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Ukraine is famous for
Outstanding ukrainians
About country
Ukrainian Visa
Visa at the airport
Profile PDF
Actually now
Incoming tour
Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnieper, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Kryvyy Rih
Hryvnia, ₴ — (UAH)
Phone kode
Eastern European country
It is large
Ukraine is the continent's largest county at 603,628 square kilometres, stretching from Russia in the East to Poland in the West, and located between the Black Sea in the South and fellow former Soviet state Belarus in the north. France is next at 51,695 square kilometres .
And boasts seven wonders
Within its large borders, Ukraine has seven World Heritage Sites, including the 11th century Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, the ancient city of Chersonesus, and the primeval forests of the Carpathians. Another is the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of survey triangulations linking Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea in Ukraine. It "helped to establish the exact size and shape of the planet and marked an important step in the development of earth sciences and topographic mapping," according to Unesco. Beyond its World Heritage Sites it has a wealth of majestic Orthodox cathedrals, including St Michael's in Kiev, pictured below.
Saint-Sophia Cathedral
St Michael's Cathedral in Kiev
It loves Mcdonald's
Ukraine is not all about booze. The McDonald's next to the main train station in Kiev, the country's capital, is claimed to be the third busiest in the world.
It is at the heart of Europe
Ukraine is the geographical centre of Europe. OK, it's not quite as simple as that. A number of locations lay claim to the title and it depends on how you measure Europe, but the small town of Rakhiv in western Ukraine is one such place. The country has a second claimant in Transcarpathia, where an obelisk marks the spot.
It gets deep
Arsenalna, a station on Kiev's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska line, is the world's deepest at 105,5 metres below ground.
The escalator at Arsenalna
And has a very wide road
Kiev's main street, Khreshchatyk Street, is the shortest and the widest main street in the world. It is only 1.2km long .
Speaking of Kiev…
Chicken Kiev is a favourite dish for lots of Ukrainians people. If you'll try it for once, you'll never forget the taste …
It has hosted plenty of history
Ukraine has played the stage for much destruction during its history. But it was also the host of the Yalta Conference in 1945, where Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met to discuss the organisation of post-war Europe. Livadia Palace, which hosted the meeting, is open today as a museum. Today, Yalta is part of history once again as it lies on the disputed Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014. The Crimea is one of four regions the Foreign Office advises against travel to [Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lugansk are the others].
A statue to commemorate the visit of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt
It is home to ghost towns
Another Ukrainian claim to history is Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear power plant disaster. The location in northern Ukraine is now the centre of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, established by the USSR soon after the accident in 1986. Within the zones are a number of abandoned towns, most notably Pripyat, that draw interest from all over the world. Tours of the area, including the power plant, are available, at the risk of the traveller. Radiation levels remain dangerously high – read Telegraph Travel's Chris Leadbeater guide on how to visit.
And Ukraine has a cafe capital
The city of Lviv is sometimes claimed to have the most cafes in the world per capita. Fiona Duncan, after visiting for Telegraph Travel, said: "Though Livivians of today are known for both their fervent nationalism and for their churchgoing, their city has an easy-going, almost frivolous air, filled with university students, embellished by its frothy confection of Renaissance, Baroque, Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau buildings and scented with aromas from its hundreds of Viennese style coffee houses. We only had to step out from our hotel, the Opera, and stroll with the crowds along Lviv's central spine, Svobody (Liberty) Avenue, to find out how relaxed the place is."
The gas lamp was invented in Lviv
Lviv also claims to be the home of the first ever gas lamp. Invented by a local pharmacist in a store called At the Golden Star, today the achievement is remembered by a café called Gasova L'ampa found in the same building.
Recognise this?
The Tunnel of Love, excellent Instagram folder, is found in the forests near the town of Kleven. The rail road is for a private train that provides wood for a local factory.
The Tunnel of Love
It built a superlative plane
Kiev was the birthplace of the world's biggest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya. It has the largest wingspan of any aircraft, at 88.4 metres and weighs 640,000kg. A brainwave of the Soviet Union, only one was ever made.
You can ski there
It's no French Alps, but Ukraine has about four or five ski resorts to shout about, including Bukovel in the Carpathian mountains, with 55km of slopes and 15 lifts.
The ski resort of Bukovel
Its capital is a hero
The capital Kiev was given Hero City status by the Soviet Union following its resistance to the Nazis in the Battle of Kiev in 1941. The Germans encircled the city in July of 1941, eventually capturing it in September and taking more than 600,000 soldiers captive. Despite the battle being seen as a huge victory for Hitler, the city was rewarded for its defence with the title of Hero City in 1965.
It is big on easter eggs
Ukrainians are pretty big on easter eggs. Less so, stuffing their faces with low-quality chocolate: they favour more intricate designs using wax on ornaments known as pysankas. Different regions of the country have different styles and methods of decoration. The practice was banished by the Soviet Union, but continued in North and South America by Ukrainian immigrants.
Its music inspires
George Gershwin's Summertime was inspired by an old Ukrainian lullaby.
And a surprising claim to political history
Ukraine was home to one of the world's first ever constitutions, in the form of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk, written by a Ukrainian Cossack in 1710. It established a democratic standard for the separation of powers in government between the legislative, executive and judiciary branches, an idea perhaps made more famous by Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws, which was published in 1748.
Address: Kiev,Ukraine Sichovikh Strilciv, 26-a, off. 2
mob: +38 (063) 703-59-95
The travel compony "LyuboSvit" has been working in the Ukrainian market since 2000, and during this period, the company has managed to establish itself, as a reliable partner who is always ready to organize a quality vacation. "Lyubosvit" is a member of AIGU (Association of Hospitality Industry of Ukraine)
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https://lyubosvit.com.ua/en
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You've taken it on trust that either there is nothing in your electronic communications that could ever embarrass you, the information we collect could never ever be leaked or the value of the information we collect about you is absolute. This is correct, although we can't tell you which! That is unless someone leaks part of the details and then we'll come clean. In the mean time, we have transparent laws about when the police can enter people's homes but to publish the rules about when the intelligence services can enter people's emails would be very different. If we had our way, the rules about police procedure would also be restricted since the current system of issuing warrants is cumbersome and puts the public safety at risk. Why delay the police taking action by stopping for paperwork? Next time the police arrive at your door without a warrant you'll just have to accept as given that everything is lawful. As William Hague recently said in the UK Parliament, our intelligence services operate under the tightest regulatory controls in the world. While you can't see evidence of the regulatory control or checks and balances yourself, a politician said it so it must be true. We also never make a mistake in entering the data or drawing conclusions which is why no method is needed to identify and correct any mistaken information which one day might kill your career or stop you from travelling.
Also, you should know that out of the hundreds of thousands of people that will eventually have access to your data, most of them have had their basic security awareness training, some of them have had background checks and only a few have large USB drives. Some of the data we collect about you will be automatically shared with other intelligence services such as USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and maybe some others that don't have the same regulatory controls that we do but don't worry about that. While the information we collect about you is worth millions to marketing companies and spammers you should know that none of the hundreds of thousands around the world who will eventually have access to it would ever dream of becoming and instant millionaire by misusing your data. Also, we've taken steps to confirm that an Edward Snowden will never happen again. We know this because we've checked and we don't have any other intelligence analysts by that name. Thank you for your trust in us. Unlike just about every other government department in history, we won't let you down.
Keep up the good work and don't listen to any of that security awareness advice about privacy!
P.s. recently, one of our new thermal imaging drones surveyed your street and we noticed a rather strange image at your house. You appeared to have fallen over in a horizontal position possibly on top of another individual. We don't have any pictures of the inside of your house you understand, just the 'metadata' of the heat given off by your body. We've shown the pictures of your thermal images around the office and so far we've struggled to come to a consensus about what was actually happening. Carla in Accounts is insistent that you might have some form of epilepsy and that your driver's licence needs to be cancelled.
Pps. As a precaution we've added you to the no-fly list just in case. Rest assured that we have our best interns looking at your data fresh from their basic training on Excel. There might be a few mistakes along the way but we can't put a price on your safety or on our budget.
Ppps. It looks like one of our new programmers, Gary, has confused the no-fly list with the drone target list so you might want to move house asap.


Favorite thing about JAADC: Staying close to the Jordanian community and the ability to give back to Jordan.
About: Born and raised in Amman, Rami received his education at Bishops School and then continued to the Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid to pursue his undergraduate degree. He came to the United States in 1991 and completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering by 1998. He then relocated to Washington, D.C. where he started working for Accenture, a global management and technology consulting company, where he is still today. Rami resides in the 16th Street Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. with his wife and two daughters.
Favorite thing about JAADC: Meeting new people. But what really excites me about JAADC are the benefits and potential we can achieve together, for us and for future generations.
About: Fadi is a senior business executive with more than 15 years in strategy and management consulting. I am the managing director of Samara Consulting. I spent most of my career assisting Government agencies formulate their strategic objectives, and implement projects to enable their missions. I have had the pleasure of being with JAADC from day one, and happy to continue serving our community as vice president. I am a true believer in JAADC's mission and the value we can realize together, now and in the future. I am also the chairman of American Friends of Royal Health Awareness Society (AFRHAS). I hold an MBA from IE Business School, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Valparaiso University. I live in Falls Church, VA with my wife and two sons.
About: Merissa Khurma is a fellow in the International Security program at New America Foundation. She is a strategic communications specialist with extensive leadership experience in issues relating to foreign policy and international security, public policy, gender development, and government affairs. She has worked in a range of development projects in the Middle East that focused on economic development, the Syrian refugee crisis, education, youth, and sport. Additionally, Khurma served as director of the Office of Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan (2010- 2013) and as press attaché and director of the Information Bureau at the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C. (2003-2010). Khurma has a master of public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a master of science in international security and foreign policy from Georgetown University, and a bachelor of art in political science from McGill University. She speaks Arabic and French.
Favorite thing about JAADC: Having recently moved to the area with a limited network, JAADC gave me the opportunity to connect with fantastic Jordanians living in the community and also strengthened my ties to Jordan!
About: Salem grew up between Jeddah and Boulder, Colorado and lived for seven great years in Dubai more recently. Salem and his wife, Razan, returned to the US and put down roots in Washington, DC in 2015. Currently a Realtor licensed in DC, VA and MD, he focuses exclusively on the residential market.
Salem began his career in Denver as a public finance professional helping local government issue over $1 billion in municipal debt securities, he later moved into financial advisory services and helped his clients in the acquisition of land totaling more than 20,000 acres.
A graduate from the business school at the University of Colorado in Boulder he loves traveling, tennis, motorsports, and is a thalassophile.
About: Raed Samara is a global product manager responsible for managing a line of genetic analysis solutions at a biotech company. Raed has extensive commercial and scientific experience in the oncology and immuno-oncology research fields. He received his doctoral degree from Georgetown University in cancer biology focusing on studying the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver, after which he trained in immuno-oncology at the National Cancer Institute studying mechanisms to enhance cancer vaccine efficacies. Raed received his Bachelor's degree from Valparaiso University in Biology & Chemistry.
Favorite thing about JAADC: Civic participation and community values.
About: Saba Gheshan is a Jordanian lawyer working in the World Bank Legal Vice Presidency and based in Washington D.C. Saba has experience in international law and development and advises on operations in fragile, conflict and violent states. She works on a wide range of development projects in the AFRICA and MENA regions in different sectors including economic development, finance and markets, infrastructure, health and education.
Previously, Saba finished her articling in Jordan and trained in Ali Sharif Zu'bi law firm's corporate department. She is a certified member of the Jordanian Bar Association. Saba holds a Bachelors degree in Law from the University of Jordan and a Masters Degree in International Law and a Graduate Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Loyola University Chicago.
Favorite thing about JAADC: Meeting the Nashama and Nashmiat and connecting people with each other.
About: Mohammad Majed Shatnawi has been in the USA for the last 20 years and been living in the Washington DC area since 2000. He has a BA in Economics/English Literature from Yarmouk University and an MS in Applied Economics from Western Michigan University. He has been in Banking/Compliance for most of his professional life.
While not on the jobs he enjoys being involved in community service. He has volunteered at the Washington DC International Film Festival, Potomac river cleaning, and helped out with the efforts in the DC area to collect clothes and other types of donations for the Syrian refugees. He also runs a meeting for table tennis in Arlington and is in an international drum circle.


On the southern California coast, Torrance is a city that has no shortage of natural beauty. That beauty became an oyster bed of inspiration for us to create a patient-centered structure that was both nurturing and therapeutic. The new seven-story, 390,000-SF Lundquist Tower for Torrance Memorial Medical Center transforms the existing hospital into a 21st century healing environment while invoking the ambience of a world-class hotel resort. Ocean waves inspired the graceful, curved facade of the tower, while the glassy, metallic skin captures the essence of California's picturesque sky. Soft colors, indirect light, gardens and other natural elements reveal the influence and high priority given to evoke tranquility in places where it's needed most.
Our client's top priority was to elevate the healthcare experience so that patients would feel like valued guests. Our solutions included designing daylight into all workspaces, sweeping views of the surrounding ocean and hills, and contact with the outside environment to support healthy circadian rhythms for patients and hospital staff. Our design attitudes transcend finishes and focus on elevating the guest experience. Operations, efficiency and staff interaction were all paramount. Private rooms, larger operating rooms and work areas optimized to reduce fatigue and increase care effectiveness were critical. With an increased emphasis on patient satisfaction, and research showing that patients with lower stress levels heal up to 40 percent faster, HMC's result is a renewed approach to the concept of hospitality meets healthcare design.


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Gmina Czarnia is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Ostrołęka County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. Its seat is the village of Czarnia, which lies approximately  north-west of Ostrołęka and  north of Warsaw.

The gmina covers an area of , and as of 2006 its total population is 2,620 (2,756 in 2011).

Villages
Gmina Czarnia contains the villages and settlements of Bandysie, Brzozowy Kąt, Cupel, Cyk, Czarnia, Długie, Michałowo, Rutkowo and Surowe.

Neighbouring gminas
Gmina Czarnia is bordered by the gminas of Baranowo, Chorzele, Myszyniec, Rozogi and Wielbark.

References

External links
Polish official population figures 2006

Czarnia
Ostrołęka County

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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> Discover Marseille as the locals know it
Discover Marseille as the locals know it
Here is where you are introduced to the secrets of Marseille, France's largest Mediterranean city Uncover the secrets of Marseille, France's largest Mediterranean city
Warm and inviting, the southern coast capital offers its visitors an appealing experience, although a word to the wise: its most valuable treasures are reserved for those in the know… Warm and inviting, the southern coast capital offers its visitors an appealing experience. Although, a word to the wise: its most valuable treasures are reserved for those in the know…
8 a.m.: A dreamlike run along the Corniche
The early bird catches the worm, or so they say, and so you set off on the picturesque seaside footpath for a jog. The scenery is ideal to join in step with some of the Marseille athletes running beside you. The six kilometres from the David roundabout to the Vieux Port provide you with breathtaking panoramas. The uninterrupted views of the Pharo Palace and Prado Beach make your weekend in Marseille one to remember...
10 a.m.: A beach in the city
You really deserve a refreshing dip after that run! In the heart of Malmousque area, with its villagelike atmosphere, you revisit the Marseille of yesteryear. This quartier, located in the 7th arrondissement, is full of quaint little pedestrian streets leading to an isolated cliff or to the fishing boats bobbing in the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean. You might see the local Marseillais strolling down to the water for a refreshing swim before heading back to the office. Care to join them?
2 p.m.: The lanes of Panier
Walking through the steep lanes of the Panier neighbourhood, dotted with charming little parks and colourful façades, you can sense the soul of the city spilling out of the walls. This is where successive waves of immigration have made their mark: first from Corsica, then from Italy, and later from North Africa. At siesta time, you can appreciate the quiet, only partially broken by the cheerful sounds of the local kids' playtime.
5 p.m.: Cheering in the Velodrome
If you haven't yet seen Olympique de Marseille football club play at Stade Vélodrome, you haven't seen football at all! When you enter the stands of this iconic stadium, you start to get goosebumps just from the football fever, which runs high in these parts. You can feel the enthusiasm from the banners, chants and the reverberation of the stadium. With admission costing only a few euros, your weekend in Marseille is the perfect opportunity to experience live football like it's meant to be!
7 p.m.: Try a Provençal favourite in Estaque
Time to take a moment to sample Marseille's distinctive, and delicious, cuisine. Panisse, or chickpea fries, are a local specialty that can be ordered at any of the three kiosks in the Estaque area. Order a dozen ("une douzaine") of these popular snacks to go and wash it down with a pastis—it's apéritif time after all! Join the locals at the bar and try the South's popular summer beverage during your Marseille visit.
8 p.m.: Champagne at the Old Port
Comfortably settled on the terrace of the Sofitel—one of the most beautiful hotels in the city—you enjoy an uninterrupted panorama over the Old Port, Fort Saint-Jean and the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MUCEM). You treat yourself to a glass of champagne to top off your Marseille getaway while the sunset reveals the magic of this Phoenician city.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Beauty through the ages - the funky Seventies
A time of angel wing hair, paisley and the micro-mini
Author: Charlotte Kuchinsky October 21 2008
Beauty in the Seventies took a definitive turn. Some of the styles and trends of the 60's carried over but the decade also spawned new trends.
In the earlier years, many women kept their hair long and smooth with just enough body and volume to give it some bounce, but the late 70's brought about copycats who were seeking to capture at least a piece of that "Charlie's Angels" magic. The Farrah (Fawcett) layered haircut became the "in" hairstyle as women with cuts of varying lengths spawned angel wings. Of course the cut meant a slight change in the way that hair was styled; gone were the juice can rollers in favor of slightly smaller versions or, better yet, the suddenly popular curling iron, which along with hair mousse became a must-have part of every woman's beauty kit.
Not every woman opted for the same haircut, however. Some went for loose curls or waves instead. African Americans (and others!) embraced Afro styles that were quirky, fun, and made a bold statement. Overall, hair began looking and feeling the way it should - natural. Hairsprays were still used but the need for "hold" gave way to a more important need, which was to look like there was no hairspray used at all.
The 70's also changed the way that women wore make-up. The 60's pale complexion with drastic eyes and super pale lips gave way to a more natural "beach" look. Women began tanning with zeal, a trend that would continue for decades. That golden glow was necessary if a woman really wanted to look like she lived and played outdoors, so those who could not afford to spend time in the sun looked for beauty products that could give them the same effect. Bronzers became popular, and self-tanners, such as they were, came out of the woodwork in all of their orange glory. During the latter part of the 70's tanning booth businesses began cropping up all over.
In other areas, however, women chose to lighten up. Gone were the ten coats of mascara making some eyes look like tarantulas. In fact, some women opted not to wear mascara at all during the day, and even if they did, it was carefully applied and never overdone. White eyeliner was routinely used on the inside of the eyelid in order to make eyes appear larger and more waif-like. Other eyeliners were abandoned altogether or gave way to a softer, more natural look. Eye shadows were pale and less of a statement, as women sought to accentuate the eye more than to dramatize it. Matte shades gave way to pearly soft looks that added an amazing look of innocence. The look of pearls carried over into lipstick and nail polish as well; both which also went pastel or even nude in shades of whisper pink, delicate orchid, angel peach, and beige gold.
Skin became a major focus, especially for those who were opting not to wear foundation. Instead of old standard cold cream products like Noxema, women of the 70's were looking for a line of skin care products that were meant to make their youthful skin look even better. They got their wish as hundreds of new beauty products hit the market with something for virtually every type of skin.
Fashion in the 70's was fun and interesting. Much of it had at least a hint of ethnic inspiration. Turbans made a resurgence along with wide scarves tied around the head. Bold geometric and floral prints carried over from the 60's, and were joined by the first vestiges of paisley prints that would become a mainstay of the next decade.
Clothing was loose and flowing. Both men and women chose tunic-length tops with billowing sleeves. These were often worn over equally billowing pants in soft, barely-there fabrics. Dresses became less popular as denim began to take hold; bell-bottoms were still acceptable but other leg widths were also introduced. Skirts went everywhere from just below the bottom all the way down to the floor, depending upon the woman and the occasion. The mini gave way to its cousin the micro-mini, which made the act of bending over dangerous for any woman wearing one.
Boots remained popular but wedge shoes with inordinately high heels were equally popular on and off the dance floor.
Men chose to drop the standard business suit look in favor of more a casual leisure suit, most often done in the popular fabric of the time - polyester. They also gave up their dark, dreary colors in favor of something a bit more colorful or decidedly pastel. A few went straight for that white disco suit, thinking that what was good enough for John Travolta was good enough for them.
Women's handbags were mostly made from natural fibers and were crocheted or knitted.
Meanwhile jewelry became big, bold and chunky. For once, men were often wearing as much or more jewelry as their feminine counterparts. Gold was in, and the flashier the better. Women opted for ethnic-looking beads and hoop earrings twice the size of anything ever worn before.
The 70's lives on!
The 70's was a true period of transition from the wildness of the 70's into the slightly more focused direction of the 80's. Nonetheless, the decade left its fashion mark, which are currently being recreated in some of the fashions of the 21st century.
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This four bedroom/two bath gem has a perfect location.....just a short jaunt to Pleasant Street Beach (8/10's of a mile) and also ten minutes to the Bike Path. Pleasant Street beach is a great Nantucket Sound Beach area with moderate waves and warmer water since it is an inlet. The property has central air conditioning, three televisions with expanded cable, wireless internet, enclosed outdoor shower, nice patio with outdoor furniture and gas grill. Property is immaculate and well maintained with spacious yard. It offers everything you are looking for......all of the comforts of home and plenty of room to spread out.
SECOND FLOOR: BEDROOM #1: KING, BEDROOM#2: QUEEN, FIRST FLOOR: BEDROOM #3: QUEEN, BEDROOM #4: FULL/DOUBLE BED. THERE IS A NON-REFUNDABLE RESERVATION FEE OF $125 AND DEPARTURE CLEANING FEE OF $175 IN ADDITION TO THE RENTAL FEE. NO SMOKING OR PETS ALLOWED. SATURDAY TO SATURDAY.
Very comfortable, nice and cool, spacious, inviting family room, well equipped kitchen, plenty of room to spread out. Good quality gas grill. Very quiet neighborhood, Great size dining area.
Great Kitchen and Patio, Comfortable Beds, and Central Air. Clean, Convenient....Wonderful Stay!
How helpful and easy Wendy made our reservation. Love the rental, lovely and well equipped. Good location. Enjoyed our stay.


Cindy was patted down for weapons and wires by the seller's associates before having a canvas bag thrust over her head. It was difficult to tell where the minivan took her, as they'd also taken the precaution of spinning her to dizziness. After she was hustled into a location identifiable as indoor by the soft hum of air conditioning, Cindy heard an unfamiliar voice speak.
"I hear that you wish to purchase my product." It was the seller, the dealer, the supplier that Cindy had been trying to contact since the withdrawal pangs had started.
It took Cindy's eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness of Mikayla Prouse's immaculate house, with its polished hardwood floors. The eight-year-old herself sat on an overstuffed couch in her full Girl Scout uniform, flanked by her mom and three other girls.
"How many boxes of Thin Mints can we put you down for?" Mikayla asked with a confident saleswoman's smile.
It had been harder and harder to get Girl Scout cookies since the town of Hopewell had banned the sale and import of all products containing trans-fats, but Cindy, like many, had too big a monkey on her back to give them up.


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Amy & Adaptation
While others talk about breaking through barriers, Amy Purdy proves it is her barriers that gave her the ability to catapult into another level of living. When Amy was nineteen, she contracted bacterial meningitis, a bacterial infection that nearly took her life—she does, in fact remember dying. "I felt my last breath." It was at that immeasurable moment she remembers making a choice. "I chose to live. I chose to be here and that is a liberating feeling," making a 180 degree turn back into the world of the living. "When you make that choice, you can't blame anyone or anything for your situation or circumstance—because, you see, I had a choice and I made it. That's the thing about life, we always have choices, it is up to us to stand firm with our decisions and live our lives with passion." After coming back from the brink of death, Amy lost the function of her kidneys and both legs below the knee. "I had no choice but to adapt." It was in that adaptation that Amy found her creativity and passion. "When you accept that there are certain truths in your life that you can't change, it allows you to embrace your new reality and move forward."
Traumatic events like this have a pretty typical and consistent evolution. But who says that Amy does anything typical? "Yes, my life and health were out of my control. I spent months in bed recovering, fearful of what my future would be like. Then my passion for life began to take control. I wanted to smell the rain, feel the wind on my face and feel my muscles moving again. I love working out and I wanted to take back the control of my body and life. So I did." Once Amy accepted there were things that she couldn't change, she used her new set of boundaries as the springboard to move to the next level of her life. Much like pushing against the sides of a swimming pool she powerfully propelled into her new life. "I made the choice to not look back in a negative way, I don't have regrets, and I don't ask why."
One of the lessons Amy learned on this journey was that there will always be trials in life, but you can always do something about it. There is always a solution. "For me, connecting to my passions helped me move forward, snowboarding, acting, and motivational speaking. I quickly learned that life happens for you, not to you. Of course, there have been others who have suffered loss but are nowhere near as positive, beautiful and driven as Amy. So what it her secret?
Passion. "Passion leads to purpose and I believe that everyone has a special gift to give. Before losing my legs, I was a massage therapist and I was passionate about healing muscles and bodies. Now, because of what I went through, that platform has expanded." Amy spends most days traveling the world as a highly requested motivational speaker and top competitive snowboarder. She also works for companies who innovate new prosthetic designs as well as helping others with physical challenges to get involved with action sports through Adaptive Action Sports, the organization she started with her husband, Daniel Gale. "I can help make incredible improvements for others that I would not have been able to accomplish had I not lost my legs." Her advice for those who can't define any of their passions? "Ask yourself, 'What makes me feel good?' That's it. For me, healing others through massage made me happy. Now, traveling, challenging myself through creative, artistic projects and connecting with others through sports and speaking is what fulfills me most." Amy has also dabbled in TV hosting and will be a correspondent for NBC for the upcomingParalympic Games in Rio.
Even though Amy found her passions and purpose relatively quickly, she did struggle with her image at first, as any nineteen-year-old woman would. "For the first few years, I basically wanted to blend in with everyone else. I wasn't comfortable with everyone looking at me and I certainly didn't want anyone feeling bad for me. But then, one day it shifted. I realized it's so much easier just to be yourself! Once you embrace the things that make you unique, so will everyone else! Once I stopped worrying about what others thought of me — my life changed. I began pursuing my passions, dressing the way I wanted and playing with different fashion that actually compliment my legs verses hiding them!" Amy is often found on red carpets playing up her legs with metallic three-and-a-half-inch heels and fashion forward dresses. I always say, "Be yourself, the rest of the world will adapt!"
Through her innovations, Amy has mastered the art of adaptation. "When I was on Dancing With The Stars, I wore a pair of feet that were pointed and looked like ballerina feet but were made for swimming. They had the look I was going for so I tried to dance on them and they worked great. They also gave me the strongest core muscles ever!" The lesson? Get creative. Allow yourself to think differently and apply this thinking to overcoming boundaries. Use your barriers to propel yourself into the next adventurous chapter of your life!
We can all take a page from Amy's book and stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and focus on what excites us and motivates our purpose on the earth. "Do what makes you happy, do what brings you joy, follow your passions! You and the world will be a better place when you honor your dreams and let your light shine! The second we become completely comfortable in our own skin, that's when the magic begins."
Amy and her husband Daniel Gale created Adaptive Action Sport (AAS), a non-profit that supports individuals with physical disabilities. Their goal is to create opportunities for those with physical disabilities to get involved in skateboarding and snowboarding and other action sports. AAS is the first organization of its kind to focus on bringing these types of sports to the adaptive community. You can learn more at adacs.org or on Amy's instagram @amypurdygurl.
Text by Alexandra Therese
Photography by Richard Reinsdorf
Filed under Features | Tags: 30.3, features, The People Issue


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You are here: Home / Director's Message / Message from Director Don Carleton: March 2015
Message from Director Don Carleton: March 2015
Earlier this month, we enjoyed a visit from former New Mexico congressman and governor Bill Richardson. Richardson was on campus to celebrate the donation of his professional and personal papers to the Briscoe Center. During the visit, Richardson enjoyed a tour of our Research and Collections division, appeared on KUT Radio with UT Austin President Bill Powers, and was honored at the Texas State Capitol. Finally, Dr. John Hogg and David Garza, both members of our advisory council, hosted a reception in his honor.
During these events, Governor Richardson spoke enthusiastically about the many reasons he chose the Briscoe Center as the repository of his papers. One of the recurring themes in his remarks was the importance of our civil rights and social justice collections, a subject obviously dear to his heart considering his work as a humanitarian and international negotiator.
In particular, Richardson highlighted the center's Spider Martin Photographic Archive and our long history of collaborations with national organizations like the Smithsonian and LBJ Presidential Library. With that in mind, I am sure Governor Richardson would appreciate our April 8 program, Art and Evidence of The Civil Rights Movement. I will join LBJ Presidential Library Director Mark Updegrove and Blanton Museum Curator Evan Garza for a conversation about the civil rights movement that focuses on images from the Blanton's Witness exhibition and the Briscoe Center's photojournalism collections.
The program will start at 6:00 p.m. at the LBJ Auditorium, and is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, so if you would like to attend please contact our Special Events & Annual Giving Officer Ashley Carr at (512) 495-4609 or by email. The panel discussion will be preceded by a special viewing of our March to Freedom exhibit at 4:30 p.m. (on display at the LBJ Library).
The program also marks the launch of the LBJ Library's new book Destiny of Democracy: The Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library, which is published by the Briscoe Center. I want to thank the center's Director of External Affairs Erin Purdy and our Head of Publications, Dr. Holly Taylor who worked so hard with LBJ Library Director Mark Updegrove and me to bring this beautiful book to fruition. Destiny of Democracy commemorates last year's historic civil rights summit on campus. For three days last April, four U.S. presidents joined veterans of the civil rights movement and a host of experts for a celebration of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a discussion of our nation's mixed record on social and political progress ever since. Images from the summit are contrasted with those from the Briscoe Center's photojournalism collections, many of which speak to the tragic violence that reared its ugly head in the face of peaceful protests over 50 years ago. Written by Mark Updegrove, the book features an exploration of Lyndon B. Johnson's civil rights legacy.
This graphic juxtaposition of triumph and tragedy is what makes the book so compelling. The most obvious example of this is the fact that Congressman John Lewis, who wrote the book's foreward, appears in images both from the 2014 summit and from Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965. I'm proud that the Briscoe Center not only preserves evidence of the past — but also makes that evidence available to the public through programing and publications.
If you are interested in ordering a copy of Destiny of Democracy you can do so from our distributor, the University of Texas Press.
Don Carleton, Ph.D.
J. R. Parten Chair in the Archives of American History
Executive Director, Dr. Don Carleton
About Don Carleton


If you are looking to start a new business, you want an experienced lawyer to help you determine the best legal form. Partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations offer different tax and liability considerations.
Any online search will produce dozens of self help services, where you can "check the box" to start up your company.
We know many people considering a new business are eager to get to the process of running the business. However, its not as easy as "checking the right box". Failing to carefully structure your entity and make the correct elections can have costly consequences down the line. Properly structuring a provision in an operating agreement can make the difference between owning the company, or being forced out several years later.
You want an attorney who understands business law, one who will listen carefully to your needs and concerns and help you choose the form that best fits your objectives.
At the Mead Law Firm P.C., we have worked closely with businesses and business owners for 25 years. We provide big law firm experience in a small law office environment, offering a high level of personal service and attention to every client. When you hire us to help you determine the best form for your new business enterprise, you will work directly with a lawyer throughout the process. We know that timely answers to your questions can be important and strive to be accessible and available when you need to talk with us.
To schedule a confidential consultation with an experienced Portland business start up lawyer, contact our office or call us at 503-214-2712 (toll-free at 888-328-1440) for an appointment.
When you hire us to help you set up a new business, we will gather as much information as we can about your company, as well as your goals and objectives. We will then explain the different forms your company can take, from a sole proprietorship or a general partnership to a limited liability partnership (LLP), limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. We will make certain you understand the tax and liability consequences of each business form.
Once you have determined which business structure is best for you, we will prepare and file all the documents necessary to set your company up in compliance with state and federal business laws. We will prepare articles of incorporation or organization, partnership agreements, by-laws and state and federal tax registrations.
For an appointment, contact us or call us at 503-214-2712 (toll-free at 888-328-1440).


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Q: Is it possible to pass a file from Spout to Bolt in Apache Storm? public class MySpout implements IRichSpout{
    private List fileName;  //enter code here

    public void nextTuple(){
        File file = new File("D:/small progs/tika_document_type_detection.pdf");
        fileName.add(file);
        this.collector.emit(new Values(fileName));
    }

}

In Bolt

public class MyBolt implements IRichBolt{
    public void execute(Tuple tuple){
        FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream(tuple.getValues(0));
        //can i use this stream obj to parse this file(using Apache tika)
    }
}

Here I'm not able to pass file object from Spout to Bolt. Am i missing something in this? First of all my question is can we pass an object from Spout to Bolt using:
SpoutOutCollector collecot.emit(fileName)

Here fileName is the list of objects which contains the file object.

A: You code does not work because your Spout emit an List of File objects which gets serialized and sent to the bolt. Thus, the bolt could receive this list of File object like this:
public void execute(Tuple tuple){
    List<File> files = (List<File>)tuple.getValue(0);
}

But I guess, that is not what you want...
I guess you want to sent the content of the file byte-by-byte from Spout to Bolt. For this, you need to open the file in Spout.nextTuple() and read a it byte by byte and emit a single byte via emit:
FileInputStream stream = null;
public void nextTuple() {
    if(stream == null) {
        stream = new FileInputStream(new File("..."));
    }
    this.collector.emit(new Values(new Byte(stream.read()));
}

Of course, the bolt receive a single byte per tuple now:
public void execute(Tuple tuple){
    Byte b = tuple.getByte(0);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Candidate's ancestors fled to Mexico, practicing polygamy after United States ban.
Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's ancestors reportedly fled to Mexico in the 19th century to practice polygamy after it was banned in the United States, the Associated Press reported.
Romney's great grandfather, Miles Park Romney, fled to Mexico after the 1882 passing of the Edmund Act, which banned polygamy in the US. He married his fifth wife after the Mormon church formally banned the practice in 1890.
The Romneys were some of the first Mormons to settle in the border state of Chihuahua, according to the AP. But, when the Mexican Revolution hit Chihuahua in 1912, the Romneys, including Mitt's father, who was 5, fled back into the US, losing their homes, farms and most of their belongings, the Boston Globe reported.
After the revolution, Mitt's grandfather, Gaskell Romney, remained in the US with his five children, but his brother, Miles Archibold Romney, returned to Mexico.
According to the Boston Globe, Mitt Romney has called polygamy an "awful'' practice and has never visited the colony that his ancestors started in Mexico.
Today, the 40 Mexican Romneys live in solid brick homes in Colonia Juarez, some 190 miles from El Paso, Texas. According to the Daily Mail, the Mormons of northern Mexico don't practice polygamy, as the Mormon church officially banned the practice in 1890.
"It is a very open community, where we have been progressive, and we have shaped a life for ourselves, our children, that we think is a healthy life," Leighton Romney told the AP. "We have been here for generations."
Romney rarely talks about his Mexican roots on the campaign trail, even while trying to court the Hispanic vote in primary states like Florida.
Some members of Romney's family reportedly do not support the candidate's immigration policies. Romney supports a US-Mexico border fence, opposes education for illegal immigrants and recently mentioned that he supported "self-deportation," a policy that encourages immigrants to return to their home countries.
Immigration is an important topic in Florida, where Hispanics account for about 11 percent of the Republican primary voters. According to the Boston Globe, they could "provide the key to victory in today's primary."


Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey on Flickr.
Today Russian explorers announced that they had recovered the logs from Georgy Brusilov's ill-fated 1912 expedition through the Northeast Passage, the New York Times reports. The logs were discovered among human skeletons on Franz Josef Land, the northernmost landmass of Europe.
The recovered journal was dated May 1913 and recorded from the St. Anna, the Brusilov expedition's vessel. The St. Anna famously ran aground on the Siberian coast, and 11 of the 24-man crew abandoned the trapped ship in search of solid ground. Only two of the 11 survived.
The rest of the crew disappeared. Now it seems they've been recovered. Details of the journey found in the well-preserved sailor's log remain largely obscure, but other artifacts found in the immediate vicinity - a watch, a knife, a spoon engraved with a sailor's initials, and sunglasses fashioned from spent rum bottles - confirm its provenance.
One telling line has been released: "Today we got our last brick of tobacco; the matches ran out long ago."


s+r – body oil | . . a U R a . .
Can you tell that my new obsession is [non greasy] oil?! Face Oil, Body Oil, and always Hair Oil – I love this stuff! It's very moisturizing and keeps me soft without being sticky.
When I went to the counter and tried these two Body Oils, I liked both, but I decided to go with the bigger bottle that cost a little less. I started using the Dry Body Oil Spray. After, like 30 seconds, it dries and I'm good to go! The slight scent stays on from morning to night too! I love how easy the spray is when applying to my skin, but I like the slight shimmer in the other as well so I may try the Shimmering Oil next.
If anyone can recommend to me a good and light body oil for Spring and Summer, let me know!
This entry was posted in s&r and tagged dry body oil, morroccan oil, shimmering body oil. Bookmark the permalink.


1.1.5: "Personal Data", "Data Controller", "Data Processor", "Data Subject", and "processing" (and other parts of the verb 'to process') shall have the meaning set out in the Applicable Data Protection Legislation.
1.2: Each party shall comply at all times with its respective obligations under the provisions of the Applicable Data Protection Legislation and shall not perform its obligations under this agreement in such a way as to cause the other to breach any of its applicable obligations under Applicable Data Protection Legislation.
1.3.11: not more than once in any 12 month period and on reasonable notice, of at least twenty (20) business days, permit the Customer (subject to reasonable and appropriate confidentiality undertakings), to inspect and audit CSG Computer Service Ltd.'s data processing activities to enable the Customer to verify and/or procure that CSG Computer Services Ltd is complying with its obligations under this clause.


Personalized Tumblers are a cute gift for bridesmaids! Each clear acrylic tumbler comes with a rose gold (or silver or gold!) lid & a clear straw - and is personalized with a name or word in a pretty white vinyl script font.
1 CLEAR Acrylic Water Bottle - Personalized with a Name OR Word in White Vinyl.
The bottle includes a straw and a lid in the color of your choice. Choose from a Rose Gold, Silver, or Gold Lid.
Perfect!!! Thank you so much for the most adorable gifts!!
My cup came as expected. Very cute and chic! Only thing is these cups are not very durable. Within a few days of receiving it my toddler knocked it off the coffee table onto carpet and the cup cracked causing liquid to go in the walls of the cup making it unusable. Not at all the sellers fault, just fyi to be cautious when using your cup.
These were shipped and delivered very quickly and looked just like in the photos. Super cute, can't wait to use them!


Premonitions of Death Can It Be Real?
My 40 year old cousin said to me that she would die soon; after a month she was diagnosed with cancer that took her life within three months. My grandma knew in what circumstances she would die.
My uncle said on his 35th birthday that he was celebrating his last birthday and he was correct. These are some examples of premonitions of death from my family. You must have some examples as well.
There are many different kinds of premonitions. Some people just know they are about to die and they are true. While others just feel that way and still live for many years. Death premonitions could be true or false. It depends on the person to perceive the right message at the right time.
Death card in tarot and death in the dream don't mean that you are about to die. It could also mean that some part of you will die, or something in life will end.
Soul reminds you that your life is short and you can live it wisely, and you take the message wrong.
Health concerns or diagnosis with the general or terminal diseases make people think that they will die soon.
Fear of losing your loved ones sometimes turns into premonitions of death.
However, it is not necessary that these premonitions are always wrong. Premonitions of death are real in many cases. When death is near, there is a change in energy. If the person is sensitive enough, he or she can detect that energy shift.
Same happens when someone we love is about to die. If you have psychic power, you could sense that change even a day before their death.
Hospitals face deaths now and then. Maggie Callahan is a nurse and speaker. She claims that people use identical words before their death. In her career, she has seen the death of more than 2000 people. The most common thing they say is that they see their deceased loved ones are waiting for them.
American doctors William Green, Alex Moss, and Stefan Goldstein studied the stories of thousands of patients who died a sudden death. They found that most of the people were able to predict their end. They also found that most of them felt great depression any time from days or months before death. That depression was never ending.
Death is the ultimate truth of life. Sooner or later, we all will die. Premonitions of death could be real, or they could be not! But death is an inevitable reality. If you ever feel that way, the best thing to do is to spend time with the people you love.
You can also complete any important unfinished work that should be completed in your life. Lots of psychic knowledge is needed to know when these premonitions are real. When you cannot distinguish, it is better to be prepared. Death should be welcomed as an old friend and not as an enemy. Since our birth, death is the final destination of the body, but the soul continues its journey even afterwards.
Psychic Abilities Test: Are You Psychic?


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Home News & Analysis Europe's Top 40 Lenders 2019, part 2: the other European and North...
Europe's Top 40 Lenders 2019, part 2: the other European and North American banks
In the second of three instalments, Real Estate Capital highlights the other European and North American banks most actively providing finance to Europe's real estate markets.
Daniel Cunningham
3rd September, 2019
Welcome to the 2019 edition of Europe's Top 40 Lenders. Now in its sixth year, this list is intended to highlight those most actively providing liquidity to Europe's property markets today.
Here, in the second of three instalments, we highlight the other European (not including the UK and German) banks and the North American banks which have made the list. To see part one, covering UK and German banks, click here. Our final instalment, highlighting the insurers and debt funds, can be found here.
OTHER EUROPEAN BANKS
Senior, whole loan, development lender
Active across Europe
Lending volumes: undisclosed
Loan book: undisclosed
BNP Paribas was reluctant to provide lending volumes or the size of its European real estate loan book, but evidence of recent significant deals across the market determined its inclusion in this list.
On lending activity, a spokesman told Real Estate Capital the French bank had maintained double-digit percentage growth in new loans across Europe in 2018 and the first half of 2019.
In 2019, BNP Paribas participated as co-lead co-ordinator, alongside Crédit Agricole, in the €660 million loan provided to finance the Paris shopping centre Beaugrenelle in May. In its home country, the bank was also lead arranger in large office transactions including the Majunga and Lumière office buildings.
Paris: BNP Paribas has closed several financings in the French capital
BNP Paribas has a recent track record in large deals in the UK market. In H1 2019, it participated alongside four banks in arranging a CMBS-like transaction to refinance the Westfield Stratford shopping centre in London for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
Elsewhere in Europe, the bank led the 2018 financing of the acquisition of Spanish SOCIMI Hispania by Blackstone, in what was understood to be a €340 million facility. In June, it financed a large logistics transaction in Spain, known as Phoenix, again with Blackstone as sponsor.
In the debt capital markets, the bank played leading roles in bond issues for property companies Klépierre, Prologis, Goodman and SEGRO among others.
Gilles Polet, the bank's head of real estate finance Europe, said: "Markets remain positive even if it is now more important than ever to be selective in order to account for the different economic conditions across the region, as well as the evolution of the asset class."
Senior, bridge and development lender
Active in France, UK, Italy, Spain and Portugal
Lending in 2018: €3.9bn
Lending in H1 2019: €1.4bn
Loan book: more than €10bn
The real estate division within Crédit Agricole's commercial and investment bank provided €3.9 billion of debt in 2018, it reported, up from €2.4 billion in 2017.
The French bank has been involved in two significant sustainability-linked financing deals since the last top 40 was published. In October, it partnered with Natixis and Société Générale on a €300 million green loan provided to AccorHotels, which financed the group's purchase of its head office, Tour Sequana in Paris. The eight-year loan was priced at 1.8 percent.
In Spain, it acted as bookrunner and joint sustainability co-ordinator on a €1.55 billion sustainability-linked loan to Merlin Properties, which closed in April. The deal was heralded as the first of its kind for a listed Spanish property company. The facility refinanced a term loan and a revolving credit facility and was the largest real estate loan of its type to be closed in Europe, according to the bank. In all, 16 lenders participated in the syndicate.
In other deals, in February, Crédit Agricole partnered with BNP Paribas on a €660 million refinancing of the Beaugrenelle Paris shopping centre. The syndication of the deal was closed in June. In London, Crédit Agricole was mandated lead arranger in the £625 million (€674 million) refinancing of 8 Canada Square, Qatar Investment Authority's tower in Canary Wharf and the global headquarters of HSBC. Six banks participated in total.
In Italy, in June, Crédit Agricole was mandated lead arranger and bookrunner alongside six other banks, in a €658 million, five-year financing of Grandi Stazioni Retail, the company that manages retail space across Italian railway stations.
ING Real Estate Finance
Senior, mezzanine, whole loan and development lender
Active in Benelux, Germany, UK, Spain, central and eastern Europe
Lending in 2018: €10bn
Lending in H1 2019: €6bn
Loan book: €30bn
ING reported a similar lending volume for 2018 as 2017, at €10 billion. Its mid-year 2019 figure – €6 billion – was also in line with its progress at the same point in 2018.
The bank is predominantly a senior lender and said its strategy remained consistent in the last year. However, its increased lending outside Europe is notable. "We follow the global presence of our clients," a spokeswoman tells Real Estate Capital. "This has led us to further expand our business in the US and Asia."
Deals outside Europe included participation in an A$ 2.2 billion (€1.4 billion) loan to Canadian real estate owner Oxford Properties to finance the take-private of the listed Australian real estate vehicle Investor Office Fund in December.
Madrid: ING financed Spanish SOCIMI Colonial
In Europe, ING continued its efforts to finance energy-efficient buildings, as mandated by the bank's global sustainability strategy. In November, it closed a €150 million sustainability improvement loan to listed French firm Gecina, which had a margin pegged to the firm's environmental, social and governance rating, as measured by industry body GRESB. It was the first commercial real estate loan to be measured against a GRESB rating.
In February, ING provided a €75 million loan to Benelux logistics specialist Warehouses De Pauw. The proceeds refinanced eligible green assets under the borrower's Green Finance Framework. In March, it provided its first sustainable loan to a Spanish SOCIMI, with a €75.7 million sustainable improvement loan to Colonial, the interest rate being linked to the borrower's GRESB rating.
The bank continued to grow its presence in Germany. In April, it refinanced the Kaiser Wilhelm Höfe office complex in Cologne, which is managed by Art-Invest Real Estate, in a €100 million long-term loan. In June, it provided a €33.6 million loan to M&G Real Estate for the 13,800 square foot Aurum office building in Munich.
Senior lender, plus mezzanine on trophy assets
Active in France, Spain, Italy, Germany
Loan book: €9bn
The French commercial and investment bank operates a global originate-to-distribute real estate lending strategy, typically syndicating 75 percent of loans.
In July, Natixis provided a €507.2 million facility to support Swiss Life Asset Managers' €1.7 billion acquisition of an office portfolio, mainly comprising prime Paris properties, from French real estate company Terreïs. The seve
Verhoosel: global head of real estate at Natixis
n-year loan was secured by property accounting for €1.3 billion of the portfolio value and was syndicated to German and French banks.
In January, Natixis provided €650 million, alongside French bank Crédit Foncier de France, to Ampere Gestion and Swiss Life Asset Managers, to finance the borrowers' Foncière Vesta joint venture, which contains a portfolio of 4,000 French homes.
In June, it partnered with Cheyne Capital to finance luxury hotel owner LHC's €154 million acquisition of Château La Messardière, a Saint-Tropez hotel. Natixis provided a €110 million senior loan alongside €110 million of mezzanine from Cheyne, to fund the acquisition and refurbishment of the hotel and the full refinancing of an existing loan.
Other French deals this year have included the €225 million acquisition and capex financing of a four- and five-star hotel portfolio in France. In Spain, Natixis provided a €130 million loan to investor Merlin Properties. Last year's deals included the €115 million financing of a high street retail asset in Milan and the €123 million financing for a Munich office building in 2018.
Two subsidiaries of Natixis Investment Managers – AEW and Ostrum Asset Management – are senior lenders of third-party capital. A joint venture between the two firms is raising its third senior debt fund, targeting a final close of €700 million. The JV provided €500 million of loans in 2018 and a similar volume in H1 2019.
Emmanuel Verhoosel is global head of real estate and hospitality. He joined in September 2018.
Senior, whole loan lender
Active in France, UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Benelux, Czech Republic, Poland
Société Générale declined to provide its lending volumes or loan book size. The bank's first-half 2019 results, published on 1 August 2019, show the real estate sector accounted for 10 percent of the bank's €353 billion corporate portfolio credit exposure, as defined by Basel banking regulations, with the construction sector at 4 percent.
The French bank is known to have recently completed deals in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as pan-European lending.
In June, SocGén partnered with UniCredit and Erste Group to refinance Czech developer CTP's Czech portfolio with a €1.9 billion facility. The deal, which refinanced €1.6 billion of debt on 200 individual buildings for seven years and provided debt for projects due to be completed, was heralded as the largest real estate debt transaction in central and eastern Europe to date.
In March, the bank was sole underwriter of the £615 million (€670 million) acquisition financing of four Grange hotels in London. The four hotels were bought by London-based investor Queensgate Investments in the same month in a deal reported to be worth around £1 billion.
Also in March, it led the €545 million financing of a pan-European portfolio of logistics assets, bought by a sovereign wealth fund.
In December, SocGén partnered with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Santander in a €1.9 billion loan to fund Blackstone's acquisition of the Spanish SOCIMI Testa.
"There is a continuing appetite from our institutional clients for core assets across Europe because they are following long-term holding strategies and can accommodate tight yields as commercial real estate still favourably compares to other asset classes," said Jerome Gatipon-Bachette, Paris-based global co-head of real estate structured finance.
He added that opportunistic investors are also looking for higher yields by acquiring properties that need to be repositioned.
THE NORTH AMERICAN BANKS
Senior, whole loan, mezzanine lender
Lending in 2018: undisclosed
CMBS issuance so far in 2019: €552.9m
Bank of America Merrill Lynch declined to provide its lending volumes or loan book size. But, judging by the volume of deals it is known to have closed since the last top 40 was published in October, the US investment bank remains a significant source of finance in the European real estate market.
While last year's transactional volumes did not reach 2017's level, Matthias Baltes, head of EMEA commercial real estate structured finance, says: "Q4 2018 was one of our busiest quarters in many years, with deals from Portugal to Finland."
BAML has been an active player in the revived commercial mortgage-backed securities market, with two transactions in 2019 at the time of publication. In April, it arranged a €237.1 million securitisation of a single loan provided to Colony Capital, secured on French properties. The highest rated tranche of the Taurus 2019 FR transaction was priced at 90 basis points.
Baltes: leads BAML's European real estate team
In June, the bank issued the €315.8 million Erna securitisation against a portfolio of mixed-use Italian properties. The transaction securitised four loans secured by a portfolio owned by TPG Sixth Street Partners.
In December, BAML issued a fresh securitisation of Blackstone's The Squaire office building at Frankfurt airport, totalling €475 million. The bank had originally financed the property with a €445 million loan in 2015, which was securitised.
Other recent deals included its role as one of five banks that arranged the £750 million bond which refinanced Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's Stratford City shopping scheme in London. In December, it took a participation, understood to be between €750 million and €1 billion, in the €2 billion financing of Blackstone's acquisition of the Spanish residential company Testa.
Senior, whole loan, loan-on-loan lender
Lending in 2018: $4bn
Lending in H1 2019: $2bn
Around 90 percent of Citi's European real estate lending volumes in 2018 and the first half of 2019 were accounted for by senior loans, according to the bank. Its lending during the period was across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The US investment bank has gained a track record in financing properties in the UK's student accommodation sector in recent years. It provided around £1.3 billion (€1.5 billion) in the sector in the 12 months prior to our last top 40. The bank has continued to lend into the student housing market, with an £840 million loan for accommodation provider IQ in October, which refinanced two loans secured by around 25 properties, reflecting a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio.
In the same month, it financed the acquisition of a London-based prime serviced office company, London Executive Offices, for around £300 million. The flexible working group was reportedly bought by an Asian family for around £475 million, according to Sky News.
Citi also financed the take-private of a large office company, Technopolis, in the Nordics for more than $1.2 billion in May. The deal followed the acquisition of the Finnish company by a company owned by Kildare European Partners II for €730 million, agreed last August. The deal followed Citi's role in the financing of Blackstone's purchase of the Finnish Sponda office platform.
In April, Citi provided a €200 million loan secured by Irish single- and multi-family residential assets.
Wesley Barnes leads the lending team from London. The team also includes Omar El Glaoui and Russell Gould.
Senior, whole loan lender (investment bank's Real Estate Finance Group); mezzanine, whole loan lender (merchant bank's Real Estate Principal Investment Area)
Lending in 2018 and H1 2019 (REFG): £3.3bn
Lending in H1 2019 (REPIA): $734m
Goldman Sachs lends against European real estate from two parts of the business. In the investment bank, the European Real Estate Finance Group, led by Jan Janssen and Andrea Bora, operates an originate-to-distribute model. In the merchant bank, the Real Estate Principal Investment Area, led in Europe by Jim Garman and Richard Spencer, lends mainly from its Broad Street Real Estate Credit Partners III global fund, which closed on $6.7 billion in January 2018.
Spencer: co-head of Goldman Sachs' merchant bank's property business
REFG has been a key player in Europe's commercial mortgage-backed securities market. In 2018, it issued three CMBS deals totalling £830 million (€896 million). In 2019, it arranged a €264 million Dutch CMBS – Kanaal CMBS Finance 2019 – in Q1. This was followed in Q2 by a £283 million CMBS, collateralised by UK cold storage facilities – Cold Finance 2019 – the first deal of its kind.
REFG is also understood to have increased the volume of loans held on its balance sheet and remains active in the syndication market. In November 2018, it provided a £200 million loan-on-loan financing to Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies for the St Giles Circus scheme in London. In October 2018, it provided €248 million to Bain Capital Credit to finance the first Greek secured non-performing loan portfolio transaction, Project Amoeba.
REPIA, meanwhile, is understood to have committed more than $1 billion of its latest fund in Europe, mainly in large-ticket mezzanine and development financing deals. In April, it provided £118 million to investor Apache Capital for a build-to-rent tower in Birmingham. It also provided £185 million to Auriens and Zenprop for a retirement living project in London.
Other deals included a €145 million mezzanine loan as part of a take-private of a Nordic flexible office company; a €155 million loan for a development in Dublin; and a £60 million mezzanine loan to Blackstone for the acquisition of a portfolio of UK last-mile logistics.
Senior, whole loan, mezzanine, loan-on-loan lender
Lending in 2018: $15bn
US investment bank Morgan Stanley has been a major player in the European real estate lending market in recent years, through a combination of large secured loans and providing debt to support property loan portfolio acquisitions.
The bank did not disclose the size of its real estate loan book, but it wrote $6 billion of loans secured by property in 2018. Along with significant volumes of debt provided in the loan-on-loan market, Morgan Stanley's 2018 European total stood at around $15 billion.
In the first half of 2019, including direct property lending and real estate loan-on-loan deals, the bank provided around $4 billion in transactions across eight European countries.
Morgan Stanley has been an active participant in the revived European commercial mortgage-backed securities market, with two transactions closed so far in 2019 at the time of writing. In May, it launched a £236.4 million (€261 million) UK CMBS deal, which securitised a loan written to Blackstone and M7 Real Estate, financing 112 industrial units.
In 2018, the bank issued five CMBS deals, including Salus (European Loan Conduit No 33) DAC, which securitised a £367.5 million single loan secured by the 36-storey CityPoint office tower in the City of London, which is owned by Canadian property giant Brookfield.
In other deals, Morgan Stanley closed a £750 million refinancing of the Chapter portfolio of UK student housing assets during Q2.
The European commercial real estate lending team is run by Stephen Dyer, who reports to Niall O'Rourke, the former head of European real estate, now based in New York.
RBC Real Estate Capital Partners
Senior, stretch senior, mezzanine, development, loan-on-loan lender
Lending in 12 months to July 2019: €1.4bn
RBC Real Estate Capital Partners did not disclose 2018 and H1 2019 lending figures, although it did tell us it provided €1.4 billion of loans in the 12 months to July, which was in line with the €1.3 billion reported for the 12 months to August 2018 in the previous top 40.
Royal Bank of Canada's real estate lending business said it closed seven deals in the first half of 2019, equalling the number of transactions completed in the whole of 2018. Six of the H1 deals were primary originations, of which two were development loans. A spokeswoman added it closed another construction facility in July and, at the time of publication, had seven transactions due to close by the end of September.
The bulk of its loan book comprises loans secured by stabilised property portfolios, although the bank selectively writes development facilities in sectors including logistics and multifamily residential.
In May, RBC was sole lender of a £112 million (€122 million) acquisition and development facility to Delancey Oxford Residential, APG and Qatari Diar. The loan will finance the Middlewood Locks scheme, an 825-unit build-to-rent residential development in Manchester. In March, the bank was the sole lender in a €300 million development and term facility to GLP-Gazeley to finance the build-out of GLP Europe Development Partners I logistics portfolio, which initially comprises 12 properties in the UK, Germany and France.
RBC Real Estate Capital Partners is part of RBC Capital Markets and is led in Europe by Axel Brinkmann. Globally, the group, which was launched in 2011 and is overseen by Kathryn Ogden, has originated almost C$30 billion on its balance sheet.
Senior, development lender
Active in the UK and Ireland
Lending in 2018: £2.1bn
Lending in H1 2019: £612m
Loan book: £9.3bn
US bank Wells Fargo lends to commercial real estate in the UK and Ireland from its London office. Its 2018 lending was slightly up on 2017 at £2.1 billion (€2.3 billion).
A notable area of growth in the last year has been the bank's 'beds' sector lending business line, which now accounts for almost 20 percent of Wells Fargo's European real estate lending book, of which a large component is accounted for by development facilities.
Irish loans: comprise 10% of Wells Fargo's European loan book
In December, the bank provided a £55 million development loan to student accommodation REIT GCP Student Living, to fund the construction of a scheme in Brighton. The bank had previously provided a £45 million credit facility to the same borrower. In the purpose-built private rented housing sector, Wells Fargo provided a £67 million loan to Heitman for two schemes in Liverpool and Manchester in December.
The bank's focus on accommodation properties has also included its announcement, in May, that it would enter the UK social housing market.
Wells Fargo has also increased its presence in the Irish market, which now accounts for around 10 percent of its property loan book. Deals included an €81 million loan in February to Hines and APG Asset Management to finance the Cherrywood build-to-rent residential scheme in Dublin.
Also in Ireland, the bank took a €90 million participation in a €320 million unsecured revolving credit facility provided to listed investor Hibernia REIT in December.
A stand-out deal since the last Top 40 edition was Wells Fargo's £150 million participation in the financing of two buildings at Argent's King's Cross Central development in London. The loan, which was provided in December alongside HSBC and Helaba, was heralded as the first loan provided for an office development in the UK that meets the green loan principles drawn up by the Loan Market Association in March 2018.
Click here to access Part 1 and Part 3 of Europe's Top 40 Lenders list
Europe's Top 40 Lenders 2019


Just a quick email this morning as it's busy times ahead.
For the 4th time in the last 5 years I'm off to Reading musical festival.
This has proven to be on the last 3 occasions my unhealthiest few days of the year!
This does Jamie no good!
My plan this time? I've got to be honest I haven't managed to come up with much of one.
With most things I always have a plan up my sleeve for me and my clients to stay as close to the track as possible.
I'll do that to limit a bit of damage hopefully, but also it's been a hard working year so far with plenty of changes and it'll be nice to chill out and have a few days off to enjoy some music with friends.
I've got something to go out Friday and I'll catch up with you next week to let you know how it went!
Have a great week and enjoy yourselves!
Life is way too serious sometimes.


Maintain your 'do to make your life easier. "Haircuts have a shelf life of four to eight weeks before they start to lose shape and become harder to style," says Lisa Abbey, creative director of Salon Blue, in Mineola, New York.
Spend an afternoon at a salon and you'll notice that the pros always use hair clips to divide and conquer a big styling job. The reason? It lets you concentrate the heat of your dryer or flatiron on one small section at a time. At home, split your hair into three horizontal layers. Pin the top and middle sections back with clips and work your way from the bottom up. Complete each section before moving on to the next, but if you're in a hurry, spend more time styling the front and cheat a little in the back.
If you pay more attention to your roots when you apply product and dry your hair, you'll have more control over volume. Want more body? Then pull your hair up and out when drying, says Abbey. Want less? Pull your hair straight down to smooth and flatten the root. Treating your roots also saves your ends -- the oldest and driest part of your hair -- from excess heat damage.
Use the low or medium heat settings on your styling tools. "Only extremely coarse or curly hair can handle the highest temperatures," says Marc Mena, senior stylist at Warren-Tricomi Salon, in New York City. Other ways to protect your hair: Mist with a thermal styling spray, use a nozzle or diffuser attachment to disperse air flow, and don't concentrate the heat in one spot for too long.
Many women use a round brush that's too small, says Umberto Savone, a celebrity stylist based in Beverly Hills, California. A small brush with a 1-inch-diameter barrel works best for chin-length hair, shorter layers, or if you want to add extra bounce to very fine hair. Medium to large brushes -- 2- to 3-inch barrels -- are better for longer hair and help you create loose, natural waves or straight, smooth styles.


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Flood insurance: Residents left high and dry as last low-cost insurer gets out
Finding flood insurance is ever more difficult – nearly five years after the Hull flood – and a government agreement is expiring
Householders in flood-hit properties have been dealt a further blow in their battle to get insurance as one of the last remaining insurers willing to offer them cover has changed its stance.
Sainsbury's Finance offered low-cost insurance to homeowners and tenants whose properties had previously been flooded, whereas dozens of other major insurance companies turned them away. According to the National Flood Forum, a charity offering advice and support to communities and individuals at risk of flooding, or who have been flooded, Sainsbury's appeared to offer cover to nine out of 10 people it sent its way.
The policies were underwritten by Halifax Insurance. But in the past few weeks the bank has changed its underwriter to RBS Insurance, which appears to be declining the majority of flood cases the charity sees.
Chris Wright, who deals with insurance queries at the National Flood Forum, says: "Towards the end of last year around 90% of the people that came to us unable to get cover were then subsequently granted cover by Sainsbury's. Some had made phenomenal savings by going to Sainsbury's. Now we are struggling to find an insurer that stands out."
She adds: "Since the bank has changed underwriter our job has become so much harder. Now I understand it won't quote for anyone that has been flooded in the last 10 years."
While many householders are struggling to get insurance, and others are offered cover at a price they cannot afford, the situation is set to even worse after June next year when a voluntary agreement between the insurance industry and the government ends.
The Association of British Insurers warned earlier this year that up to 200,000 homes in England and Wales will struggle to obtain adequate flood insurance next year. The current agreement states that insurers must include flood cover as standard for properties built before 1 January 2009, where the risk of flooding is low. Crucially, insurers must also allow at-risk households who already have flood cover to renew automatically with the same insurer, as long as flood defences are planned to be in place within five years.
The industry and the government are now locked in a battle over what should happen next, with insurers reluctant to continue to offer cover without government commitment on flood defences.
RBS Insurance says: "We have been working with the Association of British Insurers for several years, in an attempt to influence government regarding the provision of a sustainable national plan for flood prevention and also to maintain widely available and affordable flood insurance for all customers. The current Statement of Principles is unfair to consumers and to insurers, as it does not offer the level playing field which we all expect. This situation needs urgent attention. We will continue trying to find a solution to this dilemma, as the 2013 deadline for the termination of the Statement of Principle (flood insurance) agreement is fast approaching."
Wendy Walters, 62, from Hull was one of the householders helped by Sainsbury's. She and her husband lost everything in the floods that hit the city in 2007, including their much loved pet budgerigar.
"The fireman had to carry me out of the property as I'm not steady on my feet," she says. "We were out of the house for a year while it was repaired, but luckily our insurance covered everything."
However, when the couple came to renew their insurance company quoted a premium of £750 with an excess of £15,000. They had previously paid £250. "We couldn't afford the premium nor the excess had we been flooded again, so we called some other major insurers, including the Halifax," she says. "They all turned us down because our postcode was in a high-risk flood area."
The Halifax was unable to explain why it could cover the Walters through a Sainsbury's policy but not its own, but said insurers often apply different underwriting criteria to their own policies compared to those they underwrite for other brands. A spokeswoman said: "Every insurer takes a different view of risk."
The couple contacted the National Flood Forum after hearing about it on a radio programme. The charity suggested they try Sainsbury's, which offered to insure them for £252, with a £2,000 excess. "I can't tell you what a relief it was," says Walters. "We worry constantly about not being able to get cover again. Every time it rains you look out of your window and worry."
Another Hull couple, Ron McDougall and his wife Pam, have been able to get insurance with their existing provider, Halifax, because of the agreement that existing policyholders should be able to buy cover. However, they are worried this might not be the case next year.
During the 2007 flood, the McDougalls watched helplessly as the rains washed up their road, through their back and front doors and up through the fireplace. "Within seconds we were standing in nine inches of water that then sat there for a week," says Ron McDougall. "When I went out to the shed, our rabbit hutches were floating on water with the animals still in them."
Halifax sorted out the couple's house repairs and temporary accommodation quickly, says McDougall, but inevitably this came at a cost. "Our premium went up from about £300 to £800, though we negotiated it down to £650," he says. "It is a lot of money but we tried to get insurance from a number of other companies and they were having none of it. I am concerned that we are not going to be able to sell our house if no one will insure us next year, so I'm just praying the Halifax won't turn us down."
On Wednesday, resident's associations, actions groups and representatives of the insurance industry and the government will get together for a conference on the future of flood insurance.
Charitable organisation The Joseph Rowntree Foundation will release a report that argues against insurers pricing out flood-hit households purely based on risk. It wants the government to provide a solution that protects the lowest income households from being left uninsured. In France, for example, a compulsory premium for natural disasters is standard in policies, regardless of the level of risk.
"Any just policy must find some place for social solidarity in the design of insurance arrangements for flood," the report will say. "The alternative is to create a situation in which we would be predictably causing not only a sizeable swathe of blighted properties, but also very many blighted lives."
Sainsbury's defends its decision to switch underwriters: "Our new products, designed with the Sainsbury's shopper in mind, offer a range of quality features and benefits including unlimited buildings cover (available with our Premier Cover) and a discount of up to 15% on premiums for Nectar card holders, as well as double Nectar points on all their shopping and fuel for two years (available on our Premier Cover).
"Sainsbury's Finance, together with its partner RBS Insurance, is committed providing home insurance to as many people as possible as well as providing quality cover and a fair price."
Lisa Bachelor


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https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Dramatic-rescue-5-year-old-old-pulled-from-car-14430552.php
Dramatic rescue: 5-year-old old pulled from car submerged in lake for more than 10 minutes
HTV National Desk
Published 6:30 am EDT, Wednesday, September 11, 2019
A dramatic rescue unfolded on Kincaid Lake in Kentucky after a 5-year-old boy was trapped inside a car fully submerged in 10 feet of water Sunday.
"I knew we were running out of time, especially with a car fully submerged," said volunteer Falmouth firefighter Lt. John Lucas.
Lucas said that, when he and the other first responders got the call, the boy had already been underwater for about five minutes.
Park Ranger Jeremy Cook was at the scene first. He said he was in the water and standing on top of the car in water up to his neck. He was trying to get inside the vehicle.
Lucas said he and Falmouth Officer Mark McClure arrived next and dove into the water to help.
"When you get a call like that, in the situation it was, you're thinking that you're in a recovery situation, not a rescue," Lucas said.
Cook tried to open the windows to get inside the car but it was nearly impossible underwater.
McClure had a rescue knife with a special tip designed to break car windows. His girlfriend had given it to him two weeks ago, he said.
They used the knife to shatter the back window and tried to find the boy but had no luck. At that time, the child had been submerged in the car for more than 10 minutes.
"Officer Cook, he would go down and would feel around and when he came up for breaths, I would go down and feel around," Lucas said.
The water was too murky to see more than a few inches, they said.
The men then broke a side window and Lucas said he located the boy with his hands.
The rescue wasn't over yet. The boy was stuck on something and Lucas and Cook said they had to drag him out of the car.
Then, the rescuers said they saw something they didn't expect.
"As I was pulling him up out of the water, I seen the little fellow's eyes open up and look at me and I had the cold chill come at me, and I knew it was going to be good," Lucas said.
The boy had somehow survived in an air bubble that had formed in the car.
"I can't take no credit. I don't think any of us can. I think the good Lord had his hands on that boy," Lucas said.
A spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said the father of the victim had apparently taken the boy and his brothers fishing. At one point, the 5-year-old had been in the car alone and it had somehow gotten knocked into neutral. The car had rolled down a boat launching ramp and into the water, where there was a steep drop-off.
Witnesses said the father had been in the water trying to get to the boy but then had gotten the attention of the park ranger, who called for backup.
The victim was airlifted from the scene by Air Evac and is expected to make a full recovery.