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It was admirably succinct, the note John Lennon wrote to the Queen in 1969, a cameo that captured the mood of a decade in two sentences. "Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon."
A few days ago, the note was found in a royal vault, along with the returned medal. I didn't need to be reminded of the exact wording. As one who spent more time reading books about the Beatles than revising for O-levels, I knew it by heart. Such insouciance. Such economy. Such wit.
When I first heard about it I must still have been young enough to harbour republican sentiments. It wouldn't have been at the time it was written – I was five – more like a decade or so later, when the Sex Pistols marked the Silver Jubilee by singing "God Save the Queen, she ain't no human being". Republicanism was in the air – a teenage affectation, as fashionable as socialism. It didn't occur to me to see things from the Queen's perspective. She was the Establishment. John Lennon was the rebel, albeit one who drove around in a white Rolls-Royce.
Just as King Lear ought be seen several times throughout your life – because its meaning changes as you get older – so this note means something different to me now. I find it is the Queen, not Lennon, for whom I feel admiration. A surge of affection, actually, because she didn't react to it, because she never does.
How unknowable she is. How enigmatic. And how canny of her to have remained a mystery for all these years. Oh, there have been occasional intimations as to what she thinks, what she likes. She has her bras made by Rigby & Peller, she keeps her cornflakes in Tupperware boxes, her favourite drink is gin and Dubonnet (one-third to two-thirds) with a slice of lemon – no pips – and two perfectly square cubes of ice.
But what do we know of her sense of humour? Mere glimpses again. When Lech Walesa came to stay, she told an aide, "He only knows two English words," then paused before adding drily: "They are quite interesting words." And in 1962 when she saw Peter Cook's savage impersonation of Harold Macmillan in Beyond the Fringe she roared with laughter. Before that evening there had been protests and walk-outs, with theatre-goers outraged at seeing the Queen's first minister lampooned in public.
That she is as inscrutable as a sphinx is the source
of her power, her hold over our imaginations. All we can do, appropriately enough, is imagine.
I imagine that, like any parent of a wayward child, she felt not angry with John Lennon but cluckingly protective towards him, and possibly amused. Consider the way the medal was carefully stored away rather than melted down or recycled for someone else.
It is a perfect metaphor for how the monarchy works: unruffled, polite, understanding.
I see now that the Queen was just as much a symbol of the Sixties as was John Lennon, of the Seventies as was Johnny Rotten, of the Eighties as was Boy George and so on. While their stars fade she goes on absorbing the insults, never complaining, never explaining, quietly earning our respect and patiently reflecting our national character back to us, Elizabethans all.
I suspect she knows that our feelings towards her change as we mature. Had he lived long enough, Lennon might have come to this understanding too; he had a mother complex, after all, and the Queen is the ultimate matriarch. And, come to think of it, he did sign his note: "With love."


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subset: commoncrawl


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Actress Diane Kruger is back to work after welcoming her first child with boyfriend Norman Reedus last month!
Along with promoting her new film "Welcome to Marwen," Kruger opened up about motherhood with "Extra's" Mark Wright. Joined by her co-star Janelle Monáe, she pointed out, "It's very rewarding."
Diane appeared to slip on the baby's gender, saying, "She's very little, but I'm tired. I feel like a superhero right now."
Kruger sports turquoise hair in "Welcome to Marwen," but would she ever let her daughter dye her hair? While Diane is not convinced she's going to be a fun mom, hair-color choices would be an "easy yes! Go for it — I wish my mom would have allowed me to do that."
Though she dyed her hair turquoise for the film, it is not something she would do in real life. Kruger explained, "I thought about it beforehand and then I saw it on-screen and was like, 'No, not flattering.'"
"Welcome to Marwen," based on a true story, is about Mark Hogancamp (played by Steve Carell), a man who struggles to put the pieces of his life back together after an accident wipes away all his memories.
Diane called her character "fantastical." She added, "I'm sort of the downfall of Mark; I am a metaphor for bad decisions, bad relationships, bad dependency on drugs, but I like that I bring that to life in such an imaginative way... and being the bad girl is always fun to do.
Monáe plays G.I. Julie, who is "trying to get through the traumatic experiences" in war, including losing a limb. She commented, "Taking G.I. Julie over to Marwen and her having a new body and new hairstyle and moving in a way you haven't seen her was so fun."
"Welcome to Marwen" hits theaters December 21.


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Senior Spring Break
Spring Break is not just for kids. Purgatory Resort invites Seniors to this two-day event featuring specialty clinics designed especially for seniors. Learn from our certified ski instructors while meeting new friends. The atmosphere is relaxed and designed to build confidence for skiers of all abilities. Registration fee includes one continental breakfast at Durango Mountain Club, two morning clinics, afternoon free skiing and two après ski events.
Registration Fee: $149
How to Register
Book My Lesson
Call Purgatory Snowsports School at (970) 385-2149 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Clinic Dates & Times
Day 1: Wednesday, March 1
8:00–9:00 am Continental Breakfast at Durango Mountain Club
10:00 am–1:00 pm Morning Lesson
1:00–3:30 pm Open Skiing
3:30–4:30 pm Après Ski
Day 2: Thursday, March 2
10:00 am–1:00 pm Morning Lesson
1:00–3:30 pm Open Skiing
3:30–4:30 pm Après Ski
Clinic Information
Meeting Place
Meets at Purgatory's Snowsports School adult meeting place no later than 9:45am.
Lift Tickets
All participants must have a season pass or lift ticket. Single day lift tickets are available for purchase by participants for $50 on each day of the clinic.
Learn more about season passes, including pass specials.
Participants must provide their own personal equipment or rental equipment. Fully functional and properly sized equipment is required. All ski equipment must have current bindings, metal edges and brakes. Contact Purgatory Snowsports School if you have questions about equipment.
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Cancellations and refunds must be made at the Purgatory Snowsports School Reservation Desk, or by calling (970) 385-2149.
Slopeside rooms start as low as $135 a night during Spring Break. Find out more


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text: I photographed people with fireworks for the three years along the Duwamish River in Seattle on the Fourth of July. Initially I was interested in the time exposure, to see just how much I could blend and blur the fireworks, people and the light to create a workable image. Reviewing the work after the first year, I realized it was the people surrounded by the light and the fireworks that really interested me. I wasn't making portraits per se but photographs about people who moved like dancers, within an atmosphere that was mysterious, intriguing and ultimately unsettling. Shooting these events, I felt like I was in a war zone that was dangerous and at the same time, incredibly beautiful. These images were made with digital capture and printed on 17 x 11 inch rag paper with archival inks. They are available from the artist in a limited edition of 25. Please contact me for information on pricing and edition availability.


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Howdy – I've been wanting to record a game of Banished for a while now, and have had 6 or 7 false starts doing it on video. For whatever reason, I can't make a YouTube style let's play of this really work out. Tutorial videos are fine, but nothing actually showing gameplay.
So… I've given up on that idea. And since the blog-style DF thing has been moderately well received, I'm going to see if I can do the same here – but with a lot more full screenshots since Banished is just a bit nicer to look at 🙂
Banished is a one-man project by a game industry veteran who rolled everything on his own. The devlog is some serious stuff. Since it came out a year ago, I've probably sunk 90+ hours into it. It fits into a critical niche in the city building/simulation genre that I'm very happy to see filled… and I could just gush about the game for hours. But instead, I'm going to play.
But as I just mentioned, I've played a LOT of Banished. So it's time for a challenge (which I will explain momentarily).
The Mods
In what was the final real patch to the game (it is technically feature complete), he finalized the modding api. It's not perfect – modders can't script new behaviors/etc… but they have full control over the game's data files, and can do a lot within the established framework.
So, we're also going to play with some mods, because I'm a fan of modding games 🙂
You'll also notice that this was an OSX screenshot. The game currently only officially works on windows, but after a bit of fiddling, I'm able to run it through wine on my mac just fine 🙂
Okay, so this is a list of the small mods we will be using:
- Colorful 2 Floor Little Houses, by Redketchup – This provides a nice looking house that can be "stacked" to give the illusion of two a two story building. In reality, it is just a pair of narrow houses that render the one on top of the other. But I've played with it a good bit, I think it's well balanced, and it looks great.
- Mountain Fields, by Owlchemist – This should allow me to plant low-yield crops on normally unbuildable mountain tiles. I've never played with it, but I've used some of Owlchemist's other content before so think it might work out nicely.
- Time is Money, by Darkbibou – IIRC, Darkbibou is the authorized French translator of Redketchup's mods and has done a number of other general quality of life things. This is the first time I've used anything of his, and it simply moves the time controls out of a submenu onto the main button bar. So just quality of life, nothing actually affecting gameplay.
- Buildable Storage Carts, by Elfecutioner – This mod provides the ability to build two inexpensive and small storage buildings. One holds food and herbs and one holds tools and clothes. They will be very important for my bootstrap process, and are nice for ramping up worker productivity.
- Fish Farm, by Dio Jodianto – This mod provides a small building that allows inland fish production. I've only used it a few times, but like the Mountain Fields mod, it is here in case I have problems filling the food warehouses mid-game.
Additionally (and perhaps most importantly), we will be running Colonial Charter. As of this writing, I have the latest version, 1.32 (codename Excellent Adventure). CC is a massive mod that comes as close to total conversion as is really possible in this game without doing something really horrible. It really one of the only mods in the game big enough to warrant its own website. The wiki over there is important 🙂
All of these are available on the Steam Workshop – with the exception of Redketchup's mods (unless you want them in French). Like any modding community, the Banished community has drama. Bootleg versions of his mods (as well as those of several other authors) are posted to Steam by the dozens. I am using the official download of his mod from World of Banished. I also think I have the WoB version of BSC because there are a number of bootlegs of it as well on Steam (but I believe the legit one is still out there).
The Challenge
Enough about the modlist, what about the challenge?
I will be creating my world with the following settings:
The name and seed are random.
A harsh climate is colder than default. People need more clothing and fuel to survive and crops may have problems.
"Hard" starting conditions mean that I begin the game with four families (8 adults plus a few children). I will have no seeds or livestock, no building materials, and will only have a minimal supply of clothing, food, firewood, and tools to bootstrap with.
I've played on CC's Adam and Eve setting before, which is basically just Hard minus the extra people. And I've found it easier than Hard – because you don't have as many mouths to feed off the bat. Adam and Eve is also kind of annoying with all of the waiting you have to do for the first couple of years.
I will also be making a Very Large map with the default Valley terrain type. I'm choosing this because in my experience, the larger map tends to be a bit more annoying to navigate, even with the default terrain.
And then there are the rules I will be imposing on myself:
- No schools. Everyone other than the initial colonists will be uneducated.
- No birth control. Everyone needs to move out of their parents' basement and start breeding within a calendar year of reaching "adulthood".
- No immigration requirements. Once I can afford a town hall, any nomads who show up must be admitted to the colony.
I won't be rushing to a town hall (convenient as it may be), but I will have one eventually. This also means that I'll need to have a bunk house to accept new arrivals before the town hall goes up.
Otherwise, that's it. I'm going to declare a "winning" condition at reaching a population of 500 and a "losing" condition of ever letting my population drop to half of whatever maximum it has ever reached. Thus, if my population ever hits 25 only to have some disease subsequently kill off 13 people, I lose.
Enough mumbling, let's begin.
Year 1
So, it's an interesting spawn point. I've had much better and much worse. We're next to a good sized mountain – so that will eventually be a field I guess. The large lake next to spawn does not connect to the main river. We will want to extend northward toward that before too long, because no big river means no seeds or livestock.
The really worrying thing is the relative dearth of resources nearby. It's a lot of open space and rocks, not a lot of forests. There's a good bit of forest to the east, but that takes me away from the river…
So, my first priority is a gatherer in the forest north of spawn, and a road leading to it from the spawn field.
I'm putting 6 people on building duty, leaving two to dedicated resource gathering. We will be cutting down most of the trees immediately surrounding the spawn point and gathering most of the rocks nearby. The rocks in the forest will be gathered later as we start planting trees in their stead.
Additionally, we will be putting a grocer's cart right south of the gatherer. These only cost 8 wood but four gatherers can fill one up in about a season if we're not emptying it out into something larger.
One of our children has already grown to adulthood, but we don't have houses yet. This just means that our total number of "families" is up to 5 when we do start building housing.
While people build this, I'm going to designate further plans for the city. Placing a market is critical – even if we don't build it this year (which we won't). In this case, I'm going to put my market right up inside the edge of the planned forest.
Colonial Charter adds a new tier of large market building that costs a bit more, has roads through the middle, and services a larger radius. I'll be making one of these eventually… but we'll fill out the roads now and plan our other buildings in relation to this.
CC also adds smaller one-resource vendor stalls that will be nice as our population grows and we need to organize things a bit more carefully, but for now, this will do nicely.
East of the market, toward the mountain, will go our woodcutter and blacksmith. Neither of these will be started until after the gatherers are working, but they're both high priority buildings.
Once they finish the gatherer, we will start building houses. CC introduces a number of new houses, including a terrible entry-level shack that only costs 10 wood and 2 stone. These shacks have very minimal storage capacity and I assume they leak heat like nobody's business, but they're the cheapest way to get everyone indoors before the winter. We will plan on replacing them soon.
Two shacks will go on the east side of the woodcutter and blacksmith, with the other three facing the northern edge of the marketplace.
We will only be actively building one or two things at a time, and the order for our first few buildings will be:
- gatherer + cart
- shack x2
- woodcutter
- shack x2
It is Late Spring and we have another adult, and have just finished the gatherer's shop. So, that means 4 people on full-time berry picking duty leaves us with 6 adults for other tasks.
Right now, we're losing a lot of time because people are walking so far back to the original cart for food. Houses will fix that shortly.
Early Summer and the grocer's cart is complete, time to build our first shack and hope the residents don't steal all of the firewood. We're also up to 11 adults, which means we'll need 6 houses eventually.
CC also adds specialized stockpiles – so a small wood stockpile and one for fuel will go next to the woodcutter. A general stockpile will be going on the southern side of the marketplace for now.
Yeesh. And it figures. 75 of our 100 initial firewood went into the first house. The occupants of the second house spent about 12 trips trying to get the remaining 25… woodcutter is coming online next with maximum urgency.
We'll start the fuel limit at 100 (default is 200). This will free the woodcutter to spend a lot of time as a general laborer – and will prevent us from running out of logs while we're still in heavy build mode.
Early Autumn and another adult. Woodcutter's house needs to come online next, I think.
And the other house should come next. This will allow us to get everyone indoors in time for winter at least. We have 12 adults now, so will need to upgrade to 6 houses soon. I think after we get some more food storage built and before the blacksmith starts working. We're down to 8 tools – so the blacksmith needs to happen before next summer, probably much sooner than that.
One of my favorite things that CC adds is a suite of customized storage buildings. There are meat lockers and root cellars and several other things that I won't be building just yet.
Root cellars need to be built into a hillside, so it's a good thing we're so close to a mountain. Everything that comes out of a gatherer can go into one of them and I'm going to build it behind the woodcutter.
Late Autumn and nobody is homeless now.
We still need to build two more houses, and can't afford to go with anything nicer than huts just yet. So two more shacks it is… after they finish the root cellar.
Clothing is going to be our next concern, and building up a supply of coats takes more time than anything else. This means a tailor needs to happen – but can wait until we have the leather.
For leather, we'll want to set up a hunting camp. CC adds an extra step of butchers to process meat, so a deer butcher shop and an attached meat locker will also be going online there.
This brings our current build priority queue to something like this:
- shack x2
- hunter
- blacksmith + tool cart
- butcher + meat locker
- tailor
We'll want to set up fishing some time soon as well, and fish go in a meat locker along with the venison. This means we'll want to plan for the meat locker and butcher to go next to the fishery (so fishers can just walk back and forth). But I don't know whether I like the lake or the river more. I'm leaning toward the big U-bend in the river… so let's see if we can make that work.
The hunting lodge doesn't need to be adjacent to a meat locker, but should still be in the forest. I don't like the amount of space we have here, but will deal with it. Hunter is going into the "deepest" part of our current forest, and its radius extends to across the river. Some bridges will need to go online soon (after the tailor I think).
Come to think of it, the trading post will also need to happen along this river. I don't have a spot I like for it either, so it's probably going in one of the only spots I can fit it – the river bend.
Early Winter, and we're up to 13 adults.
Maybe a forester is more important than the tailor. The leather won't be going anywhere any time soon. I think we need to plot out the forester and herbalist soon – and build the forester (set to plant only for now) once the butcher is ready.
We've also emptied all of the food out of the original supply cart, so it's time to build its replacement – but we won't tear down the old one until the blacksmith is producing tools.
Late Winter, the hunters are working. We're up to 14 adults with 6 houses built. So one more house needs to be built. We're also starting to run out of the initial wood we gathered from around spawn – but more worryingly, we are down to 3 spare tools. So blacksmith is our immediate priority. Our stock of coats will last the winter, and coat production will be able to start before we run out there. The seventh house can be something nicer than a hut, and can wait until after we have a tailor going.
To build the smithy, we will need to gather a lot more rocks and iron. Thankfully, we have a large supply right nearby that I've not been actively collecting.
But it is the end of year one, and I'll have to resume this later.
Our hunters have bagged a deer though – meat and leather are on hand, which means I need to get the butcher going quickly so people don't waste the meat 🙂


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University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded a licence to provide services under a new, tougher system for regulating standards.
From 1 April, all NHS trusts in England have to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) by law to provide care. To achieve registration, UCLH met new standards of quality and safety set out by the CQC.
Sir Robert Naylor, chief executive, said: "I am very pleased that we have achieved registration without condition under the CQC's new monitoring system. We are never complacent about quality and safety at UCLH and we will continue working to improve the patient experience and ensure the safe delivery of our services."
The new standards cover important issues for patients such as treating people with respect, involving them in decisions about care, keeping clinical areas clean and ensuring services are safe. CQC inspections will involve observation of care, tracking of case studies and talking to patients and staff.
Under the new system, outcomes and the experience of patients are the main focus for the CQC's judgement, although effective systems and processes continue to be required and assessed.
CQC chair Dame Jo Williams said: "This is just the first step... Once trusts are registered we will be monitoring them constantly, carrying out more unannounced inspections and using our enforcement powers to drive improvements.
"The NHS has never been regulated like this before and they are rising to the challenge. I'm pleased at the scale of ambition in the NHS to improve services. Trusts have fully engaged in the registration process and asked themselves tough questions about their own performance. No trust is perfect, but the best trusts know exactly where the problems lie and are already taking action address them."
The CQC will draw together intelligence and information about NHS care from a range of sources, creating quality-and-risk profiles for every trust in the country.
The numbers of inspections at NHS trusts are set to rise significantly, however, these will be proportionate, targeting areas of concern and minimising inspection where organisations perform well.
At a minimum, CQC will review the trusts' performance every two years against the 16 standards that relate most closely to quality and safety. The consequences for a trust that is not meeting standards can range from fines to, in extreme cases, closure because CQC has stronger enforcement powers than before.
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Petco Gift Card Balance Check
Check Petco Gift Card Balance online, over the phone or in store. Gift card merchant Petco provides you a gift card balance check, the information is below for this gift card company. All questions or issues regarding your Petco gift card or gift card balance should be directed to the company who issued you the gift card and or Petco. This site is not affiliated with any gift cards or gift card merchants listed on this site.
Gift Card Balance By Phone: Merchant Number Not Found Gift Card Balance Online: Check Balance Online Gift Card Balance In Store: You Can Check Balance In Store! Gift Card Merchant: Update this gift card merchant
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You can not check Petco Store Merchandise Gift Cards online, you have to go to the store


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Should elected officials be allowed to live in sin? One concerned citizen wants Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Keith London prosecuted for just that.
Linda Takahashi cited a little-enforced state statute that makes "cohabitation" of unmarried couples a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by $500 or up to 60 days in jail. On Friday, she implored City Attorney Lynn Whitfield to investigate.
London, who says he's in a committed eight-year relationship with his "partner and soul mate," declined to comment.
Takahashi was told to take up her complaint with the Broward State Attorney's Office.


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Speeches & Floor Statements
Floor Remarks of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.): Student loans and health care law
Posted on May 9, 2012
Madam President, I enjoyed listening to the Senator from Rhode Island, as I always do. His passion for education is always on his sleeve and always front and center and I admire him for that.
There are a couple of things I wish to make clear. If you are a student and you already have a student loan, what we are talking about has nothing to do with your loan. In other words, your rate on that loan is not going up. What we are talking about only affects new loans. So before you think about not going to college next year because of all this talk about student loan rates going up, that is not a problem. We are only talking about new loans.
Second, for 60 percent of the students who get new loans, we are not talking about you either. So you don't have to worry about student loan rates going up.
Third, for those of you about whom we are talking, the 40 percent who have these subsidized undergraduate student loans, what we are talking about saving you is $7 a month in interest payments over the next 10 years. Now $7 a month can add up, which is why Governor Romney as well as President Obama, Republicans as well as Democrats, wants to keep the interest rate at the rate it is now for new loans, 3.4 percent, for another year. But it is $7 a month in savings. It is important to know that.
It is also important to know that there is an easy way to get this done. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill that would keep the interest rate at 3.4 percent for these 40 percent of new loans for one more year. All the majority leader has to do is bring up the House-passed bill and enact it here in the Senate. In other words, we agree on extending the interest rate. We only have a difference of opinion about how to pay for it.
I have offered an alternative supported by many Republicans, which is the same as the House bill, which simply says we want to keep the interest rate where it is for another year, 3.4 percent, and we want to do the logical thing to pay for it. We want to give back to students the money that the government is taking from them to help pay for the new health care law.
You may think: what in the world does the health care bill have to do with student loans? That is what many of us thought when the health care law was being debated. Because, what our friends on the other side of the aisle did during the health care law debate was take over the whole student loan program and almost turn the U.S. Secretary of Education into the U.S. banking commissioner. He has the job of making more than $100 billion in new student loans every year. Their idea was the government can make these loans better than the banks. Our friends on the other side of the aisle said to the students: The banks are overcharging you. We are going to take it over and we will be doing you a favor.
What did the Democrats do? They took it over, but they didn't do the students a favor. According to the Congressional Budget Office, there was $61 billion of savings from taking over the loan program, much of which was money that the students should not have been paying. When the federal government took it over, what did the Democrats do? They spent it on other programs, all except for $10 billion, including $8.7 billion helping to pay for the new health care law.
The way the Congressional Budget Office looks at it, $61 billion in savings resulted from -- and these are my words -- the government borrowing money at 2.8 percent interest and loaning it to students at 6.8 percent interest. We now want to take that profit from overcharging students and give it back to students. That is the way to pay for extending the 3.4 percent interest rate that we are talking about for another year.
We are in agreement on this. Republicans as well as Democrats, Governor Romney as well as President Obama, say keep the 3.4 percent rate at 3.4 percent for another year. Students should know that it does not affect anybody who has a loan today and that it will save you $7 a month for a new subsidized loan. We want to do that. But the way we want to pay for it is by giving back the money that the other side of the aisle took from you to help pay for the health care bill. That is the right way to do it, instead of the typical reaction we often hear from the other side, which is we have something we want to do so we will simply raise taxes on people and businesses creating jobs in the middle of a recession.


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Volkswagen has revealed the plug-in hybrid variant of the seventh-gen Golf which will go on sale next year.
Volkswagen has revealed the plug-in hybrid variant of the seventh-gen Golf which will go on sale next year.
It has been a very busy week for the German brand since in the last few days they unveiled the Golf VII GTD, e-Golf and the very frugal XL1. In addition, they also confirmed plans of developing an Up! Hybrid using the powertrain of the XL1.
Now, Volkswagen is showing the Golf plug-in hybrid which uses the same powertrain as the recently announced Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid. This combines a 150 HP (110 kW) 1.4-liter TFSI engine with a 102 HP (75 kW) electric motor and a dual-clutch e-S tronic 6-speed gearbox. The setup enables the vehicle to have a combined output of 204 HP (150 kW) and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm).
It will do 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 7.6 seconds and return 188 mpg UK (156.5 mpg US or 1.5 liters / 100 km) with CO2 emissions of 35 g/km. In electric mode, the 2013 Volkswagen Golf plug-in hybrid can travel for up to 31 miles (50 km) and is capable of hitting a maximum speed of 81 mph (130 km/h).


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This week we're training the spotlight on some of our high-quality offerings from Marfione Custom Knives. Marfione customs come from knifemaker Anthony Marfione, founder of Microtech. These are beautiful knives that exhibit the finest craftsmanship across the board.
The amount of pride taken in these products really shows on something like the Anax. The 3.75″ blade is made from Elmax steel and has a beautiful tri-tone stonewash finish. Handle is one solid piece of carbon fiber, except of course the framelock. You've got to appreciate that. That's not to mention the finer details too, like the inlaid Tritum ampule to help you pick the blade out in the dark. Just a fantastically constructed knife.
And Marfione isn't afraid to go overbuilt either, like this Apocalyptic Star Lord flipper. This beefy son of a gun also has a 3.75″ Elmax blade, but this time super wide and sporting Tony's apocalyptic finish. As is the 6A14V titanium handle. Despite the size and weight, the action on this knife is about as smooth as you can get.
There's great variety from these guys, too. They've got automatics like this Desert Tactical Ultratech, which has an unbelievably powerful deployment system. There are also more unique items like this Assailant titanium credit card knife. For as low-profile an item as this it's got great functionality, with a razor sharp knife, a bottle opener, and a ton of jimping around the edges to make for a superb grip.
And if you're feeling really extravagant they've got absolutely stunning offerings, for example this exquisite Sigil flipper with a mirror finish blade and dragon koi handle engraving. It doesn't get much nicer than that.
Overall, Marfione is a brand that has become known as a reliable source of top-tier custom knives. To check out our full line of Marfione Custom Knives, click here. To see our full inventory visit knifecenter.com


text: Now, when clicing the 'Apply' button, a new form will be open to fill in directly on your website. We have also added the option for the user to upload a file on the form (the upload file has a limit of 5MB). This way, they can not only apply to a job position, but also attach their CV!


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David Lewin, Managing Director
While state supervision is no cure for unexpected turbulences in the financial market, it remains an essential tool for the mitigation of financial crisis risks. The recent financial problems in Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain are likely to fuel the call for a well coordinated and strong financial supervision system within the European Union (EU). This is also true in the insurance market, where players invested in mispriced government bonds and are now busy disposing of them.
After the financial crisis of 2008, the European Commission saw that it was crucial to foster closer cooperation among national supervision authorities, since nationally-based supervision had not been able to keep up with financial globalization.
In November 2008, as a first reaction to the recent financial crisis, the European Commission created a high-level group to develop ideas for strengthening EU supervisory arrangements in the financial sector. In its final report, dated February 25, 2009, this group proposed restructuring the entire EU supervisory institutions architecture. The purpose was to create an integrated monitoring panel for financial services, including (re)insurance companies. The European Council decided to make the appropriate amendments to EU legislation surprisingly quickly, on June 19, 2009.
Since then, the EU institutional framework for the supervision of insurance companies has changed considerably. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) came into existence on January 1, 2011, and is one of three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) created in addition to the new European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB). These new watchdogs replace the former European Committees for the banking, securities and insurance and occupational pensions sectors. They have been given extended control powers designed to facilitate more effective financial supervision.
EIOPA succeeds the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) and works alongside the new European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). By cooperating with national authorities, EIOPA monitors developments in the market and works to detect threats to fnancial stability as early as possible.
Legal Framework, Tasks and Powers
EIOPA has taken over CEIOPS's functions, including drafting regulatory technical standards, general guidelines for the supervision of the insurance market and proposals to national supervision authorities in case of non-compliance with EU law. EIOPA also conducts peer reviews to ensure the consistent application of existing and future technical EU rules in the insurance and occupational pensions sector.
Unlike CEIOPS, though, EIOPA is not limited to an advisory or consultative role. Its powers include individual binding decisions, as provided for in Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of November 24, 2010, the legal framework of the new authority (EIOPA Regulation, the Regulation). Such decisions may be addressed to national supervision authorities and even to individual financial institutions.
In certain emergency situations in the financial markets, the existence of which has to be determined by the European Council, EIOPA may adopt individual decisions requiring the competent national authorities to take action (Article 18 (3) of the Regulation). In case of non-compliance by a national authority, decisions may be addressed to individual financial institutions, with an extreme example being the cessation of any practice (Article 18 (4)).
When a dispute between several national authorities arises and an agreement cannot be reached, EIOPA may make binding decisions for the authorities concerned to ensure compliance with EU law (Article 19 (3)), and where appropriate, for financial institutions (Article 19 (4)). Finally, if a national authority fails to comply with its obligations under EU law and is reluctant to take necessary action in due time, EIOPA can adopt individual decisions addressed to financial institutions, if the relevant EU provisions are directly applicable to them (Article 17 (6)).
Time will reveal the full impact and relevance of EIOPA's new powers. National authorities and financial hegemonies have been advocating for the maintenance of their autonomy as EIOPA developed. Therefore, EIOPA currently works within strict conditions to make use of its discretionary powers.
EIOPA's Architecture
EIOPA is designed as an authority with legal personality (Article 5 (1) of the Regulation), meaning that it may have its own rights and obligations. Its main decision-making body is the Board of Supervisors (Article 40 of the Regulation), comprising representatives of the national supervisory authority in each EU Member State (in the case of Germany, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin). The Board of Supervisors adopts all opinions, recommendations and decisions issued by EIO PA on the basis of an annual work program (Article 43 (2), (4)).
In January 2011, the Board elected Gabriel Bernardino, of Portugal, to represent the authority as non-voting chairman for a term of five years. Mr. Bernardino is joined by the Spanish Executive Director Carlos Montalvo, who is in charge of the management and implementation of EIOPA's annual work program.
The Management Board is responsible for all executive work. Its members are the Chairman, six representatives of national supervisory authorities and a representative of the European Commission. Currently, this Board consists of representatives from Austria, Ireland, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Management Board proposes the annual work program and exercises budgetary power (Article 47 of the Regulation).
Finally, the architecture of EIO PA includes a Board of Appeal for remedies against EIO PA's decisions (Articles 58 and 60 of the Regulation). Like its predecessor CEIOPS, EIOPA has its seat in Frankfurt am Main.
Stakeholder Groups
An unusual feature of the new ESA structure is that authorities are supplemented by stakeholder groups in order to include consultations with concerned private actors. EIOPA, according to Article 37 of the Regulation, hosts two such groups: one for insurance and reinsurance and another for occupational pensions. The insurance and reinsurance group has 30 members, with 10 of them representing insurance, reinsurance and insurance intermediary companies. It is chaired by Michaela Koller, of Germany. She is Director General of the CEA, the European insurance and reinsurance federation.
Having only advisory powers under the EIOPA provisions, this insurance and reinsurance group still gives stakeholders sufficient opportunity to express their interests. It meets at least four times per year and at least twice with representatives of the Board of S upervisors. EIOPA and the European Commission ask the group to provide its opinions regarding insurance-related regulatory technical standards, the implementation of technical standards and EIOPA's guidelines and recommendations.
Beyond the right to be heard, the stakeholder group is free to inform EIO PA about possible breaches of EU law and request that EIOPA investigate these. At any time, the group may submit its opinions about EIOPA's actions toward a common supervisory culture to any peer review of competent authorities and assessment of market developments. The authority is requested to publish any opinion and advice of the stakeholders.
The influence of this group remains to be seen.
Current Issues
The institutional change corresponds to further harmonization of substantive insurance supervision law within the EU. EIOPA will supervise the implementation of these new provisions within the member states in order to achieve a fully coordinated EU supervision structure. One of the top issues on EIOPA's agenda, in this respect, is to make European insurance companies fit with the equity provisions of the Solvency II Directive, which becomes effective in 2013.
Recently, EIOPA announced that around 90 percent of European (re)insurers have met minimum solvency requirements and passed its second stress test carried out in June. The test was meant to detect how insurance ompanies would handle different degrees of macroeconomic crisis under Solvency II terms. It has been argued that these tests did not reflect the possible emergence of a national bankruptcy within the EU , even as that scenario became more and more of a reality. However, the test and its results still allowed EIOPA to make a clear statement to member states and to the market.
From an overall perspective, national authorities that focus on the supervision of financial markets will face more than implementation challenges as the substantive supervision legislation is harmonized within the EU. They may have to accept a subsequent transition, including discretional power shifts to the EU level, which may have significant consequences for concerned sectors, including the insurance industry. However, this process advances the involvement of stakeholders.(Re)insurance companies are well advised to provide adequate and dedicated input during this process to make their positions known.
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Read other legal updates from Guy Carpenter >>
David Lewin, Managing Director


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The Washington Post has announced that it is adding Hilary Rosen, a long-time Democrat operative, attorney, and lobbyist, to its editorial pages.
Rosen will join a parade of liberals and Democrat operatives, one Republican operative, and others as one of the "Insiders" writing daily political commentary.
Washington Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt said he looks forward to Rosen's contribution. "Hilary will be a lively addition to our diverse voices. Like Ed, she is an experienced insider with strong views and an original, independent mind."
Rosen is most recently known for attacking GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney's wife, Ann, during the late election for having "never worked a day in her life."
The furor that arose from Rosen's attacks on motherhood eventually caused a backlash even among Democrats, which prompted CNN to ask her how it feels to be "thrown under the bus."
After Rosen attacked stay-at-home mothers, it came to light that she was utilizing special lobbying privileges garnered by her close ties to the Obama campaign. Rosen's backdoor privileges allowed her to get her operatives into the White House without meeting the reporting requirements all other lobbyists are forced to meet.
As The Nation reported last April, Rosen's backdoor privileges allowed her to peddle client interests "in multiple meetings with White House officials, all without registering any of her employees as lobbyists."
Shortly after she attacked Ann Romney for not having a job, Rosen asserted that people leaving the work force is a "hopeful thing." "People leaving aren't necessarily bad," she claimed while discussing unemployment under Obama's tenure as President.
Rosen's early career began in the late 1980s when she became an attorney for the Recording Industry Association of America. She later helped the organization sue download site Napster.
Rosen also became a vocal and active gay rights activist, even starting her own lesbian social network, OurChart.com. The network was inspired, Rosen said, by Showtime's "The L Word" TV series.
By 2008, Rosen became an editor at large for the Huffington Post, but the site soon dumped her once she became an attorney and consultant for British Petroleum after the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
Rosen is a lead operative at the Democrat communications firm SKDKnickerbocker and has been a constant visitor at the White House. Rosen has been such a fixture at the White House, she attended a high-profile meeting on healthcare messaging in 2009.
She has also been hired to give media training to Democrat National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.


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I am finding that writing this blog is scaring me.
I am finding that writing this blog is making my body remember all the torture that punters put into me.
I am finding I am ill, when nothing is physically wrong with me.
I read that Andrea Dworkin knew that writing to the truth is the most painful thing a woman can do to herself.
I also know from every cell in my body to not write would send me back into the deadness of being prostituted.
Writing to the truth is not just my work – it is my mission.
I turn on Spotify and find Hits of Dusty Springfield – music I know by heart – and then maybe I will write to the blocking of my truths.
I will say with gratitude and amazement at the loyalty and kindness of so many who read this blog – there are too many to name, but know I hold you in my heart as fear, pain and grief is in me.
I was thrown backwards by the callousness and relentless attacks by the pro-sex trade lobby.
Yes, I will come out strong, I will show them up for who they really.
I will state loud and in a clear voice – that the attackers of the sex trade are pimps, punters and all those who benefit from the status quo of the sex trade.
Stop thinking it is just trolls, just bored individuals – look with a clear eye how exited women are attacked.
If we dared to speak out in many voices, if we even have the appearance of having some connection – the sex trade lobby come down on us like a ton of bricks.
Look how all their arguments, points and views are always the same – like only a few people are writing them, or it a pre-planned script.
See how it is relentless – as if they were funded by say the sex trade with its endless bundles of cash, as if they can pay people to trawl the net for anything that exited women may say however light-hearted.
Look how cruel and without a heart it always is – say it could be written in pimp- or punter-language.
Then tell me it not a pre-planned attack to silenced all exited women.
Tell me if you were in the skin of an exited woman, that it would not scare you or shake you up.
Remember it is not just words to us.
We have been struck in rooms, on the streets – with punters verbally attacking us until we cannot hear their words any more.
We know that as punters mentally abuse us – they will rape us or beat us up, they may leave us to died if they want to.
We cannot always laugh at the words of punters – for our bodies and minds have known their hate and violence.
We know who and what pimps are.
They may call themselves – businessmen, independent escorts, providing tantric sex, drivers, bodyguards, friends of sex workers, a madam or whatever other label that hide the word pimp.
We know a pimp through their words, through their lack of compassion, through their desire to control and always have the last word, through their desire to gas-light us or those who believe us.
We know pimps are furious with all exited women for exposing their hate and violence – for showing them up as manipulators and liars.
We have every reason to fear the pimp in all his/her guises – we will fight them, but we could do with real support.
We need women who were not prostituted, but support abolition to see who and what pimps are.
They are not the few men on the streets in 70's gears with their girls – through some of them may be pimps.
They are not the cartoon image from some music video – those some of them may be pimps.
No the danger of the pimp is how invisible they are, and how legitimate they have become.
Many are businessmen in suits and behind some desks – they will gather the money from destroying prostituted women and girls in a detached manner. These pimps do not get their hands dirty, they want to be seen as ordinary business folks – think they are more moral than a banker say.
Pimps can be women who will play on the guilt or confusion of the Left and feminists by saying they are just an escort, just a happy hooker, just an ordinary whore.
Only look with a clear eye and you see they may run a brothel, may control a escorting firm – these women are the management class. They are pimps.
For they speak the language of the pimp.
They speak to exited women as goods that must be controlled.
They will gas-light us, they will say we must be damaged or mentally ill, they say we were just unlucky, they dismiss all our words as lies.
Dig deeper and find how these women quickly trips themselves up.
They say things about how working for them would be safe, they speak nice about punters and dismiss the welfare of the prostituted, they put up new-age rubbish of prostitution being like a goddess or other made-up spiritual crap, they romanised the past without any evidence, they speak endlessly of the mythical Happy Hooker.
Dig deeper and find their heart is made of ice.
They throw exited women away, saying they are mad, bad, liars and hate real prostitutes.
If you choose to believe these pimps – you are deeply betraying all of the prostituted.
It is then I hit a block – the block of despair that yet again the prostituted class is abandoned, and yet again we have fight for our basic human rights on our own.
Of course, I know and are proud to be with the few non-prostituted women and men that get it, and are fighting with us for true justice and abolition.
But there are many who appear to get it – but do very little practical to help the prostituted fight the constant hate-speech from the sex trade lobby.
The words of sex trade lobby is all over Facebook, is inside comments on exited women's blogs, and is wherever exited women dare to write to the truth.
Do you challenge this hate-speech as you would racism, anti-gay comments, or other comment celebrating violence to women and girls? Or do just let it go by, for you have decided that the prostituted do not get hurt or damaged by such hate – for we are too sub-human to have ordinary human emotions.
Am I being harsh? – Well maybe waiting for the Left and the majority of feminism to take seriously that it is hate-speech and to take seriously that it is an organised attack by the sex trade – has wound me down from being always nice who those do nothing but say – oh it must be hard.
I am sick of always being nice – when my beloved sisters and companions are getting slowly ground down.
The less you can do is to challenge the pimp- and punter- language when you come across it – whether in the computer you use, whether in the media you consume, whether in the entertainment you want, or whether said by those you thought were your friends.
Yes that is hard and will confront many emotions in you.
But you are not going to be made sub-human by a pimp or punter. You have not been raped, beaten and live with death as the exited woman has.
Please if you truly believe in abolition – stand up to the sex trade lobby and its hate-speech.
It helps to de-block me.


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Glad that I made it right through this series and as a whole it's been well worth reading and I feel a real sense of achievement at having got to the end !
Not up there with Stephen King's best (whic
h for me are The Stand and 22.11.63) but close behind those. Did enjoy this particular book but felt a bit let down by the endings of some of the key characters and what happened at the very end (although SK does warn that you can just stop early and leave it to your imagination as to what happens to Roland, so maybe I should have done that - fairly impossible after reading thousands of pages of it though !). It was a great story overall but I did feel that the author was almost pushing the boundaries to see what he could get away with at some points, especially when he has himself as a character and real life events in his life as part of what happens. The "baddies" in this book (Mordred and the Crimson King) were also a bit of a damp squib in the end after getting such a big build-up throughout the series. I'll finish there as don't want to give away any more spoilers !MoreLess


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Marzipan - Fall Shapes
We have some beautiful pieces of Fall-themed Marzipan in the shop. Each of these adorable pieces of marzipan is hand-painted with food-safe coloring to reflect the season. Our Fall offering may vary, but we usually have the items shown in the photo during this season. You can call or email us to find out what is in stock. Or choose which shape you would like from the dropdown menu. If we are out of that item we will get back to you to let you know of an alternative. (Price is for one piece; each piece weighs 1 oz.)
This amazing marzipan is hand-crafted by a German woman using traditional techniques. She has perfected the recipe and created a rich, yet light and fluffy texture with just the right amount of sweetness. Absolutely delicious!


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Check your shipping costs and times
If you wish to return any goods they must be returned within 14 days of receipt for a refund or exchange. The returned goods must be in their original condition and unworn, with all the tags and labels attached and in their original packaging.
For more info on our returns & delivery processes please click here.
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*Offer valid all year round and excludes sale items. Offer only applicable on 3 piece suits or equivalent.
* * Stock dependant


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Filed under: LED Indoor Lighting


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Download the Notice of Opposition by clicking here.
Category Archives: Free Sherlock
August 2020: Enola Holmes Documents
Conan Doyle Estate v Legendary Pictures complaint (click to download PDF)
Enola Holmes Answer to Complaint (click to download PDF)
November 2014: Petition Denied
On November 3, 2014, the Supreme Court denied the Estate's petition for a writ of certiorari. Click here to read the court's memo announcing the decision.
August 2014: Fees Awarded
On August 4, 2014, the 7th Circuit court awarded the plaintiff, Leslie S. Klinger, 100% of legal fees as requested. Download the PDF of the decision here.
July 2014: Petition for emergency stay denied
On July 17, 2014, Justice Kagan denied the petition for an emergency stay filed by the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. As a result, the order of the 7th Circuit in the case is final. The Estate still has the right to file a petition for certiorari, requesting the Supreme Court of the United States to hear their appeal, and the Estate has indicated to the press that it intends to do so.
The Estate's petition can be downloaded here, and Law360 covered the court's decision in an article below.
By Allissa Wickham
Law360, New York (July 17, 2014, 5:14 PM ET) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday denied a bid by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle to stay a Seventh Circuit decision cutting back its copyright on the iconic Sherlock Holmes character, leaving that decision in force as the estate pursues a high court appeal.
The Doyle estate had sought a delay of the Seventh Circuit's June 16 decision, which held that the Holmes character was mostly in the public domain, as it filed a petition for a writ of certiorari.
Justice Kagan, in charge of temporary order requests from the Seventh Circuit, did not elaborate on her decision to deny the stay request. The estate had first sought a stay with the Seventh Circuit, but the appeals court denied that motion on July 10.
The suit was instigated by author Leslie Klinger, who co-edited two anthologies of new Holmes tales written by modern authors and sought a judgment that he is able to use material from 50 of Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories.
Throughout the suit, the estate had argued that although most of the Holmes stories are in the public domain, the famed detective himself was still under copyright because certain character traits were developed in later, still protected books. That meant new stories featuring Holmes couldn't be created until the very last work in the series fell into the public domain in 2022, according to the estate.
But like a trial judge who booted the case in December, the Seventh Circuit said last month that it lacked "any basis in statute or case law for extending a copyright beyond its expiration" and the appeal "border[ed] on the quixotic."
U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo granted Klinger's bid for summary judgment in December, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed his ruling, following Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner's characterization of the estate's argument as a "very aggressive attempt to enlarge copyright law" during oral arguments.
An attorney for Doyle's estate told Law360 on Thursday that it planned on submitting a certiorari petition with the Supreme Court in a few months.
"We appreciate the court's consideration of our request as well as the rarity with which the court grants a stay pending appeal," Benjamin W. Allison of Sutin Thayer & Browne said. "We continue to believe that the Seventh Circuit erred when it split from all other courts in the country and declined to require Mr. Klinger to come forward with his finished book for actual comparison to the protected aspects of Sherlock Holmes's character."
Scott Gilbert of Polsinelli PC, who represents Klinger, told Law360 that he believed the denial was appropriate "given the fact that the circuit opinion is entirely consistent with established precedent."
Separately on Tuesday, Doyle's estate filed an opposition to Klinger's recent bid to force the estate tocover his attorneys' fees, arguing that request should be denied because its appeal was reasonable and that outstanding issues still remained in the case.
Klinger has argued that the Doyle estate should have to pay him $30,679 to cover the legal expenses he incurred defending the appeal, arguing the estate had attempted to enforce a claim that had "no legitimate legal basis."
But the Doyle estate fiercely disputed this assertion Tuesday, claiming its copyright arguments were supported by legal authority, as well as five fact affidavits, including several from "recognized Sherlockian experts."
Further, the estate argued, Klinger cannot claim to be the prevailing party in the dispute because the courts haven't considered whether his new book containing tales about Holmes actually infringes Doyle's work. The Seventh Circuit held in its opinion that the suit only presented questions of law regarding the public domain, and did not require knowledge of the contents of Klinger's book.
Allison, the estate's lawyer, said he believed the estate's arguments were reasonable, and said the issue of attorneys' fees should not be decided until the case is fully resolved.
"Mr. Klinger should not be awarded fees for an advisory opinion that still does not decide whether his book is infringing or not infringing," Allison said. "The court never looked at what parts of the Sherlock Holmes character are protected, and never looked at whether Mr. Klinger's forthcoming book violated that protection."
Gilbert, who represents Klinger, emphasized that Klinger had only sought a declaration that some parts of the Sherlock Holmes canon are in the public domain.
"Mr. Klinger determined that he needed a decision on the merits in order to protect both his own future endeavors and the rights of creators everywhere, and this is precisely the type of scenario in which an award of fees is necessary and appropriate," Gilbert said.
The Doyle estate is represented by Benjamin Allison of Sutin Thayer & Browne PC, William F. Zieske of Zieske Law/Fine Arts Legal and John J. Bursch of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP.
Klinger is represented by Jonathan Kirsch of the Law Offices of Jonathan Kirsch and Scott Gilbert of Polsinelli PC.
The case is Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate Ltd., case number 14-1128, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
–Additional reporting by Bill Donahue and Michael Lipkin. Editing by Elizabeth Bowen.
Related Articles
July 2014: Update
At 3:20 PM CDT on July 9, 2014, the 7th Circuit DENIED the Estate's motion to stay the order. Read the denial of stay document here.
July 2014: Petition for legal fees
Leslie Klinger has filed a petition asking the Court to require that Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., pay the legal fees and costs incurred to date by Klinger in the case, amounting to about $70,000 to date. Click here for a PDF of the petition.
In response, the Estate filed a motion on July 3, 2014 (text is here), asking the Court to "stay" (delay) its "mandate" (the finality of its order), so that the Estate does not have to respond to the fee petition at this time (the response is otherwise due by July 14, 2014). The Estate avers that delay should be granted because it is filing a petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the 7th Circuit's decision, on the twin grounds that (a) there is a conflict among the Circuit courts on whether this case is "justiciable" (that is, whether it presents an actual "case or controversy" or is simply theoretical) and the 7th Circuit applied the law incorrectly in finding that the case was justiciable, and (b) the 7th Circuit interpreted the copyright laws incorrectly.
The Estate points out that if the effectiveness of the 7th Circuit's order is not delayed, it stands to lose significant licensing fees because Sherlock Holmes is so popular at present.
June 2014: Appeal Courts Decision
On June 16, 2014, the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upheld the and affirmed the judgement of the District Court. Download a PDF of the decision by clicking here.
May 2014: Recording of Oral Argument
Here is a link to the recording of the oral argument on Friday, May 23, 2014 in the 7th Circuit. The judge asking most (but not all) of the questions is Richard Posner.
For an MP3 of the above, click here.
For this and all related court documents, see the Court Filings page of this website.
January 2014: News Release re Appeal
To download a PDF of the following, click here.
The Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. has filed a Notice of Appeal in the U.S. District Court that ruled in favor of Leslie S. Klinger in a declaratory relief action on the copyright status of the Sherlock Holmes Canon.
Chief Judge Rubén Castillo ruled that all copyright-protected elements of the Canon that were first introduced in stories published in the United States prior to 1923 are now in the public domain, and "Klinger and the public may use the Pre-1923 Story Elements without seeking a license." Indeed, the Court found that "[t]he evidence presented to the Court as to this first proposition is 'so one-sided' that Klinger must prevail as a matter of law."
By filing a Notice of Appeal, the Conan Doyle Estate is entitled to present its legal arguments to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in a formal brief. However, the deadline for filing the brief is March 3, 2014, and no appellate brief has yet been filed. For that reason, Klinger and his counsel do not yet know what arguments will be raised on appeal by the Estate if, in fact, the Estate proceeds with the appeal. If the CDE pursues its appeal, Klinger will file an appellate brief in response, and the matter will be argued and decided in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the meantime, the Order of the District Court remains in full force and effect unless the CDE seeks a stay of enforcement. In that case, Klinger will oppose any request for a stay of enforcement of the Order pending appeal and will seek a bond if the Order is stayed.
Klinger is also preparing a motion to be filed in U.S. District Court to require the Estate to pay the fees and costs he incurred in bringing the declaratory relief action in District Court. He will also ask the Court of Appeals to require the Estate to post a bond as security against his costs in litigating the appeal.
"Although the Estate has issued some self-serving press releases, we do not really know what they regard as reversible error in the decision of Judge Castillo," says Klinger. "They can't be encouraged by the Court's observation that their legal theory is 'novel,' a word that is often used in legal circles to indicate that an argument is imaginative but unsupportable in the law."
"We are confident that the decision of Judge Castillo is fully supported by the facts and the applicable law, and we expect the Order to be upheld on appeal," says Klinger. "We will continue to carry the burden of litigating the public-domain status of the pre-1923 stories, not only for the benefit of my own books but for all creators who wish to draw on the public-domain elements of the Canon in their own work."


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Diana had been looking for affordable weight loss surgery options, and like many others before her, chose Tijuana for the procedure. She underwent a successful sleeve gastrectomy in Tijuana, and in this video shares her satisfaction about the procedure.
Following is the video narration:
"My name is Diana Montiano. I had surgery two months ago. I started weighing a hundred kilos because we use kilos.
So it's a hundred kilos and I just weighed myself yesterday and I am eighty-five kilos now. So it's fifteen kilos in two months. I feel really good you know. For me it was harder in the beginning but it was because of me, not because of the surgery or anything.
I was well cared of. My mom take great care of myself but after like two weeks I started to feel better so it's not like a magic pill or something but I think that I needed to do that, even though my BMI was kind of low, I mean not like the gastric sleeve."
Bariatric surgeons in Mexico are renowned all over the world for providing first-rate services. And BSW works only with the finest doctors and surgeons, who have creditable academic qualifications and years of experience to boast of. From gastric sleeve, to gastric plication, from gastric bypass to duodenal switch, a wide range of procedures are available to patients at our network hospitals.
In case you are unable to afford a surgery of your choice, BSW can also arrange loans for weight loss surgery. BSW also facilitates high-quality weight loss procedures also in Cancun, Los Algodones and Ciudad Juarez.
For more information on Sleeve Gastrectomy in Tijuana, fill and submit the estimate-request form on the right.


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TopFinds: China's political orgy, Japan's dolphin crisis
Posted Aug 17, 2012 by
Chris Hogg
A group of Chinese politicians were caught with their pants down in an orgy scandal. Egyptians may have discovered two new pyramids. And the Cove movie sparks global action for Japan's dolphins. These are the top stories making headlines around the world.
As we do every week, we've collected the top news stories and compiled them on one page. Here is your summary of what's happening around the world:
Top Digital Journal Reports
Scientists: Two types of killer whale inhabiting UK waters (Includes interview)
Elizabeth Batt
An international group of scientists is reporting that two types of killer whale on the verge of becoming separate species, are currently living in UK waters.
The Cove movie sparks global action for Japan's dolphins (Includes interview)
Elizabeth Batt
As dolphin advocates from across the US get ready to host individual events for Japan Dolphins Day, they were all united thanks to the Academy Award-winning documentary, The Cove.
Review: 'The Riots: In Their Own Words' (Includes interview and first-hand account)
Alexander Baron
The execution of Mark Duggan on August 4 last year was the catalyst for the worst riots in these islands in living memory. This BBC documentary talks to the people involved.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford caught reading documents while driving (Includes first-hand account)
Andrew Moran
During the morning commute on Toronto's Gardiner Expressway Tuesday, a driver took a photograph of Mayor Rob Ford, who was seen both driving his Cadillac Escalade and reading documents. The photo was later posted to Twitter.
Mary McDonnell talks about her new promotion on 'Major Crimes' (Includes interview and first-hand account)
Earl Dittman
With 'The Closer' coming to an end, Mary McDonnell becomes the new center of attention on the show's spin-off series, 'Major Crimes.' The former president on 'Battlestar Galactica' talks about the differences between the two police dramas.
Top Images
Paralympic athletes with Clover Moore. Left to right: Grant Mizens, Wheelchair Basketball player - Beijing gold medal winner. Michelle Rzepecki, Goalball player. Kylie Gauci, Wheelchair Basketball player - won the bronze and silver medals at the last two Paralympics. Tina McKenzie, Wheelchair basketball player. Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP.
Richard Milnes
The market place in Stevenage High Street, which has not seen any stalls since the 1960s, has been used for its original purpose again.
Kev Hedges
City2Surf – used cups cover the road.
Richard Milnes
Left to right: Grant Mizens, Tina McKenzie, Kylie Gauci & Sarah Stewart.
Richard Milnes
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admits he was 'probably' driving while reading on Gardiner Expressway when this photo was taken by a motorist
Wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph, Martin Place, Sydney.
Richard Milnes
Sculpture of St. Francis the patron saint of San Francisco by artist Benny Buffano greets visitors at the entrance to the main campus near Ocean Avenue of City College, SF.
Jonathan Farrell
ALL CAPS! Island Festival - Toronto
Bryen Dunn
Cleaners holding signs protest outside the Commonwealth Bank head office at 48 Martin Place in Sydney.
Richard Milnes
Sea Lion at Marineland, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada
Still pictures taken Thursday, Aug. 16, at the support rally for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.
Romeo Marquez
Still pictures taken Thursday, Aug. 16, at the support rally for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.
Romeo Marquez
Still pictures taken Thursday, Aug. 16, at the support rally for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.
Romeo Marquez
Still pictures taken Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, at the support rally for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.
Romeo Marquez
Still pictures taken Thursday, Aug. 16, at the support rally for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in front of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.
Romeo Marquez
Toronto: Global Pussy Riot demonstration
Andrew Moran
Toronto: Global Pussy Riot demonstration
Andrew Moran
Toronto: Global Pussy Riot demonstration
Andrew Moran
Toronto: Global Pussy Riot demonstration
Andrew Moran
In the Media
Chinese politicians caught with their pants down in orgy scandal
Darren Weir
A sex scandal is raging in Chinese politics after photos of an orgy went viral on Chinese social media websites with allegations that the men at the centre of the sexcapades are government officials.
Police surround the Ecuadorian embassy in London
KJ Mullins
According to @wikileaks on Twitter the Ecuadorian Embassy has been surrounded by five police vans. The target is Julian Assange.
John Unger's arthritic dog Schoep undergoing laser treatments
Anne Sewell
Remember the viral photo of John Unger, floating with his elderly dog Schoep in Lake Superior? Thanks to kind donations, Schoep is now undergoing treatment for his pain. And ladies, John is actively looking for a relationship.
Kate Middleton's cousin bares all for Playboy
Darren Weir
The Duchess of Cambridge's second cousin (once removed) is getting a six-figure sum to strip for Playboy. Burlesque dancer, Katrina Darling, hit the jackpot when she discovered her connection to royalty.
Video: '18 Again' vaginal tightening gel makes you feel a virgin
JohnThomas Didymus
A new Indian commercial for a supposedly revolutionary product called "18 Again," described as a "vaginal tightening and rejuvenating cream," promises to make older women feel like virgins again.
2 possible new pyramids discovered in Egypt
Leigh Goessl
An individual who conducted a Google Earth satellite imagery survey has claimed to discover two new pyramids in Egypt. The findings are located about 90 miles apart.
SC cops: Man beats his grandmother with hammer, tries to rape her
Brett Wilkins
A South Carolina man who complained that he could not find a girlfriend allegedly attacked his grandmother with a hammer before attempting to rape her.
Op-Ed: Alleged College Station killer identified as Thomas Caffall
Bill Schmalfeldt
To go by his Facebook page, he enjoyed NASCAR, Fox News, Angry Birds, and a lot of the shows on the USA Network, such as "Psych" and "Burn Notice." He listed William Shakespeare as being among his list of "inspirational people."
New details emerge in killing of Alberta armoured car guards
Arthur Weinreb
More information has been released concerning the murder of three armoured car guards and the wounding of a fourth at the University of Alberta on June 15.
Video: 'Whale Breaching Tofino Charter,' best whale-watching ever
JohnThomas Didymus
This video showing a humpback whale calf breaching just a few yards away from a fishing charter off the coast of Tofino, Vancouver Island may be the best whale-watching video you've ever seen.
Rescued sea otter dies at Vancouver Aquarium
Darren Weir
Despite round-the-clock intense treatment by Vancouver Aquarium staff, a sick and injured sea-otter rescued from a Washington State beach, has died.
Video: Dalmatian adopts orphaned spotted lamb named 'Dotty'
JohnThomas Didymus
A Dalmatian has adopted an orphaned spotted lamb abandoned by its mother in South Australia's Barossa Valley. The Dalmatian does not have puppies of her own but took a liking to the spotted lamb named "Dotty" who looks remarkably like a Dalmatian puppy.
Photos of dog protecting puppies from house fire go viral
David Silverberg
One of the latest aww-worthy photos to go viral online focus on a German Shepherd reportedly saving her puppies from a house fire in Chile. The photos show Amanda gripping her pups in her jaws and placing them on a fire truck.
Landlord in Toronto attacked with axe
KJ Mullins
Trying to get the rent proved dangerous this morning for one Toronto landlord. Tonight the man is in hospital after being hit in the head a number of times by an axe wielding tenant.
Top Blogs
Four-year vacation from DJ
C.S. McClellan
Over the last four years, I've been back and forth, up and down about Digital Journal. At first, writing articles was...
Looking for freelance writing and/or editing gigs?
Andrew Moran
The Internet is full of websites that have job postings. So why go through each and every single one to look for a...
Stop and Smell the Roses
Janis Mikelberg
I don't think there is anything that gives me more pleasure (family aside) than spending time just hanging with my...
Power Users
JohnThomas Didymus
Anne Sewell
Brett Wilkins
Darren Weir
Leigh Goessl
Alexander Baron
Elizabeth Batt
Bill Schmalfeldt
Katerina Nikolas
Andrew Moran
Richard Milnes
Larry Clifton
Marcus Hondro
Arthur Weinreb
Tim Sandle
Ken Hanly
KJ Mullins
Lesley Lanir
Paul Iddon
Gar Swaffar


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Aura is the fundamental building block of the physical realm; out of varying mixtures and patterns of its seven elements are all things made. The four material elements — Earth, Air, Fire, and Water — confer physical substance, while the three fundamental elements — Space, Time, and Mind — dictate more abstract properties of existence. As the vast majority of aura is admixed into objects, accumulations of pure elemental energy are rare indeed; where they do occur, landscapes change and monsters arise. Rarer still are aura crystals, energy concentrated into solid form that is both aesthetically captivating and magically useful, yet also a potential hazard to everything around it.
Soul and Identity
see also Soulscape and Dreamwalking
A soul is the fundamental essence of a thing, its purest and truest definition, its Ideal. In this respect, all things have souls, from people on down to rocks and water. Souls are differentiated by their complexities, layers upon layers born of accumulated experiences and interwoven into distinctive patterns. It is generally understood that the souls of nonliving substances are simple and thus likely young, while living things are underwritten by more complex souls, and intelligent beings even more so.
Souls exist solely in the spiritual plane, the soulscape; they have no substance, no physical reality. Instead, when a soul projects into the physical world, it creates ripples analogous to how a rock disturbs the stream flowing around it. This pattern is the Identity of an incarnation, attracting layer upon layer of aura with elemental compositions that define the particular characteristics of its physical self. The end result is the manifestation of the soul within reality. This manifestation is never a wholly accurate representation, in the way that a black and white photograph does not capture the true colors of a scene; the physical plane simply cannot render all the details of a spirit. Thus does each incarnation of a soul differ from the last, while still remaining true to its central principles, its core Ideal.
An Identity takes its fundamental shape from the soul that casts it, but is much more malleable; it can change and develop over time, its contours adjusted by events and choices. Thus do things grow, change, and learn. Unlike the shadows and ripples it might be compared to, Identity also has the capability to change the soul behind it. These changes are typically minor in and of themselves, but can add up over multiple incarnations to become profound shifts in self.
Death and Reincarnation
see also Ghost
Bodily death disrupts the parts of an Identity that interface with material aura. As a result, the soul lets the remnants of its Identity dissolve, withdrawing into the soulscape to consolidate its experiences and prepare for its next incarnation. As time is a facet of the physical plane, when a soul reincarnates is highly variable; its return could be a matter of days or generations by the accounting of reality.
Because successive incarnations are products of the same soul, they share fundamental characteristics — but just what makes a fundamental characteristic differs from one soul to the next. Some always manifest with Identities of the same gender or species, while others carry forward particular passions, and still others pursue the same goals from life to life. Certain life events that may reshape the soul itself, such as deep relationships, Unity bonds, and Aspects, may also be echoed across successive lives as they become entrenched in the soul's nature and thus future Identities it projects.
Ghosts are a deviation from the normal process of death. A ghost is an Identity that has refused to surrender its existence and instead doubled down on its interface with the fundamental elements of aura. It thus lingers in the physical world as a disembodied entity, defined and driven by whatever obsession has prevented it from dissociating completely. Notably, ghosts never originate from simple fear of death, as that is wholly a product of physical existence; what drives them to remain is born from the shape of their soul. They may be driven to avenge their death, to protect family or friends who survived them, to complete some unfinished task, or by any of a number of other objectives. Ultimately, the only thing keeping a ghost in reality is their own choice, and they may end their existence and reenter the cycle of reincarnation at any time simply by changing that decision.
see also Dreamscape and Dreamwalking
Dreams take place one step outside reality, occurring at the interface between the physical and the spiritual. The dreamscape is a bubble that exists only as a construct of those who dream, transitory and changeable, shaped in reflection of the Identities that created it. In dreams, the laws of physics are decided by consensus, plausibility and rationality are irrelevant, and everything else to do with reality may be left by the wayside because there is nothing physical about the dreamscape — although it is indeed very real.
Dreams are the contemplations and experimentations of Identities, where the particulars of their patterns are tested, adjusted, and perhaps remade. In this way, dreams are the media of change, the mechanisms by which one's essential self integrates its experiences and absorbs the lessons those experiences taught; thus anyone who does not sleep (such as a ghost) finds it difficult indeed to change. By the same token, dreams may also serve as tests and trial runs, encapsulating worries and concerns the self holds close; through them, the Identity may prepare itself against events possible and impossible alike. Finally, because dreams exist nearer to the soul — to one's essential Ideal — than does consciousness, they can also be mirrors of hidden truths, reflecting inner secrets and past events that the waking mind finds disturbing or unwanted, things they would far rather ignore and forget.
Finally, dreams may be shared as different Identities brush against one another in the space outside space, a place where distance is meaningless. Those who have established connections and relationships, especially those with linked souls, are very likely to share dreams, but even complete strangers can find themselves together in the dreamscape — though such experiences generally dissipate from recall upon waking, just as with any other dream.
Divine Archetypes
see also Religion
A divinity, referred to by natural philosophers as an Archetype, is a persistent impression made by an Identity in the fabric of a world. Most things leave only ephemeral impressions of their existence; like ripples in water, the impressions soon smooth out and disappear, fading into the greater background of the world's energy. Archetypes originate in those who are impassioned and dedicated, who commit the greater part of their life to some ideal — and do so with such energy that the world itself retains echoes of their Identities. It is also necessary for such a person to bring others into the same fold. No Archetype — no deity — may exist in a vacuum, isolated from all others; because an Archetype has no soul backing it, it requires worshipers (Followers) whose commitment and dedication to the same ideals reinforce the patterns of the Archetype's Identity, preserving it through time.
Followers are also the means by which an Archetype continues to enact its goals. Being a soulless and bodiless echo, an Archetype has very little ability to affect the physical world. At the same time, its uniquely liminal existence as a self-contained Identity permits an Archetype direct access to the workings of other Identities. Thus, an Archetype can communicate with its Followers through the dreamscape and also reshape the patterns of their Identities to grant special abilities, many of which cannot be duplicated through either the spiritual magics nor with aural energy.
The Workings of Magic
see also Shamanism and Witchcraft
There are two independent mechanics that can be (and are) termed "magic". First is aural energy, the base material of physical existence, which in its pure elemental state wreaks spontaneous changes in the environment, creates monsters, and can be used as a component in certain magical workings. Aura can also confer uncanny abilities on items, though the process for doing so is not well-known. Second are the disciplines of shamanism and witchcraft, both of which are concerned with manipulating Identity and using it to realize desired ends.
Shamanism refers to a group of magics in which the practitioner works with Identity as a holistic concept. Its focus is on reshaping Identity wholesale, on using principles of similarity and sharing between Identities to effect desired ends, and on using one's own Identity as a conduit to access deeper levels of existence. The chiefest risks and consequences of shamanism involve large changes to the practitioner's Identity, ranging from inadvertantly reshaping their psyche to completely overwriting their Identity with another, such as that of an animal or even a stone.
In contrast, the various disciplines of witchcraft use rituals and foci to enact relatively precise changes in the target Identity. Witchcraft depends considerably on physical tools and reagents, and has difficulty making permanent changes due to the localized nature of its effects. As a large part of the subject Identity remains untouched, the affected portion tends to be spontaneously reshaped into its original form once the external influence is ended. A practitioner of witchcraft is susceptible to permanently changing facets of their own Identity, or even losing elements of it piecemeal.


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Today's site-specific performance, sponsored by a collective which ironically identifies itself as "The United States Navy," invites the viewer to contemplate the intimate, or indeed as some critics have suggested "deadly," relationship between the observer and the thing observed. Obviously, it is the nature of all site-specific art to raise profound questions of place, and indeed terroir, in light of western civilization's tragic, and indeed hand-wringing, history of colonialism. In this regard "The United States Navy" is to be commended for its culturally-sensitive decision to show appropriate respect for local and indigenous peoples by simply not informing them of what was about to happen. Naturally, my use of the term "informing" in the preceding sentence may suggest to this publication's more intelligent and generous supporters a long-discredited, naive, and indeed arguably "racist" position on the question of whether there even is such a thing as "information" or "truth," and if so whether the "fact" that I proofread this article and expected its purchasers to find it in "print" in a particular place may undermine my ironically "hip" intimations that all truth is relative. Please be assured that nothing of the kind could be further from the "truth," or indeed from my capacity for understanding.
What if an art critic had broken the news of Osama bin Laden's death?
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