text:
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 3:46 AM
Death of the SUV
As energy prices soar, Frustrated owners try to unload their guzzlers.
Americans are turning away from the boxy, four-wheel-drive vehicles that have for years dominated the nation's highways. Sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks - symbols of Americans' obsession with horsepower, size, and status - are falling out of favor as consumers rich and poor encounter sticker shock at the pump, paying upward of $80 to fill gas tanks.
The sale of new SUVs and pickup trucks has dropped precipitously in recent months amid soaring gas prices and a weakening economy: SUV sales for the month of April alone fell 32.3 percent from a year earlier and small car sales rose 18.6 percent. This fundamental shift comes against a backdrop of relentless gas increases, and growing concerns over the environment and US oil consumption, according to auto analysts and car dealers.
"The SUV craze was a bubble and now it is bursting," said George Hoffer, an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University whose research focuses on the automotive industry. "It's an irrational vehicle. It'll never come back."
With stocks of unwanted new SUVs and pickups piling up at dealerships across the country, automakers are offering unprecedented promotions. Incentives for large SUVs, including cash rebates, topped $4,000 in March, or more than double those offered in March 2002, according to Edmunds.com, which monitors the motor industry.
Herb Chambers, who owns more than 40 dealerships across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, said the incentives offered on new SUVs are pushing down the value of the used vehicles, and increasingly, he is taking a loss on SUV trade-ins at his various dealerships, which include everything from Chevrolet to Jeep to Mini.
"The incentives have never been higher than they are today for the large SUVs and small pickup trucks," Chambers said. "I don't know how factories can make any money for these cars." "Having SUVs as an everyday commuter car is largely going away," Chambers said.
Jon McHugh, of Swampscott, is celebrating the last payment on his 2003 Acura MDX by putting the SUV up for sale. "I don't need this much space," McHugh said of his SUV. "It just seems ridiculous."
Good Riddance
CNNMoney is reporting Goodbye SUV, hello small cars.
Sales of large SUVs plummeted 28% in the first quarter this year, while subcompact sales rose 32%, according to Autodata Corp. Thriftier four-cylinder engines, once despised by Americans for their perceived lack of power, are selling in record numbers.
April sales results to be released on May 1 are likely to show an even more pronounced shift, predicted Jesse Toprak, chief industry analyst for the auto information site Edmunds.com. "That's simply a function of the dramatic increase in oil prices that we've seen in the last few weeks."
The trend away from SUVs started well before gas prices began climbing in 2005, in part because of the introduction of "crossover" vehicles - those with SUV styling but built on the more nimble and fuel-efficient car chassis. SUV sales peaked at 3 million in 2003; they're expected to fall to half that number this year, and the change caught Detroit unprepared.
"It happened too rapidly for the American automakers to take sufficient action," said Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst for the Waltham, Mass.-based consulting firm Global Insight. For example, 74% of the vehicles Chrysler sold in the U.S. last year were trucks and SUVs, compared to 42% at Toyota Motor Corp.
My Comment: Any change will catch GM or Ford off guard as both companies are always behind the curve and slow to adjust to trend changes even though this was easy to spot years ago.
Now owners of SUVs and other gas guzzlers who've seen the price of a fill-up climb sharply are getting a second shock when they try to trade in their behemoths. Used car dealers don't want the big vehicles on their lots anymore because hardly anyone is buying them. Some won't take them at any price.
My Comment: SUVs are headed for the scrap heap of history and the scrap heap at the junk yard where they belong.
Demographics also play a role. Baby boomers are trading in larger vehicles as their nests empty, and their children are now of car-buying age. Half of the next generation will pick small cars for their first set of wheels, said George Pipas, Ford's top sales analyst.
"Gas prices are important because they've accelerated these shifts, but the shifts were going to happen anyway," Pipas said. "SUVs were not going to roam the Earth in this decade as they did in the 90s."
My Comment: "Shifts were going to happen anyway." Exactly. Nonetheless this was too hard for GM to figure out even one month ago.
Menicocci, a resident of the upscale Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay, recently placed his 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe with leather seats and 39,000 miles for sale on Craigslist for $16,000 -- roughly $2,000 less than what his research determined was the Kelley Blue Book value.
He bought a 2003 Kia Spectra for $5,000 because he was tired of paying so much for gas with his heavy Tahoe. "I was wasting $30 a day compared to $10 a day," he said.
"Everybody is like, `What is that? Is that the maid's car?"' said Menicocci, who sells marble and granite for a living. "But I don't care. At this point, I'm way past looks and appearances."
My Comment: "I'm way past looks and appearances" says it all. Attitudes have changed dramatically.
Flashback April 2, 2008
GM says still expects second-half U.S. recovery
March Auto Roundup And Retail Sales Forecast
General Motors Corp still expects the U.S. economy to recover in the second half of 2008, pulling industry-wide auto sales higher, an executive said on Tuesday.
GM sales analyst Mike DiGiovanni, speaking to reporters and analysts on a conference call, said he saw "early signs" that the U.S. market was steadying.
My Comment: Is this some kind of April Fool's Joke?
Separately, GM North American sales chief Mark LaNeve said GM's inventory of full-size pickup trucks was "more than adequate" despite a five-week-old strike at supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc that has idled 30 GM plants.
My Comment: And it will be more than adequate if the strike lasts another 15 weeks. Who wants full sized pickups? GM ought to be thankful for that strike or they would be ramping up for a nonexistent second half recovery.
Some SUVs, especially the Hummer are so ugly I still cannot fathom anyone buying one. I guess at one point it was some sort of status symbol as in: "Hey look at me... I can drive a huge, ugly expensive car that looks like a big yellow box on wheels and costs a fortune to fill up." That's status alright.
Things have changed, abruptly and for the better. Status symbols are out. Cool to Be Frugal is in. A secular trend in downsizing is underway. Wall Street has still not caught on. Profits are not coming back.


Below you will find just some of the many thank you cards and letters we have received from Chair Covers by Sylwia customers. From elegant Table Linens to Designer Chair Cover Fabrics, we do our absolute best to make every wedding or event in the Chicago metropolitan area truly unforgettable.
This company is my 'go to' chair cover, chair rentals and linen company. As a Catering Manager in Chicago, I have found that I can always rely on Chair Covers by Sylwia to provide great customer service, very competitive pricing, dependable delivery, and a variety of colors and fabrics that work well for me and my clients.
In this business, there are many times when last minute changes take place and they are always quick to help me out! For example, I had a wedding on the Friday after Thanksgiving and I realized on Thanksgiving day that I did not put in an order for specialty napkins. I reluctantly called them on their cell phones around noon (as I didn't want to interrupt on the holiday) and they graciously accepted the order! The napkins were waiting for me in the office when I walked into work the next day!
There is not another company I would work with and I suggest everyone planning a wedding or is a Catering manager/wedding planner uses them!
Dearest Sylwia:…Graduation party was attended by more than 125 guests and EVERY SINGLE ONE was completely enthralled with what you and your amazing team did to transform that tent into the "wonderland" that it was… every detail, form the gorgeous purple and teal tablecloths, the crystal embellished teal overlays, the gold chiavari chairs with the perfectly woven satin bows complementing the back, the intricately folded satin napkins… made for the most magnificent visual experience most of our guests have ever had. It was simply beautiful. Your gift to the world is breathtaking ….May you realize continued success in all that you do. With gracious thanks to all of your "artists" in Willow Springs.
Thank you for donating the linens for Fr. Artur Slowa's installation reception. It was very generous of you. I also want to thank you for the exceptional service …I ordered the wrong size linen for our round tables. When I noticed, I called your store immediately and explained my dilemma. Within 2 hours I had the correct size linens. I was very impressed!
You did the chair covers & napkins for our wedding at Silver Lakes Country Club on May 20th, 2011. They looked amazing! You did an outstanding job & made our reception look beautiful! Your prices were affordable & and the staff was a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend your company for any event. You guys were awesome! Thank you for making our day look amazing! Warm Regards, Jillian & Jonathan.
Thank you so much for your planning & design expertise – you made our banquet room look beautiful without being overdone! Your service was seamless & everything you promised a stress free experience! Please enjoy the pictures & use any you would like for your business. Thank Again! Paul & Lisa.
Thank you so much for your beautiful work on our tables and chairs. You guys were very helpful and patient with us and your good eye for recommendations when we may have gone overboard turned out to be perfect. Thank you for all you did and for such beautiful work. Thank you, Kim & Casey.
We want to thank you so much for all of the hard work you put into our daughter's wedding. The room was just beautiful. The fact that you actually had all of those table cloths made was so much more than we ever expected! We received so many compliments on how lovely the room looked. We have given your name to a number of people and we hope you will hear from some of them. Thank you again for making our daughter's wedding truly a "Fairy Tale". Sincerely, Jim & Cindy.
Thank you very much for making our wedding reception gorgeous! Everything looked classy and spectacular due to your beautiful table linens. I really enjoyed walking into the room and received many compliments. We also want to thank you for all your time and help with selecting what was best for us. We would recommend you to anyone. Love, Jen & Sean.
We wanted to thank you so much for providing us with such beautiful chair covers at our October 4th wedding reception! I was thrilled when I saw how wonderful out site looked because of the chair covers. Working with your company was a treat! I will be recommending you to all of my engaged friends. Thank you again! Sincerely Karin & Ben.
Thank you so much for providing the chair covers for my daughter's wedding. They were so beautiful. The room looked like a fairyland-what I always dreamed my daughter's wedding reception would look like. Your professionalism and personal touch added so much to the day. I will forward your name. Sincerely, Mary Jane. P.S I also thanked Christine who recommended you to me.
Thank you for doing such a wonderful job on the chair covers and linens for my wedding. Everything looked amazing and we received so many compliments. Thanks again, David & Megan.
Thank you so very much for making our wedding a fairytale. Your chair covers and linens added the special touch. Everyone was surprised how beautiful it looked. Once again, THANK YOU.
Pani Sylwio, dziekujemy za wszystko! Wygladalo cudownie!
Sylwia, thank you for everything! It looked amazing!
Thank you so much for the great service provided at our December 4th Wedding. We appreciate your creativity and professionalism! Sincerely, Rick & Ashley.
Thank you so much for all of your work in providing the chair covers for our wedding on Jan 15th, 2011 at Silver Lake Country Club! They looked great! The reception hall really looked fantastic! Thanks again for all your help through the process and for helping to make our wedding a wonderful evening for all! Thank you! Kristen S.
Words cannot explain how lovely the room looked for our reception. The chair covers & colored sashes were gorgeous. We had Fuchsia & Burnt Orange. Our guests raved at how rich the colors went together. We absolutely loved it! Giana & Kenneth.
We really liked the linens and chair covers you and your company prepared for us on our wedding days! They looked beautiful! Thank you so much for helping make our day more special at Hotel 71 on June 26, 2010. Thank you! Jin & Virginia.
I'm so sorry this is so late, I just want to thank you so much for the beautiful job you did at our wedding. Those chair covers turned out so gorgeous. Steve and I couldn't believe how stunning the room looked. You gave us a beautiful memory of how our wedding was and we truly appreciated it. Thank you so much for being on time and so on top of it. Not to mention how sweet you are either. We will for sure refer you to anyone we know who is getting married. Again, thank you so very much. Love Maureen & Steve.
Thank you so much for doing such a beautiful job on the chair covers for our daughter's wedding on June 25th. They were absolutely stunning and simply made the entire room look like a fairytale. I'll be recommending you to everyone I know. Sincerely, Kimber J.
A note of thank to you for all you have done for my clients this year. You have been wonderful to work with and your staff does an outstanding job with a beautiful product! I look much forward to a continued relationship. Best, Patti & Melissa.
THANK YOU FOR GETTING THE SASHES TO US ON SUNDAY. YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE AWESOME!!!!
– THE STAFF AT THE PATRICK HALEY MANSION.
Thank you so much for adding to the beauty and elegance of Allison & Chris' wedding on September 23. The reception at Monasteros was perfect and the chair covers added the perfect touch. Thank you again.
Thank you for helping make our wedding incredibly memorable. We have included a couple photos of the rooms that showed your extra touch. Sheri & Brett.
It was a pleasure to work with you on the September 5th wedding. The linens were so stunning, and I know I can always count on your staff to do a great job. Thanks again and I hope we the chance to work together again soon! -Charlene.
Thank you for helping to make our day one we will cherish forever. Love, Mandy& Todd.
Thank you very much for the beautiful tablecloths. The tiffany blue and silver colored cloths were stunning and enhanced our party. I enjoyed working with you and your assistant too. You both are so pleasant. I look forward to using you for our next event. Thanks again, Miriam P.
Thank you very much for everything. Our reception was so beautiful with the covers & table linens. Lots of compliments! Thank you again for everything! Karen & Keith.
I wanted to take this opportunity to say "thank you", for the beautiful job done on the chair covers for my daughter's wedding. They certainly added to the atmosphere in a most positive way. Again, thanks for a job well done, and for helping me create a memorable wedding day for my daughter and her husband. Sincerely Neila.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend out Dinner on Patio. We all enjoyed planning it. The patio looked stunning – all because of your linens. Thank you so much for supplying them & we truly appreciate the fantastic service that you give us. Best Wishes, Marian R. – Chicago Gaelic Park General Manager.


text:
Dr Henrietta Kodilinye-Sims BVetMed PgDipVEPH GCLT MRCVS
For poultry keepers
FREE TESTING Respiratory Disease
Learn About Henrietta
My parents must have foreseen my career would be with hens when they named me Henrietta. I've wanted to work with chickens since I bought my first Belgium Bantam trio at an agricultural show with my dad on holiday. These astounded hens spent the next few days living in a tent in Wales, sheltering from heavy rain, before moving to London!
I qualified as a veterinary surgeon from The Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and went straight into mixed practice in Surrey where I saw lots of pet chickens. Wanting to spend more time with these unique feathery creatures, I was lucky enough to join one of the largest poultry veterinary practices in the UK. After frequent desperate phonecalls from vet-friends who wanted chicken advice, I realised there was a great need for today's vets to understand and treat chickens. I therefore moved back to Surrey to teach veterinary students all about poultry care, medicine and surgery at the University of Surrey.
Along with being a registered MRCVS, I also have a postgraduate diploma in veterinary public health and epidemiology and certificate in learning and teaching. I am also a committee member of the British Veterinary Poultry Association (BVPA) where I lead the education section, assisting UK veterinary schools and the poultry industry with poultry education.
I am still currently work part time after returning to work from maternity leave and juggle my roles above with consulting for St Davids Poultry Ltd, owners of The Chicken Vet.
Needless to say one of my son's first words was unsurprisingly "chic-shen"!
Contact email address:
surreypoultryvet@gmail.com
©2019 by Henrietta Kodilinye-Sims. Proudly created with Wix.com
Surrey Poultry Vet is a registered veterinary practice (RCVS), under the registered company Butler Physiotherapy Ltd, 11893457

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
«Че́стер»  () — английский футбольный клуб из одноимённого города в графстве Чешир, Северо-Западная Англия. Клуб был основан объединением болельщиков City Fans United в 2010 году после ликвидации обанкротившегося клуба «Честер Сити».

Первым решением Футбольной ассоциации «Честер» был помещён в 9-й дивизион английского футбола, однако, после успешной апелляции, клуб начал свою историю в восьмой по рангу лиге английского футбола — Дивизионе 1 Северной Премьер-лиги. После трёх подряд чемпионств, «Честер» пробился в Национальную конференцию.

В настоящее время выступает в Северной Национальной лиге, шестом по значимости дивизионе в системе футбольных лиг Англии.

История

Предпосылки
Оригинальный клуб «Честер» был основан в 1885 году и был принят в число участников Футбольной лиги в 1931 году. В 1983 году, после получения городом статуса «сити», клуб сменил название на «Честер Сити». C 1931 по 2000 год команда выступала в 3-м и 4-м дивизионах чемпионата Англии. После победы в чемпионате Конференции сезона 2003/04 и повторного выбывания в Конференцию в 2009 году финансовые трудности клуба, связанные с именем владельца клуба Стивена Вона, обострились, что вылилось в 25-очковый штраф перед началом сезона 2009/10 и завершилось ликвидацией клуба за долги 10 марта 2010 года.

В октябре 2009 года, вслед за ростом недовольства в рядах поклонников клуба, ими была основана организация City Fans United. Всего через месяц фанаты провели акцию протеста против владельца клуба на поле во время игры против «Истборн Боро», которая вылилась в отмену матча. В январе 2010, после увольнения тогдашнего главного тренера команды, CFU приняла решение бойкотировать матчи «Честер Сити». В феврале, всего за несколько недель до того, как Высокий Суд принял решение о ликвидации «Честер Сити», CFU начала приготовления к созданию возрожденного клуба для участия в следующем сезоне.

После официального расформирования «Честер Сити» CFU было проведено голосование, по итогам которого болельщиками было выбрано имя нового клуба — «Честер ФК», аналогичное первому названию клуба-предшественника. Клуб получил поддержку Совета Западного Чешира и Честера, обеспечившего аренду стадиона Дева, позднее переименованного в Экзакта Стэдиум в рамках спонсорского соглашения.

Основание
20 мая 2010 на открытом собрании болельщиков была представлена эмблема возрожденного клуба. Через день было объявлено о назначении Нила Янга первым главным тренером в новой истории «Честера». Ранее Футбольная ассоциация приняла решение поместить «Честер» в 9 дивизион, однако это решение было опротестовано, и 18 июня «Честер» был переведен в Дивизион 1 Северной Премьер-Лиги.

Первой игрой «Честера» стал предсезонный товарищеский матч, проведённый в гостях против предыдущего клуба Нила Янга «Колуин-Бей» и закончившийся со счетом 2-0 в пользу хозяев. Первым домашним матчем стала товарищеская игра против валлийского клуба «Аберистуит Таун». В ней же «Честер» одержал свою первую победу со счётом 3-0.

Сезон 2010/2011
«Честер» дебютировал в официальных соревнованиях 24 августа 2010 года гостевым матчем против «Уоррингтон Таун». Уже на шестой минуте Роб Хопли забил первый официальный гол возрожденного клуба, однако игра завершилась вничью 1-1. 8 сентября на «Дева Стэдиум» состоялся первый домашний матч «Честера»: со счетом 6-0 был разгромлен «Траффорд», хеттриком отметился Майкл Уайлд. В сентябре же «Честер» потерпел и первое поражение, уступив «Чорли» в гостях со счётом 1-2.

В конце октября «Честер» впервые вышел в лидеры своей лиги, а в январе одержал 9-ю гостевую победу подряд, повторно переиграв «Траффорд».

5 марта в матче лидеров лиги «Честер» обыграл «Скелмерсдейл Юнайтед» со счетом 1-0 и увеличил отрыв до 12 очков, однако после нескольких ничьих и поражений к 16 апреля отрыв уменьшился до одного очка.

Перед заключительным туром преследователи потеряли очки и «Честер» лидировал с отрывом в 3 пункта. В последней игре сезона «Честер» встречался с середняком «Гарфорд Таун» и в концовке первого тайма открыл счёт, однако два мяча, пропущенные после перерыва принесли победу хозяевам и судьба первого места решалась в Скелмерсдейле, где преследователи «Честера» принимали аутсайдера «Оссетт Альбион». Хозяевам удалось забить 7 мячей и ликвидировать отставание от «Честера» по разнице мячей, но решающими стали два ответных мяча гостей. Таким образом, «Честер» обошел «Скелмерсдейл Юнайтед» по лучшей разнице забитых и пропущенных мячей.

Необычно для клуба из 8-го дивизиона, «Честер» не участвовал в розыгрышах Кубка Англии и Трофея Футбольной Ассоциации. По правилам Футбольной ассоциации, для участия в этих соревнованиях клуб должен существовать как минимум два и один год соответственно.

Сезон 2011/2012
«Честер» не слишком удачно начал сезон в Премьер Дивизионе Северной Премьер-Лиги, чередуя победные матчи с неудачными. Однако уже в сентябре клуб выдал впечатляющую серию из 8 сухих побед в лиге, превзойдя не только свой, но и рекорд клуба-предшественника, сохраняя свои ворота в неприкосновенности в течение 781 минуты во всех соревнованиях.

После ещё одной серии из 5 побед подряд «Честер» вышел в лидеры лиги к концу ноября, а календарный год был завершен упорным противостоянием с главными соперниками в этом сезоне — «Нортвич Виктория». Матч закончился вничью 1-1 и был отмечен тремя удалениями.

В календарном 2011 году «Честер» не потерпел ни одного домашнего поражения. В январе эта серия прервалась после матча, проигранного «Эднесфорд Таун», однако это поражение стало для «Честера» последним в сезоне. 9 апреля «Честер» принимал главных соперников «Нортвич Виктория». На матче присутствовало 5009 зрителей, что стало не только рекордом нового клуба, но и общеанглийским рекордом для лиг 7-го ранга. Поздний гол Мэттью МакГинна принес «Честеру» ничью, а вместе с ней — второе подряд чемпионство за три тура до окончания сезона. Показатели «Честера» после последнего тура оказались гроссмейстерскими — 100 очков, 102 забитых мяча и 17 очков преимущества над вторым местом.

«Честер» дебютировал в розыгрыше Трофея Футбольной Ассоциации, пройдя через квалификационные раунды и разгромив в первом раунде «Норт Ферриби Юнайтед». Однако, в матче 2 раунда «Честер» уступил «Эббсфлит Юнайтед», представлявшему Конференцию со счетом 2-3. Поскольку это был второй сезон возрожденного клуба, «Честер» снова не получил места в Кубке Англии.

Сезон 2012/2013
«Честер» начал сезон 12/13 в ранге вторых претендентов на победу в лиге по мнению букмекеров, и старт клуба подтвердил эти прогнозы. Одержав победы в первых семи матчах, «Честер» превзошёл рекорд «Честер Сити». Одна из этих побед была одержана над «Галифакс Таун», главным претендентом на победу в лиге, также переживавшим перерождение, со счетом 2-1. Однако в лидеры «Честер» смог выйти лишь после 10 тура, обойдя наконец также выдавший впечатляющую победную серию на старте сезона «Брэкли Таун».

22 сентября «Честер» дебютировал в Кубке Англии, сыграв во втором квалификационном раунде вничью с «Гейнсборо Тринити» 1-1. Основное время повторного матча закончилось с тем же счетом, в дополнительное время гол Леви Мэкина на 106-й минуте принес победу «Честеру». В третьем раунде квалификации жребий свел «Честер» с «Галифаксом». Матч в Честере был омрачен беспорядками на трибунах, проходил в нервной борьбе и завершился вничью 1-1. Переигровка состоялась через 3 дня и «Честер» подошел в ней не в лучшем состоянии — оба крайних защитника не смогли восстановиться от травм, полученных в первой игре. Ситуация ещё более осложнилась когда полузащитник «синих» Майкл Пауэлл получил красную карточку. В результате «Галифакс» одержал победу 3-1.
В розыгрыше Трофея Футбольной Ассоциации «Честер» неожиданно уступил в переигровке матча 2-го квалификационного раунда клубу «Уорксоп Таун», представлявшему 7 дивизион, со счетом 0-2.

6 апреля «Честер» с минимальным счетом обыграл «Бостон Юнайтед» и за четыре матча до финиша досрочно завоевал чемпионский титул, так как его ближайший конкурент — «Гайзли» потерпел поражение в матче с «Брэкли Таун». Заполненный почти до отказа «Дева Стэдиум» встретил третье подряд чемпионство массовым забегом на поле, и, таким образом, спустя всего три года после банкротства своего предшественника, «Честер» вернулся обратно в Национальную Конференцию. К концу сезона клуб снова преодолел планки в 100 набранных очков и 100 забитых мячей, что стало рекордом для Северной Конференции. Кроме того, «Честер» стал обладателем Чеширского Кубка — локального соревнования, проводимого среди полупрофессиональных и профессиональных (предпочитающих обычно выставлять на эти матчи дублирующий состав) клубов.

Сезон 2013/2014
Как и ожидалось, клуб сохранил статус полупрофессионального еще как минимум на сезон, несмотря на то, что в Конференции выступает значительное число профессиональных клубов. Букмекерские конторы, впечатленные успехами команды, предрекали клубу борьбу за место в плей-офф. После радикальной перестройки состава в межсезонье, из игроков, принесших клубу третий титул в команде остались лишь 8 футболистов, в том числе братья-близнецы Тернеры из «Лидс Юнайтед», с которыми было продлено арендное соглашение. Энтони Сарчевич, один из лучших игроков прошлого сезона, отправился в клуб Футбольной Лиги «Флитвуд Таун», а Дэнни Уильямс — в шотландский «Инвернесс Каледониан Тисл», выступающий в Премьер-лиге, остальные продолжили выступления в низших лигах. Клуб пополнили несколько футболистов, имеющих опыт выступления на более высоком уровне, среди которых особенно выделялся 35-летний полузащитник Кевин Макинтайр, проведший более 90 игр за «Честер Сити» в 2002—2004 годах, став чемпионом Конференции.

Несмотря на оптимистичные прогнозы, сезон начался с серии из 5 поражений подряд, которая завершилась гостевой победой 2-0 над принципиальным соперником «Рексемом». Эта встреча стала дебютной для 34-летнего защитника Дэнни Хиггинботама, выступавшего ранее за «Дерби Каунти», «Саутгемптон», «Сандерленд» и «Сток Сити» в Премьер Лиге. После этого «Честер» чередовал победные матчи с ничейными и проигранными, балансируя на границе зоны вылета и испытывая проблемы, в первую очередь, в линии атаки. 26 октября в матче 4 квалификационного раунда Кубка Англии «синие» уступили дома «Гейтсхэду» 0-1.

Календарный 2013 год «Честер» завершил в зоне вылета со всего 4 победами в активе. 8 января было объявлено, что контракт клуба с главным тренером Нилом Янгом, руководившим командой с первых дней существования и приведшим «Честер» к 3 чемпионствам подряд, расторгнут по обоюдному согласию. Новым главным тренером был назначен экс-наставник «Киддерминстера» Стив Бёрр. В первом матче под его руководством «Честер» одержал драматичную домашнюю победу над «Барнетом» 2:1. Несмотря на улучшившиеся результаты, клуб до последнего тура балансировал на грани зоны вылета и в заключительной встрече сезона принимал немотивированный «Солсбери Сити». Для сохранения прописки в Конференции «Честеру» была необходима победа, тогда как его единственному сопернику — «Херефорд Юнайтед» — помимо собственной победы требовалась помощь «Солсбери». За 5 минут до окончания сезона «Честер» одерживал верх со счетом 2:1, а «Херефорд» играл вничью с «Олдершот Таун», однако далее на глазах поклонников «Честера» разыгралась настоящая драма — их клуб не удержал победный счет, а «Херефорд» смог сломить сопротивление своего соперника, отправив «Честер» обратно в Северную Конференцию.

Однако, радость «Херефорда» оказалась недолгой, так как этот клуб испытывал серьёзные финансовые трудности и, в конце концов, 10 июня 2014 года был исключен из числа участников нового сезона. Место «Херефорд Юнайтед» досталось «Честеру», как лучшей из команд, финишировавших в зоне вылета.

Сезон 2014—2015
Несмотря на неудачное завершение предыдущего сезона, главный тренер Стив Берр, остался со главе команды, сразу по его окончании подписав двухлетний контракт с клубом. Перед началом очередного сезона клуб был преобразован, став полностью профессиональным. Футболисты, чья занятость на посторонней работе не позволяла посещать все тренировки клуба были выставлены на трансфер. Последним из полупрофессионалов уже по ходу сезона «Честер» покинул голкипер Джон Данби. Подготовка к сезону получилась несколько сумбурной из-за того, что в течение значительной части межсезонья не было ясно в какой лиге будет выступать команда. Из прошлогоднего состава в клубе осталось лишь 8 футболистов, а большая часть новичков была приобретена с прицелом на участие в Северной Конференции. Самым громким трансфером межсезонья стало приобретение 34-летнего бывшего нападающего сборной Шотландии Криса Ивелуму.

«Синие» начали очередной сезон, потерпев разгром в домашней встрече против «Барнета» со счетом 0:5 — самое крупное поражение с момента возрождения клуба. К середине сентября «Честер» набрал лишь 7 очков в 9 матчах, расположившись на границе зоны вылета. Основные проблемы в игре вновь были связаны с атакой — приобретение Ивелуму не оправдало себя и еще до конца октября он заявил о завершении карьеры, остальным нападающим не хватало опыта игры на уровне Конференции. Атака клуба была укреплена арендованными Мэтти Хьюзом из «Флитвуд Таун» и Рисом Оутсом из «Барнсли». Усиление состава позволило «Честеру» упрочить свои позиции в середине турнирной таблицы и пробиться во второй раунд Кубка Англии, неожиданно переиграв в гостевой встрече «Саутенд Юнайтед» из Лиги 2. В игре второго раунда против «Барнсли» при поддержке более двух тысяч своих болельщиков «Честер» смог удержать нулевую ничью на Оаквелл Стэдиум и добиться переигровки дома. Окончание аренды молодых нападающих совпало с падением формы большинства игроков основы «синих» — в повторной встрече с «Барнсли», которая транслировалась BBC, «Честер» не смог оказать достойного сопротивления, уступив 0:3. За вылетом из кубка последовало второе в сезоне разгромное поражение от «Барнета» и вылет из Трофея ФА от аутсайдера Конференции «Телфорд Юнайтед» — декабрь был полностью провален. В течение двухнедельного перерыва в начале января Стиву Берру удалось восстановить игроков, а клуб усилился вернувшимся Мэтти Хьюзом, нападающим молодежной сборной Шотландии Оливером МакБерни, арендованным у «Брэдфорд Сити» и еще несколькими игроками. В результате, команда выдала серию из четырёх побед подряд, задолго до конца сезона обеспечившую «Честеру» сохранение прописки в Конференции. За ней последовал еще один спад — в 9 следующим матчах команда одержала лишь одну победу, но сезон всё-таки был закончен на мажорной ноте после трёх побед в заключительных встречах над «Дувром», «Олдершотом» и «Нанитоном».

Эмблема и клубные цвета

Эмблема клуба
Эмблема «Честера» создана в 2010 году Мартином Хаксли, художником и поклонником клуба, который следующим образом описывает свою работу:

Талисман клуба носит имя Big Lupus, что является отсылкой к прошлому — племянник Вильгельма Завоевателя Гуго д'Авранш, получивший титул Графа Честера, был прозван Lupus, что в переводе с латинского означает «волк».

Клубные цвета
«Честер» сохранил цвета клуба-предшественника — футболки с белыми и синими вертикальными полосами, синие шорты и гетры. Цвет гостевых футболок меняется ежегодно, после фиолетового в дебютном сезоне и жёлтого в сезоне 2011/12, он стал зелёным в сезоне 2012/13. В сезоне 2013/14 «Честер» вернулся к фиолетовому цвету гостевой формы.

Стадион

«Честер» проводит домашние игры на «Дева Стэдиум», в настоящее время переименованного в «Суонсвэй Стэдиум» по рекламному соглашению. Стадион возведён в 1992 году и вмещает около 5400 зрителей.

Известные футболисты

 Ли Трандл (2013)
 Дэнни Хиггинботам (2013—2014)
 Джон Руни (2013—2016)

Примечания

Ссылки
 Официальный сайт клуба

Футбольные клубы по алфавиту
Футбольные клубы Англии
Футбольные клубы Чешира
Клубы Национальной лиги Англии

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Explore key lessons from leading global retailer, Tesco, on how organizations can compete through lean thinking and putting customers first.
Over the last two decades Tesco has emerged as a dominant player in the UK market and a leading global retailer. The Lean Supply Chain explores how Tesco, over the last 20 years or so, has built its business around supply chain excellence. As a mega-retailer, Tesco has learnt to create a balanced supply chain system, supporting suppliers' needs as well as customers' requirements. This perspective, and an ambition to act sustainably, has underpinned a rebuilding of trust in the Tesco brand and a resurgence in commercial fortunes.
This fully updated edition of The Lean Supply Chain contains new chapters on Tesco's current strategy, rebuilding brand trust and its CSR agenda. It charts the principles of lean thinking, customer loyalty and simplicity which were used by Tesco to frame its supply chain strategy and draws upon the authors' deep knowledge of how the retailer has dealt with challenges and market changes to provide lessons for other businesses, large or small, who wish to place how they manage their supply chains at the heart of their competitive strategy.
When considering a major undertaking such as building a Lean supply chain, it doesn't hurt to have a little guidance from a major global player. This book debunks many myths, and provides solid practical examples and advice for supply chain professionals looking to cut waste from their enterprises.


text:
COPYCENSE
Fair Use Deserves a Fight
"At a recent private book reading by Siva Vaidhyanathan and Larry Lessig at Stanford, both spoke at length about the future of fair use, revealing a schism in perspective. Siva is generally more hopeful, Larry characteristically pessimistic. Siva suggested that society and the court system might eventually have more promising answers to the current conflicts over copyright; Larry, meanwhile, argued that "fair use is the right to hire a lawyer."
"Today, Siva has a sad tale suggesting that most people have begun to agree with Larry — and worse, that society's gatekeepers of fair use — librarians, educators, school administrators — are letting it happen."
Corante. Fair Use It or Lose It. July 7, 2005.
Written by sesomedia
« The Costs of Copyright Litigation
Film Studios Deny Fair Use »
DO NOT DELETE: Information Today
The Coming Copyright Clash in Higher Education
HathiTrust Decision Summary
@Copycense
The @Copycense feed now is available at @kmdames 5 years ago
Follow @copycense
Archives Select Month December 2020 November 2012 October 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 March 2012 December 2011 February 2010 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004
Copyright Act of 1909 [.pdf]
Copyright Act of 1976
Copyright Regulations


text:
The Science Team
The sky of April – a rope of stars
April is the beginning of the season of the planets. Jupiter gets higher in the sky and Saturn and Mars start making an appearance. It's also the month where we can start to fully appreciate the Milky Way as the Galactic Centre begins to rise.
This month is fantastic for viewing Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Pluto is also in a good position to spot, though at a visual magnitude of 14.3 you'll need a reasonable telescope. The other highlight for the month is that the Galactic Centre starts making a reappearance in the Southern Sky, rising about 10:30pm by the end of the month. The Milky Way looks fantastic in April as it stretches almost horizon to horizon and as the dense star fields and dust lanes of the Galactic Centre become more visible, our galaxy creates quite a spectical throughout the month. Those of you with a keen eye will be able to spot the Milky Way Kiwi rising in the early morning at the start of the month.
A bit about April
April is a Latin name, Aprilis, Prier (in Dacian), very likely having a common root with aperire, (Latin to open, as in opening buds and blossoms) since in Europe is the month of the first blossoms on the trees, or according to some, it might be derivative from Aphrodite, original Greek name of Venus (still flowers stuff). Pri (pre) si a prefix that means "before" – "primavara" (prima vara – before summer) means spring, which comes before summer. Of course, for those in the Southern Hemisphere, at mid latitudes, it's the month of the leaves falling off trees and first taste of Winter as the odd southerly front roars up from the Southern Ocean to remind everyone what's on the way. Those closer to the tropics start seeing a bit less humidity as the dry season starts. The roaring southerly fronts also remind us of the super clear, cool and stable air that often sits behind those fronts and makes for cool evenings of amazing seeing, perfect for the season of the planets!
What's the Sun up to?
April is more or less the month of the zodiacal constellation of the Ram (Aries). That means the Sun is transiting the constellation of Aries and so we cannot see the constellation, because (1) the stars that make it are well behind the Sun and (2) it's dangerous to look into the Sun. For the first part of the month the Sun is in Pices. Of course, if you have solar telescope, that is well maintained and is designed for looking at the sun, then you can look at the sun. Given we're close to the solar minimum there's not much happening on the surface of the sun at the moment but you can still see the odd flare or prominence occasionally.
However, because the Sun is in Aries, it means that almost 180 degrees on the other side of the zodiacal band, (remember the zodiacal band is an imaginary circle stuck to the celestial hemisphere) is Scorpius. This means Scorpius is opposite the Sun, which is visible in the night sky. Scorpio's is quite high in the late evening by th end of the month – meaning that Sagittarius and the galactic centre is not far behind.
…the most spectacular feature of the Southern Hemisphere's sky … and to say this is such an understatement… The Milky Way is so striking here in New Zealand, that in the absence of a polar star, people could / and should orient themselves by it. For two reasons: one is because we think it is so amazing, and also because when it's at its highest, the Milky Way stretches here from North to South through Zenith. What else is better than that? Plus it might remind people to be more sensible about lighting so we can preserve dark skies.
I can still remember the first time I fully appreciated the Milky Way in the Southern Sky, it was in the Wairarapa back in 2011 and it is a sight I will never forget. I like to call the Milky Way, My City of Stars. This time of the year, just after sunset, I can let my eyes wander looking at its rising core, all the way to its setting edge — from Scorpius to Taurus in one glorious panorama… In April, the City of Stars stretches through the night sky southeast to northwest. It is a great time of the year to get the telescope out in the early evening, now that daylight saving has finished, and just browse the star fields, catching glimpses of nebulae and star clusters.
Imagine two arches, one smaller running though the Northern part of the sky, that is the ecliptic, the other one larger, running through Zenith, that is the Galaxy.
Bright stars on the Ecliptic
Through the northeastern sky runs the ecliptic, in a lower arch, which marks the plane of our solar system, bearing the zodiacal constellations. They intersect the Milky Way right on the horizon at the start of the month in the late evening. To see things on the ecliptic one should simply turn towards that part of the sky that carries the memory of the path of the Sun or of the Moon, for that matter. This is also where you'll see Jupiter this month, siting nice and high in the sky in Libra and then further along the Ecliptic around Sagittarius you'll find Saturn, Mars and Pluto.
Setting first in the evening at visually towards the outskirts of the galaxy, as we can see it from Earth, and at about 65 light years away, is the red giant Aldebaran, very low on the horizon and setting at about 8:30pm by the middle of the month, in Taurus @0.86 magnitude. Then hot white Castor and orange Pollux – in Gemeni @ 1.93 / 1.14 mag, followed by blue-white Regulus @1.36 in Leo – almost due North, and blue-white Spica 0.98 in Virgo, in North East. Then in Libra is another very bright object, this time not a star, but the planet Jupiter which is getting high enough by the middle of the month to give some great views from about 10:30pm. Just rising near the centre of the Galaxy, is another red giant, Antares, @1.06 M, and at 604 light years from us. By the middle of the month Saturn and Mars will be rising about 10:30pm not far behind Antares.
Other bright stars throughout the Galaxy
Outside of the Ecliptic are a bunch of other bright stars including the famous Betelgeuse, a red giant @0.42 mag and Rigel, a blue giant @0.13, both in Orion. Then the Dogs of the Celestial River, because they are guarding it each from one side of it, are yellowish- white Procyon – in the Small Dog 0.34 and Sirius – in the Big Dog. @-1.46. Sirius, a blue giant, is the brightest star in the sky. The big dog constellation finally looks the right way up heading also to the western horizon too. From it, turn your gaze left.
Nearby comes Canopus -0.72, the second brightest star in the sky. Canopus is not in the white band of the Milky Way. Standing tall, Canopus is high in the sky as it likes to be at this time of the year after sunset. Canopus is a circumpolar star from Wellington. Which means that it goes around in circles in 23 hours and 56 minutes, riding the celestial Ferris Wheel of the Southern Skies, a giant wheel that never stops, day after day, in a sidereal time cycle, as long as the Earth is turning.
Crux, the Southern Cross, is no stranger to the northern hemisphere and it was entirely visible as far north as Britain in the fourth millennium BC. The Greeks could see it too but since then, the precession of the equinoxes, the wobble of Earth, its gyroscopic dance on the orbit has changed the skies a lot so that now Crux is only visible in the Northern Hemisphere from as far south as 25 degrees latitude north. Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, the islands of the Caribbean, as well as Hawaii are its northern limit of visibility. Near the Southern Cross, there is a dark patch of dust that masks the light that comes from the stars behind it and that is known as the coalsack. Inside the coalsack, the Jewel Box is one of my favourite sights that I visit over and over with the telescope.
The Rope of Stars
Lower down on the path of the Milky Way the two pointers look now as if they are hanging from the Southern Cross. First comes Beta Centauri (the genitive for Centaurus, the name of the constellation) then the famous Alpha Centauri. For Māori they are also known in a different time of the year as the rope of an anchor and I can't stop but thinking that this is the end of my rope of stars. If I let it go now, I will fall into the center of the galaxy which is slowly and majestically climbing on the Eastern Horizon. Here in Aotearoa, the Māori have three names for the same asterisms (groupings of stars) at different times of the year. What we know as Scorpius is, at this time of the year, called Manaia Ki Te Rangi, the guardian of the skies.
Lower on the horizon, at a magnitude of +0.95 red giant Antares shines as the brightest star in Scorpius. Right next to it, you can sometimes see its rival, Ares by its Greek name, or Mars as we all know it better, is challenging the giant's red hue with its own red glimmer. This is how Antares got its name, as being the rival of Ares, Ant-Ares, the rival of Mars.
Zodiacal band
This is the Zodiacal band, an awesome drawing by Eugene Georgiades. Since one thousand years ago, when people stopped taking precession into account, the zodiacal constellations have shifted.


text:
Q: Update all clients view on ASP.NET MVC I am building an ASP.NET MVC 3 application, using entity framework and I need implement the following:
When one of the users updates a certain view a callback function needs to be called, and refresh the view state for all clients.
For example:
HTML:
Number of copies left:@item.Amount
<button onclick="buy">Buy</button>

JavaScript:

Contoller:
public void Buy()
{
    //Update DB
    //Write callback code
}

When any client clicks on the buy button, and the Buy function by the controller is called the @item.Amount needs to be refreshed by all clients according to the updates on the entity.
How do I update the view for all users, and not just the user that bought the product?

A: Try using SignalR.
With some usage of Javascript code this should work perfectly in your case
Read this short tutorial that should be enough in your particular scenario.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Public gets first look at MaineGeneral's regional hospital in Augusta
The Alfond Center for Health's open house on Saturday was greeted with "oohs," "ahhs" and "thank yous," as it was formally dedicated before a crowd of roughly 1,500, most of whom donated some of the more than $12 million raised privately to help build it.
By Keith EdwardsKennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — MaineGeneral Medical Center's new $312 million Alfond Center for Health will be a place for life-changing moments, good and bad.
Babies will be born and cared for there, including premature, low-weight and other newborns requiring advanced care that previously would have required a trip to Portland or Bangor.
The Rev. David Gant, director of spiritual care, center, says a prayer before a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at MaineGeneral Medical Center's new Alfond Center for Health today in Augusta. Staff photo by Joe Phelan
Nurse manager Edie Welch shows her mother, Lillian Merrill, how a couch in a patient room folds into a bed during a tour of the Alfond Center for Health today in Augusta. Welch was giving tours of the David M. Dick Memorial Wing, which is named in honor of a late nurse who worked for the hospital for 20 years. Staff photo by Joe Phelan
People stroll the gardens during a tour of the Alfond Center for Health today in Augusta. The Alfond Center for Cancer Care can be see in the background. Staff photo by Joe Phelan
Lives will be saved by its new technologies and the doctors and other staff members with the skills to use it, including those lured to central Maine by the sparkling, new, state-of-the-art hospital, set to open Nov. 9, seven months ahead of the original schedule.
Lives will be lost, too, and devastating diagnosis delivered to some patients at the medical center in north Augusta, meant to serve both the Augusta and Waterville areas. But even those patients will be better able to receive treatment, and die with dignity and privacy, more easily surrounded by their loved ones in a natural setting, officials said.
Today, the new hospital's halls were filled not with life-changing events, but "oohs," "ahhs" and "thank yous," as it was formally dedicated before a crowd of roughly 1,500, most of whom donated some of the more than $12 million raised privately to help build it. That's not including the $35 million donated to the project by the Harold Alfond Foundation.
Actually, make that $37 million.
Greg Powell, president of the foundation, announced today it would make a "bonus payment" of $2 million, contingent on a successful move from the hospitals in Augusta and Waterville to the new one. Powell said the $2 million will be shared by MaineGeneral's 2,200 employees, with $500 each for full-time workers and $250 for part-timers.
"Harold and Bibby Alfond envisioned, one day, the patients of central Maine would enjoy a setting (for medical care) surpassed only by the quality of its professionals," a beaming Powell said. Powell said Harold Alfond, who knew he wouldn't live long enough to see the hospital built, would think the building was awesome. Alfond died in November 2007.
Powell said Alfond appreciated the business case for merging two hospitals 20 miles apart into a regional one, but also had emotional attachments to the hospital because, despite the financial means to get treatment anywhere in the world, he chose to be treated for prostate cancer at MaineGeneral.
Visitors checking the hospital out today were impressed.
"I think it's wonderful, our community should be very proud of this," said Sandra Gay, of Windsor, as she and her husband, Skip, sat on a bench outside the wood-beamed entrance. "Hopefully it will help bring in some more doctors and specialists."
Steve Diaz, chief medical officer, and Chuck Hays, CEO of MaineGeneral Health, said it already has drawn new doctors and specialists. Drawing doctors to the area during a time when nationally, they said, there are fewer entering the field, was one of the justifications for building the hospital.
Over the last year, with the hospital under construction, Hays said MaineGeneral recruited 36 new doctors, "more than we've ever recruited."
Diaz, who started as an intern at MaineGeneral 20 years ago, said the hospital will make it easier for health care providers to take care of patients and has generated a buzz in the medical field.
"Even before we open, for the first time in a long time, we're attracting the doctors we need," he said.
All patient rooms at the 192-bed, four-level hospital are single-occupancy, providing privacy and reducing the risk of infection. The rooms include sofas that fold out, allowing family members to sleep in the rooms. Further boosting privacy, patients being moved between rooms can be moved around in a corridor separate from the main corridor used by visitors.
The hospital was designed with a nature theme. Large sections of glass allow natural light in, and there is an expansive healing and therapy garden with fountains, plantings and paths built into the grounds, located in the rural, wooded outskirts of the capital city.
Hays said studies show the more patients are exposed to nature and light, the quicker they heal.
"As beautiful as this new hospital is, the most important thing about it is what it allows us to do for patients and families," said Sherri Woodward, chief nursing executive and senior vice president of patient services.
John Scott, project manager of the construction project, said some 3,200 worked on the construction site, and more than 5,000 Mainers contributed to the project through construction, planning and off-site work.
The 640,000 square-foot hospital took two years to complete and was finished seven months early. Nearly 90 percent of the work was done by Maine workers, according to Diane Peterson, spokeswoman for MaineGeneral.
"It was built by the people of Maine, the people of this area," Scott said. "They knew they were building their hospital, and it really shows."
The hospital, on Old Belgrade Road, has also prompted reconstruction of exit 113 of Interstate 95 to make access easier and spurred a property listings boom in that section of the city.
The second phase of the overall $322 million project is a $10 million renovation of MaineGeneral's Thayer Campus in Waterville, where construction will start later this year. Once completed, Hays said Thayer Center for Health will be the state's largest outpatient center and will keep its 24-hour, seven-days-a-week emergency department.
The public may tour the hospital from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647


A 19-year-old Chicago man already being held in the Cook County Jail on murder charges has been charged in the slaying Wednesday of a teenage inmate in a fight.
Reginald Flemister of the 6000 block of South Lafayette Avenue was charged late Friday with first-degree murder in the death of Jamar Rodgers, 17, of Blue Island. Tom Stanton, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office, said Flemister is to appear in the Criminal Courts Building for a bond hearing Saturday.
Flemister had been in the jail since last January, charged in the shooting death of a South Side store employee in a robbery. Investigators said Flemister stabbed Rodgers with a homemade knife while Rodgers was arguing with another inmate.
Rodgers was being held in the jail in a maximum-security wing set aside for young inmates taking high-school equivalency classes. He had been in the jail since July on charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking.


The EMBA-Global Asia timetable facilitates a highly-focused learning experience. It has been designed so you can minimise the need to be away from the office, make the most of your time on campus, and focus on your studies.
The programme is split into 19 four or five-day concentrated teaching periods, or study blocks, scheduled approximately once per month and spread over five terms. Each term involves around 120 teaching hours. Between study blocks, you should expect to commit between 15 and 20 hours a week to personal study.
In the first three terms, core courses give you a solid grounding in all areas of business. Core courses are primarily taught in Asia, with blocks also taking place in London and New York.
Teaching is shared equally between London Business School, The University of Hong Kong and Columbia Business School faculty members, who travel to teach wherever the class is in residence.
In the final two terms, you have the opportunity to specialise and tailor your learning by choosing from the extensive portfolio of elective options offered by the three schools. As part of the elective portfolio, you also participate in one or more international seminars or assignments and have the option to undertake an independent research course.
In these final two terms, your study location depends upon your elective choices and may include London, New York, Hong Kong and Dubai, as well as other international seminar and assignment destinations.


I love Home Alone – I didn't watch it as a kid, and started watching it when me and Ell got together, and we've watched it every year since – the kids love it – and Ollie esecpially loves to quote it. 'Keep the change ya filthy animal' – how can you beat that? I think its already been watched four times this year, thats how much we love it. Its always a tradition for me and Ell to watch National Lampoon Christmas Vacation too – I must've watched it more than 20 times and I still laugh my head off at it. I also love the cheesy movies on Hallmark and Christmas 24. I would watch them all day.
I can't remember one as an adult – I think maybe the last one was when i was a child, but i don't remember it too well. I think the last time we had proper snow here was when Ollie was a newborn and Izzie was two and a half, so four years ago. We don't tend to get snow often living in the South West of England – I wish we did though, I love snow!
The last three years it has been at our house and i have cooked Christmas Dinner. The first year my parents and brother came, but my mum missed cooking, so the last two years it has just been the five of us. Both sets of our parents are local (within 15 minutes drive) so they will both pop around on Christmas Day. Its easier for us to stay at home with the kids now as they want to be playing with their presents. I love having christmas at home and i love cooking the dinner.
Mariah – All I Want For Christmas Is You, but I love her whole Merry Christmas Album – I still have my original copy from 1994!
We tend to let the kids open presents from family and friends when they are given to them (except from grandparents) so they have the chance to aapprtecate them and thank who has given them, but no we don't otherwise.
*SINGS* Now, Dasher, Now Dancer, Now Prancer, and Vixen, On Comet, On Cupid, On Donner and Blitzen – but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the red nosed reindeer….
We have done few already, such as visiting Santa, and going iceskating, we've also watched lots of Christmas Movies. I'm also looking forward to making our Christmas Ham an d'giving the taker a bath'. This year we started a new tradition of Elf on the shelf, and i'm really looking forward to him bringing the Christmas Eve Box – also we are going to the Crib Service on Christmas Eve which I think the kids will love. We also need to drive around and find the best Christmas lights.
I love Lindt Chocolates, and I love that we can get away with eating party food and cheese for dinner.
I love picking presents for others, especially the kids. I love seeing the looks on the faces when they open them. But who doesn't love receiving them too?!
Probably my Barbie camper van when I was six. My mum still says to this day what a nightmare it was to put together but I loved it.
I would love to go either to somewhere really snowy, or a little American town in a big house that we could decorate, where it has snowed. Somewhere like you see in the cheesy Hallmark movies.
I love wrapping presents -although I don't do them fancy for the kids, only for family and friends – I pick and theme and we do bows, ribbons, you name it – I love beautifully wrapped pressies.
Probably our most memorable Christmas was Ollie being born on 19th December 2012 – our special rainbow baby, after losing Sophie in February 2012, he was the most special gift we could've received that year.
I think someone at school told me *sad face*. Izzie is now 6 and she still believes – kids at school have said to her that Santa isn't real but we've told her 'if you don't believe you won't receive'. I still believe – I always check out the wind before going to bed on Christmas Eve.
I love having Ell and the kids at home, and just having some chilled time where we don't feel under pressure to do anything. That family time is so precious as life is really hectic during term time, so I really appreciate any quiet family time we get.
Next Post Left Over (Christmas) Pie….


text:
Q: DragDrop registration did not succeed
System.InvalidOperationException: DragDrop registration did not
  succeed. ---> System.Threading.ThreadStateException:

What does this exception mean?  I get it at this line trying to add a panel to a panel at runtime...
splitReport.Panel1.Controls.Add(ChartPanel);

Working in VS2008 C#

A: function abc
{
            Thread t = new Thread(new ThreadStart(xyz));
            t.SetApartmentState(ApartmentState.STA);
            t.Start( );
}
function xyz
{
 the code of Windows form..or whatever which is causing the error
}

A: Add the STAThreadAttribute attribute on the Main method. This attribute is required if your program access OLE related functions, like Clipboard class does.
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
}

A: This exception means that the thread that owns the Panel (the Panel being added) has been initialized using the MTA threading model. The drag/drop system requires that the calling thread use the STA thread model (particularly it requires that COM be initialized via OleInitialize). Threading models are an unfortunate vestige of COM, a predecessor of the .NET platform.
If you have the [STAThread] attribute on your Main function, then the main program thread should already be STA. The most likely explanation, then, is that this exception is happening on a different thread. Look at the Threads window in Visual Studio (Debug | Windows | Threads) when the exception occurs and see if you are on a thread other than the main thread. If you are, the solution is probably as simple as setting the thread model for that new thread, which you can do as follows (add this code to the thread where the control is being created):
Thread.CurrentThread.SetApartmentState( ApartmentState.STA )
(Thread and ApartmentState are members of System.Threading)
That code will need to happen before you actually start the new thread. As noted by @Tomer, you can also specify this declaratively using the [STAThread] attribute.
If you find that the exception is happening on the main thread, post back and let us know, and maybe we can help more. A stack trace at the time of the exception may help track down the problem.

A: I'm not sure whether you have solved this problem or not. I just encountered this problem and I fixed it by deleting my bin directory.

A: Yes, I realize this question was asked 2 and a half years ago. I hit this exception and did some reading on it. I corrected it, but didn't see my solution anywhere, so I thought I'd post it somewhere someone else could read.
One possibility for this happening with [STAThread] marked on the Main() is if you're running this on a thread other than the one you started on.
I just ran into this exception when trying to create and show a new form in a BackgroundWorker.DoWork method. To fix it, I wrapped the creation and showing of my new form into a method, and then called Invoke on that method so that it fired on the UI thread. This worked because the UI thread started from the Main() method with [STAThread] marked, as other answers here explained.

A: This error also can happen, if you have async Task signature on your Main()
    [STAThread]
    static async Task Main()
    {
    }

if it's feasible change it back to void
    [STAThread]
    static void Main()
    {
    }

A: By far the easiest way is:
private void DoSomethingOnGui()
{
    if (this.InvokeRequired)
    {
        this.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
        {
            Safe_DoSomethingOnGui();
        });
    }
    else
    {
        Safe_DoSomethingOnGui();
    }
}
private void Safe_DoSomethingOnGui()
{
    // Do whatever you want with the GUI
}

You can even pass things along no problem:
private void DoSomethingOnGui(object o)
{
    if (this.InvokeRequired)
    {
        this.Invoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
        {
            Safe_DoSomethingOnGui(o);
        });
    }
    else
    {
        Safe_DoSomethingOnGui(o);
    }
}
private void Safe_DoSomethingOnGui(object o)
{
    // Do whatever you want with the GUI and o
}

A: I found this error, and the one that makes the error shown was when we have another thread calling MessageBox.Show(this, ...). However, this is not done initialized.
We need to remove the owner of the message box to remove the error.

A: I solved this error by using below code...I were using Background Worker and trying to access UI while background worker..that is why getting error - DragDrop registration did not succeed.
We cannot access UI from the code running in background worker or in thread.
BeginInvoke((MethodInvoker)delegate
{
//write your code here...

});

Thanks Happy Coding... :

A: "Crypto Obfuscator For .NET" can also trigger this exception, in my case the DragDrop event was subscribed to (from designer), but contained no code as I commented it out much earlier on. It took a while to figure out what is was, and this was after changing every single Obfuscator config option 1 after the next.. it came down to exactly this. If you encounter this with a popular obfuscation tool, keep this in mind.

A: I have encountered this situation recently,[STAThreadAttribute]is in my case,and i solved this problem by using Invoke method,it might be helpful for you guys,so I share with a little code snippet:
this.Invoke(new InvokeHandler(delegate()
{
//Your method here!
}));

And InvokeHandler is a delegate like this:
private delegate void InvokeHandler();


Most people don't realize the true luxury living in a house. For instance, having more than 46 feet of living space was nice. And having a freezer that actually freezes things like ice cream was a good thing. Another couple of things on a boat is that there is next to no privacy and the wifi is usually non existent.
But I guess I can say it's not all been bad. Adults are constantly reminding me that I'm lucky to have this life. I guess the good parts are a matter of perspective. For instance, school takes half the time it used to. It's easier to find things since there aren't many places to lose them. I know I will get to see all of these cool places and do fun things. But it will take a while to get to where we're going. So in the meantime, I will have to wait until we get to our destination.


text:
Apo Whang-Od, The 101-Year Old Tattoo Woman of the Philippines
By:Kelly Lewis
From the documentary The Last Mambabatok, Apo Whang-Od © | Brent Foster
It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I'm staring at the wood-paneled ceiling in my hotel room in Banaue, Philippines, wondering how long the earthquake that's shaking me awake will last.
The exciting start of the morning sets a fitting tone for what the rest of the day will bring. Today, one of my closest friends and I are making the long journey to the village of Buscalan, Kalinga where we are hoping to be tattooed by a 101-year-old woman named Apo Whang-Od, the last traditional Kalinga tattooist known locally as the "mambabatuk."
A million things can go wrong on this adventure. The earthquake could cause a landslide, which would block the narrow road and halt our journey. Or, at 101, Whang-Od could be sick, tired, or taking a day off, an occurrence that's becoming more frequent, understandably, at her age.
It's also possible that we'll get all there, and Whang-Od has a waitlist that spans the length of days. During high season, it sometimes takes three days or more to be seen by her, forcing travelers to either spend a few nights in the village or give up and head home. Despite what could go wrong, all of these risks are work taking as I embark on my trek to meet Apo Whang-Od.
Apo Whang-Od giving a tattoo to a traveler © | Travel Trilogy
The Woman Who Changed a Village
Whang-Od is the last living mambabatuk, upholding a tradition that has spanned centuries. She's received accolades and worldwide press and has been the subject of documentaries featured on BBC and CNN. Like the start of most of my favorite travel adventures, I first heard about her from a local named Glenn, who owns a small dive resort called Azure Dive on the island of Dumaguete.
"It's difficult to see Whang-Od," Glenn said proudly whilst showing me his tattoo, the symbol for 'traveler.' "But this will probably be the only and last time that you can."
He's right. Depending on who you ask, Whang-Od is either 98 or 101 or 103. No one is certain of Whang-Od age, and there are no official documents confirming her birth.
Her 80+ year career began when Whang-Od was a teenager tattooing headhunters and warriors from her tribe, the Butbut people, who would earn their ink after killing to protect their community from enemies.
Over the years, her work became internationally recognized, leading to the prosperity of her village. As a community, they now have more advanced means of farming, for example, and a paved road that leads to the trailhead of their town, which sits high atop a mountain of rice terraces.
Whang-Od works with the same traditional designs that have adorned her tribe for centuries. She doesn't do custom work, and still uses a pomelo thorn as a needle and soot from her cooking pot as ink. For me—a woman that's already heavily tattooed—making the 12+ hour journey to see Whang-Od is simply an honor. She's more than an artist, Apo Whang-Od is a role model for women who choose unconventional paths.
15 Boyfriends of All Sizes
In small communities like Buscalan, village women are traditionally married at a young age, some as young as 14 or 15. In her early days, the 1920s, it would've been common for Whang-Od to have been married off to a village leader or headhunter as young as the age of 12. But she never married. And she never had children.
"She's had boyfriends throughout her life," says Joon, our local Buscalan guide who puts our name on her waitlist after we arrive just past dawn. "Fifteen boyfriends or so, of all different ages and sizes."
The day I meet Whang-Od, she's wearing bright pink floral pants, a tie-dye bandanna and a black t-shirt of a Filipino pop star that hangs loosely on her roughly 100-pound frame. She's got on gold hoop earrings, a thin gold bracelet, and a diamond ring that she rolls around on her index finger.
Her arms are completely tattooed and she's dressed impossibly cool, with a humor and a grace about her as she moves through the cabana quickly. It's hard to see how anyone could not become enamored with her.
I watch her take a photo with a younger Australian tourist after completing some artwork on his leg. She smiles wide for the camera, then reaches over and grabs his crotch, cackling. When it's my turn to get tattooed by her, I sit on an overturned bucket on the cement ground in front of her nervously, while she draws with pine soot on my arm.
I want to tell her how much I respect her, how the 12-hour drive and two-hour trek was worth spending this time with her now. Instead, I say nothing, the pain taking my words away as Apo Whang-Od starts tattooing me. She keeps her gaze focused solely on my tattoo, except for when she moves her head to spit straight over my left shoulder, or when she notices a chicken running around behind me.
The author, Kelly Lewis, getting a tattoo from Apo Whang-Od © | Kelly Lewis
The Long Road to Kalinga
Finding Apo Whang-Od isn't easy, but that's part of the adventure. To get to her village of Buscalan, you must first find your way to the province of Kalinga. The easiest way is via Bontoc, the nearest large town. If you're coming from Manila, you'll need to take the night bus to Bontoc, a 12-hour journey.
From Bontoc, it's another two hours to the start of Buscalan, via a jeepney, hitchhiking, or a private vehicle. From there, you'll have to walk or hire a motorbike to take you to the start of the trail, where you'll need to hire a local guide (1,000 Philippine pesos) to help you hike up the mountain to Buscalan and put you on her wait list.
It's a tough climb made almost entirely of vertical stairs that wind through rice terraces, but once you're through it, you'll reach a small thatch-roof cabana where you'll find Apo Whang-Od, as well as her two grandnieces, Elyang and Gracia, who she is training to tattoo.
If you're arriving later than 10 a.m., don't expect to be tattooed that same day. By the time you join the queue, choose your artwork and down a few cups of Buscalan's famously rich mountain coffee, it could be well into the afternoon when your number is called.
But here, you get what you get, when you get it, and if it even comes. A sign sits prominently at the cabana, summing it all up for eager travelers: "The Mambabatok can be overwhelmed with so many people wanting artwork. It takes a long time to travel here, but this does not ENTITLE you to demand anything. If you cannot wait then you do not deserve this rare work of art."
In other words, sit down, shut up, and prepare for a thrill that can only come from the pain inflicted by a tiny 101-year-old lady with a thorn and wooden hammer.
About Kelly Lewis
An entrepreneur at heart, Kelly Lewis is the Co-Founder of Unearth Women. Kelly is also the Founder of Go! Girl Guides, the founder of the annual Women's Travel Fest—a sold-out consumer travel event for women who love to travel—and Damesly, a tour company for professional and creative women.
« The Fearless Surfer Girls of Bangladesh
Meet the Women Redefining Philadelphia's Dining Scene »
thank you for the commentandy kaufman character tony


Heath Ledger's incredible rise to fame and subsequent tragic passing from an accidental drug overdose in 2008 will be explored in the upcoming documentary I Am Health Ledger. The film's first official trailer was released on Tuesday (Apr. 4), in conjunction with what would have been the actor's 38th birthday.
The documentary will give fans a glimpse of the iconic actor's life through the lens of his own camera, as he filmed the many highs and lows in his journey to stardom.
The film features interviews with some of the people who knew Heath best, including: Naomi Watts, Emile Hirsch, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Ang Lee and Catherine Hardwicke, as well as close family and friends. Heath's longtime girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Michelle Williams, does not appear in the trailer and it is unclear if she was involved in the project.
Heath starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the groundbreaking film Brokeback Mountain.
I Am Heath will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Apr. 23 before airing on SPIKE TV on May 17.
The actor shared one daughter with his ex-fiancée Michelle Williams.


Comedian, writer and actor John Hodgman (Judge John Hodgman, Vacationland) joins Howard and guest co-host Natasha Leggero to rebound from the Super Blood Wolf Moon! They'll debate incense safety and which Fyre Fest doc is best while counting down YouTube's Top Trending Songs. Then, the Movie Chart inspires the gang to ask: what is Nicole Kidman really running from? Plus, we'll find out who everyone thinks the hottest Monkee is as John ventures down new musical avenues during the Hot Picks.
This episode is sponsored by Joybird (www.joybird.com/CHARTED code: CHARTED) and Squarespace (www.squarespace.com/CHARTED code: CHARTED).


Subdivision development opportunity in North Evergreen. Majestic Mount Evans snow cap views from some sites There is potential for 4-5 extraordinary building sites with easy access from Hwy 74. Views with gentle slopes, stunning rock outcroppings and all just a short drive to downtown Evergreen. Please call the listing agent for showing. Owner will carry - call listing agent for details. This land has an active agricultural forestation plan which keeps the taxes low and the property healthy.


Pro Home Improvement is quite proud to be named a Select Shinglemaster" by CertainTeed! This is the best level CertainTeed roofing credential, and represents the highest requirements of excellence, high quality and understanding in the shingle roofing sector!
A energy tool that is employed to reduce, or rip, large sections of supplies. Although it is far more ideally suited to work with wood, there are other types of blades that can be utilised on other materials. The chart below lists the quantity due based upon when you file your license application. Note: An odd year is any year ending in an odd digit for example, 2015. An even year is any year ending in an even digit for example, 2016.
One of the most well-known energy efficiency upgrades are windows to replace old, single-pane models. Take into account dual-pane windows with an insulating layer of argon gas sandwiched amongst the panes. Apparently, property owners are even requesting triple-pane windows. Also, the PUD might have programs to assist you replace old windows with a lot more power-effective models.
Look around at the distinct units available, and never be afraid to ask the expert opinion of the clerks at the pool supply store as to which certain brand, or unit within the brand, is the most effective. While it would be good to have the cash to just replace the current cabinets, or completely remodel, the truth is that most of us can not afford to do anything like that. A rectangular or geometric cocktail pool, no deeper than five feet, will match in a quite tiny region-in little back or side yards. All you need is roughly 23 x 14 feet. Add the selection of heat and therapeutic jets and you have a spool" to get pleasure from year-round. When you have decided on a strategy, style, and the materials, you need to choose who will do the function.


Today we went to the Animal Kingdom, and of course, I loved it! I mostly liked the Asia and Africa sections. They were decorated so well and made it feel like you were there.
There was not slot of rides there, actually it was more like a really awesome zoo! The safari was probably my favorite part!


Earn $12.15 in VIP credit (1215 points)What's This?
Crank Brothers gives their flagship Eggbeater a facelift in the pursuit of even better functionality and durability. The Eggbeater 3 features a forged scm435 chromoly steel axle with cast stainless steel body and wings. The spring is 300 series stainless steel for long life. It still has an outer sealed cartridge bearing but now adds an inner needle bearing for better load distribution, longer life, and smoother pedaling. Includes premium brass race cleats with 15 or 20 degrees of float and shims for compatibility with different shoe lug configurations. Compatible with SPD style 2-bolt side to side shoes. 5 year warranty. 280 grams/pair.


COMES EQUIPPED WITH SAFETY STEP, LARGE BOUNCING AREA & 2 BASKETBALL HOOPS Unisex Colors perfect for a boy or girl. Decorated with hot air balloons at the tip of each column, to go along with any kind of party, or celebration. Always a good time guaranteed!
COMES EQUIPPED WITH SAFETY STEP,LARGE BOUNCING AREA & 2 BASKETBALL HOOPS Perfect for any little prince or princess! Guaranteed to provide hours & hours of fun!
COMES EQUIPPED WITH SAFETY STEP, LARGE BOUNCING AREA & 2 BASKETBALL HOOPS Unisex Colors perfect for boy or girl. Decorated with all kinds of circus animals, & with the bouncehouse designed just like an actual circus tent, kids can really let their imagination run wild! Guaranteed to provide hours of nonstop fun!
Spacious 15x15 Large Bounce House with Large Jumping area that will fit 10 at a time, basketball hoop, and safety entrance/exit ramp. This Bouncer comes with no Theme Banner. If you wish to have a banner to go with the theme you're doing. Please request it . We have many that are not listed on our page yet. Dora The Explorer, Jake & the Neverland Pirates, Sophia, Dr.McStuffins, TMNT, Spiderman, SpongeBob, Barbie, Monster High, Birthday/Graduation/Congratulations Banners, etc.
large jumping area and basketball hoop inside.
Large 15x15 jumping area & basketball hoop.
Princess for a day, but memories of a Lifetime!! Make your little princess's dreams come true in this pink, purple and blue inflatable Castle Bounce House!! Spacious Jumping area, basketball hoop inside, and mesh windows so the greatest spectators can view inside! Safety entry and exit step included! Any of our Module units are ready to rent out as is, with or without a banner in the open space on the bounce house. If a banner of your theme is desired, please look under our panels, or email or call us to inquire about the one that you're interested in, even if not listed.


text:
Watch all of Fallout 4's legendary foes fight to the death. Who wins?
Spoiler alert: Not the bloatflies.
By Owen S. Good Nov 15, 2015, 5:00pm EST
Source Cosmic Contrarian on YouTube
Share All sharing options for: Watch all of Fallout 4's legendary foes fight to the death. Who wins?
Before you get too proud of yourself for taking down a Deathclaw on your first day in Fallout 4, realize that there is a bestiary of "legendary" class foes out there, Deathclaws among them. Bloatflies and mole rats, too. Just about any kind of adversary you can fight in this game has a legendary class, and this modder teamed all of them up and pit them in a fight to the death. Who wins?
YouTuber Cosmic Contrarian lays out the legendary teams, grouped by type — livestock, insects, Deathclaws, etc. The Brotherhood of Steel is "ridiculously overpowered" he says, so that team goes in the middle of the arena, like a demolition derby's worst starting position.
New Vegas pegged the 'Claws as the 7/2 favorite against the field because, hey, they just pass the "eye test," right? But don't overlook the Mirelurks, who have huge depth (something like 30 legendaries, says Cosmic Contrarian). This also is looking like a do-or-die year for the Yao Guai but I dunno, Cutler just doesn't seem that engaged with the offense. Of course, nobody circles the wagons like the Brotherhood of Steel.
At 2:35 of the video, the flag drops and so does the framerate. I won't spoil the end of it, but let's say the top two seeds meet in the grand final and while it's not a knockout, it is a unanimous decision from the judges.
Amusing as that is, it should terrify the hell out of anyone still dawdling through level 8 and scavenging up trash for pipe-rifle mods. (Raises hand.) For the keys to survive in the irradiated Commonwealth, again, consult our handy-dandy guide — with videos!


text:
We use cookies on our website. By using our website you consent to this. Please see our Cookie Policy for more information and for details about how to remove cookies.
Delivering Intelligently
FMCG Manufacturing
Paper, Packaging and Printing
Downstream Energy
Energy Market Regulation
Healthcare Infrastructure and Public Sector
Private Health Providers, Operators and Insurers
Retirement Living and Social Care
Real Estate - Retail
Restaurants, Bars and Pubs
Legal Specialisms
IS and Technology
Antitrust Investigations and Dawn Raids
Competition Compliance and Advisory
Competition Disputes
EU State Aid
Market Investigations
Merger Control
Regulatory Advice
Financial Services Transactions
Corporate Crime
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance
Civil Fraud and Corporate Crime
Commercial Debt and Asset Recovery
Finance Disputes
Hedge Fund Disputes
Insurance Policyholder Disputes
IT Disputes
Pensions Disputes
Procurement Challenge
Public Law and Judicial Review
Regulatory Investigations and Enforcement
Reinsurance Disputes
Reputation and Information Protection
Employment and Incentives
Immigration & International Mobility
Asset Based Lending, Trade and Supply Chain Finance
Asset Finance and Leasing
Corporate Lending and Borrowing
Funds Finance
Hotel Finance
Leveraged Finance
Social Housing Finance
Speciality Finance
Building Societies and Mutuals
Regulated Lending and Banking
Regulatory Risk and Compliance
Infrastructure Projects and Energy
Infrastructure Asset Management
Regeneration and Inward Investment
IP Acquisition and Commercialisation
Trade Mark Portfolio Management
Employer Advice
Pension and Life Assurance Trustee Services
Pension Products: SIPP, SSAS, EFRBS and QROPS
Public Sector Pension Issues
Trustee Advice
Charities and Not for Profit Organisations
Contentious Trusts and Estates
Powers of Attorney (EPAs and LPAs)
Tax and Succession Planning
Public Sector and Local Government
Tax and Structuring
Transaction Services Team
Our cross-border experience
Insights and briefings
Implementing the Wood Review - April 2015
Addleshaw Goddard LLP
Insights & briefings
Implementing the Wood Review
Maximising the economic recovery of UK petroleum
Even before oil prices dropped significantly in 2014, the Government had in June 2013 commissioned a review of the UK offshore oil and gas recovery and its regulation. Led by Sir Ian Wood, it is known as the Wood Review. The purpose of the Wood Review was to address issues facing the UK offshore oil & gas industry including declining production and an anticipated fall in investment as well as issues arising from a complex basin which includes a number of smaller fields, mature and marginal fields and increasing interdependence between exploration, development and production.
The Wood Review
The Wood Review issued its final report in February 2014 with three core recommendations:
A new shared strategy for "maximising economic recovery (of oil and gas) for the UK Continental Shelf" (referred to in shorthand as MER UK), with commitment from the government (HM Treasury and a new Regulator) and the oil and gas industry
Creation of a new arm's length regulatory body to oversee and develop this programme of change and growth.
Greater collaboration and commitments by industry in areas such as development of regional hubs, sharing of infrastructure and reducing the complexity and delays in current legal and commercial processes.
The Government issued its response in July 2014, accepting the Report's findings and setting out how it would implement them.
MER UK strategy
The MER UK strategy is given legal force in the Infrastructure Act 2015. Section 41 requires the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to produce a strategy with the principal objective of maximising economic recovery of UK offshore petroleum, in particular through:
Development, construction, deployment and use of equipment used in the UK offshore petroleum industry (including upstream petroleum infrastructure), and
Collaboration among holders of petroleum licences; operators under petroleum licences; owners of upstream petroleum infrastructure; and persons planning and carrying out the commissioning of upstream petroleum infrastructure.
The Secretary of State and those bodies must act in accordance with that strategy and the Secretary of State must report each year on extent to which he and those bodies have acted in accordance with the strategy.
The first strategy is to be produced within 1 year of this provision coming into force. (It comes into force on 12 April 2015, so the first strategy must be produced by 11 April 2016.)
Oil and Gas Authority
The Government established a new regulatory body, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) which became an Executive Agency of DECC on 1 April 2015 and will become a Government Company (a private company limited by shares, with the Secretary of State as the sole shareholder) in 2016, once there is time after the general election to pass the necessary legislation. There is cross-party support for this. The legislation will set out the OGA's role and powers but the Government's response to the Wood Review shows that it expects such powers to include dispute resolution; a more graduated sanctions and incentives regime (including the power to levy fines and other penalties); the right to attend licence holders' meetings; and transparency and access to data.
The OGA will be partly funded by a levy on licence holders. The power to impose a levy is in section 42 of the Infrastructure Act and applies to holders of the following licences:
Section 2 Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 or section 3 Petroleum Act 1998 (exploitation of petroleum)
Section 4 Energy Act 2008 (unloading and storing gas)
Section 18 Energy Act 2008 (storage of carbon dioxide).
DECC is currently consulting on the design of the levy.
Recently, the OGA (even before it officially came into being as a DECC Executive Agency) issued a Call to Action. It identified two key risks that require urgent focus:
The risk that the profitability of producing fields will be insufficient to attract continued investment, leading to premature decommissioning of assets
The risk that confidence in the future potential of the UK Continental Shelf will continue to decline, resulting in critical long-term investment not being committed
To address these risks, the OGA has set itself a number of actions, with deadlines, but it expects the oil industry to work with it and has set the industry several expectations, including:
Prepare and present asset stewardship improvement plans to the OGA by April 2015
Significantly modify commercial behaviours to align with MER UK by August 2015
Establish a single forum to drive innovation and efficiency in decommissioning by September 2015
Reinvigorate and intensify efforts to improve efficiency with a target of 30% - 40%, working with the OGA to allow effective monitoring of progress, by the end of 2017
It is clear that the current government is committed to supporting the UK oil and gas industry. The creation and already significant work carried out by the OGA, coupled with the tax support given in the 2015 Budget, means that the government has taken steps to ensure that such support continues after the general election in May, no matter which party comes to power.
Related specialisms
All customers of heat networks in buildings may need a heat meter
Addleshaw Goddard Waste Update: which way for waste in England at the 2019 General Election?
Targeted Charging Review conclusions may not be good news for renewables and storage
Introducing AG
Info & insights
©2019 Addleshaw Goddard LLP (SRA ID 440721) - all rights reserved.


text:
West Country Charlotte Leslie MP
ITV Report
Bristol MP in hospital after medical complications
Charlotte Leslie is receiving hospital treatment after suffering serious complications following emergency surgery to remove her appendix.
Read the full story ›
Bristol MP sketches Corbyn during PMQs
Scroll down for the full image. Credit: Charlotte Leslie MP / Twitter
Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie spent today's Prime Minister's Questions in an unusual way. She sketched newly appointed leader of the Labour party Jeremy Corbyn and posted the picture on twitter.
Corbyn made his debut as leader of the opposition at PMQs today. Ms Leslie, who is the Conservative MP for Bristol North, tweeted "gotta keep out of mischief somehow. Afraid Tom Watson didn't escape either..."
Charlotte Leslie
@CLeslieMP
Can't take photos during #PMQs but here's a view from the benches (er,steps) all the same, on #Corbyn 1st PMQs... http://t.co/LIuwlEfBOk
12:05 - 16 Sep 2015
@bbcallegra gotta keep out of mischief somehow. Afraid Tom Watson didn't escape either... http://t.co/XklXykcjju
Charlotte Leslie MP
Campaign for free cash withdrawals in less affluent parts of Bristol
The cash machine in Lockleaze charges £1.85 for withdrawals Credit: ITV News
A campaign is underway for free cash withdrawals in less well-off communities in Bristol.
North Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie says: "Despite numbering around 10,000 people, the residents of Lockleaze live in what is euphemistically called an "Outstanding Financial Inclusion Area" – that is, a place that is more than 1km away from the nearest free cash machine."
Lockleaze's only ATM is in a shop on Gainsborough Square, which charges £1.85 for every cash withdrawal.
Charlotte Leslie says: "£1.85 is an inconvenience for anyone, but if you are on £72.40 jobseeker's allowance that £1.85 a couple of times a week is a massive financial hit."
Campaign to get free cash machines in parts of Bristol
Lockleaze
Campaigners say it's wrong that people in the poorest parts of Bristol are being charged to withdraw cash Credit: PA
There's a growing campaign to get cash machines which don't charge to withdraw money in some parts of Bristol.
It comes after a recent study found free-to-withdraw cashpoints rarely serve less affluent areas in the city.
The study highlighted Lockleaze as one of the city's blackspots where residents have to walk a considerable distance to withdraw their cash free of charge.
Local MP Charlotte Leslie says "Many people in Lockleaze are already struggling, it is utterly wrong that they should have to pay so much to access their own money. This needs to change."
The only ATM in Lockleaze is on Gainsborough Square and charges £1.85 per withdrawal.
Charlotte Leslie criticises Bristol Mayor's parking plan
A controversial plan to end free parking on Bristol's Durdham Downs has been criticised by the area's MP.
Charlotte Leslie and two local councillors say Mayor George Ferguson's plan to remove 500 spaces will outrage residents and commuters who are already opposed to Residents' Parking Zones.
All-day free Durdham Down parking could be abolished
MP Leslie to stand for chair of Health Select Committee
Charlotte Leslie MP is currently a member of the Health Select Committee Credit: ITV News Westcountry
North West Bristol MP Charlotte Leslie is to stand for election to chair the Health Select Committee.
Her announcement comes after current Chair Stephen Dorrell announced he was standing down.
Charlotte Leslie MP is already a member of the committee. She says she wants to "help return our NHS to the service not of politicians and of managers, but to patients and the nurture and support of those dedicated solely to looking after them."
But added her colleagues were "spoiled for choice" in the other candidates.
Bristol NW MP could be investigated over cash donation
Charlotte Leslie apologising in Parliament earlier this month Credit: ITV News West Country
A Bristol MP could face an investigation over her failure to declare cash donations to her local party.
Charlotte Leslie the Conservative member for Bristol North West apologised to the House of Commons earlier this month for failing to comply with the rules. But now a letter of complaint has been made to the Westminster Standards Watchdog.
Ms Leslie asked questions about the proposed Severn barrage but failed to mention that her local party had received £17,000 from the boss of the Bristol Port Company, which opposes it.
Bristol MP says she won't accept controversial pay rise
Tory MP Charlotte Leslie says she won't accept a pay rise of up to 11 per cent proposed by the independent Parliamantary standards body, IPSA.
The MP for Bristol North West says she couldn't look her constituents in the eye if she took the award - being proposed for 2015, after the next election.
She was one of a growing number of MPs rejecting the proposal, and calls for a wider "job description" to be drawn up as a way of assessing what members should really be paid.
IPSA says MPs should "catch up" after years of having their pay increases capped, and proposes offsetting the cost by reducing some allowances, pensions and severance pay.
Bristol City Council under fire
A survey has shown that Bristol City Council is the second highest user in the country of so-called 'gagging orders' on staff.
Bristol City Council


text:
The Why Axis
Stranger Danger: These Kids' Apps Collect the Most Data
Money-management apps tend to collect the most data and science apps collect the least, TheToyZone finds.
Chandra Steele
Senior Features Writer
My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I've been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you've just seen my Bernie meme.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/these-kids-apps-collect-the-most-data
During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have relied on apps more than ever to educate and entertain their children. When selecting which apps to use, they're concerned about what their kids are watching—but maybe not as much about what's watching their kids back.
TheToyZone has stepped in to read the privacy policies(Opens in a new window) of 107 popular children's apps to see what kind of data they're collecting. Of those, only 17 didn't collect any data.
Before we get into a breakdown, here are some interesting facts up front: money-management apps tend to collect the most data (on average, 10.1 types of data), and science apps collect the least (on average, 2.4 types of data per app). In between are gaming (9.3), social media and messaging (6.5), video streaming (6.3), books and reading (5.2), educational (4.9), arts and crafts/drawing (4.5), music (4.4), coding (3.6), and nature and animals (3.4).
The apps on the list that collected the most data types are Greenlight Kids & Teen Banking (22), Pokémon Go (17), Animal Jam (16), Kinzoo Social (15), Messenger Kids (15), Roblox (15), YouTube Kids (15), Amazon Kids+ (14), Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (13), and ArtWorkout (12).
The Best Tablets for Kids in 2023
Online Learning Trouble? How to Remotely Access Your Kid's Mac
Google Introduces New Search, YouTube Protections for Children
TheToyZone's data types include: contact info, location, contacts, browsing history, search history, purchase, and usage data. Check out the infographic below for a rundown of the apps in each category that collect the most and least data.
4 easy things you can do to be more secure online — Clarification Please
About Chandra Steele
I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I've had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who've used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it's touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light.
Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.
Read Chandra's full bio
Read the latest from Chandra Steele
Must-Watch: The Most-Streamed TV Shows and Movies This Week
These Are the K-Dramas Fans Are Most Excited to Stream in 2023
Is Dall-E the Next Dior? How AI Is Trying to 'Make It Work' in Fashion
AI Is Exactly as Biased as the Information We Feed It
Which US States Are Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft?
More from Chandra Steele