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The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, also known as the Bayanihan Act, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 11469, is a law in the Philippines that was enacted in March 2020 granting the President additional authority to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. The word "bayanihan" is a Tagalog word for communal work.

Background

Following the sharp increase of COVID-19 cases in the country, Congress held a special session on March 23 to deliberate and pass the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. The act would allow President Duterte to "reallocate, realign, and reprogram" a budget of almost  ($5.37 billion) from the estimated  ($8.55 billion) national budget approved for 2020, in response to the pandemic; enable him to "temporarily take over or direct the operations" of public utilities and privately owned health facilities and other necessary facilities "when the public interest so requires" for quarantine, the accommodation of health professionals, and the distribution and storage of medical relief; and "facilitate and streamline" the accreditation of testing kits.

Legislative history

In the House of Representatives, the bill was introduced as House Bill No. 6616 with House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano of Pateros–Taguig as its principal sponsor and was defended on the floor by Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur's 2nd district. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea addressed the session, stressing that the president needed "standby powers" to address the emergency. Some representatives questioned the nature, usage, and necessity of the "standby powers", claiming its susceptibility to abuse and corruption.

In the Senate of the Philippines, the bill was introduced as Senate Bill No. 1418 with Senate President Tito Sotto and Senator Pia Cayetano as its principal sponsors. Under the bill, Senator Cayetano said that over 18 million Filipino households living below the poverty line would also receive financial incentives of around –8,000 ($97.45–155.92) per month for two months. Senators amended their version of the bill to include financial compensation of around  ($1,965.33) to be given by PhilHealth to health professionals who contracted the virus, as well as the provision of around -worth ($19,653.27) of financial aid to their families.

Both versions of the bill reportedly removed the usage of the term "emergency powers", replacing it with "authority". It also removed the term "take over of public utilities and private businesses", limiting President Duterte's abilities at most to "direct the operations" of such enterprises. The House version of the bill passed the House of Representatives in a 284–9 vote without abstentions, while its Senate version unanimously passed the Senate. President Duterte signed the bill into law the following day on March 24, 2020.

Manila paper backlash
At the start of the special session at the House of Representatives, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano along with his fellow congresspeople, did a photo op showing Cayetano and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea holding up a board covered with Manila paper with the message, "Together with doctors and frontliners, we went to work for you, so please stay home for us." This prompted an online backlash on social media with citizens criticizing the lawmakers for comparing themselves with the pandemic healthcare frontliners. The photo also became fodder for memes with people replacing the Manila paper message with various images. Cayetano responded to the backlash saying, "If you ask me to hold up a sign again, and even if the sign curses at me but it gets people to read and gets people to stay home, I will do it again and again and again."

Expiration and extension
The law expired on June 24, 2020, without a resolution of it being extended. Although there were bills passed in Congress to extend the law until September 2020, the president did not certify these as urgent, prompting the bills to lapse.

The distribution of the social amelioration program (SAP) and other cash aids from the Philippine government were not affected by the expiration of the law.

The Bayanihan to Recover as One Bill, was filed on June 1, 2020.

Provisions

The law provides the President of the Philippines the power to implement temporary emergency measures to respond to the crisis brought about by COVID-19, such as:
 adopting and implementing measures, which are based on World Health Organization guidelines and best practices, to prevent or suppress further transmission and spread of COVID-19 through education, detection, protection and treatment;
 hastening the accreditation of testing kits;
 facilitating prompt testing of patients under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs) as well as the immediate mandatory isolation and treatment of patients, the cost of which shall be covered by the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation;
 providing an emergency subsidy amounting to five thousand pesos () to eight thousand pesos () to low income households based on prevailing regional minimum wage rates;
 providing all public health workers with "COVID-19 special risk allowance";
 directing the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation to shoulder all medical expenses of public and private health workers related to exposure to COVID-19 or any work-related injury or disease during the pandemic emergency;
 providing a compensation of one hundred thousand pesos () to public and private health workers who contract severe COVID-19 infection while performing their duties and a compensation amounting to one million pesos () shall be given to public and private health workers who will die because of COVID-19;
 ensuring that all local government units adhere to all the rules, regulations and directives issued by the national government with respect to this law as well as implement community quarantine consistent with the standards the national government has laid down;
 directing the operation of any privately owned hospitals, medical and health facilities and other establishments to house health workers, serve as quarantine areas and centers, medical relief, aid distribution locations and temporary medical facilities provided that the management and operation of these establishments or facilities shall still be with the owners, however, unjustifiable refusal of the establishment or the facility to operate for this purpose may mean take over of the President of the Philippines on the operations of this establishment or facility with the limitations and safeguards stated in the Constitution;
 directing public transportation to ferry health, emergency and frontline personnel as well as other individuals provided that the management and operation of this enterprise shall still be with the owner, however, unjustifiable refusal of the enterprise to operate for this purpose may mean take over of the President of the Philippines on the operations of this enterprise with the limitations and safeguards stated in the Constitution;
 enforcing measures against hoarding, profiteering, injurious speculations, manipulation of prices, product deceptions, cartels, monopolies or other combinations to restraint trade or affect the supply, distribution and movement of food, clothing, hygiene and sanitation products, medicine and medical supplies, fuel, fertilizers, chemicals, building materials, implements, machinery equipment and spare parts for agriculture, industry and other essential services;
 ensuring that donation, acceptance and distribution of health products for COVID-19 public health emergency are not unnecessarily delayed;
 procuring of medical goods, equipment and supplies to be allocated and distributed to public health facilities that are designated as COVID-19 referral hospitals, private hospitals that are capable of providing support care and treatment to COVID-19 patients and public and private laboratories that are capable of testing suspected COVID-19 patients, in the most expeditious manner through exemptions from Republic Act No. 9184 or the "Government Procurement Reform Act" and other relevant laws;
 procuring of goods and services for social amelioration measures, in the most expeditious manner through exemptions from Republic Act No. 9184 or the "Government Procurement Reform Act" and other relevant laws;
 leasing of real property or venue for use to house or serve as quarantine centers, medical relief and aid distribution locations or temporary medical facilities, in the most expeditious manner through exemptions from Republic Act No. 9184 or the "Government Procurement Reform Act" and other relevant laws;
 partnering with the Philippine Red Cross in giving aid to the people;
 hiring temporary Human Resources for Health (HRH), who shall receive appropriate compensation, allowances and hazard duty pay, to complement or supplement the current health workforce or to man the temporary medical facilities;
 ensuring availability of credit especially in the countryside by lowering the effective lending rates of interest and reserve requirements of lending institutions;
 liberalizing the grant of incentives for the manufacture or importation of critical or needed equipment or supplies for carrying out of the policy of this law provided that importation shall be exempt from import duties, taxes and other fees;
 ensuring the availability of essential goods by adopting necessary measures to facilitate and/or minimize disruption to the supply chain;
 regulating and limiting operation of private or public transportation whether land, sea or air;
 conserving, regulating the distribution and use as well as ensuring the adequate supply of power, fuel, energy and water;
 moving statutory deadlines and timelines for filing and submission of any document, payment of taxes, fees and other charges required by law;
 directing all private and public banks, quasi-banks, financing companies, lending companies and other financial institutions, including the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System and Pag-ibig Fund to implement a grace period of 30 days, minimum, for the payment of all loans falling due within the enhanced community quarantine without interests, penalties, fees or other charges;
 providing for a minimum of 30 days grace period on residential rents falling due within the period of the enhanced community quarantine without interest, penalties, fees and other charges;
 implementing an expanded and enhanced Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program and providing an assistance program through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment; and
 lifting the 30% cap on the amount for the quick respond fund as provided for in Republic Act No. 10121 or the "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010" during the state of national emergency due to COVID-19.

The President of the Philippines shall submit a weekly report to Congress, every Monday, of all acts done for this law including the amount and corresponding utilization of funds. The Congress shall form a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee consisting of four members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives who are appointed by the Senate President and the House Speaker.

Under this law, a penalty of two months imprisonment or a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos () but not more than one million pesos () or both shall be meted to offenses such as:
 disobeying national government policies or directives in imposing quarantines by officials of local government units;
 refusing unjustifiably to operate the privately owned hospitals, medical and health facilities pursuant to the directive of the President by owners and possessors of these hospitals, medical and health facilities;
 engaging in profiteering, hoarding, injurious speculations, manipulation of prices, product deceptions, cartels, monopolies or other combinations to restraint trade, distribution and movement of food, clothing, hygiene and sanitation products, medicine and medical supplies, fuel, fertilizers, chemicals, building materials, implements, machinery equipment and spare parts for agriculture, industry and other essential services and other articles of prime necessity, whether locally manufactured or imported;
 refusal to prioritize and accept contracts for services and materials necessary to promote national policy provided in this law;
 refusal to give 30-day grace period as provided by this law;
 creating, perpetrating or spreading false information about COVID-19 crisis on social media and other platforms, with no valid or beneficial effect on the population which promote chaos, panic, anarchy, fear or confusion;
 participating in cyber incidents that take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis such as scams, phishing, fraudulent emails or other similar acts;
 failure to comply with reasonable limitations on the operation of certain transportation sectors, be it private or public, whether by land, air or sea; and
 putting-up of prohibited encroachments or obstacles, maintenance of illegal constructions in public places that have been ordered to be removed and impeding access to roads, streets and bridges.

Implementation

NBI summons Mayor Sotto

After the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and before the enactment of the Bayanihan law, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto allowed temporarily the limited operation of the city's tricycles for use of health care workers, government personnel and patients despite the national government's ban on the operation of public transportation. Sotto mentioned that banning all tricycles in the city would bring more risk to the city's health situation. After he aired the views and experiences of the local government of Pasig, Sotto complied with the inclusion of tricycles in the public transportation ban.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), through its Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin, confirmed on April 1, 2020, that NBI sent an invitation letter to Sotto for violation of Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. Lavin said that Sotto is scheduled to appear at the bureau on April 7, 2020, at 10 am. Sotto responded by saying that he had already complied with the national government's order to stop tricycle operations prior to the implementation of the law. Senate President Tito Sotto, an uncle of the mayor, criticized the move in a tweet, stating "NBI will be well advised to be cautious in their interpretation of the law I principally authored. Any so-called violation of RA 11469 can't be retroactive!". Liberal Party president and Senator Francis Pangilinan also questioned the NBI's actions, stating the unconstitutionality of criminalizing an act committed before the law was passed.

Social media responded heavily with criticism towards the NBI for allegedly singling out the mayor, even comparing the situation to that of Senator Koko Pimentel's case, who had violated quarantine protocols a few days prior at the Makati Medical Center, but was given consideration by the government.

NBI investigates Senator Pimentel III

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) spokesperson Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin said that the bureau was also investigating Senator Aquilino Pimentel III for alleged violation of the Bayanihan Heal as One Act. Director Eric Distor of the NBI confirmed that Pimentel would also be invited to the bureau to explain. He would be summoned when his self-quarantine ended.

Pimentel had undergone testing for COVID-19 and was informed that he was positive for the disease while he was at the Makati Medical Center, accompanying his pregnant wife who was scheduled to give birth.

See also
 List of COVID-19 pandemic legislation
 Philippine government response to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
Philippine legislation
Presidency of Rodrigo Duterte
Law associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

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The Costs to Developing Countries of Adapting to Climate Change: New Methods and Estimates
To shed light on adaptation costs—and with the global climate change negotiations resuming in December 2009 in Copenhagen—the Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC) study was initiated by the World Bank in early 2008, funded by the governments of the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change – The Case of Germany
Therefore, this paper aims at developing a broad economic framework for adaptation which can provide a foundation and a starting point for future economic research. The economic analysis allows us to distinguish between autonomous adaptation by private agents on the one hand and collective adaptation measures by government entities on the other.
Total Costs and Budgetary Effects of Adaptation to Climate Change: An Assessment for the European Union
This paper focuses on the fiscal effects of adaptation to climate change. Beside adaptation induced effects, climate change has other fiscal implications, like public spending fo mitigation efforts, the implementation and use of fiscal instruments in climate policy, or reduced tax revenue due to productivity losses in the economy.
Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Strategies
This handbook is designed to provide newcomers to the field of climate impact and adaptation assessment with a guide to available research methods, particularly for answering the first question. The handbook will also serve as a ready reference for many others currently engaged in impacts and adaptation research.
Investment and financial flows to address Climate Change
Discussion on financing from investment and financial needs for enhancing funding for mitigation, adaptation and technology cooperation. Sectoral estimates of adaptation costs by region and globally for 2030.
Assessing the Costs of Adaptation to Climate Change: A Review of the UNFCCC and Other Recent Estimates.
Critique of UNFCCC (2007) and comment on global adaptation financing needs for 2030 in developing countries. Concludes the costs of adapting to climate change have been significantly under-estimated. Discussion of previous health costs Content: 1. The range of global estimates 2. Costs of adaptation in agriculture, forestry and fisheries 3. Costs of adaptation in the water sector 4.
Potential costs and benefits of adaptation options: A review of existing literature
Critique of UNFCCC (2007) and comment on global adaptation financing needs for 2030 in developing countries. Concludes the costs of adapting to climate change have been significantly under-estimated.
Economic Aspects of Adaptation to Climate Change: Costs, Benefits and Policy Instruments.
Assessment of adaptation costs and benefits in climate sensitive sectors, as well as at national and global levels. Discussion of potential and limits of economic and policy instruments that can be used to motivate adaptation actions
Impacts of Europe's changing climate: an indicator-based assessment.
Review of European valuation and adaptation economics work in Chapter 7
The fiscal implications of climate change adaptation
Literature Review, Case Studies and Fiscal Adaptation Costs
Adapting to climate change in The Netherlands: an inventory of climate adaptation options and ranking of alternatives
Description of an approach for a qualitative and quantitative assessment of adaptation options to respond to climate change in the Netherlands.
Climate change impacts in Europe. Final report of the PESETA research project
Economic costs of climate change in Europe, for some sectors costs and benefits of adaptation (coasts)
Sweden facing climate change - threats and opportunities
Costs of adaptation for many sectors, costs and benefits for road transport sector
Costing the impacts of climate change in the UK: overview of guidelines
By reading this report, the user will gain a good appreciation of the contents of the implementation guidelines, and its potential as a tool to: • Provide guidance on how to generate valid 'order of magnitude' estimates of the cost of climate risks, and the benefits of adaptation to these risks. • Minimise the potential for poor, inaccurate or inconsistent cost estimation.
Climate's long-term impacts on metro Boston, Final Report to the US EPA (CLIMB).
Describes impacts on a major U.S. city (Boston), what those impacts are likely to cost, and what adaptive measures can be taken to protect the region from the worst of these effects. Assessment of health from heat, and concludes adaptation can reduce to negligble risks
Economics of climate change adaptation at the local scale under conditions of uncertainty and resource constraints: the case of Durban, South Africa
Evaluation of benefit-cost ratios of 16 municipal adaptation clusters aimed at targeting a climate-related risk under 4 different climate change scenarios.
Economics of Climate Change: Kenya
Study covers the impacts and economics costs of climate change, the costs of adaptation, and the potential for low carbon growth in Kenya.
The Economics of Climate Change in the United Republic of Tanzania
Study covers the impacts and economics costs of climate change, the costs of adaptation, and the potential for low carbon growth in Tanzania.
Urban Regions: Vulnerabilities, Vulnerability Assessments by Indicators and Adaptation Options for Climate Change Impacts
Study assesses the feasibility of developing climate change related vulnerability indicators for urban areas to support future EU spatial development policy by reviewing available literature and research activities.
Adaptation to Climate Change: Global Costs and Practical Examples (Adaptatie aan Klimaatveranderiung - Globale Kosten en Praktische Voorbelden)
Executive summary of report (in English)
Adaptatie aan Klimaatveranderiung - Globale Kosten en Praktische Voorbelden. Literatuurstudie.(Adaptation to Climate Change: Global Costs and Practical Examples)
Extensive study of the international literature concerning the effects of climate change and the associated costs, scaled to the Flemish context for an initial estimate of the potential cost of climate change in Flanders. (in Flemish)
Adaptatie aan Klimaatveranderiung - Globale Kosten en Praktische Voorbelden. Literatuurstudie. Lokale Case-Studies. (Adaptation to Climate Change: Global Costs and Practical Examples. Local Case Studies)
Local case studies to the report: Adaptatie aan Klimaatveranderiung - Globale Kosten en Praktische Voorbelden. Literatuurstudie.(Adaptation to Climate Change: Global Costs and Practical Examples)
The Economics of Climate Change in Mexico: Synopsis
The principle objectives of this study is to identify, analyze and quantify the economic costs of climate change for Mexico and, on the basis of the results, propose and recommend appropriate measures for public policy, both for adaptation and mitigation.
The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review
Study is intended to enrich the debate on the economics of climate change including the economic costs and benefits of unilateral and regional actions in Southeast Asia.
Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change: Samoa
Study examines the consequences of an increase in average temperatures of up to 1°C by 2050 and up to 2.75°C by 2100 for the frequency and intensity of major cyclones that hit the islands.
The Economics of Climate Resilience: Appraising flood management initiatives – a case study
Report presents a framework for appraising different adaptation actions, focusing specifically on the appraisal of flood risk management initiatives.
The National Adaptation Programme: Making the country resilient to a changing climate
Programme, drawn up by the government, industry and other non government organisations, contains a mix of policies and actions to help the UK to adapt successfully to future weather conditions, by dealing with the risks and making the most of the opportunities.
The National Adaptation Programme Report: Analytical Annex
Analytical annex for the The National Adaptation Programme. Contains the current evidence base for adaptation decision-making and presents the analysis that informs the National Adaptation Programme's approach to adaptation to climate change.
Economcis of Adaptation
Chapter assesses the literature on the economics of climate change adaptation, building on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) and the increasing role that economic considerations are playing in adaptation decisionmaking and policy.
Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention- Overview
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/ Turkiye signs 10-year gas deal with Oman -Turkish Energy Minister
/ Tunisia President blames hatred of Parliament for low turnout in elections
/ UK Court considers legality of resuming arms sales to Saudi Arabia
/ Gaza municipalities call for help to meet citizens' needs
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Afro-Palestinians face 'double the harassment and double the racism'
April 17, 2022 at 8:00 am | Published in: Interviews, Israel, Middle East, Palestine
Nisreen Salem is an Afro-Palestinian from Egypt who has been mocked due to her skin colour and hair for most of her young life
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Nisreen Salem is an Afro-Palestinian from Egypt who has been mocked due to her skin colour and hair for most of her young life. The 25 year old is one of at least 400 Afro-Palestinians from Nigeria, Egypt, Chad, Senegal and Sudan who live within the walls of occupied Jerusalem's Old City, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
"The hardest part was when I started hating everything about myself because I was being pointed at and attacked verbally by both Palestinians and Jews everywhere I went," she told me. "We face double the harassment and double the racism for being Palestinian and for being black."
Israeli soldiers are "always cursing" the black Palestinians and interrogating them whenever they pass by. "This is how most people in my community grow up."
Working as a photojournalist, on 18 October last year Salem set out to film the violent raids carried out by Israeli forces at the Damascus Gate into the Old City that serves as a popular gathering spot for many Palestinians. The day sticks out in her memory, not for the raid itself, nor for the tear gas and sound bomb attacks that followed, but for what happened to her afterwards.
She was alone covering events as they unfolded when she was approached by several Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint. They assaulted her following a brief interrogation.
"I was taking some videos for my work and the Israel soldiers know every journalist in Damascus Gate and Jerusalem so they are quick to identify us during clashes. They know us all very well, even our names, which is why I believe that they had decided in advance that they were going to arrest me."
READ: Cooking helps them through the crisis days in Gaza, say the founders of its first cookery school
During her arrest, the soldiers shouted racist abuse including "slave", and kicked and beat her until she was numb with fright and pain. Still visibly traumatised, she explained how they kicked her. "Many of the soldiers were standing over me and I was shocked. I froze because I didn't know what to do. During the investigation, they accused me of kicking the soldiers even though that didn't happen. Then they wanted to know who I was working for and accused me again of sending photos and playing political games."
Salem was detained for 13 hours following her interrogation. "The biggest problem when you're in an Israeli jail is that you don't know what's happening outside, you don't know if it's morning or evening. It felt like time had stopped. The food which they gave me was unclean and even though I was on my period, they banned me from the bathroom. It was the hardest 13 hours of my life."
She is convinced that the purpose of the attack and interrogation was to deter her from documenting Israel's abuses against Palestinians. Among Palestinian journalists, she is far from alone in being attacked in this way.
Journalism is a pillar of democracy that should be able to hold those in power to account. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that Israel takes extreme measures to block any accurate reporting of the rights violations and crimes committed by its security forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"I knew the risks involved as a journalist. It is dangerous here and Palestinian society is also judgemental about women becoming journalists. Females, we are told, should prioritise getting married and having children. However, women can balance both a career and a family."
She came across the community's attitude towards women journalists after graduating from Birzeit University, north of Ramallah. Her mother, she said, is both scared for and proud of her ambitions and achievements. "I'm used to society making everything a problem for me but I've learnt to be confident in my decisions and in myself."
Growing up as a member of a racial minority, feelings of isolation and exclusion are all too common. Such feelings are shared by other black Palestinians.
Some of her earliest memories included racism from both Palestinians and Israelis. Playing outside as a child, she said, children would point at her and ask why her skin is so dark. "She's black because of the sun," her mother would explain. Or, "She's black because God put her in a very hot place."
This had a very negative impact on her self-confidence. It wasn't until I started reading books and learning about the history of Afro-Palestinians that I started to gain in confidence and learnt to love myself and my culture."
Over the years, though, she has noticed a change of attitude towards Afro-Palestinians; there is more tolerance and less racism. "Things are changing slowly. In the past, many Palestinian people didn't like to marry from our community just because we are black. They have this image stuck in their head that black people are slaves. Even our braids mean slavery to them and so our people used to try to change their hair."
READ: 'The world doesn't care when the victims are Palestinians, they will keep selling weapons to Israel,' says activist
The current generation of Afro-Palestinians is different, she believes, because of the internet. "We can browse and connect with others who look like us and appreciate our unique features. The internet helped me to love and accept myself and others who are very different from the majority. And I am able to share everything I learn with my friends and peers who are not familiar with the black experience and history in Palestine."
Her pursuit of journalism was inspired in part by this drive. "Mainstream and social media news about Palestinians is filled with pictures of people with light skin and brown — even blonde and red — hair, so when I posted on social media about myself, people were shocked."
As a result, she concluded, she intends to be the journalist who reports on and shows the diversity among Palestinians. "This will include the Afro-Palestinians until everyone knows about my community near Al-Aqsa Mosque."
InterviewsIsraelMiddle EastPalestine


The sport we love and play has never been as popular as we all think it should, nor has it gotten the exposure it deserves. You and I know that the game is one of the most exciting and physical of all team sports, and is the oldest existing North American sport to date. Lacrosse's heritage runs deep through North America, and anyone that has been introduced to the game has had a profoundly positive experience. If you grew up playing, whether it was in Texas or elsewhere, you always wished to watch lacrosse played at a professional level – and now that it's available, imagine how amazing it would be to have a professional team play in your home town.
What if I told you that, through community effort, we could make professional lacrosse possible for Dallas? What If I told you that there is a major league owner who is interested in starting a Dallas franchise for the National Lacrosse League? All they need to see is a community that is ready for it.
Well, my Texas Lacrosse family, opportunity is knocking at our door-step. Let's show these potential owners and the league how supportive we are; not only for our Texas teams, but for the National Lacrosse League itself. Let them have no doubt in our community. We need your help bringing a professional lacrosse team to Texas!
Please join and sign our petition, share it with your friends, and have them spread the word. If you have a friend who doesn't play lacrosse, but watches you play, share this with their family. We aren't just bringing the sport of lacrosse to Texas, but a great source of entertainment as well. This is for Texas and generations to come. We can make history. We can make a future for lacrosse!
Thank you for helping Grow The Game!


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Q: Creating custom pattern for input element Sometimes I see input elements that have their own custom pattern, for example, a zip code input element always brings a - automatically after the user has typed 4 characters. Or an input element for hours and minutes brings a : after the user has input the first 2 characters.
Is this a JavaScript or a HTML function?
What tags should I search to learn this?

A: The HTML5/JavaScript Input Mask or masked textbox is a control that provides an easy and reliable way to collect user input based on a standard mask. It allows you to capture phone numbers, date values, credit card numbers, and other standard format values.
You can learn about it in:
https://css-tricks.com/input-masking/

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Service Metrics Group this month launched its improved platform that gives clients the ability to influence and generate positive customer feedback, and amplify this feedback across the web to attract new customers. The innovative platform helps clients tap into what their customers are saying on leading review sites and via email surveys, respond to and approve customer reviews, and see their good reputation shared on social networks, on search engines and beyond.
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Service Metrics Group's all-inclusive service is available now and a 30-day complimentary trial is available by calling +1 972 638 7429 (United States), +852 8191 7429 (Hong Kong), or contacting the company via their website at servicemetricsgroup.com.
HONG KONG, December 5, 2012 ― Service Metrics Group, a leader in customer experience measurement solutions, today announced the opening of its new Hong Kong office, based in Wan Chai, to meet increasing demand in the region as well as giving the company the capability to locally deliver services to existing customers in the area.
The company has also observed a growing trend to negotiate service contracts within a global delivery framework, while preferring to have mystery shopping, customer feedback systems, and online reputation management delivered via a local presence.
The new Hong Kong office also provides Service Metrics Group with the opportunity to expand its delivery capability throughout the Asia-Pacific region (including Australia) and will also assist in recruitment and training for new talent into the company.
Service Metrics Group's international focus over the next 12 months is to expand its local delivery capability in order to address the demands of its expanding list of clients - focusing on Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore, and Macau.


There are several critical events taking place over the next two-weeks that will keep capital participants on their toes.
This week will be dominated by central bank activity and rhetoric. While next week, the focus is all on the U.K and its Euro membership referendum (June 23).
The Bank of Japan (BoJ), the Bank of England (BoE) along with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and Swiss National Bank (SNB) all meet in the latter half of this week. There are no policy changes anticipated by either institution, but it's what policy makers actually say that will dictate capital market direction.
The most important will be the Fed. U.S policy makers will release their "dot plot" – projected interest rates- at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, alongside a policy statement and new economist forecasts. This will be followed by a highly anticipated press conference by Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
Risk aversion remains the prevailing sentiment for the third straight trading session.
Financial markets are clearly getting nervous with the latest U.K polls over the weekend showing gaining momentum and possibly even a narrow lead for the pro-Brexit camp.
The possibility of the U.K. voting to leave the EU in next week's referendum (June 23) has sent the pound plummeting to a new two-month low of £1.4118 outright and €0.7985 vs. the Euro.
Against safe haven pairs, it has dropped more than -1.4% against the day's best performing currency, the Japanese yen, to hit ¥149.56, its lowest print in nearly three-years and to a two-month low against the Swiss franc, around £1.3626.
GBP one-month implied volatility (demand for options protection) hit 28.15 this morning, – this is above the 28.0 peak in late 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. This would suggest that investors fear a greater potential for pound to fall if the U.K. votes to leave the EU.
Growing anxiety over the prospect of the U.K. exiting the EU is spooking the global investor and hammering equities.
Equity indices are beginning the week trading sharply lower as investors remain risk-averse ahead of the key central bank meetings this week, and next weeks U.K Brexit referendum.
European shares have fallen for a fourth day on the back of Asian bourses sliding to a new two-month low.
In overnight releases, China's May economic data was generally in line or softer than expected.
Fixed urban investment growth slowed to a multi-year low as property sales value and construction activity saw prominent declines (Fixed urban assets YTD, Y/Y +9.6% vs. +10.5%e).
China's industrial output was considered more mixed. Analysts note that power generation recovered from last month's decline, while crude steel output showed slightly higher growth, even though the overall headline print was as expected (+6.0% vs. +6.0% e).
Adding to evidence that the world's second-largest economy is stabilizing, China Stats Bureau noted that overall employment is steady and investment is growing and this despite the world's second largest economy still facing uncertainties.
Oil prices are kicking off the new week in the red after U.S. drilling data showed another increase. Higher crude prices are motivating producers to restart closed wells and maybe increase supply.
Brent briefly fell below $50 a barrel for the first time in a week, while WTI futures are trading down -1% at $48.59 a barrel as we head stateside.
Crude prices have rallied by more than +80% from its mid-February lows, supported by production outages from Nigeria to Canada and falling output in the U.S.
Gold is trading atop of its four-week high ($1286.70) buoyed by a benign Fed policy as well as safe haven demand due to the U.K's upcoming Brexit vote.
G7 debt paper continues to rally hard with the global equity selloff.
The yield on the 10-year German bund touched an all-time low of +0.01% as the ECB kicked off the purchases of corporate bonds as a part of its ongoing QE program. Dealers believe it's only a matter of time before German 10's trade below zero into negative territory.
The yield on the 10-year gilt has also hit an all-time low of +1.21% this morning. Japan's 10-year and 20-year JGB yields are now trading deeper into negative territory. Japan's 10-year JGB yield is at record low of -0.145%.
With domestic yields so low, investors continue to scour the globe for returns. It's this foreign demand that has U.S Treasuries better bid further out the curve.
The U.S 10-year yield has dropped from +1.80% ahead of last month's payrolls report to +1.625% this morning, its lowest level since February.
The cause or the cure: how can finance, accounting and treasury professionals in the pharmaceutical industry manage their FX exposure?


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Slobodni&Hrabri
Orange Moto
The goal of the first HotSpotAwards in which we actively participated was to map the market and raise the standards of the e-commerce industry in Serbia, in order to assimilate into global e-commerce flows.
The E-commerce Association of Serbia organized the award ceremony for the most successful companies in the field of electronic commerce in the region.
Within the three categories, 21 awards were given to the most successful companies in various fields, and the Champion award went to Wolt company.
Our expert Web team continues this year traditionally with the promotion of online shopping in Serbia, which is significantly improving every day.
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By default, AtoM runs in "production" mode. Production mode suppresses the output of any PHP notices, warnings or error messages. Suppressing warnings is usually desirable to avoid displaying cryptic and alarming messages to users of the application, and for security reasons. However, in the case of a fatal PHP error, suppressing warnings can result in a blank white page being displayed in the client's browser. Suppressing warnings is also not desirable when trying to solve the problem causing the error.
To diagnose AtoM application errors it is usually useful to run in Debug mode (a.k.a. "Development mode"). Debug mode will display PHP error messages (though the types of messages displayed is subject to your PHP error reporting configuration setting), as well as displaying a debug toolbar.
There are two methods for enabling Debug mode for AtoM.
You are not allowed to access this file. Check qubit_dev.php for more information.
A developer can edit the PHP configuration file (frequently located at /etc/php5/fpm/pool.d/atom.conf) to add further IP addresses to the ATOM_DEBUG_IP variable - this is called by qubit_dev.php and checked for allowed IP addresses. Doing so will allow you to access Debug mode from a different IP address than that of the server.
The standard front controller for AtoM is the index.php file, which by default is configured to suppress debugging messages. If you are running AtoM on a remote server (i.e. not your workstation) accessing the 'qubit_dev.php' front-controller may not be possible, and editing the index.php controller to display debugging messages is another option.
Editing the index.php page requires using a text editor to modify the file on the server. If you do not have access to your web server, or are not comfortable editing files, please contact your system administrator.
After recording any error messages, make sure to reverse the above steps to suppress error message display again. Displaying these error messages is a security concern because it can display information about your server configuration to the public.


An important part of maintaining pet health is cutting your cat's nails every few weeks. Not only does this protect your family but it also can save your sofa and carpet.
Nonetheless, it is not as easy as it may sound. That is why you have to stroke your cat's paws often for your cat to remove "mistrust" between you and your cat. Furthermore, reward your cut after a good trim. The reward system helps that understand that trimming is a part of hygiene.
In most cases, modern clippers are easier to use as they don't interfere with the cat's paw. Remember, cats can easily harm you once they experience some discomfort. In other cases, scissors work best. Find that helpful tool for you and your cat.
Cut a small tip of the nails. Remember, you don't want to end up injuring your cat's blood vessels. Just like humans, cat's also have blood vessels near the end of their nails.
In case this happens, you may need to apply a little pressure on the tip of the nail reducing blood flow. Avoid applying too much pressure on the paw for this will only lead to more blood oozing out.
Don't be in a hurry. You may hurt your cat. Take time trimming one nail at a time even though few cats can keep their calm. After a while, your cat may start to resist. Don't be troubled! Just let it leave and schedule when to cut the remaining ones.
If you have a kitten, start cutting soon. Better yet, make it a routine. When cats are used to trimming, they become very compliant with the practice. That is why older cats find it hard to sit down and be introduced to clipping since they have not been accustomed to it.
Do you clip your cat's nails? Do you have any tips to make cats less stressed? Share them in the comments below!


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target planning
Webdatenserver
St. Johannes Hospital Duisburg - Competition Description
The competition was designed to find a solution for the structural deficits at the four locations of Duisburg Catholic Hospital. The competition brief covered some new hospital building (650 beds) next to St. Johannes Hospital in Duisburg-Hamborn and plans to improve the economic efficiency of the clinical areas at all four locations, incorporating the old listed building as an administration area and converting the existing women's hospital into a parent-child centre.
LUDES' design and draft which won first prize foresees a compact 5-storey new construction with
minimised pathways and optimised vertical and horizontal links designed to improve functional procedures. The practical design of adjoining areas facilitates high synergy effects by means of the common use of areas and equipment. Natural materials and generous lighting increase the feel-good factor of staff, patients, and visitors alike.
From a design point of view, the language of the shapes and materials of the listed building and the traditional brick architecture of the Ruhr area are retained and further developed in line with modern times.
St. Johannes Hospital Duisburg - Competition


(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Then-apostle L. Tom Perry, left, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shakes hands with Executive Director of Equality Utah Troy Williams after a news conference at the Utah Capitol to announce the nondiscrimination bill SB296.
Washington • Charles Haynes, a First Amendment scholar, has spent more than two decades helping schools walk the line between religion and state and advocating for the rights of people of a range of faiths and no faith.
He will be honored Wednesday at a ceremony at the Newseum in Wasington.
Well, first and foremost, I'm going to continue to try to be a voice for religious freedom and liberty of conscience, which has been my lifelong passion. I'll continue to chair the Committee on Religious Liberty, which is now housed at the Religious Freedom Center. And then I want to develop my spiritual life and writing and contemplation. My spiritual life is deeply important to me and to have more time to nurture that and develop that and to write about that is something I'm looking forward to. And then, thirdly, I really feel called to do more to serve directly people in need. I just feel a special calling to address the issue of homelessness. It certainly could be as modest as simply volunteering and working with people in a shelter.
Religious freedom is a rallying cry from people of a variety of perspectives these days. How do you define it?
My definition is rooted in our framing documents as a country and our center is committed to upholding those first principles. It's grounded in the Constitution with its First Amendment. So no religious test for office in the Constitution itself, then no establishment and guarantee of free exercise. Those core principles, I think, define the arrangement, the principles that guide us and allow us to live with even our deepest differences.
You co-wrote guidelines on religious liberty and public schools that the Education Department distributed across the country. The first chapter is titled "From Battleground to Common Ground." Over the past two decades, has that trajectory continued or has it gone in the opposite direction with more battles than agreement?
In public education, we've made great strides in moving from battleground to common ground. It's not often noticed but over the last three decades, public schools have gone from either being places where religion was kept out and not mentioned in the curriculum or being places where one religion continued to be imposed even after the Supreme Court's decision saying that was unconstitutional.
Thirty years later, there is more student religious expression today in public schools than probably anytime in the last hundred years. There's more teaching about religions in the curriculum today, constitutionally, than probably in anytime in our history now. That's dramatic change.
Is there something that you hope for with schools and religious freedom that has not yet occurred?
The biggest missing piece is that many school districts still don't have their own local policies on how to get this right. I am calling for a proactive approach in the local community to these issues rather than waiting until there is a fight or conflict or a question they can't answer. If I have a disappointment at this juncture, it's that I haven't persuaded more school boards and administrators to really tackle this proactively and not wait until there's a fight.
Generally, gay rights and religious rights have been in a tug of war in many people's minds in recent times. Given all this consensus that you've just talked about, do you see any way that the continuing conflicts over nondiscrimination and religious liberty can be resolved?
We have to have the civic will to resolve these conflicts, and I don't see enough of that right now. There are some people who are working hard to create a more civil dialogue on that conflict. (University of Illinois College of Law) Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson (and state) Sen. Stuart Adams in Utah are working on what they call the Fairness for All campaign. That's a good example of trying to help state legislatures do what they did in Utah to work out the compromise legislation. But, unfortunately, too many people on different sides of this issue, in my view, still have a zero-sum game approach to these fights: "We're going to win it all." I tell my friends: We're all a religious minority, a sexual minority, somewhere in the country and we need as Americans across our differences to learn how to protect the rights of others.
I do have to ask you about the Trump administration, which has proclaimed its dedication to working on religious freedom, including the State Department having a ministerial on the subject this year and the president signing executive orders with the intent of helping clergy and employers follow their religious conscience. Do you see substantive advances on religious freedom since Donald Trump took office?
I think on the question of international religious freedom, there are many people who are serving now in the Trump administration who have served in other administrations who genuinely believe that the United States must put religious freedom at the heart of our foreign policy. I think this is not new, but I think that it is continuing under this administration, and I'm grateful for that. I can't speak for what the president himself believes about this or doesn't believe, but I think that the people working on this in the State Department and the people who convened from many different perspectives and faiths to talk about this with the State Department, I think that's a genuine effort for a nonpartisan commitment to international religious freedom.
What about on the domestic front? Do you think the Trump administration has advanced or helped religious freedom in any specific way?
I'm concerned the administration has risked dividing us further on religious freedom. It's bad enough that religious freedom has to be put in scare quotes now by some people because people don't believe that that phrase any longer represents something we all support. I think that the poisoning of the well for nonpartisan collective support in this country for religious freedom is a great danger. And when we have a religious liberty task force created from the Department of Justice that appears to really be interested in one cluster of issues, and that is, of course, for the LGBT versus religious claims, that raises all kinds of red flags for people who want to support religious freedom but don't want it to become, as the expression goes, a sword rather than the shield. They don't want to weaponize this issue and make it more difficult to find any common ground.
Are you worried or hopeful about the state of religious freedom in this country and beyond it?
Well, I worry. This is the moment we're being tested and I have concerns that we may fail this test. Millions of Americans feel as though they are not fully American and not totally safe in their communities to wear their religious garb, to worship openly and freely, to be Americans and also to be a Muslim or a Sikh or a Hindu. When people feel that way, there's no religious freedom. The idea that a court decision or a lawyer is going to protect them or save this arrangement is a faint hope because that's not how it works. What protects religious freedom is people in the local community willing to live out this vision of pluralism in a way that protects the rights of all.
What is your religious affiliation and has it changed over your lifetime?
My career has been defined by making sure that my own religious convictions or political convictions don't get in the way of finding common ground and being an honest broker. Having said that, of course, I have my own religious convictions and they have evolved and changed. At heart, I'm Episcopalian, and I've been a lifelong Christian. I went to seminary and I didn't go the ordination route. I have migrated from the (United) Methodist Church to the Episcopal Church. At the same time, I have been deeply influenced by the great Indian spiritual master Meher Baba, who passed away in 1969. But I met him actually as a young child, and I traveled to India to see him when I was only 13 and with my family and that encounter and that influence has deeply shaped my life. I don't think I ever really understood my Christian faith until I met Meher Baba. He was someone who really helped me to see so much of the universal truths in the various great religions of the world and helped me to really find a deeper relationship with God.
So how would you sum up how your personal faith, given what you just told me about this trajectory you've had, informs your work on freedom for people of all faiths and none?
I have a deep conviction. My faith tells me that religious freedom is rooted in the inviolable dignity of every human being and that informs everything I do. Whatever their faith tradition or whether the person has no faith tradition, that inviolable dignity of the human is at the heart of my commitment to religious freedom for every human being. And also, my understanding of the gospel is close to what I gathered (17th-century religious liberty advocate) Roger Williams believed. And that is that the gospel is about recognizing that God has created every human being with freedom of conscience. I don't bring this into my work and preach it from the rooftops, but it's what motivates me. To me, it's not a choice that we give people or protect people's religious freedom. For me, it's a requirement of faith. It's what God requires.


Even though I was slightly disappointed with the painting on cakes class I took recently, I booked myself into another course - again using a Livingsocial voucher - shortly after. I now had slightly reduced expectations and, as this class was only £19- about half the price of the last one - I anticipated that it would be quite short and probably quite basic. Even so, I was attracted by the opportunity to learn piping skills - I can just about pipe buttercream onto cupcakes, though the roses on this neapolitan cake left a little to be desired. I've piped onto cookies before but with limited success (you can see a few at the end of this blog post here) so I was looking forward to learning how to do it properly.
The class was held at Deelicious Nazish's Kitchen in Tooting; it was very easy to find (right next to the tube) and the class was in a room behind the cafe - I had a quick look at their menu and it looked like a really nice place, so if you're ever in the area, I recommend it!
The tutor, Janet, started by showing us how to make our own piping bags or cartouches (I learnt a new word!). These are good because you can make them very small - if you are doing fine piping work, a full-size piping bag is a bit big and unwieldy. Janet also pointed out how expensive disposable piping bags are if you need several for the same project (e.g. you are using different colours of icing) and I've long since given up on reusable ones that you have to wash. There's a particular technique to rolling and folding a piece of greasproof paper, which is very simple when you know how - Janet could make these in seconds. Unfortunately I had a bit more trouble, and even after she showed me a couple of times I still found it quite tricky. I eventually got the hang of it but I think I might still end up using bags from Lakeland!
Here you can see a piping bag Janet made, my attempt that I gave up on, and a few of the piping nozzles that we used.
We started by trying to pipe straight lines with royal icing- not as easy as it sounds! I always thought you needed to keep the nozzle on the cake or cookie - or in this case the circle of greaseproof paper that I was piping on to. But in actual fact, you need to touch the tip of the nozzle to the paper as you start squeezing, then lift it up and pull it away so you create almost a long string of icing, several inches in the air above your surface, and then touch down at the end. If that explanation makes no sense, there are probably good YouTube videos you can watch!
While this method sounded instinctively wrong, I discovered that it is actually very hard to pipe in a straight line if you keep the nozzle on the paper, as for some reason you have much less control over it. Bringing the nozzle up allows you to make a smooth movement that gives you a straight line - or almost straight, I obviously need a bit more practice!
We then switched to a star nozzle and Janet showed us how to do the pattern you see around the edge of this cake board. It's very easy to do, but looks very effective!
I amused myself for a few minutes by piping pretty patterns onto my cake board!
So moving on to the cookies themselves.... these are Janet's creation, don't they look good?
She had baked the cookies before the start of our lesson, so there were plenty of plain cookies for us to help ourselves to and decorate. They were mostly in the shape of Christmas decorations which was great, though we were encouraged to decorate them however we liked.
I started off with some red royal icing and tried to make these both look like the sort of decorations you would see hanging on your tree. I wouldn't have had the confidence to try such detailed piping before this class.
I also sprinkled some of my cookies with edible glitter.
This one is intended to look like a snowflake - it's one of my favourites. Unfortunately I was only able to make one of these as there weren't enough round cookies!
Here is my finished selection of cookies!
I then started thinking about what I would do with my cookies, as I didn't want to eat them myself. I decided they would make a nice gift, and would probably hold up fairly well in the post (better than sending cake, anyway). I immediately thought of a friend who lives a couple of hundred miles away, so I don't get to see him very often. He had recently joked that my cakes look so nice, he wished I could send him a slice - so I thought I would go one better and send him his very own box of Christmas cookies! So as a final touch I decorated one with the word Xmas and one with his name - it's lucky he has a short name!
One of the other girls in the class was really creative and had the idea of sandwiching a round cookie together with two of the Christmas decoration shapes, to make the face and antlers of a reindeer. I asked her if I could take a photo - isn't this cute?
As we left, Janet gave us two different sized cake boxes for our cookies and also a small bag, which has a flat bottom big enough for the larger cake box to sit completely flat. This meant I had no problems getting my creations home on the tube and bus, and I really appreciated it. In fact, I just want to say what a brilliant class this was, and if you get the chance to take a lesson at Deelicious Nazish's Kitchen in Tooting then I highly recommend it (this is not a sponsored post and I paid for my own class). The class was scheduled to last 2 hours but we were there for 2 hours 45 mins, so I really felt like I had got my money's worth; as well as the cake box and bag we were also offered tea, coffee or a bottle of water, and were given a mini cupcake to eat as we arrived. All that for £19 (on the Livingsocial deal) was great! My only small complaint would be that we were standing at a table the entire class, so after nearly three hours of standing in one spot piping my legs really ached. It would have been nice to have a chair!
It was a shame too that we didn't get to try flooding, as this is a technique I wanted to learn, but Janet pointed out there wouldn't be enough time for the cookies to dry and us to take them home. Instead she demonstrated the technique, but as I was trying to finish my cookies at the same time I'm not sure I fully took it in!
When I got home I transferred my cookies to the smaller of two boxes (I could stack the cookies now they were dry) and added some tissue paper, wrote in a homemade Christmas card, and packaged them off to send to my friend Guy. He sent me a nice message after he received the cookies, saying how nice they were and how pleased he was to receive them.
They're really pretty! I love the idea of doing a class in piping skills - I want to have a go at piping on biscuits but think that they'd all be rubbish - it'd help to have a demonstration first! Really glad this class was better than the cake painting one.
Your biscuits look so pretty and very festive. I would have liked to have tried piping on my Christmas biscuits that I recently made but I don't have the confidence yet so wussed out and used fondant instead.


We love to have fun at our office, as well as educate our patients. When we need a break in the day, we will find funny videos on the internet. After all, "Laughter is the best medicine." If you are having a rough day and need a pick-me-up, watch the video below. Sometimes they will be dental humor (we know, we are an easy target) and other times they will just be a funny commercial. Either way, we hope you laugh and it brings a smile to your face. Well, this one may not be a funny video, but we are asked frequently about what is the best toothbrush. Either will work well, but you get to choose what is best for yourself!


Here's my card for the Dynamic Duos #16 to use River Rock & Black, with a dessert option of using brads. I'm also using the Merry Monday #29 to make a Christmas card using their sketch. The cardstock base and dsp are River Rock, and I embossed the silver snowflake brad with black embossing powder and layered it with 2 cream-colored felt snowflakes. Sentiment is from SU! Swirled Christmas tree.
This was made for the SNSDC67 to use a digital image and 3D flowers. I also used the I Spy Sketches ISSC29 to design the card. The digi image is from OWH and I colored it with Copics. I used some navy card stock, along with dsp's from the MME Moments paper pad. I used 3 paper flowers and a brad for the 3D flower, adding some soft yellow gingham ribbon from my stash.
This card was made for the Sweet Stop SSS172 sketch with a spin to use die cuts or punches. I used a SNSS Cocoa's pumpkin image, and paper pieced with dsp from SU! (r). The border was done with a die from SNSS and the circle was done with SB dies. Sentiment is by SNSS and it's stamped on a more mustard piece of cardstock, adding 3 mini brads for an accent.
That's it for now, but thanks for stopping by!
Such a classy and elegant Christmas card Carol, love that you used the DD colours. Thanks for joining us at Merry Monday and Dynamic Duos!
Wow! 3 great cards! great colors on all of the cards...Nicely done!
Good morning, sunshine! I see you have been quite the busy stamper! All three are gorgeous and I wish you great luck in each and every challenge.
p.s. I just told my DD it was time to get more of the felt snowflakes!
Beautiful Christmas card, Carol! I found those colors from the DD#16 a tad tough to use but I think they are wonderful colors for a holiday card! Love the felt snowflakes and how you embossed the snowflake brad black and your 2 River Rock panels! So pretty & festive!
Carol, this fall time Cocoa card is beautiful! LOVE the mosaic like DP in such rich, warm colors and the paper pieced pumpkin! You know how I love black to accent the other colors...very appealing to the eyes! As always, I love to see your creations here at The Sweet Stop!
GORGEOUS Merry Monday card, Carol! Just stunning in those neutral colors!
Wow, you had a busy Monday! The snowflake card is so elegant, and how do you get such a nice, crisp stamped image on textured paper? Great job! Love the paper pieced pumpkin - so cute!
Beautiful Christmas card...like the ribbon treatment. I'll say your second card is awesome and such a beautifu way to say 'thank you'. The dsp is great on the last card and that pumpkin is just too cute. Great cards!!!
Love the first one with the non traditional colors for Christmas. Very pretty.
Second one - LOVE all that gingham!
Third - great paper piecing and of course little Cocoa is adorable.
Beautiful cards!! I think the first one is my fav...total elegance!
What an amazing set of cards! I love the snowflake you created on the first card. It is lovely and is perfectly backed by the simple colors! So glad to see you at Dynamic Duos!
Adorable set of cards! Love the black eyed Susan seed packet style! Thanks for playing at I Spy!
You know what? You crank out the "bestest" creations...all so different in style and sentiment. I just made a card like your RRock on my machine...this color combo is so elegant. Your pumpkin card darling-a perfect use for the SU DP! (yes I am hoarding some of that too LOL) And you pretty flower card is so cheery! Things are slowing down this week so I have a few minutes to blog browse now FINALLY!
All cards are fantastic Carol!! Love the season you created for each card!
Thank you for playing along at the SNS Dig challenge!
Wow Carol, you've been busy. All three are really great. Love your coloring on your daisies and your 'mosaic-like' pumpkin. Thanks for playing along with the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Challenge.
What a beautiful Christmas card, Carol! I love the elegance and that beautiful snowflake! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday!
Beautiful Chrismas card, the snowflake is gorgeous. Thank you for joining us for Merry Monday this week.
Just gorgeous....that Christmas sentiment is beautiful and the color combo is so soft & soothing! Thanks for participating in the Merry Monday challenge this week!
Gorgeous cards! I love the flower packet digi! Thanks for playing along with us over at iSpy Sketches!


The ensemble consists of students majoring in all areas of study. The group's repertoire is selected from standard flute literature as well as contemporary flute works. Solo opportunities are also encouraged. Smaller groups within the ensemble perform for various social events on and off campus. The ensemble is open to all students by audition.
The Department of Music at the University of Mary Washington hosts the UMW Chamber Festival Series each Spring. The festival features student groups, faculty, and special guest artists providing master classes and performances.
Concerts are free and the public is invited.
Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Mary Washington.
Active performer, composer and arranger. As a multi-instrumentalist, specializing in woodwinds, toured and performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America, and Europe. Works within various jazz and classical genres including conducting masterclass clinics, solo appearances, symphonic, chamber, and club date performances.
Former Artist/Clinician with Buffet Clarinets.
Credited with numerous studio recordings for commercials and CDs', as well as making radio and television appearances.
Credits include performances with Jazz Artists, Arturo Sandoval, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Watrous, Louis Bellson, Stanley Turentine, Bob Mitzer, Jon Faddis, Carmen Mcrae, Joe Williams, and Sammy Nestico.
Credits also include performances with Mathew Morrison, Seth McFarlane, Michael Feinstein, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Letissi, Tony Bennet, Nancy Wilson, Bob Hope, Spinners, Temptations, Crystal Gayle, the Manhatten Transfer, Louis Belson, and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Studied woodwinds with Joe Viola at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is a graduate of Mary Washington College and George Mason University.
Feel free to use the "Comments or Questions?" link below if you have any questions.


Shop used powersports vehicles in stock at Dvorak Motorsports in Bismarck ND. We also service motorsports vehicles and sell parts and accessories. Don't overlook money-saving manufacturer promotions on new motorsports vehicles, either.
2017 Ski-Doo Summit X 165 850 E-TEC, PowderMax 3.0 in.


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European Commissioner for Migration tells EU citizens to 'just adapt' to mass migration
CEO of porn cryptocurrency, FMtokens, 'disappeared with investors money'
In a post for the Gatestone Institute, Alain Destexhe breaks down the European Commission's immigration policy, focusing on three points central to the failed Brussels logic that more immigration as an inescapable reality to which European citizens should just adapt without any further discussion.
– The European Commission, based in Brussels, is not elected but, according to EU treaties, it has a monopoly on initiating legislation at the European level. A Commissioner is an appointed bureaucrat, one for each member state, and often a former top politician, who is sidelined in his country of origin and therefore has very little democratic legitimacy.
– Many of the migrants are not qualified for high skilled work, yet they receive social benefits so there is little or no incentive for them to work. Articles supporting the claims of EU officials, mainly that Europe needs more migrants in order to fund the healthcare and pensions of aging Europeans, neglect that this plan can only succeed if the migrants work. These assumptions, therefore, appear to be based on ideological bias rather than scientific evidence.
– The new norms, like the size of apples or the curvature of cucumbers, should, according to the European Commission, be determined by the European Commission. Migration will not be a question open for debate. It will be a "norm" determined by the Commission.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. (Image source: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency)
Via the Gatestone Institute: Mass Migration: The European Commission's New "Norm" by Alain Destexhe.
Alain Destexhe is a Senator in Belgium, Former Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières and Former President of the International Crisis Group.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, recently published a startling opinion, advocating for more immigration as an inescapable reality to which European citizens should just adapt without any further discussion.
The article illustrates much of what is wrong with European institutions, in particular the European Commission, a mixture of bureaucratic arrogance, false creed based on dogma rather than facts, and a disdain for democratic debate. The Commission, based in Brussels, is not elected but, according to EU treaties, it has a monopoly — yes, a monopoly — on initiating legislation at the European level. Each Commissioner is an appointed bureaucrat, one for each member state — often a former top politician, now sidelined in his country of origin, therefore with very little democratic legitimacy.
"It is time to face the truth…. The only way to make our asylum and migration policies future-proof is collectively to change our way of thinking first," wrote Avramopoulos. Does he think that grass-roots citizens do not think? Like Zeus — another Greek — on Mount Olympus, the truth comes from the upper floor of the Berlaymont building, the official headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, as a top-down process. Hey, stupid dudes who want to control immigration, just listen the new self-proclaimed God-bureaucrat and shut up because: "we cannot and will never be able to stop migration". Period.
It is very clear, from survey after survey, Eurobarometer after Eurobarometer, election after election, that a huge majority of European citizens are not only worried about immigration but want — if not to stop it — to reduce it drastically, and regain the lost control over borders and over who is allowed to get inside Europe and who is not. Brexit and the recent election campaigns in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic had immigration as a core issue. This trend is extremely clear and these "signals" cannot just be dismissed by Avramopoulos writing that "Migration is an emotional, sensitive issue… influenced by rising nationalism, populism and xenophobia." So, any reluctance to slow down immigration is categorized as "racist" and disqualifies whoever intends to raise an objection to the future Brave New World dreamed up by the European Commission?
According to our Commissioner, this populism and racism has, "limited our opportunities to put in place smart, forward-looking migration policies", policies that will be thought and implemented by, guess who? The enlightened European institutions, of course.
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In a normal democratic process, every country should, ideally, be able to decide, through national parliaments, its migration policies. At a European level, the willingness of the majority of citizens should be taken into account. But Avramopoulos could not care less. According to this unelected Greek Commissioner, this is because "at the end of the day, we all need to be ready to accept migration, mobility and diversity as the new norm". The new norms, like the size of apples or the curvature of cucumbers, should, according to the European Commission, be determined by the European Commission. Migration will not be a question open for debate. It will be a "norm" determined by the Commission.
So, do we really have to accept migrants and refugees? According to the Commission, "It is not only a moral imperative but also an economic and social imperative for our aging continent". This is another false cliché. In his book Exodus: How Migration is Changing Our World, Oxford Professor Paul Collier explains that he has reviewed all the major scientific articles supporting the claims that migrants will be able to pay for the social benefits of aging Europeans, only to conclude that he was absolutely not convinced at all. First of all, many of the migrants are not qualified; and second, they receive social benefits, so there is little or no incentive for them to work.
Articles supporting the claims of the officials — that Europe needs more migrants in order to fund the healthcare and pensions of aging Europeans — neglect that this plan can only succeed if the migrants work. These assumptions, therefore, appear to be based on ideological bias rather than scientific evidence.
But what about the almost four million young unemployed citizens already inside the European Union? The unemployment rate for them has actually been between 15-20% in recent years. Don't politicians have "a moral imperative" (to speak like Avramopoulos) first to give them a job and a future before welcoming more new migrants? In Greece, Avramopoulos's country, the unemployment rate for youthsis not 17% — the current European average — but more than 40%. In Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy — countries with extremely high rates of unemployment — there is also a generation of young and educated people, but they are unemployed and face an uncertain future. Many young Greek people do not see any reason to stay in Greece and would like to leave the country. Does Commissioner Avramopoulos plan to replace them with migrants or does he accept this internal, almost forced, migration within Europe as their fate? Another "norm"?
Perhaps the saddest aspect of his article is that Avramopoulos is not a leftist or a green or even a social-democrat politician. He is from New Democracy, a right-wing party. He is the living proof how far the Left has come to dominate the intellectual landscape in European institutions and imposed its way of thinking. With "right-wing" politicians such as Angela Merkel or Avramopoulos betraying their own constituents, one should not be surprised by the rise of "populism" that they themselves so often denounce.
EU migration Dimitris Avramopoulos
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Occasional posts examining the intersection between health, politics, and reproductive justice.
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ReviewsDVD Review
Crime Story
Plenty of directors get their start on the small screen, but few willingly return to television, especially someone as unfailingly cinematic as Michael Mann. Mann worked in TV before directing the existential crime classic Thief, but after the failure of The Keep, he went back to his roots. The massive success of Miami Vice ensured that Mann never had to work small again, but the director continued to dabble in television. The cult favorite Crime Story, which premiered in 1986 but barely lasted two seasons, served as an odd companion to Vice. Another moody cop show, this time set in the early '60s, the series pitted tough Chicago cop Dennis Farina against hotheaded would-be kingpin Anthony Denison in a world populated by greasy character actors (including Ted Levine, Jon Polito, and a young David Caruso) and peppered with imposing, rain-slicked alleyways. Though directed by maverick Abel Ferrara, the violent 90-minute pilot readily displays the hand of executive producer Mann. Several of the Chicago locations used in Thief show up, and a heist even uses the method preferred by James Caan's character in that film. An effective score (another Mann trademark) veering from synthesized mood music to period rock 'n' roll comes courtesy of Todd Rundgren, while visually the hardboiled pilot falls squarely between classic gangster films and the eerily lit, modern milieus explored in such subsequent Mann films as Manhunter and Heat. Setting Crime Story in 1963 proved a stroke of genius, as few films or TV shows address the period with anything other than nostalgia. Pure Mann in its grit, wit, and style—big screen or no—Crime Story's attention to detail makes the setting fresh and convincing. Cop dramas are a dime a dozen, but few are as strong as the promise of this pilot.