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Story highlights
- Bitter rivals during GOP campaign met to discuss Mitt Romney's campaign
- Rick Santorum wants to make sure his issues are represented
- No endorsement is expected today; aides say that may come later
- The two aren't expected to discuss retiring Santorum's campaign debt
Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battled each other for months, trading attacks over the Massachusetts health care plan, who was the true fiscal conservative and each other's records.
The one-time foes for the Republican presidential nomination sat down Friday in Pittsburgh not to hash over their differences, but instead to get to know each other better and discuss what role Santorum may play in helping Romney.
There was no photo-op, no statements to the cameras where they embraced each other — in fact the whole session was cloaked in secrecy as the two campaigns kept the details private.
Only Romney and Santorum were in the room for the 90-minute meeting.
What did Santorum want out of the meeting?
Santorum wants to find a "comfort level" about the role "social conservatives, tea party activists and blue-collar Republicans will play in the campaign and in the Romney administration," John Brabender, senior strategist to the Santorum campaign, told CNN before the meeting. "We are not walking in there with a litmus test. This is meant to be a candid conversation."
In previewing the session, aides to Santorum said he wanted to hear from Romney's camp whether it will emphasize conservative principles during the general election campaign and in the party's platform.
"We think there is an excitement around those issues," Hogan Gidley, a senior adviser to the Santorum campaign, told CNN. With him winning 11 states and doing better than Romney with the more conservative wing of the party in those states, "We want to make sure those people have a say."
One emphasis for Santorum is health care reform. He hit Romney very hard on the issue during the GOP campaign, calling Romney's Massachusetts plan a blueprint for the Obama administration's initiative. While Romney has repeatedly said he would push to repeal the law, Santorum wants assurances that any new plan pushed by the former governor will not include mandates.
Another issue Santorum will raise, according to Brabender, is his campaign's manufacturing proposal. "There has to be a focused effort on restoring manufacturing" in Romney's agenda, Brabender said.
Santorum hopes to engage Romney in a conversation about the coming general election campaign and share his suggestions about what might work.
Will Romney get an endorsement?
Romney hopes Santorum will endorse him and help him boost his support among the conservative wing of the party -- a constituency he had problems gaining traction with during the primaries.
"I think it's going to be very important for Mitt Romney to secure the support, the enthusiastic support of Rick Santorum," said Tony Perkins, president of the influential Family Research Council and a longtime Santorum friend. "Those people continue to see him as a voice, a shaping voice, upon Mitt Romney and upon the Republican Party."
While associates of Santorum expect him to eventually endorse Romney, it will not come immediately following this meeting, Brabender predicted.
"I am sure an endorsement will be discussed at this meeting," Brabender said. "The senator is very clear if he does endorse, it will be done for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons." Specifically, Santorum wants to hear assurances of the role the conservative agenda will play in the upcoming campaign.
During an interview on April 24 on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," Santorum did not use the word "endorse" but made clear he would support Romney. "It's very clear that he's going to be the Republican nominee. I'm going to be for the Republican nominee. We're going to do everything we can to defeat Barack Obama."
Off the table
One issue Santorum's team has taken off the table is using the meeting to request Romney's help to retire debt.
"The senator does not want that on the agenda," Brabender said, adding it is "not appropriate to that meeting."
After Santorum announced he was suspending his campaign, supporters donated a couple of hundred thousand dollars online, Brabender said. The Santorum campaign still has about $1 million in debt.
Santorum can come out of this meeting demonstrating he is a loyal Republican soldier and someone willing to use his influence to help guarantee Obama does not win a second term. He is expected in the next few weeks to unveil his future plans about how he intends to stay engaged in the political sphere.
One thing he has made clear: He intends to use the popularity he built up during the primaries to support conservatives. On Thursday he endorsed Attorney General Jon Bruning in the Nebraska U.S. Senate primary.
"People are looking to him to provide conservative leadership whether he's in the race or not. So I don't think he's going, he says 'I've got to endorse Romney so I've got a political future.' I don't think that's it. I think his political future is remaining, remaining strong on those principle positions that he took," the Family Research Council's Perkins said.
Aides to Santorum have said they believe he should be awarded a prime speaking role at the Republican convention because of the amount of his support, although they emphasize they are speaking for themselves and not on his behalf.
He will get the exposure of a national audience when he appears next week on NBC's "The Tonight Show."


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MIDDLEBURY — The annual Shoreham Festival will be a little leaner this year but still a blast when it is staged in the village all day this Saturday, Sept. 1.
A recent water main project on the town commons and other factors have forced organizers to pare a few past features of the event, such as the garden tractor pull, tag sale and carnival rides. But this year's Shoreham Festival will still include such mainstays as a chicken barbecue, parade and street dance.
"We cut things back and tried to make it simple," said Shoreham Festival Committee Coordinator Heidi Lanpher.
"Simple" might be an understatement, as the festival will still post an impressive lineup for the rural, picturesque community of around 1,100 residents.
Here are the highlights of Shoreham Festival 2012, which has a theme of "Faces of Shoreham":
• Pancake breakfast at the Shoreham Congregational Church, 8-10:30 a.m.
• Apple pie sale, 8 a.m. to noon, at the Congo Church.
• Round robin tennis at the tennis courts, 9 a.m.
• Library book sale, outside of the library, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; basement of library, 4-6 p.m.
• Legos and face painting (firehouse), 4-6 p.m.
• Historical Society booth (gazebo), 4-7 p.m.
• Parade, 4:30 p.m.
• Firemen's chicken barbecue, 5-7:30 p.m. at the Shoreham Congregational Church. Dinner is $10 per person, $5 for children 12 and under.
• Wii free play, 5-7 p.m. at the firehouse.
• Citizenship Award (Congo Church), 6:30 p.m.
• Street dance with DJ (firehouse), 6 to 10 p.m.
• Popcorn and snow cones (firehouse), 6:30-8:45 p.m.
• Fireworks, around 8:45 p.m.
Lanpher said donations will be gratefully accepted to help defray the day's festivities. While voters last March authorized $4,500 to pay Shoreham Festival expenses, Lanpher and other organizers hope to reduce some of that taxpayer outlay.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected]

subset: commoncrawl


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HOUSTON - A Houston man arrested in London has been accused of transporting a teen for paid sex acts.
Immigration officials in London said they got suspicious of Jason Gandy when they noticed him traveling with a 15-year-old boy he wasn't related to.
Officials said Gandy purchased plane tickets and got a passport for the boy to get him to London.
Investigators said Gandy runs a massage business out of his Houston-area home and used the boy to give massages.
Officials said the clients were allowed to fondle the boy during the massage, and the boy was required to gratify the clients sexually.
Neighbors who have known Gandy for several years were surprised about the allegations, but they knew something was going on inside his Houston home.
"We couldn't really say what it was, but we knew there were too many different people coming there often," said Helene Holt, who lives across the street.
"There's been as many as 13 people living there at one time," said neighbor Byron Robinson
"There were females, adults, male adults, young people," said Carver Henry, who owns the building next door. "They'd stay for awhile, a month, six weeks, three weeks. I'm surprised but in these days and times you don't know what to expect from people."
Officials said Gandy had molested the boy himself on more than one occasion.
Gandy was charged with transportation of a minor for a commercial sex act.
If convicted, Gandy faces a minimum of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a lifetime term of supervised release.
Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text: When a star witness in a double murder case drops out, Erin is tasked with bringing a protected mob informant back to New York for a case and keeping him safe, with help from Danny and Baez. Also, Frank enters into tense negotiations with Mayor Poole about police officer benefits, on BLUE BLOODS, on the CBS Television Network. Dan Hedaya guest stars as the mob informant.


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Cover Story
Northeast Ohio, like much of the Rust Belt, has been ravaged by unemployment, hopelessness, and opioid addiction. Churches there are responding with help and hope.
In June, Bishop Ed Malesic of Greensburg, Pa., released "A Pastoral Letter on the Drug Abuse Crisis: From Death and Despair to Life and Hope."
Why I train future business leaders to see the common good as part of their bottom line.
In a profit-driven world, B Corporations offer a refreshingly holistic--and practical--alternative.
We decided to talk together across the political divide. The apocalypse didn't ensue.
A model for addiction recovery emerges in the Pacific Northwest
If it isn't, it should be.
North Korea's nuclear threats seem insane, but we ignore the broader context at our peril.
Advent in a time of trial.
Culture Watch
Reading can help us grapple with the truth that the world is a very unequal place.
I was reading "The Inferno" at my father's bedside as he was on his way toward paradise.
Four December cultural recommendations from our editors.
Contemporary movies are more psychologically nuanced and sociologically diverse than ever.
Modern Death: How Medicine Changed the End of Life, by Haider Warraich. St. Martin's Press.
The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims, by Mustafa Akyol. St. Martin's Press.
Love in a Time of Climate Change: Honoring Creation, Establishing Justice, by Sharon Delgado. Fortress Press.
During the holidays, many of us go home. But home can be a tricky place these days.
Advent Promises
We await the return of Jesus and prepare for it by revisiting the story of his first coming.
A poem.
"One of the most momentous events of the past century was, in fact, an accident, a semicomical and bureaucratic mistake."
We're starting realize how unbuffered the whole planet is.
It was a welcome endeavor, because we were confused about how they really felt.
Just as we believe in racial justice and environmental justice, so too we believe in health-care justice.
Eradicating white supremacy requires interrogating our theology.


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Babes Love Turkey Legs, We Love Babes
Happy November! Thanksgiving is officially on deck as our next holiday, and with it: awkward family dinners! To help, we're bringing you 15 surprising facts about turkey, so you have something to say to your uncle as he stuffs his face. We know you, though. You're like us -- you need a spoonful of sugar with your medicine. We're happy to oblige with some eye candy, while you learn.


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Director David Wilson along with Colonel Blimp and Andres Guzman created this trippy and colorful music video for the Australian band Tame Impala. It is a trippy sensory overload ride through a young man's fantastical desire to forego a sexual escapade with his teacher. This video thoroughly illustrates "Mind Mischief" with a youthful and coming of age sensibility.
To view more about the project and to view a making of "Mind Mischief" video, visit here.


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Has Lorde been secretly rating the world's onion rings on Instagram?
Most celebrities get exposed for controversial scandals or misconduct, but dedicated investigations have revealed that pop star Lorde may have been involved in an important side gig: reviewing onion rings on Instagram.
In possibly one of the greatest investigations of all times, New Zealand site Newshub published a theory that the niche Instagram account @onionringsworldwide is run by the 20-year-old pop star, after they were tipped-off by a 17-year-old Lorde fan. The account's meditative bio "every onion ring I encounter, rated," and captions are very Lorde-esque in themselves.
We're not sure how Lorde found the time during her whirlwind press and shows for her new album Melodrama, which comes out tomorrow, but a girl has to eat, right? And for the non-believers, Newshub has gathered ample evidence to support their claims about her side hustle.
According to the site, the Instagram account posted a review that read, "tempura ring eaten ceremoniously on a plane from Tennessee to New York." Apart from the timing lining-up with the singer's performance at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, the use of the word "ceremoniously" seems to have Lorde's flair written all over it.
The account also reviewed an onion ring consumed in Sydney's QT Hotel and one in Hatfield, near London, which was taken the day after she played Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull event. It is noted that Lorde spent some time doing promotional work in Sydney in May when the Sydney review was posted.
The singer shared an image of her going to fast-food outlet Sonic after the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which sells onion rings. Lorde and many of her friends, including Jimmy Mac and Maddy Budd, are some of the account's 24 followers, making it seem like an inside joke about the perfect places onion ring aficionados can pick-up deep-fried goodness.
New York magazine has also pointed out that individual photos on the account has been double-tapped by Siobhan "Eyeris" Carter (listed on LinkedIn as Lorde's assistant), and Amber Dreadon, the singer's make-up artist.
There are no faces or identifiable features in the images, but one of the hands holding an onion ring has a similar complexion and nail length to Lorde's. And the account is also using the Australian and New Zealand spelling of words like flavour, which means that the site is definitely being run by someone who has moved abroad.
Perhaps the most telling evidence is the account disappearing when Lorde's management was approached about the smell of an onion ring media scoop. But in that most 2017 of fashions, screenshots can help prove all.
The pop star is yet to comment on her alleged onion ring social-media empire. We hope she gives the green light for the project to return because fans are ready to see her become the Lorde of the Rings.
Lorde revealed on The Tonight Show, hosted by Jimmy Fallon that she is fact was the person behind the secret Instagram account dedicated to reviewing onion rings.
"Okay. I have to explain for a second," she said after Fallon asked about the validity of Newshub's report. "Here's the thing. I sort of naively didn't realise it would be, like, a thing — that I was going different places and trying the onion rings at each of those places."
Fallon asked, "It is you?"
"It's me. It's me."
"Now that everyone knows about it, people are going to be throwing onion rings at me on tour," when she was asked the reason behind deleting the account.


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5 Guys Get Shot With 21,000 Paintballs For a Good Cause [VIDEO]
We found this video of five guys getting shot with 21,000 paintballs. From some of the bruises, you could call them "pain-balls". It seems crazy, but it was for a good cause.
21,000 children die each day from preventable poverty issues such as hunger and disease. So, the people at povertyweek.com put together this video to raise awareness.
Andrew Jones is the guy in the red tanktop shirt, not only is he a good target and fine dancer when you shoot at him with paintballs, but he is also the co-founder of Poverty Resolutions, the organization that produced the video. We were lucky enough to talk with him on the phone…
Get more information on the struggle at Povertyweek.com.


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See Tina Fey Back in Her Second City Days [VIDEO] [SECOND CITY SPOTLIGHT]
The Second City is a comedy club based out of Chicago that's produced some of the greatest comedians since 1959. One of those greats is Tina Fey.
Here's what she has to say about The Second City:
I think it was the best job I ever had, the happiest time of my life.
Check out a clip of Fey (and fellow Second City-to-SNL-er Rachel Dratch) from her Second City days, below. (Fair warning, the clip is NSFW.):
Her days at Second City led her to become the first female head writer of Saturday Night Live. Men usually dominate the world of comedy, but in every generation, there seems to be at least one female that can "keep up with the boys." Since Fey found a home in The Second City, she has been breaking through barriers on and off the screen! Some of her best-known work include Mean Girls, 30 Rock and SNL's Weekend Update.
Contributed by Jessica White


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Licence & Club for 56km
Licence Requirements
Athletic club membership is not optional but it can be obtained after entry. All entrants residing in South Africa entering for the Ultra Marathon must be in possession of a valid provincial running licence. In order to obtain a valid 2017 licence entrants must be registered with an athletics club affiliated with Athletics South Africa (ASA). Entries can be done without having renewed the provincial licence number as it can be completed later. Temporary licences will not be issued.
Club Colours/Running Gear
All South Africans must wear the clothes of the athletics club, they are a member of as indicated in their entry. No identification of sponsors of individual athletes may appear on advertising inside the competition area. Advertising tattoos or any advertising marks on any part of the body is illegal. Age category indication will be included on the printed race numbers which must be clearly visible on the front and back of the running vest, if competitors are to be eligible for any age category prize apart from the open category. Additional (separate) age category tags may be worn but are not required, and the age indication on the race number takes precedence. The domicilium rule will be strictly enforced. No athlete may run for a club other than a registered club in the Province in which they are domiciled unless they have been declared a National athlete by ASA.


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Timberwolves Nike Men's NBA Swingman Jersey II Alternate
Updated for 2002-2003 with a bigger, longer cut, the Swingman is the ultimate NBA replica. Heavyweight 100% polyester pro mesh body with knit trim. The player name, number, and team logo are all sewn on two-color tackle twill applications. Imported. Read More


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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Consumers should not use a drug product called Intestinomicina -- marketed as a treatment for infectious diarrhea and acute gastrointestinal infections -- because it contains an ingredient that can cause serious and potentially deadly problems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
Latest Medications News
People who bought Intestinomicina should immediately stop taking it and consult with a health care provider, the FDA said in a safety alert issued Tuesday.
Intestinomicina, which is made in El Salvador, contains a prescription drug ingredient called chloramphenicol. Earlier this year, in July, oral forms of chloramphenicol were taken off the U.S. market due to the risk of serious health problems.
The most dangerous threat associated with oral chloramphenicol is bone marrow toxicity, which occurs when the body does not produce enough red blood cells, white blood cells and/or platelets, the FDA noted in a news release.
While some types of bone marrow toxicity are reversible, in certain rare cases it can lead to death. Those at greatest risk for serious injury or death are patients with anemia, low white or red blood cell count, or decreased blood platelets.
Intestinomicina's label also lists antibacterial ingredients including neomycin, which is an antibiotic often found in topical medications, and sulfonamides (sulfa drugs). Neomycin and sulfa drugs can cause a variety of reactions, ranging from rashes and hives to severe and life-threatening reactions, the FDA said.
In addition, Intestinomicina may interact with other medications people may be taking, the FDA pointed out in the news release.
Intestinomicina -- made by Laboratorios Lopez -- is sold in tablet and liquid form by international grocery stores in the United States that feature South and Central American specialty foods and products.
-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, news release, Sept. 18, 2012


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It's generally agreed the world over that transportation is the largest contributor to global warming. As such, governments have begun heavily investing in high-speed rail projects and other transport schemes in order to keep emissions down. In the UK a new study out of the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York has reported "a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport." The study revealed that a low-carbon transport future would create a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society. While you may be thinking this is a blatantly obvious statement, the really interesting part is actually how society would go about reducing those emissions. From the technological to the financial to behavioral changes, those in the UK feel that a clear and phased program could potentially enable a 76 percent reduction in emissions by 2050.
If the plan is successful, the next few decades would see reductions of: 100 percent to road transport (cars and lorries), 100 percent in rail transport, 56 percent in aviation, and 49 percent in shipping — all together equating to a 76 percent cut in CO2 emissions for the UK. While these figures may seem like wishful thinking, the study was reportedly done on an evidence-based approach, meaning these reductions were calculated on "already-available experience, " or in other words, these results have already been achieved and recorded.
An innovative approach was taken in specifying the reduction potential from spatial, technological, fiscal and behavioral changes. As such, the report targeted areas where reductions can be made to the maximum effect and implemented over the next 40 years. A number of the radical measures include: spatial planning to create communities where destinations are reachable on foot or by bicycle and public transport; new approaches to localizing the production of consumable goods; increases in the cost of carbon-heavy transport to push the "polluter pays principle;" full de-carbonization of the UK electricity supply system (as envisaged by the Climate Change Committee); and full conversion of all cars to plug-in electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cells utilizing de-carbonized electricity
Professor John Whitelegg of the Stockholm Environment Institute and co-author of the study said: "This project marks a significant break with traditional thinking that regards transport as too hard to deal with when it comes to greenhouse gas reduction. We have shown that the potential is much greater than anyone previously thought and that reductions in emissions go hand in hand with improvements in air quality, health and economic success." But while this all sounds great on paper, realistically, can it be achieved? At the moment it appears to be the contrary — in the wake of the global recession, the UK's high-speed rail plans have come to a halt, and airplane usage has increased.
Via Science Daily


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hughsonville, NY
Given the costs incorporated in pre settlement financing, it is critical for hurt people to consider any open alternatives. This sort of financing should just usually be the last resort. The charges are begun upon the risk to the moneylender associated with non-arrange of movement advancing, yet recall that these associations pick their cases meticulously with a particular final objective to minimize dangers, and gave that they offer you an improvement they acknowledge that you will get money from your case. Gave that you decide to secure pre settlement sponsoring you should just check with a few associations, in order to get the most incredible terms.
Examine this. Different individuals wind up in the event that circumstances in light of the rashness or carelessness of others, on the off chance that they be begun by an individual, a cooperation or an expansive association. Spasmodically, the offended assembling is harmed and can not work or secure cash all around this process. They're pushing over how to pay the bills while they sit tight for the case to settle. Gave that the prosecutors, or their security orgs, drag this out, the mischief amassing can wind up in an astoundingly testing circumstance. Out of stores until the case is settled, they are in a split second in a phenomenally delicate position. Usually they are pushed to take an "unanticipated" settlement, which could be a minor package of what it may as well simply have been, and all in light of the fact that they didn't have the cash to get them through to a sensible and just settlement.
Be watching that you may not get cash for living compasses from your particular naughtiness legitimate guidance, paying gratefulness to the probability that your independent harm veritable supporter is fronting the true overheads for your case trusts yearnings of holding a separating settlement. This will make your self-governing damage lawyer a credit master and fittingly make an earnestly illegal setback of theory between you and your copartner.


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It's an exciting week at Tar-zhay--first the Jean Paul Gaultier collection sold out, lickety split, and now New Yorkers are getting a sneak peek at the Liberty of London for Target collection...and I have to tell you, dolls, it may be my favorite collaboration the store has done so far.
When I did a shopping trip in London last summer, one of my favorite spots (and the one where I did the most credit card damage!) was Liberty of London, an iconic Regent Street department store that's been known for its pretty prints since it opened in 1875. Those splashy florals and beautiful spring patterns (usually called "Liberty prints") will soon be on offer at none other than your favorite bullseye emporium. The Liberty of London for Target merch hits stores and target.com this Sunday, 3/14, but we lucky New Yorkers get a sneak peek with the pop-up shop that just opened this morning on 42nd St. and 6th Ave. (and we editors are even luckier--we got to hit the store at 8:30am, before it opened to the public, and treat ourselves to a few things on Target!).
There are loads of cute pieces for your apartment, dorm, or house--we're talking plates starting at just $2.99 and ceramic planters, lamps, quilts, serving trays, cupcake stands, and mugs at equally affordable prices. I was obsessed with a few of the throw pillows (for $16.99, I decided to stock up on a bunch!) and dressed up the boring-looking tufted settee in my living room:
Sign up for Glamour.com's Style Tips of the Week and Beauty Tip of the Day newsletters!
There are also plenty of super-cute clothes for men, women, and children, and I'm not ashamed to say that I bought a denim romper in a girls' size 14-16 and am planning to wear it all summer long! Kids' clothes = cheaper prices, and I'm definitely going to get my $12.99's worth out of that thing!
The best piece in the entire collection, hands down, is the $199 bicycle--if I didn't live in a studio apartment with no storage space, this would have been the first thing on my purchase list.
If you're in the New York area between today and Saturday 3/13, you absolutely must stop by, even if you just want to soak up some of the atmosphere! The pop-up shop feels like you're stepping into a perfectly quirky British garden--where you can miraculously afford everything! Here are the details:
Liberty of London for Target Shopping Experience
1095 Sixth Ave (@42nd Street)
Today, 11am-8pm
March 11-13, 9am-8pm
And if you're not in New York, check out the collection online or at your local Target this Sunday. I promise ladies, this one is worth the wait!
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Full Article: http://hbr.org/2013/10/the-strategy-that-will-fix-health-care/ar/1
by Michael E. Porter and Thomas H. Lee
Visit our Insight Center, Leading Health Care Innovation, for more on how leaders and managers in health care can improve patient outcomes and lower costs.
In health care, the days of business as usual are over. Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried countless incremental fixes—attacking fraud, reducing errors, enforcing practice guidelines, making patients better "consumers," implementing electronic medical records—but none have had much impact.
It's time for a fundamentally new strategy.
At its core is maximizing value for patients: that is, achieving the best outcomes at the lowest cost. We must move away from a supply-driven health care system organized around what physicians do and toward a patient-centered system organized around what patients need. We must shift the focus from the volume and profitability of services provided—physician visits, hospitalizations, procedures, and tests—to the patient outcomes achieved. And we must replace today's fragmented system, in which every local provider offers a full range of services, with a system in which services for particular medical conditions are concentrated in health-delivery organizations and in the right locations to deliver high-value care.
Making this transformation is not a single step but an overarching strategy. We call it the "value agenda." It will require restructuring how health care delivery is organized, measured, and reimbursed. In 2006, Michael Porter and Elizabeth Teisberg introduced the value agenda in their book Redefining Health Care. Since then, through our research and the work of thousands of health care leaders and academic researchers around the world, the tools to implement the agenda have been developed, and their deployment by providers and other organizations is rapidly spreading.
The transformation to value-based health care is well under way. Some organizations are still at the stage of pilots and initiatives in individual practice areas. Other organizations, such as the Cleveland Clinic and Germany's Schön Klinik, have undertaken large-scale changes involving multiple components of the value agenda. The result has been striking improvements in outcomes and efficiency, and growth in market share.
There is no longer any doubt about how to increase the value of care. The question is, which organizations will lead the way and how quickly can others follow? The challenge of becoming a value-based organization should not be underestimated, given the entrenched interests and practices of many decades. This transformation must come from within. Only physicians and provider organizations can put in place the set of interdependent steps needed to improve value, because ultimately value is determined by how medicine is practiced. Yet every other stakeholder in the health care system has a role to play. Patients, health plans, employers, and suppliers can hasten the transformation—and all will benefit greatly from doing so.
Defining the Goal
The first step in solving any problem is to define the proper goal. Efforts to reform health care have been hobbled by lack of clarity about the goal, or even by the pursuit of the wrong goal. Narrow goals such as improving access to care, containing costs, and boosting profits have been a distraction. Access to poor care is not the objective, nor is reducing cost at the expense of quality. Increasing profits is today misaligned with the interests of patients, because profits depend on increasing the volume of services, not delivering good results.
In health care, the overarching goal for providers, as well as for every other stakeholder, must be improving value for patients, where value is defined as the health outcomes achieved that matter to patients relative to the cost of achieving those outcomes. Improving value requires either improving one or more outcomes without raising costs or lowering costs without compromising outcomes, or both. Failure to improve value means, well, failure.


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New A/W 2010 fashion film launched!
Click here to view film
Photographer and filmmaker Jez Tozer has created the latest of our fashion film editorials mapping A/W 2010 through moving image. Taking its inspiration - and title - from the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven, Tozer's film is an examination of the darker side of A/W 2010. But that very blackness hints at further depth, an umbrella projected inspired by the elements of the process of alchemy - negredo, albedo, citrinitas and rubedo. Each corresponds to a colour, an emotional state and, in Tozer's project, a season. For A/W 2010 he examines negredo - literally 'the blackening' - and a sense of despair and melancholy, reflected in sombre, sober garb from Yves Saint Laurent, Haider Ackermann, Lanvin and Viktor & Rolf, styled by Karen Binns on model and actress Billie Piper.


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Resources for Teaching Thrift
To help teachers create their own curriculum, HSP offers a variety of resources for classroom use. From primary sources to video, teachers can shape lessons and students can do their own research.
Primary Sources
Sara L. Oberholtzer was the Superintendent of the School Savings Banks, a program of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Her son, a Philadelphia historian, left her papers to HSP in the 1930s. Today these materials form one of the largest archived collections about the historical thrift movement in the United States. The inventory of this collection illustrates the diversity of sources, from political cartoons and deposit cards to bank association reports and foreign-language treatises.
To aid in classroom teaching, many of these materials have been placed in HSP's Digital Library:
- One gallery features materials about the thrift movement in general.
- The other has sources specific to School Savings Banks.
Teachers can purchase reproductions of the digitized materials for use in their classrooms through following these instructions.
Secondary Sources
For a background in the historical thrift movement as well as thoughts on how the movement relates to our lives today, the articles of the Fall 2012 Pennsylvania Legacies issue provide fodder for teacher reflection or secondary student reading. The issue covers:
- The development of savings banks in the 19th century, specifically focusing on the social and cultural context of their development;
- The tension between thrift and the rising consumer culture in the late 19th and early 20th century through the lens of the Ladies' Home Journal under the editorship of Edward Bok;
- The thrift movement in Pennsylvania from the early 20th century;
- Thrift as it relates to the stewardship and conservation of our natural resources;
- "Food for Thought" article written by Jeremy Nowak, president and CEO of the William Penn Foundation, based upon his keynote address at National Thrift Week 2012;
- "Teacher's Turn" and "Teacher's Page" providing curricular support;
- Book and website reviews.
In addition, teachers can access video and audio of "Is Thrift Good for America?" This debate was held at HSP on August 1, 2012. Princeton historian Sheldon Garon, author of Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves, and Rutgers historian James Livingston, author of Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture Is Good for the Economy, the Environment and Your Soul, argue their respective cases for and against thrift. The conversation was moderated by David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values.


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The streets were dark and silent except for the rumbling of our Ambulance tyres on the cobbles. It was still three hours from sun up and another five before the end of our shift. As we slowed down the blue light strobes seemed to catapult their radiance from the wet cobblestones onto the many windows either side of us.
"There!" shouts my crew mate and points towards our target, number '36 Surgical Stocking Street' in the older part of 'Crinkleyville'. The call had been sent to our mobile data screen detailing us to our next customer: 'Mrs. Gutbucket' 75 year old female…query if injured or ill…call terminated before details could be acquired.
Pulling up outside the address I sorted out the kit to take in with us and headed for the front door. It was in the middle of a whole row of terraced houses built around the 1930s. The houses here mainly consisted of two up/two downs with the front door leading straight onto the pavement and the back door leading into a small backyard.
Using a 'belt & braces' approach I rang the doorbell, knocked the door knocker and rattled the letterbox. No answer or noise came from within the house, although as always happens lights came on a dozen houses away either side to see what the commotion was! Looking through the window at the side of the door we could see nothing. Curtains firmly closed and no tell tale chinks of light betraying an occupant.
To the far left of the terraced houses we spied a passage. We made our way around the back of the property to see if we could get a reply at the back door. Stumbling in the dark and knocking over all manner of rubbish and scaring off the local tomcats we eventually arrived at the backyard door. 'Bollocks!' it was bolted!
Using our experience and skills from numerous similar jobs we trundled a nearby wheelie bin over to the back gate. With the agility of a 'one legged elephant pissed in the dark' my crew mate clambered onto the lid and leaned over the gate and undid the bolt. We were in the outer cordon now! More knocking and banging ensued upon the back door and more looking through windows trying to see if there was life around.
Still no answer and things did not bode well for the 75 year old occupant. Luckily the downstairs window was slightly ajar which looked to be a good opportunity to gain access to the house. Before going in I rang control to see if they had managed to recontact the caller?…no reply, the caller had obviously dropped the telephone whilst talking to one of our colleagues in the great 'Puzzle Palace' control room.
'Right I'm going in!….Cover me!' my crew mate just stands there fed up with hearing the same line every-time we have to gain entry to a building. 'Ged on wi it!' he scowls and re lights his roll up that he had extinguished prior to getting this call. 'I'll get in and open the back door if I can, you just keep shining that torch so I can see where I'm going!'
And with that he suddenly shines the torch full in my face as I'm halfway through the kitchen window! Everything goes in slow motion as I vaguely recall tripping on the sink taps and clattering to the kitchen floor bringing down the curtains and blinds with me! Regaining my composure and remembering my training from Ambulance Ninja school, I bounce deftly onto my feet and trip over the cats basket as I lumber towards the back door!
Quickly I let my crew mate in…not to assist in the search for our caller but so that I can call him a 'stupid twat' to his face! He feigns total innocence and exclaims 'Whaaaat? I aint done owt!' Looking like Alf Ventress out of 'Heartbeat' my crew mate stands there with half a roll up dangling from his mouth. Shaking my head and taking some of the kit we venture deeper into the house.
Through the kitchen door we enter the main living room and everything looks quiet, nothing out of place. Switching the light on we both notice the phone still on its receiver. 'I'll give comms another ring and get a heads up on whats happening!' Picking the receiver up I dial into our control centre and tell them that we cant find anything so far.
A pause ensues from the other end of the line….'That's odd then because we're talking to the caller right now, shes managed to pick her self up after falling over!'…..'Are you sure you're at the right address?'
And as the realisation starts to dawn on us that we've broken into the wrong house a sound is heard from upstairs….followed by movement….followed by footsteps on the stairs….followed by the appearance of one very irate man holding a golf club in a far from welcoming manner!
'Sorry we've got the wrong address mate!'
And with the speed that would possibly qualify us both for the next Olympics we pick our kit up and leg it! Hurried radio messages are passed to our control to let them know we may have woken someone up and that a supervisor skilled in the arts of diplomacy and negotiation maybe required. Then shortly after we have regained our normal breathing rate the front door of the address we were called to opens and a voice calls out…'I don't need an Ambulance now thank you boys! My son is coming to take me to the hospital!'
I Hate Nights…!!!


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Josh Kelley Reveals How He Ended Up on Miranda Lambert's Song 'Baggage Claim'
Between her upcoming solo album, 'Four the Record,' and her imminent debut with the Pistol Annies, it seems like Miranda Lambert is everywhere at once these days.
But Miranda isn't the only one who's working hard. In fact, Josh Kelley is another one of country's busiest voices — and he joins her on her new single, 'Baggage Claim.'
"It's random," Kelley explained during a recent interview with Taste of Country. "I didn't write the song, but Miranda said that she really wanted my voice on there, like a Joe Cocker kind of thing."
He added, "She knows my voice is very soulful. I come from a soul/blues background. They said, 'Hey man, we really love your voice, so just do your thing, and we'll see what happens.' It turned out great! It's a really, really cool song! It's got that real old-school vibe to it, which I'm really glad they're taking the chance on a song like this because I feel that it's real special, and I think it's going to be real special for radio. It was a lot of fun to sing on, I can tell you that much!"
According to Lambert, "It's the grooviest song I've ever recorded. It makes you want revenge and want to dance all at the same time!"
'Baggage Claim' has already notched the highest debut of Lambert's career, bowing at number 33.


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In the mid-1990s the advent of e-mail allowed people to easily exchange text data. As a result, the ABC music notation language was developed using ordinary keyboard characters. It allowed users to exchange the basic notes, graces, key signatures, rhythms, and other elements of traditional music using e-mail. The language was most useful for folk tunes, and served well those wishing to exchange the essentials, the notes, of traditional music, especially the Irish repertoire.
ABC2Win was conceived as a way for users of Microsoft Windows to see tunes written in this notation as sheet music. It used graphic, drawing commands for both on-screen presentation and for printing.
Developing the program was a great project for a retired computer guy. After several years of improving and maintaining the program interest waned. Now, 16 years later, nothing has been done to advance the development of the program since 2005. That is unlikely to change in the future.
On this site is an archive of the information given on the web when this was still a supported program. Downloads of the last version offered publicly (beta 2.2.127) will remain available for a while. The program was originally written as shareware, and those who paid to support the development received the ability to print music sheets. Now anyone is welcome to use the key given here to activate the current, beta copy or any earlier copy.
If you are an old friend, a user of the program, or one of the many people who helped with its development and dissemination, you have the author's heartfelt thanks.
Best wishes to you. May you enjoy many good tunes with old friends and new.


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Rapid J2EE Development with Oracle ADF
In a push toward simplified J2EE, vendors have been unveiling rapid application development (RAD) tools at a furious pace. Today, for example, most integrated development environments (IDEs) provide wizards to generate the mundane and repetitive framework code necessary when building Model-View-Controller (MVC) applications. A good framework provides an easy, consistent (and preferably declarative) way to configure application components together. That framework should also enforce a 'clean seperation of concerns' that will enable you to switch the implementation for an individual layer without affecting the rest of the application. The Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) is based upon J2EE design patterns, features from other proven frameworks such as Struts, and concepts borrowed from its own previous framework, Business Components for Java (BC4J). The goal of ADF is to conceal the complexities of J2EE, enabling developers to focus on business logic.
This article demonstrates how the ADF framework can be utilized to design a Web-based application. You will use the JDeveloper 10g IDE from Oracle. You can download a free version of it here. I'm also using the popular, open-source MySQL database that can be downloaded here. If you prefer to use Oracle's own database, the adjustments that you will need to make should be trivial.
Overview of ADF
In an effort to keep things simple, I want to avoid a detailed discussion of ADF. There are a number of existing demos and articles at the JDeveloper site. However, a high-level explanation of ADF components, and how they fit into the MVC architecture, is in order.
An ADF Entity object represents a business entity. This usually translates to a row of data in a table, and each Entity attribute represents a column in that table.
In ADF, an Entity handles other tasks, such as business validation and format masking. In most cases, the model is the most logical place to address these concerns because it will enable maximum reuse. Validations, predicated by business requirements, are likely to be relevant no matter how the model is used. For example, verifying that an employee is always assigned to one and only one department will not change if the application were converted from a Web application to a Swing application. ADF will propagate these validations and formats to the controller and view, alleviating the need for you to address these issues elsewhere.
An ADF View object exposes an Entity object to users of the application. An Entity may be accessed in numerous places, but the context in which it is used will vary. Filtering, sorting, and object relationships can be established by a view object, ensuring that the model is represented in a way that makes the most sense.
Application Module
The ADF Application Module bundles together View components, while providing access to your business services layer, which might use technologies such as EJB to manage your database. The Application Module provides ADF Views with transaction support, and other important data-centric services.
View and Controller
Nothing in your model should dictate a particular view technology. An Application Module can serve as the foundation for a Swing or Struts Web application. If developing a thick client application, Swing components might communicate directly with the application module. When developing a Web-based application, your application will use a clearly defined controller to manage model-view interaction.
In previous releases, ADF provided its own controller. That controller has since been replaced in favor of Struts. Struts uses an XML file, called struts-config.xml, to handle application requests and dispatch them to designated request handlers. Experienced Struts developers will appreciate the ability to leverage this existing knowledge.
JDeveloper makes it easy to visually design pages using JSP and JSTL. ADF also provides its own view framework, called UIX, that offers a set of HTML widgets for generating quick and consistent-looking view pages. You will be using UIX in this demonstration. UIX components will become the foundation for Oracle's JSF (JavaServer Faces) standard implementation in future releases.
Building a Sample Application
The application you will build allows employees to reserve conference rooms for work-related meetings. As I mentioned earlier, a MySQL database is used to create two tables, conference_rooms and room_reservations. The DDL to create these tables is listed below.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS conference_rooms; CREATE TABLE conference_rooms ( room_id INTEGER NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, room_name VARCHAR(32), number_of_seats INTEGER, PRIMARY KEY (room_id) ); DROP TABLE IF EXISTS room_reservations; CREATE TABLE room_reservations ( reservation_id INTEGER NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT, room_id INTEGER NOT NULL, reservation_start DATETIME, reservation_end DATETIME, reservation_team VARCHAR(50), PRIMARY KEY (reservation_id) );
Start JDeveloper if you have not already done so. On the left, you will see the Applications-Navigator. Click the Connections tab to establish a connection to your MySQL database. Before doing this, however, it is necessary to make the MySQL JDBC driver available to JDeveloper and the embedded OC4J server you will use to run the application. You can do this by dropping the driver .jar file into the j2ee\home\applib directory of your JDeveloper home (ex. C:\jdev\j2ee\home\applib). Once complete, perform the following steps in the Applications-Navigator:
- Select Database. Right-click, and choose New Database Connection... Click Next.
- Enter 'MySQL' for Connection Name and select 'Third Party JDBC Driver' for Connection Type. Click Next.
- The authentication page appears. Enter the username and password for your MySQL database. Check the Deploy Password checkbox, and then click Next.
- Next, select the Driver Class 'com.mysql.jdbc.Driver' and enter a URL of 'jdbc:mysql://localhost/{database name}'. Click Next.
- Click the Test Connection button. If connected, you will see 'Success'. Click Finish.
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Ladyboy Hardcore at Shemale Japan. If you have not seen the hardcore action featuring the Japanese Ladyboys of Shemale Japan yet, you are missing out on some really steamy and sexy scenes. I think Japanese Ladyboys, or Newhalf, have a very special presence on camera that is hard to match. In fact, I would say that guys who love Asian Ladyboys think that girls like Minako Irie are far sexier in the bedroom than their counterparts, with their little moans and groans of pleasure. Minako Irie is one Japanese Ladyboy that just loves having things be romantic. You can tell that she really enjoys the making out portion of this scene at Shemale Japan Hardcore, which is not to say that she doesn't love getting that sexy ass of hers fucked too! Come check out this Ladyboy Hardcore scene and you'll see exactly what I mean!
Shemale Japan is the only website which contains exclusive content of Japanese Shemales, newhalf Ladyboy, and Asian Ladyboy Hardcore. We have photographers who are part of the Japanese new-half scene and they get un-precedented access to these elusive tgirls. Grooby Productions is the largest producer of trangender content in the world, the also have hot Asian Ladyboy Annalise Rose under Contract and has been operating the most popular shemale websites for over 10 years. Members of Shemale Japan get access to un-censored like ladyboy fucking Asian Ladyboy Hardcore Pics, exclusive photos and videos of the hottest Japanese Ladyboys in the world. Updating twice a week, you will not find this material any where else in the world. Take a look at the incredible, shemales of Japan.


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Bill Shadrach necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 193 diseños de 35 diseñadores freelance.
Healthcare Employers Assurance Trust
Brief Overview
The Healthcare Employers Assurance Trust is a US based, national insurance trust, established to aggregate risk in order to provide participating Hospitals with low benefit rates and long-term stable rates. Through participation in the trust, hospitals can typically save 10% to 20% on their group life insurance programs.
To our customers, participation in the trust provides insurance rate stability and assurance through the aggregation of risk spread over hundreds of thousands of employees.
The logo design goals:
Create a distinctive, powerful and meaningful brand image for Healthcare Employers Assurance Trust
Human Resource Directors and Benefit Managers of large healthcare organizations.
The logo design goals:
Create a distinctive, powerful and meaningful brand image for Healthcare Employers Assurance Trust
Healthcare Employers Assurance Trust is a trusted partner of major clients in the support of their management of life insurance rates. The brand management of the trust see this as a very straight forward font or font and icon. "Trust" is the key word, not in size but meaning. The logo should be strong and clean and be representative of a strong, financially secure organization… not a cartoon, soft, frilly or flowery.
No red, yellow, purple or light green logos please. Color choices may be strong or muted or even rely on some combination of color and texture.
We would like to explore multiple aspect ratios from roughly 2:1 (two widths to one height) to a 1:1 (one width to one height).
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Koos Jansen reports on continued unprecedented appetite from China for Gold, according to his information, after the unprecedented demand of 2,181 tons of Gold from China in 2013 Chinese Gold demand hits All-Time record of 247 tons in January. Now Gold today's breakout above $1,322 level can be put in another perspective.
Gold Breaks 1,320: The Mother Of Short Squeeze Has Arrived TNR.v MUX GDX GLD SLV RGLD ABX GG"Gold is sending its Happy Valentines to all Gold Bugs today and breaks $1320 on the massive short squeeze. Gold shorts will have their Blood Friday now. The real reason for this move is the realisation of the groundbreaking shift in the structure of the Gold market with the unprecedented demand of 2,181 tons of Gold from China in 2013. Janet Yellen testimony has opened the possibility To Taper The Taper andJames Rickards is calling for the Taper Pause in June. US dollar is going down very close to 80.00 level again. This level will be protected, but should the US Dollar break down below 80.00 Gold and Silver will go vertical towards $1,500 and $25 respectively.
Our short Squeeze watch includes McEwen Mining and TNR Gold. McEwen Mining had 26.8 million shares sold short or 8.6 days to cover, according to NASDAQ. MUX.to has rocketed from December low of CAD1.80 to CAD3.27 close yesterday. Gold breakout will push shorts into the corner, but explosive move in Silver will have even more effect on this company.
TNR Gold is still day dreaming, but move in McEwen Mining should pull out this junior out of its misery. Los Azules Copper development will be next to watch on the back of recent M&A activity in the sector and CRB - commodity index breakout to the upside."
In Gold We Trust:
January Chinese Gold Demand All-Time Record, 247 Tons
Koos Jansen.
Sorry for the delay in my weekly reporting on SGE withdrawals. Due to the Chinese Lunar new year the SGE was closed from 31-01-2014 til 06-02-2014 (dd-mm-yyyy) so I had to wait a bit longer for the publication of the numbers. What they eventually released were the trade numbers from 5 trading days, January 27 – 30, and February 7.
Lets skim through the news first. Bloomberg just reported that Chinese gold usage, according to the China Gold Association, in 2013 was 1176 tons. First of all I don't understand this new term usage, nor have I ever understood the term consumption regarding gold. If you have some knowledge of gold you know it's never consumed, gold is immortal and will be recycled till the end of times. Its immortal property is one of the reasons why it's the most marketable commodity, hence we started using it as money thousands of years ago. The other reasons are it has the right scarcity, its divisible and subsequently small units can be merged/melted into a large unit (a proces which can be repeated to infinity without any loss of material).
Having said that; How can gold demand (I assume that's what they mean by usage) be 1176 tons, when China mainland net imported 1123 tons just from Hong Kong, domestically mined 428 tons, and additionally net imported gold through other ports? Regular readers of this blog know the number 1176 tons of demand is false, it was in fact 2197 tons as my research has exposed.
Other mainstream news outlets (like the Financial Times and the Telegraph) are slowly starting to scratch their heads about the Chinese gold market. It won't take years before the Chinese will fail to hide their true insatiable demand for physical gold. Since 2008, after Lehman fell, the China Gold Association (CGA) has changed the way they measure gold demand. In 2007 they reported in the CGA Gold Yearbook:
In 2007 the amount of gold withdrawn from the warehouses of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, total gold demand of that year, was 363.194 tons of gold, an increase of 48 % compared to 2006…
In other words, SGE withdrawals equal total Chinese demand (in 2013 SGE withdrawals accounted for 2197 tons), as I have been writing about for months! Starting in 2008 the CGA switched measuring gold demand fromwholesale level (SGE withdrawals) to retail level in order to suppress demand figures. This way they were able to hide investment demand. (for my full analysis read this)
It's remarkable the CGA publishes these suppressed demand numbers, which are being copied by western media without any second thoughts, while at the same time the CGA has written reports, which are being ignored by western media, that state Chinese demand surpassed 1000 tons (it was 1043 tons to be precise) in 2011. FromThe China Gold Market Report 2011, page 28:
Deregulation of the gold control to open the gold market to the public in 2002 led to the constant rise in China's gold demand, which unprecedentedly exceeded 1,000 tons in 2011…
The China Gold Market Reports 2007 – 2011 all state Chinese demand equals SGE withdrawals (due to the structure of the Chinese gold market designed in 2002). Since 2011 the CGA ceased publishing the China Gold Market. Chinese demand was such that it became uncomfortable for the Chinese authorities to lay their cards on the table.
To continue to report on suppressed demand numbers the CGA has recently signed a partnership with CPM group. Together they hope to gain more credibility in spreading incomplete data - for as long as it holds.
For the CGA this is all strategics. I wonder if CPM Group knows what CGA president, Sun Zhaoxue, writes about the gold market in the Chinese media. Allow me to quote a few snippets from exclusive translations I publishedhere and here:
…the United States intends to suppress gold to ensure the Dollar's dominance, the fall in the price of gold was premeditated, and a part of the currency war.…The hottest topic at the moment is oil and gold. The ground war we are seeing around the world is I think war for oil whereas gold is the currency war.…The US owes Germany so much gold but instead of repaying immediately, it sets a 2020 deadline to return the gold. From this example and process as well as some typical factors, this is a downright currency war to maintain the US Dollar hegemony by defeating all other currencies.…Gold now suffers from a 'smokescreen' designed by the US, which stores 74% of global official gold reserves, to put down other currencies and maintain the US Dollar hegemony. Going to the source, the rise of the US dollar and British pound, and later the euro currency, from a single country currency to a global or regional currency was supported by their huge gold reserves.…In the global financial crisis, countries in the world political and economic game, we once again clearly see that gold reserves have an important function for financial stability and are an 'anchor' for national economic security.…We need to establish a more clear national gold strategy, continue to grow gold reserves and progressively become a 'gold-reserve' nation that is commensurate with the country's economic strength.…To fundamentally solve these problems, the state will need to elevate gold to an equal strategic resource as oil and energy.…In addition, because individual investment demand is an important component of China's gold reserve system, we should encourage individual investment demand for gold. Practice shows that gold possession by citizens is an effective supplement to national reserves and is very important to national financial security.
In short, Sun knows the world is in a currency war and in war time China will keep it cards close to its chest. I hope the SGE doesn't stop publishing withdrawal numbers, it's the best benchmark we have at this moment.
Shanghai Gold Exchange Withdrawal Numbers January 2014
Withdrawals from the Shanghai Gold Exchange vaults in January 2014 accounted for 247 tons, which is an increase of 43 % compared to January 2013. It's also more than monthly global mining production and an all-time record! China mainland mines about 35 tons per month which is required to be sold first through the SGE. The other 212 tons (247 – 35) had to supplied by import or recycled gold. My estimate is that scrap couldn't have been more than 25 tons, so import in January was a staggering 187 tons. China is still draining the vaults in the west BIG TIME!
Because the last SGE weekly report covers four days in January and one in February, I multiplied the weekly amount by o.2 and subtracted the outcome from the year to date number to get to the January total. This number may be revised when the SGE publishes the January monthly report, but I don't expect a significant change.
[Update 14-02-2014, January SGE withdrawals were 246, I was one ton of, still a record.]
Overview Shanghai Gold Exchange data 2014 week 5 and 6
- 40 metric tons withdrawn in 5 trading days of week 5 and 6 (27-01-2014/07-02-2014)
- w/w - 29.9 %
- 256 metric tons withdrawn year to date
My research indicates that SGE withdrawals equal total Chinese gold demand. For more information read this, this, this and this.
This is a screen dump from the Chinese SGE trade report; the second number from the left (blue – 本周交割量) is weekly gold withdrawn from the vaults in Kg, the second number from the right (green – 累计交割量) is the total YTD.
This chart shows SGE gold premiums based on data from the Chinese SGE weekly reports (it's the difference between the SGE gold price in yuan and the international gold price in yuan).
Below is a screen dump of the premium section of the SGE weekly report; the first column is the date, the third is the international gold price in yuan, the fourth is the SGE price in yuan, and the last is the difference.
In Gold We Trust"


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Race: Artifact
Class: Arkentool
Attuned to: Wanda Firebaugh
Associated Discipline:
Proposed Canon
One of the Arkentools. It is currently attuned to Wanda Firebaugh of the Gobwin Knob Side.
Attunement to the Arkenpliers is governed by the Fate axis of magicErf-b1-p022, which Croakamancy (Wanda's specialty) is a part of.
While unattuned and owned by Prince Ansom, the Arkenpliers were a powerful weapon, capable of instantly destroying most Uncroaked units on contact, as well as being able to hurt other Units.Erf-b1-p022Erf-b1-p071Erf-b1-p118
The associated "special" Unit of the Arkenpliers, while attuned to Wanda, are the Decrypted, an advanced form of uncroaked.
The Arkenpliers had been held by Jetstone for a long time before King Slately decided to allow Prince Ansom to use them in the Battle for Gobwin Knob. However, at that time, the Arkenpliers were not attuned to him.Erf-b1-p022 One major reason why King Slately took the risk of giving them to Ansom was his hope that Ansom would become attuned to the pliers in the course of battle. After Ansom's deathErf-b1-p131, the Arkenpliers were briefly recovered by Lady Sylvia Lazarus of the Royal Crown CoalitionErf-b1-p132, only to be lost once again when the uncroaked volcano wiped out all Royal Crown Coalition forces inside Gobwin Knob.
Wanda Firebaugh recovered the Arkenpliers from the ruins of Gobwin Knob after the battle and attuned to themErf-b1-p142 in the culmination of a long questErf-b1-p143 to fulfill a Prediction about her attuning to an Arkentool. She used them to decrypt Prince Ansom and much of the RCC forces destroyed in the explosion.
In 96 AW, the Great Minds experimented with it and ended up awakening it into sapience.
Powers when Attuned
The 'pliers allow the Wanda to decrypt corpses as new units on her side. Since the decrypted do not degrade over time as a normal Uncroaked would, this allows her to create a nearly unstoppable army. Every time Wanda wins a battle, she decrypts the corpses of the enemy, giving her an even larger advantage in the next battle.
Wanda has shown the ability to Decrypt through BedrockErf-b3-p143.
Wanda is capable of seeing through the eyes of Decrypted Archons Erf-b2-pE8
With Thinkamancer Link, the Wanda was able to use the Arkenpliers to sever the g-strings that made Lilith Charlie's prisoner. Erf-b3-p95
It is unclear what other powers, if any, Wanda has gained from her attunement. Given that Croakamancy is the aspect of Naughtymancy ruled by Fate, it would seem that it is a powerful artifact of Fate in her hands and the pair are something to be feared, even by Stanley the Tool. Wanda is capable of Fate magic in disciplines outside of Croakamancy, so those spells might also be enhanced by the Arkenpliers.
Real World References
A company named Zhejiang Wanda Tools Co. Ltd specializes in making pliers. (The website URL has changed more than once; this is current as of 2018-06-01.)


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Homeownership Assistance Programs: Kentucky
Homeownership Assistance Programs: Kentucky.
via Homeownership Assistance Programs: Kentucky.
Underwriting Guidelines
Credit History
Debt vs Income Ratio
Income is one of the most important variables a lender will examine because it is used to repay the loan. Income is reviewed for the type of work, length of employment, educational training required, and opportunity for advancement. An underwriter will look at the source of income and the likelihood of its continuance to arrive at a gross monthly figure.
Salary and Hourly Wages – Calculated on a gross monthly basis, prior to income tax deductions.
Part-time and Second Job Income – Not usually considered unless it is in place for 12 to 24 straight months. Lenders view part-time income as a strong compensating factor.
Commission, Bonus and Overtime Income – Can only be used if received for two previous years. Further, an employer must verify that it is likely to continue. A 24-month average figure is used.
Retirement and Social Security Income – Must continue for at least three years into the future to be considered. If it is tax free, it can be grossed up to an equivalent gross monthly figure. Multiply the net amount by 1.20%.
Alimony and Child Support Income – Must be received for the 12 previous months and continue for the next 36 months. Lenders will require a divorce decree and a court printout to verify on-time payments.
Notes Receivable, Interest, Dividend and Trust Income – Proof of receiving funds for 12 previous months is required. Documentation showing income due for 3 more years is also necessary.Rental Income – Cannot come from a Primary Residence roommate. The only acceptable source is from an investment property. A lender will use 75% of the monthly rent and subtract ownership expenses. The Schedule E of a tax return is used to verify the figures. If a home rented recently, a copy of a current month-to-month lease is acceptable.
Automobile Allowance and Expense Account Reimbursements – Verified with 2 years tax returns and reduced by actual expenses listed on the income tax return Schedule C.
Education Expense Reimbursements – Not considered income. Only viewed as slight compensating factor.
Self Employment Income – Lenders are very careful in reviewing self-employed borrowers. Two years minimum ownership is necessary because two years is considered a representative sample. Lenders use a 2-year average monthly income figure from the Adjusted Gross Income on the tax returns. A lender may also add back additional income for depreciation and one-time capital expenses. Self-employed borrowers often have difficulty qualifying for a mortgage due to large expense write offs. A good solution to this challenge used to be the No Income Verification Loan, but there are very few of these available any more given the tightened lending standards in the current economy. NIV loan programs can be studied in the Mortgage Program section of the library.
An applicant's liabilities are reviewed for cash flow. Lenders need to make sure there is enough income for the proposed mortgage payment, after other revolving and installment debts are paid.
All loans, leases, and credit cards are factored into the debt calculation. Utilities, insurance, food, clothing, schooling, etc. are not.
If a loan has less than 10 months remaining, a lender will usually disregard it.
The minimum monthly payment listed on a credit card bill is the figure used, not the payment made.
An applicant who co-borrowed for a friend or relative is accountable for the payment. If the applicant can show 12 months of on-time cancelled checks from the co-borrowee, the debt will not count.
Loans can be paid off to qualify for a mortgage, but credit cards sometimes cannot (varies by lender). The reasoning is that if the credit card is paid off, the credit line still exists and the borrower can run up debt after the loan is closed.
A borrower with fewer liabilities is thought to demonstrate superior cash management skills.
Credit History
Most lenders require a residential merged credit report (RMCR) from the 3 main credit bureaus: Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian. They will order one report which is a blending of all three credit bureaus and is easier to read than the individual reports. This "blended" credit report also searches public records for liens, judgments, bankruptcies and foreclosures. See our credit report index.
Credit report in hand, an underwriter studies the applicant's credit to determine the likelihood of receiving an on-time mortgage payment. Many studies have shown that past performance is a reflection of future expectations. Hence, most lenders now use a national credit scoring system, typically the FICO score, to evaluate credit risk. If you're worried about credit scoring see our articles on it.
The mortgage lending process, once very forgiving, has tightened lending standards considerably. A person with excellent credit, good stability, and sufficient documentable income to make the payments comfortably will usually qualify for an "A" paper loan. "A Paper", or conforming loans, make up the majority of loans in the U.S. and are loans that must conform to the guidelines set by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in order to be saleable by the lender. Such loans must meet established and strict requirements regarding maximum loan amount, downpayment amount, borrower income and credit requirements and suitable properties. Loans that do not meet the credit and/or income requirements of conforming "A-paper" loans are known as non-conforming loans and are often referred to as "B", "C" and "D" paper loans depending on the borrower's credit history and financial capacity.
Here are some rules of thumb most lenders follow:
12 plus months positive credit will usually equal an A paperloan program, depending on the overall credit. FHA loans usually follow this guideline more often than conventional loans.
Unpaidcollections, judgments and charge offs must be paid prior to closing an A paper loan. The only exception is if the debt was due to the death of a primary wage earner, or the bill was a medical expense.
If a borrower has negotiated an acceptable payment plan, and has made on time payments for 6 to 12 months, a lender may not require a debt to be paid off prior to closing.
Credit items usually are reported for 7 years. Bankruptcies expire after 10 years.
Foreclosure – 5 years from the completion date. From the fifth to seventh year following the foreclosure completion date, the purchase of a principal residence is permitted with a minimum 10% down and 680 FICO score. The purchase of a second or investment property is not permitted for 7 years. Limited cash out refinances are permitted for all occupancy types.
Pre-foreclosure (Short Sale) – 2 years from the completion date (no exceptions or extenuating circumstances).
Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure – 4 year period from the date the deed-in-lieu is executed. From the fifth to the seventh year following the execution date the borrower may purchase a property secured by a principal residence, second home or investment property with the greater of 10 percent minimum down payment or the minimum down payment required for the transaction. Limited cash out and cash out refinance transactions secured by a principal residence, second home or investment property are permitted pursuant to the eligibility requirements in effect at that time.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – A borrower is eligible for an A paper loan program 4 years after discharge or dismissal, provided they have reestablished credit and have maintained perfect credit after the bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy – 2 years from the discharge date or 4 years from the dismissal date.
Multiple Bankruptcies- 5 years from the most recent dismissal or discharge date for borrowers with more than one filing in the past 7 years.
The good credit of a co-borrowerdoes not offset the bad credit of a borrower.
Credit scores usually range from 400 to 800. Changes to lending standards are occurring on a daily basis as a result of tightening lending standards, and can vary from lender-to-lender– so this information should be considered simply a guideline. For conforming loans, most lenders will lend down to a FICO of 620, with additional rate hits for the lower-end credit scores and loan-to-values. When you are borrowing more than 80%, they typically will not lend if you have a FICO below 680. The FHA/VA program just changed their minimum required FICO to 620, unless you are qualifying a borrower with non-traditional credit. The few non-conforming loan programs that are still available typically require 30% down payment with a minimum FICO of 700 for self-employed and 650 for W-2 employees, and the loan-to-value will change with the loan amount.
A credit score below 600 may require an Alternative Credit mortgage program.
Misinformation on a credit report can be repaired! For more information see our credit repairsection.
The FTC states, "Credit repair companies take your money and vanish." Anything a credit repair company does for a fee, a consumer can do for free. Be wary of these guys!
If a borrower falls behind on a payment, the creditor should be contacted as quickly as possible. Most creditors will work with a borrower who makes an initial good faith effort to communicate with them.
Lenders evaluate savings for three reasons.
The more money a borrower has after closing, the greater the probability of on-time payments.
Most loan programs require a minimum borrower contribution.
Lenders want to know that people have invested their own into the house, making it less likely that they will walk away from their life's savings. They analyze savings documents to insure the applicant did not borrow the funds or receive a gift.
Lenders look at the following types of accounts and assets for down payment funds:
Checking and Savings – 90 days seasoning in a bank account is required for these funds.Gifts and Grants – After a borrower's minimum contribution, a gifts or grant is permitted.
Sale of Assets – Personal property can be sold for the required contribution. The property should be appraised and a bill of sale is required. Also, a copy of the received check and a deposit slip are needed.
Secured Loans – A loan secured by property is also an acceptable source of closing funds.
IRA, 401K, Keogh & SEP – Any amount that can be accessed is an acceptable source of funds.
Sweat Equity and Cash On Hand – Generally not acceptable. FHA programsallow it in special circumstances.
Sale Of Previous Home – Must close prior to new home for the funds to be used. A lender will ask for a listing contract, sales contract, or HUD 1 closing statement.
Debt vs Income Ratio
The percentage of one's debt to income is one of the most important factors when underwriting a loan. Lenders have determined that a house payment should not exceed approximately 30% of Gross Monthly Income. Gross Monthly Income is income before taxes are taken out. Furthermore, a house payment plus minimum monthly revolving and installment debt should be less than 40% of Gross Monthly Income (this figure varies from 35%-41% contingent on the source of financing).
An applicant has $4,500 gross monthly income. The maximum mortgage payment is:
Their total debts come to:
$500 Car
$20 Visa
$30 Sears
$75 Master Card
$625 per month.
Remember, their total debts (mortgage plus other debts) must be less than or equal to 40% of their gross monthly income.
$1800 is the maximum debt the borrower can have, debts and mortgage payments combined. Can the borrower keep all their debts and have the maximum mortgage payment allowed? NO!
In this case, the borrower, since they have high debts, must adjust the maximum mortgage payment downward, because:
$625 debts
$1350 mortgage
$1975 – which is more than the $1800 (40% of gross debt) we calculated above.
The maximum mortgage payment is therefore:
$1800 – $625 (monthly debt) = $1175.
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Kentucky Mortgage Loans Guidelines 2011 (kentuckyfirsttimehomebuyer.com)
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When your down payment is less than 20% you usually have to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). This protects the lender in case you don't make your house payments. This doesn't mean you can blow off making your house payments — if you fail to pay, the bank will still repossess your house. The insurance company will pay the bank the difference between 20% and the amount you actually put down. If you put down 5% and default, the insurance company pays the bank the other 15% that you didn't pay.
|PMI Calculator (for 30-year loan)
Sale price
Down Payment
|3% 4% 5% 10% 15%
Interest Rate
|Monthly payment (without PMI, taxes, or ins.)
Monthly PMI cost (est.)
Total PMI costs over the life of the loan
Canceling PMI
PMI is usually (but not always) canceled automatically once you own 22% of your home. It used to be that the insurance company would keep happily charging you the premium forever, since many homeowners didn't know they could cancel. This was obviously taking advantage of the uninformed homeowner, so now insurance companies are required by law to automatically cancel your PMI as soon as you own at least 22% of your home, based on the original purchase price, although in some cases they're not required to automatically cancel (which we'll cover in a minute). Assuming you qualify for automatic cancellation, here's how long it will take to reach 22% equity, depending on the length of the loan and the interest rate, ignoring any possible appreciation:
|Time it takes to own 22% of your home
(for 5% / 10% and 15% down payments)
|Interest Rate
|15-year Mortgage
|30-year Mortgage
|4 / 3 / 2 years
|10.5 / 8.5 / 5.5 years
|4 / 3.5 / 2 years
|11.5 / 9.0 / 6.5 years
|4.5 / 3.5 / 2.5 years
|12.0 / 10.0 / 7.0 years
|4.5 / 3.5 / 2.5 years
|13.5 / 11.0 / 8.0 years
|5 / 3.5 / 2.5 years
|14.5 / 12.0 / 9.0 years
From this table you might think "Wait a minute — on a 30-year loan I should own about half of my house after about 15 years, but with a 10% interest rate and a 5% down payment you're saying I'd own only 22%?! What gives?"
The answer is that because of how mortgage interest works, most of your payments in the early years goes to interest, not paying down your loan. On a 30-year loan of $100k at 7%, the payment is $665/mo., but when you make the first payment, a whopping $583 goes to interest, and a mere $82 goes towards owning the home. On 15-year loans a much higher percentage goes towards the home itself, which is why 15-year mortgages are a better deal if you can get them — and why you should try to pay off your loan in 15 years anyway if you can't. There's more on this in our section about paying off a loan early.
But let's get back to PMI and canceling it. Of course, you don't have to wait for the automatic cancellation at 22%. You can write to the insurance company and ask them to cancel your PMI coverage as soon as you hit 20% equity.
And here's one more thing you can do: If your house has increased in value then you suddenly own a lot more of it, and you can cancel your PMI even earlier. For example, let's say you put $5,000 down on a $100,000 home, and in a couple of years the value shoots up to $119,000 because it's a hot real estate market. You own the $5000 you put into the house, plus the $19,000 it increased, for a total of $24,000. (You also own the equity you built from making mortgage payments, but because of how mortgage interest works, most of your payments for the first few years goes to interest and not principal, so we'll ignore paid equity for our example.) So the $24,000 you own divided by the $119,000 value of the home means you own over 20% of your home. So you don't need PMI any more. But to cancel the PMI you'll need to convince the lender that your home is really worth $119,000 now, so you'll have to pay for an appraisal which might run $400 or so. You'll have to weigh the cost of the appraisal against the amount you'll save by canceling PMI early to see if it's a good deal for you.
When PMI is canceled automatically and when it isn't
Don't assume your PMI will be canceled automatically. Check this table.
|Canceled Automaticallyif ALL are true
|Not Canceled Automaticallyif ANY are true
|Conventional loans
|FHA loans
|Loan signed on or after July 29, 1999
|Loan signed earlier than that
|All mortgage payments have been made on time in the year prior to PMI cancellation
|Any mortgage payments have been late
|Buyer is not considered high risk
|Buyer is considered high risk
- Article examining the overall advantage of PMI to homeowners, Auburn University, 1997
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Rihanna Says Stalker Thought He Was Her Fiance
Rihanna is reportedly ditching her Pacific Palisades mansion since security has been breached multiple times and the property is a bit too accessible for her taste. It turns out that the latest trespasser believed he was RiRi's fiancé (!!!) and therefore had a right to be on the grounds.
The singer has since obtained a restraining order, claiming that she has suffered emotional distress and is worried about her safety since, you know, she isn't bethrothed to this dude.
When you hear about what the perp did, you will understand why the judge granted her the temporary order, which means he must keep 100 yards away from her. The case will go back to court in a month, and expect RiRi to ask for a permanent order.
Ri's "fiance" Jonathan Whooper was taken into custody on Oct. 4 after the authorities identified him as the man who threw a chair through the glass door at her swanky palace on Sept. 29. Whooper has gained access to the property a few times. His Sept. 29 chair-throwing stunt tripped the alarm, which he couldn't disable. He then broke a glass patio table, so says TMZ.
Whooper returned to the location on Oct. 4, where he was met by security. He told them he was there to see the singer. When he was told to bounce, he said, "Do you know who I am? I am Rihanna's future husband!" Clearly, he dreams big and isn't in touch with that thing called reality.
Whooper was arrested later that day, a few miles from the crib. He was charged with a litany of offenses, including prowling and felony attempted burglary, vandalism and stalking. Ri won't be testifying in the case since she is on tour and busy posting lots of Instagram photos.


text:
WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says Senate Democrats are holding the department's nominees "hostage" to a political agenda that includes opposition to his review of presidentially designated monuments.
In a sharply worded letter to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, Zinke said it's unfortunate that Democrats have placed holds on four Interior Department nominees, including its top lawyer and budget chief.
The nominees "have nothing to do with this monument review, yet they have been forced to sit on the sidelines" for months, Zinke wrote Thursday. "As a former Navy SEAL, this is not the type of hostage situation I am accustomed to."
Zinke offered to meet with Durbin, who requested a briefing last month along with other Democratic senators to discuss the monument review.
President Donald Trump ordered the review this spring following complaints by congressional Republicans that previous presidents had misused a century-old law intended to protect federal lands, creating oversized monuments that hinder energy development, logging and other uses.
Trump called some monument designations by his Democratic predecessors "massive land grabs."
Zinke has recommended that Trump shrink four large monuments in the West, including the sprawling Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah. He also recommended that Nevada's Gold Butte and Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou monuments be reduced in size, although exact details remain unclear.
The proposals have prompted an outcry from environmental groups and Democrats who accuse Trump and Zinke of engaging in a secretive process aimed at helping industry groups that have donated to GOP campaigns.
Opponents have promised to take the Trump administration to court to block any attempts to rescind or reduce the monument designations. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton designated the monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to protect sites considered historic or geographically or culturally important.
In a letter last month, Durbin and 15 other senators complained that Zinke's recommendations "threaten important natural, archaeological and cultural resources," especially Bears Ears, a 1.3-million acre site in southeastern Utah that is home to thousands of Native American artifacts, including ancient cliff dwellings and petroglyphs.
"National monuments have preserved our country's unique public lands, extraordinary history and our common culture as a people," the senators wrote in an Oct. 23 letter to Trump. "We urge you not to reduce their boundaries in any way."
Durbin and several other senators wrote a separate letter to Zinke seeking a meeting about the monument review, which they said has been conducted virtually in secret.
Zinke responded Thursday that he visited the four monuments that are being shrunk and met with or talked to lawmakers and governors in all four states.
"While the review does not affect the state of Illinois, I nonetheless understand your interest in this matter, and I appreciate the written comments you and your colleagues provided throughout this review process," Zinke wrote to Durbin.
Durbin has placed holds on the nominees in his leadership role. Spokesman Ben Marter said Durbin looked forward to meeting with Zinke, although no date has been set.11 comments on this story
"That was probably harder than it needed to be, but the secretary has now reached out to schedule a meeting and Sen. Durbin is looking forward to it," Marter said.
Durbin has placed holds on four Interior nominees: Susan Combs, nominated as assistant secretary for policy, management and budget; Joseph Balash, assistant secretary for land and minerals management; Ryan Nelson, solicitor; and Brenda Burman, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees dams and water projects in 17 Western states.


text:
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Where We Work: 10 Real World Home Offices Via Instagram
Design blogs, Tumblr, and Pinterest are all valuable sources when it comes to aspirational decor window-shopping. But the problem is many of these spaces, especially home offices, are staged (albeit beautifully so), bereft of any of the telltale signs of real work being done by real people. That's why I occasionally like to peruse Instagram; images there may be filtered, but they're usually more realistically representative of people's home workspaces...
1. Hege Kongstein - "Working mom of three kids from Norway with a passion for travelling, art, music, food, interior, photography +++ "
2. Rick Miranda - "Arch-Design-Muzik-Vinyl-AutoClassic-RjBrasil"
3. yaskabey: Traveler, photographer, culturist, currently in Brooklyn, New York. Snapshots: iPhone 5 and Olympus OMD-EM5
4. Helle Haugerud - Photos taken with my iPhone - villavillaveien.blogspot.com
5. Marina - marina_moraes
6. Jane Holfort - Fashion. Interior design. Food. Life. Not necessarily in that order.
7. kiel - designer. NYC. carpe diem & rufus the dog.
8. TexasLawLady
9. victorfresi - select.art.br
10. anetteshus* - / HOME DECOR / TRAVELS / LIFE / JOY / NORWAY
*Okay, this last one definitely falls under "beautifully decorated and probably staged", but it is a real home office belonging to a design blogger.
(Images: as linked above)