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Economy of Cuba
This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. (October 2012)
Skyline of Havana
|Cuban peso (CUP) = 100 centavos and Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) = 24 CUP
|$72.3 billion (Nominal) (2012 est.)[1] $121 billion (2012 est.)[2] (PPP)
|GDP rank
|66th (nominal) / 66th (PPP)
GDP growth
|4.7% (2015 est.)[3]
GDP per capita
|$10,200 (2010 est.)[2] (PPP)
GDP by sector
|Agriculture: 4.3%, industry: 21.6%, services: 74% (2009 est.)[2]
|1.5% (2009 est.)[2]
Population below poverty line
|1.5% (2006)
Labor force
|5.159 million (Public sector: 78%, Personal sector: 22%) (2009 est.)[2]
Labor force by occupation
|Agriculture: 20%, industry: 19.4%, services: 60.6% (2005)[2]
|3.8% (2012 est.)[2]
Main industries
|Sugar, petroleum, tobacco, construction, nickel, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals[2]
|$2.458 billion f.o.b. (2009 est.)[2]
Export goods
|sugar, medical products, nickel, tobacco, shellfish, citrus, coffee[2]
Main export partners
| Canada 17.3%
China 16.6%
Venezuela 12.7%
Netherlands 8.8%
Spain 5.8% (2012 est.)[4]
|$8.963 billion f.o.b. (2009 est.)[2]
Import goods
|petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals[2]
Main import partners
| Venezuela 36.4%
China 10.5%
Spain 8.7%
Brazil 5.1%
United States 4.2% (2012 est.)[5]
|Public finances
|$19.44 billion (31 December 2009 est.);[2] another $20.8 billion owed to Russia, $0.9 billion owed to Romania and $0.2 billion owed to Hungary
|$35.01 billion (2007 est.)
|$36.73 billion (2007 est.)
|Economic aid
|$87.8 million (2005 est.)
Cuba's economy has a planned economy, dominated by state-run enterprises which means that the Cuban government oversees it, although there remains significant foreign investment and personal enterprise in Cuba. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government, and most of the labor force is employed by the state, although in recent years, the Communist Party has encouraged the formation of cooperatives and self-employment.
In the year 2000, public sector employment was 76% and private sector employment, mainly composed of personal property, was 23% compared to the 1981 ratio of 91% to 8%.[6] Capital investment is restricted and requires approval by the government. The Cuban government sets most prices and rations goods to citizens. In 2009, Cuba ranked 51st out of 182 with an HDI of 0.863; remarkably high considering its GDP per capita only places it 95th.[7] Public services and transportation in Cuba, however, are second-rate compared to more developed counterparts on the mainland.[8] In 2012, the country's public debt was measured at 35.3% of GDP. At the same time, inflation (CDP) was ranked at 5.5%. Furthermore, in the same year, the economy encountered a 3% growth in GDP.[9]
Before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba had an extremely unequal economy, with large capital outflows to foreign investors but the country's economy had grown rapidly in the early part of the century, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States.[10] The country compared favorably with Spain and Portugal on socioeconomic measures. Furthermore, its income in 1929 was reportedly 41% of the US, thus higher than in some Southern states of the US, such as Mississippi and South Carolina[11] The country has made significant progress towards a more even distribution of income since the Revolution and being placed under economic embargo by the United States. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's GDP declined by 33% between 1990 and 1993, partially due to loss of Soviet subsidies[12] and to a crash in sugar prices in the early 1990s. Yet Cuba has managed to retain high levels of healthcare and education.[13]
Housing and transportation costs are low and Cubans receive free education, health care, and food subsidies.[14] Corruption is common, although allegedly lower than in most other countries in Latin America.[15] In the book, Corruption in Cuba, Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Jorge F. Pérez-López Servando state that Cuba has institutionalized corruption and that state-run monopolies, cronyism, and lack of accountability have made Cuba one of the world's most corrupt states".[16][17][18]
- 1 History
- 2 Energy production
- 3 Government policies
- 4 Agriculture
- 5 Industry
- 6 Tertiary industries
- 7 Poverty
- 8 International trade
- 9 Foreign investment
- 10 Public facilities
- 11 Connection with Venezuela
- 12 Other statistics
- 13 See also
- 14 References
- 15 External links
Prior to the Cuban Revolution, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America.[19] Cuba became an exotic and favorite destination for some of America's wealthiest. They came for bouts of gambling, horse racing, golfing and country-clubbing.[20] American tourism became Cuba's flowing source of revenue. Tourism magazine Cabaret Quarterly described Havana as "a mistress of pleasure, the lush and opulent goddess of delights." According to Cuba historian Louis Perez of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Havana was then what Las Vegas has become." [20]
Cuba had a one-crop economy whose domestic market was constricted. Its population was characterized by chronic unemployment and deep poverty.[citation needed] United States monopolies like Bethlehem Steel Corporation and Speyer gained control over Cuba's national resources from which they made huge profits.[citation needed] The banks and the country's entire financial system, all electric power production and most industry was dominated by US capital.[dubious ] US monopolies owned 25 percent of the best land in Cuba and more than 80 percent of all farm lands were occupied by sugar and livestock-raising large estate[citation needed] 90 percent of the country's raw sugar and tobacco exports was sent to the USA. Before the Revolution most Cuban children were not included in the school system. There was almost no machine-building industry in Cuba.[21] During this period in the 1950s Cuba was as rich per capita as Italy was and richer than Japan.[22]
87 percent of urban homes had electricity, but only 10 percent of rural homes did. Only 15 percent of rural homes had running water. Nearly half the rural population was illiterate as was about 25 percent of the total population. Poverty and unemployment in the rural areas forced desperate residents to migrate to Havana where high levels of crime and prostitution existed.[23] More than 40 percent of the Cuban workforce in 1958 were either underemployed or unemployed. Schools for blacks and mulattoes were vastly inferior to those for whites. Afro-Cubans had the worst living conditions and held the lowest paid jobs.[24]
Cuban Revolution
In 1959, Fidel Castro seized assets valued at 9 Billion American dollars.[25] The current value of the assets seized would be approximately 1.89 trillion dollars at the 11.42% rate of growth that the average US company has experienced from 1959 to 2014.[26] Cuba's current annual GDP is roughly 1/20th of the current value of what was seized, illustrating in clear terms the different rates of economic growth of the US and Cuban economy.
During the Revolutionary period Cuba was one of the few developing countries to provide foreign aid. Foreign aid began with the construction of six hospitals in Peru in the early 1970s.[27] Foreign aid expanded later in the 1970s to the point where some 8000 Cubans worked in overseas assignments. Cubans built housing, roads, airports, schools, and other facilities in Angola, Ethiopia, Laos, Guinea, Tanzania, and other countries. By the end of 1985, 35,000 Cuban workers had helped build projects in some 20 Asian, African and Latin American countries.[27]
For Nicaragua in 1982, Cuba pledged to provide over $130 million worth of agricultural and machinery equipment, as well as some 4000 technicians, doctors, and teachers.[27]
In 1986 Cuba defaulted on its $10.9 billion debt to the Paris Club. In 1987 Cuba stopped paying entirely on the $10.9 billion Paris Club debts.[28] In 2002 Cuba defaulted on $750 million in Japanese debts.[28]
Some have attributed Cuban economic growth[citation needed] to Soviet subsidies. However, comparative economic data from 1989 showed that the amount of Soviet aid was in line with the amount of Western aid to many Latin American countries.[29]
The prostitution of children with lax penalization and human trafficking for profit is reported in Cuba as a source country for the global black market industry. [2] Cuba has been ranked in the lowest global rating of Tier 3 which is defined for a government's failure to meet minimum standards to prevent trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so.[30]
Special Period
The Cuban economy is still recovering from a decline in gross domestic product of at least 35% between 1989 and 1993 due to the loss of 80% of its trading partners[clarification needed] and Soviet subsidies.[31] This loss of subsidies coincided with a collapse in world sugar prices. Sugar had done well from 1985-1990 and crashed precipitously in 1990-1991 and did not recover for five years. Cuba had been insulated from world sugar prices by Soviet price guarantees.
This era was referred to as the "Special Period in Peacetime" later shortened to "Special Period". A Canadian Medical Association Journal paper claimed that "The famine in Cuba during the Special Period was caused by political and economic factors similar to the ones that caused a famine in North Korea in the mid-1990s, on the grounds that both countries were run by authoritarian regimes that denied ordinary people the food to which they were entitled when the public food distribution collapsed, and priority was given to the elite classes and the military."[32] Other reports painted an equally dismal picture, describing Cubans having to resort to eating anything they could find, from Havana Zoo animals to domestic cats.[33] But although the collapse of centrally planned economies in the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc meant that Cuba experienced severe economic difficulties, which led to a drop in calories per day from 3052 in 1989 to 2600 in 2006, mortality rates show a remarkably slight impact on public health thanks to the priority given by the government to maintaining a social safety net.[34]
The government undertook several reforms to stem excess liquidity, increase labor incentives, and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. To alleviate the economic crisis, the government introduced a few market-oriented reforms including opening to tourism, allowing foreign investment, legalizing the U.S. dollar, and authorizing self-employment for some 150 occupations. (This policy was later partially reversed, so that while the U.S. dollar is no longer accepted in businesses, it remains legal for Cubans to hold the currency.) These measures resulted in modest economic growth. The liberalized agricultural markets introduced in October 1994, at which state and private farmers sell above-quota production at free market prices, have broadened legal consumption alternatives and reduced black market prices. Another (less visible) cause of the economic decline was the decrease in the world demand and world price for sugar, gradually replaced by corn syrup, 30% cheaper, after 1985.
Government efforts to lower subsidies to unprofitable enterprises and to shrink the money supply caused the semi-official exchange rate for the Cuban peso to move from a peak of 120 to the dollar in the summer of 1994 to 21 to the dollar by year-end 1999. Living conditions in 1999 remained well below the 1989 level.
Havana announced in 1995 that GDP declined by 35% during 1989-93, the result of lost Soviet aid and domestic inefficiencies. The drop in GDP apparently halted in 1994, when Cuba reported 0.7% growth, followed by increases of 2.5% in 1995 and 7.8% in 1996. Growth slowed again in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. One of the key reasons given was the failure to notice that sugar production had become dramatically uneconomic. Reflecting on the Special period Cuban president Fidel Castro later admitted that many mistakes had been made, "The country had many economists and it is not my intention to criticize them, but I would like to ask why we hadn't discovered earlier that maintaining our levels of sugar production would be impossible. The Soviet Union had collapsed, oil was costing $40 a barrel, sugar prices were at basement levels, so why did we not rationalize the industry?"[35]
Due to the continued growth of tourism, growth began in 1999 with a 6.2% increase in GDP[citation needed]. Growth in recent years has picked up significantly, with a growth in GDP of 11.8% in 2005 according to official Cuban information[citation needed]. In 2007 the Cuban economy grew by 7.5%, below the expected 10%, but higher than the Latin American average rate of growth. Accordingly, the cumulative growth in GDP since 2004 stood at 42.5%.[36][37] [clarification needed]
Overview on the post-revolution economic performance
Cuban-born US economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago has published an account on the ″Economic and Social Balance of 50 Years of Cuban Revolution″. According to Mesa-Lago, Cuba's performance has been overwhelmingly negative with regard to the economic indicators. Cuba's position fell within the region for 87% of those indicators and for the rest of the 13% it remained the same.[38] According to him Cuba ranked third in the region in 1958 in terms of GDP per capita, surpassed only by Venezuela and Uruguay. It had descended to 9th, 11th or 12th place in the region by 2007.[39] At the same time, Cuba's social indicators showed a more positive development.[40]
Post-Fidel reforms
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (January 2015)
" Either we change course or we sink."— President Raúl Castro, December 2010[41]
In 2011, "The new economic reforms were introduced, effectively creating a new economic system, referred by some as the "New Cuban Economy"[42][43][44] Since then, over four hundred thousand Cubans have signed up to be entrepreneurs. As of 2012, the government lists 181 official jobs no longer under their control—such as taxi driver, construction worker, and shopkeeper. People may also purchase licenses to work as a mule driver, palm tree trimmer, well-digger, button covered, and "dandy"—gentleman in traditional elegant white suit and hat.[45] In effect, the economic system now operates much more like a market system, however unlike a true market system, it still maintains nationalized companies for the distribution of all essential amenities (water, power, ...), and other essential services to ensure a healthy population (i.e. free schooling, ...).
Imports are twice exports, and doctors earn £15 per month, so families supplement incomes with extra jobs, and the resultant increased taxes may shore up the economy. In the last decade, half the country's sugar mills have closed down, and tourists can now ride factory steam locomotives. More than 150,000 farmers have signed up to lease land from the government for bonus crops. Before, home-owners were only allowed to swap; now buying and selling has created a real-estate boom. A new Havana fast-food burger pizza restaurant, La Pachanga, started in the owner's home, serves 1,000 meals on a Saturday at £3, the weekly government wage.[46]
In 2008, Raúl Castro's administration hinted that the purchase of computers, DVD players and microwaves would become legal. However, monthly wages remain less than 20 U.S. dollars.[47] Mobile phones, which have been restricted to Cubans working for foreign companies and government officials, have become legalized. The new program could put phones in the hands of hundreds of thousands of Cubans.[47]
In 2010, Fidel Castro, in agreement with Raúl Castro's reformist sentiment, admitted that the Cuban model based on the old Soviet model of centralized planning was no longer sustainable for the Cuban economy. While both leaders remain committed to dialectical materialism, they are encouraging the creation of a co-operative variant of socialism where the state plays a less active role in the economy, and the formation of worker-owned co-operatives and self-employed enterprises is being encouraged.[48]
To remedy Cuba's economic structural distortions and inefficiencies, the government has reformed the Cuban model as the Sixth Congress approved expansion of the internal market and access to global markets on April 18, 2011. They anticipate full implementation by 2015. This is considered an updating of the Cuban socialist model, although is commonly referred to as economic reforms. A comprehensive list compiled through an examination of articles from Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Jorge Dominguez, Omar Perez Villanueva, Vidal Alejandro, Philip Peters and the Economist outlining the main policy guidelines is as follows:[49][50]
- Budget expenditure adjustments (education, healthcare, sports, culture)
- Change in the structure of employment; reduce inflated payrolls and increase work in the non-state sector.
- Legalizing of 201 different personal business licenses
- Fallow state land in usufruct to leased residents to plow
- Incentives for non-state employment, as a re-launch of self-employed work
- Proposals for creation of non-agricultural cooperatives
- Hiring of labor by self-employed (cuentapropistas)
- Legalization of sale and private ownership of homes and cars as of October 2011
- Greater autonomy for state firms
- Search for food self-sufficiency, gradual elimination of universal rationing and change to targeting poorest population
- Possibility to rent state-run enterprises to self-employed, among them state restaurants
- Separation of state and business functions
- Tax policy update
- Easing travel restrictions for Cubans
- Strategies for external debt restructuring
On December 20, 2011 a new credit policy allowed Cuban banks to finance entrepreneurs and individuals wishing to make major purchases to do home improvements in addition to farmers. "Cuban banks have long provided loans to farm cooperatives, they have offered credit to new recipients of farmland in usufruct since 2008, and in 2011 they began making loans to individuals for business and other purposes", (Peters 2012, 21).[51]
Raul Castro signed law 313 in September 2013 in order to create a special economic zone in the port city of Mariel, the first in the country. While this was also criticised in the general direction of criticism SEZ's have received, it was also a different economic model for the country.[52]
On 22 October 2013 as part of Raul Castro's latest reform they plan to unify the currencies, thereby ending the dual currency system.[53]
Energy production
As of 2011, 96% of electricity was being produced by burning fossil fuels . Solar panels have been introduced in some of the rural areas to reduce blackouts, brownouts, and use of kerosene . Citizens were encouraged to swap old inefficient lamps with newer models to reduce consumption. A power tariff imposed economically punitive measurements on inefficient use of power.[54]
Petroleum exploration
As of August 2012, off-shore petroleum exploration of promising formations in the Gulf of Mexico have been unproductive with two failures reported. Additional exploration is planned.[55]
Government policies
Rationing in Cuba refers to the system of food distribution known in Cuba as the Libreta de Abastecimiento ("Supplies booklet") with coupon booklets. Despite rumors, as of 2012, ration books at bodegas still supplement families with rice, oil, sugar, and matches, above government average wage £15 monthly. The government also sells licenses for entrepreneurs to increase tax revenue.[45]
After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, citizens were not required to pay a personal income tax (their salaries being regarded as net of any taxes). However, from 1996, the State started to impose income taxes on self-employed Cubans.[56]
The 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Cuba below 50, indicating undesirable corruption.[57]
Cuba now imports about 70-80% of all the food it's people consume [58] and 80-84% of the food it provides via the rations to the public.[59] After coming to power, Raúl Castro, Fidel Castro's brother, has ridiculed the bureaucracy that shackles the agriculture sector.[59] Before 1959, Cuba boasted as many cattle as people. Today meat is so scarce that it is a crime to kill a cow without government permission.[60] Cuban people even suffered from starvation during the Special Period.[32]
In total, industrial production accounted for almost 37% of the Cuban GDP, or US$6.9 billion, and employs 24% of the population, or 2,671,440 people, in 1996.[citation needed] A rally in sugar prices since 2009, has stimulated new investment and development of sugar processing.
More recently Cuba's world-class biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry is gaining in its importance to the economy.[61] It has been claimed that soon it will become Cuba's main source of foreign exchange.[citation needed] Among the products sold internationally are vaccines against various viral and bacterial pathogens, and promising anti-cancer vaccines are undergoing exhaustive clinical trials. Some Cuban scientists, like V. Verez-Bencomo, have been awarded international prizes for their contributions in biotechnology and Sugar Cane. Cuban vaccines are sold, among other countries, in Russia, China, India and several Latin American countries. For example, the drug Heberprot-P has been developed as a cure for diabetic foot ulcer and has had success in many Third-World Markets.[62]
Tertiary industries
Tourism in Cuba
In the mid-1990s tourism surpassed sugar, long the mainstay of the Cuban economy, as the primary source of foreign exchange. Tourism figures prominently in the Cuban Government's plans for development, and a top official cast it as the "heart of the economy". Havana devotes significant resources to building new tourist facilities and renovating historic structures for use in the tourism sector. Cuban officials estimate roughly 1.6 million tourists visited Cuba in 1999 with about $1.9 billion in gross revenues. In 2000, 1,773,986 foreign visitors arrived in Cuba. Revenue from tourism reached US $1.7 billion.[63] By 2012, some 3M visitors brought nearly £2 billion yearly.[64]
The rapid growth of tourism has had widespread social and economic repercussions in Cuba. This has led to speculation of the emergence of a two-tier economy[65] and the fostering of a state of tourist apartheid on the island. This situation was exacerbated by the influx of dollars into the Cuban economy during the 1990s, potentially creating a dual economy based on the dollar (the currency of tourists) on the one hand, and the peso on the other. Scarce imported goods - and even some of local manufacture, such as rum and coffee- could be had at dollars-only stores, but were hard to find or unavailable at peso prices. As a result, Cubans who earned only in the peso economy, outside the tourist sector, were at an economic disadvantage. Those with dollar incomes based upon the service industry began to live more comfortably. This widened the gulf between Cubans' material standards of living, in conflict with the Cuban Government's long term socialist policies.[66]
Cuba has a very poorly developed retail sector. There are a few large shopping centers in Havana (Sept. 2012) but the prices are the same as in the USA. The commercial districts that existed before the revolution are largely shut down. Those that remain carry few and poorly made products that are priced in dollars and are too expensive for the average Cuban to purchase. The majority of the stores are small dollar stores, bodegas, agro-mercados (farmers' markets) and street stands.[67]
Typical wages range from 400 non-convertible Cuban pesos a month, for a factory worker, to 700 per month for a doctor, or a range of around 17-30 U.S. dollars per month. However, the Human Development Index of Cuba still ranks much higher than the vast majority of Latin American nations.[68] After Cuba lost subsidies in 1991, malnutrition resulted in an outbreak of diseases and general hunger.[69] Despite this, the poverty level reported by the government is one of the lowest in the developing world, ranking 6th out of 108 countries, 4th in Latin America, and 48th among all countries.[70] Pensions are among the smallest in the Americas at $9.50. In 2009, Raúl Castro increased minimum pensions by 2 dollars, which he said was to recompense for those who have "dedicated a great part of their lives to working... and who remain firm in defense of socialism".[71]
International trade
The Netherlands receives the largest share of Cuban exports (24%), 70 to 80% of which go through Indiana Finance BV, a company owned by the Van 't Wout family, who have close personal ties with Fidel Castro.[citation needed] Currently, this trend can be seen in other colonial Caribbean communities who have direct political ties with the global economy. (for example, British West Indies, United States Virgin Islands, French outer-territories, and so on).[citation needed] Cuba's primary import partner is Venezuela. The second largest trade partner is Canada, with a 22% share of the Cuban export market.[72]
Foreign investment
Since the Special Period, Cuba has actively courted foreign investment. All would be foreign investors are required to form joint ventures with the Cuban government. The sole exception to this rule are Venezuelans, who are allowed to hold 100% ownership in businesses due to an economic agreement between Cuba and Venezuela. Cuban officials said in early 1998 that there were a total of 332 joint ventures. Many of these are loans or contracts for management, supplies, or services normally not considered equity investment in Western economies. Investors are constrained by the U.S.-Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act which provides sanctions for those who "traffic" in property expropriated from U.S. citizens.
US Dollar
In 1994 the Cuban Government made it legal for its people to possess and use the U.S. dollar. From then until 2004, the dollar became a major currency. To capture the hard currency flowing into the island through tourism and remittances - estimated at $500–800 million annually - the government set up state-run "dollar stores" throughout Cuba that sold 'luxury' food, household, and clothing items, compared with basic necessities, which were bought using the Cuban peso. As such, a gap in the standard of living developed between those with access to dollars and those without. Jobs that could earn dollar salaries or tips from foreign businesses and tourists became highly desirable. It was common to meet doctors, engineers, scientists, and other professionals working in restaurants or as taxicab drivers.
However, in response to stricter economic sanctions by the US, and because the authorities were pleased with Cuba's economic recovery, the Cuban government decided in October 2004 to remove the American dollar from circulation. In its place, the Cuban convertible peso is now used, which although not internationally traded, has a value pegged to that of the dollar. As a source of additional revenue, a 10% surcharge is levied for conversions from US dollars to the convertible peso; this surcharge does not apply to other currencies, so it acts as an encouragement for tourists to bring currencies like Euros, pounds sterling or Canadian dollars into Cuba. Indeed, an increasing number of tourist zones now also accept Euros.
Owners of small private restaurants (paladares) can seat no more than 12 people[73] and can only employ family members to help with the work. Set monthly fees must be paid regardless of income earned and frequent inspections yield stiff fines when any of the many self-employment regulations are violated.
As of 2012, >150K farmers have signed up to lease land from the government for bonus crops. Before, home-owners were only allowed to swap; now buying and selling has created a real-estate boom. A new Havana fast-food burger pizza restaurant, La Pachanga, started in the owner's home, serves 1K meals on a Saturday at £3, the weekly government wage.[45]
In cities, "urban agriculture" uses small parcels of land. Growing organopónicos (organic gardens) in the private sector has been attractive to city dwelling small producers who get to sell their products in the same place where they produce them, avoiding taxes and enjoying a measure of government help from the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) in the form of seed houses and advisers.
Public facilities
- La Bodega – For Cuban nationals only. Redeems coupons for rice, sugar, oil, matches, and sells other foodstuffs including rum.[45]
- La Copelia – A government-owned facility offering ice cream, juice, and sweets.
- Paladar – A type of small, privately owned restaurant facility with no more than 12 seats.
- La Farmacia – Low-priced medicine, with the lowest costs anywhere in the world.
- Etecsa – National telephone service provider.
- La Feria – A weekly market (Sunday market-type) owned by the government.
- Cervecería Bucanero – A beverage manufacturer, providing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
- Ciego Montero – The main soft-drink and beverage distributor.
Connection with Venezuela
The relationship cultivated between Cuba and Venezuela in recent years has resulted in agreements in which Venezuela provides cheap oil in exchange for Cuban "missions" of doctors to bolster the Venezuelan health care system. Cuba, with the second-highest per capita number of physicians in the world (behind Italy), sends tens of thousands of doctors to other countries as aid, as well as to obtain favorable economic terms of trade.[74] In nominal terms, the Venezuelan subsidy is higher than whatever subsidy the Soviet Union gave to Cuba,[75] with the Cuban state receiving very cheap oil and the Cuban economy receiving around $6 billion in total annually. According to Carmelo Mesa-Lago, a Cuban-born US economist. "If this help stops, industry is paralysed, transportation is paralysed and you'll see the effects in everything from electricity to sugar mills," he said.[76]
Other statistics
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In a 2007 estimate, Cuba produces 16.89 billion kWh and consumes 13.93 billion kWh with no kWh of exports or imports.[2] In a 1998 estimate, 89.52% of its energy production is fossil fuel, 0.65% is hydroelectric, 0% is nuclear, and 9.83% is other production.[2] In both 2007 and 2008 estimates, the country produces 62,100 bbl/d of oil and consumes 176,000 bbl/d with 0 bbl/d of exports and 104,800 bbl/d of imports, as well as 197,300,000 bbl proved reserves of oil.[2] Venezuela is Cuba's primary source of oil.
The country, in a 2008 estimate, produces and consumes 400 million cu m of natural gas, with no cu m of exports or imports and 70.79 billion cu m of provided reserves.[2] In terms of agriculture, Cuba produces sugarcane, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans, and livestock.[2] As of 2009, Cuba has $47.08 billion in revenues and $50.34 billion in expenditures with 34.6% of GDP in public debt, an account balance of $513 million, and $4.647 billion in reserves of foreign exchange and gold.[2]
Cuba's economic freedom score is 28.7, making its economy one of the world's least free. Its overall score is 0.2 point higher than last year, with deteriorations in trade freedom, fiscal freedom, monetary freedom, and freedom from corruption counterbalanced by an improvement in business freedom. Cuba is ranked least free of 29 countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region, and its overall score is significantly lower than the regional average. Over the 20-year history of the Index, Cuba's economic freedom has been stagnant near the bottom of the "repressed" category. Its overall score improvement has been less than 1 point over the past two decades, with score gains in fiscal freedom and freedom from corruption offset by double-digit declines in business freedom and investment freedom. Despite some progress in restructuring the state sector since 2010, the private sector remains constrained by heavy regulations and tight state controls. Open-market policies are not in place to spur growth in trade and investment, and the lack of competition continues to stifle dynamic economic expansion. A watered-down reform package endorsed by the Cuban Communist Party has trimmed the number of state workers and expanded the list of approved professions, but many details of the reform remain obscure.[77]
The top individual income tax rate is 50 percent. The top corporate tax rate is 30 percent (35 percent for wholly foreign-owned companies). Other taxes include a tax on property transfers and a sales tax. The overall tax burden is 24.4 percent of GDP. Government spending is around 67 percent of GDP, and public debt is around 35 percent of the domestic economy. Despite reforms, the government continues to play a large role in the economy.[77]
Cuba's average tariff rate is 10 percent. The country's planned economy deters foreign trade and investment. The financial sector remains heavily regulated, and access to credit for entrepreneurial activity is seriously impeded by the shallowness of the financial market. The state maintains strict capital and exchange controls.[77]
See also
- ↑ "Field Listing: GDP (Official Exchange Rate)". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved July 16, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 "The World Factbook". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba economic growth rises to 4.7 pct in first half -minister". Reuters. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Export Partners of Cuba". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-26.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Import Partners of Cuba". CIA World Factbook. 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-26.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Social Policy at the Crossroads Oxfam America Report
- ↑ "Inequality: The deal's off". The Economist. March 24, 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba Economic Freedom Score" (PDF). Heritage. Retrieved 1 May 2014.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ [Mehrotra, Santosh. (1997) Human Development in Cuba: Growing Risk of Reversal in Development with a Human Face: Experience in Social Achievement and Economic Growth Ed. Santosh Mehrotra and Richard Jolly, Clarendon Press, Oxford]
- ↑ Marianne Ward (Loyola College) and John Devereux (Queens College CUNY), The Road not taken: Pre-Revolutionary Cuban Living Standards in Comparative Perspective pp. 30-31.
- ↑ [Brundenius, Claes (2009) Revolutionary Cuba at 50: Growth with Equity revisited Latin American Perspectives Vol. 36 No. 2 March 2009 pp.31-48]
- ↑ [Ritter, A.R.M (2004) The Cuban Economy Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press]
- ↑ Upside Down World. "Talking with Cubans about the State of the Nation (3/5/04)". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Schweimler, Daniel (May 4, 2001). "Cuba's anti-corruption ministry". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-07-09.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Sergio Diaz-Briquets, Jorge F. Pérez-López. Corruption in Cuba.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Human Rights in Cuba". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Europeans: come gawp at Cuban poverty!". The Economist. 25 October 2007.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "American Experience - Fidel Castro - People & Events - PBS". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Natasha Geiling. "Before the Revolution". Smithsonian. Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba (State)" (in русский). Slovari.yandex.ru. Retrieved July 16, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "History News Network - Humberto Fontova: Historians Have Absolved Fidel Castro". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "A Contemporary Cuba Reader". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba After Castro: Can Exiles Reclaim Their Stake?". TIME.com. 5 August 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ http://www.bankrate.com/finance/investing/historical-returns-investing-calculator.aspx.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 "CUBA TODAY". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 http://news.investors.com/123008-455491-communist-cuba-50-years-of-failure.htm?p=2 Communist Cuba: 50 Years Of Failure
- ↑ "Soviet aid to Cuba in per capita terms or as a share of national income is in line with the amount of Western aid to many Latin American countries." http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1989/04/zimbalist.html
- ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 Tier Placements". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ John Pike. "Cuba's Economy". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Health Consequences of Cuba's Special Period". Canadian Medical Association Journal. July 29, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Parrot diplomacy". The Economist. July 24, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba's Organic Revolution". TreeHugger. Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Content Not Found - Mail & Guardian". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ granma.cu - Cuban Economy Grows 7.5 Per Cent
- ↑ "CHALLENGES 2007-2008: Cuban Economy in Need of Nourishment". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Economic and Social Balance of 50 Years of Cuban Revolution by Carmelo Mesa-Lago. In: Cuba in Transition: Volume 19 p. 380. Available at http://www.ascecuba.org/publications/proceedings/volume19/pdfs/mesolago.pdf
- ↑ ibidem. p. 371.
- ↑ ibidem. p. 380.
- ↑ Voss, Michael (April 16, 2011). "A last hurrah for Cuba's communist rulers". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-14.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba adopta nuevos lineamientos económicos para aumentar la producción". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba's Coming Co-operative Economy? - Global Research - Centre for Research on Globalization". Global Research. Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ New Cuban Economy
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 "BBC 2012 Simon Reeve documentary". Retrieved 23 September 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "BBC Simon Reeve 2012 documentary". Retrieved 23 September 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 "Cell phones, microwaves: New access to gizmos could deflect calls for deeper change in Cuba". International Herald Tribune. March 28, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Wilkinson, Stephen (September 10, 2010). "Cuba: from communist to co-operative? – Stephen Wilkinson". The Guardian. London.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Dominguez, Jorge (2012). Cuban Economic and Social Development. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Perez Villanueva, Omar Evernly; Pavel Vidal Alejandro (2010). "Cuban Perspectives on Cuban Socialism". The Journal of the Research on Socialism and Democracy". 24 (1).<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Philip, Peters (23 May 2012). "A Viewers Guide to Cuba's Economic Reforms". Lexington Institute: 21.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Chris Arsenault. "Cuba to open tax free Special Economic Zone". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba to scrap two-currency system in latest reform". BBC News. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Laurie Guevara-Stone "La Revolucion Energetica: Cuba's Energy Revolution", Renewable Energy World International Magazine, 9 April 2009.
- ↑ "2nd Cuban offshore oil well also a bust". The Guardian. Havana. AP Foreign. August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ New York Times (November 1995). "Well-to-Do in Cuba to Pay an Income Tax". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-29.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 View Country Results
- ↑ "WFP Cuba page".<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 "Cuban leader looks to boost food production". CNN. April 17, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Fifty years of the Castro regime - Time for a (long overdue) change". The Economist. December 30, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Truly revolutionary". The Economist. 29 November 2003.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Ecuadorians benefit from Cuban drug Heberprot-p". Radio Havana Cuba. 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2012-09-08.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Tourism, travel, and recreation - Cuba". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ [2] BBC 2012 SimonReeve/>
- ↑ Tourism in Cuba during the Special Period
- ↑ Lessons From Cuba Travel Outward
- ↑ "Cuba". Retrieved 11 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ "Cuba - The comandante's last move". The Economist. February 21, 2008.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ Efrén Córdova. "The situation of Cuban workers during the "Special Period in peacetime"" (PDF).<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ List of countries by Human Development Index#Complete list of countries
- ↑ "Raul Castro raises state pension". BBC. April 27, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2010.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ FAQs on Canada-Cuba trade CBC
- ↑ O'Rourke, P. J. (1998). Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics. Grove/Atlantic. ISBN 978-0-87113-719-7.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- ↑ http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/05/3268483/how-will-the-venezuela-cuba-link.html How will the Venezuela-Cuba link fare after Chávez's death? by Juan O. Tamayo
- ↑ http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=345051&CategoryId=10717 Venezuela's Chávez Fills $9.4 Billion Yearly Post-Soviet Gap in Cuba's Accounts by Jeremy Morgan
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/9797530/As-Hugo-Chavez-fights-for-his-life-Cuba-fears-for-its-future.html As Hugo Chávez fights for his life, Cuba fears for its future
- ↑ 77.0 77.1 77.2 "2014 Index of Economic Freedom". http://www.heritage.org. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 24 November 2014. External link in
|website=(help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
External links
- Cuba's Economic Struggles from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- The Road not taken: Pre-Revolutionary Cuban Living Standards in Comparative Perspective, Marianne Ward (Loyola College) and John Devereux (Queens College CUNY)
- ARCHIBOLD, RANDAL. Inequality Becomes More Visible in Cuba as the Economy Shifts (February 2015), The New York Times
- Cave, Danien. Raúl Castro Thanks U.S., but Reaffirms Communist Rule in Cuba (December 2014), The New York Times. "Mr. Castro prioritized economics. He acknowledged that Cuban state workers needed better salaries and said Cuba would accelerate economic changes in the coming year, including an end to its dual-currency system. But he said the changes needed to be gradual to create a system of "prosperous and sustainable communism.""
- Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana
- CS1 русский-language sources (ru)
- CS1 errors: external links
- Articles needing POV-check from October 2012
- Pages using Template:Longitem with unnamed style parameter
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013
- All accuracy disputes
- Articles with disputed statements from August 2013
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013
- Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2009
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2007
- Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2013
- Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from January 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2013
- CIA World Factbook cleanup
- Economy of Cuba
- World Trade Organization member economies


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text: On Sunday 29 January 2012 19:38:47 Peter Stuge wrote: > Prakash Punnoor wrote: > > >> - seabios payload: no gfx output, but postcode is F8 > > > > > > Focus on this. What is the serial output from coreboot and SeaBIOS? > > > > That's the thing: I don't have a serial port on this mainboard, that's > > why I had to do painful post code debugging... > > Maybe you can use some of the other methods for debug output. USB > Debug device or RTL8029? Thx for the hints. I knew about the USB debug device, but it seems too costly and also there is no guarantee it will work. But I have an ancient RTL8029AS which I tried. I didn't get any output, though. I configured it properly in menuconfig. (I didn't change the default ioport. Linux chooses 0xbf00, but 0xe00 seems to be free, as well...) Do I have to call some function in the code to enable console output via ethernet? I checked the connection in Linux and it worked. (I use a cross-over cable, btw.) > For serial output from SeaBIOS or later coreboot stages a PCI based > serial port would also work. Ok, this would be my second option if above doesn't work. Thanks, Prakash


text:
When I look back in time, watermelon always was the ultimate summer fruit for me when I was a child. We had peaches, cherries, young apples, and apricots, but nothing could top up a large wedge of chilled watermelon and all that juice that was flowing dawn our arms as we tried to eat our way to the rind.
You may disagree, but for me there is nothing better on a hot summer day than a watermelon!
Watermelon is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acid citruline and lycopene. Because of its very high water content, watermelon is a wonderful thirst quencher. Moreover, in Traditional Chinese Medicine the red flesh of the fruit is considered as cooling.
Watermelon is quite versatile and can be eaten in many ways. You can add it to smoothies, salads, and juices. You can turn it into a sorbet, granita, or a slush.
In the recipe that follows I used a very ripe watermelon. Since it was very sweet I did not have to add any sweetener. I also did not discard the seeds. Many people do not know that the seeds are rich in B Vitamins, minerals, especially magnesium, omega 6 fatty acids, and the cardiovascular system supporting amino acid arginine.
~ Watermelon Slush Recipe ~
- 2 cups watermelon, cubed
- 2 cups frozen watermelon, cubed
- juice of 1/2 lime (optional)
- 1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)
- Cut watermelon into manageable chunks. Put 2 cups into freezer and wait for 20 minutes or so. Thanks to a high water content watermelon freezes quite quickly.
- Place the fresh and the frozen watermelon in a blender, add lime juice and chopped mint. Blend until smooth. Done!
- Pour into tall glasses and enjoy in good company on a hot summer day.
By Dominique Allmon
Dominique Allmon©2014


text:
ManufacturingBack to Renovations Gallery
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text:
The Jacob and Rebecca Fuerst Farmstead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the State Register of Historic Sites. Improvements have been made by volunteers with support provided by local businesses and private organizations.
|Barn Painting 2004
In May 2004, Eric Schleuder, a Novi High School graduate (Class of 2002) and student at Central Michigan University, led a crew of college-age painters who took on the challenge of painting the largest barn on the Farmstead, the South Barn. Over a weekend, Schleuder led his crew from Student Painters through the hard work of preparing the barn for painting and applying a fresh coat of barn red paint to the entire barn. Paint for the barn painting was donated by Sherwin-Williams. Schleuder and his crew were honored for their efforts with a certificate of appreciation from Mayor Lou Csordas. The efforts of these students show what can be accomplished by community-minded residents, volunteer labor and support from the business community.


text:
Hello dolls!
With school ending and summer approaching fast, the college scene is coming closer to all who are attending. Yes, college freshman, this post is for you! It can be scary and intimidating walking into a new school full of new faces, but I promise you it will all be okay! Here are some tips I've learned that will help you survive your first year at your dream school.
1. Amazon will be your best friend.
When it comes to textbooks especially, do not I repeat DO NOT buy your textbooks from the college bookstore. Amazon more than likely has the same book for half the price and if you get Amazon Prime for students, you can even get your books in 2 days! Save the extra cash and use it towards something useful, not a book you may or may not even use.
2. Avoid the 8 a.m. classes, trust me.
When you go to register for classes and think an 8 a.m. class sounds like a good idea, just stop because it's totally not. You probably won't make it to that class, let's be honest. Unless you are a morning person and can wake up early every day without an issue, choose a different time.
3. At least try to eat healthy.
With college comes freedom and with freedom comes chocolate chip cookies and ramen noodles at 2 a.m. Trust me, the freshman 15 is real and although it seems impossible, it happens in a blink of an eye. Keep a balanced diet with fruit and vegetables and you should be good.
4. Get off your butt and exercise.
Seriously though, I know you probably won't want to hit the gym after your last class but it's good for you! Stay in shape and try to work out a few times a week, not only can it help you balance your weight but it can also help you manage stress and anxiety.
5. It's okay to change your major.
Still not sure what you want to major in or confused on what your dream job is? You're not alone. It's scary deciding what you want in life and it's okay to change your mind. Take some classes in different majors to see what you really enjoy, then make your decision!
6. Get out there and join some clubs/activities.
Not only will they look good on your transcript, but they will help you make new friends and memories! Join a club that you enjoy, whether it be robotics, fashion, math league, or even the golf team, just get out there and have fun!
There you have it! To all you freshman out there nervous and afraid of the big step you're about to take, don't be scared to get out of your comfort zone. It will all be worth it in the end! Enjoy your freshman year and don't forget, have fun!
From a senior who's been through it all,


text:
How do I collect donations?
The best way to collect donations is to register online for Bidwell Bark.
When you register for the event, you will receive a personal fundraising page where you can post your own story and photos and raise funds. We recommend you bookmark the link to your personal page as soon as you finish registration to get started telling your story about why you are helping animals.
If you choose to create a team during registration, you will receive a personal fundraising page AND a team page to customize.
If you join a team by selecting an existing team during registration, your personal fundraising page will be attached to your selected team page and your personal fundraising will be added to the team's total amount raised.
CASH & CHECKS – Download & print the Donation Tracking Form. Donations in the form of cash or checks made out to Butte Humane Society should be recorded appropriately using the Donation Tracking form. Offline gifts must be turned into BHS for the gifts to show up on your personal page fundraising efforts (for returning participants, this is different than in past years)!
Turn in your donations with the Donation Tracking Form every Wednesday at the BHS Administration Office, 2580 Fair Street in Chico.
Use your personal page to tell your story with words and pictures. The more personal your story, the more people will be moved by it. When people visit your page they'll find an easy-to-use link to make an online donation on your behalf.
Ideas for your page:
- Brag about your pet(s) with pictures and stories.
- Talk about why you think it's important to rescue pets, care for neglected animals, and fight animal cruelty.
- Share a personal experience about BHS, adopting an animal, or helping rescue a lost or abandoned pet.
When your web page is ready, share it! Your page allows you to:
- Share comments directly on Facebook and Twitter.
- Automatically thank people for donations.
- Send a quick email directly asking people to donate and/or join you at Bidwell Bark!
Sample of Facebook, Twitter, & Email Scheduling
**Make sure to always include a link to your personal Bidwell Bark page—just copy and paste the page URL into your post or email. You log into your account directly from your personal page!**
Feel free to use any or all of these suggestions to spark interest from your friends and loved ones. You can copy and paste the text, modify as you like, and maybe include a photo of your pets!
Send 30 days before Bidwell Bark – April 11th
30 days and counting until Bidwell Bark 2018! Support me with a donation today!
Send 15 days before Bidwell Bark – April 26th
Just 15 more days until Bidwell Bark! Can I count on your support?
Send 5 days before Bidwell Bark – May 6th
Bidwell Bark is just 5 days away! Plenty of time for you to support BHS animals through my fundraising efforts!
Send 1 day before Bidwell Bark – May 10th
Bidwell Bark is tomorrow – last call for donations!
Send the day after Bidwell Bark – May 12th
Thank you to everyone who supported my Bidwell Bark efforts. For everyone else, it's not too late to help me help BHS!
Progress update – Send every Tuesday leading up to the event
I have raised $___ for the Butte Humane Society Bidwell Bark. Help me reach my goal of $____ by making a donation!


text:
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Weird Happenings
Toronto saw 29 degree weather on Thanksgiving Monday. It's October 10th and I'm walking to work in a short-sleeved blouse, a short skirt and bare legs. What is this madness? A pleasant blip or a taste of things to come? I do miss my crisp, breezy October days...
My hometown team, the Geelong Cats, won the Australian Football League championships for the first time in 44 years. I hear the whole city is in party mode and I wish I could be there to enjoy it. Even more, I wish my grandmother were still alive to see her beloved team become the champs.
The Canadian dollar hit parity with the American dollar for the first time in my lifetime. Today, a loonie is worth $1.02 US. This is contrary to everything I have ever known about how money works (which, admittedly, isn't much). This was perfect timing for me as I was traveling and spending in places where prices were in US dollars. I'm wondering how else I might take advantage of this situation without having to cross the border. What do I need that could be procured online?
Perhaps the strangeness will continue in the form of an NDP majority being voted in during the Ontario provincial election today?
tags: life
1 comment :
YOu can find it all on e-bay! and for cheaper than retail in most cases!!
- 11/10/07 18:10
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text:
House Democrats declared a tactical war Tuesday on ruling Republicans.
Outnumbered Democrats demanded that legislation be read in full — a retaliatory move stemming from the GOP's refusal to support a Senate plan that would draw federal Medicaid dollars and expand health coverage for poor Floridians.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, huddled with members of his leadership team after word of the Democratic plot began circulating early Tuesday. But he couldn't stop it.
"There needs to be some clarity on the bills, so we need to read them in full," Weatherford grimly told the House by early afternoon.
House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale made the rarely used motion that launched the slowdown. Weatherford, anticipating Thurston's ploy, had House staff dust off an "auto-reader," which was used to begin reading the lengthy legislation at slow speed.
The machine was last used several years ago, during a similar stand-off between then-House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach and former House Speaker Marco Rubio.
Earlier Tuesday, the Senate approved its health care proposal on a 38-1 vote. The proposal positions Florida to draw $51 billion in Medicaid dollars over the next decade for creating a Healthy Florida plan that would cover 1.1 million low-income Floridians.
In a mostly partyline vote, the House earlier voted down an amendment that reflected the Senate proposal. The House said it is wrong to rely on the federal dollars and has approved its own plan to use $237 million in state taxpayer dollars to cover 115,000 Floridians.
Democrats, the Senate and Gov. Rick Scott have dismissed the House proposal as mostly worthless.
But the House-Senate deadlock virtually assures that the session will end this week without any consensus on how to expand health coverage in Florida, where almost 4 million are uninsured.
The slowdown also threatens legislation. Reading lengthy bills by machine absorbs time — and Democrats seem willing to let the session expire without much more action.
Amid the slowdown, Thurston issued a statement.
"It's unfortunate that we have had to take such unusual action today, but my Democratic colleagues and I believe that
a drastic situation requires drastic tactics. The 1.2 million people who can be provided medical coverage under proposed legislation may not be aware of what's transpiring in Tallahassee. Today, I want them to know that the 44-member House Democratic Caucus stands in support of them."
Weatherford later said, "It's a little disappointing and frankly unbecoming for some members to want to slow down the process. We have a lot of work to do. The citizens of Florida sent us here to get work done."


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You are here
The FITNESS Healthy Grilling Guide
Hill Street Studios
Be Your Own Grill Master
Guys aren't the only ones who like to play with fire. Girls can man the grill with the best of them. And we aren't just plopping frozen patties and hot dogs on a bed of charcoals. Anyone can do that. No, we are getting straight-up culinary — and healthy — in our backyards.
So whether you're a newbie or queen of the cookout, here's how to cook like one lean, mean, grill-master machine.
DC Photo
Learn the Lingo
First things first: You need to know what in the world you're talking about. Here are the top must-know cookout terms you probably don't know from celebrity chef Diane Dimeo, champion of Food Network's Chopped. Throw a few out to your friends and you'll sound seriously legit.
- Bark: Any outside portion of meat that becomes dark, crispy, and seared when cooked at high temps.
- Brine: A salt and water mixture for soaking meat prior to cooking to help it retain its moisture and preserve it.
- Black and Blue: Meat that is quickly seared so it is done on the outside and raw on the inside.
- Butterflying: Slicing a cut of meat down the middle into a butterfly shape so the meat is thinner and cooks more quickly.
- Fat Cap: Fat that sits in between the meat and the skin, typically on one side of beef cuts.
- Marinade: A liquid, typically acidic, that's used to soak meats prior to cooking, tenderizing the meat and infusing it with flavor.
- Rub: Typically a dry mix of herbs and spices that is applied by hand to meat before cooking. Wet rubs contain some liquid ingredients, but are still rubbed on the outside of meat and not used as a soak.
- Smoking: Slowly cooking meat or produce along with a smoke-producing substance such as wood chips to give a hickory or smoked flavor to the food.
- Sweating: Cooking food, typically meat or vegetables, at low heat, constantly turning or stirring the food for even cooking.
Maren Caruso
Master the Meat Market
Sure, picking beef, pork, chicken, or fish is important, but if that's as picky as you get, you're torching your cookout from the get-go. Here are best cuts for your taste buds — and bikini.
Beef: Getting your steak on? A rib eye is the go-to cut for executive chef Sylvain Desbois of The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort's signature restaurant, Carolina. He recommends choosing grass-fed beef whenever possible as it adds to the cut's flavor and health factor. If burgers are on the menu, ask your butcher to grind the rib eye along with some short ribs, adds Dimeo. The quality and flavor will be amazing — especially if you're used to eating once-frozen patties. About 70 percent of the ground beef at the supermarket contains beef trimmings disgustingly dubbed "pink slime," according to a former United States Department of Agriculture scientist. Whatever you're cooking, if you're cutting calories, opt for meats labeled as chuck, round, and loin. They are typically among the lowest in saturated fat, says Shira Lenchewski, RD, founder of the Work+Play Method.
Chicken: If you're a breast girl, you're a breast girl. But when placed on the grill, legs and thighs retain their moisture better, improving their flavor, says Dimeo.
Pork: Ribs and loins are about the most flavorful and tender cuts out there, Dimeo says. Thick-cut chops are also good on the grill.
Fish: Just because you aren't eating beef doesn't mean you don't deserve a steak. Salmon, tuna, and swordfish steaks are among the easiest (and tastiest) to fish to prepare because they're thick, compact, and won't crumble. What's more, they're filled with monounsaturated fatty acids, making them both healthy and delicious, says Lenchewski.
Gallo Images-Images of Africa
Get Spicy
Give your dish a healthy dose of flavor: Besides tasting great, produce-packed marinades can actually reduce grilled meat's production of certain cancer-causing chemicals by as much as 70 percent, according to a review in Natural Medicine Journal.
And as far as your jaws are concerned, marinades are great, too. "Since leaner cuts of meat can be on the tough side, I recommend marinades with acidic ingredients like Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and vinegar that can tenderize the meat," says Lenchewski. "Experimenting with herbs and spices like mint, dill, cumin, and rosemary is also a great way to add a lot of flavor without additional calories."
Mix your marinade with one part acidic ingredients and two parts flavorful liquids like soy sauce, fruit juice, beer, or wine — plus spices and add-ins like mustard. Let especially tough cuts soak for a full 12 hours in the fridge before cooking. Not into marinades? Rubs pack health and flavor benefits, too.
Roberto A Sanchez
Heat Things Up
Blackening a burger will hurt more than your pride. When meat's cooked at high temperatures or charred, it forms potentially carcinogenic heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, according to the National Cancer Institute.
That doesn't mean you have to eat everything rare, which if done incorrectly could have health hazards of its own. Turn down the heat and zap your meat for 60 to 90 seconds in the microwave before cooking to reduce high-heat exposure time. Direct exposure to high temps — especially above 300 degrees — are a main contributor to HCA and PAH production in meat, according to the institute.
Not sure if your meat is done? Instead of slicing open your main course, put your meat thermometer to good use. One out of every four burgers turns brown in the middle before it's safe to eat, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Use these guidelines to cook your fave cuts of meat.
Beef: Depending on your preferences, you can cook beef for more or less time, but it should typically take about 20 minutes to grill a steak, says Desbois. But don't put it on the grill cold. Before cooking, let it sit out to get up to or above room temperature, he advises. A safe inside temperature for ground beef is 160 degrees Fahrenheit; medium-rare steaks should reach 145 degrees, according to the USDA.
Chicken: The best way to grill a chicken is to put it diagonally on the grill for four minutes, then rotate it to the opposite diagonal for other two. Flip and repeat on the opposite side. Then, let it sit outside the grill for five minutes so it retains its juices, Desbois says. Cook ground poultry to 165 degrees and whole cuts like breasts to 170, advises the USDA. "Don't be fooled by the blood on the bones from the legs and thighs," says Dimeo, who adds the blood is bone marrow leaking from the bone and nothing to worry about.
Pork: A chop or loin needs about 30 minutes to cook on the grill, and a loin needs to sit for about 10 more after cooking and before slicing. If you are making BBQ ribs, boil the ribs first for 30 minutes, then marinate them with the barbecue sauce and grill them for 15, recommends Dubois. It'll keep the meat and sauce from charring. Whatever your method, the inside of pork should hit 160 degrees, according to the USDA.
Fish: Regardless of your fish choice, you'll know it's cooked when it's semi-opaque throughout. To get a good look inside, insert a knife in the thickest part of the fish and turn it just slightly to keep from crumbling the fish, he says. NSF International recommends cooking fish to 145 degrees.
Peter Ardito
Don't Skimp on the Sides
Cooking out isn't just for meat eaters. With some help from the grill, pretty much everything can taste like summer. Squash, eggplant, asparagus, peppers, and even apples, peaches, watermelon, pineapple, oranges, and bananas are all amazing grilled, says Dimeo.
While there's no real rule when it comes to cooking time (but the longer you cook them, the softer they'll get), first toss them in a bit of oil and salt, and keep your grill on high heat. "That way, you can achieve the grill marks and then move them to the part of the grill that is not so hot so you can cook them through," says Dimeo. Don't worry, produce doesn't contain meat's bad-for-you chemicals when cooked at high temps, so you can let them get as crispy as you want.
Annabelle Breakey
Cut Some Calories
Try one of these sneaky grilling tricks to slash calories as you cook:
- Rework Your Apps: "Start things off with crudites and hummus. Beginning your meal with this fiber-rich combo will help you control your appetite, so you can enjoy the main course without going overboard," Lenchewski says.
- Think Cookout, Not BBQ: That sweet and savory sauce tastes great for a reason: It's pretty much just colored sugar. Whenever your guests will allow it, skip the sauce for a healthy marinade or rub, Lenchewski says.
- Trim the Fat: Remove any fatty portions from your meat — but wait until you finish cooking, says Dimeo. Fat helps meat lock in its moisture. And, sure, people can trim the fat from their own plates, but cutting it off before serving will prevent tempting anyone's taste buds.
- Friend the Right Fats: Unsaturated fats, good. Saturated and trans fats, bad. Instead of coating your corn on the cob with butter, try a touch of extra-virgin olive oil, Lenchewski suggests. Instead of loading your burger with mayo, go with some omega-3 rich avocado. Dietary fat helps you absorb produce's nutrients including lycopene and beta-carotene, as well vitamins A, D, E, and K, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
- Slim Your Buns: Ditch the processed white flour buns for their 100 percent whole-grain counterparts, Lenchewski says. Look for ones marketed as "sandwich thin" to avoid surplus carbs.
- Save the Skins: Sneak some fiber into your spud salad by keeping the skins on your potatoes, she says. The trick also works with celery greens, fennel fronds, and apple peels.
- Throw Away the Bag on Chips: No cookout is complete without some crunch. Instead of munching on greasy potato chips, try making your own kale chips, Lenchewski says. Just toss the greens with olive oil and salt and bake at 275 degrees for 25 minutes.
Originally published on FitnessMagazine.com, August 2013.


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The upcoming AppCircus @ Google Campus event is set to be of another great reference for the London-based app developers to showcase their talent and for the local app ecosystem players to learn about new the business opportunities in this exciting and fast-moving space.
Here below is the jury to select the apps and who will be judging the apps on stage at Google Campus on July 4th. AppCircus London winners of previous editons include SwiftKey, Masabi and Echo Echo. Check this The Next Web review on the latest AppCircus in London we organised in November 2011.
Developers can register their app here to enter the AppCircus @ Google Campus London contest. Registration deadline is June 19th. The winning app will be nominated for the next edition of the Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona.
The event is free, you only need to register here to attend.
The jury members include: Continue reading "July 4th AppCircus London @ Google: Meet the London Jury!"


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After the Jump: Paul Lowe of Sweet Paul Magazine (MP3)
There are several people in the publishing industry (book, magazines and online) that I look to as constant sources of inspiration and guidance. Paul Lowe of Sweet Paul is one of them. Driven so strongly by Paul's strong creative vision, his online-turned-print magazine was an instant favorite of mine. I've loved watching Sweet Paul expand from a blog to an online magazine to a beautiful printed magazine (and soon a book!) that is now sold in stores world-wide. Paul has always lead with creativity and such passion for design, food and craft and I was thrilled to hear more about his background, life at home in Oslo, what brought him to New York (love!) and how the magazine came to be. From his days as the "Little Lord Fauntleroy" of Oslo (no paper napkins for Paul as a child) to his days as a successful florist and then stylist and now magazine founder, Paul is full of wisdom, inspiration and creative ideas. I hope you'll enjoy his interview as much as I did. Thanks so much to Paul for joining me- you can visit him and Sweet Paul Magazine online here. xo, grace
LISTEN: You can download the podcast on iTunes here, or stream it here on Heritage Radio.


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Andy Goldsworthy: Walking Wall
Walking Wall is currently walking down the stairs between the Bloch Building and the original building. It will continue into the Sculpture Park.
Approximate dates for moving:
November 23 to December 5
Goldsworthy's project at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art fulfills his long-held vision to build a stone wall that moves across the landscape. He and his crew are working in five stages to hand build the wall, then unbuild it and move it stone by stone across the museum landscape.
The first stage was completed in March on land east of the museum. The second phase crossed Rockhill Road and moved up the hill onto the museum campus. The third stage curled the stones around the Bloch Building. The fourth stage moved the stones down the stairs between our original Nelson-Atkins building the and the Bloch Building, where it is now resting.
Walking Wall was commissioned by the Hall Family Foundation in honor of Morton and Estelle Sosland.
Stage 3: July 15-24
Goldsworthy's artistic concept for the Nelson-Atkins project is expressed by a poem called Wall by the late Norman Nicholson, which reads, in part:
A wall walks slowly,
At each give of the ground,
Each creak of the rock's ribs,
It puts its foot gingerly,
Arches its hog-holes,
Lets cobble and knee-joint
Settle and grip.
As the slipping fellside
Erodes and drifts,
The wall shifts with it,
Is always on the move.
They built a wall slowly,
A day a week;
Built it to stand.
But not stand still.
They built a wall to walk.
Andy Goldsworthy, Walking Wall, 2019, field stone, dimensions variable. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation in honor of Estelle and Morton Sosland, © 2019 Andy Goldsworthy.


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Unless it's a 15+ letter word that ends in U, this one won't work
I was trying to highlight where the letters we already had were. I was trying to conceptualize various ideas about vulnerabilities in foursquares and then realized none of that matters if you can't find a good keyword. The problem is in how you fill the table after your keyword. The U in that position means that you cannot correctly fill your foursquare encryption/decryption charts.


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He started off the game giving away 2 FAME - thats three times in a row he has done that! - and went on to loose the toss and receive the ball. Adding insult to injury the Elves started off the game with a Blitz. It seemed that Nuffle was going to be with the Elves this day.
A scrappy first half ensued, the Yeti failing many of his Wild Animal rolls, a elf got badly hurt and a Norse lineman got crowd surfed (and charted for a -1Mv) but the ball didn't go far from the centre. The Lad tried somethign novel - a dizaaling mix of Got Fo its, Dodges, a long pass and a catch! His Runner was in scoring distance but without support...splat down he went. And then he couldn't pick it up again the next turn either. Then the Norse thrower got killed in a block. The Apoth saved him but he ended up with -1 Ag...bugger. In the end the Norse managed to sneek it over the line to be up 1 nil.
|...and another Elf bites the Bust!
Right Stuff kicked off to the eleves to start off the second half, each team fielding 9 players each. The eleves performed in typical fashion and 2 turns later the score was 1 all. Right Stuff had 6 turns to try and grind it home. His drive started well, and another elf was taken off the pitch - this time to the morgue though! But again it got bogged down an ugly. And elf charge pressured a hopeful Norse long pass but its didnt eventuate and after a tense few last turns the game was called as a draw.
Overall I think the Lad did well (though I bet he wish he had taken that Wizard!) and the score reflected the game well I think. Annoyingly, MVP went to the Ag broken Thrower, who will now skill up...
Oddin's Champions now have an Move broken Lineman (no big deal) and an Ag broken Thrower (who will be kept for use as a Lineman until he can be replaced). He skilled up with Wrestle, as did one of the Runners who has scored 2 TDs and took Dodge.
With a record of 1Win, 1 Draw and 1 Loss, Odinn's Champions are placed in the centre of the league, and as a team they have killed the most players (3) ! Next game will see Odinn's Champions carry three journeymen, going into another game against a Necromatic team: The Midnight Hour


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Jesse Fink has worked in journalism and publishing for over 20 years in various capacities: editor, writer, columnist, author.
Jesse is the author of four books: Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's Back In Black, The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, Laid Bare and 15 Days in June.
The Youngs was an international bestseller and translated into 10 languages: Japanese, French, Danish, Italian, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Serbian, Lithuanian and Czech. At time of writing it has been released in over 20 countries.
Bon: The Last Highway, an epic biography of AC/DC legend Bon Scott, is being released in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil and Australia in November 2017 while Laid Bare is being re-released in Australia in September 2017.
Jesse's experiences in his second book, Laid Bare, which candidly documents the breakdown of his first marriage, continue to resonate with readers. He receives dozens of letters a week from men and women around Australia.
A Walkley-nominated journalist, he has written and spoken widely in the press and television on topics including mental health, sex and relationships, and fatherhood.
Stay up to date with Jesse Fink on Twitter.
Photo credit: Amy Janowski
Jesse's visit went really well – it was the first time we have really organised anything like that and we've had repeat calls for more!
The delivery of Jesse's speech at the NSW Ambulance Graduation was a whole bunch of things – amazing, brave and compelling, just to mention a few. Jesse certainly delivered a speech that so many of staff and audience could relate to both personally and professionally. So thank you Jesse once again for your time on our special day.
Thanks for the talk for Carers NSW at Randwick Town Hall. Takes great courage to stand up and talk about such personal issues as there are a lot of people out there that need a lot of help and you are providing a great role in fulfilling that – keep up the good work.


text: My public library uses Jasmine Digital Library for e-books and audio books checkout. It appears that most of the e-books are of the Adobe e-book format. The library site says the Adobe format can be read on an iPad yet if I download a book to my Windows desktop and then connect my iPad and try to drag the book from the desktop to 'My iPad' as shown in iTunes I get a message that the download to the iPad did not work because that format can not be read on the iPad. Any clues on how to get an Adobe e-book onto an iPad?


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Frequenty Asked Questions (FAQ)
1) Why should I buy from Diversion Motors?
2) What if I'm uncomfortable buying from far away?
3) What financing do you offer?
4) How do you handle trade-ins?
5) Can you add air conditioning or perform other modifications?
7) Can I drive my new purchase home?
1) Why should I buy from Diversion Motors?
Diversion Motors, LLC is a licensed motor vehicle dealer and has been since 2008, specializing in classic and performance vehicles. But there is more to consider than just dealing with an established company. You should know that all inventory is put through a full inspection upon arrival and any required repairs are performed. This is essential when dealing with an older vehicle and can greatly affect both value and safety. Inspections include many items people don't always consider; ball joints, tie rod ends, brakes, u-joints, and more. And don't forget items like a horn, emergency brake, defroster, wipers, and neutral safety switch. I can't tell you how often I see this type of stuff missing or broken! All such equipment is accounted for on the vehicles I sell. Do you get the same assurance from the average seller on Craigslist, or with some shined-up car you see at auction?
2) What if I'm uncomfortable buying from far away?
The majority of my sales are done at a distance. I have sold to almost all 50 states along with a dozen foreign countries. There are several methods to approach such a transaction depending on a customer's comfort level. Some are satisfied with the internet ad, while others include a few phone calls, e-mails, or texts. Some want additional pictures or video, while others hire a third-party inspector. And some customers just want to be here in person. Whatever your preference, I am happy to accommodate your needs.
3) What financing do you offer?
Diversion Motors does not have in-house financing but is happy to work with the lender of your choice. If you are in need of financing, you may find that some conventional banks and credit unions struggle with classic cars. I work closely with JJ Best which specializes in this market. Click here to fill out an application: JJ Best Banc
4) How do you handle trade-ins?
I accept trade-ins regularly (in fact most of my sales involve a trade) and have done this with customers coast-to-coast, involving all types of cars and trucks. The only restriction is that a trade-in must be a vehicle. I'm not set up for motorcycles, boats, guns, jewelry, or the like. Aside from this anything is possible; old-for-new or new-for-old, 2-for-1 or 1-for-2, cash in or cash out. Whether you have a 1963 split window Corvette or a 2000 pickup, let's see if we can work something out.
5) Can you add air conditioning or perform other modifications?
Absolutely! Adding a/c is a popular request, especially from customers in areas like Phoenix, Miami, and Houston. We have also done power steering conversions, power and disc brake conversions, rear end swaps, and more. Don't be afraid to ask.
6) What about transportation?
Most of my sales are out-of-state, if not out-of-country. Many involve trade-ins as well. As such I work with many shippers, logistics companies, and customs brokers. I can help with arrangements as needed, or I can put you in touch with an appropriate contact.
7) Can I drive my new purchase home?
Yes, of course. A cross-country ride home in a classic car can be a great experience and a lot of fun. However, do consider the pros and cons before making this decision. Three things to think about:
- Old cars can be a lot of fun to drive, but they represent old technology which can take some getting used to, especially compared to modern designs. Further, you will likely be unfamiliar with the particular car you have purchased, location of controls, blind spots, how it drives, handles, brakes, etc. Finally, your drive home will likely take you through unfamiliar territory that may include bad weather, terrible drivers, construction, tolls, and heavy traffic. This can be a challenging combination for any driver.
- Regardless of the vehicle, make, model, or year, anything can happen on the road! Flat tires, distracted drivers, random failures, etc. It is good to allow extra time and have a contingency plan (AAA card, basic tools, fix-a-flat, etc.).
- Driving is not always a cheaper solution. Sometimes shipping can be more economical when compared to the total cost of flying in, gas to drive home, tolls, lodging, meals, time away, etc. Not to mention the unknown.
I always recommend my customers ship their new vehicle home so they can get familiar with it on their own turf and at their own pace. Still, I've had plenty of customers drive home without issue. Please consider the above and make the decision that's right for you.
8) What else can you tell me?
I can accept cash, check, wire transfer, PayPal, or Venmo; note the "cash" price is the same as any other price! I can hold a vehicle for two weeks for a $500 non-refundable deposit. I collect sales tax and process registration only for vehicles that will be kept in Wisconsin. I can provide a 30-day temporary WI license plate if needed.


text: CCLS Student Spotlight: Jennifer Britt, Life Architect December 05, 2014 Jennifer Britt's walk to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree diploma from the Colorado Springs Regis University campus is just around the corner. Having transferred from Pike's Peak Community College, a partner of Regis' associates to bachelor's transfer program, she was recognized on the President's Honor Roll several times and is currently on track to receive the honor of Magna Cum Laude this spring. While Jennifer excels in academia, her connection with Regis runs much deeper. Her values are congruent with Jesuit values and she feels that her experience has consistently challenged her to think of herself, "as a global citizen who understands that we are all interconnected," said Jennifer, "through our friendships and relationships, the organizations in which we work and volunteer, the communities in which we live, work and play, and the planet that we share with all other sentient beings. Each of us has an impact and we are each here to serve in our own unique way." As with many CCLS students, Jennifer holds down a full-time career while earning her degree. She is the Director of Marketing at Unity Spiritual Center in the Rockies, and also owns and operates her own business as a Life Architect. For several years, the focus of her work as a life architect has been to help people design and build their lives according to their values, goals, dreams and aspirations. In the fall of 2013, she realized that it was time that she was the recipient of life architecture. Jennifer temporarily interrupted her education when she answered a calling to go to Costa Rica. She courageously gave up all of her worldly belongings to move there and live for two and a half months. It was a life changing experience where she lived in a cabina on a cafetal (coffee farm) in Sarchi. She found herself on a journey of personal growth, peeling herself like an onion and discovering an inner self that had been hidden. Jennifer's gift to herself may be the greatest gift she ever received. Jennifer still gives of herself unconditionally. She is an Ordained Interfaith Minister and frequently offers spiritual counseling on a pro-bono basis, is in the process of becoming a vigil volunteer with Pikes Peak Hospice and after graduation will begin writing a book she has wanted to write for years. She will also complete her Senior Capstone project this summer by facilitating a complimentary webinar for women between the ages of 35 to 55 who have experienced difficult or traumatic life experiences that are blocking them from achieving their dreams, goals and aspirations. After graduation, Jennifer is considering the idea of moving in the direction of working internationally in the arena of intercultural conflict resolution with a focus on peace building, or intercultural training for people entering new cultures. Learn more about Regis University's bachelor of arts in communication degree.


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Basically in event mode, record a few frames between events. Maybe 1 frame every 5 or 10 seconds.
Maybe this can be combined with the other idea about detection during continuous.
This is becoming more important to my use-case every day. I don't want to waste the disk space to record full-rate all of the time which would cause me to lose old recordings sooner.
Other systems I have used provide for continuous low rate recording (ie one frame every two seconds) then ramp to full rate recording whenever an event is detected.


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Tag Archives: short gold etf
Gold ETF List – Best Performers!
Gold investment customers have seen incredible gold investment performance virtually of all types of gold market mechanisms, including gold exchange traded funds. Gold ETF's base their investment strategies on holding physical gold backed up assets that move up or down according to the spot price of gold.
Short Gold ETF Pros and Cons
Some might think you have to be out of your mind to invest into Short gold ETF now while the market price of gold is at its all time highs. However, it's just a nature of all investments that tend to come down in price after a long period of steady growth pattern.
Top 10 Gold ETF Market Players
Gold Exchange Traded Funds represent just another dimension of investing in gold. Many investors into physical precious metals realise many additional expenses that come with storing, insuring and selling their physical bullion portfolio. Most of these expenses are virtually eliminated if you choose to invest into one of these funds.
1. iShares Comex Gold Trust- Ticker Symbol: IAU
It is a gold ETF that is one of the top players in the market. This fund is very popular, and has a solid trading history.


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Hi Lovelies :) Lately I have been participating in the Brightside Beauty Blog Hop, and I was contacted by Kristin, the lovely creator of this blog hop, to be a co-host for this weekend! A blog hop is a great way to network and connect to other bloggers that share the same interests as you. Just follow the guidelines listed below to add your blog to the blog hop, and be sure to follow Kristin @ Meet Me On The Bright Side and at least 2 other blogs! Have an awesome weekend!
Happy Friday Bloggers! The weekend is here! Come link up to my Bright Side Beauty Blog Hop for a chance to gain new followers and find amazing new reads. Linky list will be open now until this Monday night 11:59 pm, Ohio time. There are only a few guidelines , so read, follow, and let the fun begin. Don't forget to come back every Friday to join the blog hop and enter future giveaways :) The blog this weekend with the most views will win a co-host spot on next weekend's hop so get your network on :)
This weekend's co-host is....
A Lovely Allure
Hop Guidelines
1. Follow Meet Me on the Brightside and
A Lovely Allure
A Lovely Allure
On FB, or GFC, and be sure to leave us a comment so we can follow back!
2. Add your Beauty, Fashion, Style Blog, Blog Post, or FB page link to the linky list below, before list closing on Sunday evening, Ohio time.
3. Visit other blogs on the list, follow at least two other blogs you like, and be sure to leave them a comment so they know to follow back. Please be kind enough to follow back as well.
4. Not mandatory, but if you grab the button and place it in your side bar or somewhere on your blog, tweet, or post about the hop, you can help to increase your co-hosting chances.
Again, the blog that has the most views this week will be my co-host next weekend so make sure to network!


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Today I am going to write from the heart, and I'm going to talk about doing weddings your way. One thing I can't stress enough to future couples is the importance of doing a wedding your own way.
Too often people get caught up in the commercialisation of weddings, and worried about pleasing everyone.
Well I say, don't.
A wedding is the celebration of YOUR love story. The only two people you need to please are yourselves.
If someone is pushing you to have a church wedding, but your dream is an intimate ceremony in a forest, then do it.
If someone is pushing you into traditions and formalities, but you are more 'jandals on a beach' kind of couple, then embrace it. A wedding day should be a direct representation of your inner most self.
Don't want to wear a white dress? Don't wear one!
If you are a bride, and your bestie is a guy, have him in your bridal party. The tradition of the 'identical' bridal party only started in ancient times to scare off and confuse potential kidnappers and evil spirits as they wouldn't be able to identify the bride and groom.
If you want to elope, go for it! Have a party later on.
What I want to say is that you shouldn't be scared to break tradition, you shouldn't be worried about others thoughts and feelings - this is your love story!
Some of my favourite weddings have been 'non-traditional' - one bride got married at the top of a playground and made all her guests slide down the slide in celebration. She even arrived by (kids) train!
As always, I can't leave you without an image. Here is a shot from a wedding that reperesented what it means to be family, a community, and to be full of love.