Currículum Vítae de Miguel Celedon especialista en Comercial experiencia en Atención al Cliente. Dispones de mi experiencia laboral, mis estudios realizados y conocimientos adquiridos.
My background includes a bachelor degree in economics as a basis for decision making in business environments then statistics has been an important support to develop my duties with the best approach using data managed with relational databases and Microsoft Excel.
I have a Master degree in Quality Management which has allowed me to create systems based on ISO/TS regulation that rules our procedures and policies which are compliant with corporate and customer requirements as well as developing activities related with continuous improvement in Materials and Logistics discipline like developing or internal logistics, warehouse layout, and pull initiatives.
I have been involved in manufacturing specially in Supply Chain, Materials and Logistics Management, in several environments like Automotive, HVAC, and Industrial. Customer Service has been a key element among all these activities. I am focus on Customer Scores and make sure each plant keeps them 100% and to implement any action to reach it.
In Emerson Climate Technologies, we have developed a full SO&P (Sales and Operation Planning) process that drives assignation of resources to best fit service level required by customers and inventory and production targets (volume and production days).
I think I have the competencies to coach team members to use ERP systems to manage supply chain duties as well as creating win-win relationships with suppliers and transportation companies. I have APICS CPIM framework to understand production and inventory disciplines which has been useful to standardize processes.
I am confident that I can offer you the customer service, communication and problem-solving skills you are seeking. Thank you for your time—I look forward to learning more about this opportunity!
In charge of coach materials team to define targets and action plan to standardize MP&L operation. Develop a Production Control Department in conjunction with Production Manager. Lead communication with Customers.
As a Head of Supply Chain I was responsible for Developing a Production Plan and Capacity Planning, implement a Lay-Out to store Raw Material and Finish Goods.
In charge of allocating resources by SO&P process in order to meet customer demand and meet plant and corporate goals. Maintain a production control department that executes a production plan based on production goals.
Especialidad en Econometría y Métodos Estadísticos.
Estos son dos cursos que General Motors requiere para la administración de los sistemas de manufactura y calidad.
Microsoft Excel Uso de funciones y macros.
MIcrosoft Access Desarrollo y administración de bases de datos relacionales.


text:
The New AZ Kids Arrive, D-backs Rumor Central (and not the Prospect Report)
By Jim McLennan@AZSnakepit Updated Dec 16, 2009, 4:30pm EST
Share All sharing options for: The New AZ Kids Arrive, D-backs Rumor Central (and not the Prospect Report)
No prospect report today, as finals and other pressures on time have left Zephon and IHSB short on a chance to get the scheduled installment quite completed in time. That'll therefore be held over until next week, and instead gives me a chance to throw up some random links and other stuff of potential interest. However, I'm pretty much phoning this one in though, since I got my HDMI cables, and so have been happily plugging them into anything within reach. The dogs have learned to stay away.
Let's start with the conference pictured above, where new Arizona starters Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy were introduced to the press at Chase Field yesterday. The pair spoke about their pitching arsenal and what they need to do to be successful. For Jackson, "It's big for me to come out throwing strikes early, set the tone early with the fastball. That way I can mix my offspeed into the equation to keep them off balance and help put them away." Kennedy's approach was a little different: "I have to throw a lot of strikes... I'm still going to throw a lot of fastballs even at 90, and I'm incorporating my two-seamer a lot more and try to keep you off balance mainly."
With both starters coming from the American League, they're going to have to get used to taking their hacks at the plate. Jackson - originally drafted as an outfielder - seemed to be looking forward to that a good deal more, saying "They've kind of thrown that on me that I had better be able to hit. It's a lot of fun being able to help yourself out." Contrast Kennedy's reaction: "I haven't gotten an at-bat since high school, so it's going to be a little challenging for me." Jackson has had only ten major-league at-bats since leaving Los Angeles in 2005, but in 2004 went 8-for-21 with three home-runs for Triple-A Las Vegas. Kennedy is right: he has yet to go to the plate in pro ball, so I wouldn't be expecting too much there.
Josh Byrnes made it clear that keeping a solid rotation was an important priority. Said Byrnes, "It's been a strength of ours. We've been among the leaders in major league baseball in innings and ERA from our rotation for several years running, so with Brandon Webb returning to health and the excellence of Dan Haren, we felt like we needed to keep paying attention to it." Byrnes feels that Webb's performance will be key. "If we're going to be good enough to win 90 games and make the playoffs like we did a couple of years ago, probably a few things are going to have to happen in 2010 that didn't happen in 2009. The first item is probably Brandon Webb returning to be an effective starting pitcher. I don't think there's any scenario where it doesn't go well for him and we're able to overcome that." Fox Sports Arizona also has interviews with both Jackson and Kennedy.
Over the weekend, Ken Kendrick discussed the 2010 budget for the team, which is currently sitting around the $70 million mark, depending on exactly what happens with regard to the arbitration-eligible players. The estimated salary available is around the mid-70's, but Kendrick said, "The number is not a hard number. There's not $10 million more. But $2 million to $3 million above our baseline to do something that we really find attractive? We could probably do that." There's still no certainty where the remaining budget might go: Nick Piecoro reports we asked about Jose Valverde, but his demands were too high. Kelly Johnson seems to be the main focus of attention: reliever Matt Capps is another possibility, but with half the teams in the majors interested, seems less likely.
Steve Gilbert mentions that outfielder Randy Winn "definitely is a guy on the Arizona radar," which seems somewhat perplexing to me. Sure, Winn can play all three outfield positions, but it seems difficult to work out how he could be fitted on to the roster while Eric Byrnes remains with the team. Certainly, Winn will not be expecting to get paid anything like the $9.6 million he earned from the Giants last year, and he has monster numbers at Chase, but one does wonder what exactly he would bring to the team. Gilbert says, "One of the pieces the D-backs were looking for this offseason was a veteran player, who could provide some leadership in the clubhouse."
What, is Tony Clark not available? Oops. Did I say that out loud? The reason for such cynicism is that of late, "veteran presence" has become a synonym in Arizona for "geriatric suck". In the past four seasons, the Diamondbacks has given 50+ at-bats to eight position players aged 34 or older: the mean OPS+ produced by these veterans is only 80.6. Admittedly, four of those were from Tony Clark, who has likely done more to damage the reputation of senior citizens in the state, than anyone not named Joe Arpaio. As a fan, it's far preferable to have a young player failing, since there's always the hope they'll improve down the road. In their mid-30s...not so much.
Random link dump paragraph. In the absence of a prospect report, here an independent evaluation of the Diamondbacks' prospects. Be interested to see what our resident gurus think of the rankings - such as the evaluation of Pedro Ciriaco as only a grade C prospect. Meanwhile, over at Bleacher Report, Joel Reuter posted his list of the top ten players in D-backs franchise history: plenty of food for thought there [does Eric Byrnes really merit an honorable mention?]. And to follow up on the Yanks/salary cap piece, Andrew Marks has a new project relating the Yanks to Veruca Salt: GoldenCC.com
I was sorry to hear of the demise of the MVN network of blogs, which was home to the worthy Baby Backs: The Next Generation and Out in the Desert Arizona sites. I've removed them off the side-bar: let's have a moment of silence as the herd of Diamondbacks sites is thinned. Oh, and finally, if you want to get in early on those personalized jerseys Steve Gilbert tweets the following numbers for the new arrivals on the team: Jackson #36, Heilman #48, Abreu #13, Kennedy #31.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is a bank of resources you can print and share.
Here's the report that Professor Wolf produced on further education funding policies.
Here's the good article from the Guardian on the neglect of Further Education from governments.
Here are some follow-up letters that some people may find interesting.


text:
/*
 * 作者:钟勋 (e-mail:zhongxunking@163.com)
 */

/*
 * 修订记录:
 * @author 钟勋 2019-08-29 23:47 创建
 */
package org.antframework.configcenter.biz.service;

import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
import org.antframework.common.util.facade.BizException;
import org.antframework.common.util.facade.CommonResultCode;
import org.antframework.common.util.facade.Status;
import org.antframework.configcenter.biz.converter.BranchConverter;
import org.antframework.configcenter.biz.util.Apps;
import org.antframework.configcenter.biz.util.Refreshes;
import org.antframework.configcenter.dal.dao.BranchDao;
import org.antframework.configcenter.dal.dao.ReleaseDao;
import org.antframework.configcenter.dal.entity.Branch;
import org.antframework.configcenter.dal.entity.Release;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.info.BranchInfo;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.info.PropertyChange;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.order.ReleaseBranchOrder;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.order.ReleaseBranchResult;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.vo.Property;
import org.antframework.configcenter.facade.vo.ReleaseConstant;
import org.bekit.service.annotation.service.Service;
import org.bekit.service.annotation.service.ServiceAfter;
import org.bekit.service.annotation.service.ServiceExecute;
import org.bekit.service.engine.ServiceContext;
import org.springframework.beans.BeanUtils;
import org.springframework.core.convert.converter.Converter;

import java.util.Date;
import java.util.HashSet;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.function.Function;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

/**
 * 发布分支
 */
@Service(enableTx = true)
@AllArgsConstructor
public class ReleaseBranchService {
    // 转换器
    private static final Converter<Branch, BranchInfo> CONVERTER = new BranchConverter();

    // 分支dao
    private final BranchDao branchDao;
    // 发布dao
    private final ReleaseDao releaseDao;

    @ServiceExecute
    public void execute(ServiceContext<ReleaseBranchOrder, ReleaseBranchResult> context) {
        ReleaseBranchOrder order = context.getOrder();
        ReleaseBranchResult result = context.getResult();
        // 校验
        Branch branch = branchDao.findLockByAppIdAndProfileIdAndBranchId(order.getAppId(), order.getProfileId(), order.getBranchId());
        if (branch == null) {
            throw new BizException(Status.FAIL, CommonResultCode.INVALID_PARAMETER.getCode(), String.format("分支[appId=%s,profileId=%s,branchId=%s]不存在", order.getAppId(), order.getProfileId(), order.getBranchId()));
        }
        // 新增发布
        Release release = buildRelease(branch, order);
        releaseDao.save(release);
        // 更新分支
        branch.setReleaseVersion(release.getVersion());
        branchDao.save(branch);
        // 设置result
        result.setBranch(CONVERTER.convert(branch));
    }

    // 构建发布
    private Release buildRelease(Branch branch, ReleaseBranchOrder order) {
        Set<Property> properties = buildProperties(getCurrentProperties(branch), order.getPropertyChange());

        Release release = new Release();
        BeanUtils.copyProperties(order, release);
        release.setVersion(Apps.produceReleaseVersion(branch.getAppId()));
        release.setReleaseTime(new Date());
        release.setProperties(properties);
        release.setParentVersion(branch.getReleaseVersion());

        return release;
    }

    // 构建配置集
    private Set<Property> buildProperties(Set<Property> parentProperties, PropertyChange propertyChange) {
        Map<String, Property> keyProperties = parentProperties.stream().collect(Collectors.toMap(Property::getKey, Function.identity()));
        for (Property property : propertyChange.getAddedOrModifiedProperties()) {
            keyProperties.put(property.getKey(), property);
        }
        for (String key : propertyChange.getDeletedKeys()) {
            keyProperties.remove(key);
        }

        return new HashSet<>(keyProperties.values());
    }

    // 获取当前配置集
    private Set<Property> getCurrentProperties(Branch branch) {
        if (branch.getReleaseVersion() == ReleaseConstant.ORIGIN_VERSION) {
            return new HashSet<>();
        }
        Release release = releaseDao.findLockByAppIdAndProfileIdAndVersion(branch.getAppId(), branch.getProfileId(), branch.getReleaseVersion());
        if (release == null) {
            throw new BizException(Status.FAIL, CommonResultCode.ILLEGAL_STATE.getCode(), String.format("发布[appId=%s,profileId=%s,version=%d]不存在", branch.getAppId(), branch.getProfileId(), branch.getReleaseVersion()));
        }
        return release.getProperties();
    }

    @ServiceAfter
    public void after(ServiceContext<ReleaseBranchOrder, ReleaseBranchResult> context) {
        ReleaseBranchOrder order = context.getOrder();
        // 刷新客户端
        Refreshes.refreshClients(order.getAppId(), order.getProfileId());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I.M.S. offer Vacuum Conveying systems / Vacuum Conveyors of PIAB Make from Sweden. These are sophisticated Vacuum conveyors, made in SS, as per cGMP, suitable for handling powder, and also suitable for handling granules for loading them into the Tablet compression machine, automatically through vacuum.
We are offering Dilute Vacuum Conveying Systems.
Vacuum is used with great advantage in conveying dry powder products through dedicated pipe systems. Piab's vacuum conveying systems are built of high quality material.


Pots and pans made from stainless steel, aluminum, and Teflon-coated non-stick have almost replaced the cast iron pans of old.When you talks to Homesteaders that use cast iron pots and pan they will tell you that are no match for them in safety and durability. If you have inherited any rusty old pans from your parents or grandma, hold on to them. If you find them in garage sales, grab them.
My grandma cooked with cast iron only and nothing else. My mom also did a lot of cooking with a cast iron skillet. I was always amazed what they cooked in their skillets. They would cook all-in-one meals, breads, desserts, and my favorite breakfast eggs, bacon, and pancakes.They both swore by their cast iron skillet, pots, and pans.
On the next page are 5 reason you should be cooking with cast iron skillets, pots, and pans.


text:
Advocates for Better Children's Diets
People Love Us, Here's What They're Saying!
"Nancy Chapman and her professional team at N. Chapman Associates, Inc. served our Apple Processors Association for more than 20 years. Beginning with her Capitol Hill experience with the House Committee on Agriculture, and coupled with her widespread contacts with the food and agricultural sector, she became a key part of our association team. Nutritional labeling, food safety matters, and personal policy counsel to our board of directors and members were all part of her services. We are a better industry association because of her many inputs."
Paul S. Weller Jr President, Apple Processors Association
"I had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Nancy Chapman and her excellent team at N. Chapman Associates for many years as a board member for the Soyfoods Association of North America. Nancy's business acumen, keen understanding of nutrition and regulatory policy and passion for the healthy foods industry were great assets to our association. Nancy's used her vast knowledge and significant connections and resources to further the goals and objectives of the association, which had been clearly identified through her leadership in needed strategic planning and execution."
Kate Leavitt Director of International Sales and Marketing, Sunopta
"Nancy's guidance and analysis on nutrition policies has been invaluable to Share Our Strength's advocacy work. Her analysis and deep understanding of SNAP Ed and opportunities to leverage the program through the Farm Bill process yielded significant positive results and informed many of our key strategies in place today on nutrition education."
Josh Wachs Chief Strategy Officer, Share Our Strength
"The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) has used the services of N. Chapman and Associates for the last decade. Nancy and her team help keep ASN members informed and engaged on the latest public policy happenings in nutrition by providing us with timely information on a regular basis that is used to craft ASN's policy newsletter. They have been very willing to work with us to create a product that resonates most with the ASN membership, tailoring the information provided to fit the needs and interests of our society, which is a diverse group of nutrition researchers across multiple disciplines and sectors. For example, they easily added an International Initiatives section to the content provided to reach ASN's increasingly worldwide population. We happily recommend N. Chapman and Associates as an up-to-the-minute nutrition policy resource!"
Sarah Ohlhorst, MS, RD Director of Government Relations, American Society for Nutrition
Have something nice to say? Send us a note.
© N. Chapman Associates, Inc.
1150 18th Street NW, Suite 450A, Washington, DC 20036


Dr. Susan Kane is a Professor Emerita of Classical Archaeology at Oberlin College, the Director of the Cyrenaica Archaeological Project (Libya) and Sangro Valley Project (Italy), and an expert on the archaeology of Libya. Dr. Kane's interest in Libya is not limited to archaeological research, but also includes capacity building work for the preservation and protection of Libya's cultural heritage. Since 2005, with the help of grants from the U.S. Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation and working closely with the Libyan Department of Antiquities, Dr. Kane has helped to train Libyan archaeologists and police in how to protect and preserve their heritage in the midst of crisis and civil war. In 2013, she was awarded a Society for American Archaeology Presidential Award for her efforts in the preservation of Libyan heritage during NATO's Operation Unified Protector.
How has the conflict in Libya since the Arab Spring affected the cultural heritage in Libya?
Since the February 2011 revolution that ousted Gaddafi, Libya has been struggling with the challenge of building a new country. The current perilous condition of the Libyan state now endangers a remarkable and varied range of cultural heritage dating from the prehistoric, Graeco-Roman, and Islamic periods, including five UNESCO World Heritage sites, all currently placed on the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger list. Three of these are Greco-Roman archaeological sites located on the Mediterranean coast—Cyrene in the east; Sabratha and Leptis Magna in the west. Another is further inland, nearly 500 km to the southwest of Tripoli, the Islamic desert trading city of Ghadamès with its distinctive vernacular architecture, and in the far southwest of the country is the Tadrart Acacus, a massif that contains thousands of prehistoric rock-art sites, some dating as early as 9,000 B.C.
The over-riding concern in Libya these days is security. Army and police forces have yet to be formed into effective, coherent organizations. Independent and heavily armed militias still abound. Religious extremist groups are asserting their control over areas of the country. Two rival governments at opposite ends of the country – the Tripolitania and Cyrenaica – are claiming authority over Libya's resources in a de facto civil war. The oil-based economy remains fragile as production is intermittent. Water, electric, and communications infrastructures are unreliable; outages are not uncommon. There is a constitution still to be approved and a legal system to be reconstructed.
Cultural sites were largely spared during the 2011 Revolution. NATO's Operation Unified Protector successfully protected Libya's most important sites with their "no-strikes" list and the Blue Shield's post-revolution assessment reported very little damage to the sites from either air strikes or ground combat.
Now, Libya's cultural heritage is being damaged, not only from the chaos and lawlessness of the ongoing civil war, but also from deliberate destruction wrought by vandals and religious extremists. Over the past two years, Sufi tombs and mosques have been seriously damaged or completely destroyed throughout the country. In the city of Tripoli there has been both pillaging and the outright destruction of a number of important Islamic shrines. Prehistoric rock art at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tadrart Acacus is being vandalized. Museums remain closed country-wide due to security concerns. Public sculptures of the Italian colonial era have been destroyed by extremists in both Tripoli and Derna and are currently being threatened in Sirte. There have been credible threats that the country's museums will be attacked so artworks have been moved to safer sites and other protective measures taken by the Department of Antiquities staff to secure their buildings. Since Department of Antiquities archaeologists remain hesitant to do site inspections in areas deemed unsafe, there has been a notable increase in illicit trafficking of cultural materials in the past two years. UNESCO continues to issue urgent calls for the greater protection of Libya's cultural heritage.
The lawless state of the country is also encouraging widespread, unregulated development that is destroying cultural heritage which has remained unscathed for centuries. With no constitution, no clearly operating legal system, no defined property rights, and no organized police force, a major land-grab is underway that pays little heed to archaeological remains. The exploding population of Libya needs new housing, especially after Gaddafi put a moratorium on building in the latter years of his regime and there is little respect for historical remains that might impede new construction.
In your work at Cyrene, has your work been affected by looting and trafficking?
American archaeologists have been working at the archaeological site of Cyrene in eastern Libya since the early 20th century. Richard Norton, with the support of the Archaeological Institute of America, began excavating in 1910, but he abandoned his project in 1911 following the murder of a staff member by local assailants. American teams from the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania respectively resumed archaeological research in the mid-1960s but all activity was halted in 1981 when relations ceased between the USA and Libya after the Gulf of Sidra incident.
Following resumption of diplomatic ties between the United States and Libya in January 2004, the American Archaeological Mission, under my direction, returned to Cyrenaica after a hiatus of twenty-three years. On our return to Cyrene in 2005, we found the infrastructure of the Libyan Department of Antiquities in Shahat was badly decayed. During the period we were unable to work in Cyrene, a number of sculptures excavated by the American Mission between 1969 – 1981 were taken from the departmental storerooms, probably sometime in late 1999 or 2000. Some of these pieces have subsequently been traced to sales in auction houses in New York, London, Paris, and Geneva, but only two have been recovered. Other thefts of sculptures from Cyrene also occurred during this period.
Asked by our old colleagues at the Department of Antiquities in Cyrene for assistance, the American Mission began a series of collaborative projects—generously supported by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli and the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation—that focused on capacity building, including the introduction of modern information technologies, courses on site documentation and mapping, and the inventory of storerooms.
Temple of Zeus, Cyrene, Libya.
What makes the artifacts from Cyrene stand out from other areas? Where do you see these types of artifacts appearing after they are looted?
Cyrene's funerary sculptures – portraits of the deceased and a unique, often aniconic or veiled, female bust of a funerary goddess – are unique to the region. These funerary sculptures are now appearing on the art market in Europe and the United States with alarming frequency, especially in the chaos of the post-Revolution. One highly publicized case involved a statue of a funerary goddess from Cyrene that was seized in London in 2013. The work was being shipped from the UAE Sharjah purportedly as a statue from Turkey, but its distinctive iconography was proved to the British Court that it was a looted statue from the Cyrenaica.
Urban encroachment, along with a growth of illicit digging in the extensive necropoleis that ring the city of Cyrene, are uncovering antiquities that are appearing more and more frequently on the international art market. Portable antiquities are seen as a form of booty by many local inhabitants, who now have the opportunity, especially through Egypt, to smuggle antiquities abroad for sale.
In light of Libya's political crisis, what do you see as the role of heritage? Does it serve to unify or divide opposing parties?
Libya's need to deal with its past, both political and cultural, is critical. During the Gaddafi regime, Libya's pre-Islamic cultural heritage was not a priority. Archaeology was of scant importance and support for the institutions responsible for it were minimal. Virtually all of Libya's heritage sites suffered from lack of maintenance, inadequate security, and few public programs existed to raise awareness of their centrality to Libyan culture. It is unclear how Libya will find a way to deal with its past, and to talk about its cultural heritage in the future.
Given 42 years of Gaddafi era neglect, it is not surprising that cultural heritage struggles for recognition and support from both the current governments and general populace. Libya is in transition and it is difficult to confront issues of cultural preservation when greater concerns dominate the Government's agenda.
Can you tell us about your work training Libyan experts on the ground and how it is aiding in protection?
Just after the Revolution, hopes were high that cultural heritage in Libya would receive a new national priority. In October 2011 UNESCO convened an international meeting of experts on Libya heritage. The group expressed concern about the fragility of Libyan cultural heritage and evaluated risks in the aftermath of the conflict and the transition to a new government. Their recommendations focused on securing heritage sites and collections, strengthening the legal and institutional framework for heritage, and increasing the awareness of and support for heritage by the national and local publics within Libya. Also recommended were a moratorium on excavations. Instead, foreign missions were encouraged to assist Libya with the protection, assessment, documentation, and management of cultural heritage, to be realized through a focus on training and capacity building.
Since that meeting in 2011, UNESCO, other international NGOs, and foreign missions have presented a variety of short-term workshops and longer-term training courses, organized with the cooperation of the Department of Antiquities. But now, given the current security concerns, no foreign missions can work safely in Libya, so any projects and workshops for capacity building must be held outside the country.
Our training activities have spanned the Gaddafi era (2005 – 2011), the Revolution (2011-2012), and the post Revolution period (2014 -). Since 2014, our training activities are being conducted outside of Libya, mainly in Tunisia. Our capacity building initiatives are based on a simple principle: "train the trainers." Through a series of linked courses and workshops, the American Mission has sought to create a continuous and progressive training program. The idea is to work as often as possible with specific individuals who move forward in a series of increasingly advanced courses with the aim that these individuals will be able to take on the responsibility of training others in other courses offered within Libya. As new persons are trained by these trainers, they can be added to new advanced courses. This system builds a larger group step by step.
In 2016, we held two workshops on cultural heritage resource protection (29 February – 02 March 2016 in Rome and 17-22 October 2016 in Tunis). Instruction was provided by representatives of the FBI Art Crime Team, the US National Parks Service, and the Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale. The recommendations from the Rome workshop included a request on the part of the Department of Antiquities to develop multi-disciplinary teams of law enforcement personnel and archaeologists who could work together to combat illicit looting and trafficking within Libya.
The October 2016 workshop in Tunis brought together 8 Libyan law enforcement personnel (Tourist Police and Customs officials) and 8 archaeologists (from both Tripolitania and Cyrenaica) to work with instructors from the US FBI Art Crime Team, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Italian Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale to learn basic principles of crime scene investigation through a series of practical exercises. A Libyan lawyer and judge provided a discussion of Libyan antiquities law and information on court procedures. This was the first time that these two groups had been brought together to work on the problem of illicit trafficking and looting.
Since October 2016, four follow up workshops have been held within Libya, all conducted by participants from the last workshop. From these workshops, 23 police have been selected to attend an advanced course in Tunis in March 2018. It is hoped that these police will eventually form the basis for a specialized art crime police force in Libya.


text:
Erickson takes his 4th team to AP Top 25 | Rock Hill Herald
Erickson takes his 4th team to AP Top 25
By Staff and Wire Reports - Staff and Wire Reports
NEW YORK -- No matter where Dennis Erickson goes, his teams usually end up in the Top 25.
Four games into his first season as Arizona State coach, Erickson has the Sun Devils unbeaten and in The Associated Press poll for the first time this season at No. 23.
Arizona State is the fourth school Erickson has guided into the rankings, along with Washington State, Miami and Oregon State. Only Lou Holtz, with five, has coached ranked teams at more schools. Holtz did it with North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina.
No. 1 Southern California and No. 2 LSU, as they have all season, head the Top 25.
No. 11 Oregon started the second 10 in the AP poll, followed by Boston College, Clemson, Kentucky and Georgia. At No. 14, Kentucky's ranking is its highest since it finished No. 6 in 1977.
South Carolina was No. 16 and Virginia Tech, South Florida, Hawaii and Missouri completed the top 20.
No. 21 Penn State dropped 11 spots after a 14-9 loss to Michigan and No. 22 Alabama fell six spots after losing 26-23 in overtime to Georgia. No. 25 Nebraska also dropped a spot after hanging on to beat Ball State 41-40 at home.
Appalachian State, the Championship Subdivision team that upset Michigan in the first week and prompted the AP to open poll voting to schools from all divisions, didn't appear on any ballots after its 17-game winning streak was snapped by Wofford. Appalachian State received votes in the previous two polls.
• Moments after North Carolina Central claimed victory over rival North Carolina A&T, the Eagle players decided on a celebration that would lead to a bench-clearing, helmet-swinging brawl.
The fight so enraged A&T athletics director DeLores "Dee" Todd that she said the two schools likely would take a "cooling-off period" from continuing the series.
The fight lasted several minutes and left dozens of players lying on the field. Police from both schools ran in after several minutes and broke up the fight using pepper spray. An NCCU player lay on the ground outside of the locker room vomiting after the fight as trainers worked feverishly to wash out his eyes.
One unidentified N.C. Central player was suspended for next week's game against Presbyterian, assistant athletics director Kyle Serba said Sunday. There were no arrests as of Sunday, Serba said, adding that no fans were involved in the incident.
• COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- Auburn guard Frank Tolbert was charged with third-degree criminal mischief after his arrest for an incident at a towing company lot, the Opelika-Auburn News reported.
Tolbert was arrested Friday after allegedly jumping a fence at United Auto Collision to get his SUV, which had been towed earlier in the week.
Police said Tolbert damaged a metal fence when he drove through it leaving the lot.
An Auburn spokesman said neither Tolbert nor coach Jeff Lebo would comment on the arrest.
Tolbert started 28 games last season, averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
• PRO TENNIS -- Fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia won the WTA Tour's Sunfeast Open title, defeating Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine 6-0, 6-2 in the fina.
World No. 35 Kirilenko faced no difficulty in outplaying an erratic rival to clinch her third WTA Tour singles title.
The 164th-ranked Koryttseva, a first-time singles finalist, was broken on three successive serves of the opening set, but started strongly in the second set to lead 2-0 after breaking Kirilenko in the first game.
• PRO BASKETBALL -- Former NBA All-Star Allan Houston has partnered with an Omaha community center that motivates children to become leaders.
Houston was in the city on Thursday and Friday sharing basketball tips and life lessons with children at Wesley House. It was the precursor to a father-son basketball retreat -- similar to the "Father Knows Best" event Houston's charity holds annually in New York -- being planned for next summer.
Mack in a Minute
Panthers' pre-training camp mailbag: Curtis Samuel's role? Brian Burns' contract?
By Brendan Marks
The Carolina Panthers open training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg on July 25. Up in the air is Brian Burns' contract situation, Curtis Samuel's role, and Matt Paradis and Cam Newton's injury rehabs.
Why would the Carolina Panthers put themselves through the 'All or Nothing' wringer?
A closer look at Jamel Cook, confident freshmen and USC's answers for thin secondary
Locksley excited to lead Terps football past tumultuous 2018
Peter Schmuck: Mussina's departure from Orioles still rankles some, but decision might have paved his way to Cooperstown


GT 4seaters with V8 and V12 frontengines.
Chassis in aluminium, steel and carbon fibre developed by IDENTITY.
THE IDENTITY Y2 has beet presented with great success at Top Marques Monaco 2011, the new V12-powered GT, by IDENTITY.


The Faye bed frame has a subtle classic design that will fit in with a classic or modern bedroom. It features solid beech sprung slats with a metal centre rail and an adjustable centre leg. It also has metal brace bars for added strength.


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The Arts and STEM
Come Play With Us!
Creative Arts Scholars
Your Career in the Arts
Study Abroad and Away
Theater: The Little Dog Laughed' opens Oct. 22
CCA Home
The Miami University department of theatre presents "The Little Dog Laughed," by Douglas Carter Beane, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22-25, and at 2 p.m. Oct. 25-26, in Studio 88 Theatre, Center for Performing Arts.
Playwright Beane is known for his humorous and satirical portrayals of life in America. "The Little Dog Laughed" satirizes the world of tabloid gossip, scandal, Hollywood and celebrities through the story of a rising young star who finds himself in the midst of an identity crisis. Though determined to be true to himself and announce that he is gay, his agent is hesitant for him to do so knowing what it could do to his career.
Cast members,left to right:
Caitlin Douglass, Mario
Formica, Adam Joesten
and Theresa Liebhart
(photo by Jessica Dusing).
"The Little Dog Laughed" is directed by senior theatre major Carly Mungovan. "For me, this play resonates with the identity struggle that everyone has at some point in their lives and the decision of how much of our true selves we choose to share with the world and how much we keep
to ourselves," Mungovan said.
Tickets, $10 adults, $8 seniors and $7 students, are available at the Miami University box office.


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Amnesty calls for action on World Refugee Day 20 June
In this, the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on World Refugee Day, Amnesty International calls on states to reaffirm everyone's right to seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution, as recognized in the words of article 14 of the UDHR.
Almost two million Iraqi refugees, fleeing murder, kidnap, torture and ill treatment, are now living in Syria and Jordan.
In the Mediterranean region, asylum-seekers and migrants continue to die in the sea in their desperate attempt to reach Europe.
These are two of the many refugee problems that confront the world today.
Meanwhile, doors are being quietly closed. People fleeing Iraq now face visa restrictions as they try to enter Jordan and Syria. Sweden, host to the largest number of Iraqi refugees in Europe, has now changed its approach and is returning refugees to very dangerous areas of their home country. In the Mediterranean region, European Union countries such as Spain and Italy are involved with interception operations and joint migration control measures with countries in North and West Africa. People are being sent back to the terrible situations they were desperately trying to escape.
International assistance for Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan is desperately needed, contributions to UN agencies working with refugees from Iraq inadequate. In May 2008, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a fresh appeal for increased funding for its Iraq work. They cited a shortfall of $127 million for assistance programmes without which essential health and food assistance programs may have to be reduced, forcing many Iraqis into further destitution and raising the likelihood of higher malnutrition rates and increased rise of child labour.
A total of 147 states are parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention) or its Protocol - the main international instruments protecting refugees.
Amnesty International calls for world governments to ensure that their actions and policies do not undermine the protection offered by the Convention and other international instruments. Amnesty International also believes that states should not only protect the rights of refugees within their jurisdiction but should also help other countries dealing with large scale refugee situations.
Amnesty International calls on the European Union to fully respect its obligations towards refugees, by ensuring that its border controls do not directly, or indirectly, force asylum-seekers to return to transit countries where they would be at risk of arbitrary detention, collective expulsion, refoulement - as in the case of a number of countries in North and West Africa - even the risk of being dumped in the desert without food or water.
The organisation also calls on the European Union to ensure that in the development of its common asylum system, all asylum-seekers under the jurisdiction of its member states have access to fair and satisfactory asylum procedures regardless of their country of origin or transit, and that the use of inadequate accelerated asylum procedures is ended.
Amnesty International urges states to increase the use of resettlement as one of several responsibility-sharing tools to relieve the burden of receiving states and to provide refugees with a durable solution. For many refugees, it is the only way to ensure they have access to basic rights such as education, health care and adequate housing. For some, their illness, disability or trauma means they do not have access to adequate care in their countries of asylum. Only nine countries have traditionally had large resettlement programmes; these have been recently joined by developing countries such as Chile, Burkina Faso and Brazil, which have started to resettle small numbers of refugees. Amnesty International calls on other states to join this list.
Finally, Amnesty International urges states, in cooperation with UNHCR, to develop an effective way of sharing the responsibility for large numbers of refugees, as and when urgent situations arise.
The answer to this grievous problem cannot be to countenance human suffering and turn our backs on people in tragic circumstances. It is to take more responsibility for this global problem in a global way. Find out more about refugees and asylum seekers
View latest press releases


Heritage in the making on Parliament Hill.
The Cantilevered Walkway feasibility study became an exercise in Capital building, an examination to define the evolution of a significant and iconic landscape that may form part of Canada's future heritage. The focus of the study involved assessing the feasibility of a creating a dramatic new pedestrian experience behind the Library of Parliament overlooking the Ottawa River - a world famous vantage point.
The design challenge was to create a contemporary public promenade, anchored to a heritage landscape surrounding Parliament Hill. Issues that were addressed included heritage preservation, design integration and identity, user comfort, universal accessibility, site security, constructability and cost estimation.
LANDinc lead the multidisciplinary consultant team in completion of the study, for a client & stakeholder group that included Public Works and Government Services Canada, the National Capital Commission, the RCMP, the Federal Heritage Building Review Office, the Senate and the House of Commons.


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Motley Fool Australia » Investing » Why the share prices of these gold miners are crashing today
Why the share prices of these gold miners are crashing today
Ryan Newman | December 12, 2016 1:30pm | More on: BDR NCM NST RRL SBM
Credit: Szaaman
The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has risen another 0.4% today, but there is one corner of the market that is falling deeper into the red.
The gold miners have fallen out of favour with investors in recent months, despite beginning the year in unbelievable fashion.
The gold price was soaring at that stage, and even enjoyed one of its strongest three-month periods in more than three decades thanks to growing tensions and uncertainty surrounding the global economy.
However, not even Brexit – Britain's shock vote to exit the European Union in June – or the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States of America has helped boost gold any further.
In fact, after it traded for more than US$1,300 an ounce as recently as November, it has since plunged to just US$1,157. The last time it traded this low was February.
Understandably, shares of the gold miners themselves have also been dragged lower as a result. Today alone, Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) has shed 7.3% of its market value, with Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) down 4.4% and 4.6%, respectively.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), the country's largest gold producer, has also shed 3% (and has fallen 32.4% since it peaked at $27.20 in July), with Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) also trading 3.9% lower for the day.
Foolish takeaway
Gold itself doesn't pay interest, nor does it pay a dividend. The only way to make money from it is by selling it to someone else for more than what you paid for it in the first place. This is an issue for the gold miners themselves: they have no control over the price at which they sell the precious metal. When gold falls, so too do their share values, more often than not.
It is virtually impossible to predict with any certainty, and consistency, the direction in which the gold price will travel – as the aftermath of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump have proven. Although gold could rise from here, it could also continue to decline, dragging the gold miners further down as well. Investors may want to think about that risk before taking a punt on the sector.
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India and Edinburgh: The New Town
1. The Scottish Naval and Military Academy
The Scottish Naval and Military Academy, founded 1825, trained young gentlemen for the British and East India Company's forces,. Read more…
2. St John's Episcopal Church
In 1818 the growing episcopal congregation of Charlotte Chapel, Rose Street, built a new church, St John's, on the corner of Lothian Road/Princes Street. Read more…
3. Melville Street
The first written mention of curry being eaten in Edinburgh is found in the memoirs of Bombay-born Janet Maughan. Read more…
4. Census on Randolph Cliff
This randomly-selected block of buildings, without obvious India connections, is a good example of India links visible in census returns. Read more…
5. Charlotte Square
Charlotte Square has seen colourful India links. No. 22 was home to Lady Gordon and her granddaughter Jane Cumming, described as a "Dark skinned girl, a native of India" in an 1810 trial. Read more…
6. 45 George Street
William Blackwood & Sons, an Edinburgh publisher and bookseller, was based here at 45 George Street 1829-1972. Read more…
7. The Royal Society of Edinburgh
The RSE, created in 1783 for "the advancement of learning and useful knowledge" moved into this building in 1909. Read more…
8. Standard Life
Rugby fans know the Calcutta Cup, originally gifted to a Calcutta rugby club by Standard Life, an example of Edinburgh business' India involvement. Read more…
9. Melville Monument
Although not erected for his India involvement, the Melville Column commemorates Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville (1742-1811), long resident at No 5 George Square. Read more…
10. Wellington Statue
This major traffic intersection provided access to armed forces offices in Register House, and was an important area for 'old India hands'. Read more…
11. Portuguese Canon on Calton Hill
The 'Portuguese Cannon' tells several chapters of European expansion. Read more…
12. Royal High School, Regent Road
The dominant secondary school in Edinburgh until 1824, the Royal High School's list of former pupils engaging with India is too long to recount. Read more…
13. Burns Monument, Regent Road
The idea to erect a monument to Burns was first proposed by John Forbes-Mitchell of Thainstone, Aberdeen, in Bombay in 1812. Read more…
14. Former Forsyth's 'Foreign & Colonial' outfitters
'Foreign and Colonial Outfitters' a sign on the former Forsyth's store speaks of Edinburgh's Indian retail trade. Read more…
15. Scott Monument, Princes Street
In 1821, Scott wrote: India is 'the corn chest for Scotland, where we poor gentry must send our youngest sons as we send our black cattle to the South'. Read more…
16. Scottish National Gallery
The Gallery does not have an 'India' category in its collection, but over the last 120 years, over 600 India-related objects have been acquired. Read more…
Posted by Bill H. Jenkins at 1:45 pm


World''Vest Base (WVB), the global fundamental financial provider announces the completion of its disaster recovery plan initiated 2 years ago. The new infrastructure includes synchronized Oracle 10G databases in three locations: Chicago (USA), Hanoi (Vietnam) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
After September 11, WVB re-evaluated its infrastructure and after an extensive study decided that two problems could be solved at once. The first problem was to have a supplementary backup and production system in place, that in the eventuality of an other major disruption, WVB would be able to service its clients. The second issue was that occasionally due to temporary internet connection failures; our staff was unable to continue to update the required information. This problem was solved by duplicating the Chicago infrastructure in Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur. The Oracle 10G software allowed WVB to implement the synchronization of the mirrored databases. Internally it is estimated that WVB will have gained, besides the disaster recovery aspect, a good 15% to 20% productivity gain by eliminating internet failures down time. Over the past three months, extensive tests were run to assure that the synchronization worked, first between Chicago and Hanoi, then further deployed in Kuala Lumpur. At the same time WVB added certain enhancements to its collection software, like switching over to Unicode, allowing text storage in non-roman language characters.
"Mr. Ed Coronado, Mr. Le Hoai Anh and Mr. Dang Xuan Them provided a perfect collaborative effort in delivering the new infrastructure to WVB. It also validated our faith as a client in Oracle. The Oracle 10G proved to be robust, delivered to our expectations and what had been promised. A rare event with software I might add." said CEO Philippe O. Piette.
World''vest Base Inc., created in 1984, is a leading information service organization that provides corporate statistical and credit information to institutional investors and lending organizations worldwide on over 45,000 companies. World''vest Base Inc. has offices in USA, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Egypt, Mexico, France and United Kingdom.
For further information contact Philippe O. Piette or Callie Lai Chern Yan.


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12 dead as deadly clashes errupt in Myanmar's Rakhine state
The latest unrest has raised concerns of a repeat of the 2012 sectarian violence in which 100 Rohingyas were killed.
By Pavitra Dwibhashyam
October 12, 2016 06:39 BST
At least 12 people have died in Myanmar's Rakhine state in clashes between forces and armed people, reports said on Wednesday (12 October).
On Tuesday, four soldiers and an assailant were killed when several men brandishing pistols and swords attacked troops in Pyaungpit village. Seven bodies were also recovered after clashes broke out in nearby Taung Paing Nyar. The identity of the armed people is not known.
Myanmar: 4 human rights panel members resign after public outrage over child abuse case
Dutch tourist jailed for three months for unplugging speakers that silenced sermon in Myanmar
US revokes economic sanctions against Myanmar
The state run Global New Light Of Myanmar reported, "After the incident [clashes], troops found seven dead bodies. Swords and sticks were found with the bodies."
Nine police officials were found dead on Sunday and the army started scouring the area, which is not far from the border with Bangladesh. The police personnel were killed in coordinated attacks at three border posts.
On Tuesday four men suspected of being involved in Sunday's attacks on the police were captured, two of whom were named by state media as Andra Mular Kein and Mawlawi Fordita.
The latest unrest has raised concerns regarding a repeat of the 2012 sectarian violence that tore the state of Rakhine apart, leaving more than 100 people dead and displacing thousands of Rohingyas.
Rakhine has majority of Muslim Rohingyas, who are considered stateless minorities and are denounced by Buddhists as illegal immigrants.
The UN's special advisor to Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, urged civilians and troops to exercise restraint at what he called a "delicate juncture" for the state. He also asked residents "not be provoked into any kind of response by targeting other communities or religious groups". Activists said that the search for criminals is being used as a pretext to crackdown on Rohingyas. Local residents told AFP that they were scared even to leave their houses as troops patrolled the streets.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar, has come under tremendous pressure to find a solution for the issue. She recently appointed a commission headed by ex-UN chief Kofi Annan to find ways to resolve the matter.
Related video: Hundreds protest Aung San Suu Kyi panel on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar	IBTimes US


As we have many Chinese friends, for some years now we have celebrated Chinese New Year – I love cooking Chinese dishes. This year, since we have had two very enjoyable holidays in India and love that country, we decided we would celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. When we last went to India, our wonderful driver took us round Jaipur on the evening of the festival. So we decided to celebrate Diwali at home. We put up some of our Christmas lights, scattered around the room, fake candles which changed colour, around the room and displayed photographs of India including the Taj Mahal. This time Margaret did the cooking – she makes some delicious Indian dishes.
The Hindu religion has many Gods, the chief of which are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver and Shiva, the destroyer. I couldn't really celebrate a festival which worships other gods so I Christianised the meal by having a lighted candle in front of the words of Jesus, "I am the light of the world". Was this cheating? No because I was following an ancient Christian tradition. No one knows when Jesus was actually born so the early church decided to celebrate his birth on the December 25th, to "Christianise" a Roman winter solstice festival. Some people today want to go back to the Roman idea, renaming Christmas "Winterfest" – God forbid!
It's not just Jesus who emphasises that He is the light of the world. St. John at the beginning of his Gospel, often read on Christmas Day, speaks of Jesus as "the light which has come into the world." Simeon, when he sees the baby Jesus in the temple says he is "a light to lighten the Gentiles. And in our church, at the Christingle service, the light of the candle stands for Jesus while the Paschal Candle, lit every Sunday, again shows that Jesus is the true light.
So what did Jesus mean when he very emphatically said "I – I am the light of the world"? He is light in three different ways. First, his teaching is a light to the way in which we should live. Just as a torch lights up our path in the darkness, so His teaching guides us in right and loving ways. Second, He shows us that life has a purpose. Quite a few people who have had near death experiences, say they have seen a great light at the end of a tunnel. We are destined to become members of the glory of heaven and Jesus has shown us the way. And third Jesus can be our light here and now - often in our prayers and worship, sometimes in times of real darkness. I have experienced darkness, but I try to put my trust in Jesus, and the darkness has been banished. Sometimes this has happened straight away, more often over a period of time and I know He has been with me.
The Indian festival, Diwali, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness. But Christmas truly celebrates God's triumph over the darkness of this world. Jesus, the light of the world, was born. And He is the light which can light up my path and your path.


A mini-documentary series filmed in New York City. A man travels to explore his childhood Basketball dreams and explore Harlem street basketball.
Below is a series of short stories I created for Unibet. All episodes star Miikka "MC Sarre" Sarmakari. Miikka has a history of playing basketball and has grown up with the hip-hop culture from the 80's.
This was my first trip to NYC and had a blast documenting this journey. Entirely filmed and photographed on Sony A7S Mark II with Sony lenses.
We went on a journey to understand the resale market of basketball merch, meeting Al Shep for some street basketball knowledge in Harlem and the college NCAA tournament finals aka. March Madness.


Will Nursing Home Medicaid Take My House (Or Bank Account)?	Will Nursing Home Medicaid Take My House (Or Bank Account)?
Will Nursing Home Medicaid Take My House (Or Bank Account)?
This is a very common question many people have when a parent or spouse enters a nursing home in Houston, Conroe, or anywhere in Texas. After all, your house and other assets represent a lifetime of saving and sacrificing which nobody does with the expectation of losing everything to nursing home bills of over $5,000 a month. The good news is Texas will not take your homestead or other asset, but that does not mean those assets are protected.
Texas does not take anything from anybody who applies for Medicaid. They leave the choice of what happens with your home and other assets entirely up to you. The way it works is that the burden is on you to meet specific Medicaid nursing home eligibility requirements. If you insist on keeping assets in a way that prevents you from meeting those eligibility requirements then the HHSC simply denies Medicaid nursing home benefits.
If Medicaid is not going to pay the bill, then you will need to make other arrangements to pay the nursing home in order to avoid eviction. They won't take assets from you and at the end of the day they care very little about what you specifically do with your assets as long as when you come to them you meet all of the nursing home Medicaid eligibility requirements. One of those requirements is not having a Medicaid penalty so giving assets away blindly is not a plan that will work.
If you want to take control of the situation, then you can be like my clients that take the necessary steps to reposition their assets in order to meet the nursing home Medicaid requirements sooner than spending everything down to the minimum levels. Texas does not take anything from them, rather they have reviewed the reality of the situation and made a decision that the savings achieved by creating Medicaid eligibility sooner exceeds the cost.


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Stocks calm ahead of Fed, dollar drops again, big tech before Congress
The major equity benchmarks in Europe are largely flat on the session as traders await the update from the US Federal Reserve.
The US central bank will announce its interest rate decision at 7pm (UK time) and the press conference will begin at 7.30pm (UK time). Rates are expected to remain on hold, and there has been a lot of speculation that Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, will hammer home the point that rates will stay ultra-low for years to come. The US central bank is expected to maintain an extremely loose monetary policy in an effort to assist the economic recovery, anything less than that in terms of promises, could spark a bearish move. The pandemic hasn't been forgotten about, but for now the Fed is in focus. Fears of another wave of Covid-19 are doing the rounds.
Next shares hit a four-month high on the back of its second quarter update. Full price sales in the second quarter tumbled by 28%, but that was better than equity analysts' expectations. The sharp fall in sales was better than the best case scenario that the group mapped out three months ago. The fashion house's outlook is now a lot more upbeat than it was during the depths of the lockdown. The online and warehouse division is back to normal capacity, and all its stores in the UK and Ireland are now open. Next have clearly turned a corner in terms of trading. The latest retail sales reports from the UK points to pent-up demand, but dealers are already wondering when consumers' appetite will settle down again.
Aston Martin shares are higher on the back of hopes that demand is recovering in China. In June, the company registered an 11% rise in retail sales in China. Total retail sales in the first half fell by 41%. Traders have taken the view that China left the lockdown first, so other countries will probably experience some sort of a rebound in sales in the months ahead. The group's first half numbers were poor as the operating loss was £145.5 million, and that was a big rise from last year's first half loss of £36.4 million. The group has undergone several rounds of financing in the past year and there has been a shake-up in senior management too. Ken Gregor started as CFO last month, and Tobias Moers will start as CEO next month.
Taylor Wimpey shares have fallen to a three month low after the firm announced that house completions will be down 40% on the year. The pandemic ground construction sites to a halt, so that has impacted the annual output. The first half revenue dropped by 56% to £754.6 million and the pre-tax loss was £39.8 million. Dealers focused on the completion forecast, but the order book stands at 11,686, which is up 15% on the year.
Smurfit Kappa, the packing group, confirmed that sustained demand in online shopping has been good for business. The group said the performance in July was not too far away from 'incredibly strong'. Volumes from the industrial side of the business in July have been stronger than expected. Smurfit declared an interim dividend of 80.9 cents, and that was on par with the final dividend that was pulled amid the health crisis. A minority of companies are reinstating their dividends, hence why Smurfit shares are up today.
Dealers are cautiously optimistic about Republicans and Democrats reaching an agreement in relation to the $1 trillion stimulus package. When it comes to these sorts of situations, political fighting is to be expected, as both sides will want to get one over on the other, but the wider view is that an agreement will be achieved in the end. In addition to that, the Fed is expected to deliver an update that is very supportive of the economy.
Starbucks shares are higher on the back of the third quarter update from last night. Revenue for the three month period slumped by 38% to $4.22 billion, but that topped the $4.07 billion forecast. The loss per share was 46 cents, while equity analysts were expecting a loss of 59 cents. The health emergency has had a terrible impact on the business as same store sales dropped by 40%. The outlook for the fourth quarter was well received as EPS is tipped to be between 18 cents and 33 cents, while the previous guidance was 15-40 cents.
The CMC Big Tech share basket is in focus today as the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet – Google's parent – will testify before Congress. The captains of the tech sector will come under scrutiny from US politicians as there is a feeling in wider society that a handful of tech firms have a disproportionally large amount of market share in terms of business.
Advanced Micro Devices issued a bullish forecast last night, and that's helping the stock today. The company now expects full year revenue growth to be 32%, which was a sizeable increase on the 25% growth forecast that was issued in April. The company's second quarter figures were mixed. EPS was 13 cents, which missed the 16 cents consensus estimate. Revenue dropped by 26% to $1.93 billion, and that exceeded forecasts.
The dollar index had fallen to a fresh two year low as dealers are dumping the dollar ahead of the Fed update. The US central bank is expected to keep rates on hold but in addition to that, it is tipped to confirm that rates will remain close to zero for a number of years. In March, the dollar hit a three year high, and it has moved aggressively lower in the past few weeks. The weak greenback is likely to help the US economy recover, but it could bring about an inflation problem down the line. The Fed's comments about inflation this evening will be interesting in the context of the weaker dollar.
EUR/USD has been pushed up on account of the continued weakness in the US dollar. German import prices in June on a monthly basis were 0.6%, and that topped the 0.5% forecast. The reading was an improvement on the 0.3% posted in May.
GBP/USD hit its highest level since early June due to the fall in the greenback. The BoE consumer credit report for last month showed that people paid down £86 million of debt, but economists were expecting £2 billion to have been repaid. UK mortgage lending last month was £1.9 billion, and that was a jump on the £1.2 billion posted in May.
Traders have booked their profit on gold ahead of the Fed meeting. Yesterday, the asset hit a new all-time high, but it seems the bulls have decided to square up their positions in advance of the interest rate decision from the US central bank. Part of the reason for gold's bullish run has been the low government bond yields and the tumble in the dollar – both have been influenced by the perceptions about what the Fed will do next or at least its guidance.
WTI and Brent crude are now up on the day in the wake of the EIA report. US oil stockpiles tumbled by 10.6 million barrels, while traders were expecting a build of 500,000 barrels. The massive fall in inventories implies that demand is high, and that helped the oil market.


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Funds News
Bank of America net falls on credit losses
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp BAC.N, the largest U.S. retail bank, posted a 77 percent decline in quarterly profit on Monday, as a growing number of consumers and real estate developers failed to repay loans.
A taxi speeds past a Bank of America branch in New York's Times Square January 11, 2008. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Profit dropped for a third straight quarter and slid more than analysts expected, dragged down by what Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis called a "litany of negative issues," including more than $5 billion of write-downs and credit-related costs.
Bank of America said the housing market will remain weak all year, as credit problems once concentrated there spread into other areas such as credit cards.
The bank also quintupled the amount it set aside for bad loans to $6.01 billion and said the economy might grow little or shrink this quarter.
"It would be too early to strike up the band and sing 'Happy Days Are Here Again,'" Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on a conference call.
First-quarter net income fell to $1.21 billion, or 23 cents per share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier. Results included a $776 million pre-tax gain from credit card network Visa Inc's V.N initial public offering last month.
Excluding merger costs, profit was 26 cents per share, below the average analyst forecast of 45 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Net revenue dropped 6 percent to $17 billion, but topped the average $16.33 billion projection.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, the nation's second-largest by assets, still expects to complete its roughly $4.1 billion purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp CFC.N, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, in the third quarter.
In midday trading, Bank of America shares were down 95 cents, or 2.5 percent, at $37.61.
Results followed weak earnings reported last week by rivals such as Citigroup Inc C.N, JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Wachovia Corp WB.N and Washington Mutual Inc WM.N.
Bank of America hasn't changed dividend philosophy
Bank of America downplays sale of China bank stake
BAD LOANS SOAR
The $6.01 billion set aside for bad loans stemmed in significant part from credit costs in home equity, small business and home builder portfolios.
Bank of America added $3.29 billion to its reserves for credit losses. Net charge-offs nearly doubled to $2.72 billion and nonperforming assets nearly quadrupled to $7.83 billion.
"Credit was a lot worse than expected," wrote Jeff Harte, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP. "Management added meaningfully to reserves, but this may be a necessary evil."
The bank said credit card losses in particular were rising in areas hit hard by housing troubles, including Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.
"Credit card borrowers are feeling some of that strain," Chief Financial Officer Joe Price said in an interview. "It's most acute in states with the greatest home price depreciation, although you see some stress across the nation where you have impact from the economic slowdown."
Results also included write-downs of $1.47 billion for collateralized debt obligations and $439 million for loans to fund leveraged buyouts. Trading losses declined to $1.31 billion from $5.15 billion from the fourth quarter.
Bank of America's Tier-1 capital ratio, a measure of its ability to cover losses, rose to 7.51 percent from the fourth quarter's 6.87 percent after the bank sold $12.9 billion of preferred stock last quarter. Regulators say 6 percent signals a "well-capitalized" bank.
Moody's Investors Service downgraded Bank of America debt to "Aa2" from "Aa1" and assigned a "negative" outlook. It cited the bank's "relatively weak capital position" and risks tied to Countrywide, mortgage and home equity exposure, and CDOs.
"We have not changed our philosophy" about the bank's $2.56 per-share annual dividend, but could review it if the environment got "noticeably worse," Lewis said.
The bank has raised its dividend for 30 straight years. Among rivals to lower their dividends in 2008 are Citigroup, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and National City Corp NCC.N.
Price said earnings this year should take an "upward trajectory" from the first quarter. He said results were weaker than the bank expected in January, when Lewis had said 2008 profit should top $4.00 per share.
Profit in consumer and small business banking fell 59 percent to $1.09 billion. The corporate and investment bank saw profit fall 92 percent to $115 million.
In wealth and investment management, profit fell 54 percent to $228 million, hurt by a $220 million loss to prop up some money market funds in its Columbia Management unit.
Results reflected the bank's $21 billion purchase of ABN AMRO Holding NV's AAH.AS LaSalle Bank on October 1.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday is holding the first of three public hearings concerning Bank of America's planned purchase of Countrywide. Tuesday's hearing is in Chicago and the Fed scheduled hearings for April 28 and 29 in Los Angeles.
Bank of America ended the quarter with 6,148 branches in the United States and $1.74 trillion of assets. Through Friday, its shares had fallen 7 percent this year compared with an 8 percent drop in the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index .BKX.
Editing by Maureen Bavdek/Andre Grenon


The key to a healthy pregnancy for a woman with diabetes is to keep her blood glucose levels within target range ideally before, during and after the delivery.
Preconception counseling: Improves pregnancy outcome by lowering the risks of congenital malformations and maternal complications. It is a good idea to have good glucose control before getting pregnant and to assess the possibilities of maternal's vascular complications such as visual (retinopathy), renal (diabetic nephropathy) and cardio vascular including hypertension and lipid disorder.
Pregnancy: Close supervision of treatment plan (meal plan, medication and exercise) will greatly improve the chances of a trouble-free pregnancy and healthy baby.
Post Partum: For the pregestational diabetic this is the time when the decision will be made regarding whether or not return to the treatment they were on prior to preconception time (some medications may not be safe during breast feeding). The gestational diabetic should return to the office to be retested for diabetes 6 to 12 weeks postpartum.
Since obtaining her certification as a Diabetes Educator in 1997, while working at the University of Miami's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ariana has worked exclusively with pregnant diabetic patients.
She is experienced at working with patients diagnosed with diabetes prior to and during their pregnancy and her services and expertise are readily available to you at all times during your pregnancy.


Using natural ingredients like coconut oil, cucumber extracts, seabuckthorn and rosehip oil the girls at L(A)B have formulated an Anti-Aging Activator Serum compliments your device perfectly.
Take your at home spa treatment to a new level, enjoy softer skin and experience better results with this bespoke serum.
Unfortunately, this product is out of stock. We recommend the BeautyBio The Plump 50ml as an alternative.
Collagen - Marine Collagen penetrates your skin's upper most layer helping to plump and smooth out wrinkles.
Sea Buckthorn - Promotes cell generation aids in treating wrinkles and repairs damaged skin.


text:
Q: Is searching down for the entire StackExchange network? I guess the title says it all.
For both StackOverflow and Meta here, whenever I search for something, I get taken to the "Oops! Something bad happened!" error page, regardless of what I search for.
From the HTML comment:

Actual error: Invalid column name Url.

A: As noted in the comments, this is fixed.
Honestly, I can't find what triggered it.
Let's just blame Hurricane Sandy.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Becoming a homeowner is well within reach no matter your current financial status. Our extraordinary Loan Officers are here to assist in making your homeownership dreams a reality. We can make it happen!
Learn about the life of a loan here!


Acclaimed as "Best New Course in Asia Pacific" when it opened in 2009, the Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin has gone on to win a host of awards; crowned "Best Championship Golf Course in Thailand" by Asian Golf Monthly Magazine and voted "The Host Venue of The Year" by Asian Tour players too. The Black Mountain Golf Club is a great destination for golfers heading to Thailand to enjoy the game.
Thailand Golf Tours brings visitors from all over the world to enjoy the fantastic views and incredible course at the Black Mountain Golf Club and can easily organise your visit. Thailand golf Tours works with individual and group travellers to plan tours to Thailand's many golf courses; as part of a visit to Thailand or as the basis for an entire holiday in Thailand focused on golf. With excellent local contacts and wealth of local knowledge, Thailand Golf Tours are able to ensure the golf break or holiday that suits your skills, interest, budget and time requirements.
The renowned Black Mountain Golf Club has an 18-hole, par 72 (7,420 yards) championship golf course designed by architect, Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design. The course caters to golfers of all skill levels and uniquely features stunning landscaping with native red grass; creating a hazard for the wild shots and also framing the holes. There are techniques and tips to take on board when playing this course and its worth talking to other players and Pros to find out the best golfing strategy to adopt for this particular terrain.