text:
Thank you for choosing Adsmatic (the "Company", "us", "we" or "our"). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of this agreement (the "Agreement"), the Company and you ("you", "your", or "Publisher") shall agree to the following terms and conditions for the receipt of advertising materials ("Ad Content", "Creative" or "Creatives") from our advertising customers ("Advertiser"). This includes the serving, tracking and reporting of each campaign made on the Company's network (the "Network" or "Program"). The Cost per Lead program enables you to add promotional features to your website, as approved by us, and to send data to us for which you will be eligible to receive compensation in accordance with, and subject to, this Agreement. This Agreement, together with any amendments and offer specific terms and conditions, governs your participation as a member of the Network or Program. You covenant and agree to be bound by this Agreement, and any schedule(s) attached, as amended by the Company from time to time.
By continuing to access our services you are representing to us that you are doing so because you are legitimately interested in using our services.
Any other use of any of our information is expressly forbidden. In addition our services are intended for business purposes only.
By continuing to access our services you are also warranting that you are not associated with any other type of agency or any governmental or regulatory body.
All of our legal rights are reserved.
An individual or entity which allows its website or website content and/or other traffic sources to include banners, and/or other acceptable forms or links, to permit traffic and or results between the Publisher and the Programs offered by the Network pursuant to this Agreement.
You may use business partners and/or associates to fulfill the obligations or exercise the rights under a particular offer or campaign. Any of your business partners or associates that participate in or perform any activities on your behalf, under this Agreement, shall be considered to be a "Sub-Publisher." We reserve the right to review, approve or reject any and all Sub-Publisher(s) and may revoke a prior approval of any Sub-Publisher at any time and for any reason. Sub-Publisher(s) must meet the same criteria for approval as the Publisher as set forth in this Agreement and must comply with all the terms and conditions that are applicable to you under this Agreement. You are responsible for and shall fully and unconditionally indemnify the Company for any and all actions of any of your Sub-Publisher(s), including the payment of legal fees and costs, if necessary. Further, we may, at our sole discretion, terminate you at any time based on the actions of your Sub-Publisher(s). You agree that the Company is under no obligation to pay a Sub-Publisher. We further reserve the right to withhold or refuse payment to you in the event that any Sub-Publisher(s) breach this Agreement.
Membership in the Network is subject to our prior approval and we reserve the right to refuse service to you or any other publisher, in our sole discretion, with or without cause. Approval of membership in the Network is limited only to the specific root URLs for which you have applied for approval. We reserve the right to withhold approval of membership to the Network based on your website's primary language. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion and without liability, to reject, omit or exclude you or your website for any reason at any time, with or without notice to you and regardless of whether you or your website were previously accepted. The Company may at any time audit you for compliance purposes. You agree to provide us with any reasonable information necessary to conduct an investigation into your compliance with the law, offer specific terms and conditions and this Agreement.
You agree that you will not use Parasites, Adware, Spyware or any other method of manipulating traffic to generate traffic. Specifically, you agree that the following practices are strictly prohibited unless explicitly approved in writing by us:
You also agree not to use any of the following words unless explicitly approved by us in writing:
You further acknowledge and agree that there will be:
If you violate the guidelines set out above or otherwise contravene our policies or terms we will, at our sole discretion, immediately suspend your accounts and no further payments will be made to you pending an investigation, which may lead to further action up to and including removal from the Network.
Registration with us shall not confer any right on you to market or promote any programs made available by us on behalf of the Advertiser. You will need official approval from us before you can become a Publisher. Only when you are approved are you permitted to use the Network and Programs. We reserve the right to withhold or refuse, at our sole discretion, approval for any reason.
In order to be eligible to become a Publisher, all websites, partnered websites and e-mail distribution lists (collectively the "Media") must meet the following criteria:
You represent and warrant that:
You are the owner or are licensed to use the entire contents and subject matter contained in the website.
The Company shall pay any amounts due to you on or about the 30th day of every month for the total undisputed revenue generated during the previous month. We reserve the right to payout to you, prior to the 30th of every month, as negotiated on a case by case basis. Furthermore, to reduce any payments owed to you as a consequence of any offsets taken by Advertisers for invalid events, technical errors, tracking discrepancies, instances of fraud and the like, we shall compile, calculate and electronically deliver data required to determine your billing and compensation. Any questions regarding the data provided by us must be submitted in writing within five (5) business days of receipt, otherwise the information will be deemed to be accurate and accepted as such by you. All amounts will be paid in US dollars. No payments will be issued for any amounts less than US $1000 dollars (the "Payment Threshold"). All such amounts below the Payment Threshold shall be aggregated and paid when the Payment Threshold has been met. We will not pay for any events that occur before a program is initiated, or after a program terminates. Invoices submitted to us and payments made to you shall be based on the events as reported by us. We will not be responsible to compensate you for events that are not recorded due to your error. We may require you to provide a W-9 for bank accounts in the U.S. and a W8 for all payments outside of the U.S., and similar such information, as a condition to receive payment. Payment will only be made for actions verified by the Company. You agree that payment will be owed to you from the applicable Advertiser, and that corresponding payments shall be made by the Company to you out of the funds actually collected by the Company from the applicable Advertiser. The Company shall have no payment obligation to you where the Advertiser has not remitted sufficient payments to cover amounts owed and due to you. Instead, you shall have the right to pursue any and all legal remedies directly against any Advertiser that has not made funds available to pay sums due and owing to you in connection with a particular offer or campaign. Chargebacks requested by an Advertiser may be applied up to sixty (60) days after the end of the month in which the applicable amount was earned. The number or amount of actions, credits for payments and debits for chargebacks, as calculated by the Company, shall be final and binding.
We reserve the right to terminate any relationship between you and the Network at any time, with or without cause. Termination notice may be provided via email or any other public means and will be effective immediately. Upon issuance or receipt of such termination notice, you agree to immediately remove our html code for serving Creative from your website. You will be paid, in the next scheduled payment cycle, all undisputed earnings due up to the time of termination. In the event that blatant fraudulent activities have been documented by our server logs, no past or future payments will be made to you.
We reserve the absolute right to refuse to partner with you or any Publisher. We do not accept websites that: produce or provide adult content; engage in, promote or facilitate illegal or legally questionable activities such as pirating and hacking; are under construction; hosted by a free service; are a personal home page; or do not own the domain they are under. Our ad codes shall not be used on webpages that contain forums, discussion boards, or chat rooms.
This Agreement is immediately voidable if you fail to disclose, conceal or misrepresent you or your website in any way. In addition, we may in our sole discretion refuse your website if we deem your website inappropriate. To ensure compliance with this Agreement, if you change any content after approval for membership, you MUST notify us of the changes in writing IMMEDIATELY. All ad content must be reviewed and approved by the Company and we reserve the right to withhold, refuse or withdraw approval of any websites, email distribution lists and/or marketing channels for any reason, whatsoever, in our sole discretion. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our policies, specifications and/or recommendations with respect to any websites, email distribution lists and/or marketing channels used by you should not be construed as legal advice, or as sufficient guidelines to ensure that such websites, email distribution lists and/or marketing channels comply with applicable law. The Company does not represent or warrant that such policies, specifications and/or recommendations are legally compliant or appropriate. The Company assumes no obligation and hereby disclaims any liability for your use of and/or reliance upon any such policies, specifications and/or recommendations. You should consult with your legal counsel and/or other professional advisors before acting on any policies, specifications and/or recommendations as provided by the Company. You will not alter, modify or otherwise change any ad content or Creative features, in any manner whatsoever, without our prior express written consent. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you must comply, immediately, with any and all requests by the Company to modify, alter, remove or otherwise change the positioning, placement, frequency and other editorial decisions related to the ad content or Creative. You will not run any deactivated Creatives after the Advertiser has posted new Creatives to run in lieu of those deactivated. You agree to review the availability of Creatives on a daily basis and you shall be solely responsible to update the Creatives. The Company assumes no responsibility to notify you when a specific Creative is no longer available.
You agree to indemnify and hold us, the Customer, our Advertisers, and their respective partners, employees, officers, agents, directors and representatives ("Indemnified Parties"), harmless from all allegations, claims, actions, causes of action, lawsuits, damages, liabilities, obligations, costs and expenses (including without limitation reasonable legal fees, costs related to in-house counsel time, court costs and witness fees) (collectively "Losses") arising out of or in connection with our use of the email list provided by you including, but not limited to alleged violations of CAN-SPAM and CASL and any other applicable laws.
You warrant that you will not send any commercial email to any person who has requested not to receive email from you and/or the Customer and that you are in full compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act 2003 (CAN-SPAM), Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and any other similar, applicable legislation. You also understand that upon doing so you automatically forfeit the right and claim to any revenue generated for your account, and your account will be immediately terminated at our sole discretion. You further agree that all of your business will be in compliance with all local, State, Federal and international anti-spam policies and all other applicable laws.
You agree not to broker or resell any campaigns or Creative from us or the Customer, or Agencies to any other party without the express written permission from us. You also understand that upon doing so, you automatically forfeit the right and claim to any revenue generated for your account, and your account will be immediately terminated. Breach of this provision will cause you and your website to be liable for all damages related to such breach.
We audit every Publisher's traffic on a daily basis. If you produce or commit fraudulent activities, including false clicks, false impressions, and incentivised clicks (that have not been previously authorized in writing), you will have your account permanently removed from our Network and will not be compensated for fraudulent traffic. If fraud is suspected or detected, your account will be suspended pending further investigation.
For example, your account will be flagged for the following:
If you fraudulently add leads or clicks or inflate leads or clicks by fraudulent traffic generation (such as pre-population of forms or mechanisms not approved by us or use of sites in co-registration campaigns that have not been approved by us), you will forfeit your entire commission for all programs and your account will be terminated. If you are notified that fraudulent activities may be occurring on your Media, and you fail to take prompt action to stop the fraudulent activities, then, in addition to any other remedies available to us, you shall be responsible for all costs and legal fees arising from these fraudulent activities. In addition, in the event that you have already received payment for fraudulent activities, we reserve the right to seek credit or remedy from your future earnings or to demand re-imbursement from you.
Our ad codes must be not be modified from their original format without our consent. You agree to use the ad code provided for displaying Creative not more than ONCE per page view. Ad codes cannot be placed in email messages. Our ad codes cannot be used on web pages that contain forums, discussion boards or chat rooms. You cannot alter, copy, modify, take, sell, reuse, or divulge any of our computer code, except as is necessary to partake in the Network, provided however, with our prior approval, you may, in certain instances, modify our computer code for purposes of inserting certain pre-approved language above or below an advertisement served by us. Requests for language approval should be sent to us prior to your use.
We own the Network, campaign, and aggregate web user data collected. You only have access to campaign data that is collected through the use of your inventory. Advertiser only has access to websites and web user data that is collected as part of Advertiser's campaign.
Each program shall have its own criteria for determining the validity of a lead (the "Lead Requirements"), which shall be detailed in the section entitled "Special Terms" included in the on-site offer summary and the offer-specific instructions emailed by an Account Executive. We shall only pay for net or billable leads ("Billable Leads"), which are determined by taking the gross leads from a program and deducting Invalid Leads and Returned Leads. "Invalid Leads" are those leads that do not meet the Lead Requirements. Examples include, but are not limited to, leads that are missing data, do not meet filter requirements, are incorrectly formatted or do not meet certain phone, email and CASS (postal address) validations. "Returned Leads" are those that have met the Lead Requirements, but are rejected due to inaccurate data or the inability to verify user information. Examples include, but are not limited to, leads for which the registrant is not at the phone number or address submitted, "unsubscribes" prior to being contacted, is on the "Do Not Call List", replies with "Did Not Request This Information" or the lead is a duplicate in the Advertiser's database. Our proprietary lead processing system is responsible for detecting and tracking Invalid Leads. The Advertiser is generally responsible for detecting and tracking Returned Leads. Billable Leads will generally be determined by the 10th of the subsequent month and will be made available to you. Accordingly, any statistics regarding Billable Leads during the month in which the program is running are preliminary and are subject to adjustment as provided herein.
You hereby acknowledge that the collection of the Leads is being done solely for our benefit or for that of the Advertiser. Therefore, other than providing the Leads to us for delivery to the Advertiser, you may not use, sell, transfer or assign or attempt to monetize the Leads for your own purposes. All right, title and interest in the Leads shall vest exclusively in us or the Advertiser.
To ensure timely payment, you are responsible for maintaining the correct contact and payment information associated with your account. Payment Profile information must be updated by the last day of the month to be reflected in the next payment. This must be done online using your account. Any and all bank/service fees associated with returned or cancelled payments due to any error in your contact or payment information are your responsibility, and will be deducted from re-payment.
For purposes of this Agreement, each party shall be and act as an independent contractor. This Agreement does not constitute, create, or give effect to any employer/employee or franchiser/franchisee relationship, nor any joint venture, partnership, limited partnership, or agency among the parties, and the parties hereby acknowledge that no other facts of relations exist that would constitute, create, or give to effect any such relationship between them. Neither party has any right, or authority to assume, or create any obligation, nor responsibility on behalf of the other party except as may from time to time be provided otherwise by written agreement signed by both parties.
The Company may assign this Agreement, or any portion thereof, at its sole discretion. You may not transfer, assign or delegate any of your rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Company, acceptance of which is in the Company's sole discretion and any attempts contrary to this shall be null and void. Further, any such attempts may result in the Company immediately terminating this Agreement, at its sole discretion and without any liability to the Company. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their subsidiaries, and their respective successors and assigns.
You will at all times indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties from and against any and all Losses arising out of your breach of any representation, warranty or obligation hereunder, or any alleged breach of any representation, warranty or obligation to any other party.
Each party represents and warrants that it has the authority to enter into this Agreement and sufficient rights to grant any licenses granted hereunder, and that any material provided by it to the other party for display on the other party's website will not infringe on any copyright, trademark or other proprietary right of any third party.
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be ineffective, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of any or all of the remaining portions thereof.
Neither party shall be held liable or responsible to the other party nor be deemed to have defaulted under or breached this Agreement for failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any term of this Agreement when such failure or delay is caused by or results from causes beyond the reasonable control of the affected party, including but not limited to fire, floods, failure of communications systems or networks, embargoes, war, acts of war (whether war is declared or not), acts of terrorism, insurrections, riots, civil commotion, strikes, lockouts or other labor disturbances, acts of God or acts, omissions or delays in acting by any governmental authority or the other party; provided, however, that the party so affected shall use reasonable commercial efforts to avoid or remove such causes of non-performance, and shall continue performance hereunder with reasonable dispatch whenever such causes are removed. Either party shall provide the other party with prompt written notice of any delay or failure to perform that occurs by reason of force majeure. The parties shall mutually seek a resolution of the delay of the failure to perform as noted above.
This Agreement, schedule(s) and any and all offer specific terms and conditions constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all prior agreements of the parties with respect to the transactions set forth herein. We reserve the right to modify these terms and conditions at our sole discretion. You are entitled to review these terms and conditions periodically.
This Agreement shall be governed by, interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. Any action relating to this Agreement must be brought in the courts located in the province of Ontario and you irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.
Each party acknowledges that it will not disclose the confidential information of the other party, except to its employees and professional advisors and except as required by law. During the term of this Agreement and for a period of two (2) years thereafter ("Restriction Period"), you shall not engage, contract with, work with, license, or permit any person, firm, or entity to represent any performance-based advertising relationship with any publisher within the Company's Network unless a previously existing business relationship between you and such publisher can be demonstrated to the Company's reasonable satisfaction. You further agree and acknowledge that during the Restriction Period you will not knowingly take any action to circumvent any company or person doing business with the Company, including other online marketing service providers and any of the Company's employees. You further acknowledge and agree that you shall not engage, contract with, work with, license with, enter into and/or execute any performance-based online advertising and/or marketing relationship with any advertising network, website, newsletter, search engine, e-mail list, or any other type of Internet property (collectively, the "Publishers") within any advertising network operated by the Company. In the event a publisher contacts you, you shall immediately notify the Company and halt any marketing campaigns with such publisher. Both parties agree and acknowledge that if you violate your obligations under this section, the Company will suffer irreparable injury and will be entitled to: (a) liquidated damages in the amount of fifty percent (50%) of the gross revenues resulting from sales conducted by through the advertising and/or marketing efforts of such publisher(s), (b) injunctive relief, and (c) any other remedies the Company may have at law or in equity.
In this Agreement, including all attachments which are incorporated herein by reference, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes and replaces all prior and contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter. Applicable sections shall survive expiration or early termination of this Agreement. Failure by either party to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision. Any waiver, amendment or other modification of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective only if in writing and signed by the parties. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of this Agreement to be unenforceable, that provision of the Agreement shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. Headings used in this Agreement are for ease of reference only and shall not be used to interpret any aspect of this Agreement. In addition to terms that are negotiated and documented separately from this Agreement, including any offer specific terms and conditions and terms that are automatically generated through the interactive use of the Network are part of this Agreement.
You shall not release any information regarding campaigns, programs, Creative, or your relationship with us or the Advertiser, including, without limitation, in press releases or promotional or merchandising materials, without our prior written consent. We shall have the right to reference and refer our work for, and relationship with you for marketing and promotional purposes. No press releases or general public announcements shall be made without the mutual consent between you and the Company.
If you violate or refuse to partake in your responsibilities, or commit fraudulent activity against us, we reserve the right to withhold payment and take appropriate legal action to cover our damages.
We reserve the right to change any condition of this Agreement at any time. Notification may be provided to you but is not required.
You shall support our commitment to protect the privacy of the online community; such commitment is set forth in our Privacy Policy which has been made available to you and which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement.
No waiver by either party of any breach of any provision hereof shall be deemed a waiver of any subsequent or prior breach of the same or any other provision.
By executing this Agreement, you warrant that you are at least 18 years of age, and that there is no legal reason that you cannot enter into a binding contract.
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U.S. and Chinese trade representatives have announced a three-year agreement aimed at reining in U.S. imports of Chinese textile and apparel products in all or parts of 34 sensitive categories.
Ambassador Rob Portman, the U.S. Trade Representative, and Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai signed the pact in London where they were attending a meeting of World Trade Organization members Nov. 8.
The agreement, the result of nearly two months of negotiations, could help stop surges in Chinese textile and apparel imports that have occurred routinely since Multi-Fiber-Arrangement quotas ended on Jan. 1, allowing China to ship virtually unlimited quantities of those products to the United States.
Spokesmen for U.S. textile manufacturing organizations hailed the agreement and thanked the USTR for refusing to give into Chinese demands for weaker import rules. They said the tougher restrictions should mean no more safeguard filings for the industry in the 34 sensitive categories.
"Today's agreement vindicates the U.S. textile industry's decision in 2003 to aggressively use the safeguard process to persuade all parties of the need for a comprehensive arrangement," said National Textile Association President Karl Spilhaus.
The NTA and other organizations such as the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition filed a number of safeguard petitions in 2004 and 2005. The petitions, allowed under China's 2002 accession agreement to the WTO, limit the growth in imports to 7.5 percent from year to year.
"This is the most important textile agreement in 10 years, " said AMTAC Executive Director Auggie Tantillo, comparing it to the 1995 Multi-Fiber Arrangement that began the process of phasing out textile quotas worldwide.
"This bilateral agreement represents a necessary and welcome step towards addressing China's unfair trade practices and highly disruptive levels of textile trade. The value of this agreement is clear: U.S. imports from China in the categories covered by this deal total more than $5 billion in 2005 alone."
They said much of the credit for the agreement was due to the persistence of congressmen like Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., who received administration assurances that it would do more to reduce the surge of Chinese imports in exchange for his vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement in July.
"We want to thank Ambassador Portman, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Chief Textile Negotiator David Spooner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Textiles, Apparel and Consumer Goods Jim Leonard, and the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements for their hard work to make this deal a reality," said Spilhaus.
"We also are deeply appreciative of the strong support demonstrated by the Textile Caucus members in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Without the dogged determination of those public servants, this deal would not have been possible."
The U.S. Trade Representative's Office said specific growth rates vary slightly from category to category, but in general the agreement sets growth rates for apparel categories at 10 percent in 2006, 12.5 percent in 2007, and 15 percent in 2008. For textile products, the rates are 12.5 percent in 2006 and 2007 and 16 percent in 2008.
That's compared to growth rates of more than 1,000 percent in some categories in the first eight months of 2005 vs. the same period in 2004 when the Multi-Fiber Arrangement quotas were still in effect.
"When compared to China's growth so far, the agreement has undeniable benefits," said Tantillo. "For the categories covered by the agreement, year-to-date August 2005 imports from China have soared 115 percent by volume compared to 2004, 185 percent for apparel and 44 percent for textiles. Some categories, such as cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts and synthetic filament fabric, have even seen growth in excess of 1,000 percent."
The effective growth rate is below the rates stated above because the base levels agreed upon are generally lower than what they would have been for 2006 under the normal safeguard renewal process. Example: For the categories where safeguards are currently in place, China gets just an additional 4 percent growth over the life of the agreement than what they would have gotten provided that safeguard reapplications were approved on Jan. 1 of each year.
The agreement guarantees the reapplication of quotas each year through 2008 for all categories covered by the deal. "Under the normal safeguard process, quotas must be reapplied for each year, and approval was uncertain," said Tantillo.
"The importance of locking in future safeguards was clearly demonstrated by the numerous delays, such as those encountered as a result of the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, which stalled the implementation of safeguards in 2004 and 2005 and allowed the 115 percent growth cited above."
The injunction issued in the USA-ITA case may have been a plus for the textile manufacturers, however.
"We told the government last summer that you need to have the safeguards in place in January or see 1,000-percent increases in imports," said Tantillo. "Instead, you saw 1,200- and 1,300-percent increases. It showed that China could and would dominate the market if given the opportunity."
While the vast majority of categories of interest to the U.S. textile industry are covered, he said, the industry might want to file additional safeguard cases should problems arise in the future.
"While the agreement contains language that expresses that the U.S. should show restraint with future use of the safeguard, it does not undermine the industry's future rights to file cases and have them approved if they are meritorious," said Spilhaus.
Tantillo said the agreement also buys time for the U.S. textile industry to seek provisions in the Doha Round WTO negotiations that will prevent China from monopolizing the world textile and apparel market when the U.S.-China Bilateral Agreement expires.
"We're not saying we're trying to create Fortress America," he said. "What we are saying is while we're doing what is necessary to invest in industry to make us cutting edge, we have to have a reasonable trading environment so that people who don't play by the rules are limited in their ability to damage the market and displace our work force."
He said that U.S. yarn manufacturers are the most modern producers in the world compared to China or anyone else. "This is a function of investment, and the fact this is a highly capital intensive and high tech sector. As a result, we can compete way into the future as long as the trading rules allow people who have a competitive advantage to prosper.
"China has been using its natural advantages – unlimited cheap labor – in combination with unfair trade practices," he noted. "If we don't get relief, we're going to get wiped out and that will be a travesty."
"Ten years form now we could see world where China controls textile and apparel trade," said Cass Johnson, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations. "Will the rest of the world allow China to do that or come together and force China to remove some of these unfair trade practices? If we don't see, we will see one major player – China – and very little else."
Categories covered by the U.S.-China Bilateral Agreement include:
Apparel Products
-- 239(P) – baby socks
-- 332/432/632(P) – socks
-- 338/339 – cotton knit shirts
-- 340/640 – M&B woven shirts
-- 345(P)/645(P)/646(P) – sweaters
-- 347/348 – cotton trousers
-- 349/649 – brassieres
-- 352/652 – underwear
359-S/659-S – swimwear
443 – wool suits
447 – wool trousers
-- 638/639 – man-made fiber knit shirts
-- 647(P)/648(P) – mmf* trousers
-- 847 – silk/vegetable fiber trousers
Home Furnishings and Textiles
-- 200 – thread
-- 222 – knit fabric
-- 229 – special purpose fabric
-- 301 – combed cotton yarn
-- 363 – cotton towels
-- 619 – polyester filament fabric
-- 620 – synthetic filament fabric
-- 622 – glass fiber fabric
-- 666(P) – blinds
The textile manufacturers say the combined value of total U.S. imports in the categories covered by the agreement is $33.4 billion for year-to-date 2005, with imports from China accounting for almost $5.1 billion of that total.
The value of the Chinese imports covered by the petitions amounts to approximately 33 percent of the $15.4 billion in textile and apparel imports from China and 8.5 percent of the $59.3 billion in imports from the world (including China) in 2005.
In terms of the $153 billion in total U.S. imports of all goods from China in 2005, these petitions affect only 3.3 percent of that trade.
In the past 12 months (year-ending August 2005), the United States imported $88.2 billion in textile and apparel products from the rest of the world, including $20.6 billion from China. $49.3 billion of those total imports, including $6.25 billion in imports from China, are covered in this deal.
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Photos Request Free Menorah Lighting Kit Chanukah Story Time at Barnes & Noble Chanukah Lunch and Learn for Women IDF Chanukah Celebration Cteen "Chopped" Chanukah edition Great Gelt Drop & Menorah Lighting Downtown Skokie Chanukah Lounge Chanukah Celebrations at Westfield Old Orchard Chanukah STEM Open House at Hebrew School Chanukah 2018 Cteen Cafe Jewish Learning Institute Courses for Adults T.G.I. Shabbat Cteen Junior View Events Calendar Past Events
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You've reached the beginning of Hebrew School 9.25.16
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text:
Monday, June 25, 2007
Disneyland for Candy Bloggers
I went to Disneyland last week with my family. This was my niece and nephew's first visit there and my third (though I never got to go as a child). They had their priorities (meeting the Princesses and Jedi Academy, respectively) and I had mine.
Before going to the park I did some reading about what's there. I found out that there is a candy store on Main Street called the Candy Palace that has been there since the park first opened fifty years ago. (There are very few candy stores in southern California that can say the same.) They actually make their own candy on site (fudge, chocolate cups, dipped apples, etc.). Of course I fully expected everything to be expensive and I wasn't disappointed on that front.
So, what can you expect to find at Disneyland?
The store is themed like an older arcade. The center section of the store features those machines that you put a penny and two quarters into to make a souvenir and pick a stamp to smash into the penny. There were also some old fashioned fortune telling games and nickelodeons. And of course fudge. Lots and lots of fudge.
There are three counters. The center one by the door sells fudge and salt water taffy. Behind that is a short wall of jelly beans (Jelly Belly, I'll wager). At $12 a pound, they're pretty pricey, but you can buy a quarter pound, which I suppose isn't so bad if you're getting exactly the flavors you want.
At the side counter, by the candy kitchen that faces the street, they sell peanut brittle and dipped apples (candy, chocolate and caramel) along with some other things.
Then in the back the store opens up and there's a large center counter with a refrigerated case that sold all sorts of chocolate treats (most made on site). This ranged from chocolate dipped strawberries to chocolate dipped pretzels, caramel cups, rocky road, a few different varieties of turtles and nut rolls and even some sugar free items.
The rest of the store is devoted to prepackaged items in different themed "brands". There were the Goofy items which are all non-chocolate like taffy, red licorice, gummi and compressed dextrose. Most were in character shapes. Goofy also had a Pucker Powder dispenser (one of two in the park that I found). Other items were tins of chocolates (truffles, nut clusters and chocolate covered pretzels). There were items for Pirates of the Caribbean (swords filled with tart candy "treasure") and Princess items (pastel tarts and lollipop).
Mickey Mouse has his own line of chocolate bars (milk, dark and milk with almonds) and lollipops. Prepackaged can be good if all you want is a little pick-me up. You won't find any other candy in the park ... no Snickers, no Hershey bars, it's all Disneyland branded sweets.
Prices were pretty clearly marked on most items, which is always a relief. Some were rather reasonable like the chocolate bars at only $1.25 each. Others seemed absurd, such as $4.00 for a little clear 2" plastic cube with some gummi bears in it for $4.00.
The clerks were super-friendly and patient, as you'd expect at Disney, but it's worth noting. They were also knowledgeable about the products ... except the woman who ended up ringing me up couldn't find the little SKU to ring in some of my items from the cooler case ... but we found it! Around the corner in the same building is a little ice cream shop as well, and outside of that a small plaza with tables to consume your sweets. I had a $2.69 bottle of water for the day and snacked on a soft pretzels (shaped like Mickey, natch). Mary Poppins and Bert came by for a while and danced to the ragtime piano music and signed autographs (we suspect that the Mary Poppins was the same cast member we met earlier as Princess Belle).
Other stores ...
Pooh Corner is over in Critter Country tucked away in a corner and themed the Huny Spot. The store was nearly deserted when I went in there the first time, it was after lunch and I guess everyone was back on the rides. They have a smaller candy counter that has the same chocolate dipped goodies as well as a selection of cookies. There was a large display of Goofy Candy, the sour, Pucker Powder dispenser, and of course the lollies.
I liked the Pooh Corner shop a bit better, even though the selection wasn't as wide. Perhaps it's because it wasn't as mobbed, or maybe it's just because I like Pooh (and the Tao of Pooh).
Now, those are just the two actual candy stores. Don't get the impression that's the only place you can find the stuff! Just about every store I went into had some version of the lollipop display. They offered the unicorn style twisted pops, swirly pops with Mickey or the Princesses on them and some large sour pops in the Goofy brand. There were also some Mickey Head shaped pops that came in little bundles that I picked up.
There are also cotton candy vendors everywhere (though none to be found at 9:30 in the morning, I guess Walt Disney doesn't think it's appropriate breakfast fare). Cotton Candy is $3 and sold in bags. I never found a cotton candy maker. Though the stuff sold in these little carts was certainly fresh, half the fun is watching them twist it all up and that wonderful burnt sugar smell.
Some tips:
Later, I'll have a roundup of reviews of some actual candy ... how good is something that costs twice the price of stuff found outside of the park? I spent $35 ... how much do you think I got and how much of it was any good? As for the stores, I give them an 8 out of 10, for the variety, perky sales staff and cleanliness.
Here's the list of reviews:
Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:03 am Candy • Los Angeles • 8-Tasty • Shopping •
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.


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Colombia Rushes Through Its Own SOPA In An 'Emergency Procedure' To Appease US Ahead Of Obama Visit
from the not-cool dept
President Obama is heading to Colombia this weekend for a summit, and we'd been hearing stories that US officials had been putting tremendous pressure on Colombian officials to pass new, ridiculously draconian copyright laws ahead of that visit. So that's exactly what the Colombian government did -- using an "emergency procedure" to rush through a bad bill that is quite extreme.
Earlier this year, Colombia tried to pass basically the same bill, which was called LesLleras, after Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras (who proposed it). That bill was so extreme that it resulted in SOPA-like protests, following significant concerns raised by the public as well as copyright and free speech experts. So, this time around, the government just claimed it was an emergency and rushed the bill through, despite all of its problems. They seemed to think that the public wouldn't notice -- but they're wrong.
As is typical of idiotic trade agreements pushed via the USTR -- who only seems to listen to Hollywood on these issues -- the copyright bill includes all sorts of draconian enforcement techniques and expansions of existing copyright law, and removal of free speech rights. But what it does not include are any exceptions to copyright law -- the very important tools that even the US Supreme Court admits are the "safety valves" that stop copyright law from being abusive, oppressive and contrary to freedom of speech. Public interest groups in Colombia are planning a Constitutional challenge to this new law, but the process itself is sickening.
To use an "emergency procedure" to pass a highly questionable law that was put in place through equally questionable means and diplomatic pressure -- and to ignore the public at large -- is really astounding. I'm ashamed of my own government for its efforts to pressure Colombia into such undemocratic and anti-free speech actions.


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Jose Mourinho Tactical Thinking – Part 1
Jose Mourinho Tactical Thinking – Part 1
I have been a fan of Jose Mourinho for many years. When the opportunity came to watch him work first hand with Real Madrid in Los Angeles, I signed up for the NSCAA Course right away. I have observed numerous training sessions at professional clubs with top coaches before, but this was different. I expected to get an insight to how he worked on the practice field and hear his football philosophy – what I got however, was much, much more. An insight to life at the top end of world football, a chance to see what level of organization it takes to be successful, and what techniques are used to get the best out of the best. To summarize the course in one blog would do it an injustice. Therefore, I will do three blogs that will cover his training sessions, the work of his staff, including right-hand man, Rui Faria, and this current blog, his presentation on his leadership and philosophies.
I just arrived on campus at UCLA to register for the NSCAA event on Sunday afternoon when Jose Mourinho and his assistant coaches were on the way to the training pitch for the afternoon session. Initially, I thought this trip would be both a public relations and commercial exercise for the Spanish giants, so expected Mourinho to be all smiles and signing autographs. He did sign a few but I did not witness a smile. A familiar face at the entrance to the field greeted him warmly and welcomed him back to UCLA. "Welcome back Jose, look forward to catching up after your session", the official said with excitement. "How is the pitch?" was Mourinho's quick response. That was my first sign of why he is so successful. All business. When the boots were on and the clipboard was by his side, he had time for only work. Professional, polite, but here to do a job with his team.
The hugely anticipated presentation for the NSCAA group, took place in between two training sessions. Mourinho brought his staff along (six in total) who would take turns in discussing their role in the Real Madrid empire. Mourinho himself would discuss his beliefs and leadership. As he introduced his staff, Mourinho pointed out that they were all wearing fluorescent yellow Adidas shirts "like traffic wardens". He explained that the reason for this was for the players to know the difference between coaches and players, both on and off the field. Coaches have to stand out at all time so players must not pass them the ball by mistake. Very simple, he stated, "but it works very well for us." Mourinho's first slide was titled, "The Secret of Our Success." The bullet points were:
– Leadership
– Group/ Team
– Connections
– Relationships
He told us that these were not in order of importance, and instead felt that relationships were vital because "when things go bad, relationships keep control and balance in the team." Mourinho then discussed the types of leadership that are consistent with his approach.
Charismatic Leadership
This is something which he has become famous for. I would define it as the "Special One" image that has become synonymous with his managerial style. He started by explaining that this brings a lot of negatives by the media because of the focus on image and the fact that it opens the door to criticism. However, it is clear that he believes strongly in this form of leadership because of the effect it has on his players. The two areas he discussed were "non-traditional behaviors" and "sensibility for players needs". Despite having not been a top player himself, experience has taught him to recognize what these needs are. As for "non-traditional behaviors", he claims to "work on it and gamble with it". The first thought that entered my head was the 100 yard dash down the sideline at Old Trafford when his Porto team scored to knock Manchester United out of the Champions League. A "gamble" that helped shape his career. His touchline behavior, which is sometimes controversial, is always planned. "I feel sometimes that I'm playing the game. And sometimes the players demand that of me."
Transformational Leadership
Here Mourinho stressed "Intellectual Intelligence". He explained to us that he wants his players thinking all the time, even if it means wondering what kind of response they will get from the coach. "Every player is a player, every man is a man", Mourinho explained. He will treat them fairly, but not maybe not equally. Different actions will trigger different responses.
Mourinho then began to discuss what is the most difficult side of leadership. He believes the goals of his group of players can sometimes be different from that of the club. He told us that he struggles to go from the effects on the group (team) to the club philosophy. He wants to control the group but has no interest in controlling the club itself. Common objectives and principles may not be consistent with club philosophy. Here, I believe Mourinho would have to fight a lot of his battles within the club structure. Perhaps commerical or financial interests of the club, may conflict with how he would like to work. As he showed a photo of the victorious Real Madrid, he explained that "the end should always be just the start of it". This will be a huge message to send to his current group of players as this is only the third club he will have spent over two years with.
Emotional Intelligence
For me, this was the most interesting topic that Mourinho covered because it gave us an insight into two managerial skills that separate him from the rest: how he motivates and deals with pressure. "Books help but you have to be in the active life to understand." He defined Emotional Intelligence as:
– Coping with Pressue
– Sharing Emotions
– Create Forever Links
Mourinho copes with pressure by training himself and his people. Again, he is always consciously aware of messages he is sending by his actions and body language. How he gets players and teams to stick together and work hard, Mourinho said, "I motivate others with my own motivation. Your motivation must be the engine so the players must then go with you." This led him to explain how he always tries to create a family atmosphere where he works, to the extent that he uses his own family as a framework.
"I have no problems to kiss, cry with, or kick my players. Everything belongs to the family. I learn this from my wife and my own family. In my family, we are open to be criticized by my kids and the same applies to my players. You must be open in order to share emotions and ideas."
Mourinho then asked his staff how long they have been working together. When one informed him that it has been since 2001, Mourinho then explained that he and his staff have worked with many players over the past 12 years, but when they move on to another club, they never view the player as an ex-player. Instead, once you play for Mourinho and his staff, you are always one of 'theirs'. "Forever is forever", he told us. This is a unique bond that is not evident in professional football. Again, by creating this bond with the players, he can get top performances for a long period of time.
Integrated Leadership
He touched briefly on this and defined it as every aspect of training. The "complexity of operation" means that if one aspect of their work is not where they need it to be, it can have effect other areas. Therefore, Mourinho's attention to detail is not limited to tactics or training techniques, but instead to every aspect of the club that can effect his players.
As Mourinho handed the microphone over to his coaching staff, his presentation was never quite done. He sat on the edge of his chair and constantly added or politely interrupted his assistant coaches as they explained their role in the club. He believes in the complexity of each relationship at the football club and so must manage it accordingly. He looks at his players as people, who need to be managed, motivated, and given special attention to. He also understands the importance of his own behavior. Although he admits having to "gamble" with his actions, he is always in control of them and that is key. Top players must love it, and most importantly, they respond to it. I would suggest that the 'special one' tag would be used just as much by these players, as the fans and media.


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With private pensions largely disappearing and the long-term solvency of Social Security in question, paying for the bulk of retirement now sits squarely on the shoulders of many of today's workers. However, many policymakers and financial experts continue to report that workers are saving far too little and far too late.
Continue Reading Below
Three recent studies attempt to provide some insight into the problem. Collectively, they suggest that while some pro-saving government policies may not be helping most workers reach their retirement targets, the savers who are meeting their goals may not be reliant on those incentives anyway.
Retirement savings lag and policies may not be helping
Retirement savings may be lagging in part because many workers underestimate how much money they will need to live comfortably once they stop working, according to a new study by LIMRA, a financial services industry organization.
Their survey found that pre-retirees between the ages of 55-70 believe, on average, they will need less than two-thirds of their current income once they stop working. However, the LIMRA study says that financial experts typically recommend workers should plan to live on 70 to 80% of their current income in retirement.
But unfortunately, tax policies intended to encourage saving may not be improving the situation, according to a new study by Harvard University. To encourage workers to save more, the U.S. government spends more than $100 billion a year in tax incentives for workers investing in accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. However, the Harvard study questions whether this money has actually spurred more savings.
Since U.S. data is "inadequate," according to the study, the researchers looked at data from Denmark to draw their conclusions. They found that although government subsidies encourage workers to put money in tax-advantaged funds, the incentives did not produce an overall increase in savings.
Rather, the incentives result in workers shifting their savings to accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs from other savings vehicles such as CDs, money market accounts and other investments. The Harvard study determined that for every dollar the government spent on incentives, net savings only increased a single cent.
Careful planning works best -- just ask the wealthy
While policymakers may be searching for a way to encourage more savings, a survey from Wells Fargo indicates there may be no magic formula to entice workers to save more. Instead, many of those who have indicated they feel confident they have enough for retirement may have reached that point through old-fashioned planning -- and maybe having a little extra to set aside.
Many in the Wells Fargo study who said they are confident in their ability to retire were defined as affluent, meaning they have more than $250,000 in investable assets. Overall, 88% of affluent survey respondents said they are confident in their ability to retire, compared to 57% of those with less than $250,000 in investable assets.
While it may be easier for affluent workers to save for retirement because of their extra income, the survey claims that the planning affluent workers use may also be a major factor in their confidence. These tactics include creating a written plan for finances in retirement and developing detailed plans and calculations to determine the amount of money they will need.
Fortunately, though, many of the tactics used by the affluent to plan can be used by workers of every income and asset level. So if those incentives to save from the government haven't worked, drafting a detailed retirement plan may be the next logical step for savers.
The original article can be found at Money-Rates.com:Why Americans still aren't saving enough


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I finally made up my mind and bit the bullet & bought a new camera, went for a Canon 500D. So far I am still on full auto and haven't had much of a chance to play yet the photos are amazing, especially compared to my old camera. The soup photo here is old & the pasta & risotto are from the new camera, I am one very happy girl & cant wait to test it out in Cairns on our holiday next week!
When I saw that this week's theme for the Cookbook Challenge was Italian I was very happy, I mean what good Aussie didnt grow up eating spag bol & pizza? Seriously there is a bit more to it than that and I cook a lot of Italian style food at home, it's almost pure Aussie tucker to us by now. So I picked out 3 recipes from a book I rarely use even though everything looks and sounds delicious whenever I flick through it, Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy. The first was this hearty Ribollita, I cook a big pot of soup a week so am always trying out new ones. Loved this, a good combination of beans, spices and veggies and the torn up bread gave it a lovely silky, thick texture as promised. Also made up for the Grand Final weekend of excess and junk, think hot dogs & Macca's for breakfast in bed on Sunday morning - all 4 of us!
Notes - I used tinned beans as I am always too lazy to wait that hour for the dried ones to cook and instead of cavolo nero I picked some fresh rainbow chard from my garden to throw in the pot. I also added about 3 cups of chicken stock in place of the beans cooking water for flavour & to loosen it up.
My Favourite Ribollita - Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Italy
310g zolfini or cannellini beans, fresh, or dried and soaked overnight
1 bay leaf
1 tomato, squashed
1 small potato, peeled
2 small red onions, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
3 sticks celery, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
a pinch of ground fennel seeds
a pinch of dried red chilli
1 x 400g tin plum tomatoes
310g cavolo nero, leaves and stalks finely sliced
2 large handfuls of good quality stale bread, torn into chunks
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil to serve
Add your beans to a pan of water with the bay leaf, tomato and potato. Cook until tender, dried will take up to an hour, fresh about 25 minutes. Drain and reserve about half a glass of the cooking water, discard the bay leaf, tomato and potato.
Finely chop your onions, carrots, celery and garlic. heat a saucepan with a splash of olive oil and add the vegetables to the pan with the fennel and chilli. Sweat very slowly on a low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes until soft. but not brown. Add the tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer for a few minutes. Add the beans & a little of the reserved water and bring back to the boil. Add the cavolo nero, stir it in and then stir in the bread too. Add more cooking water if necessary. Continue to cook for about 30 minutes, you want to achieve a silky, thick soup.
Season with salt and pepper & stir in some extra virgin olive oil and serve.
Second up was spaghetti & meatballs with a difference. Chloe loves her spag & meatballs which can get a bit boring so finding a nice variation is always good. This is a Sicilian inspired dish of fresh tuna meatballs. Really nice & the tuna was tender unlike some 'meat' balls which can be a bit tough if not cooked right.
Notes - I didnt bother to liquidize my sauce, I like it rustic.
The best tuna meatballs - Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Italy
For the tomato sauce:
olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
red wine vinegar
a small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
For the meatballs:
400g tuna
olive oil
55g pinenuts
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
100g stale breadcrumbs
55g freshly grated parmesan
2 eggs
zest and juice of 1 lemon
First make the sauce. Place a large pan on the heat, add a good glug of olive oil, your onion and garlic and fry slowly for 10 minutes or so until soft. Add the oregano, tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then liquidize until smooth. Add red wine vinegar to taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
While the tomatoes are simmering, chop the tuna up into 2.5cm dice. Pour a good couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a large frying pan and place on the heat. Add the tuna to the pan with the nuts & cinnamon. Season lightly with salt and pepper and fry for a minute or so to cook the tuna on all sides and toast the pinenuts. Remove from the heat and put the mixture into a bowl. Allow to cool down for 5 minutes, then add the oregano, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs, lemon zest and juice. Mix up with your hands & form into balls a touch smaller than a golf ball. Place on an oiled tray in the fridge for 1 hour to rest.
Put the pan you fried the tuna in back on the heat with a little olive oil. Add the meatballs and jiggle them around until they're golden brown all over. Add to the tomato sauce, serve with spaghetti sprinkled with parsley.
Off to play with the camera now, bye...