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by William H. Donaldson
Chairman, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
Good morning Chairman Baker, Ranking Member Kanjorski, and Members of the Subcommittee. I am very pleased to be here to discuss some of the significant market structure issues that we are facing in the U.S. equities market today.
Our markets are comprised of intricately interwoven systems and relationships. While the Commission recognizes the importance of addressing market structure issues expeditiously, the extent to which structural changes are needed, and what those changes should be, are complicated problems, not subject to quick and easy resolution. We must take care not to disrupt those areas of our markets that are working well, in our haste to "fix" those areas that we think are not.
The Commission's staff has made significant progress in analyzing the structure of the securities markets, identifying the sources of the strains to which it increasingly is subject, and formulating a roadmap for responding to these concerns. The staff is now in the process of drafting concrete proposals to address the root causes of the stresses on the U.S. market structure. I have asked the staff to produce, in the coming months, a plan that includes proposals to respond to several of the more pressing market structure issues.
As you know, Congress formally directed the Commission to address market structure when it enacted the Securities Acts Amendments of 1975. That legislation instructed the SEC to facilitate the creation of a national market system for securities that would maintain fair and orderly markets, and tie together all buying and selling interest so that investors would have the opportunity for the best possible execution of their orders, regardless of where in the system they originate.
Congress specified five key objectives of the national market system: (1) economically efficient executions of securities transactions; (2) fair competition among markets and securities firms; (3) the availability of market information to investors; (4) execution of orders in the best market; and (5) direct interaction among investor orders. To achieve these objectives, Congress recognized that communication systems, particularly those designed to disseminate market data, would form the heart of the national market system. Rather than attempt to dictate the specific elements of U.S. market structure, however, Congress chose to rely on an approach designed to provide maximum flexibility to the Commission and the securities industry in its development.
The 1975 Amendments to the Exchange Act created a framework for fostering transparency, interconnectivity, and competition in our securities markets. As a result, today, equity market centers compete with one another in an environment where quotes and transaction prices are widely available to all market participants. Direct and indirect linkages among competing market centers help ensure that brokers can access the best quotes available in the market for their customers. Market centers (including exchange markets, over-the-counter market makers, and alternative trading systems) have an incentive to offer improvements in execution quality and to reduce trading costs in order to attract order flow away from other market centers. This competition among market centers encourages ongoing innovation and the use of new technology. Within all existing registered exchanges and a number of other markets, investor orders have the possibility of interacting directly without the intervention of intermediaries. This furthers Congress's fifth objective - direct interaction of customer orders - allowing investors to obtain executions at better prices than otherwise would be available.
Taking a step back and looking at the market as a whole, our national market system has worked remarkably well for the past quarter century. And in recent years it has become increasingly efficient. At the same time, we recognize that this very efficiency, arising from technological and other market developments, has put strains on existing national market structures. One significant change has been the proliferation of new electronic markets, such as ECNs, that offer fast executions and have spurred competition among market centers, but at the same time exacerbated concerns about market fragmentation, the feasibility of integrating different market models into the national market system, and maintaining a level regulatory playing field among functionally-equivalent market participants. The implementation of decimal pricing in 2001, and the concurrent move to a minimum tick of one penny in the equity markets, has narrowed spreads and enhanced the efficiency of the price discovery process, but at the same time reduced the liquidity available at each price point, made it easier to step ahead of limit orders, and placed economic strains on the dealer business. Decimal pricing has also put a premium on swift access to displayed prices so investors can quickly reach these smaller quotes before they change. The trend toward demutualization of exchanges, and their conversion to for-profit enterprises, has heightened concerns about the inherent tensions in the self-regulatory model, in particular the concern that the funding and vigor of the regulatory function might be sacrificed in favor of delivering returns to shareholders.
The issues surrounding intermarket access provide a good example of some of the strains impacting U.S. market structure in recent years. In a system with many competing market centers and pools of liquidity, participants clearly need to know what the best prices are and where they are available. But this information is of little use in the absence of effective access to the market centers with the best prices. Implementing market access, however, has raised a number of difficult issues. Offering access to one's market to competitors can conflict with the core business strategy and commercial self-interest of a market. Over the years, markets have sought to maintain strict control over access and often have erected barriers to achieve this objective. These barriers historically have taken the form of direct bans, restrictive membership requirements, discriminatory execution priorities, fees, and information restrictions. Finally, even setting aside intentional barriers to access, significant practical difficulties must be overcome to ensure the availability of access in an environment where scores of separate market centers - floor-based and electronic, both fast and slow - may be actively quoting and trading a security. The existing compulsory market-to-market linkage in stocks - the Intermarket Trading System (ITS) - applies only to exchange-listed stocks and, in the view of many, has been less than successful in overcoming these obstacles to providing effective intermarket access.
As noted, over the last several years, the Commission has taken a number of steps to address concerns facing our national market system. In the Order Handling Rules and Regulation ATS, for example, the Commission broadened the class of market centers required to make their quotations and orders publicly accessible. In doing so, it sought to redefine the idea of an exchange to include not just traditional exchanges, but also trading systems where orders interact according to specified trading rules. The Commission also adopted rules to improve the disclosure by market centers of execution quality data, and the disclosure by broker-dealers of their order routing practices, in order to enable investors to "comparison shop" among the myriad market centers, and to stimulate competition on the basis of execution quality.
In addition, the Commission developed ideas and solicited public comment on some of the more difficult market structure issues, such as the regulation of market data fees and revenues, the fragmentation of the U.S. securities markets, and the regulation of exchanges. A federal advisory committee also was convened to address market data concerns, and last year the Commission held public hearings on the full range of market structure issues.
There is no doubt that there are issues regarding our national market system that call for our attention, and indeed, the Commission and its staff have been focused on addressing these issues and resolving perceived conflicts in a timely manner. In my view, several aspects of equity market structure raise particularly pressing questions. These include: (1) the implications of differences among markets in the means by which their quotes may be accessed by non-members and of access fees that are not included in displayed quotations; (2) the role of trade-through rules in intermarket trading for very different types of markets and systems; (3) the manner in which market data is consolidated and distributed, and the resulting revenues allocated among the markets; (4) whether a mixed dealer and auction market such as Nasdaq should be allowed to register as a for-profit exchange; (5) whether the fragmentation of markets that results from competition is reducing the effectiveness of regulatory processes; and (6) the effectiveness of the current self-regulatory system for the securities markets.
That said, I firmly believe our system of multiple, competing markets - on balance - has worked remarkably well. We have the world's most competitive and efficient markets. Competition among markets has fostered innovation and led to the creation of a variety of trading platforms designed to meet the needs of different types of investors. New entrants, particularly those with fully electronic platforms, keep the pressure on established markets to innovate. However, new entrants also challenge our existing infrastructure, much of which was created in the 1970s before the dramatic advancements in technology.
As has always been the case in our competing markets model, our challenge as regulators is to ensure fair and efficient markets through a balance of competition and regulation. Fair and efficient markets, of course, are the key goals of securities market regulation. But fairness and efficiency are at least superficially different concepts, creating tensions in our regulatory mandate. Fairness suggests the use of regulation to ensure against unfair results. Efficiency, on the other hand, suggests reliance on free markets and competitive forces to achieve an efficient result, which may not necessarily be a "fair" one. Regulation and competition do not necessarily conflict, as regulation often seeks to remove barriers to competition or promote efficiency. In other cases, there will be a tension between regulation and competition. Striking the appropriate balance is the responsibility of the Commission.
The optimal equity market structure, in my view, is based on several fundamental principles. First, I believe we should seek to achieve the benefits of competition while countering the negative effects of fragmentation from trading in multiple markets, through widely available market data, ready access among markets, price protection principles, and best execution standards.
Second, to the greatest extent possible, I believe we should let market forces determine outcomes by seeking to have the marketplace, rather than the government or its regulators, choose the "winners" and "losers." We must seek to provide a level playing field in which all markets can compete fairly and aggressively. That said, regulation is necessary in certain situations, such as when an exchange exercises market power, or when externalities such as principal/agent conflicts obstruct otherwise competitive outcomes. Regulation is also appropriate when its benefits to the marketplace exceed its costs and reduce market frictions, such as when settlement date standards or quoting conventions are established.
Finally, I believe that market transparency, fairness, and integrity are key to the strength of our marketplace. These fundamental concepts underpin the Commission's approach to regulation, and contribute substantially to investor confidence in our markets.
With these general principles in mind, I would like to focus the remainder of my testimony on four key areas of the Commission's market structure initiative: (1) access to markets; (2) market data; (3) the self-regulatory model; and (4) the nature of a securities exchange.
In our modern-day marketplace for securities, the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, the American Stock Exchange, the regional exchanges, and numerous electronic communications networks, all compete with each other to offer the deepest pools of liquidity to investors at the very best prices. I believe that the Commission must resist the temptation to force these diverse securities markets to mimic each other, but rather to encourage them to compete over their differences within a single, robust, national system. In the end, there is little doubt in my mind that investors benefit from markets that compete, so long as the competition is truly fair.
With that in mind, a significant market structure issue on the Commission's agenda is making sure that access between markets is as fair and as efficient as it can be.
If best execution is to be achieved in an environment characterized by multiple competing markets, broker-dealers must be able to identify the location of the best available prices and obtain access to those prices routinely and efficiently. In contrast, a market center that is inaccessible does little to promote efficiency and fairness in the marketplace.
Most brokers send orders directly to the market that they expect will provide their orders best execution most of the time, and most of these orders are executed in the market that receives them. At times, however, the best price at that moment may be in another market. And traders in one market may need to access prices in another market to keep prices in line. For these reasons, markets need easy access to each other, either directly or indirectly through brokers.
The Commission's approval last year of the NASD's Alternative Display Facility pilot program has highlighted this issue. Rather than obtaining access through "hard" linkages directly between markets, in the way that competing markets can access the New York Stock Exchange, in the Alternative Display Facility competing market centers obtain access to each other directly through privately negotiated access agreements and indirectly through subscribers. The Commission is evaluating this decentralized access approach to determine whether, as a practical matter, it would be an appropriate model for the national market system, and thus could be applied to other market centers.
Access fees charged to reach a quote create another difficult market structure problem. Some markets charge varied per-share transaction fees for access to their quotes. Therefore, a displayed price may represent the true price that a customer will pay or it may represent only a base price to which an undisclosed access fee will later be added.
These pricing disparities can impede access between competing markets, raise trading costs, and create confusion about the true quoted prices. The absence of a uniform quoting convention across all markets also raises the incidence of locked and crossed quotations. To ensure real access to public quotes between competing markets, it is important that these quotes be accessible to other market participants on clear and fair terms.
I should also mention that, because access fees have gradually shrunk to less than one cent per share in most markets, the imposition of the fees results in de facto subpenny pricing. Indeed, many market participants have suggested that these access fees have precipitated trading in subpennies, thus magnifying the strains caused by the move to decimal pricing. The Commission intends to continue to work closely with the industry and investors to find appropriate solutions to the challenges raised by access fees and subpenny pricing. Whatever solution the Commission decides to adopt, we must assure that access fees will not function as a tollbooth that snarls traffic along the national market system.
As part of our examination of inter-market linkages, we also are actively re-evaluating the question of intermarket trade-throughs, which occur when orders are executed in one market at prices inferior to the prices disseminated on another market. Today's highly competitive securities markets include fully electronic markets that provide swift automatic execution of customer orders, as well as traditional floor-based markets that execute orders through human interaction. Although a market participant that desires an opportunity for price improvement may prefer that its order be routed to a floor exchange for execution, an investor who values speed and certainty of order execution over a marginally higher price may find such a delay intolerable. Accordingly, the challenge before the Commission is to devise standards that allow faster markets and slower markets to thrive within a single system of interconnected markets, while at the same time providing order executions to customers that display prices and for those customers who desire the best price on their orders.
Another significant market structure challenge facing the Commission involves the collection and reporting of trading information and influence of the resulting revenues on market structure. Our existing market data system has strengthened the U.S. equity markets and has assured that investors have real-time access to accurate, reliable, and affordable information from all significant U.S. market centers. And yet the increasing number and diversity of U.S. market centers, has fueled demands for modernizing the current market data structure. Despite the sweeping changes that have taken place in the markets over the past 30 years, the structure for market data, including the collection and dissemination of a market's best bid and offer, the national best bid and offer, trading volume statistics, and last-trade prices, has changed very little.
The Commission recognizes that market data revenue is very important to our markets. Indeed, in recent years, self-regulatory organizations have drawn as much as 45% of their total revenues from market data revenue. In 2001, the Commission convened a panel of experts, chaired by Dean Joel Seligman, that looked into the structure of our market data system, as well as the compensation that markets have been receiving for their market data. The Seligman Committee noted that under the current system, securities information processors distribute market data revenues to self-regulatory organizations based primarily on each self-regulatory organization's reported trade volume. This compensation scheme has created a financial incentive for self-regulatory organizations to report as many trades as possible. As a result, markets are vying for ECNs and market makers to report their trades through them, as this allows markets to tap more deeply into the pool of available market data revenue and to rebate substantial portions of the additional revenue to the entity reporting the trade.
Significantly, in 2002 the Commission determined that programs for rebating market-data fee proceeds to market participants were creating incentives for traders to engage in transactions with no economic purpose other than to increase the amount of the market data revenues that they received. In this regard, the Commission abrogated several more extreme proposals to extend rebates of market data revenues to market participants, to allow more time for consideration of these issues.
It is my belief that market centers should be rewarded for providing better services. The recent developments call into question whether the current method of distributing market data revenue creates appropriate economic incentives, and whether it furthers the goal of rewarding markets that make valuable contributions to the market data being disseminated.
Another matter of great importance is the effectiveness of the self-regulatory system of securities markets. Recently, a number of concerns have been raised about the current state of self-regulation, including SRO conflicts of interest, SRO governance, and inefficiencies in self-regulation.
Congress and the Commission have long recognized that self-regulation has both benefits and weaknesses. The principle of self-regulation is based on the idea that regulation can best be done as close as possible to the regulated activity. However, an SRO that operates a market has an inherent conflict of interest between its roles as a market and as a regulator. I believe that the Commission must continue its work in ensuring that SROs vigorously fulfill their obligation to enforce their rules and the federal securities laws and rules. The advent of for-profit, shareholder-owned exchanges creates additional issues, including ensuring that self-regulatory obligations do not take a back seat to the interests of shareholders. The challenge for the Commission and the SROs is to ensure that, as the securities markets grow more competitive, the SROs continue to dedicate their energies and resources to surveillance and enforcement. We also must prevent fragmentation of trading from creating gaps in SRO oversight of the markets.
As part of our review of the self-regulatory structure, I believe the Commission must thoroughly review the SROs' governance practices. Recent events at the New York Stock Exchange point to the need for this review. SROs play a critical role as standard setters for sound governance practices. Just as SROs have demanded that their listed companies strengthen their governance practices, we must demand that, at a minimum, SROs match the standards they set for listed companies. There are several topics that merit our consideration, including board composition and independence of directors; the independence and function of key Board committees; the transparency of the SRO's decision-making process; and the diligence and competence required of Board and committee members and ensuring their focus on the adequacy of regulation.
These are critical issues facing the SROs and the Commission. I am committed to ensuring that our system of self-regulation continues to serve as an effective and efficient means of overseeing our securities markets.
The last topic that I would like to touch upon is what it means to be registered as a national securities exchange. All currently registered exchanges have a limit order book in which better-priced orders take precedence. But a mandatory order book system is not easily reconciled with a dealer model, such as the Nasdaq stock market, in which there is no central limit order book.
I spoke earlier about the merits of price protection across markets. Nasdaq's application to register as an exchange places squarely before the Commission the issue of whether price protection within a market is a requirement of exchange registration. One concern is customer expectations. I suspect that customers generally expect their better priced orders to be protected within an exchange.
We do not expect all exchanges to be identical, much less to replicate any market's faults. Yet until now all exchanges have given their limit orders priority throughout their marketplace. If the Commission were to approve Nasdaq's application, other exchanges would likely seek to eliminate intra-market price priority from their rules. As a result, the protection of limit orders within markets would decrease. For this reason, Nasdaq's exchange application raises market structure issues that transcend the particular question of whether Nasdaq, or any other particular market, should be registered as an exchange.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the market structure challenges that I have discussed today may shape the national market system for years to come. The Commission recognizes the importance of addressing these challenges in an effective and timely manner. At the same time, however, we must be mindful not to "rush to judgment," but instead take a deliberate and reasoned approach to reach the right result. That said, we fully acknowledge the need to resolve the conflicts and it is my expectation to be able to review proposals from Commission staff in the coming months, with an eye towards publishing proposals soon thereafter. I look forward to continued input from this subcommittee on these important matters throughout this process.
Thank you again for inviting me to speak on behalf of the Commission. I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.


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With a crowd of photographers snapping away, a smiling Larry Birkhead arrived to a Bahamian court just moments ago to fight for custody of his daughter Dannielynn.
Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, is also expected to arrive shortly. It is unknown if Howard K. Stern will attend.
The hearing is set to begin at 2:30 PM EDT.
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Sabang (Mindoro)
Earth : Asia : Southeast Asia : Philippines : Luzon : Mindoro : Sabang (Mindoro)
Sabang is small town located on the northeastern coast of Mindoro Island, Philippines.
Sabang is one of the barangays (small towns) in the municipality of Puerto Galera. Sabang is at the northern terminus of the road from the municipality proper of Puerto Galera, which is a ten minute jeepney drive away. Sabang also consists of the following beaches:
Walking between the three you might not even notice the difference but each has a separate feel and activity level, Sabang Beach being the liveliest. Big Lalaguna Beach is the best for swimming with its clean sand and coral reef with cordoned swimming area prohibited to boats.
Get in
By plane
The closest airport to Sabang is in Manila on the neighbouring island of Luzon. From the Manila airport, you'll have to travel by road to get to the port at Batangas. For the well-heeled, Subic Seaplanes [5] offer direct transfers by air in their Cessna floatplanes.
By boat
Many tourists arrive on pre-arranged transportation - via a banca arranged by their dive shop/hotel. You also have the option of arriving via ferry (from Batangas or a number of other islands). Ferries (mostly large bancas) land at Sabang beach frequently or at the port in Puerto Galera proper. White Beach and Balatero are other destinations from Batangas. Each of these are close enough to Sabang Beach to be a reasonable alternative if you don't want to wait for the next direct ferry. Just take a jeepney, trike, or motorcycle to Sabang from your alternative landing place. The ferry service is regular, departing every two hours (with reduced service during the monsoon season) from Sabang.
These banca ferries appear primitive. Also, they may be uncomfortably packed during high season. Emergency equipment, such as life jackets, are on board but supplies may be scarce. The trip between Mindoro Island and Luzon will take you around 80 minutes. Many resorts and some independent companies offer pickup from manila airport, a ride to batangas and a transfer in a large banca.
The earliest boat back to Batangas leaves Sabang at 5AM while the last boat leaves at 1:30PM. Fare is P240 including P10 terminal fee.
By bus
From Manila Public buses leave from various parts of Manila to the port of Batangas frequently. If you are leaving from the Malate/Ermita part of Manila, you'll want to take a taxi to the Buendia bus station and get the next bus to Batangas. From there see above for simple arrangements to transfer to a ferry for the trip over.
JAM transit runs hourly buses from their Cubao bus terminal.
An only slightly more expensive and much more convenient alternative from Malate/Ermita is the Sikat bus/ferry, a private service run out of the City State Tower Hotel in Ermita. The bus leaves at 8AM and after arriving in Batangas you are lead to the connecting ferry by a Sikat agent. However this has only one service daily which leaves Manila at 0830 hrs.
Whichever bus alternative you take, you'll usually be on the beach in Sabang for lunch.
From Angeles Public buses leave from Dau bus station in Angeles City for Cubao bus station in Manila, where you can transfer to Batangas. For a hassle-free van and boat combination transfer, Angeles2Puerto [6] offer an affordable service leaving 8AM every day (except Wednesday) from Angeles City to Sabang Beach with the return trip departing Sabang at 10AM.
On the Island There is no regular scheduled bus service to Sabang but jeepneys make frequent trips from nearby Puerto Galera, three kilometers away. Jeepneys are a novel type of Filipino public transport that were originally engineered from surplus military jeeps left in the country after WW2. Now they are often home constructed around older Japanese vehicles with plenty of brightly colored decoration. Jeepney etiquette is simple, you go on, you pay your fare (it should be cheap, 20 pesos or less from Puerto Galera to Sabang), you wait until the jeepney is full and it will leave. However expect to be crowded in with a lot of people,and more often than not half the contents of the local fruit and animal market. Driving will be breakneck down 3km of partially unpaved road, but this is well worth it for the experience. A slightly more expensive alternative to the jeepney is the trike. These are motorbikes with sidecars converted to hold 2-3 passengers and then driven like things possessed down the same unfinished 3km road. Keeping in mind the obvious risk of accidents, enjoy! Motorcycles are also available for single (or two small) persons riding on back for about the same expense as the trike.
By Taxi
From Manila It is possible to hire a taxi to drive you from Manila to Batangas pier. Negotiate the trip price up-front. Prices to be around 2500-3000 pesos. Budget for an additional 250 pesos in tolls and 50 pesos taxi fee at the pier. Trip time from MNL airport is approximately 1.5 hrs. Taxi drivers are eager to negotiate this trip as it's a big payout for a relatively easy drive. Once at the pier, travel to Sabang via ferry as described above.
By Bus/Ferry Combined Ticket
Si-Kat provides a combined bus/ferry service from Manila to Sabang and back. Travel between Manila and Batangas is via private bus while ferry transport is provided by FSL (Father and Son Shipping Lines). Cost is approximately 700 pesos for the combined service. Book return tickets at the Sabang pier desk (small). On the trip back from Batangas to Manila, you can ask the bus to drop you off in Makati where you can take a cab to the airport for ~100-200 pesos. Another popular combined service is offered by Swagman.
Get around
Its mostly walking in narrow streets. In 15min you are in Small Lalaguna and in 20min in Big Lalaguna (to the left side) If you want to go to Pt. Galera (to the ATM e.g.) take a Tricycle for 50PHP one way. A motorcycle or scooter can be hired for around 500php (Scooter) and 700PHP (dirtbike) per day, cheaper if longer.
Most visitors to Sabang are attracted by the excellent SCUBA diving provided by the protected marine sanctuary. There are a number of dive shops in the area (estimated at around 35) that provide access to a micro (i.e. small life) heaven. The dive sites that feature a large variety of small sea life with the occasional shark or turtle. Several sites are drift dives and often turn into (strong) current dives with the best diving (for coral and small life) being at 18m or 60 feet. Almost all of the dive sites are within a 10 minute boat ride of Sabang which allows you to spend your surface interval on the shore and it also allows most shops to offer as many as four dive trips (single tank) each day. Prices for a single dive are around $18~$32 for a single tank dive, including equipment rental, boat and dive guide, with discounts for more dives and if you have your own equipment.
They generaly run 3 dives a day at 9AM, midday and 3PM. Local guides know all the good spots and understands the tides in the Verde Channel. If you contact them they can put together diving and hotel packages to suit your needs.
Maxbank in Sabang has an ATM accepting local and international cards. In Puerto Galera, the Rural Bank and Allied Bank have ATMs which accept cards on the Megalink and Expressnet networks and at the Allied Bank Visa cards (debit / credit). The nearest banks with international Cirrus/Maestro links are in Calapan or Batangas (including ATMs at Batangas Pier).
The tourist center [19] and the Tropicana restaurant do exchange money and traveler cheques as well as doing cash advances on credit cards. The exchange rates are not as good as in Manila, though. Western Union offices are located at the tourist center and at Tuping's Store (eastern end of the beach). Credit cards are not widely accepted in Sabang except at some of the larger dive shops and resorts, so it's best to stock up on cash beforehand.
The majority of restaurants are clustered in central Sabang. You'll also find restaurants along Big and Small La Laguna attached to the hotels and resorts. Prices are reflect Sabang's standing as a tourist detsination, ranging from around 150-300 Pesos for breakfast and 300-600P for lunch/dinner. Cheap eats can be found at a few local establishments
There are many bars, cafes and street-side food stalls to ensure that you don't have to search far for something to drink. Cold drinks ranging from fruit milkshakes to soft drinks/soda to alcohol are inexpensive and widely available.
Sabang Beach
Small Lalaguna Beach
Big Lalaguna Beach
Longer Term Stays
There are several houses and apartments for rent in and around Sabang including many with beach front locations. Listings for these properties are hard to come by before you arrive; unfortunately, for rent signs and listings are most easily found by walking around.
Get out
Returning to Luzon The average visitor to Sabang goes back the opposite way he or she came.
To go by public transport, travel to Batangas by passenger banca from the station on the beach near Eddies Bar. Other departures are from Puerto Galera (Muelle Pier), Balatero and White Beach. An alternative route to Batangas is via Calapan (one and a half hours jeep ride from Puerto Galera) where there are regular Roro and fast passenger ferry departures for Batangas. This is especially useful in stormy weather or typhoon warnings when ferry service in the Sabang/Puerto Galera area is suspended.
If you came over on the Sikat, you just have to take the ferry/bus trip back to Manila in reverse. The ferry leaves for Batangas at 9:00 or 9:15AM. Just check in 15 minutes before departure at the Sikat booth near Eddies.
Other options include hiring a private banca to take you to Batangas.
Beyond Sabang Calapan is also the place to head to pick up a bus bound for Roxas (4 hours) where there are regular ferries to Caticlan (Boracay). , or if you want to visit Mindoro Occidental and Apo Reef, Abra de Ilog, accessed through the pier at Wawa.


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Grupo de gente practicando banana boat.
In Lloret de Mar, in the heart of the Costa Brava, you'll find the perfect destination for incentive trips and teambuilding activities. It offers various programmes of entertaining activities designed to reinforce team spirit while the participants explore the city and its surroundings. What's more, the city has excellent international transport connections.
For a whole host of reasons, Lloret de Mar is one of the most popular holiday resorts on the Costa Brava, and particularly because of its wide range of tourist attractions and its coastline. However it is also makes an outstanding destination for business trips thanks to its offer of various innovative programmes of teambuilding activities, as well as visits conceived especially for incentive trips. Teambuilding programme This is a series of original activities guaranteed to ensure the success of any kind of team enterprise: Urban gymkhana: a game to discover the historic centre in a distinctive way. It involves a themed itinerary focused on the era of the 'indianos' (prosperous Spaniards returning from the Americas) in the 19th century, and featuring actors, hidden trails, enigmas... Team Rally: competition in teams on board a 4x4 to discover the natural surroundings of Lloret de Mar. This activity requires skill and poses a host of exciting challenges, as well as enabling participants to discover places such as Canyelles beach and the castle of Sant Joan, to name just two. Kayak Pirates Adventure: a pirate adventure in the most unlikely places on the Costa Brava. The objective is to find a hidden treasure, for which the participants have to travel by kayak and even swim down to sunken shipwrecks.
Nordic Walking Raid: a session of Nordic walking and orienteering through the woods and hiking trails of Lloret de Mar with the help of compasses and maps. Front Line Sand Resort: an activity which enables participants to use their skills of project management, negotiation and creativity. Why? Because it involves a competition of ideas for managing a budget and creating a sand castle to scale on the beach. Cuina d'art: a day in the kitchen under the orders of local chefs from Lloret de Mar, that is to say an unbeatable opportunity to sample Mediterranean gastronomy. Lloret Fashion Week: a fashion contest in which the designers will be the company's own employees. They'll need to be tailors, male and female 'seamstresses', purchasing managers, presenters and even catwalk models. Incentive trip programmes The business tourism office in Lloret de Mar organises a full range of guided visits. Here are just a few: Costa Brava Clàssic: a tour of the coast which begins on land with a stroll around the gardens of Santa Clotilde, continues with a boat trip along the coastline, and ends with a dinner overlooking the sea. Guided visit to the Museum of the Sea or to the mediaeval castle of Sant Joan. Dramatised visit to the gardens of Santa Clotilde Things to remember: You can arrange these and other business activities by contacting the Business Tourism Office in Lloret de Mar: Lloret de Mar Convention Bureau http://www.lloretcb.org firstname.lastname@example.com +34 972 365 788 Lloret de Mar and is ideally connected to a whole range of international destinations from the Girona-Costa Brava airport located a little over 30 kilometres away. What's more, Lloret is only 80 kilometres from the city of Barcelona.
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The utter madness of Islamic fundamentalists doesn't seem to have any limit at all. Now a group of Islamists in Egypt wants to destroy the famous pyramids of that country, some of the most incredible ancient artifacts in all of human history.
Egypt is taking a jihadist's calls to destroy the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx "seriously," an Egyptian interior ministry source has said, according to reports.
The source, who was not named, spoke to the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper late Monday in response to Sheikh Murgan Salem al-Gohary's television interview earlier this week.
Gohary, a jihadist with self-professed links to the Taliban, called for the "destruction of the Sphinx and the Giza Pyramids in Egypt," drawing ties between the Egyptian relics and Buddha statues.The Islamist, previously twice-sentenced under former President Hosni Mubarak for advocating violence, called on Muslims to remove such "idols."
"All Muslims are charged with applying the teachings of Islam to remove such idols, as we did in Afghanistan when we destroyed the Buddha statues," he said on Saturday during a television interview on an Egyptian private channel, widely watched by Egyptian and Arab audiences.
"God ordered Prophet Mohammed to destroy idols," he added. "When I was with the Taliban we destroyed the statue of Buddha, something the government failed to do."
And this is hardly idle chatter. The Salafis have a lot of power in the new Egyptian government. I imagine the Egyptian military, which is where the real power lies at this point, would disagree. After all, there is a lot of money at stake.


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Bresnan burst leaves England sensing victory
West Indies 370 and 61 for 6 (Bresnan 3-10) lead England 428 (Strauss 141, Pietersen 80) by three runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
It does not matter how patiently you scrap, or how successful your bowling plans prove to be. When you have arguably the weakest top three in Test cricket, one of them is back at the hotel with influenza anyway, and the bedrock of your batting hooks a ball down fine leg's throat you are not going to win many Test matches.
That is especially the case when the IPL has stolen some of your star performers and you are playing the No. 1 Test side in the world on a Trent Bridge ground that, even in its guise as a permanently sun-drenched land of lost youth, fills that side with supreme confidence that they can wrest control of the Test in one outstanding session with the ball. To reduce West Indies to 61 for 6 exceeded perhaps even England's wildest expectations.
Tim Bresnan, who loves this ground, where he has good command of reverse swing, closed off the session expertly with figures of 3 for 10. Add to this an unbeaten 39 (which he described as "a bit dogged, really") when an England first-innings lead was not certain, and despite the impressive rival claims of Steve Finn he can look forward to retaining his place at Edgbaston.
A West Indies attack that in style, with the possible exception of Kemar Roach, is about as far removed from their great attacks of their heyday as it is possible to be, strove manfully to restrict England's first-innings lead to 58 on a third day when many assumed that it would be in excess of 250. Instead of a back-breaking day in the sun, they bowled resourcefully, keeping England to a further 169 after they began at 259 for 2.
Within the first 17 overs of the final session, England laid those efforts to waste. James Anderson picked off the openers in his second and third overs, Kieran Powell driving irresponsibly and dragging on; Adrian Barath stuck in front of middle with minimal foot movement. Does Chris Gayle, one wonder, ever feel a pang of guilt as he cold-shoulders West Indies Test cricket in favour of the riches of IPL or is he unabashed at what he sees as simple financial logic?
As Kirk Edwards, the flu victim, could not bat until No. 7, Shivnarine Chanderpaul came in after 4.2 overs. Some have clamoured for him to move up the order, but presumably not like this. He lasted 15 balls before Stuart Broad, face reddening in the heat, upped the intensity when it was most needed, fired in a well-directed short ball and Chanderpaul's top-edged hook flew obligingly to Jonathan Trott at fine leg.
Darren Bravo is regarded in the Caribbean as a batsman of immense promise, but he has now been outgunned by Australia and England in turn. He was caught on the back foot, playing across one from Bresnan that kept a little low. If the shot was technically dubious, his decision to ask for a review was criminal; replays predictably showed the ball hitting middle. When Bresnan trapped Ramdin in front, Marlon Samuels wisely talked his partner out of wasting the second review.
Edwards must have wondered if his journey was really necessary. A woeful tour was encapsulated by a woeful day; a woeful day encapsulated by a woeful minute at the crease. Stupified, eyes half closed, he heard two lbw appeals in turn, the second of them successful for Bresnan, to round off arguably his best spell of the summer.
England also owed much to Andrew Strauss, who was 102 not out at start of play and who crucially broke his habits of old by surviving into mid-afternoon. He never quite recovered the fluency of the previous day as England's visions of 600-plus evaporated; not as much reconnecting with his form of the previous day as sticking around in the hope of an introduction, but his longevity was invaluable. He fell on 141, caught at the wicket off Darren Sammy.
Strauss has only ever added a maximum of six runs when he has had a hundred in the bank at start of play, a statistical quirk that had been extended in the first Test at Lord's. He had admitted to his frustration on the previous evening, saying: "Scoring a hundred takes a bit out of you physically so it is a bit tricky the next morning but there's no reason why you can't kick on and get a big score. It's a mindset thing the next day, to try and reconnect with what you did the day before rather than worrying too much."
England's individual batting weaknesses were exposed at regular intervals before lunch: Kevin Pietersen's fondness for moving across his stumps, Jonny Bairstow's apparent fallibility against short-pitched quick bowling - Kemar Roach's aggressive use of the second new ball was quite an introduction to the realities of Test cricket - and Matt Prior's vulnerability to the good-length ball that seams back.
Pietersen, 72 not out overnight, had tweeted his intention to go to bed shortly before 7pm. Perhaps he is still on India time, a sort of vicarious link to the IPL. Or perhaps he was so eager to make use of a flat pitch, and pull alongside Strauss' collection of 21 Test centuries again, that he felt 12 hours sleep was advisable. Whatever, it did not do the trick as he only added only eight, lbw as Ravi Rampaul cut one back.
When Aleem Dar gives a batsman out, it is safest to assume that he is probably right, but he erred when he turned down West Indies' appeal for lbw against Ian Bell with the first over of the new ball. West Indies reviewed it and Bell - who had also been dropped on 15 by the wicketkeeper, Denesh Ramdin, off Shane Shillingford - was clearly out. The last of the morning's victims was Prior, whose aggressive intent ended when Sammy cut one back to bowl him.
West Indies, short on resources with Shillingford's offspin ineffective, settled for containment in the shape of a wholehearted spell by Sammy. But dispensing with an England tail is not an easy business. Folklore has it that the pup with the shortest, thickest tail is the pick of the litter and in terms of Test rankings it appeared the belief might be well-founded as Bresnan and Broad added 53 for the eighth wicket before Broad fell to a top-edged paddle sweep, not his forte.
Graeme Swann feathered an inside edge against Marlon Samuels that was spotted by the new, exceptionally-sensitive Hot Spot. As Swann walked off, bemused, West Indies felt right in the match. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
David Hopps is the UK editor of ESPNcricinfo


text: Here's your daily dose of cute: A new documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, follows around the Italian designer before he retired and we peons get a glimpse into the life of Valentino's dogs. The man has six pugs: Milton, Monty, Maude (we knew he was a Bea Arthur fan), Margot, Maggie, and Molly whom he pampers, adores, and basically allows to run amok wherever they please. In the clip after the jump, watch the six little puglets go on a journey in Valentino's private jet and try to muscle a woman out of her seat. The rascals also loiter around Valentino's feet as he designs. They must be part of his creative inspiration! Clip above. A Puppytastic Preview Of The New Valentino Documentary [NY Mag]


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March 3, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The MIT men's fencing team closed its season at the NCAA Northeast Regional hosted by Vassar College on Sunday. Gabriel Chan recorded the best performance for the Engineers as his 13th-place finish in epee was the highest ranking for a Division III competitor.
Jeremy Hurwitz and Matt Gethers rounded out the epee squad with finishes of 29th and 31st, respectively. Igor Kopylov paced the sabre team with a 16th-place finish, followed by Maximilian Brand (19th) and Rangarajan Nadadur (23rd). Spencer Sugimoto and Richard LaGrandier placed right behind each other at 17th and 18th, while Benjamin Switala came in 30th.


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Goldman Moves to Block Independent Chairman
A year after Goldman Sachs named an independent lead director forthe first time in its history, the company is fighting a proposal that would force the company to split the chairman and chief executive posts held since 2006 by Lloyd Blankfein. Liz Moyer reports on The News Hub. Photo: AP.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the ... shall the uprising Goldman Sachs peace with the top job and it's a place he says ... the man and manage all crazy happy with slight Blankfein ... and try again and so I'm Liz more she joins us on the set now with a view Vranica a great story ... um ... one bond fund is now CEO and chairman of Goldman Sachs shareholders lineups with the top ... and he's been at it in a dual role since two thousandsix on his name down and ... eat there's been a couple of years where shareholders of talents to the dual role and then again this year ... I have another shareholder group task is ... to look a group basically one of the ... external oversight ... of the way the companies operate in the September and gives ... the seal off the pallets in the new baby for ... board meetings ... what do you think he's going to think about Max ... well I mean they have fought against at the farm on which Mr. the needs he scored against it well ... I mean the company has yet to rise and that they're they're asking us ECB given permission to keep enough about this time again ... on the one time it actually demanded to vote they didn't get famous but some shareholders so ... that really hoping it's going away now is from above the sum of the sun was shareholders of the employees who report to come to one point five so that might might be a little bit of a ... consoling the fact that we've seen on ... the ultimate goal the gentle recent bank shenanigans going on aam is on top of the UK which doubled this I walk we wanna know ... that this edition of all responsibility of its Eckstein over Steinmetz is the VIP another one extra pair Eyes or Germon summoned to say the CEO candidates barred Innolux maybe we need to think twice about ... doing this or read look at this issue I mean it it basically is another check and balance in this the Dow and the shareholder groups are saying out what what good is that if the CEO is also chairman ... at it and then is responsible for hiring a CEO in and planning succession and it's it's a report by the end ... closest to reports from slow compared with the suffix writes the family along with the tone is jointly doula ... come check that out in tomorrow's I bought ...


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Earlier this month, Karla the Veganshizzle and I spent a few days up in Seattle basically drinking coffee, eating vegan food, walking around, and drinking even more coffee.
Our first stop was Georgetown Liquor Co. Hands down, my favorite place to dine (and play NES with a microbrew or PBR in hand) in Seattle. And really, not that hard to find!
The Picard, with vegan aus jus dipping sauce and side salad
The Lowell with vegan ham and green chiles
The Cat Whisperer by Pike Place Market, reminding me, why don't I have any pet portraits of my roommates yet?
Please help me convince my friend below that Coffeetalk with Karla is a great name for her never-gonna-happen talk show.
Soy Latte at Herkimer, U-District
Bang Bang Cafe
There are many things that I like about Bang Bang Cafe: the Belltown location, the giant dish of vegan mac & cheese (one day this will be mine), the friendly service, the coffee, the Mighty-O donuts, the burritos, the little card for Back to Eden they had posted by the register!….I'm charmed.
Coffee and Lemon Poppyseed donut
Now, consider me happy with my first-time visit to a Loving Hut.
First off, the framed, famous vegan head shot poster:
The Wall of Vegetarian & Vegan Elite (and food):
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Part of the shopping wall:
Vegan Bánh mì
Vermicelli House Special
Attempted to give Cinnamon Works another whirl, badabing, but they were all out of the veganz:
A peak of Shiz's I know-Jess-is-taking-a-picture-face. Bloggers, be nice to you friends – they're very patient!
Stopping by Sidecar for sweets:
We enjoyed a satisfying, comfort-food-galore brunch at Wayward Cafe. Honestly, just look at their menu and these pictures and tell me you don't want to go here. You do! You do! Breakfast All Day!
The Country Bumpkin: Open-faced herb biscuit with tofu scramble, country-style sausage gravy & garlic steamed greens.
The Hillbilly Omelette, stuffed with sausage, peppers, onions & hashbrowns, topped with country gravy and cheddar cheeze, and served with homefries. Even more whoa.
My Sweet Lord, Hare Krishna cafe. Free vegan cafe (by donation).
Seeing the creepy sights in the U-District:
Pizza Pi – According to my friends, the latest management & menu is the best yet! Noted for next time. The last time I went was years ago and I think it's changed hands at least twice since then, and it was one of those 'why does this gross vegan cheese even exist?' scenarios.
One day, I will.dine.here.
We were in town for First Thursday, and at Anika's (the vegan wonder of Seattle that she is!) recommendation, stopped by the 30 works in 30 days art show.
The top right here was my favorite:
If you're a cat, and run to me when I call you, well, that's a promising friendship:
In more Seattle animal sightings, this dog made me realize that I now have two favorite breeds of dogs: those with capes, and on wheels:
Special Piroshky Report: Last time I stopped by the historic Piroshky Bakery in Pike Place Market, they told my friends and I that a couple of their sweet varieties, like the apple, for example, would be vegan by default because there was no dairy involved. I was excited to peak by again, but that was instantly broken when we noticed 'honey glaze' on the window signs. Commence vegan sadface.
OntoThe Highline. No SV review coming with these after my first visit, but here are some quick thoughts: Poor lighting, but lots of greasy potential at this place – a full bar with a specialty cocktail list – I had a short & spicy tequila sipper, a great space with stage, the idea of CAKE-A-ROKE night(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), the faux meat options – looking forward to trying the faux fish sandwich on my next trip up, but our complaint? The pickle fries were deep-fried, and came with a creamy ranch-style dip, but didn't arrive hot! Double sadface.
Crazy packed BLT-style tofu & tempeh sandwich from The Highline:
Faux breaded chicken sandwich at The Highline:
Most importantly, it's the year of the pickle fries!
We also took our first trip to Moonlight, a Vietnamese restaurant in the International District that has a separate vegan menu. I wrote a post on it, so sticking with photos here, and my love of their vegan eggrolls.
Eggrolls at Moonlight:
Beef and Broccoli at Moonlight; the Shiz's iconic favorite soda in the back
Tofu Eggplant Hotpot at Moonlight
Another warming, caffeinated break downtown at Trabant:
Soy Latte, Trabant (which always makes me think of my friend Evan from Drowning in a Demitasse)
Soy Latte, Victrola
With that, I leave you in the Shizz's hands, at the Pike Place Market:
Season's Greetings and Happy Long Weekends!
This post is hereby dedicated to KJ & Vijjy.


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It's only been two years since we were blown away by the original Trek Remedy at its press launch in Mexico's
The guy just can't stop pushing technology and searching for the next big thing. And judging by the pace he sets out on the trails, he spends a lot of time refining those developments.
The original Remedy was very compliant, but we found we always had to run it with around 40 percent sag due to the dead point in the stroke that air shocks can suffer from.
So our ears pricked up when we heard the new-and-improved 2010 Remedy would come with a DRCV (Dual Rate Control Valve) shock designed to eliminate this, plus a few other key tweaks, such as a lighter fork, carbon frame and lower profile rear pivot.
And then we heard about the Scratch – Trek's new platform that bridges the freeriding gap between the Remedy and the amazing Session downhill frame. We couldn't wait to try out both bikes for ourselves.
Hermosa Tours, operated by Matt McFae and his great team, are a fairly compact, specialist company who operate premium tours in
With nearly 30 hacks from various magazines and websites at the launch, and two bikes to test, the group was split in to two – BikeRadar's first ride was on the Remedy, followed by the Scratch on day two.
A row of Trek Scratches itching to be ridden at Red Cliffs Lodge
Remedy Carbon
The 6in-travel portion of the
This is where the new Remedy fits in. Last year the platform was fitted with a RockShox Lyrik or Fox 36 fork, each boasting 160mm of travel. For 2010, the slimmer Fox 32 with 15mm through-axle and 150mm of travel changes the Remedy's target rider – and drops a big lump of weight off the bike to boot. Being on the lofty side, we rode a 21.5in model, which tipped the scales at approx 28lb (13kg) – astonishing for such a capable bike.
Our 'test' ride for the day was the infamous Amasa Back Loop, but incorporating the Rockstalker section, and
The 2,000ft climb was littered with steep, technical sections and challenging rock steps. Everyone had a dab or two on the way up – some with comical yelps, others with lots of whinging, huffing and puffing – but our group were all good riders and the pace was constant. Apparently there were a few hold-ups from those not so familiar with hills in the other group…
The new Trek Remedy has an improved rear shock and is available with a carbon frame
Immediately noticeable was just how much more active the rear suspension felt – astonishingly so. With 25-30 percent sag dialled in, the bike sat up nicely in its travel. The DRCV shock's two-stage compression eliminates the dead point in the middle of the stroke and maintains a linear feel, giving a very compliant ride.
Its secondary stage is operated by a simple push rod that's depressed when the main shaft nears the end of its stroke. The transition is seamless. This, combined with the lighter and twitchier feeling front end, made for a bike that climbed excellently. We didn't even feel the need to use the Talas travel adjust system on the fork to lower the front end on the steep climb.
Plateauing on the Amasa trail we were treated to breathtaking views, and the chance to take some tourist snaps was too good to miss. The epic scale of the terrain made your eyes go funny, it was so vast.
Classic steep-ass Slickrock climbing. This stuff is as grippy as fresh skateboard tape
Once at the top, we were told things were about to get fun – and rocky. We feared the lightweight carbon frame would be in danger of taking a pasting from flying rocks and such, but we needn't have worried – Trek redesigned their OCLV (Optimum Compaction Low Void) technology especially for this all-mountain application.
To avoid cracking and splintering, Trek have layered and armoured their carbon. And they've put it through its paces using a similar anvil strike test to that used by Boeing to simulate objects hitting aircraft.
The test simulates a 150g rock hitting the tubeset at 38mph, and it had virtually no effect on the OCLV carbon. But just in case, Trek have also added rubberised armour on the underside of the down tube – something many Session 88 riders will no doubt be screaming out for.
Descending was a joy on the Remedy. With a CrankBrothers Joplin post as standard, its
Doddy droppin' in on the Remedy
Scratch that itch
The Scratch is a new platform that sits between the Remedy and the Session downhill bike. The previous Session FR was a little too much for most, and the Remedy had more of an all-mountain feel, so the Scratch is bang on the money for freeriding.
It features a tapered head tube up front, a down tube that looks just like the one on the Session, and the same impressive Full Floater suspension system as the Remedy and Session. Geometry is adjustable via the Mino Links – reversible inserts joining the seatstays to the Evo Link, Trek's one-piece rocker. The Scratch also benefits from a steep seat angle and a full-length seat tube so you can raise your saddle for better pedalling.
The Scratch ride was on the famous Whole Enchilada trail, starting at 11,200ft in the La Sals and dropping down to the
The Trek Scratch sits between the Remedy all-mountain rig and Session downhill bike
At first, the uphill and flat sections left us feeling a little demoralised, as the Remedy would have loved this terrain. Although light for its burly strength and freeride leanings, the Scratch was a little much for this portion of the ride.
However, when the trail opened up and things got fast and rocky, the grins came out and that imaginary throttle opened up. We 'train'-ed Jose Gonzalez through some of the faster and rockier sections – the guy's no slouch and can really let rip. It's reassuring to know that companies like Trek follow the 'designed by and for' strategy.
With 170mm of rear wheel travel using the Full Floater system born on the Remedy and refined for long travel on the Session, the Scratch came to life on the downhills. We ran ours on the 66-degree head angle setting, and enjoyed the plush ride of the Fox RC-4 coil shock. Some riders reckoned the rear end didn't feel quite as plush as the Session – but with shorter travel, and an infinitely more practical design, it shouldn't.
Doddy tearing through the aspens on the Whole Enchilada trail
Whereas on the Remedy we've never really learned to appreciate the ABP (Active Braking Pivot) on the rear axle, on the Scratch it shone. Dragging the rear brake through rough sections had no effect on the rear end, and combined with the traction of the suspension made for a very controllable ride.
We rode the 21.5in size Scratch, which weighed approx 35lb (16kg) – excellent given the heavy seatpost, steel spring and sturdy build. It would be easy to chop 4lb off a Scratch for those looking for a long-travel all-mountain bike. Likewise, it would be easy to kit it out as a mini-downhill bike thanks to the lengthy wheelbase and the sturdy new 142mm dropouts.
Intelligently, Trek designed the rear end to have a linear feel, so it works a dream with air shocks. Adjusting bottom-out via the Boost Valve on the coil-sprung Fox shock is a cinch.
Trek team rider Andrew Shandro testing out the traction
Further down the trail we hit the infamous Porcupine Rim – some of the best riding we've ever encountered. It has fast singletrack sections, technical rock steps and some seemingly impossible sections that made us dab, scoff, spit and swear in a way only a true Brit can. And despite having a long 46.7in wheelbase, our extra-large Scratch was easy to manoeuvre and never once felt like too much bike.
The Scratch is a very impressive and capable bike. You can build it heavy as a lightweight downhill bike, keep it stock as a do-it-all machine for hard-hitting riders or get to work on the SlimFast plan and end up with a 30lb, 7in-travel bike that's ready for hard-as-hell riding. Whichever way you take it, the Scratch will fuel your freeriding fetish, winch its way up the climbs and hammer back down again – while your riding buddies are off the back, itching to have a go.
Doddy taking in the scenery on the Amasa Back trail


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Featured Ingredient: Pomegranate
In ancient cultures, pomegranates were symbols of love and vitality. And what's not to love about this tempting jewel of the winter fruit stand. (Well, maybe the risk of red splatter but more on that later). The pomegranate, which grows on shrubby trees native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, is increasingly being studied for its age-avenging compounds that are present in the sweet-tart arils (seeds) and surrounding juices.
The crunchy arils are jam-packed with fiber, bone-building vitamin K and a host of free-radical destroying phytochemicals that have been purported to help fend off a number of cancers. Plus, they lend a burst of flavor to yogurt, salads, ice-cream and cottage cheese.
Perhaps the cleanest way to access the arils that won't leave your kitchen looking like it was part of the set for Saw is to cut off the crown, score the rind into quarters and submerge it in water. Break open the sections of the fruit under water and roll out the seeds. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl, and the inedible membrane will float to the top.
After you have your nutrient packed arils separated why not try them in this seemingly fanciful but not really recipe. These olive oil cakes are delicate so I would really recommend using paper liners or silicon cups for this one. You can grind up the almonds in a coffee grinder, food processor or a Vita-mix. It would probably also work just to chop them really fine with a chef's knife. I was hoping the lemon flavor would come through some more but sadly it did not. Maybe more zest next time?
The Martha Stewart recipe I adapted this from used red grapes. So who says red grapes and who says pomegranate seeds?
If you like these, perhaps you should try these Olive Oil Rosemary Breads
Pomegranate Olive Oil Cakes
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup finely ground almonds
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup milk
1 cup pomegranate seeds/arils
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, mix together flour, ground almonds, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs, sugar, and zest with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in olive oil. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in ¾ cup of the pomegranate seeds. Divide mixture among 12 muffin cups and top with remaining pomegranate seeds. Bake for 28 minutes, or until slightly brown on top and a tester comes out clean. Let cool before unmolding.


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Psychotherapy may help children affected by tragedies like the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., a comparative effectiveness meta-analysis suggested.
Interventions incorporating elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) had the best evidence of benefit for children with and without symptoms, Valerie Forman-Hoffman, PhD, MPH, of the for-profit research firm RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and colleagues found.
No medications showed benefit after trauma from accidents, natural or man-made disasters, war, or other events not related to child abuse or domestic violence, the group reported in the March 3 issue of Pediatrics.
"Our findings serve as a call to action," they wrote. "Psychotherapeutic intervention may provide benefit relative to no treatment in children with traumatic stress symptoms or exposed to traumatic events and appears not to have associated harms."
Far more research would be needed for definitive guidance, they cautioned in the review, which was commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
"Approximately two-thirds of children and adolescents younger than age 18 years will experience at least one traumatic event, creating a critical need to identify effective child trauma interventions," they noted.
Some children are fine long term, but many later develop traumatic stress syndromes, with increased risk of depression, substance abuse, conduct disorder, and suicidality.
"The most important conclusion derived from this rigorous review is: when it comes to empirical evidence to prevent or treat symptoms from traumatic events, we don't know much of anything," M. Denise Dowd, MD, MPH, of Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, wrote in an accompanying commentary.
That shouldn't stop pediatricians and others from making an impact through the greatest intervention to help a child recover from trauma -- a nurturing and caring relationship with an adult, she concluded.
The review of the literature turned up 21 trials and one cohort study of at least moderate quality looking at interventions for children exposed to trauma other than abuse or domestic violence.
For symptom-based treatment, the majority (15) of the studies targeted children who already had symptoms after trauma exposure with a wide range of interventions:
- Trauma-focused CBT
- Cognitive processing therapy
- Narrative exposure therapy
- Grief- and trauma-focused intervention group therapy alone or with coping skills and narrative processing
- Emotional regulation therapy
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
- Cognitive behavioral intervention for trauma in schools
- Trauma and grief component therapy
- School group with elements of CBT
- Antidepressants imipramine (Tofranil), fluoxetine (Prozac), or sertraline (Zoloft)
None of the medications tested appeared to help, although sertraline-treated children fared worse than controls.
All of the trials comparing psychotherapy with wait-list controls found at least some benefit to the intervention, while active comparator trials for narrative exposure therapy and both versions of grief- and trauma-focused intervention showed no difference among groups.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was less likely to be diagnosed in children who received trauma-focused CBT and expanded versions of grief-and trauma-focused therapy.
Trauma-focused CBT was the only one shown to ease anxiety symptoms.
Most of the studies evaluating depression found a benefit to intervention; neither of the two studies looking at internalizing behaviors found an impact of therapy.
The remaining seven studies based treatment on exposure, rather than symptoms, and used the following interventions:
- Trauma-focused CBT
- Child and family traumatic stress intervention
- School interventions with elements of CBT
- Early psychological intervention
- Propranolol
All but the drug trial and the early psychological intervention study found at least some benefit in at least one outcome measure.
Only the intervention that counseled children with their family showed benefit against an active comparator rather than a waitlist or no intervention control group.
That treatment, as well as the ERASE Stress school-based intervention, appeared to cut down on PTSD diagnoses. Both school-based studies appeared to ease PTSD symptoms.
Anxiety declined with intervention in both studies evaluating it; depression also improved with the three interventions evaluated on that measure.
However, all the studies typically evaluated only short-term outcomes.
"The body of evidence provides no insight into how interventions targeting children exposed to traumatic events, with or without symptoms, might influence long-term development," Forman-Hoffman's group cautioned.
The study was supported by a contract with the AHRQ.
The researchers and Dowd reported no conflicts of interest.
- Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner
Primary Source
PediatricsSource Reference: Forman-Hoffman VL, et al "Comparative effectiveness of interventions for children exposed to nonrelational traumatic events" Pediatrics 2013; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-3846.
Secondary Source
PediatricsSource Reference: Dowd MD "Prevention and treatment of traumatic stress in children: few answers, many questions" Pediatrics 2013; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-4020.


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Enhance a room with this custom, made-to-order giclee print wall art.More Details >
Our giclee wall art prints are a bright, beautiful home decor accent. The image is produced with a state-of-the-art giclee print technique on high-quality canvas. This printing technique allows for faithful color and detail reproduction. The print is then hand-mounted in the square, black finish wood frame. Please note that this wall art is custom made-to-order.


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|D & L Liquors
|USD 13.49 $9.99 750ml
Omaka Springs Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Member Reviews for Omaka Springs Sauvignon BlancAdd your review
mineral on the nose, a little honey dew, a little floral, great fruit on palate with passion fruit, star fruit, delicate, nice balance, aromatic with a great length, amazing value
really liked this wine - great melon flavors, nice acidity and a long finish/ If you can find this wine at low teens price point buy it. I'm going to "cellar" this wine as a new go-to white
Vanilla, melon, floral, very light. This is a great wine.
Beautiful floral perfume with honey, melon and apple on the palate. A touch vegetal on the end. Love the acidity here.
I really loved this one. Vanilla and fresh on the nose. Nice tangy, balanced on the tongue.
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Omaka Springs Sauv. Blanc* »
$9.99 750ml USD 9.99
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Dietary Information: Organic
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text: Hi, I'm a fresh ISPConfig user stuck with a dead control panel. The problem started after creating a self signed certificate for two hosted domains. I also created some mailing lists and web/email domains. They were all working before I created the SSL stuff. Only the email domains now work. The normal web domains return with a: The https pages (including the one form the ispconfig control panel) return with a SSL connection error: Looks like there are (at least) two problems. Google didn't give a direction for neither of these two issues. How do I get my panel back online? <edit> Providing more usable data: Using Debian Wheezy, ISPConfig 3.0.5 In all queries to the web server, I get an error logged in /var/log/apache2/lists-error.log I thought that was the mailman HTTP logging It says: client denied by server configuration: /etc/apache2/htdocs I have no such file. </edit> Thanks very much Jeroen.


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Über Tawando
Tawando.com is the website of the company MY EASY STORE UG and based in Kaiserslautern. The online shop for air conditioners and heaters was founded in November 2010 with the aim to offer a wide range of air conditioners and infrared radiant heaters. The company was run by another company. We had then taken in February 2013. After the acquisition, we had a quiet phase have quickly found that there is high demand for this service. The majority of our customers visit Tawando.com because it is apparently difficult a good selection of interesting links to find in their vicinity. Our customers prefer to enjoy the advantage of home to buy in the rest online. At the beginning of our activity we only had air conditioning systems from different manufacturers in the range which we took over at that time. Today, we are proud to offer you a wide range of products to manufacturers. We carry well-known manufacturers such as Samung, Panasonic, Lg Electric, Daikin and Mitsubishi in our range. In addition to these famous brands, we are constantly trying our range with even more exclusive and original brands expand. With our expertise for several years, we are able to offer custom solutions for the cooling and heating. This is this is mainly ensured optimum integration of air conditioning or heating. Whether you are looking for a compact Mitsubishi air conditioning systems for small and medium-sized rooms or LG Split Klimaanalage need for your offices, which, moreover, the air is dehumidified: Here you will find it quickly. Our online store is designed very clear - the products by category or manufacturer sorted - and easy to use. Whether you are looking for a specific product, prefer to use an infrared stone heater, or the brand of a particular manufacturer, for example, a Panasonic air conditioning: Since 2013, we also offer modern heaters, infrared heaters, glass heaters, heated side mirrors, or even for the more leisurely range infrared fireplaces in our range. We're not the only provider of infrared heaters and heating systems, but makes us different personal commitment. This allows you to easily browse our web site in order to fulfill your needs even better. Our modest size guarantees you a personal and "fast" service. Our staff is always ready orders as quickly as possible to handle the goods can be dispatched as soon as possible to our customers. Hannes is our founder Tawando.com and is responsible for the whole team. We constantly strive to offer you the best selection and the best service. You can always contact us and tell us your needs with an e-mail to email@example.com. We thank you for visiting us and we hope that you have found something suitable. Stay in touch with us and visit us on Facebook. So that we can keep you informed about special offers and news.
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DragonForce Announce Drummer Switch Ahead of New Album + Fall 2014 Tour
The next time you see DragonForce live, there will be a new drummer behind the kit. The group has announced that their longtime stickman Dave Mackintosh is moving on from the band and that they've found his successor in former Braindamage and Kill Ritual drummer Gee Anzalone.
Anzalone also serves as a drum teacher, who graduated from the NAMM Academy of Milan and has plenty of experience playing in hard rock groups. He'll make his live debut with the band when they start their 'Maximum Overload' trek in the U.K. this September.
As for Mackintosh, the drummer who appeared on the past four DragonForce albums has decided to pursue his first musical love, following a more prog rock direction. He offered a lengthy statement on his exit, which reads as follows:
After much thought I have parted ways with the boys in DragonForce to pursue my first love of progressive rock, I wish the lads all the luck in the world and look forward to the release of Maximum Overload as I truly believe this is the most fantastic DF album that I and the boys have recorded to date!
Many thanks to all the fans who have supported me in this last decade of massive tours, countless shows and all the albums, I couldn't have done it without you.
I will continue to tour and play with some of the greatest names in Prog Rock, and hope to see some familiar faces on the road!
In the meantime, stay metal, watch out for the new Dave Mackintosh website which will be launched within the next 4 weeks as well as some great new videos I will be producing with my gear sponsors.
DF forever!!
DragonForce guitarist Herman Li also weighed in with his comments on the matter, which can be read below:
We have been through a lot with Dave and want to thank him for everything he has contributed to DragonForce, both as a friend and musician and we would all like to wish him well with his new project.
DragonForce will release their 'Maximum Overload' album on Aug. 18, with touring expected to really pick up this fall.


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News tagged with bedsores
Bedsores, more properly known as pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers, are lesions caused by many factors—such as unrelieved pressure, friction, humidity, shearing forces, temperature, age, continence, and medication—to any part of the body, especially portions over bony or cartilaginous areas such as sacrum, elbows, knees, and ankles. Although often prevented and treatable if found early, they can be very difficult to prevent in frail elderly patients, wheelchair users (especially where spinal injury is involved) and terminally ill patients. Bedsores are often fatal—even under the auspices of medical care—and are one of the leading iatrogenic causes of death reported in developed countries, second only to adverse drug reactions. The primary cure and treatment is to remove the pressure by turning the patient regularly (every two hours is often quoted, though the evidence for this figure is not strong and four hourly turns may be as effective in some patients). However the relief of pressure to avoid further sores is well documented since at least the 19th century; regular turning was advised to prevent sores by Galloway (though some of her other recommendations are not current practice, for example massage of the pressure area is probably contra-indicated) and virtually all authors since.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA


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Speech: Ezekiel Philips "Talk To Meeee" [User Submitted]
""What the heart thinks, the tongue speaks" Talk to Meeeee!!!!" Produced by: Ezekiel A. Phillips Videography done by Nana Arkorful & Morehouse College communications team."
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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The issue that I'm having is lately my nipples are super sensitive and itchy. The itching usually stops a few min after pumping and I have a red "ring" around my nipples.
I bought the next size up in breast shields (30mm) and that didn't seem to help. I also thought it could be Thrush but I don't have any shooting pains.... I was wondering if any other mothers who pump have had this issue? and what did you do?!?!


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The United States women's volleyball team and former Husker Jordan Larson finished with the silver medal on Saturday as Team USA fell to Brazil in four sets (25-11, 17-25, 20-25, 17-25) at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Brazil rallied after the first set to dominate the final three sets and bring home a second-consecutive Olympic title.
Larson tallied four kills and four points for the United States in the match. The Americans started out strong in the first set, dominating the Brazilians with a .440 attack efficiency. The United States rallied in the second set to tie the match at 12, but the Brazilians unleashed a 6-0 run to take command of the set. Team USA's blocking would falter in the third set and a pair of errors by the Americans kept Team USA from gaining any momentum.
Brazil never trailed in the fourth set, as the United States could not recover and the Brazilians took the title. The United States earned silver for the third time, as the Americans lost to Brazil in 2008 and fell to China at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.


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Slow Moving Coastal Storm To Bring Wind, Rain To New Jersey
As clean up from Monday's thunderstorms continues a slow moving low pressure area will bring rain, flooding and gale force winds to New Jersey.
In an advisory issued by the National Weather Service, the storm will linger over New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic states starting Wednesday and lasting into at least Thursday.
A Coastal Flood Advisory has been issued for Atlantic, Cumberland, Cape May and southern Burlington counties. Gale force winds out of the northeast will cause 6-8 foot waves with minor to moderate beach erosion during high tide mostly in the southern coastal area.
Rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches are expected across the state with the heaviest amounts falling closest to the coast.
Heavy surf and rip currents will continue through the weekend.
The stormy weather had resulted in power outages for about 6,700 customers of Jersey Central Power & Light. Early Tuesday, power had been restored to most according to the utility's outage map on Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. Public Service Electric & Gas also restored most customers on Tueday.
The National Weather Service canceled a Tornado Watch for all of New Jersey around 4 p.m. Monday after no twisters developed as a strong line of thunderstorms moved across the state causing the worst damage across north Jersey. Minor tidal flooding was reported yesterday afternoon in the Green Island section of Toms River and the Shore Acres section of Brick.
Accuweather reports that a funnel cloud was spotted over Trenton and Michigan Avenues in Paterson around 3:15 p.m. according to the Star Ledger.


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Job Description:
Earn Your Degree at NO COST while teaching at Bright Horizons!The Toddlers at Bright Horizons at Franklin are happy, busy and growing and we are looking fora special new Teacher to join our team! You will find us located in the Franklin Industrial Park and we are proud to announce that working with us as a FT Teacher will provide you with a cost free college tuition program!! There are no out of pocket expenses and nothing to pay back. We value the importance of an educated and well trained Early Childhood Teaching Team. Toddler Teachers set the stage for growth
As a Toddler Teacher, you will be working with children who are at a vital point in their development, and your guidance, patience, skills and passion will help shape who they become. Whether it is watching them discover the world, designing the curriculum that will be the foundation of their budding knowledge, or collaborating with other important people in their lives, you'll be doing something meaningful and worthwhile.
At Bright Horizons, you'll also find opportunities to experience personal and professional breakthroughs of your own. As a company with a learning culture, you will discover your full potential through state-of-the-art-online training, leadership development and tuition reimbursement, including the opportunity to earn your ECE college degree for FREE! Additionally, our company culture invites you to bring your whole self to work, because it is our unique attributes, perspectives and backgrounds that make us a stronger team.
How will you help shape our future generation?
What you will do as a Toddler Teacher
Nurture toddlers' developing skills through positivity, reinforcement and communication
Collaborate with and be supported by a talented team of early childhood professionals
Develop emergent course curriculum designed to inspire children
Become an ally and partner for parents, supporting, guiding and sharing in their child's growth and development
Accomplish your own career goals and achieve personal growth through unlimited opportunities
Impact the lives of children and families each and every day, during an important time of growth and development
Live the HEART principles of Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork
Click Here to View the Rewards and Realities of Being a Teacher at Bright Horizons
Job Requirements
Who we are looking for
High school diploma/GED required
Meets state requirements for education and additional center/school requirements may apply
A passion for child care and making a difference in the lives of young children
We do give preference to child care teachers with the following:
Bright Horizons A fresh perspective on learning
In addition to being the leading provider of high quality care and early education, Bright Horizons is the only child care company repeatedly named by FORTUNE as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For". We are passionate about building an organization where you can make an impact on future generations. It begins with the educators that we hire, and by helping you grow with us. We support a well-rounded, individualized curriculum that is fully engaging and tailored to each child's developmental needs. This visionary approach helps craft enriching experiences, and empowers children to be confident and successful lifelong learners.
Benefits we offer
Competitive salaries
Career path opportunities
Extensive health benefits
Comprehensive tuition reimbursement and the opportunity to earn your college degree for FREE through our Early Education Degree Achievement Plan
Volunteer opportunities through Bright Horizons Foundation for Children
Commuter benefits
Health club discounts
Cell phone discounts and much more
Additional Information
Bright Horizons is dedicated to creating a workforce that promotes and supports diversity and inclusion. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals without discrimination. Bright Horizons complies with the laws and regulations set forth in the following EEO is the Law Poster: EEO IS THE LAW.
Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the recruitment helpdesk at 855-877-6866 or email@example.com. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Having technical issues with your online application? Contact us at email@example.com or 855-877-6866.
See how well your resume matches up to this job - upload your resume now.
Bright Horizons


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April 19, 2006
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - The MIT softball team snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over Emmanuel College in non-conference action on Wednesday. Although the Engineers (4-18) tallied two more hits than the Saints (12-20), they equaled their season highs of three doubles and two triples in a game.
Emmanuel posted its only run in the top of the first. Whitney Howe led off with a single that dropped in behind third base. Katherine Palmer-Thompson later recorded a two-out double to centerfield that plated Howe.
Tech evened the contest in the bottom-half of the inning. Amanda Jason reached on a walk, moved to second on Corinne Vannatta's sacrifice hit, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. She then scored on Leah Bogsted's single up the middle. MIT extended its lead with a pair of runs in the fourth frame. Kaitlyn McCartney doubled down the leftfield line and Adrianne Hee picked up a two-out walk. Jason cleared the bases with a triple to right center.
The Engineers scored twice in their next at-bats, resulting in a 5-1 margin. Melissa Tanner hit a double down the right field line and then advanced to third on Texin's ground out to shortstop. Bogsted reached on a walk and immediately attempted to steal second. With both base runners trying to advance, Bogsted drew enough attention from the infield to allow Tanner to score. Following a strikeout, McCartney notched her second double of the game with another shot down the leftfield line that brought Bogsted home. In the bottom of the sixth, Hee led off with a triple to centerfield and Tanner hit a RBI single to right field, setting up the final score.
Jillian Medeiros, Stephanie Rege, Ashley Tomczak, and Jennifer Walsh each posted a hit for the Saints. In the circle, Lisa Donehey fell to 3-8 on the year as she scattered eight hits, walked five, and struck out two.
Tanner paced Tech by going 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run. McCartney went 2-for-3, also recording a RBI and a run. In addition to fanning nine batters and picking up her fourth win of the year, Bogsted totaled a hit, a RBI, and a run to help her cause.
The next game for MIT will be on Friday, April 21 when it travels to NEWMAC foe Clark University.