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From Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) FoxConn headaches to this week's Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) sheer pants debacle, brands are once again reminded of the downsides of outsourcing production across the world to low-cost places like Asia.
Continue Reading Below
While manufacturing abroad has the obvious benefits of cheap labor and rapidity, the recent Luon yoga pants recall underscores just how badly a kink in the supply chain can set a company back in terms of reputational damage and hit its bottom line.
It's especially true of an emerging retailer like Lululemon that is looking to keep pace with skyrocketing demand. The company saw revenues soar 31% year-over-year in its most recent quarter and is undertaking an aggressive global expansion plan in key markets like London and Hong Kong.
Yet, when quantity begins to take precedence, it's often at the cost of high quality. When companies are tens of thousands of miles away from their foreign manufacturing centers, their ability to keep a watchful eye over production is hindered, sometimes at the risk of their product.
"The Far East apparel manufacturing market was essentially built on the idea of quantity over quality," International Strategy & Investment Group senior analyst Omar Saad said in a note this week to clients.
There simply aren't that many apparel manufacturing companies with the capability to produce "meaningful quantities of product that meet the company's stringent standards," he said.
As demand grows in markets where consumers are price driven, manufacturers are compelled to be equally as cost driven to alleviate the pressure on their margins. However, speedy manufacturing far from home can lead to unavoidable errors without careful inspection.
"If customers are saying 'we want more, we want more,' no one is going to say 'no we can't do it,'" said Marshall Meyer, a professor and China expert at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "If we're all governed by price, and if performance standards are of overwhelming significance, these problems occur whether its toys or workout pants."
Lululemon's problem is hardly as lethal as, say, Mattel's (NYSE:MAT), which in 2007 had to do some serious damage control after a number of its products made in China contained dangerous levels of lead paint. But the Luon pants are a "very technical and sensitive product to manufacture" given their complex multi-step production process and specific set of proprietary ingredients, said Lululemon CEO Christine Day. That means they require a much closer watch than toys or electronics where discrepancies are usually easier to spot.
"The only way that you can actually test for the issue is to put the pants on and bend over," she said Thursday on a call with analysts. "Just putting the pants on themselves doesn't solve the problem."
Keeping closer tabs, though, often means footing a pricey bill, a luxury that well-developed retailers like Nike (NYSE:NKE) have over newcomers like Lululemon.
For the athletic apparel maker known for its popular yoga pants, the oversight is expected to have a "substantial impact" on profits later this year. It is writing off summer-delivery yoga pants and hasn't been able to give a timeline on when the Luon pants will be restocked.
The pants shortage, which Lululemon predicts will shave some 25 to 27 cents a share off its full-year earnings, comes a year after the Vancouver-based retailer received complaints regarding dye-bleeding among its bright-colored tank tops.
"When you take a supply chain and extend it several thousands of miles around the world, you're laying layers of complexity and exposure that you wouldn't normally have if you were sourcing from Kansas," said Greg Kefer, VP of corporate marketing for GT Nexus, a cloud supply-chain platform developer. "When you push supply overseas you lose a degree of control."
Day says the company is working closely with manufacturers to get to the root cause of the most recent dilemma. The retailer has a team on site in Asia and has added new quality control leadership in recent days to liaison and development teams. It is "looking to make some more significant hires," particularly in raw materials, going forward, she said.
Lululemon has pointed to its foreign manufacturers for the see-through pants, though it has yet to specifically name which may have been at fault. A manufacturer may be to blame, particularly if it subcontracted unbeknownst to the brand, however it may be unfair to blame it all on the source.
A Lululemon manufacturer, Eclat Textile Co. of Taiwan, emerged strong against Lululemon's claims this week. Eclat, which has facilities in Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia and China's Xishan District, one of the country's busiest manufacturing hubs, told the Wall Street Journal that its shipments went through a certification process which Lululemon had approved.
"All the pants were manufactured according to the requirements set out in the contract with Lululemon," Eclat said.
It's a blow to the strict standards Lululemon as vehemently touted since Monday.
Lululemon wouldn't respond specifically to Fox Business for this story, but on its web site the company alleges that it audits and inspects factories, conducting an initial audit to ensure that its manufacturing facilities meet the terms of its code of conduct while working with third-party international auditing companies to monitor and manage its supplier compliance. It says it conducts these audits through third parties twice a year and has its factories visited "multiple times" throughout the year. Having a small manufacturing base, Lulu says, gives it "greater visibility" of factory environments.
However, labor costs in China have risen sharply in recent years. That means that some manufacturers may be subcontracting to save costs, and there's a chance those subcontractors are subcontracting to someone else. It creates a multi-layer supply chain that's very difficult to track without careful mechanisms in place.
"If the costs seem too good to be true they probably are," Mayer said. "It's expensive, but if you get as big as Nike, you can afford it."
Outsourcing is "a huge commitment," said Mark Power, Senior Vice President of sourcing solutions for Xchanging Procurement Services.
There must be solid business alignment between both the retailer and the foreign manufacturer and the two must be realistic about what they want and can accomplish while maintaining high-quality standards, Power said.
"A lot of people try to rush through it. They look only at the labor cost component and are not thinking about quality, cycle time and other important service levels," he said. "There are a lot of other related components that really give you a total value of the contract relationship."
At the same time, he said, both must be flexible enough to manage "regular business change," which includes a faster-than-expected ramp up in demand, and they must have contingencies in place so that high quality standards can be met despite those changes.
Lululemon says it has not determined the specific cause of the sheerness, though Day says it is pursuing "several hypotheses in parallel" with its manufacturing partners.
Small changes to the production process can create "meaningful changes in the fabric," she said. The company began putting in place more stringent specifications this week and will be "re-doubling" its efforts in this area. It will also diversify its supplier base and Day said Lululemon should have two additional sources ready for manufacturing its key fabrics by the fall.
"We have to do a better job of controlling or creating standards for that process as we're shipping to more locations to manufacture," she said.


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To create the ruffled look start with a Wilton petal tip #104 and a piping bag filled with frosting. By holding the wider end of the tip towards the center and the narrow pointed end of the tip to the outside of the cupcake, pipe a layer of icing around in a circle by gently wiggling the piping bag back and forth to create the ruffled look. Follow this same motion creating a 2nd and 3rd layer on top of the previous ruffles of icing. Finish off the look with a fondant topper to fit your special occasion, in this case the obvious choice was a heart for Valentine's day.
I am loving how the ruffled icing works so well when paired with a lace doily.

subset: commoncrawl


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High school graduation rates highest in decades
A U.S. Education Department study says the high school graduation rate nationally is the highest since 1976, but more than a fifth of students fail to get a diploma in four years.
Officials say the steady rise of students completing their education is a reflection of the struggling economy and a greater competition for new jobs.
The study released on Tuesday says that across the U.S., the dropout rate for male students was 3.8 percent. For females, it was 2.9 percent.
The dropout rate was higher among males in every state. The percentage gap between male and female dropouts was largest in Connecticut and Rhode Island, at 1.7 percentage points.
Many students who don't receive their diplomas in four years stay in school, taking five years or more to finish their coursework.
The national dropout rate was about 3 percent overall, down from the year before.


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Alternative News
TimiHealth Program Empowering Consumers To Profit From Their DNA Data Listed On LATOKEN
Our coverage of Timicoin/TimiHealth's disruptive mission has shown the power of taking personal health information, that currently is not easily available to consumers and making it simple and instantaneous for them to access. On top of that, it allows consumers to monetize or privatize their data if they choose, a radically different set of choices than what's available today.
Next, TimiHealth announced TimiDNA was going to revolutionize the way your DNA data would be kept safe. Using the blockchain, you can secure your DNA data and choose to either monetize it or keep it private. So if services like 23andMe are of interest to you, but you don't want to pay to hand over your DNA to a company partnering with big pharma to sell your data, then TimiDNA is for you.
The recent news that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is investing $300M in 23andMe to access the genetic DNA data of five million consumers for pharmaceutical drug development, with a 50/50 split on future profits, shows that those who paid to get their DNA data information from 23andMe are now receiving nothing back as they sell those records to big pharma for $60 per customer. GSK gains the ability to potentially develop new drugs based on that data, and the consumer won't see a dime.
"Instead of the current model where consumers are paying for the privilege for others to profit from their DNA, we at TimiHealth will be the first to pay consumers for the honor to secure their DNA in our proprietary TimiDNA distributed blockchain. We want to pay individuals a similar amount to what GSK paid 23andMe for their data, and to also empower them as consumers to tokenize and continue to profit from the genetic data that truly belongs to them," said Joyce Lignell, Chairwoman of TimiHealth's Advisory Board.
These moves come in the wake of a time where people are concerned about their privacy and big corporations, including big pharma. They feel these corps have too much power over people and their data. Afterall, if it's your data, why shouldn't you get paid for it?
"We know how truly valuable genetic and DNA data is to the future of medicine and believe that consumers who choose to share or sell their data should receive the lion's share of the financial windfall that comes from it. TimiHealth is on a mission to tokenize consumers' DNA information and allow them to first compile their data in a highly secure, distributed TimiDNA blockchain, while also giving them the ability to sell or refuse to sell that data to researchers. We are opening the eyes of consumers to the fact that genetics companies are cutting deals with big pharma for tremendous amounts of money that should belong to the people that are the very source of the data," said Timicoin/TimiHealth's, founder Will Lowe.
Timicoin/TimiHealth is the first operating blockchain designed to empower individuals through its TimiDNA platform to own, control, and monetize their genetic DNA data, will also be the first to actually pay them for it. Their token, Timicoin, will go live on LATOKEN August 9th, 2018 where people can begin buying the token and watching its progress.
On August 20, 2018, TimiHealth will be launching the TimiDNA platform and will be giving away two million Timicoin's The first 100,000 pioneering individuals who upload their DNA data to the TimiDNA platform will receive 20 Timicoins.
Truly think about the fact that you will have access to the same DNA services you had access to in the past, but now you can choose what happens with your data, and you can get paid in the process.
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Alternative News
Anderson Cooper Caught Spreading Fake Information & Lying About Vaccines Live On CNN
In Brief
- The Facts:
A clip of Anderson Cooper making very weak arguments in support of Mercury inside of vaccines. Each point he makes is not really correct and can be countered with actual science, which is outlined within the article. Mercury is clearly a big concern.
- Reflect On:
Why are there no studies demonstrating that mercury is safe to inject into a child? Why has it simply been presumed safe? Why are there well over 100 studies showing that it's not safe to inject? What is going on here?
Most people probably aren't surprised at the title of this headline. It's become commonplace to hear about problems with pharmaceutical products, but when it comes to vaccines, many people are still unaware of the potential side effects. Much of the concern around vaccines has to do with the ingredients, many of which have been added to vaccines for multiple decades without any safety testing and have simply been presumed safe. This is easy for big pharma to do, given that they are often exempt from any responsibility or being held liable for someone who has a bad reaction to their product. They are protected, which allows them to be careless with their product.
This is why when I came across a clip of Anderson Cooper on CNN spreading false information, I thought it would be great to illustrate how false news, an anchor speaking about a topic without providing any sources, can easily be believed by the masses and taken as fact. The person he is interviewing is not really equipped to respond or reply appropriately.
Sure, it's from 2015, but it's still very relevant today.
It's strange how anybody even has mainstream media 'on' these days. Relying on your T.V. for information is ironically why so many people become misinformed, as it's best to do your own independent research. Given the amount of traffic alternative media sites have received over the past ten years, it's quite clear that people are looking for other sources of information. Many eyes have veered away from mainstream media and into alternative media outlets, which shows we've come a long way.
If you want to look for alternative media and other sources of information, it's unfortunately becoming more and more difficult. The corporate/financial elite recognized the rise in alternative news, and as a result they've put in place a 'ministry of truth' (Orwell, 1984) to determine what information is fake and what information is real. For example, News browser extension NewsGuard promises to help readers pick out fake news, and it's funded and run by individuals tied to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Atlantic Council and other prominent elite groups. You can read more about that in detail here.
This is terrible. People should be allowed to decide for themselves what is real and what is not, and they should be allowed to examine the sources used and utilize their own brains.
It seems that these people, whoever they are, want to do our thinking for us.
William Arkin, a well-known military and war reporter who is best known for his groundbreaking, three-part Washington Post series in 2010, has gone public outing NBC/MSNBC as government run agencies. You can read more about that here. Here you can access declassified documents and read more about mainstream media's connection to intelligence agencies and how they influence mainstream media and even academia. Here are 50 facts about the CIA and mainstream media, and here is a clip of an award winning mainstream media journalist telling us the same thing.
As James F. Tracy, a former professor of communications at Florida Atlantic University, emphasizes:
Since the end of World War Two the Central Intelligence Agency has been a major force in US and foreign news media, exerting considerable influence over what the public sees, hears and reads on a regular basis. CIA publicists and journalists alike will assert they have few, if any, relationships, yet the seldom acknowledged history of their intimate collaboration indicates a far different story–indeed, one that media historians are reluctant to examine.
When it comes to Anderson Cooper, some have speculated he is working directly for US intelligence agencies. Even if a mainstream anchor is unaware of this, and is employed by the network, they are 'loosely' employed by intelligence agencies, outlined by the documents/articles linked above. It's easy to see why many would think this of Anderson Cooper, especially since he was an intern at the CIA while completing his undergrad at Yale University. Furthermore, his uncle, William Henry Vanderbilt III, was an Executive Officer of the Special Operations Branch of the OSS under the spy organization's founder, William "Wild Bill" Donovan. He also reached the rank of captain in the navy during WW2. (Source)
All of the information above is important to consider when you're examining mainstream media. It makes it more understandable why they lie so much, and why they are fighting hard to shut down the voices of any opposition.
You can watch the full clip below.
A proper response to Anderson's comments
Can you tell me the name of any of these scientists who claim this because they go against, what, every study? I mean the CDC says this, Institutes of Health, all these studies say you're just wrong.
This was Anderson's response to the comment by former U.S. Congressman Dan Burton regarding mercury in vaccines.
What Anderson says is a complete lie, as his claim that mercury in vaccines is dangerous does not go against "every study."
In fact, his logic is completely backwards, because there is actually not one study showing that it's safe to inject mercury into people, let alone little infants whose organs haven't fully developed yet. Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man, it shouldn't be a debate, yet it's presented as one on mainstream media. As a result of this kind of presentation, it becomes a debatable topic within the mainstream, inside of homes, etc. This is pure brainwashing that's occurring by utilizing false statements that everybody seems to take at face value.
Modern-day scientists have been amassing evidence of mercury's toxicity for decades, with a growing focus in recent years on the metal's association with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A new review in the multidisciplinary journal Environmental Research pulls together a wide body of literature with the aim of summing up current research and emerging trends in mercury toxicology. Geir Bjørklund, the study's lead author, is the founder of Norway's non-profit Council for Nutritional and Environmental Medicine and has published prolifically on topics related to heavy metals, autoimmune disorders and ASD. – Robert F Kennedy Jr.
A couple of years ago, Robert F. Kennedy Junior and Robert DiNero actually offered a $100,000 reward for any scientist, journalist or doctor who could present one paper or proof that mercury is safe to inject into children. At that conference, they brought more than 100 peer-reviewed studies showing how it isn't.
A fairly recent Meta-Analysis published in the Journal Bio Med Research International points out what all of these other studies did as well:
"The studies upon which the CDC relies and over which it exerted some level of control report that there is no increased risk of autism from exposure to organic Hg in vaccines, and some of these studies even reported that exposure to Thimerosal appeared to decrease the risk of autism. These six studies are in sharp contrast to research conducted by independent researchers over the past 75+ years that have consistently found Thimerosal to be harmful. As mentioned in the Introduction section, many studies conducted by independent investigators have found Thimerosal to be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Considering that there are many studies conducted by independent researchers which show a relationship between Thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders, the results of the six studies examined in this review, particularly those showing the protective effects of Thimerosal, should bring into question the validity of the methodology used in the studies." (source)
Anderson then comments:
Well, are you against breast-feeding? But you are aware that Methylmercury is actually in breast milk that's given to children. If a child is only breastfed, they get more methylmercury then they would have ever gotten in any of the vaccines.
Just because there are other sources of mercury due to environmental pollution, like breastmilk, does not justify having mercury inside of vaccines. Mercury exposure comes from multiple areas, not just vaccines, because it's presence in our environment is abundant as a result of multiple industries, not jut pharmaceutical. Mercury and heavy metal contamination are huge problems that cause a variety of diseases, but if mercury was banned from our environment, a lot of big industries would lose billions of dollars. I believe that the same powers behind our medications are the same ones spraying our food and using other methods to keep us sick to drive their profits up.
Furthermore, injecting heavy metals is far different than taking them in via other sources, like our food for example. This has been shown by numerous studies regarding aluminum, which is also present in multiple vaccines. Scientists discovered using animal models that injected aluminum does not come into the same method of excretion as the aluminum we take into our bodies via food or deodorant. Injected aluminum is picked up by macrophages (white blood cells) and transported to distant organs and the brain, where it can still be detected years after injection.
You can access those studies regarding injectable aluminum in the article linked below:
Brain Imaging Shows Autistic Brains Contain High Amounts of Aluminum
The truth is that there hasn't been an appropriate study that actually looks at the bioaccumulation of vaccine ingredients and where they go in our body, including mercury.
This interview was a joke, and it unfortunately featured two people who were both ill-equipped to discuss the topic of vaccines. There are thousands of scientists and publications they could have used or cited, yet all we get is a massive ridicule campaign combined with the heavy marketing of vaccines instead.
Anderson also mentions organizations like the CDC and FDA, or regulatory agencies that approve our medications. These are very corrupt organizations, with dozens of examples showing their ties to big pharma.
The idea that vaccines aren't entirely safe gained a lot of attention when one of the lead authors of a 2004 study came forward. His name is Dr. William Thompson, a senior researcher at the CDC who co-authored one of the most widely cited studies to debunk any link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study allegedly found:
"The evidence is now convincing that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine does not cause autism or any particular subtypes of autism spectrum disorder."(source)
10 years later, he countered the original study, arguing:
"The [CDC] co-authors scheduled a meeting to destroy documents related to the [MMR vaccine] study. The remaining four co-authors all met and brought a big garbage can into the meeting room and reviewed and went through all the hard copy documents that we had thought we should discard and put them in a huge garbage can." (source)
The Takeaway
The takeaway here is to recognize how mainstream media can easily influence us and perpetuate a completely false idea with absolutely no evidence to back it up. As a result, "monkey see monkey do" happens, as the rhetoric is then repeated and believed by those who watch it and it becomes the dominating opinion. This type of 'fake news' is also pushed hard by pharmaceutical companies, as they've completely taken over medical education. This is why you see so many doctors lacking knowledge in areas you'd assume they'd be experts in.
Think for yourselves.
Help Support Collective Evolution
The demand for Collective Evolution's content is bigger than ever, except ad agencies and social media keep cutting our revenues. This is making it hard for us to continue.
In order to stay truly independent, we need your help. We are not going to put up paywalls on this website, as we want to get our info out far and wide. For as little as $3 a month, you can help keep CE alive!
Alternative News
'Russia Collusion': The Only Real 'Colluders' Have Been Proven To Be The Accusers
In Brief
- The Facts:
As more evidence comes out, it is looking like the only ones 'colluding' in the 'Russian Collusion' affair are those U. S. government officials who have been trying to make the case against Donald Trump.
- Reflect On:
Is there anyone out there that still believes claims that Donald Trump somehow 'colluded' with Russia, given that no evidence to that effect has come out after all this time?
What do John Brennan (ex-CIA), James Clapper (ex-DNI), James Comey (ex-FBI), Andrew McCabe (ex-FBI), Peter Strzok (ex-FBI), Lisa Page (ex-FBI), Rod Rosenstein (DOJ), Bruce Ohr (ex-DOJ), Hillary Clinton (ex-DOS) and a whole host of lesser-known players have in common? They've all been revealed as co-conspirators ("colluders") in an attempt first to prevent and then to terminate the Trump presidency by whatever means possible.
Their strategy was to accuse the Trump campaign of "collusion" with Russia, not based on any credible evidence, but on the basis of the idea that this would be the easiest and most powerful story to fabricate. Most powerful because Russia remains the most feared enemy and biggest threat to U. S. sovereignty in mainstream perception, and easiest because these accusations are actually a projection of their own activities, including Hillary Clinton's Uranium One dealings with Russian entities.
FISA Warrant 'DECLAS'
At this point, anyone who still believes that there is any possibility that Donald Trump somehow "colluded" with Russia, which isn't even illegal, has simply fallen victim to mainstream propaganda. If you take a look at any of the actual evidence, it seems like this was all a 'witch hunt,' as Trump would say.
We are still awaiting the 'DECLAS,' Q-Anon's catchword referring to the declassification of various documents and texts including the full and unredacted FISA Warrant used against Trump Administration official Carter Page. This particular FISA Warrant is what allowed the colluders to first spy on the Trump campaign prior to the election. While this warrant was technically already released in July 2018, it was highly redacted. The unredacted version, which Donald Trump threatened to release in late September, was set to lay bare many of the conspirators' means and motives behind this charade and prove that Robert Mueller's special council was knowingly built upon pure fabrication.
However, Donald Trump pulled back his push for declassification, and he explained this decision on Twitter:
I met with the DOJ concerning the declassification of various UNREDACTED documents. They agreed to release them but stated that so doing may have a perceived negative impact on the Russia probe. Also, key Allies' called to ask not to release. Therefore, the Inspector General…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
….has been asked to review these documents on an expedited basis. I believe he will move quickly on this (and hopefully other things which he is looking at). In the end I can always declassify if it proves necessary. Speed is very important to me – and everyone!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 21, 2018
It's unclear as to why he didn't go ahead with the DECLAS in September. However, between the documents, emails and text messages that have already been made public as well as the testimonies of some of these co-conspirators, it's not difficult to piece together what's really going on here.
A Simple Breakdown
This Epoch Times article, which provides a comprehensive infographic and a detailed analysis of all the players involved in what they call 'Spygate,' is a great place to start for those of you who want to dig deeper. The following is a direct quote from the article, providing a simple breakdown of what happened:
1. CIA Director John Brennan, with some assistance from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, gathered foreign intelligence and fed it throughout our domestic Intelligence Community.
2. The FBI became the handler of Brennan's intelligence and engaged in the more practical elements of surveillance.
3. The Department of Justice facilitated investigations by the FBI and legal maneuverings, while providing a crucial shield of nondisclosure.
4. The Department of State became a mechanism of information dissemination and leaks.
5. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee provided funding, support, and media collusion.
6. Obama administration officials were complicit, and engaged in unmasking and intelligence gathering and dissemination.
7. The media was the most corrosive element in many respects. None of these events could have transpired without their willing participation. Stories were pushed, facts were ignored, and narratives were promoted.
The first point is worth examining further, and everything else cascades down from there. It seems as though Deep State operatives Brennan and Clapper got together to find ways to prevent Trump from becoming President, since Hillary Clinton was the Deep State's preferred choice and Brennan and Clapper would fare very well under her presidency. They decided, in concert with other conspirators, to use their favorite boogeyman Russia, and felt that if they could find enough information to make a little smoke, they would be able to cry 'Fire!' and everyone would stop, drop and roll on their command.
But times are changing, and schemes like this are not as effective for the Deep State as they used to be, especially since Donald Trump took office and is now being supported by an alliance that is against the Deep State. This matter has been under investigation, and in front of the House Intelligence Committee, Brennan admitted that his 'intelligence findings' were the main basis for the FBI investigation:
"I was aware of intelligence and information about contacts between Russian officials and U.S. persons that raised concerns in my mind about whether or not those individuals were cooperating with the Russians, either in a witting or unwitting fashion, and it served as the basis for the FBI investigation to determine whether such collusion [or] cooperation occurred."
It is public record that the dossier that forms the bulk of Brennan's 'intelligence' was funded by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, that this fact was not disclosed when the FISA Warrant was applied for, and that James Comey ultimately conceded that the information in this dossier was 'salacious and unverified.' The fact that no official intelligence was used to open the FBI's investigation is quite unusual–stunning, in fact–and gives way to the idea that the FBI investigation was nothing more than part of the conspiracy to prevent Donald Trump from taking office.
The Takeaway
Unlike in the past, when matters of corruption, conspiracy, and even treason at high levels seemed to end with a single individual taking the blame and higher powers getting off scot-free, it looks like the truth on this matter may actually be revealed to the public and the elite may be held accountable. It is our own interest in and awareness of these matters that help push them further toward full disclosure. The fact that detailed, public information clearly identifies a conspiracy of many of the highest-ranking people from top government agencies suggests that it's only a matter of time before the DECLAS is dropped. Perhaps this will be the act that finally brings the existence and activities of the Deep State into mainstream consciousness.
Help Support Collective Evolution
The demand for Collective Evolution's content is bigger than ever, except ad agencies and social media keep cutting our revenues. This is making it hard for us to continue.
In order to stay truly independent, we need your help. We are not going to put up paywalls on this website, as we want to get our info out far and wide. For as little as $3 a month, you can help keep CE alive!
Alternative News
Why We Need To Stop Bashing R. Kelly If We Want To Stop Teen Sexual Abuse & Pedophilia
In Brief
- The Facts:
Singer superstar Robert Kelly has been charged with multiple accounts of child porn, rape, abuse, and running a sex cult where he kept several young women as sex slaves inside his home.
- Reflect On:
If we only react to crimes with judgement, anger, and hatred, do we ever give ourselves a chance to understand why this happens? If we don't take the time to do that, how can we ever stop it? Today, it's turned into an epidemic.
R. Kelly is a hot topic right now, as he's been accused of raping minors, keeping minors locked up in his home for sexual purposes, and having inappropriate relationships with minors. We are talking about teenagers who ultimately are still just children. The testimony of many women and those close to him have illuminated what Kelly has done, although he still denies these claims. As a result of a recent docu-series on Lifetime called 'Surviving R Kelly,' he is being made fun of, judged, and hated on publicly by many within the industry as well as outside of it. On the surface, this is understandable given the crimes and atrocities he's committed.
The star is known as a predator of teenage girls. When he was 27, he married 15-year-old singer Aaliyah at a secret ceremony in Chicago. Vibe magazine later discovered that they were able to change Aaliyah's age on the wedding certificate listing herself as 18, even though she was only 15 at the time. The marriage was annulled in February 1995.
A girl by the name of Tiffany Hawkins sued R Kelly for the personal injuries and emotional distress she suffered during a three-year relationship with the star. In court documents, she said she began having sex with Kelly in 1991 when she was 15 and he was 24.
He has been charged with 21 counts of making child pornography involving intercourse, oral sex, urination, and other sexual acts. Chicago police accused him of videotaping each of these acts and enticing minors to participate in them.
Back in July 2017, a crowd gathered in Chicago as Timothy Savage told the world that he believed his 21-year-old daughter was being "held against her will" as part of an alleged sex cult led by R&B singer R Kelly.
As it turns out, she wasn't the only one. Apparently, there were several women held captive as sex slaves in a home he owned.
The story made global news, and put the spotlight on the 51-year-old superstar's private life – in particular, the rumours about his alleged sexual relationships with underage girls.
Savage claimed his daughter, Jocelyn, was part of an abusive sex cult, in which young girls were groomed and physically/sexually abused by Kelly.
R Kelly's wife, ex-wife, and daughter have also been quite outspoken about his abusive behaviour, even more so now that so many people are gathering together and sharing their stories. When R. Kelly was making millions for record companies, it seemed to be swept under the rug. Along with these accusations also came many awards, fame, and notoriety.
It's important to note that what we hear and what leaks out into the mainstream probably represents only a fraction of Kelly's illegal activities. Many celebrities and members of the elite are often protected from the law, and many abused women and children may not feel comfortable coming forward.
How Should We React?
Amidst all of the judgement, anger, resentment and hatred towards R. Kelly, and any sexual predator, criminal, etc. for that matter, we often fail to address one of the most important questions: We forget to ask why and how.
There is no denying people have been hurt here, and it's important to discuss what's happened, but we must also discuss solutions. All we seem to do is judge, hate, and punish without asking why and how these things happen. It reminds me of how we operate prison systems in the western world. We claim to rehabilitate individuals, but really we just force them into incredibly poor conditions that often make their state of mind worse by the time of their release, and then we send them back out into society expecting that the past won't repeat itself.
If we continue to judge, make fun, and 'bash,' we simply reinforce the cycle and allow it to continue without ever getting to the root cause of it, thus prolonging the issue instead of stopping it. In essence, just as we must provide a loving space for victims to process their experiences, we must also create that space for perpetrators.
As much as people may not want to hear it, ask yourself the question: Are we really changing anything by holding so much hate and judgment toward perpetrators? What happens when those hated individuals enter into bad rehabilitation systems and are out of prison a mere 5 or 10 years later? We're perpetuating a cycle of disconnection.
Flipping The Script
People like R. Kelly are 'sick,' in the same way murderers, other rapists, and criminals are 'sick.' The only response from society has been judgement, and the result of that judgement is jail time which largely benefits politicians and corporations. It's a modern day example of slavery, and actually has nothing to do with rehabilitation and fostering understanding and compassion.
When it comes to sexually abusing children, those who participate in this type of activity have often been subjected to severe childhood trauma themselves. It could be sexual or something else. As a result, they grow up and repeat what they have been through or look for other unhealthy ways to cope as they struggle to fit into society. This is something that has not been addressed nor understood by all of those who are participating in what's become known as 'elite level sexual abuse.'
In the case of R. Kelly himself, most people probably don't realize he is a victim of child sex abuse. He has detailed in his autobiography how he was raped when he was eight years old, which continued for years. His brother also recently gave an emotional interview detailing how both of them were repeatedly raped at very young ages by their older sister, starting from when they were about 6 years old. They were forced to perform sexual acts on her as well as have intercourse. (source)
Think about what this does to a child at that age. This is trauma, and his behaviour may be a result of this trauma. Further, the Lifetime documentary series Surviving R Kelly clearly shows Kelly tries incredibly hard to protect himself from getting hurt. This is likely part of why he is so controlling. As hard as it is to watch and hear, it seems like he attempts to control every aspect of his life so that he avoids getting hurt. Does it mean it's right to do? Of course not, it simply shows the frame of mind he's operating from, and understanding that helps us figure out how we can help R Kelly. If we don't put aside our hatred and judgement in order to feel compassion for these individuals, we will never find a solution. If we refuse, we not only fail to help the perpetrator, but we end up further perpetuating the issue and creating more victims.
Another great example would be the Vatican. Take Cardinal George Pell, for example, who recently became the highest ranking Vatican official to ever be convicted of child sexual abuse. This is something, most likely, he grew up experiencing himself. To him, it could be 'normal' behaviour, even if that's at the subconscious level. Many of these Cardinals have been in the church since they were children. Not long ago, decades worth of sexual abuse was reported in a choir that was led by the retired pope Benedict's brother. In that specific case, there were approximately 600 members of a Catholic boys' Dompatzen choir in Regenburg, Germany who where physically and sexual abused from 1946 to 1992. Georg Ratzinger, the former Pope's Benedict's brother, was the choir's head from 1964 to 1994.
Without treatment, many of these children may grow up and abuse young children. And if they don't leave the church, they could end up further perpetuating the cycle of sexual abuse within it.
Asking The Important Questions
What does hatred do? What does judgement do? What progress will we ever make by making fun of these people, labelling them as psychopaths, and locking them up? On the other hand, what will love do? What does understanding do? What progress would be made without judgement and punishment, but rather with understanding, openness, transparency, and communication? We may need to detain these people to stop them from hurting others, but we must think of better ways of approaching this than our current methodology.
Don't believe me? Hear it from a victim of elite child sex trafficking. We just put out a 4-part interview series with Anneke Lucas on January 17th, where she describes in detail her involvement as a child in an elite Belgian pedophile ring, her remarkable escape, and her healing journey over the last couple decades.
In the interview, she explains how vital it is during the healing process to not feel like a 'victim,' and that you actually empower your abuser by taking the victim stance or by labelling them as 'crazy satanic pedophiles.' She learned to look at them from a different perspective. Eventually, she felt sorry for her perpetrators and realized that the abusers are in need of something society is not ready to provide them with: the opportunity to heal.
The Takeaway
Sexual abuse has been an issue deeply ingrained in society for centuries, and it's in part because society fails to respond with compassion. We do the exact opposite of that. We make fun of, vilify, point fingers, punish, and kill criminals. We do not rehabilitate and we do not give a chance for 'lost souls' to connect to the light that exists within them, that light that exists within all of us. There is no talk of past trauma and healing, and this is one of the biggest problems when it comes to alleviating various crimes including sexual abuse and pedophilia.
These people have nobody to talk to, their always running and hiding and never addressing the root cause of their problems. As a result, many people experience pain and trauma, and the cycle continues.
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Chiefs Sign Former Cowboys TE Tony Curtis
As reported by dallascowboys.com, The Kansas City Chiefs have signed Tony Curtis to fill in a roster spot left open when they traded Tony Gonzales to Atlanta.
The Kansas City Chiefs announced the signing of former Cowboys tight end Tony Curtis today. Curtis was one of five restricted free agents for the Cowboys this season, but the team did not submit a tender offer for the former undrafted free agent.
Curtis came to the Cowboys after the 2005 draft and spent more than a year on the team's practice squad. He had a short stint on the active roster in 2006, then went to NFL Europe in 2007.
A 6-5, 251-pound project out of Portland State, Curtis may best be remembered for his three catches in 2007, all of which went for touchdowns. He proved versatile as a blocker this season, filling in for injured fullback Deon Anderson against Green Bay in Week 3.
It was Curtis who blew his assignment on the blocked punt against Arizona that not only cost the Cowboys the game, but put Mat McBriar out for the season. He began the season as the usual No. 2 tight end, but eventually saw his playing time decreased as rookie Martellus Bennett matured in the offense.
The Chiefs had previously met with Cowboys unrestricted free agent safety Keith Davis this off-season, but the special teams captain left without an offer.


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Hi there,
Pretty new to the IT industry. I'm currently doing my final project for my bachelors degree. I've almost finished and but there's just a few things i'd like to add to the core functionality of the website. I apologize if i'm in the wrong forum, if so please re-direct me!
Anyway, Basically i'd like to send a variable through the address bar and use $get to retrieve it and update some content dynamically. Yes! this is working fine. But i'm trying to add a #anchor to the link, so when I load the new page it loads its focus to the bottom of that page, whilst also being able to use the $get function to retrieve the variable and update the content on that page accordingly.
Here's that basic concept I have in mind...
(Before any html code, within <?php?> tags)
$leftimg = '  ';
$rightimg = '  ';
Near the bottom of my page I have:

I've tried other alternatives like .
If I manually set the ?left=variable or the ?right=variable then it will load the right content, then when it's clicked a second time with the manually set variable it will navigate to the bottom of the page (On second click). I figure I'm missing some crucial information on how these two address suffixes effect each others behavior.
Any help/direction would be appreciated.


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Tagged: going out
Happy 1 Year Anniversary & Happy New Year
Those of you that have known us for at least year know that we got married on New Years, last year. As of this blog post we have been married for 1 year and 1 day! It has been an amazing 1st year and I am going to recap all that we have been through in our first year of marriage! I love you Colin and I feel so blessed to have you as my husband and I had a great first year and can't wait to see what year 2 brings us!
A year in review…..
January 1 we got married and then went out to eat at our favorite place in Dallas–The Metro Diner! We had all our bestest friends with us and felt so blessed and surrounded by love. Mrs. Pam drove us to the airport to be on a 9am flight to New Orleans for our honeymoon. We spent 4 glorious days at Ashton's Bed and Breakfast. The food was great and it was so relaxing to just be and stroll through New Orleans. We ate well and life was amazing.
I started my final full semester of school taking 21 hours and needing to maintain my A average–which I did by the way! About mid January I was back in Baylor Hospital. After we changed doctors due to a bogus diagnosis, more blood tests were run, an MRI was ordered and it was decided that I had had a mini stroke. I was also diagnosed with Lupus and a blood disorder requiring me to be a life long Coumadin patient. For more information regarding what exactly Lupus is and what Coumadin is used for check out the websites below respectively:
Not going to allow the diagnosis to dictate how we were going to spend our life, we went forward. We moved into a larger yet less expensive apartment in February. We loved our place, it was so nice and spacious. I got a job at Williams Financial Group after I graduated in May and I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with and life was going GREAT! Then as it often happens in life, we thought we could settle in, but the Universe had different plans. Colin was ready for a change in scenery and wanted to explore other career opportunities.
We started to look at different cities and the cost of living in each. We narrowed it down to Chicago, Portland (which was our first choice) and Denver. Colin started feeling out the job market in Portland and then Chicago. In August we decided Colin should just leave his job and go live in X city for two weeks, get a job and then I would move up. So we looked at what it would cost for Colin to live in Portland vs Chicago for two weeks, and then what it would cost to get a Uhaul to Portland vs Chicago. Well, as we all know, Chicago won the cost factor contest.
Colin started interviewing in the financial sector, I turned in my two weeks notice at the beginning of September. By September 12th Colin, Kalie and I were officially living in Chi-town. I was at a loss as to what career path to pursue. Colin encouraged me to go in the direction of sales. I had 0 sales experience but Colin wasn't going to let that stop me! So I had some help from one Eric Lemieux and Vince with Selling Point in Boston and I got a job working at locallife.com! I now sell online marketing and custom websites. I rock at my job and am so far hitting my sales goals.
We had a great New Year/Anniversary celebration. We went to eat at Feast in the Gold Coast and ate one of the best 4 course Prix Fixe meals I think I have ever had! It was A-MA-ZING! We then went to O'Leary's Public House on Wells and Ohio. Rung in the new year with Steve and Pat. Thank you Steve so much for the bottle of Champagne! We met a cool cat, Justice, who was in the city for a visit. He is a chef and opening a new restaurant in Joliet, IL. He stayed with us as we went to The Green Door Tavern on Orleans just south of Superior. The Green Door was so much fun! Then last but certainly not least we went out to Declan's. Declan's was bumping and Jeff one of the main guys there had a great turn out! Colin and I so enjoyed our New Year meal at Feast and our mini Pub Crawl from O'Leary's to Green Door and ending the night at Declan's. My new favorite bars in Chicago!
We ended the year on a splash, the same we started it! Here is to a beautiful 2011! I can't wait to see what the new yearbrings!


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If You're An American Who Believes In The 4th Amendment, You Have No Excuse Not To Sign This Petition
from the don't-let-it-continue dept
Why is this important to you? Because, without it, it's much easier for the government to snoop on your emails without a warrant. What people want is for emails and regular mail to be treated the same, which is simply not the case today.
I know that many people have dismissed the whole concept of White House petitions, and take a rather cynical view of the whole thing. That's a very dangerous approach here, only helping to further the problems:
- Yes, it's true that the White House has ignored certain petitions in the past. It's also true that there are certain issues where the White House doesn't really seem to care what people have to say, it's made up its mind.
- But, that is not always the case, and the White House has used these petitions to take strong positions in the past -- including on things like SOPA and mobile phone unlocking. When accompanied by a strong campaign beyond just the petition, the White House seems open to taking certain issues more seriously. This is one of those.
- By all indications, there are some in the White House who agree that ECPA is out of date and needs to be fixed. There appears to be an internal debate about where the official White House position will be -- whether it's siding with the IRS and SEC -- or with the 4th Amendment rights of the public. Having a ton of signatures from the American public on their side will absolutely help those in the White House who support real and meaningful ECPA reform push back against the agencies.
- This isn't an empty gesture. There are bills in the House and Senate to fix ECPA, close the loopholes and protect your 4th Amendment rights. Getting White House support could finally push those bills over the edge and make them law.
- Sticking with the cynical approach and refusing to sign guarantees failure. Not signing works to the advantage of the IRS and SEC and others who like using this loophole. Even if you're cynical about this, signing the petition at least gives it a chance to influence the debate.


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DOJ Misled Judges For Years About How It Was Using Stingray Devices To Spy On People
from the well-of-course dept
The technology has been a key component in a case involving Daniel Rigmaiden, which we wrote about last year. Rigmaiden was taken into custody (on a fraud charge) and, representing himself in court, he has sought more info on how he was tracked down -- leading to some reluctant disclosure about law enforcement using Stingray devices on questionable authority to find him. In that case, we noted that law enforcement claimed it had a court order to use the technology, but the judge was confused, asking where were the warrants for the use of the device. The judge asked how it was possible that a court order or warrant was issued without the judge ever being told about the technology used in surveillance and was told, simply, "it was a standard practice."
Indeed, that appears to be the case. The ACLU filed a bunch of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to dig into this and newly released documents show that, indeed, it was apparently standard practice by the DOJ to be "less than explicit" and less than "forthright" with judges in seeking warrants and court orders to make use of this technology. Here's an email that was revealed:
As some of you may be aware, our office has been working closely with the magistrate judges in an effort to address their collective concerns regarding whether a pen register is sufficient to authorize the use of law enforcement's WIT technology (a box that simulates a cell tower and can be placed inside a van to help pinpoint an individual's location with some specificity) to locate an individual. It has recently come to my attention that many agents are still using WIT technology in the field although the pen register application does not make that explicit.Basically, that's the DOJ admitting that it has not been forthright or explicit in letting judges know that it is going to use this extremely intrusive form of surveillance in seeking approvals. And the courts have been concerned about this. As the ACLU notes, this email was written three years after the Rigmaiden situation happened -- suggesting that the DOJ has been getting away with this sort of thing for many years, without anyone digging in. The ACLU is now arguing that this should be a reason to suppress the evidence obtained via these devices, and will ask the court to "send a clear message" that it cannot hide the truth from federal judges in seeking rubber stamps to violate the privacy of the public.
While we continue work on a long term fix for this problem, it is important that we are consistent and forthright in our pen register requests to the magistrates…


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by Feather Ives
Sidley World is the story of a young boy who discovers that, through his dreams, he can change his world.
RJ had no friends and spent most of his time reading and writing stories. Jared Littlehead was RJ's personal bully. Jared Littlehead didn't do very well in school, and he wasn't a very good communicator.
One day Jared confronted RJ regarding some school work he wanted RJ to do for him. This wasn't the first time.
"Hey, RJ! You need to write another paper for me."
"You need me to do another paper? Uhm, this is becoming a bit cumbersome. I have my own homework and now I have yours."
"Cumbersome? Cumbersome? You dummy! You're calling me a vegetable?"
Jared Littlehead burst out laughing as he pushed RJ to the ground knocking his glasses off and his books out of his hand.
"You better get my paper done! It's a biography on some dude named George Washington. It's due by Friday. That gives you three days! THREE DAYS! And bring me some more of those chocolate chip cookies I like. TOMORROW! Do you hear me?"
"But, my mother only makes them on Thursdays."
"Well, you better get to beggin' her to make them tonight because if you don't have them tomorrow, you're gonna pay! You hear me?"
Before RJ could answer, Jared Littlehead skated off.
"Yeah. I hear ya."
RJ rose to his feet. He straightened up his shirt and went on to class. He hated being punked by Jared Littlehead, but he didn't feel there was anything he could do about it. He didn't want to tell his mom. She was working fifty hours a week as a nurse, and was always stressed. He just wished this trouble would all go away.
When RJ got home that evening, he found a note from his mother. It read:
Sorry, I won't be home till ten. Dinner is in the refrigerator. I love you very much. Mom.
RJ knew he couldn't ask her to bake the cookies when she got home that night. She'd be too tired. He didn't want to get beat up by Jared Littlehead, so he wondered if he remembered the recipe. He gathered all the ingredients, or what he guessed were the ingredients. From memory, he began measuring the ingredients one-by-one. These were memories he didn't even know he had. He mixed the ingredients in a bowl. One would think RJ had been baking these cookies for years he was doing it so well. He formed little balls of dough, and placed them on the cookie sheets two inches apart. He set the oven to 400 degrees, and 12 minutes later he had home-baked chocolate chip cookies. He tasted one, and they were as good as his mother's.
Now RJ had to focus on the easy part, writing the biography of George Washington. He remembered he had his own math work due tomorrow so he did that instead. The paper on the first President of the United States would be easy. After finishing his math homework, RJ remembered that he wouldn't see his mother in the morning, so he wrote her a note.
I hope you didn't work too hard tonight. I missed you. I did all my homework. And I got an A on my rocket science report. I baked your favorite cookies, and I left them out for you. I will be asleep by the time you get home. I love you very much. RJ.
RJ put himself to sleep like he had done many nights before. And like many nights before, he fell asleep without a care in the world.
The next morning RJ went to school without any worries. He had baked the best batch of cookies ever, and had easily started the biography of George Washington. RJ's confidence was riding high. Although he stood a foot shorter than Jared Littlehead, he felt a foot taller today. Jared Littlehead appeared just in time to knock him down a peg.
"Did you bring my cookies?"
"I sure did." RJ extended his arm holding a brown bag filled with chocolate chip cookies.
Jared Littlehead snatched the bag out of RJ's hand, ripped it opened, reached his claw into the bag, grabbed a cooked and shoved it whole into his mouth. Jared Littlehead's face lit up with how good the cookies were. Still chewing a cookie, Jared Littlehead snatched RJ by the collar. "And my paper BETTER be done by Friday."
RJ's confidence was instantly shattered, and he was back to feeling small again. He smiled, though, when he thought about his mom reading his note and enjoying the cookies when she got home.
That afternoon, when RJ got home, his mother was dressed in her uniform. She was clearly going back to work, and had prepared an early supper that she wanted to enjoy with RJ. RJ wasn't feeling his best that afternoon.
"Your cookies were very good sweetie, and such a pleasant surprise."
"Thanks, Mom. I'm glad you liked them."
"I didn't know you knew the recipe so well."
"I didn't either, but I really wanted those cookies."
"Well, you did good. I made your favorite dinner."
"Thanks, Mom."
"Sweetie, are you ok? You seem a little down."
"I'm fine, Mom. Just got a lot of homework."
"Well, thank goodness you're mommy's little genius. You won't have any problems with your homework. You ready for dinner with me?"
"Sure. Let me put my bag down and wash up."
RJ wasn't really hungry, but he wanted to please his overworked, under happy mother. They enjoyed a nice dinner together.
"I'm trying to get a schedule change so I'm not gone as much."
"I'll be there six months pretty soon, and that will make it easier for me to request certain schedules. I do miss you."
"I miss you too, Mom, but I understand."
"Ok, honey. I want you to pick a very special place you want to go Saturday. It's my day off, and I want to treat you for being such a good and understanding kid."
"Thanks, Mom."
Mom went to work that evening, and RJ went to work on the autobiography of George Washington. He finished the first draft, his math homework, his book report and began another science project. Friday came, and that morning RJ delivered the completed biography.
"Aren't you going to read it first?" he asked Jared Littlehead.
Snatching RJ by the collar, Jared Littlehead threatened, "If I don't get an A, you're gonna be sorry."
RJ knew Jared Littlehead would get an A. He just wanted the bullying to stop. RJ just wanted Jared Littlehead to go away. He truly wanted Jared Littlehead to turn to dust and get blown away by a Midwest tornado. But RJ knew that wasn't going to happen. He also knew he wasn't ever going to be strong enough to fight Jared Littlehead, so he continued to do his work. Jared Littlehead did get an A on the George Washington paper. And, for the next few months, much to RJ's dismay, Jared Littlehead continued to get As on his papers. RJ continued wishing that Jared Littlehead would turn to dust.
RJ didn't believe in magic, but he'd once heard that if you wished for something hard enough, it could very well come true. RJ didn't think it could hurt, so he gave it try. He wished for this every single night, and sometimes during the day. And to RJ's disappointment, Jared Littlehead continued to show up at school everyday. Most days he had a new assignment for RJ. RJ just told himself that he was smart enough for the two of them.
RJ's mom continued to work long hours, even past the six months. There wasn't anything she could do about it. One night, after RJ completed his and Jared Littlehead's homework he felt horribly tired. His mother had gotten home from work earlier than usual, so he asked her if she would read him a story while he fell asleep. He had asked her to stop reading to him four years ago when he turned 9 because he felt he was getting to be too old. However, lately he really missed her reading to him. Since he was feeling more down than usual, he figured this might help. So his mother read him a story, and he fell fast asleep. Only this night's sleep was the beginning of big things to come.
"Wake up!" a voice whispered in the dark. RJ did not move.
"Wake up!"
RJ awoke to steady thumping on his shoulder.
"No silly. It's not your mother. But, don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you."
"Turn on the light, so I can see you."
"No! No! No!" cried the voice in the dark. "No lights. You'll wake the boy. Just follow me. I promise you'll be safe."
RJ didn't have anything better to do, so he trusted the voice and rose from bed.
"Where are your–"
"Shhh! We need to be silent or we'll wake the boy asleep in the bed!"
This confused RJ because he was the boy asleep in the bed.
"Ok, now, close your eyes." RJ did as he was told.
"Ok, now, count backward from 100. I'll see you on the other side."
RJ, again, was alone in the dark. Only now he was standing counting backward from 100 wondering what and who was waiting for him on the other side.
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.


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The Fresh Market's newest cookbook, "Cooking in Season with The Fresh Market," makes it particularly easy to locate those foods that are at their peak of freshness. Because the book is arranged by season, we are able to see at a glance which recipes will be the most flavorful and nutritious at any given time of the year. Recipes for spring, for instance, contain seasonal foods such as radishes, asparagus and salmon, plus several others. Many of the book's 90 recipes are accompanied by cooking tips and suggestions for wine, in addition to notations identifying their suitability for folks seeking vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and gluten-free dishes. Besides the recipes being categorized by season, readers will also appreciate how the recipes are further grouped by course on the "menu-building" pages. The book, which retails for $24.99, may be purchased at your closest Fresh Market store, located by visiting www.thefreshmarket.com. Founded in 1982, The Fresh Market, Inc., specialty grocery retailer operates 131 stores in 25 states, primarily located in the Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with plans for continued expansion throughout the country. For inquiries outside these areas, call 866-817-4367, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sue Ade, a Lowcountry resident since 1985, is a gourmet baker and collector of vintage cooking utensils and cookbooks. She can be reached at email@example.com or 683-0375.
Recipes and photographs courtesy of "Cooking in Season with The Fresh Market," offered by The Fresh Market & Family, photographs by Jennifer Davick; published by Chronicle Books LLC, www.chroniclebooks.com.
Serve chilled, with sauce passed on the side.
Wine suggestion: Un-Oaked California Chardonnay
1 shallot, thinly sliced
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, with stems
1 (2-inch) sprig fresh thyme, or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1/3 cup water
4 (6-ounce) salmon steaks
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup packed watercress leaves
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch stainless steel, glass or ceramic baking dish. (Do not use uncoated aluminum, as it could react with wine and give salmon a metallic flavor.) Scatter shallot, parsley and thyme over bottom of baking dish. Pour in wine and water. Place salmon on top of shallot mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until salmon is barely opaque outside and with a rosy center when prodded with tip of a knife, about 20 minutes. Uncover and let cool completely in dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (cooking juices will gel), at least 4 hours or overnight. To make watercress mayonnaise: Pulse watercress in a food processor to finely chop. Add mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice and process to combine. Transfer to a small serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Using a slotted spatula, transfer steaks to a platter. Serve chilled, with sauce passed on the side. Makes 4 servings.
Serve chilled or at room temperature, using the leaves to scoop up and eat the tabbouleh, if desired.
1 cup medium-grain bulgur wheat
1¾ cups boiling water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch (about 10) radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 green onions, including green parts, thinly sliced
1 romaine lettuce heart, separated into individual leaves
Combine bulgur and boiling water in a medium bowl. Stir well and let stand until bulgur is tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well in a wire sieve, pressing hard on bulgur with a large spoon to remove any excess liquid. Whisk together lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Add bulgur, radishes, parsley and green onions; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Season tabbouleh with salt and pepper (grain salads tend to need seasoning again after soaking up dressing). Line a serving platter with romaine leaves and heap the tabbouleh on top. Serve chilled or at room temperature, using the leaves to scoop up and eat the tabbouleh, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
Serve hot in individual bowls, with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano passed on side.
Wine suggestion: Pinot Grigio
1½ pounds asparagus
1 pound fettuccine
1½ cups ricotta cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives and/or tarragon (preferably a combination)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Snap off and discard woody ends of asparagus. Cut off spears about 1 inch below tips; reserve tips. Cut asparagus stalks into 1-inch lengths. Add stalks (not tips) to boiling water and cook for 1½ minutes. Add tips and cook until asparagus is barely tender, about 3 minutes more. Using a large wire skimmer or a sieve, lift asparagus from water and transfer to a bowl. Do not rinse. Add fettuccine to boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. During last minute of cooking, add asparagus to water to reheat it. Scoop out and reserve about ½ cup of cooking water, then drain fettuccine and asparagus and return them to pot. Add ricotta, ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter and chives to pot and stir, adding enough of reserved cooking water to make a creamy sauce. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve hot in individual bowls, with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano passed on side. Makes 4 to 6 servings


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9:30 pm
Essential Pepin "Fowl Play" Turkey Cutlets In Anchovy-Lemon Sauce; Grilled Chicken With Tarragon Butter; Roast Capon With Cognac And Mustard Sauce; Ballottine Of Chicken With Spinach Filling. D
10:00 pm
America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated "Bistro-Style Steak and Potatoes" Test cook Bridget Lancaster shows Chris how to make the five-star meal at home and serves it with Potato Galette. And finally, equipment expert Adam Ried reveals his top pick for wine openers. D
10:30 pm
Burt Wolf: What We Eat "Connecting The Dots: An Overview of the Consuming Passions Ignited by Columbus" Burt looks at the continuing effect of the voyages of Christopher Columbus on our world today _ especially their impact on diet.G
11:00 pm
Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence "Summer's Bounty" Summer is definitely the time Joanne gets excited about fruits and vegetables, greeting her student Leah with a little jem salad perfectly dressed with a buttermilk blue cheese dressing. They make a spicy spaghetti together and then cool things down with a blueberry frozen yogurt. Recipes: Little Gems with Almonds and Buttermilk Blue Dressing, Spicy Spaghetti with Sauteed Fennel and Mussels, and Blueberry Frozen Yogurt. D
11:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "Provence: Legendary Light, Wind and Wine" Rick climbs Roman ruins in Nimes, explores a papal palace in Avignon, and savors vivid views immortalized by van Gogh in Arles. He crosses acres of wispy vineyards, explores the Cotes du Rhone and seeks out more wonders of the South of France.G


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Last updated: July 28, 2015
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The China Renewables Report researched at source contains BMI Research's assessment of the current renewables market in China. The report also contains historical data together with forecasts to end-2018 covering electricity generation (TWh) and electricity capacity (MW).
The renewables sectors covered in the report include Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Tidal and Wave, and Biomass (See Table of Contents for exact coverage). The report also features details on government green energy agendas and funding opportunities, as well as presenting a detailed list of key renewables projects currently being planned or undertaken in China, their capacity, the timeframe of construction and their current status.
The report discusses the various energy policies currently in force, including targets, subsidies and the relevant infrastructure developments or limitations which might impact on renewables growth, analysing the potential effects of regulatory changes in conjunction with the background macroeconomic outlook. Finally, there is a general overview of the competitive landscape in China, together with a detailed summary of the main utilities and manufacturers present and their business operations.
BMI's China Renewables Report provides industry professionals and strategists, sector analysts, investors, trade associations and regulatory bodies with unique independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the China renewables industry.
Key Benefits
- Benchmark BMI's independent renewables industry forecasts for China to test other views - a key input for successful budgeting and planning in the renewables market.
- Target business opportunities and risks in the China renewables sector through our reviews of latest industry trends, regulatory changes and major deals, projects and investments in the country.
BMI Industry View
Summary of BMI's key industry forecasts, views and trend analysis covering the renewables market in China, regulatory changes, major investments and projects and significant multinational and national company developments.
Industry SWOT Analysis
Analysis of the major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats within the renewables sector and within the broader political, economic and business environment.
BMI Industry Forecasts
Historic data series (2010-2012) and forecasts to end-2018 for electricity generation (TWh) and electricity generating capacity (MW) for each individual renewables sector present in the country.
These in turn are broken down into:
Electricity Generation: Overall capacity (TWh), growth % change year-on-year, KWh per capita, % of Total Non-Hydropower renewables generation, % of total electricity generation.
Electricity Capacity: Overall capacity (MW), growth % change year-on-year, % of non-hydroelectric renewables capacity and % of total capacity.
These forecasts are in turn supported by explicit assumptions, in conjunction with analysis of the key risks to the main forecast.
Business Environment Rankings
BMI's Renewables Business Environment Rankings provide fully comparable Risk-Reward Rankings aimed at investors in the regional renewables market.
The rankings methodology makes sophisticated use of various industry, economic and demographic data point.


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Winners and Losers: Carl Icahn, J.C. Penney
There aren't many guarantees in life, but we'll always have winners and losers. David Benoit profiles the week's headliners, including J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman and the proposed US Airways/American Airlines merger. Photo: AP.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... ay ay mm mm ... there are no guarantees in life but in these dog days of summer two things are certain ... there are always winners and are always loses money beats the Lord David Benoit is here with the latest week's headlines tasty salad they've been one of them was is this is your weekly segment here the course of the biggest winners this week ah so it's our big first winner is David Murdock this guy really love says Sprint's investable spa a nine year old CEO and chairman of Dole fruits ... announces can a buyout company for one point two billion dollars was to say that again denying the year ... this is also the second time he did this he he actually ... decided when you're eighty years old to take them private ... now he's decided against a compact so ... he's he's the guy who said his plans hundred twenty fifth birthday party aren't there ago Sarat it's a big win against England will see that aam like oh man ... by the CEO of J C Penney ... it's amazing that we have a winner and J C Penney run since a friend or that they will use its own withstood the Bill Ackman pushed which is pretty impressive I think I'm ... so if you're ever ... Bowman had been CEO he was then ... pushed aside when Ron Johnson wanted to ... he came into the CEO ... Ron Johnson's them infamously ... ousted ... Mike Ullman was put in this ... sense the temporary CEO but not with that in turn had ... description ... and in Bill Ackman this week I've ... sent a very public letter to fire him ... and he actually won the board supported by Coleman and Bill Ackman sat out the case ... so we went to Ireland ... last month ... Carl Icahn ... highlighted time to get a soul is ... every other week I think ... of that this week ... a big sweet and in a revealing that he has a large stake in Apple ... Annie's had a nice chat ... with income ... the air quotes from the euro zone which is nice that ... and here yet so you can see in this thing is that suits me think often earlier this week ... revealing as large position in Apple and also the conversation that he had with ... Apple CEO Tim Cook ... basically ... calling for the company to ... suit builder of a bigger buyback Freddie's acne now Apple shares rose ... ten percent this week so cross party made some serious money there to plan a position that ... we have the source times about one point five billion one point five billion CU charged Apple's above five hundred rate now ... so winners in loses when they were the winners and losers that without the losers ... sure we gotta get some losers ASA first two are Javier Martinez R Jai joke ... in Julien Grout ... that and you yes you may know them better as the London Wales co workers I they were criminally charged this week ... which is a pretty big blow for them especially given ... the London Whale himself ... is not being charged and is working with the government against them ... the data pretty out tough case coming for sure ok we'll said ... BlackBerry ... there you know you love this one they cannot with a number of ... yes exactly but this week officially putting themselves up for sale they did in over the past couple years for Apple in past years that ... have really kind of ... hired bankers and look at other options but this week there really said no luck or work off the sale such as down three percent rate now and hovering around the ten non rational that's pretty ugly ... in a multi year chart is that it's insane ... on ... last Monday's US Airways American Air ... I'd this was a huge merger that is announcer this year ten million dollar gags and ... American Airlines and gone into bankruptcy in US Airways which is much smaller and ... push them in person instead we wanna deal with on a deal ... American Airlines finding creative is can it be the last of Big Consolidations in the ... by airline industry ... in the covering this week on a very surprisingly enough Sudan said no you can't do this ... the ... same ticket prices soaring for consumers and in the airlines are caught off guard ... so now identified to see this deal and ... US Airways shares were hammered this week American ... pre much pink sheets that you know you can double as deal because it seemed like in this merger was on the road toward Britain seventy million and almost no one saw this coming aam I mean other than maybe their lawyers who concocted the Department justice but ... essentially ... in the expectation was because United and Continental been allowed to merge years ago ... into the biggest company that that these two would be allowed to do it there's still be three huge names in the airline the new Dell to United Continental and nice to ... and it ... kind of it was the only way for the airline industry to survive tell me the whole industry was pitching the steel so ... pretty surprising ... alright it happens David Benoit thank you very much as always


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In these weeks leading up to the mid-term elections, the competition for voter support is intense and the tension is most palpable in the sphere of the media where candidates are vying for support from specific voter groups. Looking specifically at the constituency of Latino voters, research conducted by America's Voice and the Latino Decisions team has found that in spite of, or possibly even as a direct consequence of the rabid anti-immigrant campaigning on the part of right wing members of the Republican party, there has been an steady increase in numbers of Latinos who will vote Democrat in the mid-term elections.
From the standpoint of the immigration issue, it is interesting to note that while researchers were seeing a strong sense of disillusionment with the Democrat party amongst Latinos and other immigrants over the last few months, currently, this trend seems to be changing. Latinos, who voted predominantly Democrat in the 2008 Presidential election, had begun to wane in their support for the Democratic party as a result of the party's failure to deliver on promises of immigration reform made during the 2008 electoral campaign.
As announced by America's Voice and Latino Decisions on a call yesterday though, recent tracking polls reveal that there has been a significant increase in the number of registered Latino voters, and that a majority of them are voting Democrat. One of the key criteria by which Latino Decisions measure their data is "degree of enthusiasm." Yesterday's tracking poll showed a much greater deal of enthusiasm for next week's election amongst Democrat leaning Latino voters than amongst the (smaller) Republican leaning Latino population. Most importantly, this is a huge change from a month ago- this week, 61% of Latino voters said they were "very enthusiastic" about voting on November 2nd, as compared to only 40% on September 6th. The research shows-
For the fourth straight week, we find an increase in the percentage of Latino registered voters who report being very enthusiastic about voting in November 2010. Four weeks ago just 40.3% of Latinos said they were very enthusiastic, and today that figures reaches 58.3%. Self-reported turnout certainty remained constant at 75.1% from one week ago, up 10 point from four weeks ago. As election day draws near, and early voting is in full swing, Latinos are reportedly showing more and more interest and enthusiasm.
According to Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions, this increase in enthusiasm is largely due to the anti-immigrant and blatantly anti-Latino campaigns that a lot of Republican candidates have run. In the past weeks, Senator Harry Reid's opponent in Nevada, Republican candidate Sharron Angle, has released a series of ads that, along with demonizing Harry Reid for his support of immigration reform, are extremely anti-immigrant, anti-Latino and even blatantly racist. Calling Reid "The Best Friend An Illegal Alien Ever Had," one of the ads juxtaposes images of aggressive looking Latino fence skulking alongside a fence with images of an innocent white family. Her second ad shows a group of "gang-like" Latino men threatening white college students. Continuing to pit the "dangerous" brown people against the "innocent" white people like her and her family, the most recent ad might be the one to tip the Senatorial race in Nevada against Sharron Angle, given that Latinos are said to play a prominent role in the tight race between Reid and Angle.
Watch the offensive ad below-
Foolhardy anti-immigrant campaigns are not the only reason that Latinos seem more keen to vote next week. In addition to a mammoth effort on the part of civic and community groups and labor unions such as the Services Employees Workers Union working on the ground to encourage people to vote, President Obama himself seems to be focusing his energy on winning back the support of the immigrant community and driving them to the polls.
In an interview for Univision yesterday, President Obama defended his unsuccessful attempt at securing immigration reform. Making an analogy to the civil rights movement, he urged that change takes time, and reassured the community that he would push for immigration reform as soon as he could. In his interview, he sought to convince listeners that it was Republicans who were responsible for blocking the passage of immigration reform, making a pointed reference to Sen. John McCain as one of the 11 Republicans who support immigration reform a few years ago only to back away from the issue over the past year. Today, the President is holding a conference call along with actress Eva Longoria, to highlight the actions he has taken that benefit the Latino community and drive home the point that a refusal to vote in the mid-term elections could mean a death knell for immigration reform.
Whatever your reasons, it's really important to get your voice out there, so make sure you vote!