And just a handful of people remained in the ancestral village. Her great-grandfather Ali Rıza Pasha had built the small but handsome and airy house in 1878. Sema, an artist trained in Italy, set about putting house and estate in order.
If the thought of offal makes you wince, be bold. Overcome your fears and your efforts will be handsomely rewarded. Berrin Torolsan goes head over heels for offal, with a range of dishes for the timorous and the die-hard.
Minutes from the Mediterranean, Lake Köyceğiz is a beautiful backwater lost in time. Cornucopia devotes 40 pages to the lake, its people, its unique basket houses and the house that Ali Rıza Pasha built.


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Ben, Dana and Giselle's replay: 12/14/16
B, D and G count down to Snow Show 16 and mourn the loss off Alan Thicke
Ben Holsen
6:00 It's Almost Snow Show!
With so much bad news this morning, we're counting down to Snow Show 2016 to brighten up everyone's day!
6:15 2016 Continues to Suck
Alan Thicke is dead. To make matters worse, he tweeted just hours earlier about playing hockey with his 19 year-old son, before suffering a heart attack. 2016 has sucked enough and now this, where are you 2017?
6:30 Worst Songs of 2016 (According to Entertainment Weekly)
We've never taken Entertainment Weekly's advice before, but they recently came out with a list of the worst songs of 2016. First up was "Banana Brain" as one of the worst offenders. Their list contained some songs that we disagree with though, like M83's "GO" and Blink 182's "California," because those are some our favorites.
6:50 The Trend
Alan Thicke has died at age 69. Apple has finally released their "air buds" and no, they're not a robot version of the dog from Air Bud (although we wish it was). Finally, prepare for the world to end sooner rather than later according to NASA.
7:15 Green Mill is Closing in Uptown
Green Mill, a staple in Uptown, will be closing it's doors to be replaced by a new Red Cow location. After the recent opening of Giordano's just down the street, it's been a slow race to the finish ever since. Ben would hate to see Shamrock's and The Nook in St. Paul close, Giselle is still upset about Sunset's in Wayzata, and Dana would hate to see the CC Club Bar close. Change isn't always good, ok world?
7:30 $1000 Minute
Chris played a great game of $1000 Minute and took home $10 right from the start, just for being a great guy. Play along everyday at 7:30am.
8:15 Get To Know
Alan Thicke, one of the best family sitcom dads, is gone. We wanted to know what other TV characters you wished you could have grown up with. Andy Griffith, Peter Griffin, Homer Simpson and Danny Tanner are all some of the best dad's we wish we had around, but living-on through syndication will have to do for now.
8:30 Lily's Update
We heard back from our friend Lily, who has a little bit of a situation to deal with from her weekend. To fill you in, she hooked up with her desk neighbor at work after a night of tequila at the holiday party. No one wants to miss this office romance story!
Don't forget the Daily Rap Up with Chaz Kangas (@chazraps) who freestyles a secret word and recaps everything we talked about previously in the show.
Follow @BDandG963, @BenHolsen963, @DanaWessel and @GiselleUgarte on Twitter. Like us on Facebook!
B, D & G recap all of the fun from Snow Show 16, and even try to help solve a missed connection!
Tune in to hear B, D & G being torn apart by an argument about Santa!
Ben, Dana and Giselle's replay: 12/9/16
B, D & G give away a Hatchimal and imagine non-ideal celebrity makeouts.
Your Morning Show crew gear up for Snow Show 16 with a little help from Dan Smith of Bastille!
Ben, Dana and Giselle's replay: 1/3/16
B, D, & G are back with some bad news (and a little good news) for their first show of 2017.
B, D & G talk about the best holiday gifts for adults that they would have hated as kids.
The Morning Show crew are replacing Intern Anna!
B, D & G react to the election results, and try to bring a little happiness to your morning.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


2008-10-06 - Tako can fry!
µLua DS - Forum officiel | Official forum :: Le bon endroit pour en savoir plus sur MicroLua et pour parler de vos projets ! | The right place to learn more about MicroLua and talk about your projects !
Cartridge Construction Kit is here!
MAX Music Turns Your NDS into a Powerful Multimedia Player!
MaxConsole Forums - no moonshell for MAX MUSIC?
Games 'n' Music - an NDS Revolution!
MaxConsole Forums - plan on getting DATEL GAMES N MUSIC? READ THIS!!


Fracking explained in five minutes.
Fracking is a controversial topic. On the one side the gas drilling companies, on the other citizen opposed to this drilling method. Politicians are also divided on the matter.
Joe Curry, a professional water well driller from Michigan and member of the Michigan Groundwater Association, speaks about fracking.
Watch this video to learn how the more oil and gas companies frack, the more trouble is finding ways to happen.
This 3D animation shows the hydraulic fracturing process (fracking or hydrofracking).
Note the use of words like "virtually", "typically", "generally", and "few" as in "pumping a mixture of water and sand, plus a few chemicals".
Is Your Water at Risk from Fracking?
Our drinking water is at risk from toxic chemicals that can leak in as a result of fracking.


Fine Art Photographer Christine Laptuta returns to Houston for a solo exhibition of her landscape series this month at the DeSantos Art Gallery. The Gallery invites you to preview the collection at a special evening reception from 5:30pm until 8pm on Saturday the 14th of May at the Gallery located at 1724 Richmond Avenue, Houston TX 77098. The Houston Museum of Fine Arts has 2 of her photographs in its permanent collection and this exhibit offers Houston art collectors the opportunity to meet the artist and view additional photographs from her collections.
Christine Laptuta's desire to not just take a photograph, but to tell a story about an imaginary narrative is what has led to an amazing series of landscape photographs that are more than just a picture of a beautiful forest or valley. Christine shoots with a primitive camera that has a manual rewind that allows her to produce multiple images without frames on one strip of film. Unlike most photographs that are a snapshot of a single moment, these photographs tell the story about a journey she has taken over a longer period of time.
One of her inspirations on memory is a book called Travels with Herodotus by Kapuscinski. The book talks about Herodotus, one of the first historians to travel and record history by way of stories people told and how they were interpreted. The stories demonstrated how people would both hear a narrative and re-tell it and it would never be quite the same .For the author of the book, memory is about man's struggle against time, against the fragility of memory and its ephemerality and perpetual tendency to erase itself and disappear…" Christine further elaborates on her images…. "In my photographs, I am exploring the notions of time, space, place and the illusion of memory.
Christine Laptuta was born in Toronto, Canada and now lives and works in Portland, Oregon. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors in Painting and Printmaking from York University, Toronto. Laptuta is included in the permanent collections exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Portland Art Museum. She is a recent recipient of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for 2nd place: Nature Category, and was a featured artist for Fotofest's International Discoveries II exhibition.


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Q: windows security non admin user and command prompt We have a local network with several windows clients and a few windows server. for security purpose, almost all users account set as not admin on their machines.
our network security admin claim that they must restrict to command prompt because some users may use cmd ( while they are not admin ) and access to more resources that they are not permitted.
in other side some of our users need cmd for their jobs sometimes.
now we have to decide , can we keep cmd available for our users or it make a potential risk for our system that we can't ignore it.
Thanks

A: You really need to follow some guidance. When hardening an operating system thousands of configuration items an be customised in many different ways. A good place to start is with the CIS (Center for Internet Security) guidance. The CIS publishes security benchmarks for most common operating systems and applications. You can download the benchmarks here: https://learn.cisecurity.org/benchmarks
In respect of your original question, I've quickly skimmed the Windows 7 CIS Benchmark doc and it doesn't seem to mention locking down the command prompt or PowerShell. That said, I also checked the CESG guidance (UK Government IT Security Guidelines) and they suggest using AppLocker to prevent user access to CMD.exe. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/end-user-devices-security-guidance-windows-7/end-user-devices-security-guidance-windows-7
TLDR: Security is difficult, and the level of 'lock down' you place upon your users is going to be different from the level I apply against mine. If your users don't need access to cmd prompt, don't give it to them. Before you remove it though consider whether or not you need to retain CMD.exe for troubleshooting end user problems (running in the logged on users' context).

A: In 99% of all companies giving employees only user accounts (and not admin accounts) is enough.
Don't start to try removing system tool like cmd, or locking the control panel or removing access to the C-Drive or any funny solutions.
So no, do not remove access to the command line. It's a waste of time.

A: The problem is 99% of companies have bad security.
Cmd.exe can be removed through the group policy setting "Prevent access to the command prompt." It's under User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System.
If you enable that setting in a GPO linked at the domain level, for example, you could use a security filter to give the desired users access to cmd.exe.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
HyperSports
Hype. Sports.
Oregon vs USC 2019 College Football Week 10 Odds, Game Info & Pick
We are only a few days away from the college football playoff committee getting on the job of ranking the top teams in the sport. Their task at the moment looks to be rather straightforward, but things are going to get trickier as the season progresses, as we are going to have an awful lot of 1-loss teams knocking on the door and looking for a spot in the final four. We are still a few weeks away from that, though, and a lot can happen in that time, including 1-loss teams seeing another defeat take them right out of contention. There is no margin for error for anyone at this stage of the season.
The Oregon Ducks could make a very strong case to the committee of they can win out, which would include winning the PAC 12 Conference Championship Game. They certainly have the players to make it happen, but they have a tough one ahead of them this weekend as they head to Los Angeles to take on the USC Trojans. That is never an easy place to go and get a win. Oregon will head to California as a 4-point favorite, with the point total for this one set at 62.
Boise State vs San Jose State 2019 College Football Week 10 Odds & Prediction
Why bet on the Oregon Ducks?
The Ducks would be in a much better situation right now if they hadn't blown a 4th quarter lead against the Auburn Tigers in the opening week of the season. That loss put them in the hole early, but the Ducks have responded really well, reeling off 7 straight wins to get to 7-1 on the season.
They are 5-0 in conference play and will definitely be making an appearance in the PAC 12 Conference Championship Game, but if they want to be a part of the playoffs this year, they need to win each of their remaining games. The Ducks have now won 7 straight games against conference foes, but they will need to be at their best this weekend against a USC team that has not lost at home this season. The Ducks are 2-0 ATS in road games.
Points per Game: 36.00
Passing Yards: 275.88
Rushing Yards: 190.13
Yards per Play: 6.46
Why bet on the USC Trojans?
If you want an idea of just how tough this task might be for the Ducks this weekend, just look at what the USC Trojans have been able to accomplish at home. Not only are they a perfect 4-0 in their own building this season, they are also a very impressive 17-3 SU in their last 20 games at home.
They are 4-1 overall in conference play, which has them on top in their side of the conference, so we could potentially be looking at a Conference Championship Game preview with this one. USC is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 Week 1o appearances, but the one stat that should probably make you a little nervous about betting on the Trojans is that they are just 4-13 ATS in their last 17 games as an underdog.
Utah vs Washington 2019 College Football Week 10 Odds, Preview & Pick
Oregon vs USC College Football Week 10 Betting Trends
Ducks are 7-0 SU in their last 7 games against an opponent in the Pacific 12 conference
Ducks are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games played in November
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Oregon's last 15 games on the road
Trojans are 17-3 SU in their last 20 games at home
Trojans are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games played in week 10
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Southern California's last 6 games played in November
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Oregon vs USC
As the point spread would suggest, we are going to be in for a close, entertaining game on Saturday night. The Trojans are always very good at home, so I am going to take a chance and wager on them to cover the spread.
Score: Oregon Ducks 33 – USC Trojans 30
More Week 10 College Football Betting News
NBA Daily: With Harden in Tow, it's Championship or Bust for Brooklyn
Pistons rookie Killian Hayes ruled out for eight weeks with hip injury
The seventh overall pick suffered a torn right labrum in his hip on Jan. 4 versus the Bucks.
Detroit Pistons game score vs. Atlanta Hawks: Live updates
Detroit Pistons game score, live updates and analysis as they play the Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young
Detroit Pistons to treat Killian Hayes hip injury with rehab, out at least 8 weeks
Detroit Pistons released an update on rookie point guard Killian Hayes, who has a labral tear in his right hip
NBA: 11 more players have tested positive for coronavirus
The Wizards face the NBA's most significant coronavirus outbreak.
Facing Bucks just another game on long road for Lakers' Wesley Matthews
The Lakers will begin their longest road trip of the season when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Minor League Baseball News
Did you know? Eastern League edition
In the third installment of a weekly series, Benjamin Hill unearths one unique fact about each of the Eastern League's 12 teams. Idiosyncrasy abounds.
Toolshed: 2016 Draft retrospective
Uncertainty with the top picks defined the 2016 First-Year Player Draft at the time. Now it's known for a deep Dodgers haul and mid-round stars like Shane Bieber.
Emeralds create 'Eugene United' to help community
With the Minor League Baseball season on pause as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, teams have been hard at work finding ways to help their communities. What started as a small sewing project for the Eugene Emeralds became a larger initiative to make an impact.
Best streams of 2019: Top offensive performances
From a four-homer game to a record-setting power display in the Pacific Coast League, here are four top offensive performances from the 2019 season to stream on the MiLB.TV free preview.
2020 2020 NFL Draft 2021 NFL Draft baseball basketball betting Chicago Cubs college basketball College Football college sports eSports Fantasy Football Featured FIFA football Latest-News Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Soccer Miami Dolphins milb minor league minor league baseball MLB MLBTR Originals MLS National Football League NBA NCAA basketball NCAA Football Newsstand NFL NFL Analysis, News, and Opinion NFL Analysis and News NFL Betting News NFL Draft NFL News and Rumors Notes odds picks Pittsburgh Steelers soccer sports St. Louis Cardinals trade rumors Transactions


A gas sensor is a device which detects the presence of various gases within an area, usually as part of a system to warn about gases which might be harmful to humans or animals. Gas sensors can be used to detect combustible, toxic, and oxygen and CO2 gases.
Once submitted, we will try and place you in contact with a suitable Gas Sensors supplier within 48 hours.
NAP-505 Gas Sensor from NEMOTO (EUROPE) B.V.
RKI "S" series gas sensor/transmitters from ICON Safety Co., Inc.


text:
Tornier Reports Second Quarter 2014 Results
Revenue increased 9.5% over prior year quarter, in constant currency
Upper extremity constant currency revenue growth of 11.4% led by Aequalis Ascend Flex
Increases full year revenue and EBITDA guidance
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Aug. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tornier N.V. (Nasdaq:TRNX), a global medical device company focused on providing surgical solutions to orthopaedic extremity specialists, reported today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 29, 2014.
Revenue for the second quarter of 2014 was $86.9 million compared to second quarter 2013 revenue of $78.1 million, an increase of 11.2% as reported and 9.5% in constant currency.
Second quarter 2014 revenue of Tornier's extremities product categories totaled $71.9 million compared to $65.6 million in the same quarter a year ago, an increase of 9.7% as reported and 8.8% in constant currency. Second quarter revenue of the Company's large joints and other product lines was $14.9 million, an increase of 13.2% in constant currency over the same quarter in 2013.
Dave Mowry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tornier, commented, "I am pleased with the progress we have continued to make in Phase 2 of our U.S. sales force transition and training. This progress, combined with ongoing adoption of our market leading Aequalis Ascend Flex shoulder system and solid international performance, resulted in strong financial results in the second quarter, including double-digit upper extremities growth."
The Company's second quarter 2014 adjusted EBITDA, as defined in the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation provided later in this release, was $6.1 million, or 7.0% of reported revenue, compared to $7.3 million, or 9.4% of revenue, in the same quarter of the prior year.
Mr. Mowry added, "Our second quarter EBITDA reflects the ongoing U.S. sales force transition, geographic expansion and new product development activity. We believe these investments will enhance our long-term growth potential. While some risk remains in the transition process, our results through the first half of the year give us more confidence in the execution of Phase 2 and we have increased our full year financial guidance accordingly."
Second Quarter 2014 Revenue Highlights
Revenue from the upper extremity joints and trauma category was $53.8 million, an increase of 11.4% in constant currency over the same quarter in 2013. This growth was led by the Aequalis Ascend family of shoulder joint replacement products, which continued to gain global surgeon acceptance.
Revenue from Tornier's lower extremity joints and trauma category in the second quarter of 2014 was $14.5 million, an increase of 3.7% in constant currency over the prior year quarter. Solid sales growth of the Company's Salto Talaris ankle joint replacement system was offset by lower sales of foot and ankle fixation products, which were impacted by the Company's U.S. sales transition activities.
Revenue from the sports medicine and biologics product category was $3.7 million in the second quarter of 2014, a decrease of 5.9% in constant currency over the same quarter in 2013, reflecting a decline in the Company's soft tissue anchor products.
Large Joints
Constant currency revenue growth for large joints and other products was 13.2% and was led by the Company's hip products that benefitted from the release of new minimally invasive instrumentation in Europe late in 2013.
Geographic Revenue
Tornier's international revenue increased 16.7% as reported and 12.8% in constant currency as compared to the second quarter of 2013 and represented 43.8% of reported global revenue. Revenue in the United States increased by 7.2% and represented 56.2% of reported global revenue.
Third Quarter 2014 Outlook
The Company projects third quarter 2014 constant currency revenue to be in the range of $69 to $73 million, representing constant currency growth of 3.4% to 9.4% over the same period last year.
Based on recent currency exchange rates, third quarter 2014 reported revenue is projected to be in the range of $70 to $74 million, representing growth of 4.8% to 10.8% over the same period last year.
Revenue from Tornier's extremities product categories in the third quarter of 2014 is expected to be in the range of $60 to $63 million, representing constant currency growth of 5.4% to 10.6% over the same period last year.
The Company projects third quarter 2014 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $2 to $4 million, or 2.9% to 5.4% of reported revenue.
Fiscal Year 2014 Outlook
The Company is increasing full year guidance and now projects 2014 constant currency revenue to be in the range of $328 to $336 million, representing an increase of 5.5% to 8.1% over last year.
Based on recent currency exchange rates, 2014 reported revenue is projected to be in the range of $331 to $339 million, representing an increase of 6.4% to 9.0% over last year.
Revenue from Tornier's extremities product categories in 2014 is expected to be in the range of $273 to $279 million, representing an increase in constant currency of 5.8% to 8.2% over last year.
The Company projects 2014 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $27 to $31 million, or 8.2% to 9.1% of reported revenue.
Tornier will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. eastern time to discuss its second quarter 2014 financial results and its outlook for 2014. The conference call will be available to interested parties through a live audio webcast available through the Company's website at www.tornier.com. Those without internet access may join the call from within the U.S. by dialing (877) 673-5355; outside the U.S., dial (760) 666-3805.
A telephone replay will be available for ten days following the call by dialing (855) 859-2056 for domestic participants and (404) 537-3406 for international participants. When prompted, please enter the replay pin number 69089307. For those who are not available to listen to the live webcast, the call will be archived for one year on Tornier's website.
Statements contained in this release that relate to future, not past, events are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of future events and often can be identified by words such as "expect," "should," "project," "anticipate," "intend," "will," "can," "may," "believe," "could," "continue," "outlook," "guidance," "future," other words of similar meaning or the use of future dates. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include Tornier's financial guidance for the third quarter and full year 2014. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Uncertainties and risks may cause Tornier's actual results to be materially different than those expressed in or implied by Tornier's forward-looking statements. For Tornier, such uncertainties and risks include, among others, Tornier's future operating results and financial performance; Tornier's reliance on its independent sales agencies and distributors to sell its products and the effect on its business and operating results of agency and distributor changes, transitions to direct selling models in certain geographies and the recent transition of its U.S. sales channel towards focusing separately on upper and lower extremity products; risks associated with Tornier's acquisition of OrthoHelix and subsequent integration activities; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the effect of global economic conditions; the European sovereign debt crisis and austerity measures; risks associated with Tornier's international operations and expansion; the timing of regulatory approvals and introduction of new products; physician acceptance, endorsement, and use of new products; the effect of regulatory actions, changes in and adoption of reimbursement rates and product recalls; competitor activities; Tornier's manufacturing capacity; Tornier's leverage and access to credit under its credit agreement; and changes in tax and other legislation. More detailed information on these and other factors that could affect Tornier's actual results are described in Tornier's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2013 and subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Tornier undertakes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
About Tornier
Tornier is a global medical device company focused on providing solutions to surgeons who treat musculoskeletal injuries and disorders of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, ankle and foot. The Company's broad offering of over 95 product lines includes joint replacement, trauma, sports medicine, and biologic products to treat the extremities, as well as joint replacement products for the hip and knee in certain international markets. Since its founding approximately 70 years ago, Tornier's "Specialists
Serving Specialists" philosophy has fostered a tradition of innovation, intense focus on surgeon education, and commitment to advancement of orthopaedic technology stemming from its close collaboration with orthopaedic surgeons and thought leaders throughout the world. For more information regarding Tornier, visit www.tornier.com.
Tornier®, Aequalis®, Aequalis Ascend®, Aequalis Ascend® Flex™ and Salto Talaris®
are trademarks of Tornier N.V and its subsidiaries, registered as indicated in the United States, and in other countries. All other trademarks and trade names referred to in this release are the property of their respective owners.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement Tornier's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Tornier uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in this release. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this release to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measures for the respective periods can be found in tables later in this release immediately following the detail of revenue by geography. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for Tornier's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Tornier N.V.
(in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
(unaudited) (unaudited)
June 29, 2014 June 30, 2013 June 29, 2014 June 30, 2013
Revenue $ 86,850 $ 78,135 $ 175,875 $ 160,820
Cost of goods sold 21,069 20,388 43,271 42,257
Cost of goods sold - acquisition related 158 1,921 420 3,676
Gross profit 65,623 55,826 132,184 114,887
75.6% 71.4% 75.2% 71.4%
Selling, general and administrative 62,504 51,467 121,352 103,603
Research and development 6,068 5,543 11,790 11,725
Amortization of intangible assets 4,320 3,784 8,654 7,621
Special charges 686 3,408 3,372 4,927
Total operating expenses 73,578 64,202 145,168 127,876
Operating loss (7,955) (8,376) (12,984) (12,989)
Other income (expense)
Interest income 40 57 108 96
Interest expense (1,365) (2,037) (2,714) (4,255)
Foreign currency transaction loss (214) (705) (43) (786)
Loss on extinguishment of debt -- (1,127) -- (1,127)
Other non-operating income 7 71 9 88
Loss before income taxes (9,487) (12,117) (15,624) (18,973)
Income tax expense (961) (420) (61) (462)
Consolidated net loss $ (10,448) $ (12,537) $ (15,685) $ (19,435)
Basic and diluted $ (0.21) $ (0.28) $ (0.32) $ (0.45)
Weighted average ordinary shares outstanding
Basic and diluted 48,612 45,004 48,568 43,379
Accounts receivable, net 58,644 55,555
Inventory, net 95,560 87,011
Deferred income taxes and other current assets 30,827 27,175
Instruments, net 68,943 63,055
Property, plant and equipment, net 44,419 43,494
Goodwill and intangibles, net 361,694 369,148
Deferred income taxes and other assets 2,108 3,204
Liabilities and shareholders' equity
Short-term borrowing and current portion of long-term debt $ 1,364 $ 1,438
Accrued liabilities, deferred income taxes and other current liabilities 63,155 57,552
Other long-term debt 67,948 67,643
Deferred income taxes and other long-term liabilities 29,038 35,659
Shareholders' equity 511,312 525,808
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 693,966 $ 705,426
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow
Consolidated net loss $ (10,448) (12,537) $ (15,685) $ (19,435)
Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Non-cash foreign currency loss 210 705 39 786
Deferred income taxes (1,410) 576 (2,581) 1,788
Share-based compensation 2,741 1,436 4,521 3,069
Non-cash interest expense and discount amortization 141 277 354 566
Inventory obsolescence 2,492 1,819 5,678 4,179
Loss on extinguishment of debt -- 1,127 -- 1,127
Inventory step up from acquisition 158 1,921 420 3,676
Other non-cash items affecting earnings 244 88 326 1,306
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
Accounts receivable 1,285 2,956 (3,219) 1,345
Inventories (7,894) (912) (15,326) (2,060)
Accounts payable and accruals 557 (3,251) 8,167 5,546
Other current assets and liabilities (3,069) (859) (3,347) (2,061)
Other non-current assets and liabilities 1,292 (973) 496 128
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities (3,262) 1,323 105 17,741
Acquisition-related cash payments (5,622) (3,091) (7,622) (6,123)
Additions of instruments (7,735) (7,571) (14,535) (12,450)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (3,116) (1,949) (4,880) (4,778)
Net cash (used in) investing activities (16,473) (12,611) (27,037) (23,351)
Change in short-term debt -- (1,000) -- (1,000)
Repayments of long-term debt (189) (50,950) (563) (53,329)
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 477 -- 477 --
Deferred financing costs -- (1) -- (53)
Issuance of ordinary shares 1,845 85,614 2,196 88,256
Net cash provided by financing activities 2,133 33,663 2,110 33,874
Effect of currency exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents (40) 495 (191) (657)
(Decrease) Increase in cash and cash equivalents (17,642) 22,870 (25,013) 27,607
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 49,413 35,845 56,784 31,108
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 31,771 $ 58,715 $ 31,771 $ 58,715
Selected Revenue Information
Percent Percent
June 29, 2014 June 30, 2013 change June 29, 2014 June 30, 2013 change
Revenue by product category
Upper extremity joints and trauma $ 53,826 $ 47,846 12.5% $ 106,881 $ 95,965 11.4%
Lower extremity joints and trauma 14,469 13,911 4.0% 29,542 28,984 1.9%
Sports medicine and biologics 3,653 3,823 -4.4% 7,540 7,934 -5.0%
Total extremities 71,948 65,580 9.7% 143,963 132,883 8.3%
Large joints and other 14,902 12,555 18.7% 31,912 27,937 14.2%
Total $ 86,850 $ 78,135 11.2% $ 175,875 $ 160,820 9.4%
Revenue by geography
United States $ 48,848 $ 45,579 7.2% $ 98,813 $ 93,567 5.6%
International 38,002 32,556 16.7% 77,062 67,253 14.6%
Reconciliation of Revenue to Non-GAAP Revenue on a Constant Currency Basis
Foreign Percent
exchange change on
impact as Revenue on a a constant
Revenue as compared to constant Revenue as currency
reported prior period currency basis reported basis
Upper extremity joints and trauma $ 53,826 $ (509) $ 53,317 $ 47,846 11.4%
Lower extremity joints and trauma 14,469 (40) 14,429 13,911 3.7%
Sports medicine and biologics 3,653 (57) 3,596 3,823 -5.9%
Total extremities 71,948 (606) 71,342 65,580 8.8%
Large joints and other 14,902 (686) 14,216 12,555 13.2%
Total $ 86,850 $ (1,292) $ 85,558 $ 78,135 9.5%
United States $ 48,848 $ -- $ 48,848 $ 45,579 7.2%
International 38,002 (1,292) 36,710 32,556 12.8%
Six Months Ended
exchange change
impact as Revenue on a on a constant
Upper extremity joints and trauma $ 106,881 $ (664) $ 106,217 $ 95,965 10.7%
Total extremities 143,963 (768) 143,195 132,883 7.8%
Large joints and other 31,912 (1,242) 30,670 27,937 9.8%
Total $ 175,875 $ (2,010) $ 173,865 $ 160,820 8.1%
Reconciliation of Net Loss to
Non-GAAP Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation
and Amortization (EBITDA)
Revenue, as reported $ 86,850 $ 78,135 $ 175,875 $ 160,820
Net loss, as reported $ (10,448) $ (12,537) $ (15,685) $ (19,435)
Interest income (40) (57) (108) (96)
Interest expense 1,365 2,037 2,714 4,255
Income tax expense 961 420 61 462
Depreciation 6,119 5,166 11,608 10,160
Amortization 4,320 3,784 8,654 7,621
Subtotal Non-GAAP EBITDA 2,277 (1,187) 7,244 2,967
Other non-operating (income) (7) (71) (9) (88)
Foreign currency transaction loss 214 705 43 786
Inventory step-up from acquisition 158 1,921 420 3,676
Special Charges:
Acquisition, integration and distribution transition costs 123 2,194 2,036 3,713
Restructuring 563 -- 1,011 --
Legal settlements -- 1,214 -- 1,214
Other -- -- 325 --
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA $ 6,069 $ 7,339 $ 15,591 $ 16,464
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin 7.0% 9.4% 8.9% 10.2%
Reconciliation of Net Loss and Loss per Share
to Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Net Loss per Share
Inventory step-up from acquisition, net of tax 153 1,904 403 3,653
Reversal of valuation allowance from acquisition (146) -- (146) (540)
Special charges, net of tax:
Non-GAAP adjusted net loss (9,755) (6,104) (12,381) (10,274)
Net loss per share, as reported
Inventory step-up from acquisition, net of tax -- 0.04 0.01 0.08
Reversal of valuation allowance from acquisition (0.00) -- (0.00) (0.01)
Loss on extinguishment of debt -- 0.02 -- 0.02
Acquisition, integration and distribution transition costs -- 0.05 0.02 0.09
Restructuring 0.01 -- 0.03 --
Legal settlements -- 0.03 -- 0.03
Other -- -- 0.01 --
Non-GAAP adjusted net loss per share
Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
to Non-GAAP Free Cash Flow
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities, as reported $ (3,262) $ 1,323 $ 105 $ 17,741
Adjusted for:
Additions of instruments, as reported (7,735) (7,571) (14,535) (12,450)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment, as reported (3,116) (1,949) (4,880) (4,778)
Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow $ (14,113) $ (8,197) $ (19,310) $ 513
Reconciliation of Gross Margin and Gross Margin %
to Non-GAAP Adjusted Gross Margin and Gross Margin %
Gross margin, as reported $ 65,623 $ 55,826 $ 132,184 $ 114,887
Gross margin %, as reported 75.6% 71.4% 75.2% 71.4%
Inventory step-up due to acquisition 158 1,921 420 3,676
Non-GAAP adjusted gross margins 65,781 57,747 132,604 118,563
Non-GAAP adjusted gross margin % 75.7% 73.9% 75.4% 73.7%
Reconciliation of Operating Expenses to
Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Expenses
Operating Expenses, as reported 73,578 64,202 145,168 127,876
Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, as reported 84.7% 82.2% 82.5% 79.5%
Amortization of intangible assets (4,320) (3,784) (8,654) (7,621)
Special charges (686) (3,408) (3,372) (4,927)
Total adjustments (5,006) (7,192) (12,026) (12,548)
Non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses $ 68,572 $ 57,010 $ 133,142 $ 115,328
Non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue 79.0% 73.0% 75.7% 71.7%
Reconciliation of Projected 2014 Operating Loss
to Projected Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA
Three Months Ended Twelve months ended
Low High Low High
Revenue $ 70.0 $ 74.0 $ 331.0 $ 339.0
Operating Loss $ (14.1) $ (10.2) $ (33.0) $ (25.2)
Inventory step-up due to acquisition 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.5
Depreciation and amortization expense 11.3 10.5 43.1 41.5
Share-based compensation 2.7 2.2 10.0 8.9
Special charges 1.9 1.4 6.2 5.3
Total adjustments $ 16.1 $ 14.2 $ 60.0 $ 56.2
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA $ 2.0 $ 4.0 $ 27.0 $ 31.0
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin 2.9% 5.4% 8.2% 9.1%
Tornier believes the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release provide additional meaningful information for measuring Tornier's financial performance and are measures frequently used by Tornier's management, as well as securities analysts and investors. Tornier uses the non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of its performance and believes such measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by factoring out potential differences caused by charges not related to Tornier's regular, ongoing business, including non-cash charges, certain large and unpredictable charges, acquisitions, dispositions, litigation settlements and tax positions. Tornier's management uses the non-GAAP financial measures to assess the performance of Tornier's core operations, analyze underlying trends in Tornier's businesses, establish operational goals and forecasts, and evaluate Tornier's performance period over period and in relation to the operating results of its competitors. Tornier's management uses the non-GAAP financial measures to help allocate its resources to both ongoing and prospective business initiatives and to help make budgeting and spending decisions, for example, between product development expenses, research and development expenses, and selling, general and administrative expenses. Tornier's management is evaluated on the basis of several of these non-GAAP financial measures when determining achievement of performance incentive compensation goals.
Tornier believes that non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools since they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with Tornier's operating results as determined in accordance with GAAP and should only be used to evaluate Tornier's operating results in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP measures. Accordingly, revenue on a constant currency basis should not be used as a substitute for revenue, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share should not be used as a substitute for net income or net income per share; adjusted EBITDA margin should not be used as a substitute for net margin or operating margin; free cash flow should not be used as a substitute for cash flows from operations; adjusted gross margin and gross margin percentage should not be used as a substitute for gross margin or gross margin as a percentage of revenue and adjusted operating expenses and adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue should not be used as a substitute for operating expenses and operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, in each case as determined in accordance with GAAP. Neither EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) per share, free cash flow, adjusted gross margin and gross margin as a percentage of revenue and adjusted operating expenses and adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, should be an indication of whether cash flow will be sufficient to fund Tornier's cash requirements. Additionally, the calculation of non-GAAP financial measures is not based on any comprehensive or standard set of accounting rules or principles. Accordingly, Tornier's definitions of revenue on a constant currency basis, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) per share, free cash flow, adjusted gross margin and gross margin as a percentage of revenue and adjusted operating expenses and adjusted operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, may differ from the definitions of other companies using the same or similar names limiting, to some extent, the usefulness of such measures for comparison purposes.
For further information regarding why Tornier believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors, the specific manner in which management uses these measures, and some of the limitations associated with the use of these measures, please refer to Tornier's current report on Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission which attaches this release as an exhibit. This current report on Form 8-K is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or on Tornier's website at www.tornier.com.
CONTACT: Tornier N.V.
Shawn McCormick
shawn.mccormick@tornier.com
Source: Tornier


Mining Of Coal And Removal Of Impurities In India. The Illinois Coal Industry June 2014 -. Many of the impurities within coal can be removed prior to combustion. be removed during or after combustion.
REMOVAL OF HYDROGEN CHLORIDE FROM HIGH TEMPERATURE COAL GASES ... Removal of harmful impurities from the coal gas A coal surface mining site in Bihar, India. A mountaintop removal mining operation in the United States.


This Autumn take your gel polish manicure to another level. Introducing The Nail Strobe Collection, 3 enchanting, multi chrome effect gel polishes that enhance and elevate any shade.
Applied over your favourite deep gel polish shade the nail strobes come alive revealing their intense multi chrome effects. Want something more subtle? Apply nail strobes over the natural nail or a lighter shade and they revert to an elegant and angelic shimmer but still with a hint of multi chrome reflection.


text:
Love, Sex & God: For Young Women Ages 14 and Up - Learning About Sex
by Ameiss, Bill
Item #: 142168 / 2015 / Paperback / 144 Pages
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This book, the fifth in the newly revised Learning about Sex series for girls, will help young women ages 14 and up learn to respect their sexuality and honor God. Love, Sex & God addresses issues such as pornography, dating, and premarital sex, answering young women's questions in a simple and accurate way and always reminding them of God's never-ending love.
About the Learning About Sex Series
An honest, Christian approach to the body, relationships, and sex. This series teaches preschoolers through adults about God's great gifts to us as males and females and how we are uniquely made to love Him and serve others. The parent guide, How to Talk Confidently with Your Child about Sex, takes you through all the stages of your child's development to assist you in providing biological facts; establishing behaviors, values, and attitudes of a growing Christian; and affirming the love and forgiveness of Jesus for each of us.
Revisions include:
Completely new, contemporary images; now in full-color
Updated STD and birth control information
More in-depth discussion of gender questions
Addition of age-appropriate, thought-provoking "By God's Design"
Devotions at the beginning of each chapter
Stronger emphasis on serving others in love
Stronger language regarding the blessing of marriage
Strongly affirms Jesus' love for us and that He is our Savior
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Age(s):
14 - Young Adult
Grade(s):
8 - College
Love, Sex & God: For Young Women Ages 14 and Up - Learning About Sex (ebook Edition)
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This text is VERY "kid-friendly" (for a preteen/teenager) and is written in a narrative that tells a story about how God created us to live to our fullest potential. EVERY school and youth group should have a copy of this for their teachers to use as a guide, but furthermore, it is also appropriate to purchase a copy for children who have questions and can be used as a guide for family conversations. Thank you, CPH, for making it a priority to update the health education materials regularly! Too many schools/churches are afraid to talk about the "tough stuff" but if children do not learn about it from a Biblical perspective, they will certainly learn about it online which is what we want to avoid. Truth be told, many adults are simply not comfortable teaching about it themselves, and this book solves that problem by reading it cover to cover. It provides answers to children who are embarrassed to ask and also provides answers for children that parents are embarrassed to give - this book is truly a win-win for any child "coming of age." I recommend it for 7th/8th grade children and up. If you're not sure, I encourage you to order one copy first and if you like it, order it in bulk.
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Essential Oils contain the highly concentrated and powerful active ingredients of plants. It is very important to take some precautions with them, one being, never apply them directly to the skin before dilution.
Each Essential Oil has it's therapeutic properties and it's individual aroma.
There are various ways to apply and utilize their fragrances and properties. This segment will help you to decide which Essential Oil and carrier oil is best for you.


text:
August 16, 2010 Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 630
Heading Towards a Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan
August 16, 2010 | By Yigal Carmon and Tufail Ahmad*
Afghanistan | Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 630
I. The U.S. Exit – An Emerging Chaos and Taliban Takeover
II. Karzai's Survival – Short Term Only Despite
a) Support of Afghan Allies
b) Support from U.S. and NATO Forces
c) Support from Evolving State Institutions
d) Support from Regional Allies
e) An Unexpected Factor
III. The ISI-Taliban Machine and the Threat to Karzai
IV. Pakistan's Grand Impact
V. As the U.S. Looks to Pakistan, India Turns to Iran
VI. The U.S.'s Options
a) To Let In the Incoming Chaos and the Taliban Takeover
b) To Either Postpone the Withdrawal or Opt for Partial Withdrawal
c) To Deploy U.S. Troops in the Pakistani Border Region
VII. Looking Ahead – Where Next for the Taliban?
I. The U.S. Exit – Emerging Chaos and Taliban Takeover
As U.S. troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan in July 2011, an emerging fragile Afghan state under Hamid Karzai appears to be headed for a likely takeover by the Taliban.
Three major forces will impact the situation in Afghanistan: Pakistan, the U.S., and to a lesser degree India and Iran. An internal and regional power struggle will result. In fact, the regional powers have already begun to assert themselves with a view to acquiring a foothold in the power structure that will emerge after the U.S.'s exit. Recently, India has been turning to Iran to forge a common position on Afghanistan. And while the U.S. is seeking a return of the Russian presence to Afghanistan,[1] the Russian ambassador to New Delhi opposes the U.S.'s ''hastened withdrawal'' from Afghanistan because it could lead to ''hell.''[2]
The emerging situation in Afghanistan will be primarily characterized by disorder: The federal government's ability to govern will be limited to Kabul and some cities; vast regions will be controlled by the Taliban; and various Afghan leaders will maneuver to fill in the power vacuum and will position themselves as successor to Karzai, who cannot run for another term. The instability will be similar to what it was after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.
II. Karzai's Survival – Short Term Only
Amid a power vacuum that will originate around the time of the U.S. forces' exit, Hamid Karzai has a chance of surviving in power for the short term only. He will be in a slightly better position to lead the fragile Afghan state than Najibullah was when the Soviets left Afghanistan. Being in power at the head of a fragile state, Karzai will become a target for the Taliban and other opposition parties. The chances of Karzai's surviving this chaotic phase, and his eventual exit from the scene will be determined largely by the U.S.-supported secret peace talks between the Karzai government and the Taliban. The militants are already in control of vast swathes of Afghanistan and are backed by the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the most powerful regional force.
The Obama administration's Afghanistan policy has been characterized by three phases: a) during the initial months of U.S. President Barack Obama's term, his officials favored peace talks with the Taliban; b) later, the officials resisted Karzai's continuation in power and opposed any peace talks until the Taliban were subdued through military operations; and c) finally, they forced Karzai to embrace these inimical forces, especially through engaging Pakistan, thereby weakening him and foreclosing a visible path for the U.S. to succeed in Afghanistan. Despite U.S. criticisms against him over corruption, Karzai's chances of surviving through a transition phase will be impacted to a large extent by the following:
Karzai is backed by almost all former warlords and mujahideen leaders who fought against the Soviets during the 1980s, including Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abd Rab Al-Rasul Sayyaf and Abdul Rashid Dostum. A key mujahideen leader who is not supporting him, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar of Hizb-e-Islami, is nevertheless engaged in peace talks.
The Karzai regime will enjoy the strength derived from the presence of U.S. troops who may remain in Afghanistan in some form. The U.S. and the NATO countries have no option but – in adhering to the democratic process underway in Afghanistan – to work with Karzai during a transition period.
The evolving state institutions in Afghanistan such as the military, the police, the bureaucracy and the justice system, though weak in their early years, will strengthen Karzai's hand significantly. Over the past half-century or so, elections have emerged as turning points, and in their wake they leave irreversible imprints on a nation's life. Although the August 20, 2009 Afghan presidential elections were tainted by corruption, elections are currently the only UN-mandated democratic process in Afghanistan that offer legitimacy to the government. The September 18 parliamentary polls will indirectly broaden the political basis on which Karzai may survive the next few years.
Karzai will receive support from regional allies like India (because of its opposition to the Taliban and Pakistan) and also from Iran (because of its opposition to the anti-Shi'ite Taliban and the Sunni state of Pakistan). Notwithstanding the reports of Iranian support to a section of the Taliban, India and Iran have matching interests in the creation of an independent Afghanistan; they will prefer Karzai for the time being, or a staunch anti-Taliban Afghan leader like former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh, over the Sunni jihadist force of the Taliban seizing power in Kabul. Pushed into the corner by the Obama administration, Karzai too has recently been courting Iran.
A totally unexpected factor may help the Karzai regime to stay in power. For example, as a result of the U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban will emerge as the most powerful force in Afghanistan and some of the militant groups among them may attempt to march toward Islamabad to capture power in Pakistan. Such a possibility almost became reality in 2009, when the Taliban launched the enforcement of Islamic Shari'a in Pakistan's Swat district and began marching into neighboring districts on the way to Islamabad. An attempt by the Taliban to move from Afghanistan into Pakistan may force the U.S. to stay put in Afghanistan and support the Karzai government.
Karzai has been pressured by the Obama administration to engage Pakistan for a quick solution to the Afghan problem. Such pressure from the U.S. is a direct result of the Pakistani establishment's diplomatic offensive in convincing the Obama administration officials to accept the view that peace is impossible in Afghanistan without Pakistan's cooperation. The Obama administration has imbibed the Inter-Services Intelligence's (ISI) viewpoint on Afghanistan, especially with regard to India's role in the country, but has ignored the fact that the ISI's support to the militants is the root of the problem in Afghanistan.
Under pressure from the Obama administration to engage Pakistan, Karzai agreed to Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan during his May 2010 visit to Washington, DC. However, at a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Karzai pointed out that most of the Taliban leaders are in neighboring Pakistan.[3] His point that the Taliban are controlled by ISI is known internationally. Even when he is willing to engage Pakistan under U.S. pressure, the problem Karzai is facing is the double-edged policy of the ISI, which while mediating talks with the Taliban, is also encouraging the Taliban to fight. The Taliban's influence is now consequential in all provinces of Afghanistan.
Karzai has always favored reintegration of the low-ranking Taliban militants into Afghan society, as opposed to the Pakistani view of reconciliation with the core Taliban leaders. Under U.S. pressure, Karzai has been forced to give a substantial role to the ISI. The premise of the ISI-sponsored reconciliation process is that some Taliban leaders favored by the ISI will be part of a power structure in Kabul that will replace Karzai. As long as Mullah Omar, the Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is around the corner and has chances of returning to power, Karzai will not be able to maintain his rule for long. The ISI's involvement with Karzai is transient and tactical in nature. It should be kept in mind here that it is the ISI, not the elected civilian government in Islamabad, which dictates Pakistan's foreign policy.
As the U.S. troops leave, Pakistan will have the grand impact on Afghanistan. During the 1980s, the ISI, working in cooperation with the CIA, established a strong presence in Afghanistan which Pakistan regards as its strategic backyard. After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, various Afghan warlords and the mujahideen leaders could not form a stable government in Kabul. In the mid-1990s, the ISI propped up the Taliban to restore order and establish Pakistan's control in Afghanistan. Even now, the Taliban are controlled by the ISI. The current Pakistani policy is to bring back the Taliban and to revive the policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan.
Pakistan had to rescind its diplomatic recognition of the Taliban regime after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. However, it kept hoping that the Taliban will return to power in Kabul. Pakistan's worry has been that when the U.S. leaves Afghanistan without a political settlement to its liking, it might not be able to secure its interests there. It has worried that an independent Afghanistan will raise the issue of Pakistan-Afghanistan border demarcation, which Kabul does not recognize. It is concerned that Afghanistan will also raise the issue of the continuing movement of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants across the border. However, the Obama administration has successfully forced Karzai to engage Pakistan. The Pakistani foreign policy on Afghanistan and all engagements with Karzai are being coordinated exclusively through the powerful duo of Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Lt.-Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, who succeeded General Kayani as the chief of the ISI. Pakistan's long-held wish to see the return of the Taliban in Kabul appears to be nearer than ever.
Even while the Afghan president is now building a relationship with the ISI, it is unlikely that the Pakistani military will accept an independent Afghanistan and forego Pakistan's entrenched perception which views Afghanistan as strategic depth, in other words as a client state. In recent years, Pakistani leaders have tried to counter international concerns over the Pakistani military's idea of strategic depth in Afghanistan. Their argument is that the Pakistani military no longer holds on to this theory. However, contrary to this claim, Pakistan has been pursuing a policy of neo-strategic depth, as per which the ISI thinks that Afghanistan should not fall under Indian influence. The ISI will not accept a leader like Karzai in the long run, especially in view of his strong associations with India and also with Iran recently.
Therefore, it is expected that the ISI-Taliban machine will act against Hamid Karzai as soon as pro-Pakistan Afghan leaders gain a say in the power structure in Kabul. This will lead to the reversal of the ISI's current tactical policy of engaging Karzai. It will also create a challenge for the stability of the emerging Afghan state and put Karzai's life in imminent danger. The Pakistani military's policy of neo-strategic depth and successful revival of the Taliban is complete. With the U.S. forcing Karzai to engage Pakistan, the path for the ISI-sponsored Taliban to take over Kabul has been now paved. As the U.S. quits Afghanistan, it is Pakistan that will have the grand impact in Kabul.
In recent years, India had emerged as an important ally for the U.S. in international relations. Both countries have shared goals on Afghanistan. India has poured in hundreds of millions of dollars in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. In November 2009, India reversed its long-standing policy of supporting Iran internationally and voted alongside the U.S. at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in favor of referring Iran's nuclear program to the UN Security Council.
However, with the Obama administration leaning on the Pakistani military to broker peace in Afghanistan, India feels alienated from the U.S., particularly with the policy of undermining Karzai. Forced to engage with Pakistan, Karzai too feels alienated from the U.S. and has extended his overtures to Iran. India has also shown its disapproval of the ISI-mediated peace talks between Karzai and the Taliban. India worries that with the Taliban coming to power in Kabul, the Pakistani Taliban too will be emboldened and pose a regional threat to India. The Indian government is also concerned that the U.S. keeps going with Pakistan despite public revelations that the ISI is supporting the anti-U.S. militant organizations, thereby undermining the American policy in Afghanistan.
As a result of the Obama administration's policy of supporting a Pakistani role in Afghanistan, India is now reversing its pro-U.S. stance on international issues. During his trip to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C. in April, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Obama that the UN sanctions are not an answer to counter Iran's nuclear program.[4] Later, Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna reiterated India's disagreement with the U.S. position on Iran's nuclear program by publicly welcoming an Iranian decision to send its low-enriched uranium stock to Turkey.[5]
India has stated publicly that it will not walk away from its engagements in Afghanistan when the U.S. troops withdraw. India now looks to Iran to forge a common stance on Afghanistan. Indian and Iranian leaders have been travelling frequently between Tehran and New Delhi. During a meeting in the Indian capital in early August, top Iranian and Indian officials agreed in principle to counter the threat of Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan. Iran, courted by Karzai and India, has been gaining influence in Afghanistan.
What options does the U.S. have in Afghanistan?
The emerging chaos in Afghanistan results from the U.S. exit plan. The U.S. can press ahead, as per the presidential pledge, to begin the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan starting in July 2011. This stated goal has already motivated the regional powers like Pakistan, India and Iran to position themselves to shape the emerging power structure in Afghanistan. Importantly, the Taliban attacks across Afghanistan have increased and their influence in all provinces is now substantial. Depending on the pace of the withdrawal, the Taliban are poised to claim power for the first time since the U.S. troops dislodged them in 2001.
The moves to broker peace with the Taliban are unlikely to yield their desired purpose. Any kind of peace agreement with the Taliban will embolden them further as the militants are unlikely to accept the Afghan constitution. A Shari'a-for-peace agreement reached between the Taliban and the secular Pakistani government emboldened them so much that the militants began enforcing Islamic Shari'a in the Pakistani district of Swat in early 2009. Indeed, this has been the fate of all peace agreements reached between the Pakistani military and the Taliban in the Pakistani tribal region in recent years. With or without an agreement with the Taliban, Afghanistan is headed for a return of chaos with the U.S. troops no longer there.
Another option could be to postpone the withdrawal of the U.S. troops and support the Afghan forces fighting against the Taliban. Although this option conflicts with the U.S. presidential pledge to begin transferring the U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, at this point in time, only a symbolic withdrawal seems realistic. The emerging terrorist threats in the U.S. emanating from the Taliban may justify a delay in withdrawal.
Alternatively, the U.S. troops can withdraw not out of the country but to barracks in and around Kabul and other key cities, depending on whether the Karzai administration can shoulder some of the security responsibilities. With the increasing strength of the Afghan troops, it will be possible for the Karzai government to hold on to some cities. While partial withdrawal could preserve the existing democratic process, such a move could also be an ongoing inducement to the Taliban to mount attacks on Kabul until it falls. Insofar as the strength of the Afghan security forces is concerned, it is not sufficient to counter the ISI-Taliban machine. The Taliban appear to be in a strong position to claim power when the U.S. troops leave.
c) To Deploy U.S. Troops in the Pakistani Tribal Region
Instead of withdrawing totally back home, the U.S. troops could be redeployed to the Pakistani tribal region. Unlike the U.S. drone attacks that have killed many militant commanders, the Pakistani military operations have generally failed to kill or capture top militant leaders of the Pakistani Taliban or the Afghan Taliban leaders who reside in Pakistan. In fact, some Pakistani militant commanders such as Maulana Fazlullah have been fighting in Afghanistan recently.
The move to deploy U.S. troops in the Pakistani tribal region will be justified by the Taliban's emerging strategy of fighting the U.S. on its soil. The failed May 1, 2010 Times Square bombing by Faisal Shahzad and Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud's video warning of attacks in North America will justify the deployment of the U.S. troops inside Pakistan. Such a move will be fiercely opposed by the Pakistani government and could materialize only in the event of major attacks on the U.S. soil emanating from this region.
Two elements are vital parts of all the three options: the preparation for the continuity of leadership in Afghanistan, and the creation of a stability fund.
First, there are no credible leaders at present who could replace Karzai, but in the long run, the Karzai administration and the U.S. could work to train new leaders, in case an attempt on Karzai's life succeeds or he leaves. In the current circumstances, an attempt to eliminate Karzai in the near term appears real. With the ISI-brokered peace talks becoming a reality, some Afghan leaders are already sensing the arrival of a new regime in Kabul and are now visiting Pakistan to seek ISI's blessings. Afghan leaders – e.g. Ustad Mohammad Mohaqiq of Hizb-e-Vehdat party and Afghan Vice President Karim Khalili recently visited Pakistan to position themselves as Karzai's potential successors.[6] Some other acceptable leaders who enjoy respect among Afghans could be Ali Ahmad Jalali (the former interior minister), Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (the former finance minister and presidential contender) and Zalmay Khalilzad (former U.S. ambassador to Kabul). The role of the U.S. in preparing for such a possibility is vital. Such an achievement can be ensured by working alongside Karzai, who cannot run for a third term under the Afghan constitution.
Second, unlike the American withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of the Cold War, the U.S. and its allies could set up a substantial stability fund aimed at sustaining the Afghan security forces and local administrative setups. Such a step will gradually build up the strength of the Afghan security forces.
In a stalemated power structure that will rise in Kabul as the U.S. troops withdraw, a fragile Afghan state headed by Karzai will be opposed by a strong opposition group led by the Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami leader Hekmatyar, who also enjoys consistent support from Pakistan's ISI. While the Karzai administration will try to reach out to the militants, the ideologically committed leadership of the Taliban movement is unlikely to abandon its goal of establishing a jihadist emirate in Afghanistan. The Taliban's efforts to establish such an emirate in Afghanistan will be strengthened by the withdrawal of the U.S. troops which will be viewed as victory by the jihadists.
With the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the country's democratic experience over the past few years will come to an end. The Karzai-led regime will be taken over by the ISI-Taliban machine, a source of danger to the U.S. and Arab regimes. Already, Pakistan's Afghanistan policy is being arbitrated by the ISI chief. Afghanistan will again be a hotbed of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The militants are already controlling vast regions of Afghanistan.
After the Taliban's takeover, a question can be asked as to what will be the next goal for the Taliban. Many of the militant organizations that are part of the Taliban machine will be controlled by the ISI to engage against India. From the experience in Pakistan, it is clear that some of the Taliban groups are ideologically committed and they will continue the jihad machine against the West. Many of them, especially the younger generations, are aligned with Al-Qaeda and are also fighting against the Pakistani military and the state of Pakistan. The new generations of the militant organizations are devoted to the goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate.
The best course for the U.S. and its international allies in Afghanistan could be to guarantee security to Karzai's life but simultaneously prepare leaders to succeed him. A decision by the Bush administration to support the government of Nouri Al-Maliki in Iraq not only stabilized Iraq but also ensured that the jihadists did not expand their reach into neighboring countries. A decision by the Obama administration to support the Karzai government in Afghanistan may also save Pakistan from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
* Tufail Ahmad is Director of MEMRI's Urdu-Pashtu Media Project; Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI.
[1] Al-Hayat, London, May 22, 2010.
[2] www.timesofindia.com, India, May 10, 2010.
[3] www.state.gov, U.S., May 13, 2010.
[4] www.rediff.com, India, April 14, 2010.
[6] Roznama Mawa-i-Waqt, Pakistan, August 10, 2010.
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Tag Archives: jim jarmusch
Documentary, Indie film directors, Netflix
Bill Murray Stories on Netflix
February 19, 2019 Admin71	Leave a comment
The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From a Mythical Man is a documentary on Netflix about a curious phenomenon involving the comic actor who's reinvented himself as a kind of trickster guru over the last decade.
"Bill Murray sightings" have been reported for many years. These are seemingly random incidents where Murray appears in unlikely places such as a kickball game, a college dorm, or at a random party. Filmmaker Tommy Avallone sets out to document these sightings and find out if they are real or simply bizarre urban legends.
These aren't like typical celebrity sightings. Murray is always alone and simply blends into the local culture. As Avallone discovers, many of these stories are true. The documentary has footage from several of these events as people are shocked and overwhelmed to have a star in their midst.
You can look at Bill Murray Stories in a number of ways. On one level, it's a study in the modern obsession with celebrity. Several of the interviewees have almost religious awe at having met Murray, saying how the experienced transformed their lives. This is touching yet also a bit disturbing.
On the other hand, Murray seems intent on providing inspiration and positive energy without the usual celebrity fanfare. Even if these encounters do make the celebrity gossip columns, Murray doesn't really need the exposure at this point. He seems to be having a good time as he elevates the environment.
We're also reminded that many of Murray's films such as Razor's Edge, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack and even Meatballs have a transformative message. In a strange way, Murray truly seems to be a latter-day Zen master who is now wandering the world inserting himself into the lives of ordinary people.
There's also a clip from Coffee and Cigarettes, one of my favorite Jim Jarmusch films, which is a series of semi-improvised sketches with odd pairings of celebrities having random conversations. In one scene, Bill Murray plays himself pretending to be a waiter, referencing the whole Bill Murray Sighting phenomenon.
Possible Spoiler Alert: Bill Murray is never directly interviewed in this film. All the footage is taken from previous "sightings" and public appearances (such as one Murray made at a Comi-Con festival). This, however, is actually part of the appeal of Bill Murray Stories. If Avallone had full access to Murray, it would just seem like another insider piece. Instead, it's more like a doc you might catch at an indie film festival.
Bill MurrayDocumentariesjim jarmuschNetflix
indie comedies, mumblecore
Entertainment (2015) -directed by Rick Alverson
May 9, 2016 Admin71	Leave a comment
The title Entertainment is ironic, as it's about someone who calls himself an entertainer but is anything but. Director Rick Alverson, whose previous work includes another darkly comic film, actually named The Comedy (2012), here attempts the thankless task of presenting an unlikable, often repulsive protagonist as he alienates everyone around him and eventually loses the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality.
I have a certain admiration for this film even though it's not very enjoyable (nor is it meant to be). Gregg Turkington plays the nameless comic who performs in mostly empty rooms in desolate towns. Apparently, this is a character that Turkington plays regularly in stage performances. Having never seen this, however, I can only comment on the movie.
The "comic" alternately insults the audience and delivers offensive jokes with no punch lines. At first, I found the movie funny in a perverse way; the comic's bizarre idiosyncratic sense of humor, or what passes for that, has elements found in some of the work of Jim Jarmusch (e.g. Stranger Than Paradise) or the Coen Brothers (e.g. Barton Fink).
As the mostly plotless movie meanders along, however, it goes from dark comedy to something more like surreal tragedy -closer to David Lynch territory. As the comic leaves messages for his estranged daughter, we start to wonder if the daughter is even real. Similarly, when he witnesses a woman giving birth in a public bathroom, it's uncertain whether this is reality or a hallucination.
John C. Reilly, the best-known actor in the film, plays a kind of straight man role here as the comic's cousin. Tye Sheridan plays a clown/mime who performs along with the comic at various desolate venues. The clown's performances are similarly bizarre, though the crowd at least responds to him while they ignore or heckle the comic.
I have a high tolerance for mumblecore as well as lightly plotted and even absurdist films. But this one didn't quite work for me. There's just not enough to grab onto either intellectually or emotionally. There is no backstory or context here, so we have no clue how or why the comic has reached this state. I also wondered how an unfunny comic with no fans could have gotten so many bookings, but I suppose you're not supposed to ask such questions.
As the comic's behavior gets progressively more bizarre, it's like watching a random insane person mumbling to himself on the streets of a large city. Perhaps that's not far from what Alverson is going for here -to compel you to look at one example of what a cold and uncaring world has done to one person, without providing any of the details. Watching Entertainment is definitely not a pleasant experience, but the movie is interesting and well acted if ultimately obscure and pointless.
David LynchEntertainmentjim jarmuschRick Alversonthe comedy
Indie film directors, indie films
Frances Ha: Woody Allen For the New Generation?
June 7, 2013 Admin71	Leave a comment
Frances Ha (2012)
Frances Ha, the latest film from director Noah Baumbach, whose earlier films include Kicking and Screaming, The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding and Greenberg, can be seen as a revisiting of territory made familiar by Woody Allen decades ago.
The fact that Frances Ha was shot in black and white and explores the lives of young and artsy New Yorkers makes the Woody Allen comparison inevitable. Yet this and other Baumbach films also show other influences, such as Whit Stillman's Metropolitan and even perhaps Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise. The latter might seem a stretch, but in that iconic indie film from 1983, Jarmusch portrays aimless pre-hipsters in Brooklyn who, among other things, engage in cryptic conversations and have the tendency to take pointless journeys. Stranger Than Paradise was also a black and white film, and even has a character who wears the kind of hat common in today's hipsters (who no doubt all saw that film).
None of this is meant to imply that Frances Ha is merely a derivative work or one that simply retreads familiar territory. Like Quentin Tarrantino (a very different sort of filmmaker overall), Baumbach has the gift of being able to present familiar themes in a manner that is completely refreshing and entertaining. Frances Ha is no exception. This film was co-written by Baumbach and star Greta Gerwig, who plays Frances.
It's a little difficult to describe the plot of Frances Ha, as it's mainly a series of scenes and montages. Some have identified it as a look at close female friendships, and how they can almost border on romance. At one point, Frances says to her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner), "We're like an old lesbian couple that doesn't have sex." While the relationship between the two twenty-something women takes up a lot of screen time, the film is really broader in scope. It's an exploration of a contemporary bohemian lifestyle that must come to terms with economic hardships.
Frances, unlike some of her friends and roommates, is struggling to support herself as a dancer. At one point she moves in with a pair of well-off kids who say things like, "We're thinking of hiring a maid; it only costs $400 a month." Yet, even though she has trouble paying her rent, she stubbornly refuses to take a receptionist job at the dance studio where she teaches part time because it's not in line with her creative aspirations.
Frances Ha will annoy some people, because there is no effort to make the protagonist or her friends universally likable or accessible. In fact, if you are not young, hip, educated and/or urban, you may find these characters as alien as members of a tribe on a continent you've only seen on the Discovery Channel. In this manner, Baumbach follows in the footsteps of Woody Allen, whose Upper East Side elitist professionals were never meant to be representative of America at large.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Baumbach's films, and Frances Ha is no exception. They are driven by characters who, while not always rational or likable, are complex enough to be believable. While some of the dialogue seems slightly over-the-top in its self-consciousness (you might catch a whiff of Portlandia here as well), some people actually do talk this way. Frances herself, however, does not come across as pretentious or overly hip; she is more the product of a certain milieu that compels certain ways of talking and thinking.
Unlike many other indie films that wallow in quirkiness, Frances Ha does not go overboard trying to convince you that its characters are adorable. If you end up liking Frances, its because you accept her as a person who somehow transcends stereotypes.
Frances Hajim jarmuschNoah BaumbachWoody Allen
independent film directors
Night on Earth – Criterion Collection
Jim Jarmusch's 1991 ensemble comedy turns a gimmick into a revelation. The story begins in Los Angeles one evening at 7:07 p.m. A talent agent (Gena Rowlands) gets into the back of a taxi driven by a sullen, chain-smoking young woman (Winona Ryder), and over the course of their bumpy conversation, Rowlands's character becomes convinced that the cabby would be perfect for a particular part in a movie. Meanwhile, at that very moment, taxi drivers in New York, Paris, Rome, and Hels…
Buy Night on Earth – Criterion Collection at Amazon
independent film directors, indie films
Jim Jarmusch: Indie Film Pioneer
December 27, 2008 Admin71	1 Comment
Jim Jarmusch is a director who has helped to define the modern independent film. His films are always interesting, often brilliant and possess a unique combination of minimalism, deadpan humor and keen observation about the human condition.
What follows are brief descriptions of some of Jarmusch's better-known films. While I have seen all of these, some I've only seen once and quite a while ago, which will explain the extreme brevity of some of them. More information is available on the links.
Stranger Than Paradise is often cited as a breakthrough film, even the first indie film. However you define it, Stranger Than Paradise is a brilliant and hilarious look at the aimless lives of two drifters. This movie is practically a crash course in existentialism. Well, at least as I see it; I'm sure some scholars of Sartre or Heidegger would disagree, but it's still a movie worth seeing, or seeing again.
Down By Law is almost a sequel to Stranger Than Paradise, coming a couple of years later and having a similar style. This one is about three convicts who escape from prison, but like its predecessor, it's really about the absurdity of life and relationships. I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as Stranger, because it seemed to be coasting a little on that film's style and energy.
Mystery Train is a film where Jarmusch takes off in a new direction, using some of the techniques that became popular quite a bit later with directors like Quentin Tarantino, such as combining storylines of different characters and jumping around in time. Mystery Train looks at several people in a Memphis hotel, many of them obsessed with Elvis.
Night On Earth again contains several sets of characters, this time in different cities around the world. The common denominator is that all of the action takes place during taxi rides. Some great scenes of nighttime city life.
Ghost Dog is one of my favorite Jarmusch films. Here he once again breaks new ground and explores the intersecting (at least in this film) underworlds of the mafia and samurai warriors. Forest Whitaker is great as a modern-day samurai who wanders city streets enforcing an ancient code of honor. This is another film with unique idiosyncrasies that add to the enjoyment, such as the Whitaker character's fondness and skill with carrier pigeons. One of the themes of Ghost Dog is the question of whether it is possible to hold on to a meaningful set of values in the wasteland of modern culture.
Dead Man stars Johnny Depp in Jarmusch's foray into the Western genre.
Broken Flowers stars Bill Murray, who might seem an unusual actor to appear in a Jim Jarmusch film, but he is a versatile actor who does well in everything from mainstream comedies to offbeat indies like this. Here he is on a road trip where he meets various women he's been involved with over the years.
Coffee and Cigarettes is yet another very different kind of film. It is almost entirely dialogue centered, and yet it remains fascinating and, to its credit, never feels like you are watching a stage play. There are a series of encounters between people, who literally do smoke and drink coffee, all in black and white.
There is a wide diversity of talent here, including Jarmusch favorites Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni, as well as Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, comedian Steven Wright, and Alfred Molina. What I love about this film is similar to what I admired so much in his earlier Stranger Than Paradise -the ability to convey so much with so little. The conversations in Coffee and Cigarettes all hinge on mostly subtle points, differences of opinion, concealed resentments and the like.
Whereas the average mainstream movie hits the viewer over the head with huge concepts and then usually disappoints when it comes to delivering anything meaningful, Jarmusch takes acorn-sized ideas and allows the viewer to watch them grow.
Of course, not everyone has the patience for this. People weaned on special effects, comic book characters, car chases and explosions will find a film like Coffee and Cigarettes boring and difficult to sit through. For Jarmusch fans, however, this is one of his trademark efforts.
coffee and cigarettesjim jarmuschstranger than paradise


US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has launched a drive in Japan to restart North Korean nuclear arms talks as she sweeps through Asia, pressing partners to get Pyongyang back to the table.
Rice's shuttle diplomacy comes as signs emerge that US patience is running out over the six-party negotiations that North Korea has kept on hold since June.
She will fly to Japan on Friday before heading to South Korea and China, where she will seek to hammer out a strategy with the three key parties to the talks despite their differences over tactics.
North Korea, which last month said it had built a nuclear weapon, has cited different reasons for staying away from the negotiating table, including that it needs an apology from Rice for labelling it an "outpost of tyranny".
Asked if she would apologise, Rice said: "I am not going to get into a debate on semantics with the North Koreans.
"There is a lot at stake here for the North Koreans, and they really should come back to the talks and stop trying to change the subject," she told ABC News late on Thursday in Islamabad, halfway through her first trip to Asia as the newly appointed secretary of state.
The United States has rejected its Asian partners' calls to show greater flexibility to coax North Korea back to the talks.
Instead, it wants them, and particularly the talks' host, China, to use their leverage to make the communist country resume negotiations that offer Pyongyang economic aid and security guarantees for scrapping its nuclear programmes.
Democrats have criticised US President George Bush for failing to prevent, through the talks, the build-up of the suspected arsenal of a country he called an "axis of evil," along with pre-war Iraq and Iran.
After three slow-moving rounds and months of North Korean stalling, Christopher Hill, whom Rice has nominated to be her point man for the region, said this week: "We need to see some progress here. If we don't, we need to look at other ways to deal with this."
Rice said ahead of her trip that after discussing the negotiations with the other governments, she would "see where we are and what other steps need to be taken".
Some Bush administration hardliners want to end the talks, which also include Russia, and confront and isolate North Korea by reporting it to the United Nations for possible sanctions.
One US official, who asked not to be named, said he hoped Rice would use her trip to show the partners that although she had tried to save the talks, it was time to call them off because of the lack of progress.
"The trip should be a way of checking the boxes so that the plug can then be pulled on the talks if nothing happens."
In Japan, Rice will press Tokyo to lift its ban on US beef imports imposed in 2003 after the US reported its first case of mad cow disease. The imports are worth more than $1 billion a year.
Rice is unlikely to win a commitment for a Japanese timetable to end the ban despite intensifying US complaints that Tokyo is moving too slowly after it agreed in October to allow shipments of beef from young US cattle.
But Japan, which has been one of Bush's top backers in Asia, is expected during the visit to agree with Rice that China's military build-up is a concern and needs to be counterbalanced with alliances such as the US-Japanese partnership.
The two countries are worried China has stoked tensions with Taiwan, an island it regards as a renegade province that needs to return to the fold.
Last month, in a shift, Japan declared it shared a mutual security goal with the US "to encourage the peaceful resolution of issues concerning the Taiwan Strait through dialogue" - a move China rejected as meddling in its affairs.


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Le château de Montois est un château situé à Ressons-le-Long, à la croisée des vallées de l'Aisne et de Retz.

Localisation
Le château est situé sur la commune de Ressons-le-Long, dans le hameau de Montois, dans la région naturelle du Soissonnais et l'ancien Duché de Valois, dans le département de l'Aisne.

Description

Le château de Montois voit le jour en 1736 sous la forme d'un pavillon, constituant encore le corps central de l'édifice actuel.
Il est agrandi entre 1875 et 1890 par la construction de deux pavillons latéraux dont les pignons à redents témoignent de l'architecture typique du Soissonnais et de deux tourelles octognales dans la lignée des manoirs du .

Historique
L'histoire du château de Montois, de son origine et de ses propriétaires est relatée en détail par Émile Gaillard en 1905 dans son ouvrage "Monographie de la ville de Ressons-le-long", publié dans la collection Monographies des villes et villages de France, dirigée par M.-G. Micberth et réédité en 300 exemplaires en 2007 . Doté de nombreuses illustrations du château de Montois, mais aussi du château de Mainville, du manoir de Poulandon, du moulin à papier de Pontarcher ou encore de la ferme de l'abbaye royale Notre-Dame de Soissons, dite aussi « ferme de la Montagne », la monographie d'Émile Gaillard donne également de précieux renseignements sur le patrimoine de ce village reconnu comme l'un des plus remarquables du département par le CAUE de l'Aisne.

Parc et jardins
Le jardin d'agrément du château de Montois est inscrit au pré-inventaire des jardins remarquables.

Articles connexes
 Liste des châteaux de l'Aisne
 Ressons-le-Long

Notes et références

Montois

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


One of the 'super-stinkies'! This runny little cheese is washed with a local grape spirit during its maturation, to encourage the development of a sticky, orange rind with rich mushroomy and cured meat flavours. If you like strong cheese, you will love Epoisses.
Categories: Cheese, Cow, Washed Rind.
The King of Cheeses – a great Parmigiano Reggiano like this is a kitchen staple. Our 36 month reggiano from Cantarelli is sweet and savoury with a well-balanced bite. It also has an amazing texture – crumbly and flaky, but still incredibly moist – the result of aging in the family's naturally ventilated cheese caves, used since the 1800's for maturing Parmigiano Reggiano. Don't let a single gram go to waste – use the rind to flavour soups and stocks (discard before serving). Each wedge comes packaged in a special foil to protect the cheese from oxidisation.
NB: Cheese delivered to selected postcodes within the greater Sydney metropolitan area only.
A decadent double-cream cheese with a light, whipped texture. Serve this cheese with crackers or fresh baguette and enjoy with a glass of bubbly.
A semi-matured goat's cheese from the Loire Valley in France. Picked by Affineur Herve Mons from the cheese maker 10 days after making, Ovaline Cendree will spend a few extra weeks maturing nicely in Herve's Tunnel/ripening cave next to Lyon, France. Traditionally ashed Ovaline cendree has a oozy texture under the rind with a slightly chalky center. The clean citrusy and goat flavour pairs well with local a sauvignon blanc.
When young, Mothais has a soft, almost runny texture and light, lemony flavour. As it matures, the texture becomes more dense, and the flavours more complex and concentrated. Mothais is wrapped with a leaf (feuille) – a long standing tradition for many French goat's cheeses.
Manchego is Spain's best-known sheep's milk cheese and has official DOP status. This raw milk farmhouse version is matured for a minimum of 12 months creating a firm, compact texture. The flavour is smooth with a grassy sweetness and a slightly oily finish with hints of creamy Brazil nuts in the background. Enjoy with a glass of Tempranillo.