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Litigation and dispute resolution in India
December 2011 | 10QUESTIONS | LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
FW speaks with Udaya Holla at Holla & Holla about litigation and dispute resolution in India.
FW: Could you outline some of the current market challenges at the centre of commercial disputes in India? What recurring themes are you seeing?
Holla: In India we have seen delays in cases resulting from the explosion of litigation and the inadequate number of judges. Although India has an excellent court system which is independent of the executive, there are infrastructural inadequacies and a shortage of judges. The judge to population ratio is quite low, compared to developed countries. This causes delays in resolving disputes. Any commercial dispute ought to be disposed of as early as possible. Delays are counter-productive. Because of delays, defaults in payment have also increased, so defaulters stand to benefit. Delays result in the decree-holder not receiving the true value of the money, on account of tremendous depreciation and purchasing power. Newer commercial papers, bonds, and so on, have also thrown up new challenges. Courts are ill equipped to handle these new commercial papers and bonds, which again results in not only delays, but also, in a few cases, erroneous decisions.
FW: What is your advice to companies on implementing an effective dispute resolution strategy to deal with conflict, taking in the pros and cons of in-court versus out-of-court methods?
Holla: Resolving disputes through the court can delay recovery, end a business relationship, and lead to depreciation in respect to money claims. Court action also wastes the precious time, resources, and money of the company fighting the litigation. Out of court settlements result in faster dispute resolution, a continued business relationship, and quicker receipt payments in respect of money claims. Out of court settlement means a reduced expenditure of time, resources and money, which a business can better utilise elsewhere. Out of court settlements should be the preferred route. Litigation should be the last resort.
FW: What alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options are available to companies in India?
Holla: Conciliation, mediation and arbitration are the ADR options available to companies in India. There are a good number of retired judges who have the necessary capacity and capability to arbitrate. However, there are only a few institutional arbitral forums for the resolution of disputes. Mediation centres have been established in several cities and many of these are set up and monitored by the courts. They are doing a commendable job with a success rate of nearly 50 percent. Private conciliation and mediation is yet to catch on in India, though efforts are being made in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.
FW: How would you describe arbitration facilities and processes in India?
Holla: Arbitration facilities are inadequate. Despite this, there are some excellent retired judges who are doing a commendable job. There are a few institutionalised forums of repute which carry out arbitration. Recently endeavours have been made in different parts of India to provide more institutionalised arbitration, and several such forums have sprung up. It is only a matter of time before institutionalised forums gather the strength to match the arbitral institutions in more developed countries.
FW: What influence, if any, has the UNCITRAL Model Law had on dispute resolution in India?
Holla: The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law. This has resulted in an arbitration law similar to those in other countries. Precedent in other countries is easily used in dispute resolutions in India, due to the uniformity of laws. It provides for fair and efficient settlement of disputes. The UNCITRAL Model Law provides for minimal interference by courts in arbitration.
FW: What measures have been implemented or suggested by the Indian government to make dispute resolution more efficient? In your opinion, is there scope for further improvement?
Holla: The Law Ministry in India has been making efforts to improve infrastructure in courts and also to increase the number of judges. The Government of India has spent over US$200m on the computerisation of the court system. Even the lowest level judge has been provided with a laptop. All judgments of the court are placed on the website of that particular court to allow litigants and lawyers access to case law and developments in law. Judicial academies have been set up all over India to provide continuing education to judges. Definitely, more can be done in selecting better quality judges, and judges with expertise.
FW: Are there any obstacles or challenges to the Indian arbitration process that companies should bear in mind?
Holla: As Justice Cardozo said in his famous book 'Judicial Process', "Quality of judgments depends on the personality of judges". This is even more applicable in the case of arbitration. Companies should choose the arbitrator wisely. Often, arbitrators who are ill equipped to deal with the complexity of the case are chosen, resulting in enormous delays resolving disputes. The expertise and capability of the arbitrator to deal with the specific issues which arise must be weighed before appointing the arbitrator. It is always advisable to fix a lump sum arbitral fee, to ensure early disposal of cases, as the arbitral fee fixed on the basis of date of hearing often results in prolonging the process.
FW: Typically, what are the circumstances in which Courts may interfere in arbitral proceedings?
Holla: Section 5 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1966 (Indian Arbitration Act) specifically restricts the interference of judicial authority and stipulates that no judicial authority shall intervene, as provided under the Act. Courts have been empowered to grant interim measures before or during arbitral proceedings, or any time after passing arbitral award. Section 34 of the Indian Arbitration Act provides for an appeal against an application to set aside an arbitral award and specifies that an award may, inter alia, be set aside: first, if the arbitration is not valid under the law to which parties have subjected it; second, if the arbitral award deals with disputes not contemplated, or not falling within terms of the submission to arbitration; third, if the composition of the arbitral tribunal is not in accordance with the agreement of parties; fourth, if the subject matter of the dispute is not capable of settlement through arbitration; and finally, if the award is in conflict with the Public Policy of India. An application for setting aside the award has to be filed within 120 days.
FW: What practical issues need to be dealt with when undertaking complex international, multi-jurisdictional disputes in India? Are such cases traditionally problematic, or are there mechanisms in place to ease the process?
Holla: Choosing the arbitrator wisely is the primary consideration. Arbitrators must have the expertise and wherewithal to deal with disputes which have arisen. Courts have held that even in the case of complex international, multi-jurisdictional disputes, courts in India have the power to grant interim orders and also have the power to decide the validity, or otherwise, of the awards. There have been a few conflicting decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in this regard which are in the process of being resolved, the matter having been referred to the larger benches. Over the course of time these irritants will surely be resolved.
FW: In your experience, what legal and contractual considerations should companies make to address the possibility of encountering future disputes in their commercial activities?
Holla: Contracts should be properly worded, and simple language should be used. Complex language and legal jargon results in misunderstandings, and gives rise to scope for unnecessary disputes and for parties to wriggle out of the terms of the contract. Wherever it is possible, unconditional bank guarantees or letters of credit should be put in place to ensure that the need to go to court is avoided for realising the dues. Indian courts have repeatedly held that in cases of unconditional bank guarantees and letters of credit, courts should not interdict, except in the case of fraud and irretrievable injury. In cases of licensing of intellectual property rights, the procedure set out under the Trademarks Act and Copyrights Act must be scrupulously followed.
Udaya Holla is a partner at Holla & Holla. He holds a Master's degree in Law. Mr Holla enrolled as an Advocate in 1973 and is a designated senior counsel. He founded the legal firm Holla and Holla, one of the boutique law firms situated in Bangalore. Mr Holla was, three times, the Advocate General of the State Government. He is the past president of the International Commission of Jurists, Karnataka Chapter, and is the recipient of many awards. He can be contacted on +91 80 2253 6000 or +91 09 8868 35343, or by email: email@example.com.
© Financier Worldwide
Udaya Holla
Holla & Holla


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2017-11-16 - Our latest collaboration with Australian lifestyle label We are Handsome brings bold and daring designs to our strollers and luggage. We caught up with Jeremy and Katinka Somers, the creative husband and wife duo behind the brand, to talk inspiration, travel and what it's like to see Beyoncé sporting their creations.
We are Handsome is now a global brand with a huge following, but how did it all begin?
What started as an organic creative experiment became an international business almost overnight. After launch, we realized we had filled a gap in the market. While the industry was saturated with solid colors, polka dots and stripes, we challenged the norm and brought quality digital printed swimwear to the fore. With celebrities and the regular market lapping it up, we had hit the time and place to be creative – and we've not looked back since!
Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere! From strolling the streets of foreign cities to adventuring in our neighborhood. From music and pop culture to scrolling through Instagram and talking to people. Our creative minds never truly rest.
You talk about travel as a source of inspiration. Where is your favorite destination?
We have three:
Africa – It's Katinka's motherland, and where we were married. It's where our hearts roam free, and inspiration eases up on you when you're keeping company with a herd of elephant. It's where the sun sets in a kaleidoscope of colors, and the rain has a smell of warmth and rawness. It's where the people move to a beat that is slightly slower and in tune with the earth. It's a mecca for the mind and soul – we could not recommend exploring as much of this continent as you can!
Japan - It's here where you find delight in the simple things. Where your notions of respect, cultural significance and living purely is challenged and you refocus on what's truly meaningful to you. The food, people and landscapes are so inspiring, as is the calm, almost poetic way that their nation moves.
Maldives - The water is seven shades of blue at all times – it is unbelievable. It's where you can swim with Whale Sharks in the open sea, and then fall asleep under a canopy of stars. It's the place where you really feel like you're at the end of the earth and no one will find you. It's somewhere to truly disconnect, recharge and ground yourself in the splendor of the ocean and the perfect sand.
You recently moved from Australia to LA. What motivated you to relocate?
We are explorers and adventures, and if there's somewhere we can drive through eleven states marveling at the gift of nature for two weeks straight…we will go. Los Angeles offers a massive jumping off point to explore not only the US, but also the rest of the America's and its surrounds.
We could not interview you without asking about your celebrity fans. How does it feel when you see superstars like Beyoncé and Rihanna wearing your designs?
It's ALWAYS such a thrill, not for the celebrity component but for the fact that these women are bastions of creativity and expression. They are at the top of their game, leaders and figureheads for females globally. As such, they are flooded with brands and requests on a constant basis, when they consistently choose us, to wear in their everyday life it's exhilarating – because it's a real nod to the fact that they think we're as great as we think they are!
Why do you think the collaboration with Bugaboo is a good fit?
Bugaboo approached We Are Handsome with the idea to collaborate, and we jumped at the opportunity to do so because our brands have many shared values: from our love of design to our passion for travel and adventure. We love that Bugaboo doesn't shy away from reinventing their market and ensuring they are innovating and leading the charge. Likewise, We Are Handsome is known for being disruptive and unapologetically creative, so it was a match made in heaven.
The proof is in the results – we worked together with the Bugaboo creative team at every point of the collaboration from concepts, mood boards, designs and product specifics. This truly was a shared project and not only have we launched an incredible project together, we've made some great friends along the way.
What's next for We are Handsome?
Well, we have to keep some secrets right?! But of course we have a few surprises in store so stay tuned.

subset: commoncrawl


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Poverty grew nationwide last year, but the increase was even greater in
From 2009 to 2010, 75,000 city residents were pushed into poverty, increasing the poor population to more than 1.6 million and raising the percentage of New Yorkers living below the official federal poverty line to 20.1 percent, the highest level since 2000. The 1.4-percentage-point annual increase in the poverty rate appeared to be the largest jump in nearly two decades.
Many New Yorkers were spared the worst of the recession, but the median household income has since shriveled to levels last seen in 1980, adjusted for inflation. Household income declined among almost all groups — by 5 percent over all since the beginning of the recession in 2007, to $48,743 in 2010.
Poverty among children under 18 rose 2.9 percentage points to 30 percent. The rate also increased for every other group except people 65 and older. Single mothers, blacks and adults lacking a high school diploma fared worst. Among Hispanic single mothers in the
The bureau's 2010 American Community Survey paints a disturbing portrait of the city. More New Yorkers depended on some form of public assistance than in 2009, and a record 1.8 million residents — nearly one in five households — are now relying on food stamps. Fewer people had
Unemployment rose one percentage point, and more people gave up on finding work, which may be one reason college and graduate school enrollment soared by about 50,000. More living quarters were crowded — from 7.9 percent of all houses and apartments in 2009 to 9.1 percent last year.
Though the poverty rate in the city rose faster than it did nationwide and the Bronx remained the poorest urban county in the country, New York still had a smaller proportion of poor people than many other major cities, including
An influx of immigrants pushed the city's foreign-born population to near-record highs (more than three million, and 37.2 percent). Their ranks swelled by about 50,000. Half of New Yorkers 5 and older now do not speak English at home.
The city's poverty rate had remained about 18 percent since 2007 before climbing from 18.7 percent in 2009. The poverty rate was 20 percent in 1980, 19.3 percent in 1990 and 21.2 percent in 2000, after the dot-com bubble burst.
The 2010 federal poverty threshold for a family of three was $18,310.
Some economists suggested that federal bailout money to prop up failing financial institutions based in New York had spared the city the worst ravages of the recession, which statisticians declared over in 2009.
"The bailout of Wall Street just put off the day of reckoning," said Steven Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a conservative group.
Advocates for the poor said the size of the problem might have been understated. "Increasing poverty is simply a confirmation of what we see every day in ever-longer lines at
David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society, an anti-poverty group, said: "Maybe because things looked so good for the well-educated and restaurants are packed, we figured that we missed this bullet. Projecting forward, I don't think it's getting better."
Nationally, the Census Bureau said median household income had declined 2.3 percent to $49,445 from 2009 to 2010, and the poverty rate increased to 15.1 percent from 14.3 percent, the third consecutive annual increase.
In New York City, non-Hispanic whites took the biggest financial hit, according to the figures; their real income fell to $66,330, from $70,627. Median household income among Hispanic New Yorkers inched up to $35,887, from $34,586. Income also rose in Manhattan and
The city computes its own poverty rate, taking into account expenses for health and day care and higher living costs, as well as the benefits of
By its measure, the city's poverty rate in 2009 was 19.9 percent. Mark K. Levitan, director of poverty research for the city's Center for Economic Opportunity, said a more current poverty rate would be provided early next year.
"We will certainly see a higher poverty rate citywide as a whole," he said, though he did not foresee as big a rise.
Jilly Stephens, executive director of City Harvest, said its feeding programs "have reported an average increase of 5 percent on top of the rising demand they were already facing."
James Parrott, deputy director and chief economist of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a union-supported research and advocacy group, said the latest figures "paint a disturbingly clear picture of a deteriorating living standard for most New Yorkers."Continue reading the main story


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Is the Phoenix Real Estate Market Crashing?
Is the Phoenix Real Estate Market Crashing?
It is likely that by now, you have heard a great deal about the "crash" in the housing market. Suddenly, all over the country, home values are in decline; foreclosures are up; lenders are facing bankruptcy, existing homes are sitting on the market for months, and applications for building permits are down. Everywhere you look, prospects for the housing market are grim.
Or are they…?
The facts are never as clear-cut or as dramatic as the media tends to present them. When seeking information on anything – whether its about political candidates, Wall Street, the housing market or even the weather, it's good to keep in mind that news stories are not the best barometer for ecomonic performance. For the hard facts on anything, many people turn to Internet sources today – including the real news about the housing market.
Keep in mind that with very few exceptions, all housing markets are local. What is true about Los Angeles or Denver is not necessarily true about Phoenix. That said, here are the facts regarding the Phoenix housing market: Yes, Phoenix home values are slightly below what they were in 2006. However, on the average these prices are still some $20,000 above where they stood in 2005. In addition, home values have gone down more in some areas of the metro region than others, and are actually still on the rise in some places. In general, home values have held steady or risen slightly in central Phoenix and north Scottsdale; those in downtown neighborhoods or in Glendale tended to remain flat or fallen.
The general wisdom is that it is a very good time for home buyers planning on living in their homes for five years or longer. It is not a good time to pick up a few investment properties then attempt to "flip" them for a quick profit; indeed, it is this kind of speculation that in part artificially fueled the dramatic home price increases seen in 2005. Chances are that we won't see that kind of market for a long time. While current market conditions definitely favor the buyer, one should plan on holding on to the property for the medium term when seeking to purchase a Phoenix condo or single family home.


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Weight by volume
A parcel may be light but, at the same time, large. Such parcels take up vehicle space and require considerable resources to handle.
Because of this, we convert volume to weight by equating each cubic meter to 280 kg. As a service agreement customer or one paying for freight via Skicka Direkt, you pay the higher figure – actual weight or weight by volume – which is standard industry practice. Sometimes, weight by volume is also known as "volumetric weight".
In the following four instances, we charge for the higher of actual weight or weight by volume:
- Domestic parcel services for service agreement customers or purchases via Skicka Direkt
- International Parcel for service agreement customers or purchases via Skicka Direkt.
- PostNord Pallet, only available for service agreement customers.
- International Express services.
Example: A domestic parcel measuring 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 m has a volume of 0.125 m³. To calculate the weight by volume, the volume is multiplied by 280 kg (0.125 × 280, which is equal to 35 kg). If the actual weight of the parcel in this example were to be 18 kg, you would pay the shipping price for 35 kg (i.e., the highest of actual weight or weight by volume).


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Aston Martin has debuted a series of engineering updates and styling revamps for the 2012 Vantage range at the Geneva motor show.
The new line-up will be priced from £84,995 for the entry-level V8 and will top out with the limited-edition V12 Zagato at just under £400,000.
Described as the biggest range overhaul since 2008, the base 420bhp V8 Vantage gets a number of upgrades first seen on the Vantage S model, including quicker steering, bigger brakes and wider tyres. A new steering column installation, revalved power steering and a quicker (15:1 from 17:1) ratio is claimed to give more feedback and provide more agility.
See the official pics of the new Aston Martin Vantage
The braking system has been enhanced at the front, with new 380mm, two-piece ventilated cast iron front discs and six-piston calipers. Aston is claiming "significantly increased stopping power and pedal feel". A brake-holding Hill Start Assist set-up is also included as standard, and the tyres are now 10mm wider.
The new seven-speed Sportshift II automated manual transmission is now an option.
The 2012 V8 Vantage is distinguished by styling changes inspired by the Vantage S and limited-edition Vantage N420. It gets a new lower front bumper and air splitter, restyled sills and a new rear bumper equipped with a diffuser.
Priced from £99,995, the 430bhp Vantage S gets the new Sportshift II 'box as standard, as well as a sports exhaust, a "motorsport-derived, carbonfibre detailed" aerodynamic styling package and a more sumptuously trimmed, hand-stitched leather interior. The company's new integrated Garmin sat-nav is also standard, as is cruise control and Bluetooth. The V12 Vantage continues unchanged.


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Milk also not discernibly different between cloned, normal animals
WASHINGTON (AP)--Meat and milk from cloned animals is essentially identical to that from animals that reproduced normally, a new study says.
The findings should ease safety concerns by both the public and regulators about eating cloned animals, said researcher Xiangzhong Yang of the Center for Regenerative Biology at the University of Connecticut. The study was published in the April 12 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Food and Drug Administration has asked the food industry to keep products from cloned animals out of the food chain while it considers their safety.
Cloning, the creation of an animal from the DNA of a single parent, should produce an animal identical to that parent. But as the technology has developed, many cloning attempts have ended in birth defects.
"All parameters examined for the clones in this study were within the normal range of beef and dairy products approved for human consumption," Yang said in a telephone interview.
Two beef clones were studied that had been produced in Japan from a famous Japanese Black breeding bull with superior meat marbling traits.
The 10 dairy clones were produced at the University of Connecticut from a Holstein cow that produced a lot of milk.
The researchers from Connecticut and the Kagoshima Prefectural Cattle Breeding Institute in Japan analyzed milk for a variety of factors including protein, fat, lactose and solids and studied more than 100 components in the beef, concluding that both were within the range of standards for milk and meat now consumed.
The FDA declined to comment on the findings but said it will include the report in the material it is reviewing on food from cloned animals. The agency said it expects its own safety assessment of these products to be released soon.
Asked for comment, Carole Tucker Foreman of the consumer group Public Citizen questioned whether the researchers had looked at the problem of stress in the animals.
Stressed animals are known to produce pathogens, she said, and there has been evidence that the offspring of cloned animals suffer increased stress. She said this study seems to avoid that question.
She also questioned whether the researchers, who specialize in reproductive biology, were a truly disinterested source of information, and suggested that the small number of animals in the study might not be enough to produce definitive data.
The study compared meat from two bulls and milk from four cows with the products from similar animals that had been produced by normal methods and raised in similar conditions to the clones.
The meat from the clones had a slightly higher marbling content than that of the comparison animals but that was the only significant difference, the researchers said.
Increased marbling is considered a benefit in beef and the researchers noted that the clones were produced from an animal renowned for its quality. The comparison animals were produced by inseminating cows with semen from the son of that bull, meaning that the offspring had only one-fourth the genes of their champion, while the clones had all of them.
No other significant differences were found in the meat or the milk.
The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kagoshima Prefecture and the National Institute of Agrobiological Research of Japan.


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The story of A Far Cry's season comes to a glorious climax in this concert of extremes. Desolation and the danger of isolation give way to reconciliation and finally exuberance in community. This concert features a large orchestra for Copland's beloved Appalachian Spring and new arrangements of JPP's spectacular Finnish fiddling.
Don Carlo Gesualdo: Moro Lasso, arr. AFC Bernard Hermann: Suite from Psycho Aaron Copland: Suite from Appalachian Spring JPP: Suite of Finnish dance music, arr. AFC
Friday May 23, 8pm New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall
Tickets on sale: Buy Now!


text: The Persian / Arabian Gulf's sole great white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) record from Kuwait: misidentification of a sandtiger shark Carcharias taurus (Lamniformes: Odontaspididae). Author Alec B. M. Moore Author Leonard J. V. Compagno Author Ian K. Fergusson text Zootaxa 2007 1591 67 68 http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D4F73DD9-97B8-4F59-BCE3-1B56EB5C20C3 journal article z01591p067 D4F73DD9-97B8-4F59-BCE3-1B56EB5C20C3 [[ Carcharias taurus Rafinesque ]] Records of the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus) (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) in the Persian/Arabian Gulf (hereafter referred to as "The Gulf") are limited to a single report from Kuwait, in the northwest Gulf, which has subsequently been noted in key references (e.g. Compagno, 2001). Khalaf (1987) recorded C. carcharias based on an observation of a mounted specimen in Kuwait Science and Natural History Museum on a visit there in March 1987. The specimen is reported as being a female C. carcharias of 3m in length, caught off Kuwait 's coast and supplied to the museum on the 14th of April 1984. A black and white photograph of the anterior portion (from just posterior of the pelvic fins) was included in Khalaf's account (Fig. 1 here), but no measurements or morphological data were presented. The present authors examined the photograph and identified the specimen as Carcharias taurus Rafinesque (Lamniformes: Odontaspididae) based on the first dorsal fin origin being well behind the inner margins of the pectoral fins (cf. over the pectoral inner margins in C. carcharias ), the first dorsal fin insertion being about over the pelvic fin origin (cf. being well ahead of pelvic fin origin), a short flattened snout (cf. moderately long conical snout), moderately long gill openings not extending onto the dorsal surface (cf. long gill openings), and characteristic protruding teeth. The photograph presented did not allow for examination of the caudal region or for effective examination of colouration. Carcharodon carcharias has been recorded from a wide range of habitats and with an extensive distribution ranging from the equatorial tropics to the sub-Arctic, and from the intertidal down to the continental slope (Compagno, 2001). Cliff et al. (2000), Compagno (2001), and Zuffa et al. (2002) report white sharks from the tropical Western Indian Ocean off Mozambique and Madagascar north to Tanzania and Kenya and including the Seychelles, Reunion and Mauritius. There is therefore no theoretical reason why this species should not occur in the Persian Gulf or the wider northwestern Indian Ocean, although the nearest confirmed record is from Sri Lanka and possibly the Red Sea (Compagno, 2001). In addition, there are unconfirmed, anecdotal records of white sharks from the Gulf of Aden coast of Yemen, Djibouti and northern Somalia (Conan Doyle, 1963). Gubanov & Schleib (1980) reported C. taurus as sometimes being encountered in Kuwait waters, although Krupp et al., (2000) noted that there was no material provided to support this. Krupp et al., (2000) reported the first record of C. taurus from The Gulf supported by reference material based on a 2.98m specimen caught off Abu Halifa, Kuwait , in 1997. The C. taurus reported here predates this by thirteen years.


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Lucky for you there is still time to see the musical Grease at Northport's Engeman Theater. Originally scheduled to close on August 27, they have added an extra week of shows through September 3, 2017, and you can still get tickets.
Spend a perfect summer night being taken back on a trip to high school in 1959. There are so many unforgettable songs and this cast really delivers them: "Summer Nights," "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Greased Lightnin'," "You're the One That I Want," "There are Worse Things I Could Do."
Everyone knows the story of Grease, but you will fall in love with your favorite characters all over again at this production because Engeman's superb cast brings the story and music to life on stage. Of particular note is the amazing choreography of Antoinette DiPietropolo in all of the company numbers such as "Grease is the Word," "Summer Night," "Shakin' at the High School Hop," "Born to Hand Jive," "You're the One That I Want," and "We Go Together." The talented DiPietropolo has many Engeman credits, including The Full Monty, Mamma Mia!, Memphis, and A Christmas Story. She has also worked on the National Tour of How The Grinch Stole Christmas; Off-Broadway in With Glee; Regional: Annie, Chicago, Ragtime, and Jesus Christ Superstar; and as Associate Director/Choreographer of The Big Apple Circus.
Top acting and vocal awards go to Madeleine Barker as Rizzo and Laura Helm as Marty. These two actresses bring Rizzo and Marty to life in a believable way with outstanding acting and vocals. The rest of the amazing cast includes: Liana Hunt as Sandy (Broadway: Newsies, Mamma Mia! and National Tours of Wicked and Mamma Mia!; Sam Wolf as Danny who has many Regional Theater credits including Carrie, Les Miserables, Guys & Dolls, Footloose, and Engeman's West Side Story as Riff; Sari Alexander as Frenchy; Tracy Bidleman as Miss Lynch; Katherine Margo Brown as Cha-Cha; Zach Erhardt as Doody; Tim Falter as Vince Fontaine/Teen Angel; Kaitlin Nelson as Patty; Chris Collins-Pisano as Roger; Tim Russell as Eugene; Robert Serrano as Johnny Casino; Casey Shane as Sonny; Chris Stevens as Kenickie; and Hannah Slabaugh as Jan.
Grease is produced by Richard Dolce, the Engeman's Producing Artistic Director, and directed by Paul Stancato (Engeman: Jekyll & Hyde, Sound of Music, Hairspray; Broadway: The Wedding Singer (Assistant Choreographer), The Lion King (Res. Director); National Tours: Flashdance, Jekyll & Hyde, The Wedding Singer). Musical director of this production is Alec Bart who has Broadway credits in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and Las Vegas credits: Rock of Ages, Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia, ShowStoppers, Camp Broadway; National Tours: 42nd Street, Cabaret).
You will leave the theater dancing and singing after this production. Don't miss out! Check out the performance schedule: Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. There are also Wednesday and Sunday evenings available. Tickets available at www.EngemanTheater.com, by calling 631-261-2900, or visiting the box office at 250 Main Street in Northport.


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Waterman Carene Black Lacquer Gold Trim Ballpoint
Waterman Carene Black Lacquer Gold Trim Ballpoint
Carene takes inspiration from luxury boat design: sleeked, rounded, curved lines. It has a distinctive bevelled barrel button inlaid with a black lacquered bead. Articulated curved clip. Made in France and assembled by hand
Fountain pens have an 18K solid gold nib (rhodium-plated for the silver trim versions)


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Top 10 Countries For Cosmetic Procedures/
According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, here are the top 10 countries ranked by number of cosmetic procedures.
Some interesting facts according to the report:
- Japan moved from #6 in 2009 to #4 in 2011.
- France moved from #14 to #9 in the same period.
- The US dominates with just under 18% of procedures worldwide.
- Asia performs the most treatments by continent with 28.8% of plastic surgeons and 31.7% of total procedures. North America is second with 24.3% of the worlds plastic surgeons and 24.6% of the total procedures.


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Megatrends: Long-term trends shaping the world in 2017 and beyond
Before exploring key trends from our research, it's worth reminding ourselves of the underlying demographic, economic and social changes that provide the backdrop to this report.
The Crisis of the Elites
The rise of populism has become a global obsession in the last year, driven by the major upsets in Brexit and Donald Trump's Presidential election victory, but with echoes in many other countries throughout the world.
No easy answers: Political uncertainty in a mixed-up world
One of the clearest trends across the survey is a sense of feeling adrift from the past, discontent about our present and unease about our future.


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Holiday shoppers plan to buy more online than in stores, survey finds
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This year for the first time, consumers say they'll spend more shopping online than in physical stores. That's according to an annual consumer holiday shopping survey by Deloitte. It's one more data point documenting the march of e-commerce to capture ever more of America's retail spending. Deloitte's online survey of more than 5,000 Americans found consumers plan to spend 51 percent of their holiday dollars online this year. And, perhaps not coincidentally, that's where retailers are investing money and doing the bulk of their seasonal hiring: in fulfillment centers to process online orders, and in shipping and handling. Consumers also plan to spend more money this year than last: the Deloitte survey found they expect to shell out an average $1,226 for the holidays, up from $998 last year.
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PSFA Newsletters and Letters
The PSFA Newsletter is a great way to see what fundraising events the PSFA has coming up, celebrate our successes, and get updates on our fundraising efforts. The Newsletter comes out several times a year, so look out for it in your child's bag.
PSFA Newsletter September 2016
PSFA End of year update July 2016
2015 PSFA Newsletter Xmas Fayre
All PSFA events can be view on the school calendar


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People- coveting your neighbor's wife is good- it makes her feel desirable and, if you both practice virtue in your behavior, you both also get to feel proudly virtuous. It is a win-win situation.
People- coveting your neighbor's wife is good- it makes her feel desirable and, if you both practice virtue in your behavior, you both also get to feel proudly virtuous. It is a win-win situation.
Looks like Congress will not take up stem cell research; especially embryonic stem cell. We'll fight another day; a succesful trial will lead the way for scientific advancement.
keeping on
I apologize for my clumsy attempts to voice the legal or ethical arguments against NIH funding of embryonic stem cell research. Let me try again. As I understand it, Judge Lambert is basing his decision on the Dickey-Wicker amendment. In 2009 and subsequent years, this amendment was appended to the appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services. It stated
By prohibiting NIH funding to study embryonic stem cells that have already been derived and with non-federal funds, Judge Lambert has gone well beyond the statute. He stated that the research "clearly violates" the Dickey-Wicker amendment, listed above. Judge Lamberth believes that research on embryonic stem cells, even those derived before the ban by President George W. Bush and derived with non-Federal funding, is illegal.SEC. 509.
- None of the funds made available in this Act may be used for--
- the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or
- research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.208(a)(2) and Section 498(b) of the Public Health Service Act [1](42 U.S.C. 289g(b)) (Title 42, Section 289g(b), United States Code).
- For purposes of this section, the term "human embryo or embryos" includes any organism, not protected as a human subject under 45 CFR 46 (the Human Subject Protection regulations) . . . that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes (sperm or egg) or human diploid cells (cells that have two sets of chromosomes, such as somatic cells).
The research itself clearly does not kill or harm embryos. Judge Lamberth is arguing that studies of the cells to the procedure of deriving the cells. This is simply not true. To illustrate how irrational this argument is, I gave the example of a county coroner that is doing an autopsy of the body of a murdered man. The coroner is not responsible the murder.
Judge Lamberth's argument is similar to one that is sometimes made by ethicists to suggest that it is unethical to use products of an unethical procedure. For example, some ethicists suggest that it is unethical to use information from medical experiments done by Nazis in concentration camps. But this argument is not implicit in the law.
The Dickey-Wicker amendment forbids "research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death..." It does not forbid research on cells derived from those embryos. Those embryos are already dead. Studying them will not destroy, discard, or knowingly subject to risk of injury or death.
Ethicists often include intent and consequence in assessing culpability. In religious and legal ethics, intent is an important part of culpability. Likewise, consequences may be important. if research on embryonic stem cells resulted in killing of more embryos, even though the killing was not funded by federal dollars, one can argue that the research is killing the embryos.
There is no intent to fund research to kill or hurt embryos in any way. NIH is seeking to fund studies of embryonic stem cells that have been derived for reasons that are completely unrelated to research. For example, it forbids research on cells derived from embryos that are created for the purpose of providing cells. The cells must come from embryos created for procreation.
The research is will not intentionally result in the killing of more embryos. In fact, one can argue that by allowing NIH to fund studies of already derived embryonic stem cell lines, NIH would be discouraging the killing of more embryos to derive more cell lines. It can be fairly argued that the prohibition of embryonic stem cell research has not saved a single embryo to date.
If the true interest of opponents of stem cell research is to prevent or reduce killing of embryos, they should be focusing their attention on reducing the number of eggs being fertilized in IVF clinics. A similar argument can be made concerning opponents of animal research. If their true interest is to prevent or reduce killing of animals, they should be focusing their attention on reducing eating of meat.
Allowing studies of existing embryonic stem cell lines will not increase the use of embryos. Banning studies of embryonic stem cells has not and will not save any embryos. Such bans may actually encourage the use of fetal and embryonic cells because it cuts off an important future supply of stem cells. Judge Lamberth is saying that studying the cells is equivalent to harming the embryo. This is not true legally or ethically.
My boyfriend is a C5 C6 quad who has been that way for 5 years. 3 years ago he had a stem cell surgery in Portugal with Dr. Lima involving his olfactory cells. He got no improvement. I live in Louisiana and heard a story on the news about an Iraq war veteran that was receiving a newly FDA approved therapy right where I live. My boyfriend and I have met with doctor and are seriously considering trying the procedure involving injection of MSC cells from bone marrow that have been seperated, purified and multiplied. Following is an article about it. Do you have any opinions on this????
I wish you both the best of good fortune.
2010 SCINet Clinical Trial Support Squad Member
Please join me and donate a dollar a day at http://justadollarplease.org and copy and paste this message to the bottom of your signature.
Wise, thank you for your explanation of the whole argument agaisnt fudning of stem cell reaearch, embryonic stem cell research, and the ruling by Judge Lambrythe. Hopefully, no matter what happens here in the US, the research will continue in the rest of the world. Hopefully your study and that of Geron's and others will be so successful that the cry for research with embryonic cells will shout out the supposed anti research.
keeping on
You will find much discussion about this trial on this forum. Do a search for TCA. Their trial is listed on clinicaltrials.gov
Don't ask what clinical trials can do for you, ask what you can do for clinical trials.
Fenexy: Proyecto Volver a Caminar
http://www.fenexy.org (soon in english too)


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G-Tang Top
Size Chart
Seamless Cotton Ribbed Non-Wired Bralette with drop binding and adjustable straps. Wear the Drop binding either at the front or back.
Model wears a Small.
97% Cotton, 3% Spandex. 100% Cotton Lining. Machine wash with low temperature. Dry Flat. Use laundry net bags during wash to keep a good condition.


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Fruit inspired jewellery from Minawala's latest collection brings in the lusciousness of summer fruits into precious bejewelled creations.
One does not really think of fruits as inspirations for jewellery. But, with their latest creation of fruit inspired jewellery, Minawala has changed the game. The luxury precious jewellery sovereign has aptly titled the collection 'Fruity Fiesta'. You need to have but one look and it's a treat for the eyes!
The challenge lies in reinterpreting the theme of fruit inspired jewellery into an exquisite range for fashion connoisseurs. This has been done in a very elegant way in this collection. After all, a piece of jewellery is laden with precious stones and is meant to be passed down generations. This means that the design has to be timeless and classy.
The designs are bold, modern and innovative. The assortment is designed for the stylish woman who needs jewels that highlight her traditional bent, but at the same time also focus on her assertive modern personality.
The pieces are encased in 18 karat gold and are studded with diamonds. One of the highlights is obviously the handpicked colourful stones. There are a multitude of colours and each one is extremely vibrant.
Each piece is a mélange of precious stones and diamonds in varied degrees. The mix of colours within the same piece lends a unique look to the piece. It is a collection that clearly surpasses the 'everyday look' and in fact, goes on to make the ordinary quite exquisite!
With fruit inspired jewellery there is bound to be a play with forms and shapes. Succulent shapes make their way into the design. The result is a collection that is quite unapologetically bold.
Minawala has always played with the rules of panache. Opening the doors to enchantment, the Minawala ateliers work magic on jewellery, recasting precious materials in a potent blend of excellence and rarity. With this new collection of fruit inspired jewellery, the brand once again proves that it is at the top of its game.


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Did you know that 75% of women feel depressed, guilty and shameful within 3 minutes of reading a women's magazine?
- Rita Ora wears far too much tartan, at least according to 'THE FASHION JURY.' I didn't know there was such a thing as too much tartan, but then I sort of feel like I'm an honorary member of Dropkick Murphys, so…
- Apparently, according to Polly Vernon, 'we' are all 'pretty-ist' (no, I'm not fucking with you) because 'we' didn't like Ruby off bake off (I thought she was fine?) 'There we were', says Polly, 'going to convoluted lengths to justify the fact that watching a good-looking lady baking made us anxious in ways we can't explain.' Errr…ok. Think you're projecting a bit there, Polly. In fact, after reading your 'you hate me because I'm thin' article about how you only eat rice cakes, I'm pretty sure the only lady made anxious by the baking was you.
- Your tits age twice as fast as you do, apparently, ('the horror', says Grazia), but this is a good thing, surely? You can ask them for motherly advice about when is the right time to start concealing your upper arms, and when you act up they'll ruffle your hair and lament how they put you in nursery too soon. Sounds lovely.
- Grazia thinks that wearing ten dernier tights makes you daring, which I'd agree with, frankly, not because, as it explains in the feature 'WOULD YOU DARE DO TEN DERNIER?' 'those tights will show every lump and bump', but because they'll give you ringworm when you're on year ten work experience at the council, and even though sarongs are in that year, the massive fungal welts on your thighs still ruin your mum-and-daughter holiday to Zante.
- Zomg, Obama totally stopped a pregnant woman from fainting. Amazing. Never mind the fact that his drones kill other, less important pregnant women on the other side of the world; he saved THIS PARTICULAR pregnant woman: what a hero.
- Grazia's understanding of mental illness is still fundamentally awry, as demonstrated by: 'I Had a Good Job and Lots of Friends – So Why Did I Feel So Sad?' That's right ladies, forget serotonin imbalance, forget SCIENCE, because Polly Dunbar, 32 has some observations to make, including regarding the prevalence of depression in her social group: 'we're not negative types who wallow in self-pity' she quickly disclaimers (read: like you sad bunch of depressed fuckers) 'We're hard-working, normally confident, cheerful people who throw ourselves into making the most of life. So why are we failing to cope? To put it another way, why is our generation of women so depressed?'
Before we ask Carrie to reign in the rhetorical questions, let's examine some of the assumptions inherent in this piece, starting with the idea that, by participating successfully in a capitalist system that you're somehow immune to a globally recognised mental illness. Wtf? Dunbar then goes on to link the female depression 'epidemic' with the fact that 'more women are single today than at any other time in modern history, apart from after the First World War, when a generation of men had just been killed.' So basically, it's because the man you thought you were going to marry is dead in a trench and without men you're incapable of being happy. Except he isn't lying dead in some foreign field bloated yellow by poison gas with a mud-soaked picture of you in his front pocket. He's on fucking Tinder, probably. So suck it up.
Dunbar then goes on to collate depression with childlessness, not winning the 'man lottery', not 'having it all', and being a part of 'Generation Y', none of which is remotely backed up with any data. She finally concludes after two pages that 'our obsession with happiness is what's making us unhappy.' Way to trivialise a serious mental illness, babes, by suggesting that seeing our friend's luxury holidays on Instagram is what's making us feel the need to be temazepammed up to the tits. Jesus.
In all fairness, I'm sure that Dunbar really did suffer from depression, and that the reason this piece came out the way it did is because some cock of a features editor wanted the whole thing to have a 'millenial' angle to it. But equally, I've lost patience with this whole pop-psychology interpretation of mental illness, I really have. Depression kills people, every day, and not because of Facebook, you bunch of tits.
But maybe I'm just being overly passionate, because my red wine has finished and I've moved on to my flatmate's white zinfandel, which to be quite honest with you legit tastes like vomit (there is a remote possibility that it may indeed be a component- it's been half open in the fridge since Friday). Maybe it's just the wine. Maybe I need to just bask in the glow of a two grand micro-bag. Maybe then it will all be ok.


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Switzerland's energy system is one of the best in the world, but it is not doing so well on emission reduction targets, says a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) published on Wednesday.
The Fostering Effective Energy Transition report ranks 114 countries on "how well they are able to balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability". Switzerland is ranked third overall, after Sweden and Norway.
Performing less well are the United Kingdom (7th place), France (9), Germany (16), the United States (25), Brazil (38), Russia (70), China (76) and India (78).
The WEF's key finding this year is not optimistic. It says that worldwide progress towards environmental sustainability has stalled, as demonstrated by a near-flat trend in carbon intensity. Marginal improvement has occurred at only 1.8% a year over the past five years, whereas 3% is the threshold required to achieve the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
The report also says that household electricity prices have risen in real terms in more than half the countries since 2013, despite an overall fall in fuel prices.
But there are also encouraging developments, the study points out. These include the fact that 80% of countries have improved their energy systems over the past five years.
Among the reasons for Switzerland's excellent ranking, the WEF points to the quality of transport infrastructure, availability of technology, energy subsidies, investment in energy efficiency and the quality of the education system.
In Switzerland, two-thirds of electricity is generated by hydropower. Swiss voters last year endorsed a new energy law that aims to promote renewable energy, ban new nuclear power plants and lower energy consumption.
+Read more about the new energy law


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Lancs County Champs 2015
Details are out for next year's Counties (see 'open galas' tab).
As thought the ages are as of 31st Dec 2015. There is no 9yr old category, 10/11 is a combined age group and there is no open age, 16 and over is the oldest group.
There are quite a lot of changes in the qualifying times this year, some quicker, some slower although they are not significant. The full entry pack will be put out later in the year, this is just for your information.
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply.
Marlins Blog
Keep an eye out here for any news and announcements to do with the club.
November 2019


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Our Multicolor Icon School Labels Pack allows you to add a personalized touch to your labels with your child's favorite colors and symbols. These personalized and durable name labels are simple, yet effective. This pack not only includes name labels in different sizes for school supplies but it also provides you with clothing labels because we know that mix-ups happen and how many times has your child come home with someone else's sweatshirt on instead of theirs?
These labels will stick around the whole school year and even school years ahead since they are dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and laundry safe! Simply peel and stick these labels to everything that is on their school supply list. Dishwasher safe and laundry safe, these labels can cover anything from lunchboxes to pencils, to gym clothes, to take home folders.
For Best Results
- Simply peel and stick your labels to a clean, dry surface
- Sit for about 24 hours before their first wash.
- All you have to do now is sit back, relax, and let the labels do the organizing!
*Not for use on rubber or silicone surfaces
Laminated Clothing Labels (For Clothing With Care Tags)
Peel and stick laminated clothing labels to the care tag of clothing!
Note: These laminated clothing labels are meant to stick on care tags, not directly to the clothing's fabric and may not stick through the laundry otherwise.
Unlaminated Clothing Labels (For Tagless Clothing)
Peel and stick this flexible label to the clothing's brand stamp!
Note: These unlaminated labels are meant to stick to the clothing's brand stamp or imprint and not guaranteed to stick if placed directly on the fabric of clothing.
Name Bubbles labels should always be applied by an adult or with adult supervision. All Name Bubbles products are produced with non-toxic materials, and though our waterproof labels are durable and long-lasting, they are not permanent. Because our labels are designed only to be removed with intent, they may detach from fabrics or toys if subject to persistent or prolonged picking or chewing. Therefore, use caution in the product's application to certain items handled by young children (e.g. blankets, teething rings, etc.) and ensure ongoing monitoring of adhesion to avoid choking hazard.
18 | Small Rectangle Labels 1.8" x 0.5"
16 | Rectangle Labels 2.8" x 0.7"
2 | Large Rectangle Labels 5.5" x 1.4"
4 | Square Contact Labels 1.5" x 1.5"
8 | Shoe Labels 0.8" x 1.6"
28 | Circle Clothing Labels 0.7"


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RADiUS-TWC is proud to announce that it has acquired North American rights to A&E IndieFilms' Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, Mike Myers directorial debut that celebrated its world premiere to rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival.
In 1991, music manager Shep Gordon held Mike Myers over a barrel a few weeks before shooting Wayne's World regarding an Alice Cooper song Myers wanted to use in the film. They have been close friends ever since. Twenty-two years later, the story of Gordon's legendary life in the uber fast lane is now told in Myers' directorial debut. And this time it's Myers who has Gordon over a barrel.
Capitalist, protector, hedonist, pioneer, showman, shaman . . . Supermensch.
Shep Gordon is the consummate Hollywood insider. Though he isn't a household name, Gordon has become a beacon in the industry, beloved by the countless stars he has encountered throughout his storied career. Shep Gordon is known for managing the careers of Alice Cooper as well as stints with Blondie, Luther Vandross and Raquel Welch, among others - a career that began with a chance encounter in 1968 with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. He even found time to invent the "Celebrity Chef." Though the chef as star is part of the culture now, it took Shep's imagination, and his moral outrage at how the chefs were being treated, to monetize the culinary arts into the multi-billion dollar industry it is today. Personal friends with the Dalai Lama through his philanthropic endeavors with the Tibet Fund and the guardian of four children, Gordon's unlikely story told by those who know him best, his pals, including Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Anne Murray, Willie Nelson, Emeril Lagasse and more.
A&E IndieFilms financed and executive produced the film.
RADiUS has slated a first quarter 2014 theatrical release.
Here's what RADiUS co-presidents Tom Quinn and Jason Janego had to say in a joint statement.
"Supermensch has been on our radar for a long time and we were blown away by it in Toronto. Mike Myers has created something truly special - - a film imbued with wit, charm, and heart. You can feel the love he has for his one-of-a-kind subject Shep Gordon, a legendary manager whose professional accomplishments are rivaled only by the magnanimous impact he's had on the lives of those around him. This film is sure to bring audiences to their feet and inspire the mensch in all of us. We're tremendously excited to be collaborating with Mike Myers, Shep Gordon and A&E IndieFilms."
Mike Myers goes on to add the following statement.
"I'm thrilled to have Supermensch distributed by RADiUS-TWC who are the best in the business and who understand that this film is a tribute to a great man, Mr. Shep Gordon. Harvey Weinstein is a genius."
Executive Producer Bob DeBitetto, President of A+E Studios, had this to say.
"After a fantastic reception at the Toronto International Film Festival, we are grateful to RADiUS-TWC and the Weinsteins for partnering with us to bring Mike Myers poignant and hilarious Supermensch to audiences in theaters across the country. Mike, a true mensch himself, and his team put together an incredible film that deserves to be seen."
Tom Quinn and Jason Janego negotiated the deal with Molly Thompson from A&E IndieFilms and WME Global.


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Nixon Vetoes Bill Dealing with Lt. Gov.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that would have changed the procedure for filling vacancies in the lieutenant governor's office.
State law currently allows the governor to appoint a replacement if the secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor or a U.S. senator leaves office. But there has been uncertainty about how the lieutenant governor would be replaced.
Under the legislation, a replacement would have been selected during the next general election. In the meantime, the departing officeholder's top aide would have performed the lieutenant governor's ministerial duties. Responsibilities as Senate president would have been handled by the Senate president pro tem, who is a state senator.
Nixon said Friday the measure created a "confusing and untenable process."


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What is Website Monitoring?
Comprehensive website monitoring used to be about complex management packages that required servers of their own running on-premises. Fortunately, the cloud has changed all that. Today's website monitoring tools run as manated services and provide intuitive new interfaces that give anyone a graphical, command center view of their web site's critical metrics, including site traffic, load balancing and latency metrics, website health, and numerous other factors. Together, these determine how your online presence stands up to everything from e-commerce surges to large-scale web outages. Even more importantly than monitoring traffic to the front end of your site, these critical management applications can help you allocate resources and scale your web server capacity to save money while performing more efficiently.
Web servers run far more than websites these days. Data collection, marketing campaigns, media outlet, storefronts, and applications that span the gamut of business functions, all are common residents of your average web server. With these machines carrying these kinds of critical payloads, it behooves IT to make sure they know exactly what's going on with every web server in their domain -- all the time and down to the last detail.
In today's web and mobile-first environment—in which an organization's success or failure often hinges on its consumer-facing apps and how they're consumed and perceived—in-depth management knowledge is of paramount importance. That job falls on website and app monitoring services. Think of them as Sauron's all-seeing eye, but devoted entirely to your web servers and directly related infrastructute. Some solely watch others combine their monitoring capabilities with some immediate management tools with which IT can perform quick fixes and other tasks. They all use the same string of buzzwords ("single pane of glass," "comprehensive visibility," an outside-in view," "an inside-out view," or "a top-to-bottom view," and so on) when monitoring your website's performance.
There's truth in all of those descriptions, but each of the website monitoring services reviewed for this roundup does the job differently. Plus, some are best suited for large enterprises (such as AppDynamics and New Relic Browser, our two Editors' Choice for enterprises) while others are best suited for for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) (such as SmartBear AlertSite Pro, our Editors' Choice for SMBs). These website monitoring services are useful not only for the IT staff managing website and apps within a business but for the tech-savvy executives (and not-so-tech-savvy executives) monitoring a website to gain specific business intelligence (BI). The best services—such as our three Editors' Choices—are the ones that don't make executives work too hard to find the information they need.
Getting the Fundamentals Right
Each website monitoring service reviewed has its strong points in terms of the features and functionality it offers but, to work for a modern business, there are a couple of core components each service must have in one form or another. Such components include browser monitoring, mobile monitoring, a combination of real user monitoring (RUM) and synthetic performance monitoring; business-relevant reporting and analytics, and real-time alerting capabilities.
All 10 website monitoring services reviewed offer browser and app monitoring through a combination of different web-based dashboards. These dashboards range in customizability, level of detail, and graphical ingenuity—from simple lists and grid layouts to interactive maps, complex flowcharts, and mix-and-match tile dashboards. They're all designed to give businesses the information they need on a website's performance and user experience (UX), often using a traffic light-style, red/yellow/green color scheme.
When checking on whether or not your website is working the way it should in real time, it's easier at first glance to show a business user a big red or green number—or an actual smiley or frowny face (such as what Dynatrace UEM shows you) rather than inundating a business user with page response times, latency, error percentages, and a host of other metrics right away.
As the website monitoring services dig deeper into exactly which components of a website are working, how exactly they choose to present that data is key. Dynatrace UEM and SmartBear AlertSite Pro use tile-based, prebuilt, and custom dashboard layouts that are full of all manner of charts, graphs, and maps, pulling in the precise website analytics metrics a specific user within a business might need. That may be reports from synthetic bots testing the load time of specific user flows, RUM data breaking down the percentages of the different browsers and operating systems (OSes) on which users are running, or how specific transactions (such as the load time on an e-commerce page or abandoned shopping carts on a retail website) translate to a business's revenue.
For example, Pingdom uses one specific metric called uptime (i.e., HTML availability on a page) to quickly indicate website performance. Ghostery MCM is laser-focused on the wealth of third-party tags populating the front end of a website and conceptualizes them all in an innovative TrackerMap that visualizes the inner workings of a website. AppDynamics has both custom dashboards and an app flow map that is similar to Ghostery MCM's layout, but which shows the data flowing back and forth (between not only front-end website nodes and services but back-end databases and servers as well).
All of that monitoring and analytics data then has to get to the right people within an organization, and quickly enough for them to take action on errors, outages, or performance issues that could cost a business money. This is where comprehensive reports and detailed alert policies come in. Depending on the website monitoring service, this is done through a combination of email reports and notifications, text and phone alerts, and integrations that hook into other communication and collaboration platforms.
The best alerting capabilities among the products reviewed were from Pingdom and SmartBear AlertSite Pro, although AppDynamics wasn't far behind. With alerts, it's as much about accuracy and relevance as it's about the speed of real-time notifications. AppDynamics and Pingdom not only send quick, detailed alerts to the users within a business that need the information, but they offer deep root cause analysis to sift through a website's inner workings to identify whatever cog is acting up (be it a specific content request, error page, malformed piece of code, or overloaded server). SmartBear AlertSite Pro's multistep alerts for different performance thresholds were, overall, the fastest reviewed, containing the most accurate and relevant information.
Choosing a Monitoring Service That Fits
When it comes to the steep pricing and sheer scale offered by some website monitoring services, the product that makes the most sense for one business won't necessarily even fit another. That's why we named three Editors' Choices. AppDynamics offers the heftiest platform packing the most features but, at $3,300 per unit for each product making up the overall solution plus a lot of deeper application performance management (APM) functionality SMBs may not need, it's not as well-suited for a start-up or a SMB still in its early stages. For an international corporation or other large enterprise that needs to monitor dozens of apps and services, AppDynamics and New Relic Browser are our two Editors' Choices. Dynatrace UEM is also a fantastic (but expensive) website and app monitoring service that does everything an enterprise needs.
If your business is purely desktop-focused on what front-end components are taking up the most space and how your website's tags are impacting performance, it may be worth investing in the unique monitoring strategy offered by Ghostery MCM. SmartBear AlertSite Pro, our Editors' Choice for SMBs, and Pingdom are the website monitoring services with more delineated pricing tiers for businesses of various sizes. The plan you choose depends on the add-ons, integrations, and additional services your SMB may need—not to mention the service's overall ease of use, whether it's the business managers or developers and IT folks within the organizations who are primarily using the platform.
In totality, Editors' Choices AppDynamics and New Relic Browser stood above the rest for enterprise, as did SmartBear AlertSite Pro for SMBs. But website monitoring services are not one-size-fits-all, and all 10 products in this roundup can offer unique combinations of services that could be just the thing for your particular website.
As a living and breathing document, some of the tools listed today may not be listed in a year, as scores may change and new products may be added to the roundup. As you try solutions, be sure to check in with us to see if any new software has been added to this roundup.
Featured Website Monitoring Service Reviews:
LogicMonitor Review
Bottom Line: LogicMonitor is a venerable management tool that still sports cutting edge tools, including collaboration, workflow, and excellent dashboarding capabilities. Its steep learning curve my keep...Read Review
AppDynamics Review
Bottom Line: AppDynamics is a fully realized website monitoring service for businesses, and a leader in both the website monitoring and application performance monitoring (APM) spaces. It's our Editors' ...Read Review
New Relic Browser Review
Bottom Line: New Relic Browser provides a rich ecosystem of performance and monitoring data for your web sites and applications. It's a bit much for smaller businesses, but for medium to large organizati...Read Review
SmartBear AlertSite Review
Bottom Line: Website monitoring service SmartBear AlertSite has great real-time alerting capabilities, strong monitoring and reports across platforms, and its highly configurable both in its user interfa...Read Review
Dynatrace UEM Review
Bottom Line: Dynatrace UEM is a surprisingly intuitive and well designed website monitoring tool with excellent reporting and dashboards. While it could use some additional capabilities around APM, synth...Read Review
Riverbed SteelCentral AppInternals Review
Bottom Line: Riverbed SteelCentral AppInternals is nicely designed for beginners and small businesses, while still offering an excellent feature set with thorough analytics.Read Review
SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor Review
Bottom Line: SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor is focused on synthetic monitoring and sports excellent features and analytics in that direction, though they're wrapped in a slightly outdated interface. ...Read Review
Pingdom Review
Bottom Line: For IT professionals and serious website operators, Pingdom has it all - strong monitoring, excellent analytics, and advanced features, too. The only downside is that all this goodness is wr...Read Review
Ghostery MCM Review
Bottom Line: Ghostery MCM is highly focused on front-end monitoring through third-party tag tracking. This is both innovative and valuable, but as it lacks many other core website monitoring capabilities...Read Review
Geckoboard Review
Bottom Line: Geckoboard is well-designed for small businesses or newbies to website management. But its focus on disseminating rather than surfacing data means it's not meant to act as a standalone websi...Read Review


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Sunrise Topanga Hike with Valérie
Valérie Grandury, founder of Odacité, an all-natural freshly formulated skincare line, is certainly one of the most inspiring women we've ever met. This Paris native resides in Topanga Canyon, where each day begins with most breathtaking sunrise hike with her incredible pups. We were lucky enough to join in this beautiful ritual. It is almost impossible to fathom that Valérie, the most glowing, vibrant, and healthy woman, was bedridden in a hospital with breast cancer ten years ago. This brave soul not only healed herself through diet, yoga, meditation, positive thought and by cleaning up her skincare/product regimen, but also used her difficult experience to inspire positive change. In order to heal, Valérie felt the necessity to detoxify her environment. She adopted a raw food diet, quit her job in the film business to dedicate her time to learning and studying the healing power of plants and became a Health and Wellness Coach.
Her illness triggered a desire to completely reinvent her life, reconnect with nature and step into a magnificent and fascinating healing journey. Valérie had the audacity to create Odacité, an innovative company that allows people like herself who value the luxury of skincare to experience all the benefits without the toxic chemicals. The proof is in the pudding, and let us tell you, this woman GLOWS.
NAME: Valérie Grandury
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP: Paris, France
BREAKFAST: Green smoothie
LUNCH: Big salad with greens, lots of fresh sprouts, some form of nuts (cheese, dressing, sprouted)
DINNER: Quinoa with Kale & avocado salad + my "I can't live without it" dose of raw chocolate
SNACK: Thinly sliced apples with raw almond butter, drizzled with a little cinnamon
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SPOTS/RESTAURANTS TO EAT HEALTHY? Real Food Daily (Fabulous brunch, best French toast in town and GF pancakes), Gracias Madre, MAKE, Rawvolution
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INDULGENCE? Oysters
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES/RESTAURANTS TO INDULGE? Santa Monica Seafood
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR LAST MEAL ON EARTH? Anything with dark chocolate
WHAT IS THE BEST DISH YOU COOK/ YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE? Raw chocolate brownies, they taste like the real deal but are actually heathy (almost).
WHERE DO YOU GROCERY SHOP IN LA? Local farm in Topanga, Santa Monica Co-Op, Sunfood online
For spiritual fitness: I hike to the sunrise every morning with my dogs. For physical fitness: I practice Yoga 3-4 x week. Recently discovered Aerial Yoga, and absolutely fell in love with what it does for my back. It relieves all the compressed joints and aligns your body from head to toe. A must when you sit for so many hours in front of a computer.
WHAT IS YOUR SKINCARE ROUTINE? (PRODUCTS, FACIALS, ETC.) I'm a lucky girl since I created a line of products to get exactly what i wanted: efficacy and absolute purity - So my skin care routine is 100% Odacité and my skin looks better now than 10 years ago.
Cleanse, tone, serum + moisturizer morning and night
Exfoliate 3 x week + Deep Hydration Masque once a week
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE NATURAL MAKEUP/ BEAUTY PRODUCTS? Serum Concentrates by Odacité: right now I use Acai+Rose in the morning and Rosehip+Ylang in the evening
A special something Nail polish by Treat , most beautiful red I ever found
Kide mineral foundation - super natural coverage that gives you a beautiful, healthy glow
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND, WHAT 3 PRODUCTS WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU? Lets say it is a tropical island with coconuts for my skin care :) I would want to have a Swiss Army knife, a solar charger for my Ipad, my Ipad for music, podcast and books
WHAT PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY/FITNESS/HEALTH GURUS DO YOU SWEAR BY? Myself. I listen to my body (took me a long time), your body is the best beauty/fitness/health gurus anyone should swear by!
TOP 3 FAVORITE SONGS? Way too hard to pick favorite songs. But I love...
1. Anything by Maria Calas, with a preference for Casta Diva, in Norma
2. Imagine- the lyrics are so powerful
3. La Vie en Rose by Grace Jones
MOST LIFE-CHANGING BOOK? Non-Violent Communication by Marshal Rosenberg. Just wish I read it sooner. It helps you find greater authenticity in your communication, deeper understanding of others and, smarter, healthier conflict resolution. If kids studied it in school the world would be a better place!
WHAT IS THE BEST GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED? Freedom is the best gift anyone can ever receive. I feel immensely blessed to be born and live in countries that encourage women to be who ever they want to be.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERFECT DAY. So many options! Right now I need some R&R so the best day would be: Turn off all screens for the day, start with an early walk on the beach with my husband and the dogs - followed by a"French lunch" (the kind that extends late into the afternoon with passionate discussions), at my house with friends and my sons. Massage at home (such a treat not to have to drive), long restorative bath, early bed, a movie or a book, and 8 hours of sleep!
WHAT IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE BEAUTY TIP/SECRET? Find your passion, count your blessings not your problems, sleep 7-8 hours a night. No matter what: Cleanse and moisturize morning and night.
WHAT MAKES YOU GLOW? My amazing sons, connecting with nature, creating new products, spending time in a museum, sharing food and ideas with my friends, making sure my body is happy!
Photography by: Davida Williams


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I think perhaps it's got to do partly with the lawsuits that have gone against Microsoft in the last few years combined with the fact that Windows Vista has turned out to be such an incredible lemon, but there's a lot more people willing to get in their faces about stuff. Like this story I read on Slashdot from a week ago:
"The South African minister of public service and administration on Monday (3/25/08) addressed the opening of the Idlelo 3 free software conference in Dakar, Senegal, saying that software patents posed a considerable threat to the growth of the African software sector. Microsoft responded aggressively, saying that 'there is no such thing as free software. Nobody develops software for charity.'"
All I can say is that while I am not a hamster, clearly some of the brains at Microsoft appear to come from hamsters. They must be if they actually think people are going to accept that asinine statement. The software writing world is NOT all part of some Microsoft franchise, paying allegiance to Steve Ballmer in fear of his famous rants.
Yes, There most certainly *IS* such a thing as free software. You can find a lot of it on the Debian download page. There's tons of it on Sourceforge. Heck, Even *I* wrote a program that qualifies as "Free Software", a little thing called 'Mixminion Message sender'.
Microsoft saying that there's no such thing as free software is right up there with Al Gore making idiotic statements about having created the Internet. (by the way, the Internet was the brainchild of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. I guarantee that Al Gore had nothing to do with it.)


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Happy Earth Day from me and Elsa.
It is earth day and I want to blog about a few things that we can do as dog lovers for the earth; although I really want to go off on a rant blog about a person at the park today. But I will focus on the positive this morning and save my rant for my next blog. Today is about doing things for our earth; we only have one so we need to take care of it.
What we feed our dogs matters to the earth. It is good for the earth to buy organic products. Supporting the farmers who choose not to use conventional and dangerous pesticides and chemicals is a step in the right direction. Buying organic is good for us, our dogs and our earth.
What goes in comes out.
Poop is biodegradable over time but it is also a pollutant. So what are we to do with poop?
- use only biodegradable bags. That means that you have to purchase bags unless the ones that are on the corners and at parks are biodegradable. I get Earth Rated bags at HomeGoods or TJMaxx and always have a roll on me.
Poop bags rated
- you can flush poop. Yep, I have done it and it most definitely makes sense to me. You can find water soluble bags which are on the list above. Great idea, I think.
- you can compost your dog poop; but you must learn how to do it correctly.
Composting dog poop.
When you clean at home, buy non toxic products. There are many brands that clean without harsh and dangerous chemicals, choose some of these. Good old vinegar and baking soda works wonders. You really can clean without any toxic substances which is a great choice for you, your dog and the earth.
Clean without chemicals.
Earth easy cleaning
As a society we have been brainwashed into thinking that it isn't clean if we didn't use chemicals. All of these chemicals are so dangerous to us. Often hot water is enough. Read the articles above for other ideas.
One step towards a less toxic life is a step in the right direction. Here's to green!!!!


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So, ladies are a nervous bunch when it gets to that point in a relationship when it is time to get intimate with the man in their lives for the first time.
Doesn't matter if it is one, three or six months after they meet but there will always be questions reflecting worry that lead up to this moment that is normally awaited with bated breath.
Check them out below
1. Will he use protection?
2. Do I need to get myself sorted out if he doesn't?
3. Will he agree to use protection if he doesn't want to use them?
4. Will I live with myself if we end up hooking up without protection?
5. Should I shave?
6. Should i bring a condom or would he bring it?
7. What do I wear?
8. Should I buy new, sexy underwear for the occasion?
9. What colour should my underwear be?
10. Will we be sexually compatible?
11. Will he be too big or too small?
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12. Do I need to work on my flexibility up in case he is too experienced?
13. Should I watch adult film just in case he asks me to take the lead?
14. Should I lose some weight? Or add some to be grab-able?
15. Will he smother me if he is too big bodied or will it be clinical if he is stick-thin? Maybe mechanical?
16. Will it be too soon or too late?
But what worries ladies the most is .-bedroom 'Olympics event'.
Majority would question their decision to have slept with the guy and they would probably be wondering:
1. Did it make me seem cheap by putting out so soon?
2. Does he think I'm a prude?
3. Do I need to get checked for something after hooking up with him?
4. Should I actually have sex with him again?
5. Will he want a repeat performance?
6. Does he regret sleeping with me?
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We are excited to announce the release of our 2015 Viognier in addition to the release of our port which has been aged for 7 years. All wines will be paired with fondue and other nibbles; a perfect way to celebrate Valentine's weekend with your loved one, family, and friends.
This event is free for Cellar Club Members and up to 4 guests and Cave Club Members with up to 6 guests.


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Achieving Happiness is defined many different ways for many people and that is fine , but there is one thing that all have in common. The one thing all methods of finding happiness have in common is Struggle. I say this because, achieving your wanted level of happiness is going to be difficult and you have to realize that nothing is going to be given to you in life, you must work for it. Whether you want happiness in wealth, relationships, or even simply being able to smile whenever, you will have to go through some sort of struggle in life. Lots of people now a days see others happiness and they want to have the same things they have, but they fail to realize that those people did not just wake up and have everything they ever wanted, they went through a struggle and Achieved there happiness.If you have the mindset where you know what you want and nothing, and no one can stop you from getting there, that is when you will succeed and make progress towards your true happiness. Its not going to be easy, life is not supposed to be but you when you achieve your happiness or just a goal you have set, it will be nice feeling and you will want to keep having that feeling so you will be more willing to work for it each time.
Achieving Happiness