jws needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 7 designs submitted by 5 freelance designers.
Design a website home page.
This is a company that sells law enforcement goods. They primarily do business outside the United States so the site will be done in both English and Spanish. This link was supplied by the customer as a starting point: http://www.expresspolicesupply.com/ This is NOT what we want the new one to look like but it illustrates the type of product the client will carry. It also illustrates how the final page will be laid out.
1. Header: The header image should use black and the American flag (and use read, white and blue, in the image, outside of the flag).
You can get an idea of what I mean here: http://www.trickmytruck.com/ BUT this is professional site so no flames or anything like that.
2. The menu should be vertical on the left and allow for easy additions and removals. I picture a background image with editable text maintained by CSS (so links can be added in HTML). So the menu will easily expand and contract vertically when links are added and removed.
3. Include a link somewhere for the user to access the Spanish version.
4. Between the header and body allow for a search section. Refer to http://gtdist.com/ for an illustration. I will most likely remove this for the initial rollout and add it back later. So please make sure the design looks good with or without.
5. Include a footer image (background with editable HTML text) with colors to match the header.


text:
Zdebořická lípa je památný strom ve vsi Zdebořice, jihozápadně od Plánice. Lípa velkolistá (Tilia platyphyllos) je největší ze skupiny lip rostoucí před vchodem na hřbitov na návsi; roste v nadmořské výšce 700 m. Obvod jejího kmene měří 526 cm a koruna stromu dosahuje do výšky 28 m (měření 1977). Lípa je chráněna od roku 1978 pro svůj vzrůst.

Stromy v okolí
 Lípa u kapličky v Obytcích
 Vracovská lípa

Související články
 Seznam památných stromů v okrese Klatovy

Externí odkazy
 Strom v evidenci památných stromů Agentury ochrany přírody a krajiny ČR

Památné lípy velkolisté v Česku
Památné lípy v okrese Klatovy
Památné stromy v Blatenské pahorkatině
Přírodní park Plánický hřeben
Plánice

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The 1961–62 Botola is the 6th season of the Moroccan Premier League. FAR Rabat are the holders of the title.

References

Morocco 1961–62

Botola seasons
Morocco
Botola


canada goose black friday sale Stars 0, Oilers 1 (OT)Oscar Klefbom was the ultimate hero on Tuesday night, but he has Mikko Koskinen to thank, and in more ways than one. Koskinen made the biggest of his 28 saves with under 2 seconds left in regulation when he robbed former Art Ross winner Jamie Benn from point blank range to spare the Edmonton Oilers what would have been a devastating defeat, this after Klefbom was among those caught puck watching on the play. Disaster averted, the Oilers and Dallas Stars moved on to overtime, still locked in a 0 https://www.clevelandregionalmedicalcenter.com 0 deadlock canada goose black friday sale.


Hiiro is a full time yoga/spin/pilates teacher and educator from Vancouver BC with a passion for empowering others to be their true identities. He is an unconventional, authentic and forward-thinking leader who thrives on creating societal change. As an advocate for GBTQ Men and living on the spectrum of mental health, he stands as a role model for healthy alternative lifestyles and helps others discover the same for their wellness. His brand True Identity Movement Project is a platform, always a work in progress, to reach as many as possible who are on the path to self realization and self acceptance.


BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU has suspended coach Will Wade indefinitely amid reports about his conversations with a person convicted last year of funneling money to the families of basketball recruits.
LSU Chancellor F. King Alexander and athletic director Joe Alleva said in a joint statement Friday that assistant Tony Benford will assume interim head coaching duties until LSU can ensure that Wade's recruiting tactics have been in full compliance with NCAA and university policies.
Tenth-ranked LSU is in the midst of one of the more successful seasons in program history and can guarantee at least a share of the SEC regular season title with a victory Saturday over Vanderbilt.
A Yahoo report on Thursday included excerpts of a wire-tapped phone conversation with Christian Dawkins, who is one of several people convicted in October of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State. Dawkins also is a defendant in a federal bribery case scheduled for trial scheduled for April 22.


treat Morning & Motion Sickness!
Do you know what I have in common with a pregnant woman?
NAUSEA!! I thought after having kids I would get rid of that annoying Morning Sickness sensation, but it seems like it got even worse! I have motion sickness so bad that I can't ride as a passenger in a car, rock on a chair, or even swing on the swing without turning green. I've even had a few episodes when I was driving myself long distances.. it's ridiculous. But I don't know why I am complaining to you, a lot of you have the same issue!! But don't worry I found a drug free option to help treat it!
It's called a ReliefBand, and after carefully testing it I can safely say that it helps prevent and relieve nausea! So how does this little band work? The ReliefBand uses accurately programmed pulses with highly specific waveform, frequency, and intensity to stimulate the median nerve on the underside of the wrist. This precise activity uses the body's natural neural pathways to block the waves of nausea produced by stomach. I used it as prevention when getting into the car, and I also put it on after my stomach was already feeling queasy and both times it left me with relief.
I tested in on my vacation.. want to see?
I just wish I had the ReliefBand when I was pregnant!
That would have had made my first two trimesters so much easier! But fortunately now YOU can be better prepared sinnce ReliefBand is a safe non-drug alternative that has been heavily tested. To read more about the Relief band or to get yourself one you can check it out here!
Oh thats a really neat invention and sounds like a great solution! I only had morning sickness a few times when I was pregnant, but this still would have been nice to have around!
I need to try this with my dd8. She gets motion sickness so easily. We've tried the Seabands, but they don't always work for her.
I so need this. I get so motion sick -especially on water. THankS!
I get serious motion sickness on the water. Will definitely need this for the next time we take a boat ride. Thanks!
My whole family gets sea sick, so this would be perfect for us!


Process: Application forms are available from the Assessment Unit for the following "Ordinary" and "Alternative" Examinations: GCE, EDEXCEL.
-	Examinations from the University of London and University of Haddensfield are held twice a year. However, those from the other universities are written throughout the year.


text:
Adult, Reverse Harem, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: A Shifter's Choice by Debbie Cassidy
They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I'm hoping that isn't the case for me I'm the spawn of darkness, and the news has spread, making me a target for forces designed to protect this world. I can't be a danger to the people I love. I need to fight. I need
Adult, Urban Fantasy
Tour: For the Murder by Gabrielle Ash
A lone crow is a dead crow. That's what Diana Van Doren, exiled crow shifter, has always believed. The last murder of crow shifters known to exist wouldn't accept her into the flock, leaving her vulnerable. Worse, her kleptomaniacal father's schemes put them in a demon's crosshairs. Without the support of the murder, Diana fears
Blitz Sign-Up: Dead Ahead by Annie Anderson
Some secrets should stay buried. After accidentally freeing a demon, ticking off the werewolf alpha, and possibly inciting a war, Darby Adler's Warden job is in serious peril. With the council up in arms and a literal god on her doorstep, Darby needs to figure her life out and pronto. If she can't, losing her
Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: Rook's Palace by Alexa Piper
Emilia is excited to start a house-sitting job, even if the house is creepy and more than a little on the odd side — as odd as the owner's requests. When she finds an unusual gaming console, she is drawn into a lusty video game in which she crosses paths with five inhuman creatures. She
Adult, Erotica, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: Knights Errant by Ian D. Smith
Lonely widower Paul is ready to move on and start a new relationship, but he never anticipated meeting two captivating women at the same time. To complicate matters, Becky and Hayley are best friends-as different as night and day-and both fancy him. The ladies want to recruit Paul and his jousting team for their television
Blitz Sign-Up: Cambion's Law by Erin Fulmer
Lawyer. Demon. Lily Knight is both—half-human, half-succubus, and utterly dangerous. Lily protects her secret and the safety of those around her by abstaining from the skin-to-skin contact that would grant her superhuman powers. An ambitious criminal prosecutor, she's all work and no play, determined to prove herself in the courtroom to atone for the ex-lovers
Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Cover Reveal Sign-Up: Nephilim Harbinger by Selene Kallan
PROPHECIES ARE A GIRL'S WORST NIGHTMARE. I definitely angered a god in a past life. I was minding my business and enjoying my burning chemistry with Nox, my demon warden, and then bam! I'm getting dragged to literal Hell under the orders of Lilith, Queen of Hell… and Nox's mother. It turns out there's a
Blitz Sign-Up: Dead Shift by Annie Anderson
Detective Darby Adler is about to hand in her badge. After inadvertently taking the mantle of Warden of Knoxville, Darby has painted a huge target on her back. With bridges burned and the ABI on her tail, she'll have to decide between staying a small-town detective or leaning into her new role. It's not only
Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Blitz Sign-Up: Rogue Unbroken by Angie Day
Kate had survived. She had lived through pain and torment and now she was on the other side, where all the happiness was supposed to be. But with Alec's vengeful punishment for escaping him, she can't touch anyone without hurting them. Alec still wants to create a Level Five and he's dangerously close. That power
Adult, Dark Fantasy, Horror, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: A Wish Too Dark And Kind by M.L. Blackbird
Among the immortals that inhabit our world, Arnaud Demeure is known as the man who can fulfill your one true wish or who can also conjure your worst nightmares. Eight invitations are sent to eight immortals, and when Arnaud Demeure hosts a party, no one refuses his request. Why have they been summoned? Is it
Adult, LGBTQ+, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: The Devil's Necromancer by Alexa Piper
Lionel, a necromancer and consultant for the Brunswick Police Department, wants nothing to do with immortals. Specifically, he wants nothing to do with Lucifer, who shows up on his doorstep one day with a ridiculous proposal. Lucifer, also known as the Devil, wants Lionel to be his pretend boyfriend. Except the pretend part is something
Blitz Sign-Up: Revenge de los Muertos by Talis Jones
Selah's biggest dilemma was trying to decide what to study in college. That is, until she stumbled across a clue to the grandparents she'd never met and hopped on a plane to Mexico where she would discover an entire hidden world of magic and monsters. Her best friend was a bruja, the Chupacabra was more
New Adult, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: The Darkest Vampire by Juliana Haygert
Supernaturals around Portland are turning up dead. I'm next … if the vampire I just made a powerful bond with doesn't kill me first. Magic is in a short supply for a half-witch like me, which makes things very difficult when I'm bound by a blood promise to avenge my parents. With no leads left
Cover Reveal Sign-Up: Magic Dark, Magic Divine by A.J. Locke
Description TBA
THE COVER REVEAL: I'm organizing a cover reveal for Magic Dark, Magic Divine by A.J. Locke, an Adult Urban Fantasy novel. The reveal is scheduled for Friday, October 1st, 2021 (after 12:01AM EST). Social media sites are welcome.
An email with the posting information will
Tour: The One and Only Crystal Druid by Annette Marie
I'm not your average girl. My best friend is my switchblade. My favorite hobby is using it on the cruel, the abusive, and anyone who gets on my bad side. I'm a convicted murderer with a chip on my shoulder and a dangerous lack of restraint. And then there's Zak. His rap sheet makes mine
Cover Reveal Sign-Up: The Cursed Princess by Alexa Michaels
A fresh and dark urban fantasy abounding with treacherous secrets, desperate fights, and an angsty romances that could ignite the pages. I'm Kyra Baxter. Once, I was human—now, I learn it's all a lie. As the top student at my university and the best intern in Dallas, I thought my life was built in the
Blitz Sign-Up: The Cursed Princess by Alexa Michaels
Blitz Sign-Up: Monster Hunter for Hire: Super Beast by L. West
After a run-in with the Sebring Beach police department where a vampire's servant ended up dead, Helena Graves is offered two choices – help the local PD chase down wanted monsters or spend the next ten years in prison. Since she has a teenage daughter to raise, it was an easy decision for her to
Blitz Sign-Up: The Family Cross by Gabrielle Ash
Matilda Ashby has a pair of Ivy League degrees and a dream of unseating her brother as their billionaire father's favorite. But just as she inches close to her goal, Matilda's world is rocked by monsters roaming the Manhattan streets and the elusive enemy at her father's corporation who hired them to kill her. With
Blitz Sign-Up: The One and Only Crystal Druid by Annette Marie
Blitz Sign-Up: Fireborn by Jessa Graythorne
Halley Ashwood is well on her way to achieving her dream of being a doctor. Focused and independent with a mother she never knew and a father who never loved her, the only constant Halley has ever had in her life is her brother, Flynn. Whilst Halley is logical and grounded, and Flynn a reckless
Blitz Sign-Up: Grave Watch by Annie Anderson
Meeting long-lost siblings should be awesome, right? Well, when you happen to be on the wrong side of the law and have every intention of staying there, having a cop for a sister isn't exactly ideal. And teaming up with said sister? Well, that is just the cherry on top of the craptastic pie that
New Adult, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Cover Reveal Sign-Up: Sacrificed by Jacklyn Daher
Death. Destruction. Devastation. Since Luxor Everstone Unveiled she has suffered all of these, and a great deal more. Except now it's taken a new causality. Her voice. Heartbroken and lost, her mind has been shattered, but not her fiery spirit. The only way to exact revenge and to right all wrong doings is to train
New Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Blitz Sign-Up: The Shadow Queen by K. Rea
A SMOLDERING COURT. A DIVIDED PEOPLE. A WARNING FROM THE GODDESS. With the Court of Shadows in ruins, Evelyn Wolfrik has one goal – to rebuild. After an encounter with the God of the Forest himself and a summons from the Court of Light, Evelyn's future seems anything but certain. Leaving the forests, her pack,

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What Do You Do With 24 Hours to Spend in France?
Our shoebox trip was picking up steam, and Day Three would prove to be the most memorable. Whenever we are in a city together as a family, we like to rent bikes. This time we took a tour with Blue Bike Tours, one of the best trip purveyors with which I have ever dealt.
Enchanting Paris wears many faces throughout the seasons and is fantastic any time of the year. But although Paris is one of the top-three travel destinations in the world and a favorite of ours, the thought of spending hours cramped into a coach seat on the long transatlantic flight made these two BFF travelers shudder.


text:
Q: C++ Read File Until Space Is there a way I can read data from a file until a space? I have a file
John J. Doe
and I want to read the file and put John in 1 variable, J. in another variable and Doe in a final variable. How do I do this with ifstream?

A: You can just read the values into std::string variables, this will automatically tokenize it.
std::string fName, middleInit, lName;
my_stream >> fName >> middleInit >> lName;

A: Is this your file name or file content? I assume it's file content.
#include<fstream>
#include<string>
//..........
ifstream fin;
fin.open("your file", ifstream::in);
string var1, var2, var3;
fin>> var 1 >> var2 >> var 3;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Grow In The Hole is a great aiming game with golf elements and a nice, relaxing background music. In this game, your goal is to shoot the ball into the hole in every level. There are many different game modes you can play, but basically it's about scoring on every stage before the ball gets too big to fit into the hole. On some modes, the ball will grow after every shot and shrink after clearing the level. On other modes, it can get larger with the time or with the power of your shots. Try to master every mode and have fun with this cool Grow In The Hole game!


Han Chae-young(bornKim Ji-youngon September 13, 1980), is a South Korean actress . She is known for her notable roles in several Korean dramas such asAutumn in My Heart,Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang,Only You,Fireworks,Boys Over Flowers,A Man Called GodandPretty Man.
Taking on the stage name Han Chae-young, she made her acting debut in 2000 through horror filmThe Record. She then played the antagonist in popular TV melodramaAutumn in My Heart.
But she made her breakthrough in 2005'sDelightful Girl Choon-Hyang, a modern-day, romantic comedy retelling of the famous folktaleChunhyangjeon. Playing the titular role of a smart, lively high school girl who matures into a self-sufficient woman, Han shot to stardom throughout Asia with the success of the TV series.
After playing a single mother with culinary dreams in 2005'sOnly Youand a jilted girl looking for employment in 2006'sExhibition of Fireworks, she reverted to a glamorous character in 2007 couple-swapping filmLove Now.
Clumsy People, which had a sell-out theater run from December 7, 2007 to March 2, 2008.Later that year she released her clothing lineRachel Han's(taken from her American name), produced in conjunction with online retailer G-Market .
Good Morning Presidentalongside top Korean actor Jang Dong-gun .
resembled her real self the most and was also the role she said she "had the most fun playing."
did not push through due to plagiarism charges), Han was cast as a down-to-earth rookie journalist in 2010's manhwa adaptationA Man Called God.
Hoping for a Hollywood crossover, the English-speaking actress signed with agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) that same year.
She was also cast in a leading role in Chinese television dramaWu Xie Ke Ji Zhi Lan Se Meng Xiang(lit. "Dream in Blue") opposite Zhu Zi Xiao , which aired on Zhejiang TV in 2012.
In 2015, Han began hosting her first variety show,Take Care of My Dressing Table, where professionals in the beauty industry such as makeup artists and hairdressers share their styling tips.But her career remained primarily in China, where Han filmed the web seriesBeauty Master, followed by the TV adaptation of Chinese novelThe Rebirth of a Celebrity Superstar.
Hong, Lucia (23 December 2010). "Han Chae-young in China to film new movie". 10Asia.
Yoon, Hee-seong (9 March 2010). "Han Chae-young's Song Picks". 10Asia.
Cho, Chung-un (17 December 2007). "Jang Jin's robbery-romance farce takes the Daehangno stage". The Korea Herald via Hancinema.
"Actress Han Chae-young Cast in Boys over Flowers". KBS Global. 27 October 2008.
Garcia, Cathy Rose A. (9 March 2009). "Han Chae-young Cast in Good Morning, President". The Korea Times.
Lee, Hyo-won (22 September 2009). "Actor Jang Dong-kun Returns as President". The Korea Times.
Lee, Ji-hye (18 December 2009). "Press Conference - Movie Girlfriends". 10Asia.
"Actress Han Chae-young Cast in NZ Horror Flick". KBS Global. 2 October 2008.
"Han Chae-young and Kiwi Director Become Cinematic Soul Mates". The Chosun Ilbo. 15 October 2008.
"Han Chae-Young to debut in Hollywood". The Korea Times. 22 June 2010.
Han, Sang-hee (8 February 2010). "Top Actresses Heading Toward Small Screen". The Korea Times.
Oxenbridge, David (12 March 2012). "Online Mystery Movie The Influence Debuts". Korean Film Biz Zone.
Hong, Lucia (21 January 2010). "Han Chae-young to join Lee Byung-hun for Influence". 10Asia.
Kim, Jessica (11 August 2010). "Han Chae-young signs with U.S. agency CAA". 10Asia.
Kim, Heidi (3 November 2010). "Han Chae-young cast as heroine in Chinese film Big Deal". 10Asia.
"Han Chae-young to Make Chinese Film Debut". The Chosun Ilbo. 6 November 2010.
"巨額交易》終極預告發布 定檔期12月2日上映" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 17 November 2011.
Ho, Stewart (17 January 2013). "Advertisement Genius Lee Tae Baek Actors Shoot Drama Poster". enewsWorld.
Sung, So-young (10 November 2015). "Barbie Doll actress to host beauty TV show". Korea JoongAng Daily.
"Han Chae-young stars in Chinese drama". The Korea Times. November 17, 2015.
"Korean 'Barbie Doll' To Take Her Vows". Korea JoongAng Daily. 20 March 2007.
"Korean Actress Han Chae-Young Got Married". Anhui Daily Press Group. 4 June 2007.
"Actress Han Chae-Young got married". China Daily. 4 June 2007.
"Han Chae-young Has a Baby Boy". The Chosun Ilbo. 30 August 2013.
Sunwoo, Carla (28 December 2011). "Actress Han Chae-young awarded in China". Korea JoongAng Daily.


We're a small company with a big story to tell. Created by me, Brian Crowley, back in 2005, the goal of C & S Roofing Ltd was to find the right roof solution for your roof problems. No matter how big or small that problem or your budget may be, we're sure to find the right way forward. Ask anyone who's used our service and they'll tell you that we work our socks off to find innovative and affordable answers for even the toughest roof problems. In a nutshell, you can rest assured that once we've looked at your roof problem, we'll put our twist on it and come up with a solution that's often unique, but is always affordable and durable.
When it comes to attention to detail, we're a bit obsessive. We arrive bang on time and we get to work immediately to remove the stresses and pressures brought about by your roof problems, leaving you to run your home or your business without needing to worry about your roof. All the work we do is inspected and guaranteed and every member of our team is trained to the highest possible standard, as well as having their valid skills and safety training card. Add to this, the fact that we only use approved and certified materials from renowned suppliers and you start to see why more and more people are choosing the C & S Roofing solution Ltd.
If you've got a roof problem, no matter how big or small, why not contact us right now to have a chat? We're always there for you and we'll help you decide the best way forward without you feeling any way obliged to do anything whatsoever.


Kenya Travel | Adventure Travel with O.A.T.
Meet Maasai warriors in their villages and learn about their daily customs and traditions.
Explore Kenya's wild grasslands on our optional Masai Mara extension.
Meet Carol and Judith, and hear why their Kenya and Tanzania adventure was even more enriching because they traveled together.
Feel the pulse of life in Amboseli National Park where the wildlife takes center stage.
Discover the traditional grooming practices of Maasai tribesmen in East Africa.
In the beginning of the year, Kenya sees relatively hot and dry weather with chances of short afternoon rains. Temperatures are on the rise and newborn animals tempt large cats and other predators roaming the plains. With enough water having accumulated during the height of the wet season, animals may be seen congregating at water holes, rivers and lakes. As January turns to February, and February turns to March, the climate becomes even drier, ushering in what's typically the year's lowest levels of precipitation. And the thoroughly-grazed plains leave big game exposed for easier viewing on safari drives.
March: The East Africa Arts Festival, hosted by the Kenyan National Museum, is an annual celebration of arts and culture—from music and literature to fashion, crafts, and more.
Depending on water levels, March may be the best time to witness the sought-after flocks of flamingos that congregate on the banks of Kenya's Lake Nakuru.
In April, and even into May, heavy rains paint the plains green. Flowers are in bloom and lush vegetation spreads across the land. Some parks may be flooded and harder to access, and while the number of travelers may decline with the colder climate, dramatic scenes of nature unravel across the verdant, stormy plains. With the right safari gear, the height of the wet season can be the optimal time for travelers interested in capturing unforgettable wildlife photography. By June, the rains begin to die down, welcoming drier, but still relatively cool, weather. While the climate grows more comfortable, and before the migration season is fully upon us, this time of year typically offers a nice balance of mild weather and mild crowds. Some years, the great wildebeest migration will have crossed from Tanzania into Kenya by June, but often it's not until July that the spectacle reveals itself.
May: Marsabit-Lake Turkana Cultural Festival is an annual celebration showcasing cultural traditions and performances from 14 different ethnic communities.
By July, the great migration has most likely worked its way from Tanzania into Kenya, toward Lake Victoria, and east toward the Masai Mara area. The cool, dry weather continues, and hoards of travelers flock to the region in hopes of catching a glimpse of the wildebeest. Though it may be peak time for game-viewing, the rains from previous months leave the plains covered in long grasses, obstructing distant animals from view and requiring more diligent searches. Throughout the dry season, the vegetation thins out, and game-viewing becomes easier. By August, the wildebeest migration typically settles and can be seen grazing in the newly-inhabited Kenyan plains. September mornings and evenings remain cooler, but by now, overall temperatures begin a steady rise.
Midyear: the Maralal International Camel Derby is a competitive camel race that takes place in Kenya annually. It attracts spectators from around the world and is a celebratory, entertaining social event.
During this time of year, sometimes lucky travelers get to witness the great migration of wildebeest across the crocodile-infested Mara River.
Temperatures continue to rise into October, and November's short rains signify the end of Kenya's dry season, and the beginning of the great migration's return to Tanzania. The heaviest rains typically occur in the afternoons and evenings, making early morning game-viewing drives a popular option. This time of year typically attracts fewer crowds, but still offers excellent game-viewing opportunities. By mid-December, the short rains have usually died down, beginning anew the dry season that lasts approximately until April.
November: Organized by Kenya's Ministry of Tourism, the Mombasa Carnival consists of two converging parades honoring Mombasa's multicultural communities.
Dec 12: Jamhuri Day marks the celebration of Kenya's independence from Britain.
After Kenya gained its independence in 1963, Nairobi—meaning "cool water" in Maa, the language of the Maasai people—became the young country's new capital. Today, Nairobi is a modern, cosmopolitan city with a multicultural population of over three million. It is a city of contradictions: an influx of foreign businesses and new construction has brought both wealth and heavy traffic to the capital; the elegant suburb of Karen (named for Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa fame) contrasts wildly with Kibera, one of the largest urban slums on the African continent.
Looking to lay eyes on the elusive black rhino? Head to Lake Nakuru National Park for a chance to spot this rare creature. Thanks to recent conservation efforts and the naturally high alkalinity of Lake Nakuru, the park serves as an important sanctuary for many of Africa's most threatened species.
As a "soda lake," Nakuru's naturally high alkalinity helps to sustain the rich ecological diversity of the park. In addition to the black rhino, you may see over 400 species of birds, including seasonal sightings of African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, and the flamingo, whose brightly colored plumes cast an iridescent pink sheen over the water. Make sure to bring your binoculars to this bird lover's paradise.
Set in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli National Park straddles the Kenyan/Tanzanian border, where many Maasai tribespeople live today. Amboseli—which means "salty dust" in Maa—contains five different ecological climates, ranging from the swampy wetlands in which hippos bathe to the dried up bed of Lake Amboseli. The park is home to approximately 400 species of birds and is most famous for its herds of "tuskers," said to be some of the largest elephants in the country. With stunning views of Africa's tallest mountain and free-roaming herds of wildebeest, zebra, and even the elusive gerenuk, it's no wonder why Amboseli is one of Kenya's most popular parks.
A hot spot for the annual great migration, the Masai Mara Game Reserve is patrolled regularly by rangers to prevent poaching, and is one of the few safari areas that limits the number of vehicles permitted to enter—giving you unspoiled access to the splendor of wildlife that awaits. As you drive over wide open grass plains, beneath grand plateaus, and past majestic acacia trees, you may spot the Big 5—elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, and leopard—prowling for prey, sipping at a freshwater stream, or dozing in the bush.
Admire the subtle beauty of the Masai Mara during a serene hot air balloon ride over the park.


text:
Behind the Scene: Mokah and Knowa Johnson
By Dan Mistich | October 14, 2014 10:40am
Welcome to Behind the Scene, a monthly series where Flagpole and DTproductions profile the people who work offstage to make Athens music matter.
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones
Knowa and Mokah Johnson present at the 2014 Flagpole Athens Music Awards show
WHO: Mokah and Knowa Johnson
WHAT THEY DO: Athens Hip Hop Awards co-founders; hosts, Athens Hip Hop Industry Night and Open Mic at Max, first Saturdays starting Nov. 1
ON MOVING TO ATHENS:
Knowa: We ended up in Athens after living in Gwinnett County for two years. We had a relative that got a job in Athens, so we came here to check out the scene and researched it. We fell in love with the history of the place and the potential that it had. So, we stayed.
Mokah: The arts, the family, the culture brought us here. We stayed with family and then visited downtown. We said, "Oh, this is cool." The last place I remember being where I saw someone on the street randomly playing music was probably New York back in the day on the subway. When we visited, I could hear bands playing out the windows when I was walking down the street. We like it here, so we're trying to make it work.
ON HIP HOP IN ATHENS:
Mokah: In my opinion, the market doesn't cater to it. The market doesn't support it as much—the people or the organizers or whoever it may be—they don't cater to it, or they're not as open to it. As a promoter, going downtown, knocking on doors saying, "Hey! I've got a hip hop night. I want to do this!" They're not as welcoming, because it has a stereotype and they think it might draw some kind of negativity. We're not teeny-boppers. It's a culture. It's a lifestyle. We go through different phases of it, but downtown and the city [aren't] as welcoming to [let us] collaborate and let us try different things.
Knowa: Hip hop in Athens has a similar feel to when EDM was first trying to surface. The resources may not be there. The artists may not be very well-educated on how to make a career.
We're not teeny-boppers. It's a culture. It's a lifestyle.
ON STARTING THE OPEN MIC:
Mokah: We wanted to have a home, a forum where there was somewhere you could go every week and showcase. After doing the hip hop awards, we waited about a year. Our first year here, we didn't do much outside of the hip hop awards. Then, the second year, we decided to go ahead with the hip hop open mic to try to stimulate the market a little more.
Knowa: We wanted to do it downtown. We wanted to [close the gap] between college students and the local artists and bring them all together. We wanted to give hip hop in Athens a universal look. We want to reflect an international look.
Knowa: Since it happens weekly, we wanted to have an event that would keep people entertained. We have some people that come every week. We like that and we want to keep them coming back. We're out there making phone calls and doing research to see what artists are around that have a fanbase. We try to find a group or project out there that we can help give exposure to. Outside of that, there's the open mic element where you can sign up if there is space available.
Mokah: If you come on any given night, you don't know who you're going to see. It's at the point where it's not just hip hop. We've had bands. We've had R&B artists. We've had poets. We've had people come through, and it's been a blessing.
Mokah Johnson, Knowa Johnson, Athens Hip Hop Awards
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Barack Obama, Insurance Salesman
President Obama wants you to buy health insurance. Like, a lot.
The president has undertaken a months-long effort to convince people, particularly the Millennials who populate his political base, to give their business to America's largest insurance companies. This sounds odd for a guy who used a populist pitchforking of "big insurance" to goose his health law over the finish line in 2010.
But it's not as odd as you might think. Obama built his law in private in conjunction with the same companies he was skewering in public. The same goes for the drug companies that were the preferred targets of Democrats for most of the pre-ObamaCare era. Why?
Unable to unite his party behind his vision for a government-run insurance program open to all Americans, Obama outsourced the sales job to insurance and drug companies to get the deal done. His pitchfork routine was in part about gaining an upper hand in negotiations with his insurance and PhRMA partners, but mostly about appeasing liberal lawmakers who were unhappy that Obama's more liberal vision had vanished. They got Hillary Clinton's health law even though they elected Obama. But it was insurance and drug lobbyists who did the hard work of squeezing moderates into the already unpopular plan. They sold what Obama could not.
Via: Fox News Continue Reading.....
Labels: Health Care, ObamaCare, President Obama
Top senator calls for scrapping key snooping Patriot Act section
The Senate's senior lawmaker said Tuesday that its time to end the Patriot Act power that the intelligence community has relied on to collect all Americans' phone records, saying it isn't making the country safer.
"In my view, and I've discussed this with the White House, the Section 215 collection of Americans' phone records must end," said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and chairman of the SenateJudiciary Committee. "It is not making America safer and the government has not made its case this is an effective counterterrorism tool."
Speaking at Georgetown Law Center, Mr. Leahy said he would hold a classified briefing this week and call an open hearing next week to try to look at the issues at stake.
The intelligence snooping has come under scrutiny since leaks earlier this year exposed that the U.S. government was collecting the time and phone numbers of calls made in the U.S., as well as combing through other electronic communications.
Since then, the intelligence community has admitted it has repeatedly broken its own rules — though officials say they have caught themselves and have generally not found any intentional efforts to abuse the programs.
Mr. Leahy, though, said there aren't enough checks built into the program to let it continue, particularly with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has grown from a panel that approves wiretaps into a major legal power that decides weighty constitutional issues — all outside the view of the public.
"They are conducting oversight of highly technical programs that even the agency running them apparently did not understand and certainly did not accurately explain to the court. And they are doing all of this entirely in secret and without the benefits of an adversarial process," Mr. Leahy said.
Labels: Judicial Committee, Patrick Leahy, Patriot Act
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Is this the worst New York Times 'Vows' column ever written?
Over the weekend, the New York Times published the worst "Vows" column ever written in the history of the Times or the history of history. "Found, a Soul Mate" is a marriage story about two insufferable yuppie-hippies who fell in love over yoga. It was actually published in the one-time paper of record.
These two are your average, yoga-loving Brooklynites, except for that the woman accidentally killed a little girl this one time, a plot point that is explained in just two throwaway sentences that serve to explain her calm presence: "On Aug. 17, 2008, Ms. Halweil was driving on Montauk Highway when a 5-year-old girl rode a red toy wagon down a steep driveway and shot out onto the road in front of Ms. Halweil's car. When she recounts the accident (the child died and Ms. Halweil was not charged) you can really see her calm, philosophical and open demeanor."
The column is nearly 2,000 words, but seems like 20,000. And just when you think the author cannot possibly continue to write about the healing power of Ashtanga and womb-colored candles, IT GOES ON FOR A WHOLE OTHER PAGE.
Here are the nine worst/best lines from the column, which — as far as we know — is not a joke.
"Ms. Halweil, 36, grew up in New York in a tightknit family of four who loved to spend weekends together foraging for elderberries in Central Park"
"In 2003, while living in a loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, he started biking across the Williamsburg Bridge every morning to practice Ashtanga yoga with Eddie Stern, a well-known teacher in SoHo."
"He painted the walls dark red, installed almost-black wood floors and put yellow candles everywhere. 'It was like a womb,' he said. 'It took you somewhere else.'"
"…Mr. De Rosa, who in a single conversation might discuss Hindu deities, the connection between the knees and the ego, an energy healer he admires, Indian spices, juice cleanses and his ideas about love…"
"Their daughter, Neelu, was born at home on June 15, 2011, shortly after Ms. Halweil drank a concoction of castor oil, pineapple juice, vodka and baking soda prescribed by her midwife to speed contractions."
"As 150 guests looked on and bamboo flute music played, Ms. Halweil appeared wearing a backless dress designed by Nili Lotan on a lawn decorated with modern sculptures including an enormous one by Urs Fischer of a yellow teddy bear."
"The bride described the color of her dress as 'pigeon-blood red.' The groom was the one who wore white. He had on a Nehru-style suit the shade of coconut milk, lined with jewels around the lapels and neck."
"Mr. Halsband, who was among the guests, commented, 'It was just super-solid and super-honest.'"
"[The officiator] shared several pieces of advice about marriage that he had collected beforehand from family members and friends: think, laugh and love as often as possible; save money; check each other for ticks nightly to prevent Lyme disease."
Continue Reading.....
Labels: New York Times
MARYLANDERS BUYING 1,000 GUNS A DAY BEFORE NEW GUN LAWS TAKE EFFECT
In anticipation of the implementation of new gun control laws next week, Marylanders have been scooping up 1,000 guns a day.
According to the Baltimore Sun, 1,000 guns a day have been sold every day for the last two weeks and this week promises to be more of the same.
Starting next week, bans will prohibit the sale of "assault rifles" and "fingerprints and a license" will be required to buy a handgun.
State senator Nancy Jacobs (R-Dist. 34) says the new laws go too far and will only "make it...much more difficult for law-abiding citizens to get firearms without jumping through a million hoops."
Jacobs bought two handguns in time to beat the new laws too--and one of them has an "extended magazine."
Maryland State Police say background check requests for all the people trying to beat the sales ban and gun control laws have overwhelmed their system. This month alone background check requests are at "a pace roughly seven times that during the same time last year."
Moreover, over "102,000 gun purchase applications have been submitted so far this year." A number which represents twice the applications that were coming in during 2011.
Labels: Baltimore, Guns, Maryland, Nancy Jacobs
No communion for Nancy Pelosi: Vatican court head
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has no Catholic right to be granted Communion, said the leading cardinal of the highest court at the Vatican.
Mrs. Pelosi should be denied Communion until she changes her advocacy views on abortion, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke said, according to the Western Center for Journalism.
PHOTOS: Famous quitters: Those who bailed rather than face scandal, scrutiny or stress
That's canon law, not opinion, he said. Canon 915 states that Catholics who are stubbornly contrary "in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion."
And Cardinal Burke said Mrs. Pelosi fits the definition.
"Certainly this is a case when Canon 915 must be applied," he said, the Western Center for Journalism reported. "This is a person who obstinately, after repeated admonitions, persists in a grave sin — cooperating with the crime of procured abortion — and still professes to be a devout Catholic."
The cardinal also said that Mrs. Pelosi is a perfect example of Catholics who separate their faith from day-to-day living.
"This is a prime example of what Blessed John Paul II referred to as the situation of Catholics who have divorced their faith from their public life and therefore are not serving their brothers and sisters in the way that they must — in safeguarding and promoting the life of the innocent and defenseless unborn, in safeguarding and promoting the integrity of marriage and the family," he said.
The cardinal, an American, is the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, Life News reported.
Labels: Communion, Nancy Pelosi, Pope Francis, Vatican
Location: Vatican City
BARONE: Under Obama, America Wayward in the World
America has gone back to isolationism, many commentators are saying. Not just the dovish Democrats, but also Republicans who were so hawkish a decade ago are turning away from the world.
There is something to this, but it's more complicated than that. To understand where we are, it's helpful to put today's developments in historical perspective.
One picture of American history has it that this country left the rest of the world alone through most of its history, was pulled into world politics by World War II and the Cold War, and is now just reverting to its norm.
The problem with this picture is that it leaves a lot of things out. George Washington kept Americans out of a world war between Britain and France, wisely, because the early republic was split down the middle on which side to back.
But a few years later, Thomas Jefferson was quite willing to send the U.S. Navy and Marines to quell the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. He recognized that we were a maritime and trading nation and had an interest in keeping the sea lanes open for trade.
America has sent missionaries as well as merchants around the world for two centuries. The nation has projected power and acquired territory in the Pacific as well as the Caribbean.
It has participated in international organizations since it ratified The Hague Conventions that set out principles of international law in 1899.
So the proposition that America long isolated itself from the world is laced with exceptions.
The term "isolationist" became common in the years after World War I. It was applied, erroneously, to senators who opposed the Versailles Treaty because it committed the U.S. to go to war without a vote in Congress.
But the heyday of isolationism was not the 1920s, when Republican presidents were heavily involved in European negotiations. It was in the middle 1930s, when Franklin Roosevelt torpedoed the London economic conference and signed a Neutrality Act. He changed course around 1938 when he decided that Hitler was a menace America could not live with.
Since the Founders, Americans have had different approaches to foreign policy — four different approaches named after four statesmen, as Walter Russell Mead explains in his book, Special Providence, and on his blog at The American Interest. They are isolationist to varying degrees, depending on circumstances.
One approach is Hamiltonian, making the world safe for American commerce through global alliances and military power. Another is Wilsonian, relying more on international law and human rights.
George W. Bush started off as a Hamiltonian and after 9/11 added Wilsonian emphases: Military power would be used to serve universal aspirations for freedom.
Labels: America, Michael Barone, President Obama
Obamacare: One blow after another
The Obamacare that consumers will finally be able to sign up for next week is a long way from the health plan President Barack Obama first pitched to the nation.
Millions of low-income Americans won't receive coverage. Many workers at small businesses won't get a choice of insurance plans right away. Large employers won't need to provide insurance for another year. Far more states than expected won't run their own insurance marketplaces. And a growing number of workers won't get to keep their employer-provided coverage.
Every branch of the federal government played a role in weakening the law over the past three years, the casualty of a divisive legislative fight, a surprise Supreme Court ruling, a complex implementation and an unrelenting political opposition. The result has been a stark gap between the promise of Obamacare and the reality — one that has fueled a deep vein of skepticism about the law as it enters its most critical phase.
(WATCH: Obamacare timeline)
"Oh, I've heard of Obamacare, yes, but I didn't know all that was involved," said Cindy Bishop, a part-time worker from Lexington, Ky., who stopped by an Obamacare information booth at the state fair last month. "Everybody that I have ever talked to is totally against it. They're afraid all the doctors are going to pull out, and you're going to have to be like Canada and have to be on a waiting list."
Obama will take a lead role during the six-month enrollment period in trying to convert critics like Bishop. He doesn't expect to boost the subpar approval numbers, at least not in the near term. Democrats stopped anticipating a bump a long time ago when voters defied prediction after prediction that they would fall in love with Obamacare.
His best defense against Republican repeal efforts is a robust consumer response, and his best hope to soften years of public antipathy is a successful rollout. That's why Obama is asking millions of Americans to just give the law a chance — go to the Web, sign up for a health care plan starting Oct. 1 and claim a new benefit that's there for the taking on Jan. 1. It's also why Republicans are mounting such an aggressive last stand this week to revoke funding for the law.
(Also on POLITICO: Obama's health care conversion)
The early hiccups may not matter in the long run if the Affordable Care Act survives Republican challenges and goes on to become an entitlement as popular as Social Security or Medicare and if the early gaps between hope and practice narrow as more states agree to expand Medicaid.
Via: Politico
Labels: Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, President Obama
'Duck Dynasty' star Uncle Si talks iced tea, marriage troubles and God
Everyone's favorite uncle, Si, has a best-selling book out, "Si-cology 1," and it's just like Si, charming, funny and just a bit cheeky. The Tupperware toting "Duck Dynasty" star spoke to FOX411 about the book and some surprising hardships that he's battled.
FOX411: What's with the cups?
Uncle Si: I'm always just carrying a Tupperware cup, ever since my mom went to a Tupperware party and got 'em. I've left them strewn all over the U.S. and Europe. I drink iced tea out of them.
FOX411: Will you have an iced-tea line?
Si: Well, that's in the works I think.
FOX411: Anything you guys have said no to?
Si: (Laughs) They're coming up with new ideas all the time. That's Willie's and Corey's department. I don't get involved in the business end of it.
FOX411: You write very honestly about your wife's difficulty in conceiving.
Si: She went to all the specialists and they all said, "You'll never have kids." I said, "Don't worry about it." She said, "Yeah but I know you love 'em so I'm not going to marry you." I said, "Hey, don't worry about that. The doctors don't have the final word. I believe in a higher power," and I've got what you call two miracle babies, my daughter and my son and they gave me four grandsons a piece.
FOX411: You were also very honest about your son's mental health issues.
Si: Yeah he had some serious problems. The doctors finally figured out the medicine he needed and then everything was fine. Sometimes it's necessary to medicate.
FOX411: It put a lot of stress on your marriage.
Si: Oh yeah but if you think you're going to go through this life without running into some problems then you need to think again. It's not going to happen.
FOX411: Do you think people get divorced too easily?
Si: Oh definitely. Look the Bible says that you marry for life okay. It's a lifetime decision. They look at it way too trivial.
FOX411: How important is your faith to you?
Si: That's what got me through 65 years of life. My belief in God and what He's done for us and what He will do for us. That's a lot of the problems now. Look a lot of people don't believe there's evil. If there's good in this world, then you're being intellectually dishonest, if you believe there's a good power you've also got to believe there's an evil power too. There are physical laws that are in place. We've got the physical world we see but there's a microscopic world that you have to have special stuff to see, just because you don't see it with your naked eye doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Labels: Duck Dynasty, Fox 411, Si
New York: Corrupt — and Set for Life
A corruption conviction doesn't necessarily stop elected officials from profiting at the taxpayers' expense. But a new effort led by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara aims to go after politicians' public pensions when the courts find them guilty.
"Our primary mission is to address and to undo injustice, and, in the public-corruption context, a galling injustice that sticks in the craw of every thinking New Yorker is the almost inviolable right of even the most corrupt elected official — even after being convicted by a jury and jailed by a judge — to draw a publicly funded pension until his dying day," Bharara, attorney for the Southern District of New York, testified on September 17 at the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. He added that "convicted politicians should not grow old comfortably cushioned by a pension paid for by the very people they betrayed in office."
National Review Online has found that since 2008, at least four convicted politicians in New York have drawn pensions, all in excess of $3,000 per month.
Via: National Review Online
Labels: Corruption, New York, Pensions, U.S. Attorney Bharara
The war on terror is back — and we remain leaderless.
Those very, very, very loose cannons, known as Muslim jihadists, have been shooting off around the world — massacring Christians in Pakistan, Africans in Nairobi, and all kinds of Syrians, and in the process, reminding serious Westerners (we still have a few) of the need for clear leadership amid clear and present dangers.
So far, we can be sure only of one thing: We have no line on what's happening. Accordingly, we don't know what to do.
One might suppose we had figured out some of the essential matters 10 years ago, starting with the attack on the twin towers, followed by the U.S. counter-attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq. We were on the right track. We knew that a crazed — I used the adjective deliberately, in its dictionary sense, without theological overtones — faction in the Muslim world wants us dead or submissive on account of our disgusting commitment to human freedom, made worse by our outrageous instinct to defend and pursue that freedom abroad.
It has come to this: If you believe in freedom or in Jesus Christ or in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you're a target for elimination at the hand of the crazies. (Aren't people who blow themselves up, and others with them, just a little, you know, tetched in the head?) The world is at war in a way unfamiliar to most of its 7 billion people, but we are at war, nonetheless, and are in need of strong leadership, as I was saying.
We seemed for a while to be waiting out the crazies, hoping they might find more fruitful pursuits, especially if we assured them of our good intentions and democratic instincts. They fling our patience back in our faces. These are villainous people, which is what they think of us, but so what? They are wrong. A concerted worldwide effort against them is of the essence.
An effort led by whom?
Via: The Spectator
Labels: Jihadists, Muslim, Terror
GOP launches race war to boost the 1 percent
CONSIDER THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY!!!
From Newt's epithets to the gutting of food stamps, Republicans try to unite white people to serve a hideous agenda
A recent vote of House Republicans to cut $40 billion from the food stamp program reflects a deep-seated and insidious racial resentment toward Americans of color. This racial resentment rears its ugly head within the provisions for the bill that demand that non-employed participants in the program get a job, job training or do community service activities. Though the bill in its current form will most likely die in the Senate, the fact that Republicans would even pass it should concern us.
Conservatives continue to lead under the aegis of a deliberate and willful ignorance about the long-term existence of a group known as the working poor, people who work long hours in low-wage paying menial labor jobs, and therefore cannot make ends meet. Moreover, there is a refusal to accept that the economic downturn in 2008 created conditions of long-term unemployment, such that people simply cannot go out and "get a job" just because they will it to be so.
I often wonder if government officials actually talk to real human beings about these policies, because if they did, they would find many people with a deep desire to work, but a struggle to find well-paying jobs. Some of those people would gladly take jobs that pay far less, but are frequently told that their education and years of work experience make them over-qualified.
This is not a race-based problem. The American middle class itself is shrinking dramatically each year in relation to a poor economy, an insistence on austerity measures from the right, and a capitulation to these measures on the left. However, the complete irrationality and utter severity of the legislation, and the total lack of empathy and identification that inform contemporary Republican social advocacy is tied to a narrative about lazy black people and thieving "illegal" brown people.
In 1976, Ronald Reagan invented the term "welfare queen," to characterize the actions of exactly one person in Chicago who had bilked the welfare system out of a staggering amount of money. Buttressed by an underlying white racial resentment of the liberal pieces of legislation that emerged during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations – laws that had attempted to change conditions, but could not change hearts and minds around racial inequality issues — white conservatives latched on to a narrative about lazy African-Americans stealing from taxpayers and living lavish lives financed by the welfare state.
Via: Salon
Labels: 1 percent, GOP, Race War
Kerry to sign UN arms treaty opposed by Senate, NRA
Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to sign an arms trade treaty opposed by the Senate and the gun lobby as early as Wednesday, and Republicans aren't happy about it.
Kerry's plan to sign the treaty on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City this week has sparked immediate criticism from GOP opponents.
"This treaty is already dead in the water in the Senate, and they know it," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services. "The Administration is wasting precious time trying to sign away our laws to the global community and unelected U.N. bureaucrats."
A majority of Senate oppose the treaty because it covers small arms, making ratification impossible in the short term.
Kerry had already announced in June that the administration would sign the treaty as soon as it was satisfied with its translations into the different official U.N. languages. Reuters reported that he is likely to sign the treaty this week.
The news sparked immediate criticism from Republicans.
An Inhofe amendment to the Senate Budget resolution in March blocking the U.S. from joining the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty garnered 53 "yes" votes.
The National Rifle Association insists the pact is a U.N.-backed gun grab. Advocates of the treaty say it's only aimed at regulating international sales to prevent terrorists and other rogue actors from getting their hands on weapons.
Labels: Gun Control, republicans, Secretary of State John Kerry, United Nations
Lois Lerner retires---courtesy of the American taxpayer
And Her Troubles are Just Beginning.
Top IRS official Lois Lerner has now "retired ."
Lerner, under fire since she confessed on May 10, 2013, that the IRS had singled out Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny, had been on paid leave while revelation after revelation demonstrated that she was not only instrumental in targeting Tea Party groups, but she also misled the American public when the agency "confessed" to IRS wrongdoing.
In fact, nothing about her original story has proven true. In May, she claimed that low-level officials applied extra scrutiny to conservative groups, that this scrutiny was "wrong," and that the IRS put a stop to it when it learned of the abuse.
All these assertions were wrong.
Leaked documents show that Lerner, former Director of IRS Exempt Organizations, saw the Tea Party applications as "extremely dangerous,"
The documents show she took the lead in yanking their applications for tax exempt status from Cincinnati to Washington, D.C. -- where they were ultimately scrutinized in the IRS Chief Counsel's office -- and she hoped that the Federal Election Commission would "save the day" from conservative electoral gains.
Yet no other federal agency had to "save the day," as the IRS conducted its systematic targeting of conservatives and then kept targeting them even after approving their applications for tax exemption, actions that had an undeniable impact on conservative advocacy.
In other words, rather than providing the solution, Lerner was a key part of the problem.
As the evidence of her wrongdoing quickly piled up, Lerner improperly pled the Fifth Amendment before a congressional panel, proclaiming her innocence before refusing to speak – a move that would never work in federal court.
Labels: IRS, Lois Lerner, Tea Party
Location: Cincinnati, OH, USA
DOJ, IRS Grant True the Vote Tax-exempt Status
The scandal-scarred IRS has agreed to grant tax-exempt status to True the Vote, the Texas-based "election integrity" group that became one of the tea party and conservative organizations targeted by the tax collector.
True the Vote announced Monday the IRS and the Justice Department consented late Friday to grant its application for 501(c)(3) status.
Editor's Note: Should ObamaCare Be Defunded? Vote in Urgent National Poll
True the Vote calls itself a voters' rights organization, and was involved in efforts cleaning up voter rolls in some states, deterring fraud in Texas elections and verifying signatures in the Wisconsin governor recall election, according to the Washington Times
But earlier this year, the group discovered it was among a slew of applications the IRS had been scrutinizing and turned around to sue the agency to force it to approve the application.
News of the Internal Revenue Service decision came the same day the retirement of Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the agency's tea party scandal, was announced.
True the Vote lawyer Cleta Mitchell said the fight with the IRS is far from over.
"This lawsuit is about getting to the truth and we are not going to stop until we find out the answers to these and many other questions," Ms. Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the IRS still needs to answer for the costs and damages that resulted from the three-year delay, and to explain why they were looking at information the IRS's internal auditor says wasn't necessary for them to make a decision.
"We are pleased and relieved that the IRS and the DOJ are finally doing what should have been done three years ago, which is to recognize TTV as a charitable and educational organization, which we have always been and will continue to be," True The Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said in a statement to Breitbart News.
The group first filed for tax-exempt status in July 2010. With the belate
Via: Newsmax
Labels: DOJ, IRS, Tea Party, True the Vote
For the third time in just a few months, another one of President Obama's alternative energy ventures has failed after getting tens of millions of dollars from American taxpayers. It's a tired old story that nevertheless keeps repeating itself as the administration moves forward with an aggressive plan to make America green.
This month's failed green experiment du jour features a company (ECOtality) that makes charging stations for electric cars. Like many of the other bankrupt businesses that have received government handouts, it's situated in northern California and Uncle Sam gave it $99.8 million before it collapsed. The cash was doled out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars for similar projects.
ECOtality was supposed to make charging stations for electric cars but instead it filed for bankruptcy which means that, once again, American taxpayers have been fleeced by another one of Obama's alternative energy ventures. Get this; the company attributes its financial problems to "disappointing sales" and "a suspension of payments from the federal government."
In the last few months two different fly-by-night companies went down after getting large sums from the government for their failed ventures. The first was Fisker Automotive, which received nearly $200 million to develop a wheelchair-accessible "green" van. The startup had been heavily touted by the administration as an innovator that would develop two lines of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that could run up to 300 miles on a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. In fact, the Obama administration planned to give Fisker $528 million but the cash finally stopped flowing when the company laid off three quarters of its employees and announced it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Soon after Fisker's collapse another startup called Vehicle Production Group (VPG) went under after losing $50 million in taxpayer funds. VPG was supposed to create special vans for the disabled that run on compressed natural gas. Here's how the Obama administration justified funding this experiment with public dollars: "This project invests in a socially and environmentally responsible product that will create new jobs, promote the use of alternative fuels, and help the U.S. maintain its competitive edge in the automotive industry." The DOE has since taken the page down, but we got the quote straight from the agency's announcement touting VPG.
There have been many other clean energy ventures that have also failed miserably after receiving exorbitant allocations from American taxpayers. Remember Solyndra, the northern California solar panel company—bankrolled by Obama fundraiser George Kaiser—that folded after getting $529 million from the government?
Despite the "serious concerns" of U.S. Treasury officials about the risky infusion, a federal audit exposed how the controversial deal was suspiciously rushed through for a politically-connected entrepreneur that had raised large sums for Obama. Judicial Watch is investigating the Solyndra scandal and has sued the administration for records related to the shady deal.
Then there's the administration's multi-million-dollar investment in "green jobs' that will never exist. A few months ago afederal audit revealed that the government has blown half a billion dollars to train workers for the fantasy positions to fulfill Obama's promise of creating 5 million green jobs over the next decade. It's simply not happening and only half of the trainees in the program get work, most in areas unrelated to renewable energy.
Via: Judicial Watch
Labels: DOE, ECOtality, Green Energy, President Obama
Sarah Palin is Right
This is not some sort of bait-and-switch where the Palin-hating liberal swoops in with a zinger, this is for real: Sarah Palin is actually right about something. Furthermore, she's not just a little bit right, she doesn't just have a point, the former Alaska Governor is absolutely, 100% right. While you arrange your lambs in snuggly positions with your lions, let me explain. Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace revealed, yesterday, that "top Republicans" had sent him unsolicited oppo research and questions for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Former Governor Palin (R-AK) tweeted, on Sunday, that Wallace ought to reveal which sources had sent him the dirt on Cruz. She tweeted "@FoxNewsSunday Keep it TRULY fair & balanced. Release the GOP names encouraging you to trash @SenTedCruz. No more anonymous sources."
Many Republicans are angry with Cruz for engineering a strategy that has the House GOP demanding a government shutdown and/or default if Obamacare is not de-funded. Presumably, the research sent to Wallace was intended to undercut Cruz, and perhaps trip him up. Palin's tweet appears to have been motivated, in part, by affinity for Cruz, but also a well-earned contempt for anonymously-sourced news. Regardless of her motives, though, Palin is on firm journalistic footing with her demand.
Oppo research like this typically makes its way too a reporter in one of two ways: either as a general blast to journalists, with no attempt to hide the source, or as a specific package delivered to a particular reporter. Wallace's is obviously in the latter category. Oppo deliveries like this are usually appended with language like "off the record" or "not for attribution," or are generally understood to be off the record. They don't need to be on the record because they typically don't consist of new reporting, but rather, point the reporter toward existing reporting that he can verify independently.
The catch is that an unsolicited email, even if marked "off the record," or understood to be off the record, isn't actually off the record until the reporter agrees it is. We generally don't burn sources in these cases because it isn't usually newsworthy, and a source that feels burned won't ever be a source for you again. There are rare exceptions. It was less newsworthy that Barack Obama once wore a Muslim-y outfit than it was that Hillary Clinton's campaign wanted people to know that.
This might be the reasoning that Wallace used in not revealing the source of the information, that even if it wasn't technically off the record, he wished to honor the spirit of that unspoken agreement. If that's the case, though, then he had no business revealing that the research even existed; that, in and of itself, would be a violation of off the record communication.
The reason he revealed it was that the source itself was newsworthy, that "top Republicans" were trying to undercut Ted Cruz. If the public has an interest in knowing that, then they surely have an even greater interest in knowing which top Republicans were doing it. Simply put, something can't be a little bit off the record, any more than you can be a little bit pregnant. If Wallace concealed his source because they were off the record then he shouldn't have mentioned it at all. If he was serving the public interest in revealing it, then he abdicated that interest by not revealing the source of the oppo research, and the contents of it. Sarah Palin is right, he should come clean.
Via: Mediaite.com
Labels: Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday, Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz
Samuel L. Jackson to Obama: 'Stop Trying to Relate' and 'Be F*cking Presidential'
Samuel L. Jackson has some harsh criticism for President Obama in a new interview with Playboy. The actor was lamenting the fact that it now appears to be "politically cool" for "white guys" on TV to use terms like "Pump your brakes" and "I got you" when speaking to black people. "We do still speak English, right?" he asked. "How the fuck did we become a society where mediocrity is acceptable?"
"Or one in which President Obama or other highly educated Americans consciously drop gs off the ends of words to sound like Joe Average?" Playboy's Stephen Rebello suggested. This led Jackson to issue his tough words for the president:
"First of all, we know it ain't because of his blackness, so I say stop trying to 'relate.' Be a leader. Be fucking presidential. Look, I grew up in a society where I could say 'It ain't' or 'What it be' to my friends. But when I'm out presenting myself to the world as me, who graduated from college, who had family who cared about me, who has a well-read background, I fucking conjugate."
At the same time, Jackson reaffirmed that he would like to see Obama get "scary" in certain situations that call for some anger. "He got a little heated about the kids getting killed in Newtown and about the gun law," Jackson said. "He's still a safe dude."
But, he also said, "If Hillary Clinton decides to run, she's going to kick their fucking asses, and those motherfuckers would rather see the country go down in flames than let the times change."
Via: Mediate.com
Labels: Playboy, President Obama, Samuel L. Jackson
90% of Top Newspaper Headlines Censor Islam in Nairobi, Pakistan Attacks
Dare a top newspaper journalist to play connect-the-dots and chances are he'll fail miserably – at least with drawing the line between Islam and terrorism. In Nairobi, Kenya last weekend, Islamist militants took over a high-end shopping mall and began executing non-Muslims. In Pakistan, Islamist suicide bombers detonated at a Christian Church on Sunday.
Yet on Monday, September 23, 90 percent of the top ten (via circulation numbers) daily newspapers' headlines in the United States censored the words "Islam" and Muslim" from Nairobi and Pakistan reports. One – the New York Daily News – didn't even have a headline for the latest Islamic terrorist attacks. That's journalism at its finest.
The Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) headline by Heidi Vogt announced that "Assault on Mall Stuns Kenya" and called the act a "terrorist attack" by "armed militants." In a small reference to the Pakistan Christian fatalities, the newspaper credited a group linked with the "Pakistan Taliban."
As the second most popular newspaper after the WSJ, The New York Times proclaimed "Carnage In Mall Shows Resilience of Terror Group" for an article by Nicholas Kulish, Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt. In fact, on the front page the Times used every description but the Islamic connection to describe the aggressors: "the ferocious armed political movement known as the Shabab" – with ties to Al Qaeda and Boko Haram.
Only USA Today (number three in circulation) broke Islam silence with a headline admitting, "Islamists kill dozens in Kenya and Pakistan" (under an even larger headline: "Two New Terror Attacks"). Jim Michaels and William W. Welch's story detailed how "Islamic extremists unleashed bloody attacks." For Pakistan, the reporters called Sunday's two suicide bombers assault "the deadliest-ever attack against the nation's Christian minority" and included a picture with a caption describing, "a relative of victims of the Christian church bombings."
Via: Newsbustrers
Labels: Attacks, Narirobi, Pakistan
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text:
Man slashes and robs dentist after getting tooth fixed
Thursday, 26 Sep 2019
By AUSTIN CAMOENS
PETALING JAYA: A man sat patiently for an hour and a half getting his tooth fixed before slashing and robbing his dentist.
Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din said the dentist suffered a near-fatal gash to her neck in the 10.56am incident on Thursday (Sept 26).
"We received a call about the incident at a dental clinic on Jalan 14/22, Section 14, Sea Park.
"Based on investigations, the suspect came in for a root canal treatment at 9.30am and used another man's MyKad to register.
"The treatment took about one and a half hours. Once completed, the suspect slashed the dentist and robbed her of her handbag," he said when contacted on Thursday (Sept 26).
He added that the nurse present at the time told police that the suspect did not look like the person pictured on the MyKad.
"Checks with the National Registration Department revealed the MyKad belonged to a man named Murali.
"We analysed CCTV footage from a nearby restaurant, which shows a skinny man with dark complexion running away while carrying a black bag belonging to the victim," he said
He said that the victim, a 57-year-old woman, suffered a five-centimetre gash to her neck which barely missed an artery.
ACP Mohd Zani said the victim is in stable condition and receiving treatment at Assunta Hospital.
"Our forensic team found a knife at the scene of the crime which was used to slash the victim.
"The suspect managed to flee with at least RM2,000 cash and important documents belonging to the victim," he said, adding that the police were now tracing the whereabouts of the suspect.
Tags / Keywords: Crime , Robbery , Dentist


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text:
Special People Bring Precious Blessings
From interviews with members of Wildwood Ward, Saskatoon Stake and Delta Ward, Surrey British Columbia Stake
Members of the Wildwood Ward in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, have come to understand what is taught in Hebrews 12:12 - "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees." The learning opportunity comes from a 42-year-old member, Cora Killan. Her "teaching" abilities do not come from a university degree or from a gifted intellect. In fact, it is because of her disabilities that her influence is felt. She cannot speak, she has intellectual challenges and she must deal with severe physical handicaps.
Cora and her mother, Liz, joined the Church in Nanaimo, BC. Cora's first Church assignment was as a greeter. When the two women moved to Calgary and then to Saskatoon, each ward provided similar opportunities for Cora.
Before Liz became a Latter-day Saint in 1997, she says that most people never acknowledged Cora. "My role as a mother to Cora was validated when I joined the Church. Before that people thought I should have Cora institutionalized so I could 'have a life,' but members of our church had a totally different view. Cora is a valued and loved member. Our ward members tell me that they can't wait until resurrection day when Cora can be perfect and teach us all."
The daughter-mother team teach a senior Primary class where Cora joins activities with the children. "Cora is a fundamental part of the Primary experience," says John Spencer, her home teacher. "The kids love her. Well, everyone loves her. She is not patronized, but is cherished by each of us. Once you know her, her expressions and vocalizations help you to know what she is feeling. You can also tell when she is feeling the Spirit - she just glows."
Cora is known not only for her disabilities but for what she can do. She welcomes visitors to the Family History Centre with smiles and does her best to reach out to all who come there. Sister Karen Bennett proposed the idea to use Cora as a greeter. "Cora is positioned just outside the door," says Sister Benett. "She wears a nametag and loves that. If anyone forgets to speak with her or to sign in, she lets them know! We also give her the responsibility to pray for the success of the Centre and she takes that seriously. She really likes her assignment and gets excited when she sees the people she recognizes."
Bishop Kevin J. Ledding says Cora is loved throughout the ward. "She is so happy when people talk with her. We watch her eyes light up when we interact with her. She lets her feelings be known, especially when she appreciates us."
Liz is pleased with Cora's popularity. "People in our ward all know Cora, even if they don't know me. If she is not there, they notice and ask where she is. It makes me feel really good to know they care."
In British Columbia, a lower mainland ward integrates and helps another member with special needs. When Jeral Prasad was a baby in Fiji, he contracted meningitis, experiencing high fevers that damaged his ears, rendering him deaf. A cochlear implant now provides partial hearing for the 20-year-old.
As his friends and acquaintances have learned, Jeral has an outgoing personality, but without adequate hearing, he has difficulty communicating. Nevertheless, his gregarious personality is not diminished. At Church and in other social functions, he greets members and strangers alike with enthusiasm. As he struggles to pronounce words clearly, Jeral's peers, Josh Teixeira and other young men, act as go-betweens to help him talk with others. "When Jeral goes up to someone to say hi," Josh explains, "we will take turns 'translating' for him saying 'Hi, I'm Jeral, what's your name?'" When playing young men's sports, Jeral's peers provide opportunities for Jeral to handle the ball and to score. During service activities, Jeral always comes along with his big smiles and his encouragement to keep working.
The ward elders' quorum welcomes Jeral to the opening of priesthood meeting. During class time, he joins the Young Men's quorum where he is comfortable, the gospel discussions match his abilities and he enjoys participating. The teacher and students are careful to match the speed and content of the lesson to his understanding.
"Jeral does his absolute best and works hard in all his priesthood duties," says Josh. "He sits with the priests at the sacrament table. While he can't say the prayer, he helps to break bread or passes the sacrament."
By integrating this young man, Delta Ward members are uplifted. "Jeral's smile is infectious. When he smiles, you have to smile back!" says Josh. "He gives hugs to everyone and they all hug him back."
"Jeral is excited about the support he is getting in our ward," says Jeral's father, Jonas Prasad. "Bishop Carlos Teixeira has been working with the youth to learn sign language. Other members of the ward are learning to sign as well. Jeral is comfortable in the ward, especially with the youth. He feels he is part of the group."
Elder Kaden Bolkcom, a local missionary, says, "Each Fast Sunday, many people in this ward express their testimonies both verbally and in sign language.
As Jeral comes to the pulpit to express his feelings in Fast and Testimony meeting, his father speaks for him while Jeral signs. During one meeting, he told the congregation, "I want to go on a mission. My friends in Church, Josh and Justin, are going on a mission. I would like to be like them." Jeral spoke about the first four principles of the gospel. Brother Prasad explained that this was the first time in many years that Jeral publicly expressed his testimony. "With everyone helping him, Jeral has a new excitement for the gospel and for life."
"The effort by the ward has built and strengthened us as well," says Brother Prasad. "Jeral is handicapped; he's deaf. The whole ward learning to sign is showing love just as Jesus did. You can feel the love and see the tears in the members' eyes because of the love offered."
While we bless the lives of those we love and serve, so special people return those blessings by helping us become a little more like the Saviour.
Links: No One Left Behind
Disability in Handbook 2: Administering the Church


My jewellery falls loosely into two categories, contemporary retail jewellery, and wearable art pieces.
Sometimes there is a crossover between the two.
This page is gallery for showcasing my work and some pieces may have been sold.
If you see something you like use this link to visit my Etsy shop or contact me by email by filling out the form on my Contact Me page.
I love making rings, it's a thing.
I love making rings. It is just a thing. I particularly like wrap around rings, they adjust to normal fluctuations in finger size and have a bit of give to them. They are robust and do not lose their shape. I also love stacking rings and I can't get enough of them. And then there is the statement rings. I could go on and on….
Lots of stacking bangles round, oval, and free form designs. Sinuous bracelets that evoke a winding river or piles of kelp washed up on the beach after a storm.
Fibulas or brooches pins are an ancient form of jewellery dating from antiquity.
This form of brooch has been utilised by modern jewellery makers, notably Alexander Calder and Ramona Solberg. I make these to order using objects, either supplied by, or that relate to the person I am making the fibula for. I make my fibulas from sterling silver wire.


Outperforming national benchmarks Vernon Area Public Library continues to rank high among public libraries, with service output measures above average. Annual library visits per resident of our library district ("per capita") equals 7.7, compared to 7.5 nationally and 6.2 among Illinois libraries. Our library circulates approximately 24 items per year per capita, compared to 4.6 nationally and 9.8 among Illinois libraries.
Values presented are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (1995–2005); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries in the United States Survey (2006–2014).
Supporting learning This library serves a population that places a premium on excellent education. Vernon Area Public Library provides all patrons, regardless of age or background, with tools to advance their learning. Storytimes and age-specific preschool programs build reading-readiness skills and contribute to healthy brain development beginning with newborns. Programs for school-age children enrich and inspire these young learners, expanding education beyond the classroom. A roster of activities on topics from virtual reality to Minecraft to animation makes the library a gathering place for teens. Events for adults offer enrichment opportunities for professionals, parents, and seniors.
• Under Five Family Time: weekend program for families with children ages 0-5 years old • Tap Tap Tablet Storytime - Caregivers join preschoolers at this program that develops pre-literacy skills and teaches adults and children ages 3-5 how to engage with technology in a healthy and educational way These popular programs require the larger space of our main meeting room in order to accommodate the larger crowds.
Meeting the needs of adult learners In addition to growing new readers and supporting school success, the Vernon Area Public Library provides a vibrant and varied slate of programs and classes for adult learners, ranging from book discussions to cultural performances, music, theater, lectures and discussions on humanities topics, and workshops about using library resources to improve your life: reduce your living expenses, grow your business, and express your creativity. One area of growth in adult programming this year is our Computers and Technology classes. Public libraries, many Americans say, should offer programs to teach people digital skills (80% think libraries should definitely do this, according to the results of a recent Pew Research study). We are ahead of that trend: in the past two years, we have more than doubled the number of small-group computer and technology classes we offer, serving more than 1,200 participants this year. Our one-on-one technology assistance appointments are very popular with cardholders as well: we booked 94 sessions between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016.
Exceptional customer service It is our goal to provide personalized, exceptional service to our library visitors. At every level and in everything we do, from behind-the-scenes to front-of-house, your satisfaction is our bottom line. This is an area in which we have always excelled: our personalized customer service was our highest rated feature on our 2013 Community Survey. And yet, we continue to aim higher, seeking ways to better meet patron needs and deliver greater value.
to connect our business customers with resources available to them through the library. And if you live in the community, you are likely to run into us at the Buffalo Grove Farmer's Market, Senior Expo, National Night Out, or other events — there to sign up new cardholders and spread the word about the services your library has to offer you.
Meeting demand Faster wish fulfillment By adjusting some behind-the-scenes policies and procedures, we have reduced the wait time for the most popular books and movies by one-third to one-half over the past three years — getting more materials into more borrowers' hands more quickly.
Improved browseability Library data show that browsing accounts for three out of every four checkouts. As part of our ongoing mission to connect patrons with great materials, we have arranged our popular collections to make them easy to browse. The new Book Club Favorites section is composed of a rotating collection of approximately 50 titles beloved by the adult book clubs that we serve. Their attractive face-out display entices visitors to these new shelves toward the back of the library. Ever-changing book displays highlight interesting themes and professionally curated selections.
"Just wanted to say I saw the LGBT display in the juvenile section today and it makes me so happy that VAPLD is creating a safe space for LGBT teens and making LGBT positivity part of our community. Good job!�
Building community Spotlight on volunteers At Vernon Area Library the staff of 90 employees (many of them part-time) are supported by a corps of volunteers who provide thousands of hours of service each year. In FY2015–16, 142 volunteers contributed more than 3,700 hours of work, valued at nearly $100,000. Volunteers contribute both behind the scenes and in the public space, providing such critical services as shelf reading so library users can find the materials they're looking for, media cleaning so DVDs and CDs play without a hitch when patrons take them home, and welcoming patrons to programs by checking registrations at the door and guiding them to events taking place outdoors or in the Annex, among other tasks.
Highlights and patron stories from library operations July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016.


Want To End A Friendship?
Learn When To Say Goodbye To A Friend Without Leaving Scars.
Now tell me. Is there REALLY an easy way to tell a FRIEND to piss off? I don't think so.
I'll tell you something I could REALLY use. I need a bottle of "Don't Pee Here" to add to the carpet shampooing liquid. Not for me or hubby. We usually use the bathroom. (Usually?) It's because I have a puppy. Who hasn't fully grasped the idea of being potty trained, yet.
Oh Lookie! I capitalized REALLY twice in one post. I'm special. REALLY special.
Ohhh you are WAY special... REALLY.
I understand the Don't Pee Here... but how are you gonna get the singe marks out of the carpet from when the rocket boosters were being tested in the house???
We don't have much carpet in the house, but Annie's got a nasty habit of having to go when I do, so now I've got to figure out a way to get rid of her "home fragrance" before Poor Hubby gets home. Ugh.


Josie's Juice: Gelatissimo 'birthday cake creation' flavour and my tour of Gelatissimo HQ - delizioso!
Gelatissimo 'birthday cake creation' flavour and my tour of Gelatissimo HQ - delizioso!
What would you say if you were offered a tour of an Italian-style gelato-making factory?
And so, off I trekked to Gelatissimo's HQ with a belly and a palate ready to trial their new ice cream flavour, one especially created to celebrate their 10th birthday.
Here's me taking a polite-for-the-camera lick... in reality, I was devouring this flavour like nobody's business. It was... just... too good!
This 'birthday cake creation' flavour will be available from September 6, which is ten years after they opened their very first store in Sydney. Let's talk about the flavours of this exceptional gelato: layers of chocolate sponge, soaked in coffee, mascarpone and zabaione gelato, melted Nutella and finished off with a macadamia and amaretto crumble.
Yup. It's as amazing as you just imagined.
The 'birthday cake creation' flavour will be available in all Gelatissimo stores from September 6 until November 11, 2012.
More about the company: Gelatissimo opened their first store in 2002, with Gelatissimo now boasting over 40 locations internationally [there's even one in Florence - THE place for artisan gelato! That really impresses me].
Gelatissimo are pretty deft at creating flavours that capture their rich Italian heritage, as well as ones that embody the Australian spirit, paying homage to the country where it all began. Talk about tasty assimilation!
For the remainder of the anniversary year, they will be the releasing some of the best Italian-style summer sorbets, followed by flavours that represent key cities of Italy, finally wrapping up the year-long celebration with traditional sweets from the country known for having a passion for great food – some would say [okay, I would say] they make THE best of the best.
In charge of creating these new, indulgent desserts will be Gelatissimo's newly appointed gelato making specialist, Anna Temellini. A native Italian, Anna, along with her partner and four-year-old daughter, have relocated to Australia so Anna can oversee product development. As you can imagine, the traditional gelato-making artiste is extremely excited to kick off her new position by creating an array of luscious desserts for Gelatissimo's 10th birthday.
I met Anna during my trip to Gelatissimo HQ and she is exceptional at what she does. I loved having a bilingual chat with her... and heaping warranted praise on her yummy creation, in between wolfing down the delectable gelato.
for our customers, so prepared to be amazed with what we have in store for our tenth birthday year!"
Gelatissimo Gelaterias are open seven days a week. Prices start from $4.90 for a 'piccolo' (one scoop).
Love, love the sound of this... will pop in the store and trial. God you have a good job, Josie...!!


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text:
Summer Tracking
Nine Bar Espresso Is Now Caffeinating Davis Square
Brookline Village is about to get a new cafe, too.
by Jacqueline Cain Aug 3, 2015, 9:10am EDT
Via Nine Bar Espresso [FB], The Middle Gray [FB], and All Coverage of Nine Bar Espresso on Eater [EBOS]
Share All sharing options for: Nine Bar Espresso Is Now Caffeinating Davis Square
Nine Bar Espresso
Simon's Coffee Shop has a new sibling: Nine Bar Espresso opened in Davis Square over the weekend.
Saturday's debut included Gracenote and Barismo coffees and espresso drinks, including nitro-poured cold brewed coffee, as well as tea and and pastries, and the cafe is offering toast and bagels as of today, said manager Eric Vlassidis. Nine Bar is sourcing its sweets from Danish Pastry House, and breads come from Iggy's. "We're still rolling out our food menu," he said. "We're going to ease our way into sandwiches."
The coffeeshop is located at 11 Holland St., where the shortly-lived Kindred Tea & Tonic set up shop for about four months last winter. It is next door to Johnny D's Uptown Restaurant & Music Club, which recently announced plans to close in early 2016 after more than 45 years in business.
Simon Yu, who own's Simon's Coffee Shop in Porter Square, is behind Nine Bar Espresso. The cafe is open daily from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. (8 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday). Vlassidis said that in the future, the cafe may stay open later.
In other cafe news, The Middle Gray hosted friends and family over the weekend and will likely open to the public any day now. The coffee shop/Spanish cafe/wine bar is a project from an artistic collective in Brookline Village, and the space will also serve as an art gallery and performance space.
11 Holland Street, , MA 02144 (617) 764-1915 Visit Website