text: George Timothy Clooney raised in the small Kentucky town of Augusta, a scant 40 miles south of Cincinnati, OH. His father, Nick - brother of famed singer and actress Rosemary Clooney - was a local talk show host turned popular news anchor. His mother, Nina, was a beauty queen. Clooney grew up on the set of his father's shows, occasionally serving as a commercial pitchman and sketch player, before later working as a floor manager. With dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, Clooney was invited to try out for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 when he was just 16. But his best proved not good enough, and he failed to make the team. Instead, Clooney enrolled at Northern Kentucky University, where he proceeded to party, chase girls and occasionally show up for class. Not that he was entirely irresponsible; Clooney worked odd jobs to put himself through school, selling women's shoes and men's suits. After dropping out of NKU, Clooney's cousin, actor Miguel Ferrer, came to Kentucky to make a low-budget movie about horse racing. Clooney was cast in a small part based on his good looks and became instantly seduced with the business.In 1982, with money saved up from cutting tobacco, Clooney piled into his rusted 1976 Monte Carlo and drove to Los Angeles, CA in two days without stopping. His car guzzled oil and had ignition problems that forced him to keep it running on the side of the road while he caught an hour's worth of sleep. He eventually sputtered into Beverly Hills, where he stayed with his aunt Rosemary, doing odd jobs around the house and driving her and her famous friends around. Clooney then landed a job cleaning a theater, the money from which he used to pay for his first acting class. His first acting job was a Japanese commercial for Panasonic, followed by a part on the detective series "Riptide" (NBC, 1983-86). Clooney quickly made the jump from thankless television roles to forgettable horror flicks like "Grizzly II: The Predator" (1984), "Return to Horror High" (1986) and "Return of the Killer Tomatoes" (1988). But at least he was working.Undeterred by the dearth of quality projects, Clooney continued plugging away on auditions, taking whatever job came his way. (By the time he was a star, Clooney had worked on a total of 15 unsold pilots). Ironically, his first regular series role was as a young physician working in an emergency room in the short-lived sitcom "E/R" (CBS, 1984-85). He maintained a steady stream of recurring roles, playing a friendly carpenter on "The Facts of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988) during the 1985-86 season; a womanizing factory manager on "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997) for the 1988-89 season; and a construction worker on the short-lived sitcom "Baby Talk" (ABC, 1990-92), which he left after clashing with the show's producer. After playing a detective on "Bodies of Evidence" (CBS, 1992-93), Clooney stayed with law enforcement, but switched to drama, starring as the married detective who falls for Teddy (Sela Ward) during the 1993-94 season of "Sisters" (NBC). Clooney often said how his peripatetic upbringing and the experiences of both his father and aunt prepared him for the pitfalls of a showbiz career. When he finally achieved stardom on "ER," he took his newfound success in stride. Clooney played womanizing emergency room pediatrician Doug Ross, whose lack of personal judgment was usually trumped by compassion for his patients, whom he sometimes he defended with righteous indignation that bordered on professional misconduct. On the personal front, Ross was a carefree bachelor much like Clooney himself. But his darker nature led to a stormy romantic entanglement with registered nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), who began the series by attempting suicide after he broke her heart. Despite several twists and turns over the course of six seasons, including a few failed marriage proposals and the birth of twins, Ross and Hathaway - and consequently Clooney and Margulies - ended their stints on "ER," having moved to Seattle to get married and raise their daughters.As film offers poured in, Clooney began stretching as an actor, handling roles in diverse genres, though several efforts fell below expectations. He starred alongside Quentin Tarantino, battling vampires in Robert Rodriguez's action-adventure "From Dusk Till Dawn" (1996), then displayed his boyish charm opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in the romantic comedy "One Fine Day" (1996). Though the former acquired some cult status, neither fared particularly well at the box office. In a bold but ultimately damaging turn, Clooney inherited the "Batman" franchise from Val Kilmer, making a surprisingly mediocre Bruce Wayne/Batman in Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" (1997). Clooney took the critical drubbings with typical good humor, often joking about his part in the debacle. The true culprits, however, were a confusing script, overblown visuals and an ear-splitting soundtrack. Clooney's other big blockbuster from that year, "The Peacemaker," also proved disappointing.Despite a tough year at the box office, Clooney was dubbed "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 1997, a time when he was publicly battling the paparazzi for their bounty hunter tactics, especially in light of Princess Diana's August death in Paris while being chased in her car by photographers. The first glimmers of Clooney's activist nature surfaced when he organized a celebrity boycott of "Entertainment Tonight" (syndicated, 1981-) in retaliation for another Paramount show, "Hard Copy" (syndicated, 1986-1999), which used this new form of intrusive paparazzi. Clooney was joined by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise and Madonna in an effort that proved effective; "Hard Copy" toned down its invasive tactics. Back on screen, Clooney firmly established himself as a bona fide presence in his next project, "Out of Sight" (1998), directed by Steven Soderbergh. As Elmore Leonard's smart-alecky escaped con Jack Foley, Clooney romanced a federal marshal (Jennifer Lopez) while en route to stealing a cache of diamonds from a crooked businessman (Albert Brooks). Both Clooney and Lopez entranced critics with their sizzling onscreen chemistry, while Clooney earned praise for the easy-going charm and intelligence of his debonair bank robber. Despite good reviews, however, few turned up in the theaters, sadly making "Out of Sight" a box office disappointment.After making a cameo as a platoon leader in Terrence Malick's elegiac war film, "The Thin Red Line" (1998), his big screen fortunes changed dramatically with David O Russell's "Three Kings" (1999), an uncommonly political Hollywood action feature set during the first Gulf War that delivered a cautionary message about the responsibility accompanying America's role as policeman of the world. Clooney proved his mettle as an action star with his turn as career military man Major Archie Gates, though not without paying a price. Despite high critical praise for the film, he later described the enormous stress of working with Russell, who routinely berated everyone on set. Russell was so combative, that the typically unflappable Clooney eventually put him in a chokehold after the director went ballistic, butting heads with the actor while daring him to strike back. Clooney told Playboy magazine in 2000 that working on the film "was truly, without exception, the worst experience of my life."Regardless of his experiences with Russell, Clooney felt that his film career had warranted the decision to leave "ER" in February 2000. He made periodic returns to television, including as executive producer and star of the two-hour live broadcast of "Fail Safe" (CBS, 2000), a black-and-white homage to the days of live television adapted from the Cold War novel by Harvey Wheeler and Eugene Burdick. Superbly acted and flawlessly produced, this welcome addition amidst the standard small screen fare failed to register with younger audiences. The quality outing was the first real fruit born of Clooney's production company, Maysville Pictures, and his contract with Warner Bros; he had previously served as executive producer and co-writer on the failed HBO pilot, "Kilroy". Clooney next reunited with "Three Kings" co-star Mark Wahlberg for Wolfgang Petersen's film adaptation of Sebastian Junger's best-selling novel "The Perfect Storm" (2000), playing Captain Billy Tyne of the Massachusetts fishing vessel Andrea Gail. Anxiously awaited for its tale of men in the grip of nature's fury, "The Perfect Storm" solidified Clooney as a bankable big screen star in a fine turn as the captain of the doomed boat.Also in 2000, he starred as escaped con Ulysses Everett McGill in the Coen brothers' deliriously loopy Depression-era jail break movie based loosely on Homer's Odyssey, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Back behind the camera, he served as producer on "Rock Star" (2001), a dopey comedy about a cover band singer (Wahlberg) drafted into the world of his heavy metal heroes. Clooney kept his stellar career in fast motion with a starring in Steven Soderbergh's all-star ensemble hit, "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) opposite Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac, among others. As heist leader Danny Ocean, an ex-con obsessed with robbing a casino heavyweight (Andy Garcia) and winning back his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) from him, Clooney's comic charm was on full blast, easily overshadowing co-stars Pitt and Damon. That same year, following the Sept. 11th attacks, Clooney was instrumental in rallying dozens of Hollywood friends and colleagues for a televised fundraiser for the victims of the terrorist attack, "America: A Tribute to Heroes" (2001). Clooney and company managed to raise over $30 million through the telethon. A public row with Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly erupted, however, when the conservative pundit erroneously claimed that the United Way was mishandling the money. Clooney responded with a sharply worded letter excoriating O'Reilly's unsubstantiated accusations and questionable journalism. The two continued their public row over the years on various topics, with Clooney typically getting the better of the often ill-informed O'Reilly. In 2002, Clooney had a small but memorable role as a physically handicapped crook in "Welcome to Collinwood." He next made his directorial debut with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," based on the fictionalized memoir by Chuck Barris, the idiosyncratic 1970s game show host, who claimed he had been a CIA hit man. Clooney aped Soderbergh's off-kilter visual style while at the same time infusing his own breezy sense of humor, creating a daring first film that garnered many admirers. Clooney then co-starred with Natascha McElhorne in the science fiction feature "Solaris," a remake of a cult-favorite 1972 Russian film which reunited the actor again with pal Steven Soderbergh. A metaphorical meditation on life and death co-produced by James Cameron, "Solaris" failed to attract much attention at the box office. Meanwhile, a spotty track record developed for Section Eight, a production company formed by Clooney and Soderbergh. Though developing an interesting array of film and television projects - including the surprisingly subdued Washington insider docudrama "K Street" (HBO, 2003-04) - Section Eight failed to generate much profit outside "Ocean's 11." The team rebounded creatively with "Unscripted" (2005), a chronicle of the ups and downs of a trio of actors making their way in Hollywood.As he delved further into producing and directing, Clooney remained among the most in-demand A-list leading men in Hollywood. He reunited with the Coen Brothers, taking the lead in the disappointing screwball comedy "Intolerable Cruelty" (2003) as divorce attorney Miles Massey, the millionaire author of a prenuptial agreement so tightly written that it has never been cracked. Meanwhile, he falls for a scheming, gold-digging serial divorceé (Catherine Zeta-Jones) looking to get even after Miles defends her ex-husband and leaves her with nothing. Clooney's disarming performance was one of the film's few comic strengths. The actor then recruited Zeta-Jones to join his ensemble of actor friends for the inevitable sequel "Ocean's Twelve" (2004), which did tremendously well at the box office, but suffered in comparison to the group's initial effort. Set in Italy, the film was more like a home movie of the gang on an extended vacation than an actual film.Clooney the director came to full fruition with his sophomore effort, "Good Night and Good Luck" (2005), an ambitious and adroitly executed profile of pioneer newscaster Edward R. Murrow (David Straithairn) and his effort to publicly expose the headline-grabbing, bully-pulpit tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his Communist witch hunt in the 1950s. Clooney, who grew up watching his broadcast journalist father in action, showed a great aptitude for the ethical journalistic issues at hand, co-writing the screenplay with his longtime friend and partner Grant Heslov; the duo took greater-than-average pains to insure the historical accuracy of the events dramatized. As director, Clooney made creative use of real news interviews with McCarthy in place of casting an actor in the part, displaying a measured hand and a stylish touch with the rich black and white footage. Clooney also took on a side role as Murrow's respected news producer and confidant Fred Friendly, a role that displayed the actor in his most assured and adult performance. Clooney earned his first award nominations as a director, earning nods at the Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.As an actor, Clooney signed onto writer-director Stephen Gaghan's multi-plot potboiler "Syriana" (2005), playing a career CIA operative who uncovers a disturbing truth about the politics of oil in the Persian Gulf before finding himself hung out to dry by his government when a mission goes awry. Clooney grew a scraggly beard and gained several extra pounds to play the role, while suffering a painful back injury on the final day of shooting, which required therapy and rehabilitation in a scene that failed to even make the finished film. But his pain and suffering was well worth it when Clooney won a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Clooney next reunited with Soderbergh for "The Good German" (2006), playing an American reporter sent to cover the final Allied summit meeting of World War II, secretly hoping to search for a lost love, but becoming tangled up in a murder mystery.Then in a third go-round, Clooney hopped back onto the gravy train for "Ocean's 13" (2007). This time, the gang sought revenge on a ruthless Las Vegas casino owner (Al Pacino) whose double-crossing of Danny Ocean and company leads to his downfall. Clooney next starred in "Michael Clayton" (2007), playing a corporate fixer who takes care of all the dirty work for one of the biggest law firms in New York City. When the firm's top litigator (Tom Wilkinson) suffers from a nervous breakdown and threatens to sabotage a lucrative settlement suit, Clayton tries cleaning up the mess, only to come face-to-face with who he's really become. Meanwhile, Clooney directed his third film, "Leatherheads" (2008), a period sports comedy set in the 1920s world of professional football. While he was awaiting the release of that film, Clooney received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for "Michael Clayton." Unfortunately, "Leatherheads" tanked horribly, with the Clooney receiving some of the most brutal reviews of his career.A turn as a slippery federal agent in The Coen Brothers' dark farce "Burn After Reading" (2008) marked one of the filmmakers' bigger commercial successes, and was well-suited to Clooney's penchant for both political-leaning material and social satire, though the film's dips into slapstick territory were a curious choice for an A-list cast. The prolific actor returned to theaters the following year alongside Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey in "The Men Who Stare at Goats" (2009), a comedy based on a little-known U.S. military program that once trained personnel to develop psychic abilities to be used during combat. In theaters almost simultaneously was Jason Reitman's adaptation of the novel "Up in the Air" (2009), starring Clooney as a traveling executive addicted to his peripatetic lifestyle but faced with the possibility of having to put down roots. Clooney also voiced the title character of Roald Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" (2009) in a stop-motion animated adaptation of the classic tale helmed by Wes Anderson and also starring the voice-over talent of Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. Clooney closed out the year with a beautiful new girlfriend, Italian TV presenter, Elisabetta Canalis, on his arm, as well as nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globes, and the Academy for Best Actor for "Up in the Air." Clooney followed his Oscar-nominated performance with "The American" (2010), a low-key art film directed by photographer Anton Corbijn that divided critics and failed at the box office.The following year, Clooney returned to Oscar form with his performance in Alexander Payne's downbeat comedy-drama "The Descendants" (2011), in which he played a wealthy businessman whose wife (Pattie Hastie) goes into an coma, triggering a quest with his two rebellious daughters (Amara Miller and Shailene Woodley) to find the man with whom she had an affair. The movie was widely praised by critics, many of whom singled out Clooney's exemplary performance, which was honored with a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture. Soon after his win, Clooney earned an Academy Award nomination in the same category. Meanwhile, he returned to the director's chair with "The Ides of March" (2011), a political thriller about a hotshot campaign manager (Ryan Gosling) who finds himself deeply involved in a scandal that threatens to take down a promising presidential candidate (Clooney) before a primary in Ohio. While critics gave the film a warm reception, audiences were largely disinterested in a politically themed movie, resulting in a mediocre showing at the box office. Still, Clooney's fourth film behind the camera proved that he was capable of consistently writing and directing quality films, proven in part by his shared Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Prior to the release of both movies, Clooney created a bit of stir earlier in 2011 when he announced his split from girlfriend Canalis, whom he began dating to much international interest in 2009. The pair released a statement in June of that year stating they were no longer together. Clooney moved on rather quickly to publicly dating actress and former pro wrestler Stacy Keibler less than two months later.Clooney had an unusually quiet 2012, aside from his arrest for civil disobedience while protesting outside of Sudan's embassy about the ongoing Darfur conflict. The following year, just a few months before the premiere of "Gravity" (2013), his highly anticipated sci-fi collaboration with Sandra Bullock, it was revealed that Clooney had split from Keibler, returning him to official single-guy status once again. That did not last long, as Clooney married human rights attorney Amal Alamuddin on September 27, 2014, barely a year after they started dating. Following the worldwide critical and financial success of "Gravity," Clooney returned to the director's chair with "The Monuments Men" (2014), a fact-based story about art historians in World War II racing against time to recover priceless works of art looted by the Nazis. Unlike most of Clooney's other films as director, "The Monuments Men" received generally lukewarm reviews and was a box-office disappointment. Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland" (2015) was another under-performing flop, but Clooney bounced back with a well-received turn as a dimwitted Hollywood star attracted to Communism in Joel and Ethan Coen's Old Hollywood satire "Hail Caesar!" and as a TV financial guru in Jodie Foster's hostage drama "Money Monster" (2016). In 2017, Clooney's transformation into family man was completed with the birth of his first children, twins Ella and Alexander.


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Fur and natural fibre is more sustainable than synthetics, say experts
FASHION experts and academics have questioned the environmental sustainability of synthetic or vegan clothing.
They say the so-called vegan-friendly products include thousands of synthetic fibres which harm ocean creatures. Synthetic garments are also made from petroleum which is not biodegradable, they say.
Clara Vuletich, a sustainable fashion consultant, said people are now waking up to the idea that synthetic clothes are damaging to animals and the environment. Vuletich, who is based in Sydney, Australia, said: "We've got these two uber issues – animal welfare and overconsumption of plastic – that are coming up against each other."
And sustainability author Lisa Heinze, who is doing a PhD on sustainable fashion at the University of Sydney, said the issue was getting increasing recognition.
She said: "Once a synthetic jacket ends up in landfill, it's never going to break down.
"Only now are scientists understanding the effects of these tiny fibres.
"It's a completely messy issue."
A shocking study from 2016 revealed that polyester fleece jackets release up to two grams of microfibres per wash which cause damage to marine life.
The tiny plastic fibres - thinner than a human hair - are eaten by plankton and shellfish when they reach the ocean and can ultimately be consumed by humans.
Plastic fibres from household laundry have been found in our food, from blue mussels to table salt and honey.
Experts from the Italian National Research Council say up to 300 fibres per litre escape in the waste water from family washing machines and that synthetic clothing is 16 times more damaging for the environment than micro beads.
Many vegan-friendly fashion products contain synthetic fibres.
So-called ethical shoppers are increasingly looking to buy polyester and acrylic imitations of leather products but could be harming the environment more than they realise.
Some argue that using animals for their skin is cruel while others say the longevity of animal-based textiles makes them environmentally friendly.
Meanwhile high street retailers are increasingly promoting vegan clothing.
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© 2018 Campaign to Expose Fake Fur. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Australasian Law Teachers Association (ALTA) is a professional body which represents the interests of law teachers in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. To promote excellence in legal academic teaching and research with particular emphasis on early career academics, throughout the Australasia.

Activities
(a)    Legal research and scholarship;

(b)   Curriculum advancement of pedagogical improvements in view of national and international developments, including law reform;

(c)    Government policies and practices that relate to legal education and research;

(d)   Professional development opportunities for legal academics;

(e)    Professional legal education and practices programs.

Membership is open to teachers of law and law librarians in tertiary institutions in the above countries.

ALTA supports the endeavours of Law Academics, in particular around Legal Education, Legal Research and career development. Members have the opportunity to join a number of Interest Groups which puts them in touch with other academics in their field(s).

Annual Conferences
ALTA holds an Annual Conference which is held at a different law school each year. Previous Conferences have been hosted by:

 Faculty of Law, The University of Sydney (2012),
 Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane (2011),
 The University of Auckland (2010),
 The University of Western Sydney (2009),
 James Cook University (2008),
 The University of Western Australia (2007),
 Victoria University (2006),
 The University of Waikato (2005),
 Charles Darwin University in 2004.

The Conference provides a supportive environment for academics to present papers on their areas of research, and is also a place to develop networks and friendships with other academics within Australasia.

Awards conferred
There are also a number of awards running which correspond with the conference such as the LexisNexis - Australasian Law Teachers Association Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Teaching of Law as well as the CCH-ALTA Best Conference Paper Awards which include a Major Category Award, Early Career Award and Best Paper presented in the Legal Education Interest Group Award.

Publications
Publications of the association are held in numerous libraries in Australia.

Legal Education Review: ALTA's own Legal Education publication which publishes both General Articles and Practice Articles on Legal Education and is published annually.

Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association: ALTA's journal containing diverse areas of legal research as it is a collection of published ALTA conference papers. The papers can be from any interest group and are double-blind refereed before being accepted for publication in the journal.

Legal Education Digest: Publication of the Centre for Legal Education, UTS, is published tri-annually and is a reviewof articles and other publications which focus on Legal Education. Over 200 journals, including working papers and research monographs, are kept under review.

ALTA Newsletter: Published bi-annually and includes an update on what is happening at ALTA, as well as conference and publication updates and other articles of interest.

References

External links
Official website

Law-related professional associations
Law-related learned societies
International organizations based in Oceania
Professional associations based in Australia
Education-related professional associations

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Is Tim Noakes REALLY SA's new 'Dr Death'? Here's a big fat surprise!
10th May 2015 28th April 2015 by Marika Sboros
UPDATED with new info (scroll down to end to see it):
The nutrition gloves have come off again. This time it looks suspiciously like Big Food in general and Kellogg's in particular squaring up through its dietitian proxies against emeritus University of Cape Town professor Tim Noakes and low-carb, high-fat (LCHF). I've been watching with amusement, and more than a little mystification, the flurry of recent 'news' reports announcing that the Health Professions Council of SA is investigating Noakes for 'unprofessional conduct'. ADSA (Association for Dietetics in SA) president Claire Julsing Strydom laid the charge against Noakes in February 2014. The hearing will take place early June. No one can accuse the HPCSA of acting in a hurry.
Precisely what 'unprofessional conduct' Noakes, a medical doctor, nutrition and sports scientist (rated A-1 by the National Research Foundation), is alleged to have committed is a revelation. Spoiler alert: it's about as mundane as you get, although it puts Noakes in the same category of offenders as apartheid cardiologist 'Dr Death' – Wouter Basson. Noakes has been demonised since he did the unthinkable (to many doctors and scientists) in 2009: admitted he'd got things wrong, apologised profusely and headed off in a completely new direction. Read on to find out what Noakes has done now. – MS
By Marika Sboros
So, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is investigating Prof Tim Noakes for "unprofessional conduct". You could be forgiven for thinking Noakes has gone nuts and done something really, really bad.
After all, the HPCSA has so far reserved that charge for doctors who've done something really, really bad to patients – sexually abused them, exploited them financially, caused physical or mental harm, disfigured or maimed them for life, or in a worst case scenario, killed them.
Patricia Sidley, a Johannesburg health writer with an MA in bioethics and health law from Wits University, is no fan of Noakes. However, she finds it strange that the HPCSA has let the charge laid by Association for Dietetics in SA (ADSA) president Claire Julsing Strydom in February 2014, get this far – given that its most recent, high-profile case of unprofessional conduct is against "Dr Death", Wouter Basson.
Basson is the apartheid-era cardiologist who ran the government's chemical and biological warfare programme. His "duties" included poisoning people with lethal cocktails of muscle relaxant and other drugs, on the whim of the ruling Nationalist Party. (The HPCSA is yet to decide on a suitable sanction against Basson. He got off all murder and attempted murder charges, many of which took place in Namibia, formerly South West Africa, thus outside HPCSA jurisdiction.)
The HPCSA in effect puts Noakes and Basson in the same category of offenders. Sidley describes that as "idiotic" – in slightly more profane words.
But back to Noakes' alleged "unprofessional conduct".
It can seem anticlimactic to say he tweeted his opinion in response to a mother's question on best foods to wean her infant. Did Noakes advise the mother to give the infant poison – drip-feed unrefined sugar (that spikes the hormone insulin), or undiluted fresh fruit juice (that's high in liver-straining fructose) straight into the baby's veins? No. He advised low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) foods that include meat, full-fat dairy and veg – and not to give cereal.
ADSA president Claire Julsing Strydom
Therein probably lie the two nutritional rubs at the heart of Strydom's charge : Firstly, she and ADSA members, dietetic associations worldwide, and the multinational cereal and other food companies that sponsor them, aggressively promote cereal for infant weaning, despite evidence showing it mostly makes babies fat.
It is advice dietitians have disseminated globally for decades, based on official dietary guidelines. The same high-carb, low-fat, guidelines British obesity researcher Zoe Harcombe and US scientists exposed in a meta-analysis in the BMJ Open Heart in February as without a shred of scientific evidence when they were imposed on an unsuspecting public in 1977. The same guidelines fingered in scientific research as contributing to epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases sweeping the planet.
Secondly, ADSA and Big Food companies consider LCHF for infants, children, adults, or anyone at all, to be the closest yet to a nutritional antichrist. They regularly denounce it as "dangerous", "deadly" and "unscientific".
(For a different view, a one-stop source of the science behind LCHF, complete with references, read Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat, by US author Gary Taubes, and Big Fat Surprise by US author Nina Techolz.)
Interestingly, no paediatricians in SA expressed outrage at Noakes' tweet. And recently, the Canadian Paediatric Society, in a joint statement with Health Canada, Dietitians of Canada and the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada, issued the same advice.
ADSA dietitian Tamzyn Murphy Campbell
The statement also offers the option of iron-fortified cereal, but Pringle Bay registered dietitian and ADSA member Tamzyn Murphy Campbell says it's "suboptimal".
"It is highly processed, high glycaemic index, often sugar-packed and contains anti-nutrients which can interfere with nutrient absorption."
Murphy Campbell, nutrition editor and writer for Health Intelligence, who also works for Solal supplement company, is one of few registered dietitians in SA, and growing numbers internationally, who has embraced LCHF, including for young children and babies. She prefers not to call LCHF a diet, because "that makes it sound like a fad. It's a lifestyle, a way of eating healthily."
So what's really motivating Strydom to see Noakes' tweeted opinion not just as different from hers, but worthy of the most serious charge against a medical doctor?
I would dearly love to give her side at length here, but Strydom isn't talking. Through ADSA's PR company, Liquid Lingo, Strydom repeatedly refused to answer questions – including on links with food companies and whether "Banting" as LCHF is known in SA, has been bad for ADSA members' business.
She even stonewalled questions with no material relevance whatsoever to her case against Noakes. Till after the hearing, she said, because the HPCSA has "advised" her not to talk to the media as the inquiry is "sub judice".
I pointed out sub judice doesn't apply, as anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the legal process in SA knows. It only applies in a court of law. The HPCSA is a statutory body, not a court of law. I also pointed out Noakes hasn't been given that same "advice" by the HPCSA, and the HPCSA call centre told me, rightly, it does not instruct parties to disputes of this nature not to talk to the media because it can't.
Sidley says sub judice is just a "refuge", a "vague term thrown around endlessly by people who don't want to talk to the press". After all, even "lawyers are on air all the time talking about their cases these days".
Oddly enough, a few days before I spoke to Strydom, she gave an hour-long TV interview, with top Johannesburg cardiologist Dr Anthony Dalby. Both described LCHF as "dangerous" and likely to cause untimely death.
Dr Anthony Dalby
Dalby, at least, was prepared to have a phone chat with me, albeit brief. He says LCHF is dangerous, not because of low-carb or weight-loss issues, but because it "contravenes the best medical advice we have" in its high saturated fat recommendations.
"We have recorded that patients develop very high, or moderately high cholesterol levels," Dalby says.
The results won't play out in the short term that "this diet has been pushed around", he says. It will play out in 10, 20 years: "You can feel great, lose weight, have less diabetes, but the long-term effects are unknown, and appear to be adverse."
In response to whether long-term effects are seen in traditional societies, such as the Inuit who ate LCHF for centuries without a high incidence of heart disease, Dalby says: "That's not proof."
"Japanese traditional diets have protein and carbohydrates but very little saturated fat, and also show little heart disease," Dalby says. "We need a lot more evidence in every respect, in relation to recommended diets, and these off-the-wall diets that we see.
"At the moment the best advice is guided by experts who advise that saturated fat should be reduced to no more than 10% in the diet."
Saturated fat is "not a great thing to recommend", Dalby says.
In response to my suggestion there is evidence to show saturated fat does not cause heart disease after all, Dalby ended the conversation, saying: "If you believe that, I leave it to you."
Strydom, in remaining resolutely behind the HPCSA's sub judice curtain, adds credence to a theory doing the rounds on Twitter that she and ADSA are proxies, witting or unwitting, in Big Food's and particularly Kellogg's "war" against LCHF, because it is bad for business.
That got me looking into ADSA's sponsors. A recent investigation by the consumer group, Grass Action, shows cereal maker Kellogg's to be a major sponsor, as it is of dietitians' associations worldwide. Other sponsors include Nestle, Woolworths, Unilever, the sugar industry – via Equisweet, a sweetener product made by Hulett's – even Coca Cola for nutrition education events, which can sound oxymoronic.
Kellogg's doesn't just sponsor ADSA, it has staff on ADSA's executive committee: Linda Drummond, Kellogg's nutrition and public affairs manager; Cheryl Meyer, Kellogg's nutrition assistant.
Strydom consults to Kellogg's. On her business website, Nutritional Solutions she says she has presented "nutrition intervention programs and nutrition presentations for various organisations including Kellogg's". She is quoted in a press release promoting a Kellogg's cereal product, along with chum Drummond – who also consults to Nutritional Solutions.
Maryke van Zyl, ADSA's in-house PR, consults to Woolies and used to work full-time for them in 2009.
Of course, ADSA execs' close ties with food companies are not an exclusively South African phenomenon. And Strydom is on record saying sponsorship doesn't equal endorsement of products. However, research uncovers a far less pretty global picture. Just as with the drug industry, studies funded by the food industry tend to produce results that please the industry. Ditto for dietitians in bed with food companies.
British author and researcher Jerome Burne
On his HealthInsightUK blog, brilliant British investigative health writer and author Jerome Burne has written a scathing critique of "cuddly dietitians in the cosy embrace of industry fatcats" . He makes an observation Strydom and ADSA executive committee members might find uncomfortable: "Declarations of interest by individual researchers are obviously important but they are peripheral. However, once you get on some board or committee you probably shouldn't have any commercial links at all."
Burne's post follows an extensive forensic analysis in February in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), by another brilliant British writer, freelance journalist Jonathan Gornall.
Titled Sugar: spinning a web of influence, Burne says Gornall reveals the "true nature of the relationship between industry and (UK) nutritional experts". It leaves an impression of dietitians' relationships to food companies that is anything but sweet in effects on the public's health.
Gornall's analysis, Burne says, sets out in "impressive detail just how total is the industry's dominance over what passes for public health food policy in the UK", and just how comprehensively and miserably the government's "responsibility deal" has failed.
Gornall says his investigation gives "a clue to why so many global companies with nutritionally contentious products feel the need to fund research and invite public health experts onto their advisory boards and into their boardrooms as consultants — and why they have been prepared to engage in the UK with the government's 'responsibility deal': it can be found in two of the most recent annual submissions to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US."
British writer and researcher Jonathan Gornall
Gornall's analysis is UK-focused but globally relevant. The findings implicate international food and drinks manufacturers and the dietitians in their pay.
"How can it be right," Gornall asks, "for a researcher attempting to establish whether or not ingredient X is harmful to accept funding to do so from the manufacturer of ingredient X?
"Would society consider it acceptable if the salary or expenses of a judge ruling on a legal dispute were paid by one of the parties?"
But back once more to what Strydom hopes to achieve in charging Noakes. Her action, Sidley says, will serve to "stifle scientific debate", to "narrow the space within which scientific argument can occur".
If HPCSA does Strydom's bidding, it will go down "a very dangerous road, and set a very dangerous precedent".
"I think the case itself holds out dangers for the public in the use of new technology," says Sidley.
Strydom's charge also seems aimed at freedom of expression, and not just Noakes'. Days after I put questions to her, she sent an urgent notice to all ADSA members about the HPCSA "advice", presumably encouraging them also to keep mum.
Noakes is characteristically bullish. In a recent interview with EWN's Stephen Grootes, he says Strydom's action is "possibly the best thing that's ever happened to medicine in the past 10 or 20 years".
The HPCSA will have to investigate not just him, but "what the South African public are being taught about nutrition", and the scientific basis – or lack thereof, Noakes says. It will have to rule on the science around porridge as a first food for infants if suggesting meat and veg constitutes "unconventional advice" and "unprofessional conduct".
Noakes has been researching infant nutrition for the past two years, and told Grootes porridge is "not an ideal food", not just because it is fattening. Infants need food in their first two years of life that provide critical "brain–specific nutrients", Noakes says. "Animal-based foods are proven to provide these nutrients in excess. Cereal-based foods, such as porridge, are not."
Campbell agrees. She says no dietitian will (or should) contest that the one nutrient a baby runs out of by six months is iron, and that the best source of bioavailable iron is meat. (I think she gives orthodox dietitians too much credit, but that's just my opinion.)
"Meat, liver and fish are babies' first foods in many traditional societies, and they were on the right track," she says. The worst foods? "Wheat-based cereals and those with added sugars" – which means most baby cereal products on the market.
Campbell doesn't believe CHF represents any danger to babies and children, or anyone else: "I haven't seen any research to indicate this is dangerous. Traditional societies have done so without any known adverse effects, indication a long history of safe use."
Canadian physician Dr Jay Wortman with a fatty fish that is part of traditional low-carb, high-fat diets.
Canadian physician Dr Jay Wortman has researched traditional societies, and like Campbell, his family is on LCHF.
In an email to me last week he says his son Alex, now 14, has eaten LCHF since age 2. Daughter Isabelle, 5, the product of an "LCHF gestation", was weaned on LCHF when she stopped breastfeeding – pureed vegetables with butter, olive oil and cheese, pureed meat sauces with lots of fat.
He says doctors and dietitians who fear LCHF are simply "misinformed".
Murphy Campbell says most dietitians are "absolutely terrified" of the words "low-carb". They don't understand that most children who follow LCHF don't need to restrict carbs drastically to "ketogenic levels" – defined for adults as below 50g to 60g daily, she says. The carbohydrate level in LCHF for babies and children is thus only relatively low, compared to conventional dietitians' advice
South African-born US paediatric, adolescent and adult bariatric and transplant surgeon Dr Robert Cywes is an LCHF specialist, and has treated carbohydrate addiction for over 15 years. He has operated on about 6000 people. In patients before and after surgery, he has had more than 800 000 encounters with fat people.
"You'd be an idiot if you don't learn from that," Cywes says.
In an email to me, he says the HPCSA faces "an opportunity for scientific truth rather than a challenge to Noakes' integrity. He has the humility and the science to be very persuasive."
A Johannesburg lawyer suggested in a news report ADSA might argue its dietitians alone are "qualified" to give dietary advice. That thought on its own reeks of arrogance and territoriality, without drowning the poor HPCSA in a flood of charges against doctors, including cardiologists, who regularly dish out nutrition advice to patients.
In the end, Strydom's action presents the HPCSA with an unenviable task – navigating a " whole new world of medicine, including diagnosis, intervention and delivery of information that is changing electronically".
"Doctors already charge for telephone consultations with patients, and increasingly use digital media," Sidley says.
There is an "enormous amount of activity going on electronically on Twitter and other social networks", she says, with doctors, dietitians, nutrition specialists and therapists constantly giving opinion, information and advice. Quite when that freeflow of information morphs into "consultation", diagnosis and treatment between doctor and patient, is murky.
If Strydom hopes the HPCSA will stem that freeflowing tide in cyberspace, my guess is that's likely to require a higher power than Moses ever had in parting the sea.
UPDATE: ADSA president Claire Julsing Strydom replied through Twitter, directing me to the association's Guidelines on Infant Nutrition, posted on April 27, the day before this blog. These guidelines appear to say ADSA and its members support Noakes' advice, and no longer routinely advise cereal as a first food for infant weaning, though cereal is still there as an option. I have asked for clarification and confirmation from ADSA.
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UK Markets close in 3 hrs 16 mins
The 20 countries in the world with the best 'brand' reputation
Tom Belger
Finance and policy reporter
Yahoo Finance UK 24 June 2019
Tokyo station in Japan. Photo by: Prisma by Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Britain and the US are losing their positive global reputation because of their turbulent domestic politics, a new index suggests.
Japan, Norway and Switzerland have the best "brand" abroad, according to a survey of 2,500 tourists from 75 countries.
The 2019 Country Index by FutureBrand highlights "measures of a great nation" beyond GDP, using survey responses on quality of life, business, culture, values and tourism to rank countries. It also compares how they rank on such measures with their position on the World Bank's league table of the biggest global economies.
Britain, which has the world's fifth biggest GDP, has slumped seven places in the rankings since the last index in 2014, finishing 19th.
The United States, the world's biggest economy, has also slipped five places to 12th.
Britain's reputation has been dented by its polarised politics, a new index suggests. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
READ MORE: Three years after Brexit, firms are still paralysed by uncertainty
Both countries are "now broadly perceived as being less inviting to tourists, visitors, students and investors" alarmed by their political climates.
Eight of the top 10 countries are in Europe, and FutureBrand says the top three are broadly stable, neutral and social democratic in their politics.
Some of the fastest-rising countries not in the top 10 include Slovakia, Peru, Hungary, Turkey and Romania, despite several being affected by significant political turmoil in recent years.
Respondents to the online survey earlier this year appeared more concerned by environmental friendliness, quality of life and tolerance than in the previous survey in weighing up countries' reputations.
Jon Tipple, chief worldwide strategy officer at FutureBrand, said: "Despite still being in the top 20, by a whisker, falling out of the top 15 ranking should cause concern for Brand Britain. Our research indicates that polarised politics could be to blame."
The top 20 countries with the best 'global brands'
Here is the full list of FutureBrand's top 20:
PA Money News
What to Watch: $11 billion beer deal, RBS CEO heads for Australia, and BMW's new boss
Care worker jailed for life for murder and rape of Lucy McHugh
'Grim time' for holidays abroad as Brexit fears send the pound sliding in value
Harry and Meghan's new home renovation cost taxpayers £2.4m
When former president Jimmy Carter left office, his peanut business was $1 million in debt


If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million, and a 360 degree virtual tour . . . well, simply priceless!
We invite you to follow the links to view our Photos, Videos and Virtual Tours galleries and get a closer look at our amazing island Barbados! Many of our esteemed industry partners are featured in the Virtual Tours gallery and this provides you the opportunity to see just what to expect when you book a service, activity, vehicle or even hotel through My Guide Barbados.


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Hudson Miniatures' "OLD TIMERS" Antique Auto Kits are rapidly assuming an important place among the notable contributions to Americana, as evidenced by the fact that many museums have started collections for permanent display. These nostalgia-provoking scale models of well-known vintage cars are so faithful in detail, so colorful in appearance, they have captured the imagination of thousands of hobbyists and collectors. "OLD TIMERS" help some of the latter to recall their own thrilling days as pioneer auto owners. For others, "OLD TIMERS" bring acquaintance with the romance and glamour of the early days of the auto for the first time. Since there are now more than 33,000,000 cars owned in America, it is not surprising that more and more people are becoming interested in the origins of the automobile. On the next three pages we are presenting famous automobiles that make up the Hudson Miniatures' "OLD TIMERS" Antique line. These easily-assembled, completely prefabricated 3/4″, scale models have been developed only after long research and represent one of the most authentic hobby lines ever put on the market.
The first widespread commercialization of model-car kit occurred in the United States when some kits, being made of wood and other noncritical materials, came on the market prior to the actual ending of the war. By the end of 1945 there were approximately a dozen American manufacturers making such kits, mainly of military vehicles but including at least two racing cars, in 1/4-inch, 3/4-inch, 1-inch, and I 1/2-inch scales.* Among these were at least six kits for Jeeps, three for amphibious Jeeps, and three for Sherman tanks.
Most of these kits were in production for only a comparatively short time, although a very few carried over into the early 1950's. The demand for most of these miniature vehicles obviously was a result of the war. It is generally acknowledged that in the United States the first really substantial trend of interest and enthusiasm and the main point of departure for the modern hobby of building model automobiles was in the area of models of old cars. This in turn had much to do with prompting the modern enthusiast to collect both models of old cars and old model cars. The first of the 3/4-inch-scale "Old Timer" kits manufactured by Hudson Miniatures of Scranton, Pennsylvania, appeared in 1947 and became literally an overnight sensation in the toy and model trade. These were kits incorporating primarily wooden components. In the initial kits of the series the wheels and small fittings were made of die-cast metal 1, but molded plastic was employed for these parts in the later output. As additional kits were introduced gradually over five seasons, not all the kits were made or can exist today in two distinct versions according to which material was used for the wheels and small parts, the later models having been produced only with plastic wheels and small accouterments.*
* Reference is made here only to the original Hudson Miniatures "Old Timer" kits with wooden parts. Aurora Plastics, Inc., somewhat later purchased the rights to the name and designs, and currently manufactures several of the same models in completely plastic form under the name "Old Timers."
Both the kits themselves and completed models built up therefrom now are avidly collected, the kits being sought intact as collectors' items in their own right. It would, indeed, be a hardy soul who, securing a Hudson Miniatures wooden kit today, would have the temerity to build it up into a completed model car instead of keeping it intact as a historical model kit.' The actual production of these wooden kits halted in 1953 in the face of the by then rather wide availability of much lower-priced kits of molded plastic parts for both antique and current-type model automobiles produced by other manufacturers. While the sale of these wooden kits, which in the late 1940's had universally been considered one of the most sensationally successful lines of all time in the hobby trade, did f all off greatly in the face of the competition of kits of plastic parts, it would be far from correct to assert that the latter suddenly killed the demand for the wooden "Old Timers." The many enthusiasts who still sought them could be supplied from a very sizable remaining stock. What did write finis to the Hudson Miniature "Old Timer" kits was a disastrous fire that destroyed the entire warehouse stock in 1958, with the result that once readily obtainable merchandise immediately became scarce and much sought-after collectibles.
In all, there were twenty different 3/4-inch scale Hudson Miniature "Old Timer" wooden kits produced. The complete list follows, no catalog numbers ever having been assigned to any of the kits by the manufacturer, and the order of the list is not that in which the kits were introduced but follows the rotation on the last Hudson Miniatures order form (the first kit was the 1911 Maxwell and the twentieth and last model brought out was the Ford Model-T fire engine): 1904 Stevens Duryea, 1904 Oldsmobile, 1911 Maxwell, 1903 Ford Model A, 1900 Packard, 1911 Buick Bug, 1903 Rambler, 1903 Cadillac, 1910 Ford Model T (roadster), 1902 Franklin, 1906 Columbia electric, 1914 Ford Model-T fire engine, 1909 Stanley steamer, 1910 International Harvester, 1909 Ford Model T (touring car), 1911 Brush delivery truck, 1914 Stutz Bearcat, 1913 Mercer Raceabout, 1906 "Old 16" Locomobile, and 1914 Regal underslung.* In addition, four 3/8-inch scale kits of plastic parts were introduced in 1951 and 1952 by Hudson Miniatures. Designated "Little Old Timers," they duplicated the prototypes of four of the 3/4-inch-scale wooden kits: 1904 Oldsmobile, 1911 Maxwell, 1913 Mercer Raceabout, and 1914 Regal underslung*. An additional series of four 3/8-inch plastic models was announced by Hudson Miniatures in 1953 but never put into production.
Following the success of the initial Hudson Miniature "Old Timers" kits, somewhat similar wooden kits were brought out by others, most prominently the Fador Manufacturing Company of Elmira, New York, who made the following seven 3/4-inch scale "Smallster" automobile kits, the first types appearing in 1949: 1904 Cadillac, 1905 White Model-F touring car, 1905 Reo four-passenger runabout, 1908 Baker electric, 1909 Hupmobile roadster, 1909 EMF 30 racer, and a 1909 EMF "three-in-oner" kit that could optionally be built up either as a roadster, single rear seater (a type with a second seat for but one additional passenger), or a touring car. The Mod-Ac Manufacturing Company of Los Angeles, California, made kits for a 3/4-inch-scale 1902 Pierce and a 1/2-inch-scale replica of the 1877 Selden car, the scaling down being in relation to the full-sized Selden vehicle constructed on the 1877 design in the early 1900's. As accessory units primarily brought into being by the popularity of the Hudson Miniatures' kits but suitable also for use on other makes, Aristo-Craft Distinctive Miniatures of Newark, New Jersey, brought out five types of brass head and sidelights fitted with miniature working bulbs for those who desired to add working lights to their display models of old-time automobiles.
* The molds for the four 3/8-inch-scale "Little Old Timers" kits subsequently were sold by Hudson Miniatures to Revell, Inc. Revell did not use these molds in the United States but sent them to England, where kits were produced from them.
There appears no inclination even on the part of the most iconoclastic members of the model-hobby fraternity to dispute the fact that it was the Hudson Miniatures 3/4-inch scale "Old Timers" kits that really were responsible for the great boom and enthusiasm in model-automobile building, or that the entire model-automobile hobby and kit industry of today owes a tremendous debt to Hudson Miniatures and the pioneering and promotion of its proprietors, A.J.(Tony) Kovelski and Doris Hudson.
A. J. Koveleski of Hudson Miniatures, the man most responsibie for the present-day model automobile building hobby as a result of the 3/4-inch-scale kits manufactured in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Also pictured is a 1952 stock advertising mat emphasizing the model car collecting theme.
"Craft, Model and Hobby Industry"
It is interesting to note that Mr. Koveleski himself was-and is-a most zealous collector of both real old automobiles and of old model cars. A completely outgoing personality, he put a promotive effort behind the "Old Timers" kits of a fervor and compass never previously seen in the hobby business, including radio and television appearances, an enormous advertising campaign in some fifty national magazines, and, above all, his numerous personal appearances in one or another of his old automobiles, especially in his meticulously restored gleaming yellow 1914 Stutz Bearcat, probably the most famous antique automobile in America. Just one of his exploits, which garnered reams of publicity for model cars all along the way, was his famous "Chicago or Bust!" trip in the Stutz from Scranton to the World Hobby Exposition in Chicago in 1951. It is probably not too much to say that, apart from the role the Hudson Miniatures "Old Timers" kits played in stimulating model-car building and collecting, they undoubtedly were one of the major factors in creating the widespread interest in real old automobiles and in automobile history in general that became increasingly notable in the late 1940's and 1950's.
The foregoing, however, has brought us well past World War II and into what most enthusiasts consider the modern, or current, era of model-car history and of the model-automobile collecting hobby. Having thus circled back to this point, it is time to proceed with further information on the techniques and customs of the active side of model-car collecting as it is practiced today.
(Taken from Pgs. 135-140 in the Complete Book of Building and Collecting Model Automobiles by Louis H. Hertz, Copyright 1970, published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 419 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016)
Article has been taken from the website Kathy Cunningham.


Those of a certain age and class of character likely remember the greater Roc roster, which happened to include Jay-Z's protege Memphis Bleek. Responsible for four studio albums, Bleek's run from 1999 to 2005 brought out a variety of hits - most notably the incredible "Is That Your Chick," with Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, and Twista. Though 534 project marked the end of his studio album run, Bleek spent the next several years dropping off a respectable mixtape run, culminating in 2014's The Movement 2. Since then, it's been bleak for Bleek, at least where his release schedule was concerned.
To be fair, Memphis stepped into the CEO lifestyle, opening his own label Warehouse Music Group, which went on to sign Casanova. While Cas eventually parted ways with the label, Memphis Bleek has kept his hustle alive, though his desire to step behind the mic has yet to fade. A few days back, Memph teased an imminent comeback, revealing that he's been "thinking bout putting some bars down!!"
For those of a nostalgic disposition, it'll be nice to hear Bleek return to the fold, especially for anyone who came up listening to The Understanding, Coming Of Age, or even his work on The Dynasty...Roc La Familia. What do you think? Excited for some new Memphis Bleek bars?


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Iron Knights
With Support From Spiral Dive.
The Victoria Inn Derby 23rd February 2014.
Tonight's gig was at the Old Vic in Derby, a venue that hosts live music every day of the week, in one form or another. Against my better judgment, I went along to watch Iron Knights, a band I know fairly well and enjoy. I first came into contact with this band at Hammerfest in 2013, where we had a rather funny interview. Support came from Spiral Dive, who I've also met on my travels when I saw this lot, for the first time at Rock & Metal Circus, last September.
Spiral Dive made the long trip up from Northampton for tonight's gig, which was a Sunday, so all credit to them for that. They managed to get set up promptly which meant I could appreciate a full set, unlike at Metal Circus as on that occasion, due to unforeseen circumstances, their set was cut short, which was a real shame, as tonight's set was a blinder. Its safe to say my first impression was incorrect and these guys are a real rock and roll band, with a twang of southern flavour, which is a sound that's still popular. You can clearly see these guys love being on stage, even if they do hide behind an assortment of hats! Like one of their tracks, 'Rock Starving', which is about a band that works all week, but cant wait to get out there and play a show, the lyrics and theme rings true with these and most of the other bands I've come into contact with recently.
Spiral Dive's track, with the lyrics "Jump Mother Fucker Jump" was a personal highlight tonight, a great track that is very catchy and helps to demonstrate Tony's ability as lead guitarist, who is very good! Job well done, I also like the track "Grinder", some of the bands music can be found on their Reverb Nation page, well worth a butchers.
Tonights set list: 1. Voodoo 2. Hooks in Me 3. Traitors Gate 4. Frozen 5. Grinder 6. Rock starving 7. Jump mother fu**er Jump 8. After Tomorrow
It seems much has been happening within the Iron Knights Band, in that they have lost three old members and gained two new ones. Still on drums we have Larry "The Animal" Paterson, still on bass, we have Paul "Beam" Robbie with new comer Jamie Gibson on vocals and guitar, who's played in various bands in the past. When Jamie moved to the Knights, he bought with him big-a-me band mate, Wayne Mann, who is also on guitar. More was said in our interview from tonight, which you can find here ………….. so I'll give my account of tonight's gig, which was the third night of their eight show tour.
Billed in a local rag as Iron Nights, I can confirm, there was plenty of metal featuring tonight with Paul kicking off the set with an eery bass solo, that helped set the mood. Larry's drumming ability really sticks out, the man really is an animal on those skins of his, when his head goes down, there's no messing!
Tonight's set featured mostly stuff off the new album, due for release on the 5th of May, which was a joy to hear. Its dark, heavy and full of riffs, thanks to Jamie's 6 or 7 sting axe of choice. In my interview, I discovered that touring is a fairly new experience for the new members in the band and it did show, a little. Wayne especially, who seemed a little rigid and not very well versed in the art of giving a live performance. Playing your instrument well is one thing, but a little showmanship doesn't hurt, I'm not saying give us a twerk, but smile for the camera once, at least!?! I'm sure both Jamie and Wayne will get some great advice from veteran rockers Larry and Paul as they continue on their journey together and I look forward to the release of the new album, as the stuff I heard tonight was awesome.
I will say this, although the band as they are now, have mostly been working on the new album, the old tracks they did play tonight, they played very well and it seems Jamie "The Punisher" Gibson is the perfect replacement vocalist for the Iron Knights.
Its always a pleasure meeting up with good people, who are like minded and these guys are as good as they get. Let's not forget Anna Di Laurenzio, the bands manager, again as its always a pleasure to speak to you too.
Tonights Set List: 1. Transparent 2. Destroyer 3. Falling From Grace 4. Jacobs Ladder 5. Bloodstorm 6. A Chapters Lesion 7. Cry For Help 8. The Messenger 9. Blind 10. Snaggle Tooth 11. Jericho
Review and Photography by Jay Hawkins (JJ Photography UK)
WCH Battle Of The Bands
Quarter Finals – Round 4.
The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton 23rd February 2014.
Klasside were first to take control of the stage and made tasty work of filling The Slade Rooms with an impressive blend of semi-acoustic rock that also beats on the doors of funk, rap and folk aswell. These guys made quite an impression tonight and certainly earned the healthy round of applause and cheers that followed.
With a successful tour last year already tucked firmly under their belts, Sevendaze brought their blast of Nu-Metal to tonight's event. Laid back in their style yet fixed tight in delivering a powerful sound, Sevendaze gave us a taste of both their new and old and well loved songs and with this being their first live performance for this year, I suspect there will be many good things coming their way in 2014.
There was a lot of love in the air for Skindeep who were our third band of the evening and with such an outstanding surge of energy on stage and a great repertoire of songs, it was very easy to understand how these guys have created such a big buzz for themselves. This young band is very much alive and Rockin so check them out over on Facebook and get yourself along to one of their gigs – you won't be disappointed!
And the great bands just kept coming with local guys The Regulars next up tonight. Two of the great qualities I really admire about this young band is their 'in ya face' character which demands your attention and never fails to quickly connect with the audience.. There is also a great edginess in the style of their rock 'n' roll that gets the thumbs up from me every time.
I've seen our next bands name pop up across the West Mids gig circuit on many an occasion but tonight was to be my first experience of seeing Winston's Big Brother live – and what an experience it was. These guys have a sound that is so full of skilled guitar riffs, pounding drum beats and catchy lyrics, that it stopped me dead in my tracks and with an audible influence of 70's rock, these guys take the indie vibe back and to the future with ease.
Our final band in tonight's round and also the last one to compete in the WCH Battle Of The Bands Quarter Finals, were the Walsall based band, Questions Of Angels – so no pressure there at all then! Tonight's set gave us a great feel for the rich and rock heavy song composition that seems to continually be emerging from this band and also saw them push their performance hard and through to a new level that was a pleasure to watch.
The prospect of having to select just three bands to go forward into the semi-finals was a massive task tonight with each and every band that played being worthy of a place but it had to be done and after the votes were finally counted, 1st place was awarded to Questions Of Angels, 2nd place went to Klasside and this weeks Wild Card vote being given to Winston's Big Brother. A truly great night of music that brought all four rounds of the Quarter Finals to a final conclusion with the exciting prospect of so much great music still to come in the approaching Semi-Finals!
Words by Sue Wardle and Photography by Stephen Turner.
The Slade Rooms Wolverhampton 16th February 2014.
With six bands en route to the WCH Battle Of The Bands semi-finals next month, the competition is already in full swing and still to come tonight, we had the great pleasure of Lynus, Singing Towards Disaster, Mr George's Famous Last Words, The Rooz and Recoil.
Lynus
It was great to see so many people here in support of their favourite bands and first up and getting tonight's rock rolling, were Lynus. These guys created an instant impact on the Slade Rooms with their blast of swashbuckling riffs and stage persona that was simply hell bent on giving everyone a great taste of what Lynus are all about.
Singing Towards Disaster
It's always a pleasure to see an up and coming band that show such a healthy commitment to writing good songs and who also demonstrate great potential within the local music scene and our second contenders of the evening, Singing Towards Disaster, are a band that I would happily describe as fitting into that category. These five guys play their music hard and heavy and clearly pay plenty of attention to the detail of their performance and image. Go check them out on Facebook, as I suspect there are many good things still to come from Singing Towards Disaster.
Mr George's Famous Last Words
Mr George's Famous Last Words were the next band to take to the stage and in a matter of only seconds, the Slade Rooms lit up like a Christmas tree in more ways than one! These five funked up rock 'N' rollers have a sound and style that screams "Party On" and the audience didn't hold back either in giving them a great reception and one that they most certainly earned tonight, as these guys not only blew the doors off The Slade Rooms but they raised the bar for the whole competition!
The Rooz
With two more bands still to play tonight, there was no holding The Rooz from Telford back and without even waiting for an introduction, they took to the stage and Wolverhampton was again privy to a storming set loaded with the 'WOW' factor. The Rooz have more bounce than Tigger in both their songs and their stage performance and not even a broken string was gonna hold these guys back tonight. There is much great talent in this young band and the audience simply loved them!
Last band to take to the stage tonight were Recoil from Stoke. With a wide range of many musical influences, Recoil are the proud owners of a full on and multi-dimensional sound that spans across the spectrum of rock, grunge and also includes just a touch of the blues. Much energy went into their set tonight as they brought tonight's competition to a vibrant close.
Tonight's semi-final can only be described as an impressive showcase for some of the dedicated musical talent that is very much alive and kicking in the West Midlands. And with that in mind, a huge shout must go out, along with a rousing round of applause to Mr George's Famous Last Words for securing themselves first place, to The Rooz who came a very close second and finally to Lynus, who also go through to the next round with tonight's Wild Card vote.
What a fabulous night!
See all the night's pictures here.


Montgomery County's dynamic innovation economy, built on a firm foundation that includes standout schools, transportation connectivity, cultural diversity and a purpose-driven quality of life, makes it a destination of choice for successful businesses and the high-performing employees who are attracted to them.
"Montgomery County has the right combination of attributes which contribute to success in business," says David Petr, president and CEO of Montgomery County Economic Development Corp.
Leading-edge economic sectors include BioHealth, information technology and cybersecurity. Businesses are drawn by the county's location outside Washington, D.C., in the heart of the federal and advanced technology marketplace.
Employers discover a wealth of skilled talent in a workforce with off-the-charts levels of educational attainment. More than 32 percent of adults over age 25 hold a post-graduate degree, compared with the national average of 12 percent, and more than 59 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
The result is a workforce with the "smartest talent," says Petr.
Not only is Montgomery County one of the nation's wealthiest, with a median household income of $99,435 compared with the U.S. median of $53,889, it is also one of the most diverse places. Of the county's of 1.04 million residents, more than 331,000 are foreign born. There are 138 different languages spoken in Montgomery County households.
"It will take another 30 years for America to catch up to Montgomery County's diversity," says Petr.
Quick access to three international airports adds to the attractions for businesses, while the availability of 400 parks enhances the quality of life for everyone.
Montgomery County's advantages added up for KoolSpan, part of the area's thriving tech sector. The Bethesda company provides secure communications solutions that enable businesses and consumers to make calls and send texts securely.
"Our location is ideal to allow us to recruit and retain the best talent from across the entire region, including Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia," says KoolSpan CEO Nigel Jones.
"In addition, our location enables a culture of socializing and connections at nearby restaurants within walking distance and easy access to the nearby Metro station. And the close proximity of both University of Maryland-Baltimore County and Montgomery County College is a great way to sustain our internship program, which has resulted in many full-time hires," he says.
From its location in Montgomery County, KoolSpan has established an international presence.
"As demand for secure mobile communications has grown rapidly over the past few years, KoolSpan's TrustCall solution has emerged as the global market leader because our proprietary technology eliminates the usual trade-off between security and ease of use," says Jones.
KoolSpan isn't alone. Montgomery County communities are an address of choice for major corporate headquarters, including Fortune 1000 companies such as Lockheed-Martin, Marriott International and Host Hotels as well as globally known companies including GEICO, Emergent BioSolutions and MedImmune.
More than 220 foreign-headquartered companies have a presence in Montgomery County. In addition, Montgomery County was included on a short list of 20 locations under consideration for Amazon's next corporate headquarters, known as HQ2.
The county's location near the nation's capital city is another advantage. Montgomery County is home to 18 major federal departments and agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration and Department of Energy.
Montgomery County enjoys a prime location with proximity to Washington, D.C., and is perfectly situated in the bustling East Coast corridor, says Petr.
Montgomery County is telling its story in the #Moco365 campaign, featuring 365 leaders, entrepreneurs and others who make Montgomery County exceptional.
"The campaign shows the diversity, strength and uniqueness of our business climate," says Petr.
Learn how Montgomery County, MD, provides the ideal business climate for tech startups in areas such as information technology and cybersecurity.
Learn why major corporations such as GEICO, Lockheed Martin, Hughes Networks and Marriott International choose to locate and stay in Montgomery County, MD.


Audinate and Bose Professional are offering an AV Networking Session focusing on Dante technology.
The event takes place at the Crowne Plaza, London Heathrow and is a FREE one-day session sponsored by Bose Professional and Audinate, with support from Attero Tech, Audio-Technica, Digital Audio Labs, Shure and Focusrite.
All attendees will receive a Dante Virtual Soundcard licence and three Renewal Units for InfoComm certification holders.
Intended for AV and IT professionals who have a novice or intermediate understanding of AV networking, these sessions expose attendees to the current state of audio networking and control for AV systems, emerging technologies and trends in AV networking. The instructor-led training uses a variety of components from Bose and other participating manufacturers, and provides an opportunity to learn audio networking theory, design and implementation through interactive, hands-on sessions using Dante audio networking technology.
Presenters include Bernie Farkus of Audinate, and Darryl Bryans and Trevor Donarski of Bose Corporation.
Please note, this course is organised and provided by Bose and is open to the general public.


When something happened over 500 years ago, it can be tricky to parse out fact from legend. Take the first ever Christmas tree. The custom of a decorated tree at Yuletide dates back centuries, to at least the 15th or 16th century. That much is fact, the very first one? The Christmas tree that started it all? That might be more a matter of legend.
A likely candidate was in the medieval city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Riga's City Center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the Town Hall Square. Flanking the south side of the Square is the House of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads, and it's here where the Christmas tree story takes shape.
Near the northwest corner of the ornate building is a slightly domed stone marker embedded in the cobblestones, staking its claim—in eight languages—as the spot of the first public Christmas tree.
The Brotherhood of the Blackheads was a guild of professional merchants and traders that banded together in the 14th century, and remained active in Latvia and Estonia right up through the middle of the 20th century. They were known for their twice-yearly holiday celebrations, including the Christmas to New Years season. It's said that the Brotherhood put a fir tree in the square, festooned it with paper flowers, sang and danced and cheered the season, then lit the whole thing on fire. (Needless to say, it is also said that more than a few glasses were raised by the Brothers during the celebration.).
The Brotherhood has documentation showing that this all happened for the first time in 1510, and it just might be the very first documented Christmas tree. The chapter in Tallin, 175 miles to the north in Estonia, makes the same claim for the same Christmas. Given the chummy relationship between the two chapters, it's not inconceivable that they lit up their trees simultaneously. A Christmas tree still goes up in Riga's Town Hall Square, in the same spot, in front of the same Brotherhood, but with a whole lot more lights and decorations. And that much is fact.
The marker is imbedded in the cobblestones of Riga's Town Hall Square, between the NE corner of the Museum of the Occupation and the NW corner of the House of the Black Heads. At Christmas time there is a decorated tree at the spot. The rest of the year a metal tree sculpture covers the spot.


The Iraq-official memoir publishing industry is beginning to resemble a circular firing squad. In last Sunday's Washington Post, Paul Bremer duked it out with those who've accused him of incompetence and stupid decisions which contributed to the insurgency we see raging in Iraq today.
Bremer accuses former CIA Director George Tenet of pillorying him in his just-published, best-selling memoirs, At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. But it's not only Tenet, Bremer whines. "Similar charges are unquestionably repeated in books and articles." And while the charges, counter-charges, accusations, rebuttals may titillate, while providing misleadingly biased drafts of history, it's worth remembering that a few key officials (who helped mislead this nation into the most colossal foreign policy disaster in US history) are profiting nicely.
Take George Tenet. He was paid a whopping $ 4 million for his memoirs. When asked by ABC's Charles Gibson why he had waited so long, nearly three years after his resignation, to make criticisms he had not made during the 2004 election, Tenet replied that he needed the time to collect his thoughts. What he might have said is that he needed the time to collect the money.
As the human and economic cost of this war soar, shouldn't these officials be barred from making money off of books about their illegal, immoral, security-destroying failures of judgment and action? Perhaps there is a model to be found in how a few states forbid criminals and others from profiting off violent crime. After all, as a recent article reports, "Criminals had been barred from making money off their exploits until 1991, when the Supreme Court overturned a NY law after finding that it was so broad it would discourage people from telling stories of public interest –such as the Watergate scandal." While a unanimous 1991 Court decision said such laws could stand only if carefully worded to protect First Amendment rights, some states have already revised or created new laws to address that concern.
And the publishing houses involved–HarperCollins, Threshold Editions, William Morrow–should also consider contributing any company profits.


text:
Israeli defense minister Bennett: No more returning bodies of dead terrorists
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett (Flash90/Gershon Elinson)
Flash90/Gershon Elinson
WhatsApp Email https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-defense-minister-bennett-no-more-returning-bodies-of-dead-terrorists/
The defense minister calls it "part of a broader deterrent process" that "will come into effect after the [security] cabinet's approval."
By World Israel News Staff
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has announced that he is putting forward a policy which abolishes the Israeli practice of returning the bodies of terrorists.
The defense minister "instructed the IDF and the defense establishment on Tuesday to stop the total release of terrorist bodies," said a statement from Bennett's office.
"This was after a number of discussions the minister held on the issue of deterrence with senior security officials," the English-language statement continued.
The minister says that the ramification of the announcement is that "all the bodies of terrorists that Israel holds and will hold in the future will not be released, regardless of the terrorist's organizational affiliation and the nature of the attack he committed or attempted to carry out."
"Exceptional cases" would remain at the discretion of the defense minister "based on the circumstances," says the statement, giving a case of underage terrorists as one such example.
The minister acknowledges that the new policy is subject to the approval of the security cabinet.
Bennett says that it will be "introduced shortly" to the ministers, "as part of a broader deterrent process, and will come into effect after the [security] cabinet's approval."
Blue and White leader MK Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff, welcomed Bennett's announcement but called for greater secrecy and sensitivity.
Read Israeli policewoman 'forgotten' in Arab town wanders streets as Palestinians laugh, film her
"This is a step in the right direction, but such decisions should be made in the cabinet rather than in the media. We have prisoners and missing people on the other side, and everything needs to be done and every effort made to bring them home," Gantz told reporters.
The family of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas since 2014, said that it backs the defense minister's decision.
"It is inconceivable that while the soldiers are in the hands of Hamas, we will continue to release dead or living terrorists. Freeing terrorists is a prize that Hamas cannot be given while holding on to our soldiers and civilians," said the Goldin statement, referring to the Hamas terror group which controls Gaza.
The family is said to have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take such a step, in a meeting with the premier, and Netanyahu is reported to have responded sympathetically, saying that he would examine the subject with the defense establishment.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has pledged to us that a ceasefire [with Hamas in the Gaza Strip] will not take place without bringing the boys home and we expect to see that the economic-civilian projects will not be promoted as long as our boys remain in Gaza," said the Goldins.
Read IDF soldier killed in tragic accident on base
The family of Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose remains are also still in the hands of Hamas, repeated its previous assertion that the Israeli government is not showing enough resolve to ensure that the bodies of missing Israelis are returned.
IDFNaftali Bennettterrorists
I found a very interesting article on World Israel News! Click to read this: --> https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-defense-minister-bennett-no-more-returning-bodies-of-dead-terrorists/


Plataform that gathers the Festivals that Vo'Arte programs, produces and promotes.
All the festivals have different concepts, partners, objectives and languages, and promote subjects as diverse as dance, cinema, music, visual arts, theatre and creative crossings.
Training, audience development, young creators promotion and open dialogue are a common concern among all.


text:
Texas Lawmaker Wants To Make It A Crime For Transgender Individuals To Use The Restroom That Matches Their Gender Identity
admin / February 24, 2015
A Texas state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it a criminal offense for a transgender person to use a bathroom according to their gender identity.
On Feb. 20, Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) introduced HB 1748, which would make it a felony for building owners to allow individuals over age 7 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person over the age of the 13 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender. The bill says "the gender of an individual is the gender established at the individual's birth or the gender established by the individual's chromosomes."
The bill does give exception to those entering a restroom to clean, help children or provide medical care.
Riddle's legislation is similar to bills proposed in Florida and Kentucky this year. A proposed bill in the Sunshine State would make it illegal for a person to enter a public facility designated as single-sex if the person was not born a biological member of that sex. The Kentucky bill, which aimed to permit students to sue if they saw a transgender student in a bathroom that did not fit the student's biological sex, failed earlier this month.
According to a Fusion magazine poll released Feb. 3, half of all millennials believe gender shouldn't be limited to the categories of "male" and "female."
Riddle's office has not responded to a request for comment on HB 1748.
Read more at The Huffington Post
February 24, 2015 in News Stories.
← BBC starts filming sitcom starring transgender actor
Man arrested in death of Islan Nettles →


text:
Q: How can I remove markers then add markers to my map? I am trying to clear my map of all markers on function call and load new markers.
On stack I found this piece of code, which I executed when a button was clicked. It did not clear my markers:
//clear markers
        google.maps.Map.prototype.clearMarkers = function() {
            for(var i=0; i < this.markers.length; i++){
                this.markers[i].setMap(null);
            }
            this.markers = new Array();
        };

After Clearing Markers How would I load new markers?
My Google map is set up like this:
 var locations = [['21st Amendment Brewery', 37.7824175, -122.3925921] ,['Allagash Brewing Company', 43.702697, -70.317975] ,['Anchor Brewing Company', 37.763487, -122.401367] ,['Anheuser-Busch', 38.5986606, -90.208751] ,['Ayinger Brewery', , ] ,['Bass Brewery', 52.8045853, -1.6281372] ,['Bear Republic Brewery', 38.6040452, -122.8599961] ,['Boston Beer Company', 42.314449, -71.103365] ,['Boulevard Brewing Company', 39.0821348, -94.5966532] ,['Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes', 47.2542808, 7.0025782] ,['Breckenridge Brewery', 39.723597, -105.000614] ,['Brewery Ommegang', 42.6818046, -74.9254739] ,['Brooklyn Brewery', 40.721535, -73.95745] ,['Brouwerij Artois', 50.8870692, 4.7025108] ,['Brouwerij Huyghe', 50.99832, 3.79404] ,['Buffalo Bills Brewery', 37.6738157, -122.0813029] ,['Butternuts Beer and Ale', 42.6290648, -75.1854868] ,['Caldera Brewing', 42.184409, -122.663147] ,['Cervecera Cuauhtmoc-Moctezuma', 25.6375417, -100.2946801] ,['Clipper City Brewing Company', 39.230827, -76.6751309] ,['Coors Brewing Company', 39.759876, -105.219026] ,['Cricket Hill Brewing Company', 40.872566, -74.296359] ,['D.G. Yuengling and Son', 40.6999592, -76.1747169] ,['Dogfish Head Craft Brewery', 38.770622, -75.310893] ,['DuClaw Brewing Company', 39.496656, -76.329843] ,['Erie Brewing Company', 42.111185, -80.112978] ,['Evolution Craft Brewing Company', 38.4622609, -75.5741469] ,['Firestone Walker Brewing Company', 35.595325, -120.693728] ,['Flying Dog Brewery', 39.361926, -77.424677] ,['Fordham Brewing Company', 39.1540034, -75.4883626] ,['Founders Brewing Company', 42.958468, -85.673516] ,['Fulton Brewing Company', 44.9849423, -93.2790206] ,['Goose Island Beer Company', 41.887107, -87.6720969] ,['Gordon Biersch Brewing', 37.354139, -121.89286] ,['Grand Canyon Brewing Company', 35.249954, -112.1891462] ,['Great Divide Brewing Company', 39.753646, -104.9884698] ,['Green Flash Brewing Company', 32.905722, -117.176517] ,['Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V.', 19.422447, -99.209758] ,['Guinness', 53.34309, -6.290799] ,['Harpoon Brewery', 43.512997, -72.401527] ,['Heavy Seas', 39.230827, -76.6751309] ,['Heineken International', , ] ,['Hoppin Frog Brewery', 41.0245928, -81.4677107] ,['Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company', 44.943321, -91.3953049] ,['Lagunitas Brewing Company', 38.272435, -122.662346] ,['Magic Hat Brewing Company', 44.428405, -73.213148] ,['Maui Brewing Company', 20.972149, -156.677334] ,['Mendocino Brewing Company', 38.9734335, -123.1162429] ,['MillerCoors Brewing Company', 43.044464, -87.962562] ,['Narragansett Brewing Company', 41.8190249, -71.4097368] ,['New Belgium Brewing', 40.593415, -105.066874] ,['North Coast Brewing Company', 39.446471, -123.806238] ,['Old Dominion Brewing Company', 39.1540034, -75.4883626] ,['Oskar Blues Brewery', 40.139056, -105.121887] ,['Pabst Brewing Company', 29.4497864, -98.5386319] ,['Port Brewing Company', 33.141417, -117.150076] ,['Port City Brewing Company', 38.8081958, -77.1014693] ,['RJ Rockers Brewing Company', 34.948639, -81.935726] ,['Rock Art Brewery', 44.557791, -72.608085] ,['Rogue Ales', 44.620173, -124.0520565] ,['Schneider Weisse', 48.91755, 11.87451] ,['Scottish & Newcastle Breweries', 55.954155, -3.202774] ,['Shipyard Brewing', 43.6618784, -70.2489402] ,['Sierra Nevada Brewing Company', 39.7246028, -121.8157154] ,['Sixpoint Craft Ales', 40.6739317, -74.0119473] ,['Sleeman Breweries Ltd.', 43.4870365, -80.2067709] ,['Smuttynose Brewing Co.', 43.032502, -70.7947688] ,['Southern Tier Brewing Company', 42.088931, -79.350342] ,['Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu', 48.14501, 11.55419] ,['Staatliches Hofbräuhaus (Hofbräu München)', 48.1373073, 11.580357] ,['Stone Brewing Company', 33.115682, -117.119552] ,['Stoudts Brewery', 40.2422441, -76.0540026] ,['Sudwerk', , ] ,['Surly Brewing Company', 45.04285, -93.324557] ,['The Bronx Brewery', 40.80828, -73.930669] ,['The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery', 35.600267, -77.597058] ,['The Lost Abbey', 33.141417, -117.150076] ,['The Saint Louis Brewery', 38.632968, -90.209769] ,['Tröegs Brewing Company', 40.304, -76.643519] ,['Unibroue', 45.466125, -73.290924] ,['Union Craft Brewing Company', 39.331938, -76.641971] ,['Victory Brewing Company', 40.0061038, -75.6941546] ,['Wells and Young's Brewing Company', 52.132011, -0.481523] ,['Weyerbacher Brewing Company', 40.673181, -75.224926] ,['Widmer Brothers Brewing', 45.540795, -122.675594] ,['Yards Brewing Company', 39.962616, -75.136253]

        ];

    var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map_canvas'), {
      zoom: 10,
      center: new google.maps.LatLng(-33.92, 151.25),
      mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
    });

        var bounds = new google.maps.LatLngBounds();
    var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();

    var marker, i;

    for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
        var position = new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]);
      marker = new google.maps.Marker({
        position: position,
        map: map
      });

      google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', (function(marker, i) {
        return function() {
          infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
          infowindow.open(map, marker);
        }
      })(marker, i));

      bounds.extend(position);

    } //end for loop

    map.fitBounds(bounds);

A: To be able to remove the markers again, you need to keep them somewhere - so you can then loop though them when you want to remove them again. An array is a convenient way of doing that.
//create a (possibly global) array to store the markers
var markers = [];

...
//create the markers

for(...) {
     marker = new google.maps.Marker(...);
     markers.push(marker);
}

....
//destroy the markers

for (var i = markers.length-1; i >= 0; i--) {
     markers[i].setMap(null);
     delete markers[i];
}

A: for (var i = 0; i < markers.length; i++)
{
markers[i].setMap(null);
}
markers.length = 0;

First remove all the markers like the snippet above. Then again you can use
 marker = new google.maps.Marker({
    position: position,
    map: map
  });

to create new markers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Aloha friends! It's a long weekend and I am going to by busy, busy, busy! Time for BBQ's and some fun in the sun.
Just a quick announcement for you Educents fans out there! They are having a sale this weekend. My readers will get 10% off on all their items and when you use this code you will also get free shipping!
They have some great deals already, so head on over and check some major savings!!
Just click on the picture above and don't forget the promo code surfin10free!


FOR SALE IS A TITLEIST SCOTTY CAMERON CIRCA 62 #3 CUSTOM SHOP 35 INCH PUTTER, EQUIPPED WITH THE CUSTOM SHOP GRIP AND SHAFT BAND AS WELL AS THE JYD STAMP. VERY NICE PUTTER, 8+ OUT OF 10 CONDITION!! Everything I sell is guaranteed authentic. Please feel free to check my feedback. The item "Titleist Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #3 Custom Shop Putter 35 Inch Golf Club JYD" is in sale since Thursday, July 26, 2018.
This item is in the category "Sporting Goods\Golf\Golf Clubs & Equipment\Golf Clubs". The seller is "mlbgolf" and is located in Athens, Ohio. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, Panama, Trinidad and tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Montserrat, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion.