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Siemens (  ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe. It is headquartered in Munich and has several foreign branch offices.

The principal divisions of the corporation are Digital Industries, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, Healthcare (branded Siemens Healthineers) and Financial Services. The corporation is a prominent maker of medical diagnostics equipment and its medical health-care division, which generates about 12 percent of the corporation's total sales, is its second-most profitable unit, after the industrial automation division. In this area, it is regarded as a pioneer and the company with the highest revenue in the world. The corporation is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 303,000 people worldwide and reported global revenue of around €62 billion in 2021 according to its earnings release.

History

1847 to 1901

Siemens & Halske was founded by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske on 1 October 1847. Based on the telegraph, their invention used a needle to point to the sequence of letters, instead of using Morse code. The company, then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske, opened its first workshop on 12 October.

In 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe; 500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. In 1850, the founder's younger brother, Carl Wilhelm Siemens, later Sir William Siemens, started to represent the company in London. The London agency became a branch office in 1858. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long-distance telegraph networks in Russia. In 1855, a company branch headed by another brother, Carl Heinrich von Siemens, opened in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1867, Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European telegraph line stretching over 11,000 km from London to Calcutta.

In 1867, Werner von Siemens described a dynamo without permanent magnets. A similar system was also independently invented by Ányos Jedlik and Charles Wheatstone, but Siemens became the first company to build such devices. In 1881, a Siemens AC Alternator driven by a watermill was used to power the world's first electric street lighting in the town of Godalming, United Kingdom. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs.  In 1885, Siemens sold one of its generators to George Westinghouse, thereby enabling Westinghouse to begin experimenting with AC networks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1887, Siemens opened its first office in Japan. In 1890, the founder retired and left the running of the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. In 1892, Siemens were contracted to construct the Hobart electric tramway in Tasmania, Australia as they increased their markets. The system opened in 1893 and became the first complete electric tram network in the Southern Hemisphere.

1901 to 1933

Siemens & Halske (S & H) was incorporated in 1897, and then merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co., Nuremberg in 1903 to become Siemens-Schuckert.  In 1907, Siemens (Siemens & Halske and Siemens-Schuckert) had 34,324 employees and was the seventh-largest company in the German empire by number of employees. (see List of German companies by employees in 1907)

In 1919, S & H and two other companies jointly formed the Osram lightbulb company.

During the 1920s and 1930s, S & H started to manufacture radios, television sets, and electron microscopes.

In 1932, Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (Erlangen), Phönix AG (Rudolstadt) and Siemens-Reiniger-Veifa mbH (Berlin) merged to form the Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG (SRW), the third of the so-called parent companies that merged in 1966 to form the present-day Siemens AG.

In the 1920s, Siemens constructed the Ardnacrusha Hydro Power station on the River Shannon in the then Irish Free State, and it was a world first for its design. The company is remembered for its desire to raise the wages of its under-paid workers only to be overruled by the Cumann na nGaedheal government.

1933 to 1945

Siemens (at the time: Siemens-Schuckert) exploited the forced labour of deported people in extermination camps. The company owned a plant in Auschwitz concentration camp.

Siemens exploited the forced labour of women in the concentration camp of Ravensbrück. The factory was located in front of the camp.

During the final years of World War II, numerous plants and factories in Berlin and other major cities were destroyed by Allied air raids. To prevent further losses, manufacturing was therefore moved to alternative places and regions not affected by the air war. The goal was to secure continued production of important war-related and everyday goods. According to records, Siemens was operating almost 400 alternative or relocated manufacturing plants at the end of 1944 and in early 1945.

In 1972, Siemens sued German satirist F.C. Delius for his satirical history of the company, Unsere Siemens-Welt, and it was determined much of the book contained false claims although the trial itself publicized Siemens' history in Nazi Germany. The company supplied electrical parts to Nazi concentration camps and death camps. The factories had poor working conditions, where malnutrition and death were common. Also, the scholarship has shown that the camp factories were created, run, and supplied by the SS, in conjunction with company officials, sometimes high-level officials.

1945 to 2001
In the 1950s, and from their new base in Bavaria, S&H started to manufacture computers, semiconductor devices, washing machines, and pacemakers. In 1966, Siemens & Halske (S&H, founded in 1847), Siemens-Schuckertwerke (SSW, founded in 1903) and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke (SRW, founded in 1932) merged to form Siemens AG. In 1969, Siemens formed Kraftwerk Union with AEG by pooling their nuclear power businesses.

The company's first digital telephone exchange was produced in 1980, and in 1988, Siemens and GEC acquired the UK defence and technology company Plessey. Plessey's holdings were split, and Siemens took over the avionics, radar and traffic control businesses—as Siemens Plessey.

In 1977, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) entered into a joint venture with Siemens, which wanted to enhance its technology expertise and enter the American market. Siemens purchased 20% of AMD's stock, giving the company an infusion of cash to increase its product lines. The two companies also jointly established Advanced Micro Computers (AMC), located in Silicon Valley and in Germany, allowing AMD to enter the microcomputer development and manufacturing field, in particular based on AMD's second-source Zilog Z8000 microprocessors. When the two companies' vision for Advanced Micro Computers diverged, AMD bought out Siemens' stake in the American division in 1979. AMD closed Advanced Micro Computers in late 1981 after switching focus to manufacturing second-source Intel x86 microprocessors.

In 1985, Siemens bought Allis-Chalmers' interest in the partnership company Siemens-Allis (formed 1978) which supplied electrical control equipment. It was incorporated into Siemens' Energy and Automation division.

In 1987, Siemens reintegrated Kraftwerk Union, the unit overseeing nuclear power business.

In 1989, Siemens bought the solar photovoltaic business, including 3 solar module manufacturing plants, from industry pioneer ARCO Solar, owned by oil firm ARCO.

In 1991, Siemens acquired Nixdorf Computer AG and renamed it Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, in order to produce personal computers.

In October 1991, Siemens acquired the Industrial Systems Division of Texas Instruments, Inc, based in Johnson City, Tennessee. This division was organized as Siemens Industrial Automation, Inc., and was later absorbed by Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc.

In 1992, Siemens bought out IBM's half of ROLM (Siemens had bought into ROLM five years earlier), thus creating SiemensROLM Communications; eventually dropping ROLM from the name later in the 1990s.

In 1993–1994, Siemens C651 electric trains for Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system were built in Austria.

In 1997, Siemens agreed to sell the defence arm of Siemens Plessey to British Aerospace (BAe) and a German aerospace company, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. BAe and DASA acquired the British and German divisions of the operation respectively.

In October 1997, Siemens Financial Services (SFS) was founded to act as a competence center for financing issues and as a manager of financial risks within Siemens.

In 1998, Siemens acquired Westinghouse Power Generation for more than $1.5 billion from the CBS Corporation and moving Siemens from third to second in the world power generation market.

In 1999, Siemens' semiconductor operations were spun off into a new company called Infineon Technologies. Its Electromechanical Components operations were converted into a legally independent company: Siemens Electromechanical Components GmbH & Co. KG, (which, later that year, was sold to Tyco International Ltd for approximately $1.1 billion.

In the same year, Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG became part of Fujitsu Siemens Computers AG, with its retail banking technology group becoming Wincor Nixdorf.

In 2000, Shared Medical Systems Corporation was acquired by the Siemens' Medical Engineering Group, eventually becoming part of Siemens Medical Solutions.

Also in 2000, Atecs-Mannesman was acquired by Siemens, The sale was finalised in April 2001 with 50% of the shares acquired, acquisition, Mannesmann VDO AG merged into Siemens Automotive forming Siemens VDO Automotive AG, Atecs Mannesmann Dematic Systems merged into Siemens Production and Logistics forming Siemens Dematic AG, Mannesmann Demag Delaval merged into the Power Generation division of Siemens AG. Other parts of the company were acquired by Robert Bosch GmbH at the same time. Also, Moore Products Co. of Spring House, PA USA was acquired by Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

2001 to 2005

In 2001, Chemtech Group of Brazil was incorporated into the Siemens Group; it provides industrial process optimisation, consultancy and other engineering services.

Also in 2001, Siemens formed joint venture Framatome with Areva SA of France by merging much of the companies' nuclear businesses.

In 2002, Siemens sold some of its business activities to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR), with its metering business included in the sale package.

In 2002, Siemens abandoned the solar photovoltaic industry by selling its participation in a joint-venture company, established in 2001 with Shell and E.ON, to Shell.

In 2003, Siemens acquired the flow division of Danfoss and incorporated it into the Automation and Drives division. Also in 2003 Siemens acquired IndX software (realtime data organisation and presentation). The same year in an unrelated development Siemens reopened its office in Kabul. Also in 2003 agreed to buy Alstom Industrial Turbines; a manufacturer of small, medium and industrial gas turbines for €1.1 billion.
On 11 February 2003, Siemens planned to shorten phones' shelf life by bringing out annual Xelibri lines, with new devices launched as spring -summer and autumn-winter collections. On 6 March 2003, the company opened an office in San Jose. On 7 March 2003, the company announced that it planned to gain 10 per cent of the mainland China market for handsets. On 18 March 2003, the company unveiled the latest in its series of Xelibri fashion phones.

In 2004, the wind energy company Bonus Energy in Brande, Denmark was acquired, forming Siemens Wind Power division. Also in 2004 Siemens invested in Dasan Networks (South Korea, broadband network equipment) acquiring ~40% of the shares, Nokia Siemens disinvested itself of the shares in 2008. The same year Siemens acquired Photo-Scan (UK, CCTV systems), US Filter Corporation (water and Waste Water Treatment Technologies/ Solutions, acquired from Veolia), Hunstville Electronics Corporation (automobile electronics, acquired from Chrysler), and Chantry Networks (WLAN equipment).

In 2005, Siemens sold the Siemens mobile manufacturing business to BenQ, forming the BenQ-Siemens division. Also in 2005 Siemens acquired Flender Holding GmbH (Bocholt, Germany, gears/industrial drives), Bewator AB (building security systems), Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control, Inc. (Industrial and power station dust control systems), AN Windenergie GmbH. (Wind energy), Power Technologies Inc. (Schenectady, USA, energy industry software and training), CTI Molecular Imaging (Positron emission tomography and molecular imaging systems), Myrio (IPTV systems), Shaw Power Technologies International Ltd (UK/USA, electrical engineering consulting, acquired from Shaw Group), and Transmitton (Ashby de la Zouch UK, rail and other industry control and asset management).

2005 and continuing: worldwide bribery scandal
Beginning in 2005, Siemens became embroiled in a multi-national bribery scandal. One component of this scandal was the Siemens Greek bribery scandal over deals between Siemens and Greek government officials during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Siemens' activities came under legal scrutiny when complaints from prosecutors in Italy, Liechtenstein and Switzerland led to German authorities opening investigations, followed by a US investigation in 2006 concerning their activities while listed on US stock exchanges. The investigators found that bribing officials to win contracts was standard operating procedure. Over that time period the company paid around $1.3 billion in bribes in many countries and kept separate books to hide them. Settlement negotiations took place through most of 2008 with settlement terms announced in December 2008. The company paid a total of about $1.6 billion, around $800 million to the US and Germany each. This was the largest bribery fine in history, at the time. The company was also obligated to spend $1 billion on setting up and funding new internal compliance regimens. Siemens pleaded guilty to violating accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the parent company did not plead guilty to paying bribes (although its Bangladesh and Venezuela subsidiaries did).

Fines were anticipated to be as high as $5 billion as the investigation unfolded.  Settlement negotiations took place through most of 2008 and when they were announced in December they were far less, driven in part by Siemens' cooperation, in part by the imminent change in US administrations (the Obama administration was about to take over from the Bush administration), and in part by the dependence of the US military on Siemens as a contractor.

The company paid a total of about $1.6 billion, around $800 million in each of the US and Germany.  This was the largest bribery fine in history, at the time.  The money paid to Germany included a $270 million fine paid the year before (related to bribes in Nigeria).  The US payment included $450 million in fines and penalties and a forfeiture of $350 million in profits.  The company was also obligated to spend $1 billion on setting up and funding new internal compliance regimens.  Siemens pleaded guilty to violating accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the parent company did not plead guilty to paying bribes (although its Bangladesh and Venezuela subsidiaries did); such a guilty plea would have barred Siemens from contracting for the US government.  As the scandal had started breaking, Siemens had fired its chairman and CEO Heinrich von Pierer, and had hired its first non-German CEO, Peter Löscher; it also had appointed a US lawyer, Peter Solmssen as an independent director to its board, in charge of compliance, and had accepted oversight of Theo Waigel, a former German finance minister, as a "compliance monitor".  The compliance overhaul eventually entailed hiring around 500 full-time compliance personnel worldwide. Siemens also enacted a series of new anti-corruption compliance policies, including a new anti-corruption handbook, web-based tools for due diligence and compliance, a confidential communications channel for employees to report irregular business practices, and a corporate disciplinary committee to impose appropriate disciplinary measures for substantiated misconduct.

The culture of bribery was old in Siemens, and led to the 1914 scandal in Japan over bribes paid by both Siemens and Vickers to Japanese naval authorities to win shipbuilding contracts.

The culture of bribery developed further within Siemens after World War II as it attempted to rebuild its business by competing in the developing world, where bribery is common.  Until 1999 in Germany, bribes were a tax-deductible business expense, and there were no penalties for bribing foreign officials.  In 1999 the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention came into effect, to which Germany was a party, and Siemens started to use off-shore accounts and other means of hiding its bribery.

As the investigation opened a midlevel executive in the telecommunications unit, Reinhard Siekaczek, was identified as a key player; Siekaczek quit Siemens in 2005 after the company required him to sign a document saying he had followed law and company policy, and turned state's evidence and led investigators to documents he had saved and to other documents.  He had controlled an annual global bribery budget of $40 to $50 million.  The usual method of bribery was to pay a local insider as a "contractor" who would in turn pass money to government officials; as part of the settlement Siemens disclosed that it had 2,700 such contractors worldwide.  Bribes were generally around 5% of a contract's value but in very corrupt countries they could be as high as 40%.  It paid the highest bribes in Argentina, Israel, Venezuela, China, Nigeria, and Russia.

Examples of bribery the investigation found included:
 $40 million in bribes in Argentina to win a $1 billion contract to make national identity cards.
 $20 million in Israel for a contract to build power plants
 $16 million in Venezuela for urban rail lines.
 $14 million In China for medical equipment
 $12.7 million in payments in Nigeria
 $5 million in Bangladesh for mobile phones
 $1.7 million in Iraq to Saddam Hussein and others.

The investigation led directly to several prosecutions while it was unfolding, and led to settlements with other governments and prosecution of Siemens employees and bribe recipients in various countries.

In May 2007 a German court convicted two former executives of paying about €6 million in bribes from 1999 to 2002 to help Siemens win natural gas turbine supply contracts with Enel, an Italian energy company. The contracts were valued at about €450 million. Siemens was fined €38 million.

In July 2009, Siemens settled allegations of fraud by a Russian affiliate in a World Bank-funded mass transit project in Moscow by agreeing to not bid on World Bank projects for two years, not allowing the Russian affiliate to do any World Bank funded work for four years, and setting up a $100 million fund at the World Bank to fund anti-corruption activities over 15 years, over which the World Bank had veto and audit rights; this fund became the "Siemens Integrity Initiative".  The first payments were made out of the funds in 2010 in a tranche of $40 million.  A second set of projects was funded in 2014 totaling $30 million.

Siemens paid N7 billion to the Nigerian government in 2010.

In 2012, the Greek government settled the Greek bribery scandal for 330 million euros.  The trial of the persons accused of involvement in the scandal began on 24 February 2017. A total of 64 individuals are accused, both Greek and German nationals. The central figure of the scandal however, ex-Siemens chief executive in Greece Michael Christoforakos, against whom European arrest warrants are pending will likely be absent, as Germany refuses his extradition to this day. Initially arrested in Germany in 2009, the accusations against him by German courts have been dropped, and he since lives free in this country. Greece has been demanding his extradition since 2009, and considers him a fugitive from justice.

In 2014 a former Siemens executive Andres Truppel pleaded guilty to funneling nearly $100 million in bribes to Argentine government officials to win the ID card project for Siemens.

In 2014 Israeli prosecutors decreed that Siemens should pay US$42.7 million penalty and appoint an external inspector to supervise its business in Israel in exchange for state prosecutors dropping charges of securities fraud. According to the indictment, "Siemens systematically paid bribes to Israel Electric Corporation executives so they would utilize their positions in order to favor and advance the interests of Siemens".

2006 to 2011

In 2006, Siemens purchased Bayer Diagnostics which was incorporated into the Medical Solutions Diagnostics division on 1 January 2007, also in 2006 Siemens acquired Controlotron (New York) (ultrasonic flow meters), and also in 2006 Siemens acquired Diagnostic Products Corp., Kadon Electro Mechanical Services Ltd. (now TurboCare Canada Ltd.), Kühnle, Kopp, & Kausch AG, Opto Control, and VistaScape Security Systems.

In January 2007, Siemens was fined €396 million by the European Commission for price fixing in EU electricity markets through a cartel involving 11 companies, including ABB, Alstom, Fuji Electric, Hitachi Japan, AE Power Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Schneider, Areva, Toshiba and VA Tech. According to the commission, "between 1988 and 2004, the companies rigged bids for procurement contracts, fixed prices, allocated projects to each other, shared markets and exchanged commercially important and confidential information." Siemens was given the highest fine of €396 million, more than half of the total, for its alleged leadership role in the activity.

In March 2007, a Siemens board member was temporarily arrested and accused of illegally financing a business-friendly labour association which competes against the union IG Metall. He has been released on bail. Offices of the labour union and of Siemens have been searched. Siemens denies any wrongdoing. In April the Fixed Networks, Mobile Networks and Carrier Services divisions of Siemens merged with Nokia's Network Business Group in a 50/50 joint venture, creating a fixed and mobile network company called Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia delayed the merger due to bribery investigations against Siemens. In October 2007, a court in Munich found that the company had bribed public officials in Libya, Russia, and Nigeria in return for the awarding of contracts; four former Nigerian Ministers of Communications were among those named as recipients of the payments. The company admitted to having paid the bribes and agreed to pay a fine of 201 million euros. In December 2007, the Nigerian government cancelled a contract with Siemens due to the bribery findings.

Also in 2007, Siemens acquired Vai Ingdesi Automation (Argentina, Industrial Automation), UGS Corp., Dade Behring, Sidelco (Quebec, Canada), S/D Engineers Inc., and Gesellschaft für Systemforschung und Dienstleistungen im Gesundheitswesen mbH (GSD) (Germany).

In July 2008, Siemens AG formed a joint venture of the Enterprise Communications business with the Gores Group, renamed Unify in 2013. The Gores Group holding a majority interest of 51% stake, with Siemens AG holding a minority interest of 49%.

In August 2008, Siemens Project Ventures invested $15 million in the Arava Power Company. In a press release published that month, Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG said: "This investment is another consequential step in further strengthening our green and sustainable technologies". Siemens now holds a 40% stake in the company.

In January 2009, Siemens sold its 34% stake in Framatome, complaining limited managerial influence. In March, it formed an alliance with Rosatom of Russia to engage in nuclear-power activities.

In April 2009, Fujitsu Siemens Computers became Fujitsu Technology Solutions as a result of Fujitsu buying out Siemens' share of the company.

In June 2009 news broke that Nokia Siemens had supplied telecommunications equipment to the Iranian telecom company that included the ability to intercept and monitor telecommunications, a facility known as "lawful intercept". The equipment was believed to have been used in the suppression of the 2009 Iranian election protests, leading to criticism of the company, including by the European Parliament. Nokia Siemens later divested its call monitoring business, and reduced its activities in Iran.

In October 2009, Siemens signed a $418 million contract to buy Solel Solar Systems, an Israeli company in the solar thermal power business.

In December 2010, Siemens agreed to sell its IT Solutions and Services subsidiary for €850 million to Atos. As part of the deal, Siemens agreed to take a 15% stake in the enlarged Atos, to be held for a minimum of five years. In addition, Siemens concluded a seven-year outsourcing contract worth around €5.5 billion, under which Atos will provide managed services and systems integration to Siemens. At the same time, Germany's Wegmann Group acquired Siemens' 49-percent stake in armored vehicle manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH, establishing Wegmann as the sole shareholder of KMW, pending approval by government authorities.

2011 to present
In March 2011, it was decided to list Osram on the stock market in the autumn, but CEO Peter Löscher said Siemens intended to retain a long-term interest in the company, which was already independent from the technological and managerial viewpoints.

In September 2011, Siemens, which had been responsible for constructing all 17 of Germany's existing nuclear power plants, announced that it would exit the nuclear sector following the Fukushima disaster and the subsequent changes to German energy policy. Chief executive Peter Löscher has supported the German government's planned Energiewende, its transition to renewable energy technologies, calling it a "project of the century" and saying Berlin's target of reaching 35% renewable energy sources by 2020 was feasible.

In November 2012, Siemens acquired the Rail division of Invensys for £1.7 billion. In the same month, Siemens acquired a privately held company, LMS International NV.

In August 2013, Nokia acquired 100% of the company Nokia Siemens Networks, with a buy-out of Siemens AG, ending Siemens role in telecommunication.

In August 2013, Siemens won a $966.8 million order for power plant components from oil firm Saudi Aramco, the largest bid it has ever received from the Saudi company.

In 2014, Siemens announced plans to build a $264 million facility for making offshore wind turbines in Paull, England, as Britain's wind power rapidly expands. Siemens chose the Hull area on the east coast of England because it is close to other large offshore projects planned in coming years. The new plant is expected to begin producing turbine rotor blades in 2016. The plant and the associated service center, in Green Port Hull nearby, will employ about 1,000 workers. The facilities will serve the UK market, where the electricity that major power producers generate from wind grew by about 38 percent in 2013, representing about 6 percent of total electricity, according to government figures. There are also plans to increase Britain's wind-generating capacity at least threefold by 2020, to 14 gigawatts.

In May 2014, Rolls-Royce agreed to sell its gas turbine and compressor energy business to Siemens for £1 billion.

In June 2014, Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced their formation of joint ventures to bid for Alstom's troubled energy and transportation businesses (in locomotives, steam turbines, and aircraft engines). A rival bid by General Electric (GE) has been criticized by French government sources, who consider Alstom's operations as a "vital national interest" at a moment when the French unemployment level stands above 10% and some voters are turning towards the far-right.

In 2015, Siemens acquired U.S. oilfield equipment maker Dresser-Rand Group Inc for $7.6 billion.

In November 2016, Siemens acquired EDA company Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion.

In November 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice charged three Chinese employees of Guangzhou Bo Yu Information Technology Company Limited with hacking into corporate entities, including Siemens AG.

In December 2017, Siemens acquired the medical technology company Fast Track Diagnostics for an undisclosed amount.

In August 2018, Siemens acquired rapid application development company Mendix for €0.6 billion in cash.

In May 2018, Siemens acquired J2 Innovations for an undisclosed amount.

In May 2018, Siemens acquired Enlighted, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

In September 2019, Siemens and Orascom Construction signed an agreement with the Iraqi government to rebuild two power plants, which is believed to setup the company for future deals in the country.

In 2019–2020, Siemens was identified as a key engineering company supporting the controversial Adani Carmichael coal mine in Queensland (Australia).

In January 2020, Siemens signed an agreement to acquire 99% equity share capital of Indian switchgear manufacturer C&S Electric at €267 million (₹2,100 crore). The takeover was approved by the Competition Commission of India in August 2020.

In April 2020, Siemens acquired a 77% majority stake in Indian building solution provider iMetrex Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

In April 2020, Siemens Energy was created as an independent company out of the energy division of Siemens. The trading of shares of the new Siemens Energy AG on the stock exchange is expected to be possible from 28 September onwards.

In August 2020, Siemens Healthineers AG announced that it plans to acquire U.S. cancer device and software company Varian Medical Systems in an all-stock deal valued at $16.4 billion.

In October 2021, Siemens acquired the building IoT software and hardware company Wattsense for an undisclosed sum.

In May 2022, Siemens decided to drop Russian operations and everything regarding the conglomerate on the Russian state amid the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine since February 24. In July 2022, Siemens acquired ZONA Technology, specialist in aerospace simulation firm.

Products, services and contribution

Siemens offers a wide range of electrical engineering and electronics-related products and services. Its products can be broadly divided into the following categories: buildings-related products; drives, automation and industrial plant-related products; energy-related products; lighting; medical products; and transportation and logistics-related products.

Siemens buildings-related products include building-automation equipment and systems; building-operations equipment and systems; building fire-safety equipment and systems; building-security equipment and systems; and low-voltage switchgear including circuit protection and distribution products.

Siemens drives, automation and industrial plant-related products include motors and drives for conveyor belts; pumps and compressors; heavy duty motors and drives for rolling steel mills; compressors for oil and gas pipelines; mechanical components including gears for wind turbines and cement mills; automation equipment and systems and controls for production machinery and machine tools; and industrial plant for water processing and raw material processing.

Siemens energy-related products include gas and steam turbines; generators; compressors; on- and offshore wind turbines; high-voltage transmission products; power transformers; high-voltage switching products and systems; alternating and direct current transmission systems; medium-voltage components and systems; and power automation products.

In the renewable energy industry, the company provides a portfolio of products and services to help build and operate microgrids of any size. It provides generation and distribution of electrical energy as well as monitoring and controlling of microgrids. By using primarily renewable energy, microgrids reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, which is often required by government regulations. It supplied a sustainable storage product and microgrids to Enel Produzione SPA for the island of Ventotene in Italy.

Siemens medical products include clinical information technology systems; hearing instruments; in-vitro diagnostics equipment; imaging equipment including angiography, computed tomography, fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance, mammography, molecular imaging ultrasound, and x-ray equipment; and radiation oncology and particle therapy equipment.  , Siemens finalized the sale of its hearing-aid (hearing instruments) business to Sivantos.

Siemens transportation and logistics-related products include equipment and systems for rail transportation including rail vehicles for mass transit, regional and long-distance transportation, locomotives, equipment and systems for rail electrification, central control systems, interlockings, and automated train controls; equipment and systems for road traffic including traffic detection, information and guidance; equipment and systems for airport logistics including cargo tracking and baggage handling; and equipment and systems for postal automation including letter parcel sorting.

Operations

Siemens is incorporated in Germany and has its corporate headquarters in Munich. As of 2011, has operations in around 190 countries and approximately 285 production and manufacturing facilities. Siemens had around 360,000 employees as of 30 September 2011.

Research and development

In 2011, Siemens invested a total of €3.925 billion in research and development, equivalent to 5.3% of revenues. As of 30 September 2011, Siemens had approximately 11,800 Germany-based employees engaged in research and development and approximately
16,000 in the rest of the world, of whom the majority were based in either Austria, China, Croatia, Denmark, France, India, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States. As of 30 September 2011,
Siemens held approximately 53,300 patents worldwide.

Joint ventures
Siemens' current joint ventures include:

 Siemens Traction Equipment Ltd. (STEZ), Zhuzhou China, is a joint venture between Siemens, Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co., Ltd. (TEC) and CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. (ZELC), which produces AC drive electric locomotives and AC locomotive traction components.
Primetals Technologies a joint venture between Siemens VAI Metals Technologies and Mitsubishi Hitachi Metals Machinery formed in 2015.
 OMNETRIC Group, A Siemens & Accenture company formed in 2014.

Former joint ventures include:
 Silcar was a joint venture between Siemens Ltd and Thiess Services Pty Ltd until 2013. Silcar is a 3,000 person Australian organisation providing productivity and reliability for large scale and technically complex plant assets. Services include asset management, design, construction, operations and maintenance. Silcar operates across a range of industries and essential services including power generation, electrical distribution, manufacturing, mining and telecommunications. In July 2013, Thiess took full control.

Finances
For the fiscal year 2017, Siemens reported earnings of EUR 6.046 billion, with an annual revenue of €83.049 billion, an increase of 4.3% over the previous fiscal cycle. Siemens' shares traded at over US$58 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at US$95.3 billion in November 2018. In November 2019, the company had higher fourth quarter earnings than expected, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization totaling €2.64 billion ($2.92 billion), but warned of a slowdown, especially in the car sector, next year.

* In 2020 Siemens Energy became an independent company

Shareholders
The company has issued 881,000,000 shares of common stock. The largest single shareholder continues to be the founding shareholder, the Siemens family, with a stake of 6.9%. 62% are held by institutional asset managers, the largest being two divisions of the world's largest asset manager BlackRock. 83.97% of the shares are considered public float, however including such strategic investors as the State of Qatar (DIC Company Ltd.) with 3.04%, the Government Pension Fund of Norway with 2.5% and Siemens AG itself with 3.04%. 19% are held by private investors, 13% by investors that are considered unidentifiable. 26% are owned by German investors, 21% by US investors, followed by the UK (11%), France (8%), Switzerland (8%) and a number of others (26%).

Senior management
Chairmen of the Siemens-Schuckertwerke Managing Board (1903 to 1966)
 Alfred Berliner (1903 to 1912)
 Carl Friedrich von Siemens (1912 to 1919)
  (1919 to 1920)
  (1920 to 1939)
  (1939 to 1945)
  (1945 to 1949)
  (1949 to 1951)
 Friedrich Bauer (1951 to 1962)
 Bernhard Plettner (1962 to 1966)

Chairmen of the Siemens & Halske / Siemens-Schuckertwerke Supervisory Board (1918 to 1966)
 Wilhelm von Siemens (1918 to 1919)
 Carl Friedrich von Siemens (1919 to 1941)
 Hermann von Siemens (1941 to 1946)
 Friedrich Carl Siemens (1946 to 1948)
 Hermann von Siemens (1948 to 1956)
 Ernst von Siemens (1956 to 1966)

Chairmen of the Siemens AG Managing Board (1966 to present)
 , , Bernhard Plettner (Presidency of the Managing Board) (1966 to 1967)
 Erwin Hachmann, Bernhard Plettner, Gerd Tacke (Presidency of the Managing Board) (1967 to 1968)
 Gerd Tacke (1968 to 1971)
 Bernhard Plettner (1971 to 1981)
 Karlheinz Kaske (1981 to 1992)
 Heinrich von Pierer (1992 to 2005)
 Klaus Kleinfeld (2005 to 2007)
 Peter Löscher (2007 to 2013)
 Joe Kaeser (2013 to 2021)
 Roland Busch (2021 to present)

Chairmen of the Siemens AG Supervisory Board (1966 to present)
 Ernst von Siemens (1966 to 1971)
 Peter von Siemens (1971 to 1981)
 Bernhard Plettner (1981 to 1988)
 Heribald Närger (1988 to 1993)
 Hermann Franz (1993 to 1998)
 Karl-Hermann Baumann (1998 to 2005)
 Heinrich von Pierer (2005 to 2007)
  (2007 to 2018)
Jim Hagemann Snabe (2018 to present)

Managing Board (present day)
 Roland Busch (CEO Siemens AG)
Klaus Helmrich
 Cedrik Neike (CEO Digital Industries)
Matthias Rebellius (CEO Smart Infrastructure)
 Ralf P. Thomas (CFO)
 Judith Wiese

See also

 Renewable energy commercialization

References

Further reading

 Shaping the Future. The Siemens Entrepreneurs 1847–2018. Ed. Siemens Historical Institute, Hamburg 2018, ISBN 9-783867-746243.
 Weiher, Siegfried von /Herbert Goetzeler (1984). The Siemens Company, Its Historical Role in the Progress of Electrical Engineering 1847–1980, 2nd ed. Berlin and Munich.
 Feldenkirchen, Wilfried (2000). Siemens, From Workshop to Global Player, Munich.
 Feldenkirchen, Wilfried / Eberhard Posner (2005): The Siemens Entrepreneurs, Continuity and Change, 1847–2005, Ten Portraits, Munich.
 Greider, William (1997). One World, Ready or Not. Penguin Press. .
 Margarete Buber: 303f As prisoners of Stalin and Hitler, Frankf / Main, Berlin 1993
 See Carola Sachse: Jewish forced labor and non-Jewish women and men at Siemens from 1940 to 1945, in: International Scientific Correspondence, No. 1/1991, pp. 12–24; Karl-Heinz Roth: forced labor in the Siemens Group (1938 -1945). Facts, controversies, problems, in: Hermann Kaienburg (ed.): concentration camps and the German Economy 1939–1945 (Social studies, H. 34), Opladen 1996, pp. 149–168; Wilfried Feldenkirchen: 1918–1945 Siemens, Munich 1995, Ulrike fire, Claus Füllberg-Stolberg, Sylvia Kempe: work at Ravensbrück concentration camp, in: Women in concentration camps. Bergen-Belsen. Ravensbrück, Bremen, 1994, pp. 55–69; Ursula Krause-Schmitt: The path to the Siemens stock led past the crematorium, in: Information. German Resistance Study Group, Frankfurt / Main, 18 Jg, No. 37/38, Nov. 1993, pp. 38–46; Sigrid Jacobeit: working at Siemens in Ravensbrück, in: Dietrich Eichholz (eds) War and economy. Studies on German economic history 1939–1945, Berlin 1999.
 Bundesarchiv Berlin, NS 19, No. 968, Communication on the creation of the barracks for the Siemens & Halske, the planned production and the planned expansion for 2,500 prisoners "after direct discussions with this company": Economic and Administrative Main Office of the SS ( WVHA), Oswald Pohl, secretly, to Reichsführer SS (RFSS), Heinrich Himmler, dated 20 October 1942.
 Karl-Heinz Roth: forced labor in the Siemens Group, with a summary table, page 157 See also Ursula Krause-Schmitt: "The road to Siemens stock led to the crematorium past over," pp. 36f, where, according to the catalogs of the International Tracing Service Arolsen and Martin Weinmann (eds.).. The Nazi camp system, Frankfurt / Main 1990 and Feldkirchen: Siemens 1918–1945, pp. 198–214, and in particular the associated annotations 91–187.
 MSS in the estate include Wanda Kiedrzy'nska, in: National Library of Poland, Warsaw, Manuscript Division, Sygn. akc 12013/1 and archive the memorial I/6-7-139 RA: see also: Woman Ravensbruck concentration camp. An overall presentation, State Justice Administration in Ludwigsburg, IV ART 409-Z 39/59, April 1972, pp. 129ff.

External links

Siemens Historical Institute

1847 establishments in Prussia
Auschwitz concentration camp
Companies in the Euro Stoxx 50
Companies involved in the Holocaust
Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Conglomerate companies established in 1847
Conglomerate companies of Germany
Consumer electronics brands
Electrical engineering companies of Germany
Electrical wiring and construction supplies manufacturers
Electric transformer manufacturers
Electronics companies of Germany
German brands
Guitar amplification tubes
Instrument-making corporations
Locomotive manufacturers of Germany
Home appliance manufacturers of Germany
Manufacturers of industrial automation
Manufacturing companies established in 1847
Mobile phone manufacturers
Networking companies
Nuclear technology companies of Germany
Price fixing convictions
Rolling stock manufacturers of Germany
Telecommunications equipment vendors
Werner von Siemens
Wind turbine manufacturers
Diesel engine manufacturers
Marine engine manufacturers
Electrical generation engine manufacturers
Gas engine manufacturers
Pump manufacturers
Electric motor manufacturers
Gas turbine manufacturers
Steam turbine manufacturers
Industrial machine manufacturers
Radio manufacturers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


ESL Jobs Forum - View topic - I need advice on ESL materials!
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 10:52 pm Post subject: I need advice on ESL materials!
I am a part-time ESL tutor who has been tutoring the same student for a little over a year now. She is a Japanese woman in her early-forties whose grasp of English pronunciation and grammar is fairly good, like around advanced beginner/intermediate. For the first 6 months we just worked on improving her pronunciation, using a book aptly entitled "English Pronunciation Exercises for Japanese Students" (I can't remember the author's name). Since then, we have been working more and more on improving her grammar. The problem is that I have no grand strategy, or game plan, for achieving this goal other than to bounce from one grammar area to the next, using various exercises that I have printed off the internet. For a few weeks we will work on prepositions, followed by gerunds and infinitives, then maybe some work with different verb tenses, etc.
Anyway, to make a long story short, can anyone recommend a good book for teaching the fundamentals of Enlish grammar to a student at the "advanced beginner/intermediate" level? (Ideally one that has lots of exercises too so I don't have to spend a long time tracking down appropriate exercises on the internet!).
I would very much appreciate any suggestions you may have!
I would recommend Diane Larsen-Freeman's Platinum series, book 4, available from Heinle Thomson publishing. It's loaded with exercises, and embodies a sound pedagogical approach to presenting grammar. Also, The Grammar Book (by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman) is an excellent resource for instructors looking for ideas about how to teach grammar.
I'm reviewing and using both texts in my Structure of English class this semester. The insights they provide into grammar are incredible when I think about what I was taught in grade school.
Hi! I would recommend Raymond Murphy's "English Grammar in Use" series.
. . . we just worked on improving her pronunciation, using a book aptly entitled "English Pronunciation Exercises for Japanese Students" . . .
. . . I would recommend Diane Larsen-Freeman's Platinum series, book 4, available from Heinle Thomson publishing [and] The Grammar Book (by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman) . . .
I would recommend Raymond Murphy's "English Grammar in Use"
Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in Use.
Larson-Freeman, Diane, [Series Director]. Authors: Jan Frodesen and Janet Eyring. Grammar Dimensions. Platinum Edition #4.
Murcia, Celce and Diane Larsen-Freeman. The Grammar Book.
Grate, Harriette Gordon. English Pronunciation Exercises for Japanese Students.
Let us know if you find these resources as useful as we did!
I second the recommendation for English Grammar and Use- it is an awesome resource!


Since she was a little girl, the only thing Nihal has wanted to be is a warrior. When a young sorcerer tricks her and wins her sword, Nihal begins to study magic for defense and healing purposes. Her instructor introduces her to a warrior who in turn begins to train Nihal and helps her gain entrance into the elite academy of warriors known as Dragon Riders.
Along the way Nihal discovers that she is the last of a once-great race of half-elves. The voices of her people and their cries for vengeance haunt her dreams. Nihal uses this fury and her iron will to bulldoze her way through training and into battle. When a mentor challenges her to leave her hate behind before entering the battlefield again, Nihal begins a new and unexpected journey, seeking life apart from her warrior identity. She must discover how to allow peace to transform her before she can return to war.
At first glance this story might seem like an echo of Christopher Paolini's popular novel Eragon, but in fact it's not. Though her dragon is a significant character, he appears for only a short part of the story, and it is not the instant bond one might expect it to be. Instead the relationship teaches Nihal about patience and compassion and that her strength of will alone won't get her everything she wants.
Nihal is young and often focused on one goal to the exclusion of all else. Her friend Sennar sees her more clearly than she sees herself. Though their lives take them in very different directions, their closeness remains and even hints at possible romance (Troisi leaves readers in eager anticipation for a second book to explore this more fully.) Though there are some battle sequences, details are few and the story focuses more on Nihal's journey to become a warrior, not only in training, but in heart as well. Readers who enjoy fantasy with emphasis on character development and relationships will enjoy this story.
Brief references to the lore and deities of the fantasy realm in which the story takes place.
Nihal goes into battle several times. No gory descriptions of battle wounds or death.
Tagged Chronicles of the Overworld, Dragons, Licia Troisi, Magic, Nihal of the Land of the Wind, Open Road Integrated Media, Warriors. Bookmark the permalink.


I love when food is so tasty that you don't even realize that it's good for you. That's always been one of my missions with Down Home Health, to find and create tasty recipes that are good for you and your family.
These Paleo Fish Tacos are so easy to make and relatively inexpensive. This recipe is a great choice for anyone who is looking to eat healthy on a budget. This was a very impromptu dinner with one of my friends, and we had no problem making these disappear. The biggest issue I had with them was that I didn't have enough leftover for lunch the next day…you know…first world problems.
We gathered these ingredients from one of my favorite places in Atlanta (actually in Decatur) The Dekalb Farmer's Market. It is a huge international market full of fresh and organic ingredients, some locally sourced and some items from all over the world. I really enjoy it because I can buy quality organic ingredients, in bulk, at a reasonable price. I found the wild caught tilapia for this recipe in their massive seafood section. The Market recently released construction plans to expand and is set to be the largest grocery store in the world! Not too shabby, Decatur!
We posted these pictures on the Facebook Page and one of our readers requested that we post the recipe, so here it is!
You simply preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then season your tilapia fillets with pepper, salt and garlic powder and bake for 18-20 minutes. Baking times can vary depending on the thickness of your fish. You know your fish done with it is cooked all the way through and it flakes easily. If you use a meat thermometer, you want your fish to be at least 145 degrees out of the oven.


text:
http://zone.aintitcool.com/
Random Music
http://zone.aintitcool.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=52896
by stereosforgeeks
If anybody is a fan of good hard screaming rock and roll that is executed with technical proficiency, you owe it to yourselves to check out Ausitot Mort. I have no idea what they are saying, but the whatever it is it seems to fit with the music very well.
You can find their myspace here
by unikrunk
Yeah, these guys rock - Quick Death is the conversational translation of the band name - a literal translation is "Death at Once'
unikrunk wrote: Yeah, these guys rock - Quick Death is the conversational translation of the band name - a literal translation is "Death at Once'
Had you heard of them before?
unikrunk wrote: yar
into screamo are ya?
Yeah, I dig all kinds of stuff -Ruins, for example. Most would probably find them unbearable, while I find the noise relaxing...go figure.
unikrunk wrote: Yeah, I dig all kinds of stuff -Ruins, for example. Most would probably find them unbearable, while I find the noise relazing...go figure.
Yeah I like them too. Im assuming you like lightning bolt then?
stereosforgeeks wrote:
Some of it, certainly - at times they are a little too close to Big Black / Rapeman for comfort; I loved Big Black, and nobody should be trying to rip-off the good Dr. Albini.
Of course, all of this is subjective; someone else may hear no Big Black in there at all.
unikrunk wrote:
I hadn't really thought of Big Black.
and yes Albini is awesome
Cool article on the state of digital music.
by Lord Voldemoo
Blender's 50 Worst Songs EVAR! How is Celine not closer to number 1??
http://www2.blender.com/guide/articles786.html
CÉLINE DION
"My Heart Will Go Onâ€
Thats a pretty hilarious list.
by St. Alphonzo
I've never really understood all the hate for "Heart Of Rock & Roll". It's certainly not one of the best songs ever written, but it consistently shows up in top 10 ALL TIME bad songs... I just don't get it.
And whoever put "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" on that list doesn't have children.
The rest of it? Pretty damn spot on actually. I'd probably put Celine's tune at #1 though... God I hate that song...
by DennisMM
The thing about that list is, they're all hits. Somebody needs to put together the truly worst songs, still recorded by popular acts, which most likely no one's ever heard except for the few times some fan listened to the whole album.
Perhaps we could put up personal lists of the worst songs by some of our favorite performers. I'll need to do some research, because I'm not Winslow, and get back to y'all.
Im sad to admit I had that Crash Test Dummies CD
My list:
"Ice Ice Babyâ€
stereosforgeeks wrote: Im sad to admit I had that Crash Test Dummies CD
heheheh, me too.
Actually, I'll go back and see how many of these I have/had and edit this post.
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Daâ€
by doglips
I own the 12 inch version of number 35, that's it. Got it on my Ipod too.
by TonyWilson
Crash Test Dummies, The Doors and The Spin Doctors
EDIT: Well I'm not embarassed about The End it's amazing in it's pretentiousness.
THE BEATLES "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Daâ€
edited my post for accurate reflection of my bad taste.
by darkjedijaina
dang, moo, shouldn't that be it's own thread? i think for all the replies you might get, that it could warrant it.
here's my list. i guarantee you it's got a lot of these on it...
THE BEATLES -"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Daâ€
by Leckomaniac
Not sure where to put this info. Its music related, but it is also torrent related which is a taboo in the Zone...
but OiNK has been shut down.
Leckomaniac wrote: Not sure where to put this info. Its music related, but it is also torrent related which is a taboo in the Zone...
damn that is big news.
by vicious_bastard
Ironically, Bobby McFerrin successfully sued 4 Non Blondes for ripping off 'Don't Worry Be Happy' in 'What's Up?'. If you're gonna steal, steal from the, er, worst.
by junesquad
Has anyone heard the new Josh Groban Christmas Album? I absolutely love it... and I'm not a big Josh Groban fan.
by Ribbons
Has anybody heard that CD Look Directly Into The Sun? It's a collection of songs from Chinese pop artists. haven't heard any of it myself, I was just curious whether anybody else did.
by Keepcoolbutcare
Via P4K...
Okkervil River Drop Free Covers Mixtape!
01 April Anne (John Phillips)
02 Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear (Randy Newman)
03 I Want to Know (Charles F. Olsen/Ed Sanders)
04 Do What You Gotta Do (Jimmy Webb)
05 I Can Here to Say I'm Going Away (Serge Gainsbourg)
06 The Blonde in the Bleachers (Joni Mitchell)
07 Antarctica Starts Here (John Cale)
08 Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas (Will Sheff)
09 Solo (Sandy Denny)
get it here, or here.
Keepcoolbutcare wrote: Via P4K...
ooh, i'm all over this. Thanks KCBC.
Lord Voldemoo wrote:
Made my damn day, that's for sure. KCBC is the Mack!
I was hoping you would comment (along w/Minstrel and Dennis or anyone else who might know the originals) just for a compare and contrast between the covers and originals.
I've heard of all the artists, but I'm pretty sure I've never come across those tracks.
Ill be grabbing it when I get home tonight.
Keepcoolbutcare wrote: I was hoping you would comment (along w/Minstrel and Dennis or anyone else who might know the originals) just for a compare and contrast between the covers and originals.
I will certainly comment once I get a chance to sit and listen in a non-work environment. I'm most looking forward to the "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" cover. I loves me some Randy Newman. I've got to be honest and say that although I know most of these writers... I haven't heard all the songs. John Phillips, for example, wrote most of the Mamas & Papas originals... but I don't know his solo stuff real well.
I've been obsessin' on Okkervil River lately, so any new stuff to listen to is much appreciated. Check this out when you get the chance:
Okkervil River concert/interview podcast
St. Alphonzo wrote: Check this out when you get the chance:
St. Alphonzo wrote:
I was at that show.
Was it pretty obvious how sick the singer was? He didn't sound all that bad!
Was it pretty obvious how sick the singer was? It doesn't sound all that bad!
He looked sick as crap but he sounded really good. The place was packed as it is a tiny ass club that the smaller bands typically go to. NPR never broadcasts from there but I guess Okkervill was worth it for them. I honestly would have expected them to be at a bigger venue.
I've had a chance to give a good listen to "Golden Opportunity"... wow. Several cover songs and one live version of a song that appeared on Okkervil River's first full-length. These are all gorgeous and spare live performances (with audiences or just in motel stairways) of songs that are not necessarily familiar to most. The songwriters certainly are: Jimmy Webb (MacArthur Park, By The Time I Get To Arizona), John Phillips (Monday Monday, California Dreamin'), Randy Newman (Rednecks, Political Science) just to name a few.
It's not surprising that the band (or at least Will Sheff) would pick these songs to cover. The lyrics are passionate and visual, much like their own songs. The standouts from the covers: Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do", made (relatively) famous by Nina Simone, and later cheapened by Linda Ronstadt. Sheff wrings every ounce of heartache out of the song with his fragile, wavering delivery. "Antarctica Starts Here", a John Cale tune, also perfectly suits Sheff's voice. The final refrain is sudden and pitch-perfect... a cover by a man who understands what the song means.
In the end though, none of these songs compares to the Okkervil original: "Listening To Otis Redding At Home During Christmas". I've now listened to it four times in a row. It's a song that would actually fit quite perfectly with their latest album The Stage Names... it sounds like it could have been an outtake. The songwriting is sublime. The way the narrative blends in perfectly with the chorus (Otis' "I've Got Dreams To Remember", a perfect song in its own right) is simply transcendent. Just check this out:
And I hear that song sometimes and imagine us much more than friends - like if we stayed in this town, bought the first house to go up on sale, and how each Christmastime would bring inlaws and snowdays and holiday mail.
Your dad says you're living in Georgia since last September. Yeah well, I've got dreams to remember.
Oh Sara, come back to New Hampshire. We'll stay there forever.
I mean.. Jesus... just perfect.
Thanks KCBC for finding this... a fantastic music-geek Christmas present!
by Fievel
I'm sure it's been posted before, but in honor of my hatred of Nickleback....
Another Reason Nickleback Sucks
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:38 am
by bastard_robo
I really didnt like their frist single... but I cant get this fucking song out of my head...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ei8hPkyJ0bU
Re: Random Music
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:34 am
by LaDracul
bastard_robo wrote: I just like to go on record that I hate Kanye West's new song...
Rip off Daft Punk.. that bastard
Actually, he did team up with Daft Punk. But I prefer THEIR music to his.
I'm also going to put on the record that I agree with Amy Lee that Velvet Revolver is BORING. Only good song they had was for the "Hulk" movie.
by thomasgaffney
OMG!!!111!!! Like, the BEST NEWS EVAR!!!
New Kids On The Block are REUNITING!!!
For those of you on the lookout for cool mp3 player skins:
gelaskins.com
by tapehead
I've been digging this for the last day or two, and it's convinced me to obtain their album - Dead Sound, a new track from The Ravonettes' 'Lust, Lust, Lust', remixed by the Dandy Warhols' Peter Holstrom free from those progressive folks at RollingStone.com.
The Portishead 'Third' boxset is available to pre-order now. Double vinyl ( can't wait for that ) a 12" of Machine Gun, a USB with the album and movies and arty stuff on paper too.
by DaleTremont
So I can't quite remember who recommended it to me (The Vicar, perchance?) but I downloaded a King Crimson album and looooooove it. Where has it been all my life?
by The Vicar
DaleTremont wrote: So I can't quite remember who recommended it to me (The Vicar, perchance?) but I downloaded a King Crimson album and looooooove it. Where has it been all my life?
If it's wasn't me, it could have been. Loves me some KCrimson. All the different versions.
The Vicar wrote:
In the Court of the Crimson King. Been listening to it nonstop, blasting it on the way to work, on the way back from work. Soon as I have a second I'm gonna download some more of their stuff. Any suggestions for the next album to listen to? Not necessarily the best, I mean, but maybe one that will be a good follow-up to In the Court of the Crimson King?
by Seppuku
DaleTremont wrote:
I'd move onto their next album, In the Wake of Poseidon (even the title makes it sound like a sequel to The Court).
Other KC /sans Sunshine Band recommended LPs (they're all classics IMO- the first three especially- so take your pick):
Larks' Tongues in Aspic ('73)
Starless & Bible Black ('74)
Discipline ('81)
Beat ('82)
Considering they were pretty much a different band with every album they released, don't expect any of those to be too much like In the Court of... Especially those '80s LPs, which sound more like long-lost Talking Heads albums than anything (they even had one of their members in the band at that point).
seppukudkurosawa wrote:
As usual, Sepp brings with the knowledge! Trop cool. Nothing better than becoming obsessed with great new music. Thanks for the recs.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The South African Weather Service on Monday morning said that extreme heat, veld fire conditions and severe thunderstorms are expected in parts of the Eastern Cape - mostly in the interior.
"Extreme heat is expected over the Dr Beyers Naude and Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipalities," the weather office said.
It added that veld fire conditions were expected in the Gariep, Inkwanca, Inxuba Yethemba, Tsolwana and Dr Beyers Naude local municipalities.
Severe thunderstorms are expected in the Blue Crane Route, Lukanji, Engcobo up to the Elundini, Ntabankulu and Matatiele local municipalities.


text:
Q: Why isn't the [CLLocationManager location] updated when the CLLocationManagerDelegate message is sent? When the locationManager:didUpdateLocations: (or its deprecated equivalent locationManager:didUpdateToLocation:fromLocation:) message is sent to the CLLocationManagerDelegate, the CLLocationManagerDelegate Protocol Reference states that:

By the time this message is delivered to your delegate, the new
  location data is also available directly from the CLLocationManager
  object. The newLocation parameter may contain the data that was cached
  from a previous usage of the location service. You can use the
  timestamp property of the location object to determine how recent the
  location data is.

However, in practice, CLLocationManager's location property is not updated.  Why not?
I have created a sample project to demonstrate this:
https://github.com/sibljon/CoreLocationDidUpdateToLocationBug
The relevant code is in JSViewController, a snippet of which is below:
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];

    self.locationManager = [[CLLocationManager alloc] init];
    self.locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyKilometer;
    self.locationManager.distanceFilter = 10000.0; // 10 km
    self.locationManager.delegate = self;
    self.locationManager.purpose = @"To show you nearby hotels.";
    [self.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];

    [self.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                             selector:@selector(appWillEnterForeground:)
                                                 name:UIApplicationWillEnterForegroundNotification
                                               object:nil];

    [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                             selector:@selector(appDidEnterBackground:)
                                                 name:UIApplicationDidEnterBackgroundNotification
                                               object:nil];
}

#pragma mark - CLLocationManagerDelegate

- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didUpdateToLocation:(CLLocation *)newLocation fromLocation:(CLLocation *)oldLocation
{
    NSLog(@"New location: %@", newLocation);
    NSLog(@"Old location: %@", oldLocation);
    NSLog(@"- [CLLocationManager location]: %@", manager.location);
}

//- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didUpdateLocations:(NSArray *)locations
//{
//    for (CLLocation *location in locations)
//    {
//        NSLog(@"Current location: %@", locations);
//    }
//    NSLog(@"- [CLLocationManager location]: %@", manager.location);
//}

#pragma mark - Notifications

- (void)appWillEnterForeground:(NSNotification *)notification
{
    [self.locationManager startUpdatingLocation];
}

- (void)appDidEnterBackground:(NSNotification *)notification
{
    [self.locationManager stopUpdatingLocation];
}

A: I believe this to be a bug and I have filed a bug report with Apple.  A mirror of the bug report can be found on Open Radar:
http://openradar.appspot.com/radar?id=2682402

A: As you have read in the documentation, the locationManagerDelegate might deliver cached data to the callback method.
This actually happens quite frequently so what you need to do is check the timestamp of the newLocation against oldLocation or current time, to see if they are different enough (how different is up to you to decide based on your app's needs).
Here's a snippet of how you could do the check against the current time:
    if ([newLocation.timestamp timeIntervalSinceNow] < 600) // 10 minutes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Reviews - Suspense/Thriller
Twisted Lies
In this suspenseful mystery, Athena Reynolds is battling some demons. Losing her parents at a young age and not knowing what happened to them has caused her to spiral into an alcoholic depression. While trying to recover from her alcoholism, she receives a letter in from an attorney requesting her presence.
Not Dead Yet (Guardian #6)
Hunter Abramson
Cassidy Edgemont, a member of a group known as the Coalition, died four years ago, or so everyone believes. Living in Paris, a mere shadow in the city, Cassidy remains invisible to protect herself and her family. That is, until her family decides to visit the exact location she is hiding in.
Halo (Part 1: Episodes 1 to 6)
Cameo has missed out on a lot of her life. Whisked out of the country at birth by her cruel father, the General, she was deprived of her mother, her twin, and her half-Lakota heritage. Now, at the age of thirty-nine, she has recently reunited with her wily mother, escaped her father, and is hoping to make a fresh start in the land of her birth.
The Girl Who Knew Death
Faydra Green, a United States Navy attorney, finds herself in a bind. She must confess to her adopted daughter, Katrinka, that she is of royal Russian lineage. Katrinka, a well-trained spy, accepts the surprising revelation with ease, but soon finds herself on the run, then captured and thrown into an Egyptian prison. Faydra is able to secure help from a local U.S.
Saving Euphoria (Euphoria Series Book 2)
When her husband dies under very mysterious circumstances, Hailey Langley and her kids need to find some way to deal with their grief. It's not going well. Her son, being a teenager, rebels, and she has to deal with her own health issues. When her old partner from the Special Crimes Agency turns up and warns her about trusting people, she doesn't know what to do.


Snakes and Snipers Pty Ltd (ACN 081 065 223)("Snakes and Snipers") will not refund for change of mind, inappropriate use or lack of expertise in use of the product.
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Our returns policy only covers items purchased from snakesandsnipers.com.au. Please contact the original seller if you have issues with products not purchased directly from Snakes and Snipers.
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Nepal's forests are extensive and ecologically diverse; however, the country and its inhabitants have yet to fully benefit from this vital resource. In an effort to expand the forestry sector in a sustainable manner, as well as to reform government policy toward sustainable development, we are supporting the country's stakeholders as they begin to develop a national forest certification system – the first of its kind in Nepal.
Despite forest covering almost a quarter of Nepal's land area, the forest sector's contribution to the national economy has remained disproportionately small. Furthermore, any investment in long-term forest management and conservation has been hampered by Nepal's historically low levels of market opportunities.
Community forestry plays an important role within the country, involving 40% of the Nepalese population and accounting for over a quarter, or 1.6 million hectares, of the total forest area. However a lack of knowledge, information and practice of sustainable forest management means the potential of forests to support these communities, help local businesses and create sustainable jobs remains largely untapped.
The development of forest certification within the country would have significant benefits for the many forest dependent communities, and the country as a whole; providing access to new markets and ensuring the forests are managed sustainably now and in the future.
We have been working in Nepal since 2012, initially by providing support to a project led by the Global Alliance of Community Forestry (GACF) to raise awareness of sustainable forest management and the importance of forest certification.
In 2016, we stepped up our activities in the country through the financial support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Thanks to this, we have begun working with the country's stakeholders as they establish a Nepalese national forest certification system aligned with PEFC's international requirements.
The first step brought together multiple stakeholders from community, regional and national levels to begin the draft of a national forest management standard for the country. This standard will be tailored to Nepal's unique conditions and will build the technical capacity required for the long-term functioning of the certification system.
A National Governing Body was established to lead the standard-setting process and take responsibility for the certification system in the long-term. Green Foundation Nepal, a well-established organization within the country, took on this role.
Once drafted, the national standard will be pilot tested in different regions of the country with the cooperation of select villages and community user groups. In doing so, the project will ensure the involvement of local villages and increase awareness of certification among surrounding communities.
Upon a successful pilot test and completion of the national certification system documentation, sustainable forest management and forest certification will be well positioned to expand throughout Nepal.


text:
Lady Saints in Foul Mood After Loss
KSCB News - February 3, 2011 9:13 am
Hutchinson raced back to stun the Lady Saints 62-59 Wednesday night at the Green House. Seward led 32-23 at halftime and 40-24 with 15:30 to play before foul trouble plagued the Lady Saints. Seward's Mariah Lee and Hanna Bogner were both whistled for their fourth fouls leaving Seward paper thin up front. Seward still had opportunities late, but several of their 21 turnovers came down the stretch. Seward head coach Toby Wynn says there are no more excuses. "At this point of the season, I can't say it's a learning experience because these girls have played enough basketball to not be classified as freshmen. We've been through the conference one time. Just the failure to execute down the stretch is very disappointing."
The loss wasted 23 points and 10 rebounds from Ashlyn Knoll and 11 points and seven rebounds by Kayla Thomas. The Hutchinson Lady Dragons look poised to run away with the conference title. The #14 team in the country is 21-2 overall and 8-1 in the Jayhawk West. Hutch wins at the Green House for the first time since 2004 when HCC broke Seward's 135 game home court winning streak. Seward is 15-8 overall and 5-4 in the Jayhawk West. The Lady Saints are in fifth place and if the Region 6 Tournament started today, they would go on the road to Kansas City. Seward plays a key game at fourth place 6-3 Barton Saturday night at 6 p.m. on B107.5 and kscbnews.net.
Jayhawk West
Barton 80 Cloud 71
Pratt 70 Colby 56


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This is a part-time position with minimum hours guaranteed per month.
This position reports directly to our Service Manager.


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Hartpury University RFC
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RFC News Hartpury RFC looking for the perfect Christmas present at Albion
Hartpury RFC looking for the perfect Christmas present at Albion
Hartpury will be hoping that party poppers, rather than party poopers, tell the story of their trip to Plymouth Albion on Saturday as they look to wrap up the perfect Christmas present in Devon.
John Barnes' men will be seeking a 16th successive bonus point win to head into the festive season with an unblemished National League One record so far, but if anyone can spoil the party, arguably Albion can.
Plymouth currently sit third in the league, only two places adrift but an astonishing 20 points behind Hartpury. Some surprising slip-ups, including against Fylde, have left them out of touch, but they are unbeaten at home this season and they have defeated second placed Birmingham Moseley at the Brickfields recently.
Hartpury Director of Rugby, John Barnes, said: "It's the game before Christmas, Plymouth have a proud home record to defend and I'm sure there will be a big crowd. We know this could be one of our toughest games, particularly on their heavy pitch which will only have got worse with the rain we've had this week.
"They have a good, heavy pack, a strong scrum and line-out and they have some decent ball carriers too, including their talisman and number eight, Herbie Stupple. A lot of their players have come from Exeter, so we know we're going to need to switch on to get the result.
"It's a key weekend at the top end of the league with Moseley travelling to Coventry for a derby game and us facing Plymouth."
While Plymouth saw off Blackheath by a 20-5 margin in their last outing, Hartpury head into the game on the back of a 62-12 win at basement side Macclesfield and they have the psychological upper hand, having seen off Plymouth 37-14 at Hartpury on September 10th (pictured, Adam Hastings scored a fine individual try).
"Macclesfield have lost a number of games by a score or two and they are a better team than their league position suggests," added Barnes.
"They have a decent set piece and they made it hard work for us on a boggy pitch in the first half, but after they had a player sent off, we were able to turn the screw. We scored two tries in three minutes at the start of the second half and as they tired towards the end having done a lot of tackling, we found more and more gaps.
"Their backs defended well and made us work hard for our tries but what was most pleasing for us again as coaches was seeing the variety of types of try we scored.
"It has been an incredible first half of the season so far. If anyone had told me before we started in September that we'd have 15 bonus point wins in a row to be unbeaten in the first half of the campaign, I'd never have believed them.
"It's fair to say we've played above even our own expectations and our success is testament to the commitment of everyone involved with the RFC, from the players to the coaches and the support staff."
Hartpury could be without centre George Boulton for the Plymouth game after the heavy knock he took in the reckless challenge that earned Macclesfield the red card last weekend. He faces an injury assessment this week along with back row Jake Polledri (shoulder) and Steve Leonard (knee).
Hartpury could also be affected by A League fixtures on Monday with a number of their on loan players likely to be unavailable for selection.
Elsewhere in National One, Christmas-time brings lots of local match-ups. If history is anything to go by, the biggest of these will come at the Butts Arena where Coventry host old rivals, second-placed Birmingham Moseley in a game that could be key at the top of the table. There is also a derby in the North-East, where DMP travel to Blaydon.
Other games see Ampthill at home to Old Albanian, Cambridge hosting Rosslyn Park and Loughborough Students travelling to Ionians. Blackheath cross South London to play Esher, while Macclesfield have a relatively short trip up the M6, to Fylde.
Saturday's fixture at Brickfields kicks off at 3pm. For those of you who will be in need of some fresh air and live rugby in the New Year, Hartpury's first fixture of 2017 is at home to Esher on Saturday, 7th January (2.30pm), where we hope to still be playing as the only unbeaten team in the league!
Macclesfield Blues 12 – Hartpury RFC 62
Plymouth Albion 24 – Hartpury RFC 27
Match updates


Who said that your hot beverage must choose between a fun or a functional mug? After all you cannot spell functional without fun. Take a look at the characteristics of this custom coffee mug that we liked so much we put it in our own break room.
The Monaco mug is here to solve our problems. This 16 oz ceramic mug is complete with a stylish gray or white matte exterior, and a sleek glossy interior. The glossy interior is available in a wide range of colors; so select your corporate color or combination of colors to brighten any beverage or cupboard.
The stackable design of the mugs help to save space and keep cupboards organized, while maintaining a sleek design.
You will notice that we did not go with a typical "1 color logo, 1 location" approach you typically see. Let us incorporate your brand in a manner that screams "retail look."
Contact JH Specialty today to discuss promotional products and specifically custom drinkware. If you like this mug as much as we do, feel free to steal our idea and order online on our YourPromoPeople.com website. The design and concept process is always free.


Fashion Revolution is a movement that's turning fashion into a force for good. It asks us to be curious with clothes and accessories that we wear and question 'who made my clothes?' and 'at what cost?' It's a tough question to answer, and not many brands can, but we need to start questioning where our clothes come from and who made them.
However, this is a question we can answer here at Retrospecced! We work with the charity Vision Aid Overseas, who is the recipient of up to 70,000 donated frames each week. We regularly go through these donations and select the very best of these frames to refurbish. And Voila!
Did you know? 95% of discarded clothing and accessories can be recycled or upcycled!
One of the initiatives that Fashion Revolution is pioneering this year is the #haulternative – an initiative that we here at Retrospecced can really get behind, and we think you might be interested too! Together we have huge power as consumers, and each purchase we make sends a big message to manufacturers about what our priorities are.
So what is the #haulternative (aside from being a wonderful pun)? It's basically the ethos that new clothes don't have to be brand new – just new to you. When you buy vintage or upcycled you still get the little surge of excitement of possessing something new in your wardrobe but you also get something else, you get its history. To survive to the stage where it's good enough condition to be passed on, it means that garment is high quality and has been cared for well – which is why it's still in great condition, a lot like our frames. This also means that the price point can be a lot lower, meaning more bang for your buck! Take these Chanel frames for example – when upcycled by Retrospecced their price is just £35, yet the average price of new Chanel glasses is upwards of £200. Saving lives and pennies: you can't go wrong.
As we mentioned earlier a lot of items have history, and much of our fashion inspiration today comes from looking back at what went before. Who wouldn't want to look like Hepburn, Monroe or even Brando?! It's also worth noting that all the above wore pretty exquisite glasses from time to time (just saying). Take a look at our vintage frames and see if you can find your perfect pair and channel your inner Retrospecced star.
If you would like to find out more about the Fashion Revolution and what else you can do to get involved then be sure to visit their website.
This post has been written by Paris Richardson.
This entry was posted in Retrospecced and tagged Upcycle, Sustainable fashion, Upcycled, Fashion, Haulternative, Fashion Revolution.