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What to Know About Theater Etiquette Before Attending a Show
Going to the theater can be a thrilling experience for first-timers, but even veteran audience members might need a reminder of the dos and don'ts.
Theater Life
The Top 25 Cyber Monday Theater Ticket Deals Around the World
Whether you're looking for tickets in New York or London, we've got deals on shows all across the globe. Check out some of the highlights of our Cyber Monday offerings.
The Best Cyber Monday Theatre Ticket Deals in Toronto
Whether it's a show you've been planning to see forever, or a deal that's just too good to pass up, today's the day to buy those tickets.
The Best Deals During Weird & Wonderful Week in Toronto
Weird and Wonderful Week is Oct. 22-31, and you can get tickets from $25 to some of the city's most unique offerings.
30 Broadway Shows You Can See Across the Country
Who says you need to be in the Big Apple to experience Broadway? Here are all the Tony-nominated musicals and plays you can see across the country right now.
TodayTix Announces $73 Million Investment
We're growing bigger and better and bringing you even more of the best shows at the best prices. We announced a $73 million growth investment led by Great Hill Partners today.
What to See, Where to Eat, and More at The Stratford Festival
Get your tickets to Stratford, Ontario's world-renowned theatre festival, featuring everything from Shakespeare to musicals.
How to Spend a Perfect Weekend in Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is an undiscovered gem for day or weekend trips, steeped in history but with plenty of modern attractions, including theater at Drayton Entertainment.
Stageworthy's Phil Rickaby on Why Toronto Theatre Is the Best
We caught up with Rickaby to talk about why he started "Stageworthy" and what everyone should know about the Toronto theatre scene.
Where To See Comedy in Toronto Right Now
The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival runs March 6-17, and we've rounded up all the places you can see the city's funniest people onstage.


Market-to-saps Day, or whatever you happen to deem it.
I've heard it called just about every name in the book in the past several hours. There are very few people really DO feel loved. Maybe you're one of them. For people that don't have anyone, THIS IS the pain of life… a day devoted to dredging up and throwing in one's face the fact that love doesn't exist for them… that there's no one out there who would defend them or die for them like that of a passionate Romeo-and-Juliet romance. Does it make sense to you then that more than half of teenagers growing up in the U.S. go through a "gothic" stage where they embrace death and hate the world? I realize on a regular basis how blessed I've been to be surrounded by so much love in my circle of friends and family that I've never felt the weight of that hatred.
You know… sap isn't usually genuine, hype is just hype but there is something to Valentine's Day. I've come to realize that life really IS all about passion and encouragement. If I'm being completely honest with you about what matters most to me, I'd say life isn't worth living if I can't communicate the love of Jesus Christ to the people that surround me everyday. This isn't some weird, freako's fake attempt at piety either; hundreds of experiences put it in my face every day that life is all about who you love and serve.
Plato put it well when he said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." I'm blessed if I remember and live by this. Even in "Christian" circles, people struggle with unbelievable regret and feelings of emptiness and loneliness. I think it's easy to forget that, yeah, "crap happens" (as a friend's bumper sticker said) and life can be really tough but we do have someone who was so completely and irrationally in-love with us that He died for us. If that isn't the fuel for a heart-wrenching, overpowering romance story, I don't know what is. How much more should we show love because of the love we've been shown? It's time to get over ourselves and our pity party this Valentine's Day and fall in-love with LIFE. Start serving and remember the love you've been shown instead of looking for meaningless paper affection that's here today and thrown in the trash tomorrow.
Most people know about Jesus Christ… his story has become just that… another story. But do we really understand how much it applies to our lives, how it becomes our lives? In this case, the sappy, gooey, mushy feelings usually associated with love have no place (quite frankly, I think they never should). The preferred color of every Valentine's Day card, the color depictive of passion, blood, and romance is my favorite color – it's all over this site. It reminds me of who I am and that the most precious, amazing man in the world gave his life for mine.


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Sigle

 Académie Régionale d'Éducation et de Formation

Patronyme

 Abdel Salam Aref (1921-1966), est président de l'Irak de 1963 à 1966.
 Abdel Rahman Aref (1916-2007), est président de l'Irak du  au .
 Aref al-Aref (1891-1973), est un journaliste, politicien et historien arabe palestinien.
 Mohammad-Reza Aref (1951-), est un scientifique et homme politique iranien.
Patronyme arabe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Update to this page: This hiking guide is a work in progress. I plan to work geographically, while also adding in new hikes as we do them. Underlined entries below are clickable and will take you to that page. Pages have various levels of completion. Thanks so much for your patience!


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Q: Qt: How to display selected text in an inactive window I have an inactive QMainWindow with a QTabWidget as CentralWidget which holds multiple QPlainTextEdits. Beside that I have a seperate QWidget flagged with Qt::WindowStaysOnTopHint and Qt::Tool which I want to use as a find/replace tool for the QPlainTextEdits.
Now when I use the tool widget the QMainWindow is shown as inactive like it should and the selection background of the selected text in the active QPlainTextEdit is rendered as inactive (slightly grey) but I want the selection to be rendered like the QMainWindow would be active, with the default selection color w/o loosing the focus on the tool widget.
How do I achieve that?

A: Try something this:
QPalette p = myInactiveWidget->palette();
for (int colorRole=0; colorRole<QPalette::NColorRoles; colorRole++) p.setColor(QPalette::Inactive, colorRole, p.color(QPalette::Active, colorRole));
myInactiveWidget->setPalette(p);

That should make (myInactiveWidget)'s inactive-color-palette the same as its active-color-palette, so that it no longer looks inactive.  Or if all you care about is the color of the text-selection-block, then this would probably be sufficient:
QPalette p = myInactiveWidget->palette();
p.setColor(QPalette::Inactive, QPalette::Highlight, p.color(QPalette::Active, QPalette::Highlight));
p.setColor(QPalette::Inactive, QPalette::HighlightedText, p.color(QPalette::Active, QPalette::HighlightedText));
myInactiveWidget->setPalette(p);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


They moved warily through the night, alert for the first sight of the town's inhabitants, their ears straining for the deadly swish of arrows on the wind.
But they had misjudged the distance in the darkness, and the town was farther away than they had at first imagined. For some time its lights grew no brighter as they moved toward them. Altering course to keep the lights always dead ahead, they left the creeping tide and climbed up the shifting flanks of dunes and down the far side to find themselves among grasslands heavy with the salt smell of the sea.
It was marshy ground riddled with narrow water-filled ditches, tall brown grasses bending and swaying as the rushing winds eddied through them. Some small animal darted past—a hare perhaps—turning Tania's thoughts for a moment to her ailing sister, Cordelia.
They had to move slowly, and with every step Tania checked that the ground was solid before bringing her weight down. It would be all too easy to twist an ankle or slither into a ditch.
Tania stood next to her on the grassy brink. The river was low but clearly on the rise, flowing swift and dark between reeking mudflats.The lights of the village were clearer now, set high atop a humpbacked hill on the far side of the river.
"Is it too wide to try and swim?" asked Connor.
"If the people here are anything like the ones we met in Faith-in-the-Surf, the bridge will probably be guarded," Connor said.
"We'll deal with that if there is a bridge," said Tania.
She knew Connor was right—but they had persuaded the other villagers of their good intentions and she was hopeful that she could do it again. Something else was worrying her right now.
It was not long since Lord Aldritch of Weir had stormed out of the Throne Room in Veraglad Palace, denouncing Oberon and denying his Kingship over the Earldom of Weir.
Would news of that renunciation have reached Hymnal yet? And if so, how would two of the daughters of King Oberon and Queen Titania be greeted? The last time Tania had been in Weir, she had escaped the clutches of Lord Aldritch only by fleeing his castle in the dead of night. How much worse would she fare now that Aldritch stood in open opposition to the King?
The river wound in a wide loop between its high banks, snaking off into the darkness, filling the night with strange guttural noises as the sea fed into it.
"But what's that next to it?" asked Tania, straining her eyes. Long gray shapes lay on the banks beside the bridge—shapes that she vaguely recognized, shapes that filled her with unease.
As they approached the bridge, the gray shapes became clearer. They were bodies draped with white silk. By the look of it, the bodies of seven adults and three children.
Tania's stomach twisted as she remembered the baby boy whose death had been the first sign of the plague. She had spent a full night with his grieving mother, and the memory haunted her still.
Connor crouched and lifted a corner of one silk shroud. Tania saw a glimpse of yellow hair and an ash white face before she looked away. It reminded her too sharply of Cordelia's stricken face as she had lain sickening on her bed. And how were her other sisters and her mother and father faring? Were they still able to keep the plague at bay? Did any of them have that same deathly look about them yet?
The bridge was of stone, rough-laid and clearly very old. The noises of the river were magnified under its arch. As they crossed, it sounded as though lost spirits moaned beneath their feet.
Tania was glad to get to the far side; things were bleak enough without their being haunted by river phantoms.
The main course of the Styr meandered into the eastern night, but close by they saw a spur of dark water that led off between banks that were supported by wooden stakes. It ran a straight course behind the hill.
Tania gazed up at the dark mass of the hill. Few lights were now burning, and the town reared over them like a sleeping dragon, stones walls forming its backbone and peaked roofs and spires rising like spines and horns against the heavy sky. But for some reason the sight did not daunt her; perhaps it was the knowledge that this town had welcomed her mother hundreds of years ago. These people had befriended a young Mortal woman lost and alone in a land she did not know. Maybe Tania could hope for such kindness to be shown again—even in these grim times.
Tania linked her arm with her sister's. "I don't know why," she said, "but I have a good feeling about this place. I think we'll be all right." She turned. Connor was still standing at the foot of the track staring apprehensively up at the town, his hands thrust deep in his pockets. He shrugged and walked quickly to catch up with them.
The town of Hymnal was a maze of narrow cobbled lanes and alleys that ran between half-timbered buildings leaning toward one another as if they were sharing outlandish secrets. Most of the dwellings were in darkness, although here and there a yellow lantern hung over a gabled doorway and the occasional mullioned window glowed with ruddy firelight.
"What time is it?" Connor asked.
Connor moved close to Tania. "How does she know that?" he asked, staring up between the buildings into the opaque sky.
"I hope so." She knew what he was thinking: This was yet another thing that separated him from everyone around him.
The town was deathly silent. The footsteps of the three travelers echoed like the striking of drumbeats, and Tania was consumed by the impression that behind every wall people were huddling in sickness and fear.
There was no doubt that the plague had visited this place—the bodies down by the river were proof enough of that—and as Tania made her way between the hunched buildings, fear and dismay seemed to flow along with her through the deserted streets like a thick fog.
"Or something. . ." Tania replied.
They came quite suddenly upon a large round courtyard. Tania stepped onto the cobbles, her skin tingling as though the air of the town had come alive around her. There was something special about this place—she knew it instantly. In the center of the courtyard a stone fountain rose. Its wide granite bowl was filled with dark water, and from its middle lifted a fluted plinth with a single-masted, stone-carved boat on its top.
Words were etched around the rim of the bowl. Tania walked slowly around the fountain, reciting the words softly.
Tania noticed that Connor was looking curiously at her.
A shaft of darkness pierced Tania. There was no reproach in his voice, but she could sense the unspoken criticism. The truth was that she would never see her Mortal parents again. And worse, they would live out their lives never able to speak to her again—never knowing her fate or the fate of Faerie.
The female voice sounded soft, insubstantial as mist.
"Mother?" A rush of emotion gripped Tania.
Trembling, Tania gazed down into the still water. A silvery light glowed now in the depths, gentle and warm as candlelight. Gazing up at her was a face, green-eyed, framed with curling red hair, the cheekbones wide, the lips full and red. A face so like Tania's own that it was almost like gazing into a mirror. Queen Titania, mother to the Faerie half of Tania's split soul. But it was a face filled with fatigue and sorrow.
"Don't mention it," said Connor, staring into the water. He looked at Tania. "How is she doing that?" he hissed.
Breathlessly Tania lowered the flat of her hand toward the still surface. As she did so, she saw that Titania's hand rose to meet hers. They touched, palm to palm, finger to finger. The reassuring touch of her mother's flesh was startlingly real. Titania's hand felt warm and alive in the cool water, and Tania was profoundly comforted.
"May I enter your thoughts, Tania?" the Queen asked.
A moment later Tania had the sensation of something gentle and soothing moving through her mind. She had always known there were strong emotional bonds between the members of the Royal Family, but she had not realized that they ran quite so deep as to allow for such intimacy as this. She felt no pain or concern as her Faerie mother probed her memories. Quite the opposite. She sensed her mother's love stirring deep within her, vibrant and vital as the air in her lungs and the blood in her veins.
But suddenly she saw her mother's face grow concerned and then deeply alarmed.
"No!" Titania snatched her hand away, and the surface of the water shattered into racing furrows that crossed and recrossed one another.
"She saw everything I've seen since we left the palace," said Tania breathlessly, leaning heavily on the granite rim of the bowl to try to see Titania in the agitated water.
Reluctantly Connor allowed himself to be led back across the courtyard and between two leaning buildings.
Tania had hardly realized how the anguish had been building in her till this moment. She had been keeping her emotions under control—she didn't want to let Connor and Rathina know what was brewing in her mind.
She leaned over the cold stone, her tears falling into the water, spreading rings through which the compassionate face of her mother gazed.
"So why do I feel like this?" Tania gasped, her face hot, tears burning as they scored their way down her cheeks.
Titania's words allowed Tania to open up to her grief. Edric was gone. Her love. The one constant in the madness of the past months. She leaned over the water, her hair hanging, her shoulders rising and falling as violent sobs wracked her body. She could not speak: The pain in her chest was so intense that she could hardly even breathe. She felt ripped open, heart, spirit, and soul.
She had no idea how long her torment lasted, but as her weeping finally abated, she heard a soothing voice from below her.
Gathering herself, Tania lifted her head, wiping her sleeve across her face. The solace of the Queen's words filled her with new resolve. She was prepared now to face whatever the quest held in store. And perhaps her Faerie mother was right: Perhaps she would find wonders waiting for her on distant shores.


A major chapter in American history–rarely taught in our schools–is how ever larger corporations have moved to game, neutralize and undermine the people's continual efforts to protect our touted democratic society. It is a fascinating story of the relentless exercise of power conceived or seized by corporations, with the strategic guidance of corporate lawyers.
Start with their birth certificate–the state charters that bring these corporate entities into existence, with limited liability for their investors. In the early 1800s, the Massachusetts legislature chartered many of the textile manufacturing companies. These charters could be renewed on good behavior, because lawmakers then viewed charters as privileges contingent on meeting the broad interests of society.
Fast forward to now. The charter can be granted online in a matter of hours; there are no renewal periods and the job is often given over to a state commission. Over the decades, corporate lobbyists have had either the legislatures or the courts grant them more privileges, immunities and concentration of power in management, rendering shareholders–their owners–increasingly powerless. The same corporate fixers work for corporations and their subsidiaries abroad to help them avoid U.S. laws, taxes and escape disclosures.
Corporations cannot vote, at least not yet; only people can. That was seen as a major lever of democratic power over corporations. So what has happened? Commercial money to politicians started weakening the influence of voters because the politicians became increasingly dependent on the corporate interests that bankrolled their campaigns. The politicians use their ever-increasing corporate cash to saturate voters with deceptive political ads, and intimidate any competitors who have far less money, but may be far better representative of the public good.
To further shatter the principle of voter sovereignty, corporations have rewarded those politicians who construct restrictive political party rules, gerrymander electoral districts and obstruct third party candidate ballot access. By concentrating political power in fewer and fewer hands, corporate influence becomes more deeply entrenched in our democratic society. Politicians quickly learn that political favors will attract more corporate campaign cash and other goodies.
Moreover, the most influential alumni, in terms of donations, endowments and engagements, come from the business community. They know the kind of alma mater they want to preserve. The law and business schools are of particular interest, if only because they are the recruiting grounds for their companies and firms.
The unfortunate reality is that the wealthy and powerful are driven to spend the necessary time and energy to accomplish their raison d'etre, which are profits and the relentless pursuit of self-interest. Citizens, on the other hand, have so much else on their minds, just to get through the day and raise their families.
The path forward is to learn from history how citizens, when driven by injustice, organized, raised the banners of change and concentrated on the ways and means to victory. These initiatives require civic self-respect and an understanding that the status quo is demeaning and intolerable.
See my recent paperback, Breaking Through Power: It's Easier Than We Think.


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Mukachevo: Nigel Short pulls ahead with game five victory
9/26/2009 – "So we have four games played and White could not win a single game yet," noted match commentator Klaus Bischoff. "Today we will see Nigel's last try with the white pieces." Try he did, and in fact pulled off a fine victory to take a 3.0-2.0 lead in this match (with one game to go). Not a single game so far has been unfought or boring. Report with GM analysis.
Universal Event Promotion (UEP), the company that staged major events like Kramnik vs Deep Fritz and the World Championship Anand vs Kramnik, is now continuing their series of the first-class matches with an encounter between former World Championship candidate Nigel Short and the very promising Ukraining GM Zahar Efimenko. The event is taking place in the West-Ukrainian town of Mukachevo. It is a classical match over six games, with time controls of 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting with the first move. Efimenko is seconded by GM Alexander Beliavsky, Short is playing without a second.
Game five
Commentary by GM Klaus Bischoff
Short,Nigel (2706) - Efimenko,Zahar (2654) [B90]
Match Mukachevo (5), 25.09.2009 [Klaus Bischoff]
So we have four games played and White could not win a single game yet. Today we will see Nigel's last try with the white pieces.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4
Zahar goes for a Najdorf once again and Nigel is trying a sideline this time. 6...Nc6 7.Be2 e5 8.Nxc6!? bxc6 9.f4 Be7. I would have gone for 9...Nd7 immediately, but my engines are not too impressed. 10.a5!?
This is really becoming strange now. Combining f4 and a4-a5 does not look great. But Nigel creates space all over the board. 10...0-0 11.0-0 exf4 12.Bxf4 Be6 13.Kh1. Black has two plans now. He can either go for Nd7-e5 or he can try to prepare d5. Zahar tries to play it as flexibly as possible. But if he wants to chose the first plan he could have played Qb8 to speed it up. 13...Qc7 14.Qd2 Rfd8 15.h3!
Amazing! Nigel seems to think that he has plenty of time. Anyway, if he can afford such a move, his position cannot be so bad. 15...Qb7. Black is now ready for d5. 16.Qe3 d5 17.Be5
17...Nxe4. 17...dxe4?! is by no means a transposition. After 18.Qg3! Kh8 19.Nxe4 Ne8 20.Rae1 White is in the driving seat. 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Qxe4 Bd5 20.Qg4 g6 21.Qf4 c5
22.Bf3. 22.Kg1!? is interesting. Black has to do something against Rad1 and Rxd5. After 22...Qb4?! 23.c4 Be6 24.Bc3 Qb8 25.Qh6 Black could be lost. 22...f5 23.Bc3 Bd6 24.Qh4 Bxf3 25.Rxf3. 25.Qf6?! is too optimistic. After 25...Bxg2+ 26.Kg1 Be4! there is no mate. 25...Qf7 26.Re1 Re8 27.Rfe3 Rxe3 28.Rxe3 Bf8 29.b3 Rc8 30.Qe1. Nigel still has annoying pressure. I have to admit, that the a5-pawn is a strong trump now. 30...c4 31.b4 f4?
Did he overlook 36.Rf6? Now everything is forced. 32.Re6! f3 33.Qe5 Bg7 34.Qxg7+ Qxg7 35.Bxg7 f2 36.Rf6 Kxg7 37.Rxf2 c3 38.Rf4 Rd8. The best chance – sStarting with 38...g5? is even worse after 39.Rd4! 39.Rc4 Rd1+ 40.Kh2 Rb1 41.Kg3 Rb2 42.Rxc3 Rxb4 43.Rc6 g5 44.Kf3 Rb5 45.Rxa6 Rc5
46.c4! It is important for White to protect his passed pawn from the side. Nigel could not keep both queenside-pawns anyway. So he makes sure that he gets Rb6 and a6 in. 46...Rxc4 47.Rb6 h5 48.a6 Ra4 49.Ke3 Ra2 50.Rb7+ Kf6 51.a7 Kf5 52.g3 Ra4 53.Kd3 Ra1 54.Kd4 h4 55.gxh4 gxh4 56.Kc5. On his way to b8. After Kf4 there is always Rg7. 56...Kf4 57.Rg7 Kf3 58.Kb6
Black resigned. A great game by Nigel! 1-0. [Click to replay]
Results and standings
Rtng.
Nigel Short ENG
Zahar Efimenko UKR
Remaining schedule of the Short-Efimenko match
Saturday 26 September 16.30h Game six: Efimenko-Short
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Venues Of Value: Paul Evans And Freek Teusink Of Solutions Leisure Group
Image credit: Entrepreneur Middle East
Solutions Leisure Group's Paul Evans and Freek Teusink.
Aby Sam Thomas
Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Middle East
December 13, 2017 15+ min read
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
When you see the co-founders of Solutions Leisure Group together, it's hard to miss the camaraderie and comfort that the duo, Managing Director Paul Evans and Creative Director Freek Teusink, have with each other. There's a certain ease, if you will, between the two, and over the course of my hour-long conversation with the F&B operators, it was interesting to note how they seemed to be completing each other's sentences, or rather, thoughts- one of them would start talking on a particular topic, and the other would add on to it -and even complete it- without missing a beat.
Now, I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise, given that Evans and Teusink have known each other for more than 20 years now- but I was taken aback on learning that the duo barely knew each other when they started out on their journey as business partners, back in 2000, in Egypt. Evans was on holiday there at the time, and while he was in the country, he found himself in one of the nightlife venues Teusink was operating then- and that was where the two made the fateful decision to become business partners.
"At around four o'clock in the morning, at some point after a good evening, I agreed to lend Freek some money to build a new venue," Evans remembers. "I woke up the next morning, feeling very worse for wear around 11 o'clock... I had no recollection of the incident, but I received an SMS [from Teusink] asking when can he pick that money up... 20 years on, not a single argument, not a single [heated] discussion, and [we've got] 32 venues under our belt." Evans pauses for a moment, before adding: "It was clearly one of the best decisions I've ever made at four o'clock in the morning!"
Call it karma, fate, or simply good fortune, this fortuitous agreement between Evans and Teusink in the dawn led to the establishment of the Solutions Leisure Group, which, since its launch in Egypt, has today moved on to the UAE as its home base, with a portfolio that includes some of the most popular (and yes, most profitable) F&B concepts in the country, and indeed, the wider Middle East region as well. For the uninitiated, Solutions Leisure Group's brands include Dubai hotspots like Q43, Lock, Stock & Barrel, Asia Asia, STK, and others, and no, this list of brands doesn't include the business that the company had in Egypt- before they moved to the UAE in 2011, Evans and Teusink effectively controlled 75% of the bar and restaurant business in the city of Hurghada, their center at the time.
Q43 Dubai. Image credit: Q43.
Did they have a goal, then, that their business would be where it is today, which is essentially a hundred-million-dollar F&B business? Both Evans and Teusink reply no. "I think that, back in the day, the aim was to have a good time, if I'm honest," Evans says. "The aim was not to build a global F&B business, not even a regional [one], not even a town F&B business. We saw an opportunity to invest in a couple of projects together, put our toe in the water, and see how that sort of partnership would be. I had a bit of a business acumen, and a background in sales and marketing and financing, and Freek had a very large background in producing good F&B. So, there was no real masterplan, other than to build one great venue. And then build another great venue. Then, slowly over the next sort of 18 months of being together, we started to realize that we had quite a good partnership, where all of the requirements to run a good F&B business were kind of covered. And then a plan started to get formulated: we then realized that there was a good business opportunity here; we could become the leading nightlife providers in Egypt. We had some good brands under our belt, we had great customer loyalty, and we had a good team of people that could execute it properly."
While Evans and Teusnik may have started out without any grand plan for their enterprise, the experience they had in Egypt proved to be critical in their long-term success game plan for the Solutions Leisure Group. "The interesting thing about Egypt is you can most certainly cut your teeth there," Evans says. "We had a transient customer base. They would come in, we'd get probably 12 hours to capture them, advertise the market to them, represent [to] them in the airport, get in front of them, and then, we had seven days where they could visit our venue. If you treat them fantastically, they left us in seven days. If you made lots of mistakes, and didn't treat them as you intended to treat them, they left in seven days. And in came a new set of customers, and you could learn again, and you could go again, and you could grow again. And it gave us a great footing to come into a city like Dubai, where you don't get a second chance. We didn't realize it then, but Egypt was a great place to make the mistakes that you're going to make in this industry, and you can learn quite quickly in a town like that. Because every week, you get the chance to do it again with a new customer base. In Dubai, you don't have that. You can't open with mistakes."
But while Evans and Teusink agree that they were, during their time in Egypt, considering a move to Dubai, it needs to be noted here that their eventual migration to the UAE was essentially due to circumstances beyond their control- the country was in the throes of a political revolution then, and the resulting turmoil was too much for their enterprise to bear. "We had a lot of circumstances already, where Egypt was never a stable business," Teusink remembers. "It was always ups and downs- we had the bombings, we had 9/11, we had a lot of things happening that really affected the business. If we would have stayed, we could have stayed, and we would have done maybe okay. But we thought then that now, it's really time to do it somewhere else, and do it bigger and better."
But given that Evans and Teusink had been working in Egypt for more than a decade, how did they ever get past losing what was essentially their entire business in the country? "I recovered with a shower," Evans replies. "It was done." It may seem like a rather simplistic response to a tortuous time, but Evans and Teusink explain that much before the issues that befell them, Dubai had already been on their agenda for quite a while- and so, the events leading to their move out of Egypt allowed them to have no regrets about their departure.
"If we'd had, still, the size of scale of business that we had in Egypt [without any of the troubles], would I have actually got on an airplane and come to Dubai? We probably would have," Evans says. "So, when it was taken away from us, we actually lost nothing, because it was gone. And then it gave us the [impetus], you know: if we leave now, we've left nothing behind. If we rebuild it again, will we build it again to the scale where we can't leave it behind? So, it was just a mindset change- we always wanted to go there [to Dubai] anyway. We've got nothing to lose anymore. We're not walking away from a 600-person business; we're walking away from a business that is depleting by the hour, costing us money by the minute. And we're not sure if we're actually in a safe environment any longer- so it was time for us to go."
Related: Growth Hacking F&B Franchising: Smart Mavericks Versus Traditional Partners
Teusink adds, "Don't forget, during [and] after the revolution, we lost 85% of the business in a week... When your business drops by 85%, it's time to move on." When Evans and Teusink thus arrived in Dubai, they had a good track record of establishing successful F&B concepts in Egypt behind them, but that didn't exactly pan out into an overwhelming welcome for them in Dubai. The entrepreneurs remember having to knock on a lot of doors just to get hotel managers in Dubai to hear their pitch, but their experience did help ease up the process- Evans and Teusink point out by the time they got to the Emirate, they were confident about their skillsets and offering, plus they had already identified a gap in terms of the F&B sector at the time. "Ever since I've been here, everyone's told me the F&B market is oversaturated," Evans says.
"We built a hundred-million-dollar business in a massively oversaturated market, because we've gone after an area that is not oversaturated- we've gone after the middle market. We've gone after proving that the four-starplus [market] is actually the most important sector there is. And [in terms of] brand loyalty and customer loyalty, [we go about] treating our customers like, [for] every single dirham that they spend with us, we say thank you for that dirham. I think that was a huge sector that was missing, and still, it is not, on any level, overly saturated. So, the biggest challenge [we faced when starting up in Dubai] was getting somebody to say, okay guys, come and tell us who you are, and what you can do. We didn't have any money. We had to raise capital; we had an investor that came with us from Egypt, and then, we had to find some investors that believed in our ability to execute in Dubai. And 18 months into banging on every door and anyone that would listen, we finally found that gentleman, and off we went. Q43 was born, Karma Kafé was acquired, Asia Asia was designed and built, and the momentum began. It's very different today- people try to knock on our door these days, so it's been an amazing four and a half years. It really has."
Q43, located on the top floors of the Media One Tower in Dubai Media City, proved to be quite a hit when it launched in 2013, and both Evans and Teusink point toward their eagerness to cater to the middle market as being key to the outlet's success. "I think it offered extreme value for money, in a very, very nice setting, without charging you the earth to be there," Evans says. "What we tried to do was create an environment where everybody felt welcome, and nobody was so busy with what type of shoes you had on, what watch you wore, or what car you valet-ed. And we've always said that, whether you drive a Lamborghini, or whether you get out of bed every morning and work hard for a small amount of money, you're all as important as the rest. The only thing that should decide the difference between the service level you receive is the product that you buy. That's the only way that you should show anybody that you've got any more money than anybody else."
Asia Asia Dubai. Image credit: Asia Asia.
Teusink adds that before they started out in Dubai, the two entrepreneurs made it a point to visit other nightlife venues in the city, and they soon found a common issue in almost all of them. "People were not smiling [while in the venues]," Teusink remembers. "They didn't have fun. And so, we then knew already, yeah, we should be here." In fact, this insistence on keeping their customers happy -and making sure they are having a good time while at their establishment- is what Evans and Teusink account for Q43's success, or indeed, any of their other brands that followed after.
From Asia Asia's welcoming atmosphere as a fusion dining destination, to the boisterous party mood offered by Lock, Stock & Barrel, Evans and Teusink say that people who walk into an establishment run by Solutions Leisure Group are guaranteed to both have a fun time, and be treated with the best service possible. "If you were to ask what our venues have in common, that would be what it has in common: we really look what our guest wants, and we really treat you like a superstar," Teusink says. "We're not building any single venue on a profit and loss (P&L) statement," Evans adds. "We are building every single venue to say what can this bring to the market, what can we bring to our customers, and how can we make them feel."
This strategy essentially explains how Evans and Teusink have gone about building up the Solutions Leisure Group portfolio- and this was something they had decided on when they first arrived in Dubai, much before Q43 was even built. "Our target was to come here, and become the premium F&B provider in the UAE," Evans says. "And my terminology is not [about being] the biggest- I never want to be the biggest; I'm not interested in being that. We're interested in being the guys who make a mark, the guys who did it differently, the guys who got more customers visiting their venues than anybody else. That shows that we've landed right in the sweet spot of the customer demographic we want, and [that] we are the venue of choice. That's the most important thing for us."
Related: Partnerships In F&B: Five Tips Of Successfully Running A Co-Founded Enterprise
In order to do this, the company has gone in for a portfolio that includes both homegrown concepts (Lock, Stock & Barrel), and a select few franchises as well. "Primarily, we develop our own stuff," Evans explains. "We believe that we've got the experience today, and the skillset within the group and within the team to design, develop, and execute homegrown stuff... But there are occasions when certain landlords require a certain concept or probably a certain brand, which would then put us out into the marketplace fishing. And then, there are times when a great brand is available that you believe you should go and get, because it adds to your portfolio, it brings a certain skillset, or concept that you don't have, and helps you to market it."
Lock Stock and Barrel, Dubai. Image credit: LSB Dubai.
That last point explains how the internationally renowned restaurant concept STK landed in Solutions Leisure Group's portfolio in Dubai- it already has a location open in Dubai's Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) neighborhood, with another one in Downtown Dubai in the works. "Three years, we've hunted those guys down; three years, we've developed our business to become an operating partner that those guys were comfortable with," Evans says. "Every single F&B operator in Dubai wanted STK, and it's extremely flattering to myself, Freek, and the team who have worked with us, that they chose us- they could have gone anywhere. And the CEO was adamant, [telling us that] 'without the shadow of a doubt, you guys are the guys that we want to have.'" In terms of its homegrown concepts, it's easy to see that Evans and Teusink are especially proud of Lock, Stock & Barrel, which opened its first location at Barsha Heights in 2016, and recently had a second one open up at JBR. A visit to any of the two venues makes it clear that the Solutions Leisure Group team have invested heavily in this establishment, but, as Teusink points out, all of its features -be it the sound systems, or the funky lights- have been put there solely to add to the customer experience.
"It's like a theater," he says, noting that Lock, Stock & Barrel aims to actively discourage visitors from leaving the establishment. It's a strategy that has definitely worked- besides being one of the most popular nightlife venues in Dubai at the moment, Lock, Stock & Barrel has also racked up a slew of industry awards in its relatively short lifespan. Given these two factors, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Evans and Teusink are eager to further grow the brand. "I think we're going to go with probably a Lock, Stock & Barrel down in Business Bay- we're already working on that deal," Evans reveals. "The top priority for [us in] 2018 would be to take Lock, Stock & Barrel international. So, in the middle of this year, we began talking to key partners in London, New York, Miami, and Las Vegas... We now have some bandwidth to get on some airplanes and go and reignite those conversations, and give those guys the attention that they deserve. So, as soon as we get Christmas and New Year's out of the way, January will [see us] on airplanes, and we'll be getting two to three leases signed for Lock, Stock & Barrel- probably two in America, and one in the Far East, will be the plan for 2018."
As should be clear by now, Solutions Leisure Group has had a pretty busy year already, but if Evans and Teusink's future plans are any indication, then the new year won't be looking any different. "2017 has been an astronomical year," Evans admits. "We have doubled the group in a six-month period. That has left a few marks on a few of us- a few sleepless weeks, months, and quarters. I said [to my team] at the beginning of the year, that some of us will not make this year, some of us will fall by the wayside. [But] the team hasn't- they've stood on, and they've done it with an incredible calmness, and I'm super proud of what we've achieved in 2017. I promised them we'd do nothing in 2018... but they also know me! So, they also knew that was a fake promise just to get them to do 2017. 2018, we go again."
Both Evans and Teusink are fiercely passionate about the people they have on board, and say their employees are the ones that are responsible for driving Solutions Leisure Group forward. "I believe today that the team that we have working for us is, by a long way, the number one group of individuals ever put together to work in this spectacular industry," Evans says. "I'm able to go out and be the crazy sales guy that I am, because I've got a team that will back you up. Freek is able to design some of the funkiest stuff and cuttingedge F&B, because we have a team that will fill it. We have a team of operators that will execute it absolutely to the letter."
This is also a good indication of the dynamic Evans and Teusink use to work with each other- and why their partnership has been the success it is today. "We complete each other," Evans says, alluding to their different skillsets and why they work so well together. Teusink nods, and adds, "We respect each other, very, very much. We respect what the other wants and does... And we want the best for each other as well. So, I want Paul to shine, [and] he wants me to shine." But given the story of how Evans and Teusink got to work with each other in the first place, one can't help but want to believe in the idea of fate's role in determining one's success. "We're just very, very lucky," Evans agrees. "We just got it right. We've been there through the tough days. We've been through the mediocre days. We were together in the glory days, and if tough times come again, we'll be standing next to each other just dealing with it. We'll come through it, and we'll bounce back again."
So, what's next for Solutions Leisure Group? Evans and Teusink explain that when it comes to the business, they tend to plan in three-year intervals- and so, that's the timeline that they share with me now. "We set out to become the premium F&B business in Dubai- I believe that we have achieved that," Evans says. "But I [also] believe that we're only really getting started. I believe that, still, the momentum is growing by the hour. I mean, it is so fast paced at the moment; the opportunities that are coming our way, the contacts that are growing, the people are wanting to talk to us today- the opportunities are unlimited... Where I want [us] to be in three years: we want to be the premium F&B business operating out of Dubai, internationally. That's where we want to be next. So, that's the next sector- we want to make sure that Lock, Stock & Barrel gets the worldwide brand recognition that that project deserves, with three to five venues opening in the next 18 to 24 months. We'd love to see Asia Asia go [international as well]. We'd like to solidify our position with a few further key establishments, and possibly, another successful brand development in the UAE."
As for Evans and Teusink themselves, they are still enjoying what they do, and that is essentially what is driving them ahead as entrepreneurs building up Solutions Leisure Group as an enterprise. "This is very important: one of the other factors that is binding all of our outlets together is the fun we have building them," Teusink explains. "We go to work- we work a lot, obviously. But I wake up every morning, and think, yes, I can go again. For sure, Paul feels the same." Evans nods, and explains why: "Because we are doing cool and funky stuff! We've got the best job in the world- we make 120,000 people smile from six o'clock [in the evening] till three o'clock in the morning. How cool is that? We're just (a bit) older versions of Justin Bieber!"
Related: Building A Business: Starting And Expanding An F&B Enterprise
Competitive Advantage: Serial Entrepreneur Peter Schatzberg, Founder And CEO, Sweetheart Kitchen
Building To Last: Okadoc Founder And CEO Fodhil Benturquia
Doing Things Differently: Omar Jackson, Partner, Berkeley Assets
Competitive Advantage: Abdulwahed Juma, Executive Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communications, du
Leading The Change: Imad Kreidieh, Chairman, Ogero


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The Strategy Of Positive Thinking
A strand through American history is "positive thinking." From Ben Franklin's advice to the "health and wealth gospel" of the 19th century to bestselling books by Anthony Robbins, Americans of all ages have heard, practiced and used "positive thinking."
For a history of positive thinking, see:
One of the more influential purveyors of positive thinking was Norman Vincent Peale. The Washington Post says:
"At his peak, Peale reached millions through radio and television shows and a syndicated newspaper column. He wrote more than 40 books, including the ever-sunny "The Power of Positive Thinking," published in 1952; it spent three years on the New York Times' bestseller list. The minister's advice included: 'Formulate and stamp indelibly in your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Never permit it to fade.'"
Peale was a friend of Presidents Nixon and Reagan and praised by Bill Clinton. Donald Trump attended Peale's church.
Powerful people followed Peale. People who understand strategy. People who used strategy to do things like win presidential races.
Which means there's a strategic reason to use positive thinking.
Positive thinking helps you with the first step of strategy: Imagining the future.
And positive thinking keeps you there. Positive thinking keeps you focused on a particular type of future: A Positive-Sum Game. A win-win game. Where you win and the people around you win, too.
If you're not focused on Positive-Sum Games, you're focused on Zero-Sum Games. On conflict. On competition. You're focused on win-lose games. You're focused on winning only what other people lose.
Zero-Sum Games are necessary and essential to a good strategy. But Zero-Sum Games usually aren't the primary focus of a strategy. If they are, it's a weak strategy.
As you'll see in A Spy's Guide To Strategy, the most powerful strategies have a Positive-Sum Game as their Endgame. A win-win Endgame. An Endgame where everyone wins.
From that Endgame, you reason backward. To a Zero-Sum Game. To the conflicts, competitions and wars you need to fight for your Positive-Sum Game to exist.
Reasoning backward and acting forward, the sequence of types of games looks like this:
You fight conflicts for a reason. You fight for people, places and things. Because they are what make a Positive-Sum Game work. You fight Zero-Sum Games to get to a Positive-Sum Game. You fight conflicts to get to your Endgame.
Zero-Sum Games are just stepping stones. They're way points. Which means you don't need to play every Zero-Sum Game. Strategically, you can pick and choose. When you're reasoning backward, Zero-Sum Games are strategically less important than Positive-Sum Games. If you make a Zero-Sum Game the focus of your strategy, you can't pick and choose. You have to play it. Because it's your Endgame.
Which you don't want. You want your Endgame to be a Positive-Sum Game.
Which is what positive thinking tells you. Positive thinking keeps you focused on Positive-Sum Games. Positive thinking keeps Zero-Sum Games subordinated. Positive thinking helps you build a strong strategy.
There's a lot of strategic power in positive thinking. Which is why so many strategically astute people use it.
Positive thinking keeps your strategy focused on the Endgame.
In A Spy's Guide To Strategy, you'll see more of this framework. Because it's the fundamental framework for understanding others' strategies. And for building your own.
#positivethinking #normanvincentpeale #anthonyrobbins #strategy #strategyofpositivethinking


text:
U.S. Marine Corps is celebrating a decade of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected program
in Army, News
The Marine Corps is celebrating a decade of keeping Marines safer on the battlefield with the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected family of vehicles.
In 2006, combatant commanders identified the urgent operational need for an increased number of MRAP vehicles in theater to provide better protection against underbody mines, improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. MRAP vehicles were already in use by the Army and Marine Corps, but in limited numbers and for specialized missions, such as explosive ordnance disposal and other route clearance work. In response, Marine Corps Systems Command established the MRAP Joint Program Office in 2006, to combine the efforts of Marine Corps, Army, Navy and special operations acquisition expertise. The JPO's mission was to get the maximum number of vehicles to the operating forces in the shortest period of time.
"The object of the program office was to field vehicles to all the services, U.S. Special Operations Command and coalition partners to ensure the same level of troop protection was provided to the entire joint and combined forces," said retired Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, Joint Program Executive Officer for the MRAP vehicle program from 2007 to 2011 and a former commander of Marine Corps Systems Command. "The presence of the MRAP also challenged the enemy, since the insurgents had to increase the size of their explosive devices to have any effect on these more survivable vehicles. The larger devices, and longer time it took to implant them, increased the likelihood that our troops would detect an IED before it detonated."
The MRAP family of vehicles consists of four vehicle categories that incorporate a "V-shaped" hull, armor plating and a raised chassis designed to provide protection against the three primary kill mechanisms of mines and IEDs: fragmentation, blast overpressure and acceleration.
Photo By Staff Sgt. Lynn Kinney


Dr Anton Chuvakin Blog PERSONAL Blog: POPE Rules!
OMFG, this sooo made my day today. Mike Rothman "communicates" with P.O.P.E. and produces deep, lasting, impacting insight ("incite?") on career, skills, etc.
My fave piece: "But ultimately I fancy myself to be a builder and [his new job] gives me the opportunity to build a strong strategy and marketing function." Amen to that! Even though Mike can be a "talker" too, not only a "builder."


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A Charitable Fairy Tale
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Planning For Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Exemption
This article addresses one of these "mysterious" areas of estate planning that is
often referred to as GST (Generation Skipping Transfer). Actually, this area
involves the concept of planning over several generations, and is based on the
reality that estate planning cannot focus on a single client or a single
generation. Estate planners always need to be aware of how actions of prior
generations will affect the current generation, and how the actions of the current
generation will affect future generations. The proper term for this kind of
planning is probably something like "multiple generation planning". However,
the terms generation skipping and GST are used quite often because of the
specific tax rules that operate to control multiple generation plans (and because
planners are always looking for shorter ways to refer to ideas).
The Federal Generation Skipping Tax
The current federal Generation Skipping Transfer Tax (GST Tax) came into
existence with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (the original 1976 version was
repealed retroactively. Thank goodness it was an unbelievable mess.).
Basically, the federal "death" tax imposes a tax on the transfer of assets during life and at death in excess of the "unified credit". The credit was raised to $5.25 million under the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act, and is indexed to increase for inflation for every year. The credit during 2016 is $5.45 million. This federal tax (40%) is imposed on non-exempt gifts which taxpayers make in excess of the credit. Similarly, the federal GST Tax is designed to make sure that taxpayers do not avoid the estate and gift tax
through the use of long-term trusts, and to ensure there will be a tax paid at each generation. The GST credit amount is the same as the unified credit, $5.45 million, and is also indexed for inflation.
The primary target of the GST Tax is the typical generation skipping trust
(sometimes called a GST Trust or Dynasty Trust), which provides distributions
for the benefit of a child for life with the remainder continuing on for the
grandchildren (or more remote descendants). Under the current estate tax rules,
the trust assets would not be taxed at the child's death because the child does
not have sufficient powers over the trust to cause the assets to be included in
the child's estate. In this context, the reference to generation skipping does not
mean that the economic benefits of the trust "skip" the children, but simply that
the estate transfer tax is "skipped" at the death of the children. The GST Tax
was established to prevent this type of tax "skipping" (at least above certain
limits, as described below).
In the case of the typical GST Trust, the GST Tax would be imposed at the
death of the child, when the assets continue for the grandchildren (but only if
the assets of the trust are not otherwise subject to estate tax at the child's death).
The GST Tax also applies to direct transfers to grandchildren that would
otherwise avoid the GST Tax because no trust is involved.
Rate and Specific Application
When the GST Tax applies, the rate of tax is a flat rate equal to the maximum
estate tax rate (currently 40%). [IRC § 2641] However, unlike the estate and
gift tax, there are no lower rate brackets applicable to the GST Tax.
Specifically, the GST Tax is applied in each occurrence of a Direct Skip,
Taxable Termination, or Taxable Distribution.
Direct Skip: A direct skip occurs whenever a transfer is made to a "skip person"
with no intermediate benefit to a non-skip person. A skip person is anyone
assigned to a generation that is two or more generations below the
transferor's assigned generation (the most common example of a skip person
is a grandchild). A trust can also be a skip person if all the beneficiaries are skip
Taxable Termination: A taxable termination occurs through a trust when the
interest of a non-skip person terminates and there are no more non-skip
persons still holding an interest. For example, upon the death of a
child/beneficiary if, after the child's death, the only beneficiaries are grandchildren.
Taxable Distribution: A taxable distribution occurs whenever a distribution is made
from a trust to a skip person. However, a taxable distribution does not occur if the
event can be classified as a direct skip or a taxable termination.
To determine if a person is or is not a skip person for GST Tax purposes,
everyone is assigned to a specific generation on the basis of: 1) lineal descent
(if applicable); or 2) an implied generation assignment based on each 25-year
age group (for example, a person born more than 12 _ years but less than 37 _
years after the transferor will be deemed to be in the generation immediately
below the transferor). [IRC § 2651] In the case of lineal descendants, the
spouse of a descendant is deemed to be in the same generation as such
descendant. [IRC § 2651(c)]
There is also the "move up rule," which provides that at the time of any transfer
to a skip person, if the parent of the skip person (who is a descendant of the
donor) is not living, then the transfer will not be deemed a direct skip because
the skip person is "moved up" to the generation of his or her deceased parent.
[IRC § 2612(c)(2)] The move-up rule does not apply if the non-skip person is
only deemed to have predeceased the transferor as a result of a qualified
Exclusions from the GST Tax
The GST Tax does not apply to transfers made prior to September 25, 1985-so
that an irrevocable trust created before September 25, 1985 is considered
"grandfathered" for GST Tax purposes (distributions from the trust are
generally not subject to the GST Tax). In addition, the GST Tax does not apply
to any transfer under a will or revocable trust if the will or trust was executed
before October 22, 1986, and the decedent died before January 1, 1987. (This is
becoming less and less significant as the years roll on.) However, if additions
are made to a grandfathered trust, the trust becomes partially taxable in the
future except to the extent the GST Exemption (described below) is allocated to
the additional transfer.
In addition, if a transfer is not subject to gift tax because it is within the $10,000
annual exclusion amount, the GST Tax will not apply. [IRC § 2611(b)(2)]
However, as a result of the Technical Corrections and Miscellaneous Revenue
Act of 1988 (TAMRA), this exception for nontaxable transfers is limited to
transfers that are direct skips; and for this purpose, a gift to a trust will only be a
direct skip if: 1) the trust is for only one beneficiary who is a skip person; 2) no
one other than the beneficiary can receive distributions during the beneficiary's
lifetime; and 3) if the beneficiary dies before the trust terminates, the trust
estate must be included in the beneficiary's estate for tax purposes. What this
means is that transfers to trusts that qualify for the gift tax annual exclusion as a
result of withdrawal rights (sometimes known as Crummey Powers) will not
qualify for the GST annual exclusion unless the trust also meets the
requirements detailed above.
Finally, transfers made directly to education institutions (for tuition) or
healthcare providers on behalf of a donee, which are therefore exempt from gift
tax under IRC § 2503(e), are excluded from the GST Tax. [IRC § 2611(b)(2)]
$1,000,000 GST Exemption
One of the most important aspects of the GST Tax is the $1,000,000 GST
Exemption that is available to each individual. This is commonly called the
GST Exemption. (Note: As a result of recent changes in the tax laws, this
$1,000,000 is indexed for inflation, and is actually $1,010,000 in 1999, but is
still often referred to as the $1,000,000 GST Exemption.) Because of this GST
Exemption, each person has the ability to transfer up to $1,010,000 (determined
at the time the exemption is allocated) in a manner that would otherwise be
subject to the GST Tax. [IRC § 2631(a)] This amount can be used for lifetime
gifts, and any portion of the GST Exemption not used during lifetime will be
applied to assets passing at death.
The GST Exemption can be allocated in any manner chosen by the transferor
(or the decedent's personal representative). [IRC § 2632(a)] Normally, the GST
Exemption will not be allocated without affirmative action of the transferor.
However, the GST Exemption will be automatically applied to direct skips
unless the transferor elects not to use the GST Exemption. [IRC § 2632(b)]
Any portion of the GST Exemption unused at death, and not allocated by the
decedent's personal representative (sometimes called the executor), will be
automatically allocated to direct skips occurring at death, and then any
remaining GST Exemption will be allocated to trusts with respect to which the
decedent is the transferor, and as to which taxable distributions or taxable
terminations may occur.
Reverse QTIP Election. Married couples can make use of a special IRC §
2652(a)(3) election (reverse QTIP election) that allows the full use of the GST
Exemption for both spouses, even if the unlimited marital deduction is utilized.
Normally, assets in a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Marital
Trust are deemed to pass from the surviving spouse (and could only utilize the
GST Exemption of the surviving spouse). The IRC § 2652(a)(3) election
reverses this presumption so that, for GST Tax purposes only, the QTIP Trust
assets are deemed to pass from the first spouse (and therefore will utilize the
first spouse's GST Exemption).
ETIP Rules. No GST Exemption can be allocated to a transfer to which the
transferor has retained certain rights or interests that would cause the assets to
be included in the transferor's estate for estate tax purposes under IRC §§ 2036,
2037, 2038, 2041, and 2042 (but not IRC § 2035). This is known as the Estate
Tax Inclusion Period (ETIP), which continues until the assets of the trust would
no longer be included in the transferor's estate under the above Code sections.
Allocation to Lifetime Gifts . If an allocation of GST Exemption is made on a
timely filed gift tax return (including extensions), the allocation is effective
from the date of the gift (even if the value has since changed). An allocation of
GST Exemption made after the due date for the gift tax return must be based on
the current value of the asset (although the value at the beginning of the month
may be used instead, unless the grantor has died). The Treasury Regulations
also confirm that if an allocation of GST Exemption is made for an irrevocable
life insurance trust, the GST Tax status of the trust continues after the grantor's
death, even if the grantor dies within three years and the trust assets (the
insurance policy) are included in the Grantor's estate for federal estate tax
Inclusion Ratios
Every trust has an inclusion ratio that determines the portion of each future
distribution or termination that will be subjected to the GST Tax. [IRC § 2642]
For example, an inclusion ratio of "zero" means that the trust is totally exempt
from the GST Tax; an inclusion ratio of "one" means that all taxable
distributions and taxable terminations will be fully subject to the GST Tax; and
an inclusion ratio of _ means that one-half of all taxable distributions and
taxable terminations will result in a GST Tax.
The inclusion ratio for a trust is initially determined by calculating the portion
of the transfer that is not covered by the GST Exemption, or an exclusion, and
dividing this amount by the value of the entire transfer. For example, if a person
transfers $1,500,000 into a generation skipping trust and allocates $1,000,000
of GST Exemption, the inclusion ratio would be:
$500,000 / $1,500,000 = 1/3
Subsequent transfers to an existing trust may affect the trust's inclusion ratio. If
sufficient GST Exemption is allocated to the subsequent transfer, the trust will
retain its zero inclusion ratio. It is advisable not to make additions to an existing
trust in amounts that exceed the available GST Exemption. However, if there is
not sufficient GST Exemption remaining, the inclusion ratio is redetermined as
follows:
First, the nonexempt portion of the trust (prior to the new transfer) is
determined by multiplying the pretransfer value of the trust assets by the
existing inclusion ratio.
Second, the value of this nonexempt portion is added to the portion of the
new transfer that is not covered by a GST Exemption or exclusion.
Third, this total of the nonexempt amount is divided by the total value of the
trust estate immediately following the new transfer.
For example, if an existing trust with an inclusion ratio of 2/3 has trust assets
valued at $750,000 (meaning that $500,000 is currently not covered by GST
Exemption), and if an additional $500,000 is transferred to the trust, but only
$250,000 of GST Exemption is allocated to the transfer, then the new inclusion
ratio for the trust will be determined as follows:
($500,000 + $250,000) / $1,250,000 = 3/5
The Treasury Regulations include elaborate rules as to when trusts or shares
will be treated as separate for purposes of the inclusion ratio. Extreme caution
is needed when, following the Grantor's death, a trust is to be divided into
exempt and nonexempt trusts for GST Tax purposes. This is particularly true
when the division is created by means of a pecuniary amount passing to the
nonexempt trust with the remainder becoming the GST exempt trust. Generally,
when such a pecuniary amount is funded, it must be done within 15 months, or
carry with it appropriate interest to compensate for the delay in funding. It is
also important that a trust is divided before any GST Exemption is allocated.
For example, if there is a $500,000 trust that has an inclusion ratio of _, the
Regulations do not allow this trust to be divided into a $250,000 trust with a
"zero" inclusion ratio and a $250,000 trust with a "one" inclusion ratio (even
though such result sounds quite logical). According to the Regulations, a
division of this trust would result in two $250,000 trusts, each of which would
still have an inclusion ratio of _.
General Planning Strategies
If the total value of the combined estates of a husband and wife is not expected
to exceed $1,000,000, then the GST Tax will not be a direct concern. However,
if children have sizeable estates, it may be beneficial to have some or all of the
parents' estate put into GST Trusts, or be given to grandchildren outright, to
avoid unnecessarily increasing the children's taxable estates. To the extent
possible, an estate plan for the parents should consider the planning
opportunities for children that may be lost once assets are distributed outright to
the children.
If the total value of the combined estates of a husband and wife is over
$1,000,000, but is not expected to exceed $2,000,000, then the GST Tax can be
avoided, but special planning may be necessary (using the reverse QTIP
election) to ensure that both spouses can use the $1,000,000 GST Exemption.
If the total value of the combined estates of a husband and wife substantially
exceed $2,000,000, then more sophisticated GST planning should be discussed,
including the use of the GST Exemptions during life.
To the maximum extent possible, it is important to make sure that each trust is
either fully exempt or fully nonexempt; otherwise, it will be impossible to make
the most efficient use of the exempt trusts. If a trust has an inclusion ratio of
something other than one or zero, there is no efficient method to make
distributions, because either: 1) a distribution is made to a skip person that will
result in the payment of some GST Tax; or 2) a distribution will be made to a
non-skip person that will result in wasting a portion of the GST Exemption
previously allocated.
Generally speaking, trusts with inclusion ratios of one should be used for
Non-skip persons (or be included in the estates of non-skip persons) and trusts
with a zero inclusion ratio should be used for skip persons or accumulated for
future generations. Once the trusts have been carefully divided into exempt and
nonexempt, distributions should be made to non-skip persons out of nonexempt
trusts and distributions should be made to skip persons out of exempt trusts.
This article summarizes the basic concepts and considerations involved in
planning for and around the GST Tax, but there is much more that could be
said. This is one area where the inexperienced and/or untrained professional
should not venture without the guide of an expert who has been there many
times before. But, hopefully, you now have some general information that will
permit you to participate in the discussions and provide a roadmap to the
mysterious land of GST.
DR News


text:
Q: Проблема с указателями, или я совсем не знаю Си Нужно написать что-то типа словаря. У меня есть структура L типа lista, также есть словарь - массив slowka_dnia типа slowo (N=25), я подаю свой словарь в функцию init, там для каждого элемента из slowka_dnia я вызываю функцию dopisz, в этой функции L - указатель на мою структуру и мне необходимо переписать данные из slowo s в L.s[L.n]. Да и все typedef-ы и фунцкия init были даны преподователем.
Проблема в том, что при выполнении функции dopisz, а именно строки с использованием malloc появляется ошибка.
typedef struct slowo {//структура с аналогом слова в одном языке и его перевод в другом
    char ang[N];
    char pol[N];
}slowo;

typedef enum sort {
    BRAK, POL_ANG, ANG_POL
}sort;

typedef struct lista {
    slowo** s;//1-мерный массив указатилей на структуру slowo
    int n;//кол-во элементов
    sort jak_posortowana;//как отсортирован список
}lista;

int init(lista* L, slowo* slowka_dnia, int n)
{
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i<n; i++)
        if (!dopisz(L, slowka_dnia[i])) return 0;

    L->jak_posortowana = BRAK;
    L->n = n;
    return 1;
}

int dopisz(lista* L, slowo s) {
    L->s[L->n] = (slowo*)malloc(sizeof(slowo));//ошибка вот тут
    for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) L->s[L->n]->ang[i] = s.ang[i];
    for (int i = 0;i<N; i++) L->s[L->n]->pol[i] = s.pol[i];
    L->n++;
    L->jak_posortowana = BRAK;
return 1;
}

A: В определении lista написано что lista.s это массив указателей, а вы в dopisz выделяете память под одну (!) структуру slowo и полученный указатель присваиваете lista.s. То есть ваша первая ошибка в том что вы простой указатель присваиваете указателю на указатель.
Вторая проблема в том, что у вас происходит утечка памяти в строке
L->s[L->n] = (slowo*)malloc(sizeof(slowo));//ошибка вот тут

здесь вы на каждый вызов dopisz выделяете блок памяти под структуру slowo при этом ничего не делаете с блоками которые выделяли на предыдущих вызовах dopisz. Эта память уходит в фонд поддержки голодающих Африки и не возвращается!
Теперь по функции dopisz, я исхожу из того что код выше нее менять нельзя. В dopisz вы должны выполнять три действия:

*

*расширить массив указателей lista.s на один элемент

*создать блок памяти для одной slowo и присвоить полученный указатель в конец lista.s

*скопировать входное slowo во вновь созданное.

Действия 1 и 2 логично выделить в отдельную функцию:
slowo ** append_slowo(slowo ** l, int new_count)
{
    slowo ** newl = NULL;

    if(l && new_count > 1)
    {
        newl = (slowo **)realloc(l, sizeof(slowo*) * new_count);
    }
    else if(1 == new_count)
    {
        newl = (slowo **)malloc(sizeof(slowo*)); // создаем первый элемент
    }

    if(newl)
    {
        newl[new_count - 1] = (slowo *)malloc(sizeof(slowo));
    }

    return newl;
}

Теперь функция dopisz примет следующий вид:
int dopisz(lista* L, slowo s)
{
    L->s = append_slowo(L->s, L->n + 1);
    if(L->s && memcpy(L->s[L->n], &s))
    {
       ++L->n;
       L->jak_posortowana = BRAK;
       return 1;
    }
    return 0;
}

A: Вы обращаетесь по не инициализированному указателю. В момент выполнения этой строки:
L->s[L->n] = (slowo*)malloc(sizeof(slowo));

У вас уже должна быть выделена память под хранение вашего массива указателей. Т.е. в функции init вы должны выполнить
L->s=(slowo **)malloc(sizeof(slowo *) * n);
memset(L->s,0,sizeof(slowo *) * n); // На всякий случай, malloc не гарантирует выделения очищенной памяти.

Это происходит потому, что объявленный в структуре lista slowo ** - это не массив указателей, а всего 4(8) байт в которых должен быть адрес области памяти где будет располагаться такой массив. Т.е. это указатель на массив указателей.
Обновление
Вы выделяете память на n указателей, если вам в процессе работы вот этого n станет не хватать, то единственный способ решить проблему - выделить область памяти под новый, увеличенный размер, скопировать (memcpy) массив из старой области памяти в новую. освободить (free) старую область и наконец поменять L->s на адрес этой новой области. Но если это происходит часто и смотря какая дальше идет работа - вполне возможно, что массив неподходящее решение, а нужен только указатель на 1е слово и в самом слове указатель на следующее и/или предыдущее - т.е. организовывать список.
И в случае с расширяемым массивом я бы предусмотрел еще одно поле в структуре рядом с ним - количество элементов под которое выделена память. И память можно выделять не по 1 элементу, а например по степеням 2-ки. Т.е. надо хранить 3 элемента - выделяем на 4, захотели записать 5й - выделяем новую область уже на 8, т.е. чем больше массив - тем больше запас оставляем на будущее, что бы постоянно это не делать


The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) today selected a mixed-use plan which will result in the development of retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, visitor center, and residential units, on the 8-acre Core Block in the South Boston Waterfront. The plan, proposed by the experienced development team of Urban Retail Properties and The John Drew Company, will provide much needed retail space to anchor the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) and the waterfront's growing residential, hotel and office uses. Urban Retail Properties, which is based in Chicago and the nation's largest manager of retail properties proposes to bring distinctive retail stores, not currently available in Boston, to the location.
With 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use space, the proposal is consistent with long-standing Massport/ City of Boston planning for the area. Revenue from the project will assist in funding key maritime investments in support of the Port of Boston.
The plan also calls for the potential construction of a grocery store on an adjacent parcel on Summer Street as well as the addition of office, housing, and hotel space in later phases.
By creating a mixed-use destination, Massport hopes to contribute to the City of Boston's plan for a vibrant, self-sustaining neighborhood on the South Boston Waterfront. In the last nine years, almost two million square feet of space has been developed on Massport property, including the Seaport Hotel, the WTC East and West office buildings, and the Manulife building (opening this summer). With new streets and a public open space system. Massport's 1.3-acre South Boston Maritime Park is currently under construction as well... In addition, construction on 465 apartments recently began on Massport parcels G and J.
The development of key parcels enables Massport to support its core maritime mission and continued investments in the Port of Boston.
For more information on the Core Block project, please contact Massport's Director of Planning and Development, Richard Henderson or Senior Project Manager, Andrew Hargens at 617-946-4470 or click on this linkwww.massport.com/business/water_water_south.html.


Our next information morning will be held on 7 May, 2019.
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The ACCESS Information Morning consists of two parts: an informative presentation on ACCESS, its organisational structure and our volunteers, followed by individual interviews where skills and expectations can be discussed.
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After authorizing $385 million over the $400 million already budgeted for military aid to Vietnam, President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against his country's intervention in Vietnam.
1954 transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, United States.
Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes premier of Egypt.


text:
HomeArticlesAmerica's 'Freeze' Still Favors Israel
America's 'Freeze' Still Favors Israel
September 16, 2010 Articles
By James Gundun – Washington, D.C.
At first glance Washington's sudden support for extending Israel's settlement 'freeze' in the West Bank appears to be typical 11th hour positioning at Sharm el-Sheikh. Having delayed until the final moments in hope of reaching a compromise with the Palestinian Authority (PA), US officials must now rush to strike a deal before September 26th, when the "freeze" expires and direct negotiations between Israel and the PA potentially collapse.
President Barack Obama initiated the call for an extension of the "freeze" on September 10th, followed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday and US envoy George Mitchell on Tuesday.
That America's credibility in the Middle East, along with Obama's, hangs in the balance has provided the necessary fuel to break Washington's pro-Israel stance. With one indirect round of negotiations already scuttled and widespread pessimism harassing the current negotiations, the White House cannot afford for direct talks to collapse so prematurely. America's ability as an independent mediator would be subjected to new doubt, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict left to drift into September's UN Security Council meeting, US Congressional elections, and Obama's December review of the Afghan war.
Embarrassment would be an understatement.
America seems to have no other choice if a settlement "freeze" is the only means of keeping Palestinians in negotiations, especially in light of Egypt's reiteration for an extension. But it should be no mystery why US officials are so supportive of a settlement "freeze" – the "freeze" is no freeze at all. As Obama said himself, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has significantly reduced settlement construction in the region." Many reports can be found over the last ten months alleging the same idea – that settlement construction has slowed but not halted.
Further allegations claim that Israel builds in undefined areas and thus off the grid. Why does it makes sense for US to extend the "freeze?" Because a "freeze" still allows for settlement planning, approval, and construction.
In one way this strategy makes sense. The Palestinians are adamant on a true freeze, fully aware of the difference between Israel's public statements and its action on the ground. Without any limitation on Israeli settlements they have no domestic support for continuing negotiations – they need a "freeze" in the West Bank to maintain their dignity. Thus America's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is essentially the compromise needed to keep negotiations alive.
Unfortunately Israel doesn't appear to see this logic. That Netanyahu faces his own domestic pressure from Israeli settlers is valid, but stiff resistance to freezing settlement construction seems driven by ulterior motives. Though Israeli officials complain that the Palestinians are running their mouths to reporters while they keep quiet, Netanyahu doesn't miss an opportunity to cast PA President Mahmoud Abbas as the main obstacle to a two-state solution.
"The end of the settlement freeze must not be allowed to foil the talks," Netanyahu told Abbas. "We have taken on an ambitious mission of reaching agreement within a year and we must focus on that."
Netanyahu's behavior makes his intentions clear: to make Abbas cave, not cave himself. Direct negotiations are progressing more like a game of chicken and Netanyahu has no intention of blinking. Both he and his Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, have publicly ruled out an extension to the "freeze," realizing that their worst-case scenario still allows for discreet construction. While new reports surface of an Interior Ministry committee discussion over hundreds of new units in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu is deploying the usual substitutes of prisoner releases and checkpoint removals.
By offering "confidence-building measures" in place of an actual settlement freeze, Netanyahu hopes to force Abbas out of negotiations while simultaneously blaming him for their collapse. The "freeze" will end, allowing him to build unrestricted until America can corral the two sides for a new round of negotiations. The Palestinians, sensing Netanyahu's trap, have held their line on a settlement moratorium while privately backtracking from their absolutist position.
But while they stand a good chance of accepting America's version of a "freeze," anything less is likely to veto further direct negotiations. Palestinians surely realize that America won't be able to deliver anything else if not this, and must steadfastly hold to their demands.
Washington has 12 days to clean up a toxic mess partially of its own creation. Polar reports out of Sharm indicate the odds favor collapse over compromise, with Netanyahu's spokesman claiming "substantive issues" were addressed and the Palestinians noticeably frustrated with the Israel's priorities. "We continue our efforts to make progress, and we believe that we are moving in the right direction over all," Mitchell said at a news conference afterward.
Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reported the Palestinian viewpoint from Bethlehem: "Americans came pretty much empty handed… They [US negotiators] had no solution to bridge the gap between Palestinians and Israelis."
One thing is certain. If America can't even secure a partial settlement freeze from Israel, Palestinians will feel no urge to trust America's arbitration over all final status issues. Only false hope would anticipate fair judgment over refugees and Jerusalem when Washington still protects Israeli settlement construction. Washington coerced the Palestinians to direct talks in the first place by claiming settlements would be addressed within the first month of direct negotiations. As a result Palestinian officials need something tangible to show their people, not the image of Netanyahu weaseling out of his obligations under America's blind eye.
Sharm has become child's play, with one Western diplomat remarking of Washington's summit, "They feel they've got to give it some momentum. It's a way of getting them past the settlement freeze."
A few summits won't "get the Palestinians past the settlement freeze." In fact, holding another summit in Jerusalem throws settlements in their face. Palestinian spokesperson Ghassan Khatib warned that "progress" in direct talks would not soften the Palestinians' demands. "Nothing can compensate the need for cessation of settlement activities. Everything else is meaningless."
America agrees, but only out of the need to protect Israel and itself. The Palestinians come last as usual – not the way to equitably resolve one of the world's most lopsided conflicts.
– James Gundun is a political scientist and counterinsurgency analyst based in Washington D.C. Contact him in The Trench, a realist foreign policy blog, at www.hadalzone.blogspot.com. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
The Tides of September
Israel Admits Killing Civilians in Gaza


text:
In emergency call, woman says Sheen threatened her
A woman who identified herself as the wife of actor Charlie Sheen said in an emergency call to Aspen police that Sheen threatened her with a knife.
Police released the audio of the call on Monday, three days after Sheen was arrested on suspicion of menacing, second-degree assault and criminal mischief.
Authorities haven't identified the alleged victim, but the woman on the emergency call says her name is Brooke and that her husband is Charlie Sheen. Sheen is married to Brooke Mueller Sheen.
The woman can be heard weeping and sometimes her words are inaudible.
An ambulance was sent to the house but police say no one was taken to the hospital.
The 44-year-old Charlie Sheen is free on $8,500 bond. His lawyer didn't immediately return calls on Monday.


text:
cis-Butene-1,4-diol is a chemical compound used in the production of endosulfan. It reacts with hexachlorocyclopentadiene to form endosulfan diol. Endosulfan diol then reacts with thionyl chloride to form endosulfan.

References

Alkene derivatives
Diols