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New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 24, 2011 10:51 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
It's awful - just a way for the owners of homeaway and vrbo to squeeze more money out of customers by pitting us against each other, running a bidding war. If there were a better source I would quit. Takes all the good will out of what they offer as far as I'm concerned. Isnt' enough that they own vrbo and homeaway and yet we pay to advertise in both of them? I wish this community could agree to reject this new plan, but doubt that's remotely possible. Shame on them.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmsdebj Aug 24, 2011 12:05 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
It is sad to see a great concept deteriorate so quickly, isn't it? Since HA went forward with it's IPO it seems they've succumbed to the typical Wall Street think. I guess they haven't gotten the word that most Americans are getting fed up with the concept that he who has the most $ gets, well most of the $$.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsbridget Aug 24, 2011 1:01 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I so agree with this posting... I have completed about one month of debating back and forth with horrible customer service... hold times of up to 40 minutes... waiting for managers to call back for 7 days and then dealing with the 'new hires' who have no experience - unreal!!! I have lost all regard for homeaway and hope they don't ruin VRBO also. Because of the new policy/extortion at homeaway one is forced to pay for the 'featured listing' to get any exposure at all or buy into their tiered system which is absolutely so expensive and prohibitive for homeowners with more than one property. Shame on homeaway for offering nothing new for three times the price. I hope enough people get angry with this and force change.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelskaren.long Aug 25, 2011 6:31 AM (in response to bridget)
Same here. I wrote in about a problem and got a rude email answer back.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 25, 2011 7:01 AM (in response to bridget)
Maybe if there is enough outrage, Homeaway will reconsider this new "tier" system that offers nothing for more money. We should make it visible to investment analysts who follow Homeaway so they will know there is discontent - that may get their attention.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsannette Aug 24, 2011 1:35 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I am also EXTREMELY disappointed and frustrated with HomeAway and their disregard for owners. This latest "offer" to "improve listing performance" is really unacceptable. I wish we could all ban together and refuse to "upgrade". That would be one way to get our point across. I am hoping other companies are paying attention to the huge mistakes HomeAway is making with their customer base, so that a good alternative will be made available to us in the near future.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 24, 2011 2:37 PM (in response to annette)
I was just talking to a friend of mine here that is in the same boat - we may quit homeaway and just do vrbo - get to the top of that. No way I can afford to ride up the ranks with both vrbo and homeaway. I wish there was a good alternative. Flipkey is pretty good - I've had some success with them. If anyone finds somewhere we can defect to, I'm interested in hearing about it.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelssusanedwards Aug 24, 2011 4:30 PM (in response to lynneharty)
I just learned about subscription levels, when I tried to call to ask questions, I was on hold. I decided to put on speaker and get work done, they took 1 1/2 hours to answer and the person was really rude. said she had been getting lots of calls about just this.
we've done flipkey and got LOTS of listings. also, local specific websites might be good too.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsfrancesp Aug 25, 2011 10:45 AM (in response to susanedwards)
Your story about rude customer service and long delays in amswering calls is not the first time I have read this and I can confirm I have spent literally days and days trying to get through but have often given up after half an hour. This however is polar opposites from another site i use which is www.pureholidayhomes.com Interestingly they have been mentioned in a homeaway survey and also get a name check in the T's & C's on Holiday Rentals HA which say that your web link cant go to pureholidayhomes.com their customer service department answer aa call within half a dozen rings and are super efficient. i couldnt recommend them more so and also they charge circa $225 for a premium listing. I think these guys represent a good alternative to the HA monster that is slowly bleeding us dry.
Good luck
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelskaren.long Aug 25, 2011 6:34 AM (in response to lynneharty)
I agree, will be taking another look at flipkey. Would be interested to know of others out there too. I am ashamed that Homeaway is doing this.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 24, 2011 10:04 PM (in response to annette)
I think that the title of their email is what irked me the most - as you mentioned - the offer to improve our performance. Some nerve. Previously I've told people that homeaway is so much better than the others, and have used it for my own vacation searches, but no more. I'll try flipkey and others.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmgtyquin Aug 24, 2011 5:07 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I also own 3 properties on VRBO and Homeaway and I'm also going with flip key. I just turn off my auto renawal on Home away. I don't know how in this economy they can charge us twice for the same company
It's a disgrace.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmsdebj Aug 24, 2011 5:40 PM (in response to mgtyquin)
HA really needs to wake up. They are proud that their IPO is up 30 % since June 28th (I believe that date is correct). My investment counselor is looking into their "specs" and is watching these forums as well.
HA is based in Texas- as best we can tell.
I don't want them to fail,. I just want them to realize that they are an American company, and they have a GREAT opportunity to promote themselves as honest, fair and responsive to the people that brought them to the dance.
Yep-- Flip key looks good - but are you sure HA hasn't bought them?
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelskaren.long Aug 25, 2011 6:36 AM (in response to mgtyquin)
Thanks for the reminder! We have only two rentals; we'll be turning our autorenew off as well. What happened to the rank of how much your site was looked at?
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsvacationlady Aug 24, 2011 6:03 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I own 8 properties and up until last month had 18 listings with VRBO/HA. Have been with these guys since 2003 and did not renew two of my listings last month and two more are expiring next month. When Phil of VRBO sales called earlier this week to find out if I forgot to renew.....I said, "Nope.... have decided not to renew any more listings with your company as I am very upset over unethical business practices where the company favors travelers more than it's paying customers" HomeAway may be the golden child of wall street right now....but I for one am not giving them any more of my hard earned dollars to line investors pockets...I moved over to Flip Key, AirBnB, signed up to the Chamber of Commerce and decided to hire a SEO expert, put greater emphasis on using Facebook and focus marketing of my homes using my own websites instead of all these listing sites. HomeAway is taking quite a gamble....this could really back fire on them if everyone decides to follow and drop them all together or just stick with VRBO.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmsdebj Aug 24, 2011 6:25 PM (in response to vacationlady)
I must admit- they are slick. Going through my last renewal 'contract" they made NO mention of what my "classic listing" would provide. I went from Thumbnail to nada, basically- with no notice after I renewed. Live and learn- and vote with your feet. I was dumb enough to take them at their word- without getting it in writing.
FB is a great resource. Worth every dime I'm going to pay someone to help me finese my page.
Vacation lady - thats a chunk of change when you mulitply it out- and get the word out.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsotttoyboy Aug 25, 2011 8:49 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
So, according to HomeAway, it is okay to keep charging me the same amount of money but now I will be getting a "Basic" listing (@ over $300!!) which will have degraded service due to this new "tiered" level system.
It is bad enough that they charge the same rate to me to advertise our 1-bedroom condo as they do for a 6-bedroom villa on the ocean -- this is an unfair policy from the start as my ROI for advertising on HomeAway can _never_ be as high as the larger units.
I suppose that I should buy the highest tier listing, add 30 photos, pay to have a map (can you believe I have to pay to have a map??), and then... just maybe... someone will see my listing on HomeAway.
My level of frustration with HomeAway (and sister sites such as VRBO) continues to increase each year as they get greedier and greedier.
This _has_to_stop_.
Perhaps in a later post I can remove some of the emotion from my feedback but, just for today, thank you for reading and listening to my frustration.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsdodgertown1 Aug 25, 2011 9:42 AM (in response to otttoyboy)
I have 2 condos that are 1BR/1BA and another one that is a 2BR/2BA. I know I can't be the only one who could tell there is disparate between paying the same advertising rate for my small places and ones who have the big beach houses. I'm happy for the ones who have large properties and get the same rate but I guess if I want to run with the big dogs I have to get off the porch.
I'm going to start another thread but everyone are looking for other options for advertising. I have my own website that will be ready very soon will our 3 places on there. Has anyone had success with their own sites and be able to be found and get reservations? Just trying to find a way to get through the clutter. It's already tough enough on Homeaway to get seen but I am looking for viable options. I looked at Flipkey last night for my area and the first 3 pages were all rental agency managed properties. Looked very familiar. So much for considering Flipkey.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmiljb53 Aug 25, 2011 9:41 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
Completely agree with your comments. It is deplorable, $300 for a basic listing!! and $999 for the top listing!!! Someone is having a laugh! but it certainly IS NOT the property owners!! Do HomeAway not realise the current state of the worlds finances? People are struggling to to keep up payments on their holiday properties with reduced rental rates and fewer people out there able to afford holidays at all. Corporate greed at its most obvious. I have been with HA for several years now but will not be renewing when my current subscription expires as I hope is the case with many current subscribers. There are plenty of smaller sites out there and I am sure they will welcome any defectors from HA and offer reasonable rates and probably better service.
HA need to rethink and fast!
From a very angry JBM
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 25, 2011 10:00 AM (in response to miljb53)
I wonder how many owners even know about this - I delete most of the "junk" email I get, so it was coincidence that I read this one. I wish there was a way for bigger spread of knowledge to really let HA know people are angry. Facebook?
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsfrancesp Aug 25, 2011 10:50 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
People need to find an alternative to HA and I have found one that works for me.
I recommend people try www.pureholidayhomes.com as their customer service team are fantastic and answer calls super quick and they charge just $225 for a 12 month premium advert with unlimited late deals and unlimited early bargain features. I first saw them on the BBC news and was pleasantly surprised by their value and quality.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelstfv Aug 25, 2011 11:33 AM (in response to francesp)
Hello francesp;
I'm trying to gauge where majority of inquirers to this site (www.pureholidayhomes.com) are located. Seeing that their charge currency is quoted in Euros, are your inquirers mostly from UK or Europe? What percentage of inquirers from Europe as compared to North America (US & Canada)? Also, where is your rental located? East Coast perhaps? Are you still an advertiser at HA or VRBO? If so, what kind of inquiry percentage do you get among the sites you advertise? Thanks in advance.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsotttoyboy Aug 25, 2011 12:07 PM (in response to tfv)
I was just wondering if you folk would consider moving to a new thread -- perhaps something called "Recommended Alternatives to HomeAway and VRBO"?
I'd hate to lose focus on the issue that this thread began -- that being the heavy-handed and unfair business practices that HomeAway is using to cash-grab from us owners with the (demonstrably) false premise that they are offering us "options" and "choice" and "improvements".
In fact, how is it that HomeAway can change the business model of the site -- effectively devaluing everyone's $329 subscription -- right in the middle of our subscriptions? Didn't I pay for "A+" and now they're delivering to me "B-"?
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsswiss-house Aug 25, 2011 10:39 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
Based on our area and the size of my property, I can only charge so much, leaving me a finite amount that I can spend on advertising overall.
Here's the problem, plain and simple:
All of HA's websites compete for top place in search engine results - and that's what really matters when it comes to advertising my property. A year or so back, the top 5 for searches in my geopraphy included HA, 2 or 3 local management companies, and perhaps TripAdvisor. Searchers only had one choice for a decent listing - HA. I put my money on HA.
Then HA corporate started pushing VRBO harder for search engine placement in my geographic area, which is great for VRBO advertisers, but it now means that web searchers go 50% to the HA website, 50% VRBO . Yet both sites are owned by the same company. My HA website advertisement is now worth only 50% of what it used to be. So to get full coverage I now have to add a VRBO account.
Then along comes comes VacationRentals.com crowding into the top listings with improved web SEO - another HA corporate site. My 100% is now 66%. I have to buy a VR listing so I can compete against myself on the other 2 listings.
I only have so much money for advertising. It's now spread among 3 different sites running essentially the same software run by the same company.
And now I'm asked to pay 2X or even 3X the current rate for a competetive listing on the first 33% website ??? I can't afford it.
HomeAway - you're pricing yourself out of the business for anyone renting in mid to low price areas. Between mortgage, taxes, utilities, reserves, etc. I just can't afford a $2000 advertising budget.
And all the angry voices you are hearing are probably in the same boat. Many are going to simply bail out on you.
Here's an alternate solution:
If HA offered a premium subscription that gave me high placement on ALL the sites in their network instead of making me buy a separate premium listing on each site, I could possibly justify it.
But having to pay a premium on one site that competes with the listing I'm paying for on another site, all managed by the same company, is ludicrous.
To further explain the model I'd suggest - consider the way liability insurance umbrella policies are structured: With the umbrella policy you buy minimum liability coverage on all your individual policies (personal, auto, home, etc.) and the separate umberella moves all of them up to a much higher level of liability coverage - regardless of how many different policies you have. It's a further incentive to put all your policies with one company (good for them) and a guarantee that you're getting a truly premium service from the company by buying the additional network coverage.
Please, please stop trying to get me to pay extra $$$ just to compete more effectively against my own listing on one of your other sites. It's an idiotic, self-defeating approach to selling overlapping services, and one that will drive away customers in the long run.
Oh, and by the way, if you want us all to stay at all, modify the reviews policy to include a vetting process to weed out unproven / ficticious slanderous reviews by disgruntled renters (sorry, I just had to throw that in there too)
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsotttoyboy Aug 25, 2011 11:59 PM (in response to swiss-house)
Right-on, Swiss House! The only modification that I would make is to not encourage the tiered system at all -- even if it was HA system-wide. It is simply an unfair practice that, effectively, makes HA llstings a bidding-war between owners.
I like the e-bay model much better! You pay a listing fee based on starting price and a few other options and then a final-bid price based on what the item sells for. HA and VRBO could adopt this model to be much more fair to us small 1-bedroom units. How can we possibly compete with the larger properties in the tiered model??
The ROI for a 6-bedroom house grossing $50K per year on a $300 advertising investment is 500% of what my ROI will be by renting a 1-bedroom condo grossing $10K per year. How does the HA business model make sense for me?
swiss-house -- I loved your analysis of how the effectiveness of HA, VRBO & VacationRentals.com has eroded the value that you get from any one of them! And the price just keeps going up. We need to demand BETTER PERFORMANCE (yea, I yelled) from HA and VRBO, not degraded performance.
Taking the HA model to its maxim, wouldn't it be better to have 100 sites to advertise my property? How about 1000? One thing to carefully note is that this also does not serve our potential guests! It muddies the waters and makes it confusing for the guests who have to wade through all of these websites containing identical listings.
In an ideal world: Merge VRBO, HA, VacationRentals.com (and all the other HA companies) into a single site and fix the pricing model to be fair to owners. I've other grips but I'll save them for another post.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsvacationlady Aug 25, 2011 9:52 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I am taking a poll of how many of us may not be renewing or will be reducing the number of listings with HomeAway over this new rate structure. The Poll is being taken on the thread titled HomeAway Greed forces Owners to Bail. If you want to participate please indicate how many listings you have and what month your listing(s) will expire. Poll ends on August 31st at which time I will summarize the data and post the results.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelslynneharty Aug 26, 2011 9:33 AM (in response to vacationlady)
I will probably choose one over the other (vrbo vs ha) vs. payng for
both as I am now. However, I will be looking for a better option,
working on my own site, etc with the intention of getting out
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelstahoepanorama Aug 26, 2011 1:04 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
I have noticed that since the introduction of the tier pricing plan, I have not received a single inquiry and the number of people looking at my listing has basically stopped.
I think what made the existing customers mad is the fact that HomeAway does not provide actual incentives with the new higher pricing plans. These higher pricing plans are simply to stomp over their existing customers. If these high pricing plans provide any real incentives such as increasing actual number of inquirers or help to raise the rental rate, then everyone will be happier and they will expend their business as well, rather than just squeezing for golden eggs.
I spoke to a couple other websites such as FlipKey recently, and their customer service has said that they are getting a lot more business recently. Apparently, HomeAway is losing customers with such expensive plans and perhaps there are also disgruntled customers. By the way, I highly recommend FlipKey. Their customer service proactively calls me a couple times whenever I send them an email with questions. HomeAway customer service generally takes 1 or 2 weeks to get back to me by email.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsswiss-house Aug 26, 2011 7:47 PM (in response to tahoepanorama)
Those of us on HomeAway.com shouldn't be seeing a change in inquries as a result of the new tier system yet - unless there are a lot of deep-pocket homeowners in your area that jumped on the upgrades the day they came out. If things are slow right now, I'd chalk it up more to the distractions that families and renters overall go through as the school season starts.
It will take time for the tiered system to have an impact, and in some areas I expect it will have little impact at all if only 2 or 3 owners in the area do the upgrade. The remaining owners in the area will likely hang back, waiting to see how many others upgrade, and if no-one does there will be no need for any individual to do so. This will be doubly so in smaller areas where there are less than 20 or 30 competitors, since all will remain on the first page anyway.
I'm not sure what kind of "tag" HomeAway will put on the listings for homes in each tier, but I'm sure it will be abundantly clear which properties have splurged and which haven't, and you'll be able to tell how far down the page it has pushed your listing that way.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsdolphins Aug 29, 2011 1:15 AM (in response to swiss-house)
I, too, am so frustrated with HA and VRBO. VRBO raised its rates in a bad economy. HA added the brilliant tiered system. I've been using HA and VRBO for about 1 year and did renew at the classic rate. I have 3 properties so I'll watch to see how the the inquiris go. I'm also listed with Flipkey but have only had 3 inquiries in one month so I'm not impressed, yet. I understand that someone is trying to start another website for "Vacation Rentals by Anyone," and is asking for input. I suggest that we all give him our support.
I think that you have to be unethical to use the methods that some property managers and rental agencies are using. Apparently, they are listing several properties on one ad and not keeping a calendar; therefore, they get several calls for all the rentals. I would think that VRBO and HA would be smart enough to figure this out and deny their ads. Also, whatever happend to "By Owners." I naively felt that VRBO and Homeaway was about only listing owner properties. I will not renew with HA next year
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmanouche Aug 29, 2011 4:22 AM (in response to dolphins)
I agree with you on the multi-listings. I was researching a rental for some friends recently, and almost all the VRBO site listings I checked (in Paris) listed one apartment with photos, etc. Calendars were not available, but I was invited to "contact owner for availability". When I did this, each listing I inquired about was "unavailable", and I was directed to a link so that I could "check out all my other fantastic rentals" - none of which I would put my dog into.
Another tactic I found was to have a Calendar appear as completely booked, with a link to "my other fabulous properties" - some of which were in Paris, some in Florida, some in Croatia - again, none of which had anything to do with my request. To top it off, in both these instances, I have been repeatedly contacted by representatives/salespeople hired by the owners of these rentals. Apparently I am now on their mailing lists.
Great - more spam!
It seems that many people are paying for one listing with VRBO and just using it as a means of free publicity for other properties they own or manage. I wonder why VRBO allows this practice - surely they are not making any money from it!
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmiljb53 Aug 29, 2011 9:31 AM (in response to manouche)
If HA & VRBO tightened up on this sort of practise then maybe they would not need to charge genuine advertisers the scandalous subscription rates which they have gone to. Probably to much hard work for them and it is easier just to rip off the people who they claim to advertise for.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsswiss-house Aug 29, 2011 12:29 PM (in response to manouche)
I really wish HA and VRBO would clamp down on these "management" companies that use a single listing to advertise multiple sites. Not only is it unfair to those of us who pay for one listing per house, but it is also cutting deeply into HA's bottom line. And perhaps they wouldn't need to go down the path of this ultra-expensive tiering system if they were just getting paid their fair due from the companies that are gaming the system!
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsstevied Sep 3, 2011 6:45 PM (in response to swiss-house)
I just checked pureholidayhomes.com and entered "panama city beach, florida" and got no listings. I'm thinking this site is not gonna be much good for those of us in the USA. When I first bought my property a year ago I got a free 90 day trial on Flipkey. My very first inquiry was from that site and then I waited for two months and got no more. Maybe my situation was unique, but I don't care how good the customer service reps are if nobody's inquiring. I don't have a good answer - I'm as upset as all of you are about HA and I don't have much use for VRBO either. All I ever get from them are "bottom fishers" looking for a deal. But I think that HA customer reps in general are the most surly, know-it-all who really know nothing, non-responsive, argumentative bunch of nincompoops I've ever dealt with. I think I'd rather talk to reps in New Delhi. Let's keep talking and maybe HA will finally listen before they lose the better part of their customer base. BTW, this downhill slide has happened for me only in the last few months. I joined in June 2010 and was really happy until recently. Thanks for listening.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsdodgertown1 Sep 3, 2011 7:53 PM (in response to stevied)
After reading this post and laughing, my first thought was, you should tell us how you really feel. I even had to read it to my wife.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsstevied Sep 3, 2011 9:07 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I'm glad you liked it, and I sure wish I was kidding. Thanks!!
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsdodgertown1 Sep 3, 2011 9:24 PM (in response to stevied)
Oh, how I know. I'm the one who started this thread. I may have been the original wine (whiner). Usually time takes care of a lot of things. As I think about it more the less likely it seems that managed properties will pop for the higher tiers. I'm sure most owners will be watching closely to see if a lot of people choose the higher tiers. No point in spending more if others aren't doing it. And, if others insist on bidding up their listings then I will make a final decision in 2012 when my 3 subscriptions come due.
I haven't had to call into Homeaway for a couple of months but I will say that I have been treated with respect. I don't like Homeaway's policies of late but I really can't complain about how I have personally been treated on the phone. Of course when a company starts feeling the wrath of their customers then their phone support feel the heat. I'm sure some of their employee's want to strike back but I still find the kindness & politeness get me more results.
You are funny though and it is nice to be entertained once in awhile.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelscindy.powell Sep 24, 2011 11:22 AM (in response to dodgertown1)
I'm really annoyed by it - I took an ad out with Homeaway after very careful consideration at about the end of July - at a cost of $300+ I had to think very carefully about it. Even then, I didn't get thumbnails on all the subsidiary sites that I thought I'd get them on (nothing in the blurb about that either, the advertising indicated you get thumbnails on all sites - doesn't say anywhere that you don't).
so this tiering system was the final straw, having just paid for it, I'm now at the bottom of the pile again.
Has anyone tried getting their money back from HA? I just want my money back and be done with. Will definitely not renew, might as well throw my money into the wind now. I've had 2 enquiries since the tiering system. On other sites that I advertise on (more cheaply), I get several enquiries per day (my properties are in London, so its popular!). Except my ad now can't be found on HA where there are dozens of corporate advertisers who can afford to pay $900 to get their ads to the top of the listing.
Very underhand. they treat owners with complete contempt. We pay their bloody wages. Well I'm not going to any longer than I have to.
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelskim.williams Sep 27, 2011 3:22 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
I am as frustrated as you and totally disgusted with HA! Why is it that the owners who are renting & making money are the ones who can afford to pay more for advertising thus getting them more rentals, while us poor owners, who are struggling for rentals can't afford to pay the extra 'privelages'?? And we're the ones that need the higher rankings... I wish there was some way we could get a boycott going on this entire grading system. Like many owners I have more than one property. When I first joined HA I was automatically listed on 5 other sites that they owned. Then, they cashed in on the demand and I had to pay extra for the premium sites like VRBO & Holiday Rentals. That has been a struggle. Now, to find out that a classic listing (basic price) won't be worth bothering with, makes me see red!! I know it's a business, but surely there should be a governing body to regulate things??
New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsvincentvent Sep 27, 2011 4:02 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
So I am both a property owner and I have a little startup trying to figure out this vacation rentals directory thing.
A lot of the people I talk to about advertising have this reflection about high advertising fees: "They bring me a lot of business so I pay for my listing quickly"
This is bad reasoning and it is the reason why HomeAway has been successful.
If you are a monopoly and you have an idea of what things are worth to your customers you dont have to charge in function to what it costs you. You charge as much as you figure the client will pay because they cant go anywhere else. By over paying HomeAway has gone from high margins to ridiculously high and they flood Adwords and spend tons on SEO. Which in turns diminishes the chances of quality competition getting in and keeping their prices down.
If google wasn't busy with conflicts of intrest investing money in HomeAway and making tons on adwords they should merge all the seperate website's content into one result. All those websites belong to the same business and serve the same purpose after all.
Help yourselves: Advertise first on free websites, google maps, your own website. When you rent a house, look on HomeAway last. Otherwise we are creating a Giffen Good.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelskaren.long Sep 29, 2011 6:06 AM (in response to vincentvent)
We expired one rental and will let the other expire this winter. HA didn't
knock the door down to get me to return. I plan to try both places with my
own little website and one through our community for a year and see how this
goes. I also send out a Christmas card to all past renters and will alert
them to how to get in touch with us also.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelstkeeton_ha Nov 21, 2011 4:21 PM (in response to dodgertown1)
Hi All,
Thanks for your feedback on the Subscription Levels on HomeAway.com. We appreciate your thoughts and suggestions, and apologize for any confusion or frustration.
Please allow us to take a few moments to address a few of your questions:
What do I get with each level of Subscription? Please visit the Toolkit to learn more about our Subscription levels and additional features such as:
- Higher ranking in search results
- Homepage Showcase
- Professional Listing Review
- Featured Listings
How do Subscription Levels effect where my property appears in search results on HomeAway.com?
- The higher the subscription level you purchase on HomeAway.com, the higher your listing will rank in search results. The levels range from Classic to Platinum and include add-on features like a Professional Listing Review at the higher levels. Visit your dashboard and click upgrade for more information.
Other than the subscription levels how can I positively influence where my property listing falls in the search order?
- There are 6 free ways to make your listing more attractive to travelers and get rewarded with higher placement in search results within your subscription level. Visit our Marketing Toolkit to learn more about these free ways to improve your search ranking/sort order.
- Purchase a stand-alone item such as a Featured Listing to stand out from other properties.
Are property listings tiers identified on the property listing?
- We do not currently visually differentiate listings based on the subscription levels.
Will I still get results from my listing if I don't purchase a higher subscription level? Our Classic Level subscription still includes all of the features you've come to expect from HomeAway:
- 24 photos
- Thumbnail photo in search results
- Top ranking in search engines for most vacation rental terms
- ReservationManager calendar, online payments and inquiry response tools
- Map view in search results and on your listing
Finally, please remember that as a subscription-based site, you pay per subscription, whether you're listing a 24-bedroom estate in the English countryside, a studio apartment in San Francisco, or a houseboat off the coast of Maine. This means that regardless of the size of your property, you have access to the same advertising opportunities on our site.
Thanks again for your feedback. If you have additional questions, please visit our Subscription Level FAQs and Marketing Toolkit, submit a request to our Support team, or give us a call at 1-877-228-3145.
Happy renting,
Tiffany K
North America Product Marketing
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsotttoyboy Nov 17, 2011 5:50 PM (in response to tkeeton_ha)
>> This means that regardless of the size of your property, you have
>> access to the same advertising opportunities on our site.
Untrue -- or, at least, unrealistic. We owners with modest small properties can't possibly afford to upgrade our listings to take advantage of the "same advertising opportunities" as larger properties or similarly-sized luxury properties.
The HA/VRBO pricing model is unfair and equates the services provided by HA/VRBO with value to owners. This is not true. The ROI for a large property paying $500 to advertise is 200-300% (or more) of the ROI for a small property paying $500 to advertise.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsstevied Nov 17, 2011 6:39 PM (in response to otttoyboy)
Peter - If Tiffany thinks that her bulls
- email should even pretend to satisfy HA clients, she's crazy. Does she think that we're stupid? Her email TOTALLY misses the point of our complaints. I don't think HA give a s-. Steve
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelscindy.powell Nov 18, 2011 6:02 AM (in response to stevied)
Well said Stevied....we've just been given a corporate brush-off. they don't give a sh**.
Maybe they'll rethink it when their past loyal supporters desert them in droves at the next renewal date.
too big for their own boots. too large and greedy to be of any use to the small scale renter. Full of identikit rentals from the corporate big boys.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelsmarilyn Apr 13, 2012 3:10 PM (in response to tkeeton_ha)
Is it really fair to sort homes based on payment tiers? Is the traveler getting the best recommendation of a home for them, or are they getting the best recommendation based on who pays how much.
As a traveler, I would want to see all homes that are appropriate for me. Not the ones that have paid Homeaway the most money. I might not find a home that works for my needs for quite a while as I shift thru all the homes that have paid more to advertise (679 in my area).
As a homeowner, I wonder how many more bookings would I receive if I were on a higher tier. OR, am I better off spending my money on other sites and broadening my traveler scope.
I realize that tiers are a money maker for Homeaway, but how many home owners will become increasingly frustrated and go to other sites, thereby a loss of revenue for Homeaway.
Re: New Homeaway Pricing & Subcription Levelstkeeton_ha Apr 18, 2012 3:51 PM (in response to marilyn)
Hey Marilyn,
You raise some great questions. Let me chime in by saying that it's common for a traveler to search in a particular area based on their specific criteria for a vacation rental. Typically, a traveler already knows he/she needs 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and wants to stay within a certain budget for their dates. Once the traveler adds all of those filters, there are fewer listings, and those remaining are tailored to the traveler's needs. Even though those listings are still sorted based on the level in which they fall, the traveler is getting properties that match their requirements and properties that don't match, won't show up. Regardless of the level they've purchased.
Another way we enhance the traveler experience is by rewarding the most complete listings with higher search position within their levels. For instance, a listing with published rates, an up-to-date calendar, a few good reviews, and the closest zoom level shown on the map will rank higher within that level than a listing that's lacking those attributes. You can learn more about Quality Sort in the Toolkit: http://toolkit.vrbo.com or http://toolkit.homeaway.com.
Where you spend your marketing dollars, of course, is dependent upon what works best for your property in your area, and HomeAway recommends trying several sites before settling on the one or two that perform best for you. Another option is upgrading your level on HomeAway or VRBO to see if that makes a difference in your listing's performance. When you upgrade during your current subscription, the price is prorated for the rest of your term, so you can test out a higher level without committing to a full year at the annual subscription price.
HomeAway's goal is to provide several marketing options for our owners and managers….including multiple sites (VRBO, HomeAway, VacationRentals.com, etc.) so that you can reach your maximum renting potential.
I hope that addresses your concerns.


text:
We are fortunate to have one of the best collegiate horticulture facilities in northeast.
Here are the highlights:
* 10,000 sq ft state-of-the-art greenhouses that feature tempered glass, automatic thermal/ shade curtains, 14' high to the gutters, computer environmental controls, Netafim pressure-compensated irrigation system, semiautomatic photoperiod control area, ebb and flood bench area, tropical foliage collection, hydroponic tomato production area, cut flower production area, orchid breeding stock, hibiscus grafting stock, and our pair of department mascot iguana!
* Campus Flowershop and Floral Design Lab
* Botany and Tissue Culture Lab
* Landscape Design / Architecture Studio with 15 Computer-Aided Design Stations
* High Technology Lecture Room
* Soils / Production Preparations Area with Custom Root Media Mixing
* Campus Arboretum, Specialized Plants and Planting Areas.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There's a joke e-mail that seems to circulate on the Web every eight months or so. It includes images of outrageous design blunders, like a surveillance camera mounted behind and pointing at the back of the monitor it feeds. There's a picture of a faucet that's about six inches away from the sink into which the water should fall. There's another of a man using an automatic teller machine that's about nine feet above the ground.
All good for a laugh, but the truth is, bad design is more common than most of us realize. Bad engineering design, specifically, is simply wasteful. Poorly designed processes and systems gobble up energy and resources as if they were free or nearly free, and the inefficiency is generally invisible to most observers, including consumers who have to pay for the energy and resources.
Throughout the Institute's 27-year existence, RMI's staff has sought to influence the design, building, and retrofitting of power and industrial plants, commercial and residential buildings, and vehicles and transportation systems early in the development process so they're designed correctly upfront, eliminating costly late redesigns and inefficient creations.
One of the basic challenges our researchers run into, year after year, is that the people creating inefficient processes and systems are simply unaware they are doing so, and they don't know how to do things differently. The reasons are many and complex, but often boil down to a few familiar parameters: assumed cost (e.g., capital resources, risk, reward, etc.), time (e.g., regulatory requirements, demand, etc.), tradition (e.g., what has worked before), and skills.
"Engineering schools don't specifically teach bad engineering design," notes Alok Pradhan, RMI's project manager for 10×E. "It's just that current engineering practice is very siloed and there's a lack of integration and whole-system consideration. Designs are typically optimized for the wrong parameters. That is, they will optimize the component individually, and the pieces—when they fit together—don't work that great as a system."
Several years ago, RMI kicked off a modest project to address these problems in engineering. Known around the Institute as Factor Ten Engineering (or 10×E for short, "ten times the efficiency"), this RMI initiative is fairly straightforward: the goal is to create a series of teaching tools that will help engineers design the things they design so that they use radically less energy and resources than they currently use to achieve the same goal or create the same product. These teaching materials—centered around a casebook of extremely efficient projects and systems—will be used to teach efficiency concepts and design to both engineering students and practitioners.
10×E has its genesis in the Factor Four notion put forth by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins in their 1995 report to the Club of Rome, Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use. In the report, the authors argue that energy and resources can be used much more efficiently, to the tune of at least four times as efficient. "Factor Ten represents Amory Lovins's belief that we can do even better," notes Alok. "It might not necessarily be ten times the efficiency. It might be eight times or six times, but the basic premise of this project is to see, when these principles are applied, what's possible."
This year, the effort has gained some financial support and is picking up momentum.
"It's something we've been thinking about for a long time at RMI, but now, with Alok, we have a full-time project manager, a little seed money, and the momentum to move forward," notes Lionel Bony, who heads the Office of the Chief Scientist at RMI. "We are going from concept phase to implementation, which is very exciting."
The main focus of the 10×E project is the casebook. In it, RMI and the Institute's research partners (university engineering schools, engineering firms, and their customers) are assembling several dozen case-studies in which regular, dis-integrated engineering will be compared with highly efficient engineering design, laid out on facing pages so the reader can easily compare them and understand why the superefficient design typically costs less to build.
The cases themselves will span the range of engineering disciplines and main applications. More importantly, they'll be chosen to illustrate and develop practical principles of design integration to achieve big energy and resource savings more cheaply.
"We do want to make these cases broad so they cover multiple disciplines, and, more importantly, demonstrate the whole-system considerations that have gone into the design," Alok notes.
A case study of a data center that is currently being developed is a good example of the types of projects the book will include, he says. Researchers will compare the superefficient data center design with a normal one.
"In that particular data center they managed to eliminate chillers, which is a huge energy savings; they made the computer code more efficient so the center didn't actually have to do as much computing; they removed extra load and unnecessary servers; they changed some of the electrical hardware to make the servers 'best in class'; and they retrofitted the buildings," Alok notes. "The project was made much more efficient in terms of at least three disciplines: mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering."
While the cases will compare efficient engineering projects with projects that weren't designed to be efficient, not all the comparisons will be parallel. With Amory Lovins's 1982 superefficient home in Snowmass, Colorado, for example, researchers plan to do some energy modeling and compare the building as it exists (including an elaborate data-monitoring system now being commissioned) to a hypothetical version of the building built simply to meet the local building code.
At present, RMI researchers are working with partners along the engineering value chain to refine how the casebook will come together during the next few months, with the possibility of a "summer study" in July or August, convening researchers for intensive collaboration over a two-week period. The book itself will likely be published in 2010.
"It's very important that we drive change as soon as possible," Lionel says. "The things we design now have a lifespan of anywhere between 15 and 20 years for a car and 50 and 100 years for a building. The more we wait, the longer it's going to take to have an impact."
Perhaps more important will be 10×E's influence on people. Some leading professors and practicing engineers are already using the term "brown engineering" for standard engineering practices, and engineering students who've been exposed to "green engineering" quickly become diehard advocates, helping to build momentum for superior design. Once these young engineers enter the marketplace, their very existence will help create further demand for green engineering.
"10×E will hopefully foster an entire generation of newly and better-educated students who will go on to do amazing things because they have been properly trained," notes Lionel. "This won't just change the built world around us; it'll change our fundamental relationships with both what we build and the Earth itself."
One interesting project related to 10×E is an effort by ABB engineer Robert Martinez, who recently took a sabbatical at RMI to complete a handbook on making fossil-fueled power plants more energy efficient. Robert focused his efforts not on the plants' primary fossil-fuel-driven generation but instead on the "auxiliaries," also known as the "balance of plant" systems (fans, pumps, etc.) because they actually run on the electricity generated at the plant and can gobble up a whopping 8 percent to 15 percent of the electricity produced. He was able to reconfigure typical auxiliaries to achieve a 6 percent energy improvement with a three-year payback. This may not sound like much, but such power plants emit about 41 percent of U.S. and 32 percent of global fossil carbon.
The book will be made available to ABB's roughly 15,000 engineers. ABB is the number one provider of electrical infrastructure (transformers, transmission and distribution equipment, metering equipment, etc.) on Earth and strongly influences the electric power industry. Additionally, Robert and his ABB colleagues are helping apply their book to a new coal plant proposed in the western United States.
"I think it [the handbook] will inspire changes in a lot of designs," Robert says.
Cam Burns is RMI's Senior Editor
--Published April 2009


text:
Ltr5-08: Title IV, Part A
Official Letter
Official Letter
June 11, 2010
Dear Alameda County Superintendent of Schools and Treasurer:
This apportionment to the World Academy Charter, in the amount of $1,543, is made from federals provided to the state under Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
(PL 107‑110), to provide grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for drug abuse and violence prevention programs. Upon receipt of this apportionment, World Academy Charter School will have received 100 percent of their 2008-09 entitlement. The authorized activities that can be funded from this apportionment and other program requirements are shown in the Fact Sheet page to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Web site at
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/at/sdfsc.asp [Note: the preceding Web address is no longer valid.]
In accordance with federal law, 40 percent of available funding is allocated based on a rate of $1.5426103 per October 2007 California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) enrollment, and 60 percent based on the relative amount that LEAs received under the ESEA Title I, Part A program for fiscal year 2007-08, except for new and significantly expanding charter schools, the bases for which are current year's data, i.e., the October 2008 CBEDS and Title I, Part A funding for fiscal year 2008-09, respectively. Entitlement amounts for new and significantly expanding charter schools were initially based on their estimated 2008 enrollments as reported in the Charter School Funding Survey; these amounts have been adjusted in this apportionment to reflect actual enrollment figures. Allocations have been reduced for those LEAs that did not meet the federal maintenance of effort requirement, per Section 9521(b)(1) of the NCLB Act, as it affects the 2008-09 NCLB funding. Direct-funded charter schools must apply individually for this program.
The United States Department of Education (ED) award number for this apportionment is Q186A080005. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance subprogram number is 84.186A. This grant award is subject to the provisions of Title IV, Title VI, and Title IX, of the ESEA, as applicable, and the General Education Provisions Act (PL 107-110). This grant is also subject to the regulations in Part 299 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR Parts 76, 77, 79-82, 85, 98, and 99. The funding is appropriated in Item 6110-183-0890 of the Budget Act of 2008 (Chapters 268 and 269, Statutes of 2008). The California sub-allocation
(pass-through) number is Program Cost Account (PCA) 14347.
Under the federal Tydings Amendment, Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act 20.20 U.S.C. 1225(b), any funds that are not obligated at the end of the federal funding period, July 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009, shall remain available for obligation for an additional period of 12 months, to September 30, 2010.
Federal Title 34 CFR 80.21(i) also requires that any interest earned by LEAs on federal dollars be returned to the ED at least quarterly. LEAs may keep interest amounts up to $100 for administrative expenses. LEAs should forward interest payments for remittance to the ED at:
California Department of Education
Cashier's Office
P.O. Box 515006
Sacramento, CA 95851
To ensure proper posting of payments, please include the program's PCA number (PCA 14347) and identify the payment as "Federal Interest Returned."
A warrant will be mailed to the Alameda County Treasurer approximately four weeks from the date of this Notice. For standardized account code structure coding (SACS), use Resource Code 3710, NCLB: Title IV, Part A, Drug-Free Schools, and Revenue Object Code 8290, All Other Federal Revenue. The Alameda County Superintendents of Schools is requested to inform World Academy Charter School immediately regarding this apportionment.
If you have any questions regarding the program or use of program funds, please contact
Lynette Mayhew, Program Analyst, Safe and Healthy Kids Program Office, by phone at 916-319-0198 or by e-mail at email@example.com [Note: the preceding information is no longer valid.] If you have any questions regarding the amount of your payment, please contact Nancy Cook, Staff Services Manager I, Categorical Programs Unit, by phone at 916-323-1314 or by e-mail at email@example.com [Note: the preceding contact information is no longer valid and has been replaced by Shannon Reel, Fiscal Analyst, Categorical Allocations & Management Assistance Unit, at 916-319-0323 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.]
Susan Lange, Deputy Superintendent
Finance, Technology, and Administration Branch


text:
Town Square
Romney and Mormonism
Original post made by Cindy Cross, Parkside, on Oct 11, 2011
Should a presidential candidate's religion be an issue? Recently in the news, Rick Perry was endorsed by Baptist minister Robert Jeffress, who attacked GOP candidate Mitt Romney's faith, saying, "Mormonism is a cult." Romney was quick to acknowledge that his religion is part of the Christian community; the Mormon Church is a moniker for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Romney's Mormonism has been in the media lately, with other GOP candidates dodging the issue.
John F. Kennedy, being the first Catholic president, faced similar scrutiny about his religion prior to the election. President Obama was labeled a Muslim after he publicly claimed to be a Christian. Obama was a member of the Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago where he and his wife Michelle were married, and where his two daughters were baptized. Even with his relationship to the Trinity Church, 20% of the American people thought Obama was a Muslim during (and after) the 2008 election.
With America in the throes of a recession, protesters camping outside Wall Street, should a candidate's religion determine whether he or she is qualified to be president of the United States? Or should it be off limits?
Comments (14)
a resident of Golden Eagle
on Oct 11, 2011 at 8:28 am
Off Limits.
a resident of Del Prado
on Oct 11, 2011 at 9:25 am
Who gets to decide who is or isn't a Christian? Is there a secret organization charged with determining who gets to be part of the club? Is there a secret handshake? Is there a test to determine who gets to use the moniker "Christian"? If you pass the test, are you issued a certifcate or license or special decoder ring? How often do you need to renew your certification?
As a non-religious person, I've always been curious how people can simply claim they are Christian and dismiss others they feel are non-Christian. From the outside, all the flavors of Christianity seem to be pretty much the same, Lutherans, Presbytarians, Baptists, Christ Scientists, Jehovah Witnesses, Methodists, Mormons, etc. They all start with the same basic flavor, but add in a few fruits and nuts to distinguish their particular brand.
Who is say that Mormonism is not just the Chunky Monkey of Christianity?
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 11, 2011 at 9:33 am
Curious - your comments made me chuckle - very funny and yet to the point.
Wasn't this country founded on the tenant of separation of church and state so that all would be free to pursue their religiious believes and no one religion would dominate government?
Seems pretty straight forward to me - Romney's religion is not relevant to the discussion.
a resident of Highland Oaks
on Oct 11, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I don't care where he comes from as long as he goes at the green lights.
a resident of Gatewood
on Oct 11, 2011 at 4:53 pm
The definition of a Christian is a person who believes in Jesus Christ and follow his teachings.
Mormons believe in Jesus and read the same Bible. How is there a question?
a resident of Apperson Ridge
on Oct 11, 2011 at 9:27 pm
How is there a question? You might begin by recognizing that if it were not for state intervention, the Mormons would still be marrying their cousins' 9-year-olds. You really want to trust someone who must on a daily basis wear long-johns under his pants as an expression of religious faith? These people are nuts. Maybe that's why Romney is unable to say anything truthful about ANYthing. Give him an opportunity to lie, he'll take it. "Obama means well, but he's over his head ... I'm for reforming social security ... Obama is so incompetent ... I'll never touch social security because it's sacred ... Obama is out of his element ... I support women's right to choose ... Obama is clueless ... I've always been a supporter of human life ... "
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 12, 2011 at 11:37 pm
"should a candidate's religion determine whether he or she is qualified to be president of the United States?"
Not in the legal sense (meaning that no matter what your religion you can run for office). But as a voting American I should be able to vote for whomever I see best fits my vision of the country and if that includes religious affiliation, then so be it.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 13, 2011 at 4:21 pm
YellowRose, Curious, GX, you all started out so well, and then the thread degenerated. Our presidents have been so many different religions over the decades...as it is SUPPOSE to be ! ! ! Only truely dangerous zealots would say otherwise. In our beginning, most of our early presidents and revolutionaries were Deists...beliving in a God. period. Most recently, Nixon was a Quaker, as in earlier days.
Crusaders have become more vocal and more bigoted. Bigotry has no place in our country...and should be booed in public.
Funny, the fact that Romney's father was a Mormon in the 1960s didn't seem to matter, when he was reelected to THREE terms as a very popular Gov of Michigan ! Mitt was away from home, in his 20s at that time. Apparently people were more open minded then, not so today.
In recent decades crusaders decided to get involved in politics and have been screwing things up since then.
Iowa picked evangelical tent revivalist huckster Huckabee last time...impossible for him to ever win nationally..that's how we got Obama in the first place. If evangelicals hadn't screwed up early primaries with Huckabee, Romney would have been our nominee...McCain was broke at that point. They never learn, and are again messing with the nomination...like they're picking a preacher. Obama will win again unless the most electable person is nominated,,,to carry independents (who left Rep party in last decade) who want to vote for a Republican this time...if a 'winner' is nominated !
History repeats itself, Perry started his campaign with a tent revival. Bigots got onboard too. Now Perry is playing the religion card, which shows just how desperate he is. No doubt Iowa will again botch things up, like when they nominated Rev Pat Robertson over PaPa Bush, who the nation shortly elected president! Iowans pick 'their kind', rather than choosing the one that can actually be elected by all 'the people' and actually make it to the White House.
It's still just one vote, no matter how LOUD you shout !
I am not a Mormon, and wish religion were never mentioned in politics...it makes politics dirtier, not better.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 20, 2011 at 10:08 am
I think religion should not be relevant to politics. That said, Romney will be influenced by his religion on issues like abortion, and that for some, will be a problem.
That being said, if Romney gets the nomination, I will vote for him because the thought of voting for Obama again is scary! I am pro-choice and do not like the pro-life movement or the candidates that try to mess with the right of a woman to choose, but right now the country needs true leadership, and we must pick the person that can help the country move forward and out of this economic mess we are in. Obama failed miserably and he is clueless, he smiles and goes on vacation and keeps blaming Bush.
Romney's religion should not be a concern, his plan to get us out of this mess should be what we look at.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 20, 2011 at 10:42 am
Isn't it interesting that Romney is getting hammered by the right for his flip-flopping on issues like abortion? It is his views on these social issues that make him attractive to non-Republicans like myself.
Isn't it also interesting that he supported a woman's right to choose even though this is counter to his religious principals? Might this be a good example of how he truly believes in the separation of church and state?
I agree with 2 cents that the most important thing we can do is elect someone with very strong economic/business leadership. If we don't get our economic engine back on track, none of the rest of the issues really matter.
I do hope the Republicans can find a way to nominate someone to is attractive the the center, otherwise you are just handing the election to Obama. Compromise is key here.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 21, 2011 at 2:45 pm
GX, my 2 cents, Curious, your comments mean objectivity and common sense still live ! there is hope for a better tomorrow !!
However, Curious, you listed quite a number of assorted 'Christian' varieties, omitting Catholics. I know they believe they are superior and separate. I do agree they are a different kind of Christian, with a long list of rituals, idol worshiping, half-way to heaven beliefs and other beliefs I find mind boggling....to me far more threatening than a Mormon in today's world. I am truly angry that 6 of our 9 Supremes are catholic. talk about influencing our lives! ! (not one protestant). Catholicism was an issue for Kennedy in 1960, since NO Catholic had held office in our FIRST 200 YEARS ! But, I'm not a religious bigot, so I don't campaign against them. There are religious bigots active in this primary, however.
Now that Catholics control our government, along with the invasion of the evangelicals in the last 2 decades, some activists can't find room for a Mormom...of course it passed without mention when it was MORMON DEMocrat HARRY REID !! One competant President is no threat, and most of all protected by our constitution !! Our founders said there are to be NO religious tests for Presidents.
In today's RELIGION section of our Times is an article about 'dominionism', entitled 'Some fear Perry aims to build theocracy'... Pentecostal branch embraces Texas Perry. Perry HELD a
pentecostal 'Revival' to get their support the week he announced he was running for President'. article written by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press..
As for myself, I'll choose Magna Cum Laude financially degreed Romney, over the 'Aggie' educated Perry, who even reads his staff- written notes wrong while speaking...not having indoor plumbing is not relevant in today's high tech, financially troubled world !(sorry I'm not going for the off-the-cuff pizza maker either).
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 23, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Perry is the really big flip-flopper ! He not only VOTED for the worst of all...Jimmy Carter, he then campaigned for and contributed to AL Gore in 2000, and immediately ran to replace Gov G W B as a Republican ! ! I think that falls under the category of HYPOCRITE ! ! Now he's in Iowa trying to sell his CORE principles...as if he has any.
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Oct 25, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Romney's had a 59 point financial plan for ages (a subject he's comfortable with, since that was his major). We're still waiting for Perry's plan, which he's promised, but,....his STAFF doesn't have it written yet.. then he'll have to 'study' it, which may take awhile. Since the 'Aggie' major 'reads', rather than speak with conviction, he has to practice it enough to not stumble next time.
a resident of Ridgeview Commons
on Apr 26, 2017 at 9:37 pm
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Plenty of water that will cost more this year
By Tim Hunt | 2 comments | 782 views
Nominations due Monday for TV30's Tri-Valley 'Coach of the Year' award
By Jeb Bing | 1 comment | 331 views
Readers' Choice Ballot is here
It's time to decide what local business is worthy of the title "Pleasanton Readers' Choice" — and you get to decide! Cast your ballot online. Voting ends May 21st. Stay tuned for the results in the June 23rd issue of the Pleasanton Weekly.


text: I just got a Thunder 500 launcher and just wanted to say that if you have been debating about getting one, pull the trigger! I am very impressed with all facets of the unit including durability, height and distance of throw and sound. I have seen a level of excitement in the dogs that I just didn't see with wingers and primers. Very impressed.


text:
|Pacific Northwest Sea Run Forum No such thing as rainbow trout, only landlocked steelhead
|Topic Review (Newest First)
RE:Combat Fishing
Why not send this to:

RE:Combat Fishing
Hey Caddis,
Thanks a lot for checkin' in. So I work at Lycos.com and I mentioned this to a few people... they said "get the guy on the phone" to scoop the story. I waited... and hoped I would hear from Sinktip... but then I thought about it ans I figured who wants to be famous as the finger pointer, one leg up on a stump by the river and the other foot partially positioned upon a fallen campaign brochure laying on the fresh sawdust?
Hmmm....... HOW ABOUT ME????
Welcome to the forum, and if you're by that part of the river again take a picture or two and send them (or the scans) to me. You might not want to be on CNN but hey, we could scoop it here!
It's a great story and it should be published!
|October Caddis
RE:Combat Fishing
Hi Bill,
Sinktip told me the Bush deal was mentioned here by him. thought I'd check it out. to let you know I called all 3 Seattle stations and let them know about the heavy construction work on the banks of the Sky. Ch 7 had no interest at all ch4 very little and Ch5 was interested and said they would contact their reporters covering the event. Not much happened out there that morning due to the heavy fog and photo ops were very poor. noticed some pics on the front page of PI next morning, looks like all heavy equipment tracks and any brush cutting were covered over with loose hay. As for getting kicked off the river I believe they had every right to ask me to leave, we don't need anymore assinations attempts in our country. Also my girlfriend mentioned what had happened to me and what I observed to a very high up in the Clinton administration and his reply was, unfortunately this sort of stupidity happens like this on our side too.
RE:Combat Fishing
Channel 5 news (Seattle) is always asking people to email them with news story tips, and i think this one surely fits the bill. Damn, the arrogance and lack of respect has me pissed.
Sinktip, please consider passing this along to your friend. I got the following information from their web site at www.king5.com:
News story ideas and breaking news tips
To help us report your stories more quickly, please include a name and telephone number where you can be reached. We will keep both confidential.
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 1-800-45-NEWS-5
By AT&T Cellular: *885
By Airtouch Cellular: #885
RE:Combat Fishing
Crusty -
It sure is hard to find politicians that know how to make things really happen, eh? I guess for me the difference is that I see the promise in Babbitt, whereas I was scared sh*tless of Watt. Both Secretaries of the Interior, both mostly talk, both unable to change things dramatically - although in one case I am relieved and in the other I am somewhat disappointed.
In truth I only know of Babbitt's intentions, and do not have a record of accomplishments to go with those silver linings. I'd love to hear your perspectives, seeing as you are still in the hot bed of many environmental controversies - the pacific northwest. Owls, old growth, whale hunting, seals, salmon, dams, nuclear reservations, aluminum conglomerates, hydro power alliances... it's all mired in heated debates out in God's country.
Your comments inspire me to research the real record behind the talk. So anyone have the Elwha schedule handy?
take care,
RE:Combat Fishing
The second coming of James Watt may not be far off.
RE:Combat Fishing
I guess your confidence in Babbit is based on all he has done for us the past eight years. Riiiight.
RE:Combat Fishing
UNBELIEVABLE what the propaganda machine can do... total irony there, imagine clearing trees in the buffer zone to promote a view for PR! No sincerity there, eh?
I'd love to do a scoop on that... can you please have your freind email me?
Political note: I can say with confidence that Bruce Babbitt wouldn't be caught dead doing that for a photo op.
I'll be damned, I just can't get over how ridiculous that is!
RE:Combat Fishing
Well, Sinktip,
If you think the Republicans will put the environment above timber, mining, pulp and paper, dams and irrigation, not to mention power and any other extractive activity that will make a buck, then you can be apolitical. Not that the Democrats have shown themselves to be that much better stewards of the environment, but they are definitely the lesser of two evils.
The situation you describe just highlights the cynical and manipulative ways these amoral egomaniacs operate.
Choose your devil, may he or she be one you know.
Combat Fishing
A fishing buddy of mine got more than he expected yesterday morning. Like some of the other addicts that frequent this board, he sometimes gets up at o-dark thirty so he can get 45 minutes to an hour of fishing in before work. Well yesterday was one such morning. Encouraged by his beaching of a 25" native summer run the morning before (following me through a run - but I won't dwell on that), my friend arrived at a spot on the lower Skykomish at 5:50. As he made his way through the dark up the 1/4 mile or so to one of our favorite runs, he could hear chainsaws and heavy equipment working upriver. He had begun to fish his way down the run when out of the fog came a jetski and rider. The rider saw my friend and approached him. Imagine my friends reaction to see that the rider had an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder. My friend was informed that he was in a secure area and needed to leave NOW. When he asked why, he was told that George W. Bush was having a press conference across the river and that he was in a no access zone and would have to leave. He did.
Apparently, the noises he had heard walking in were work crews clearing trees and brush from near the bank so the candidate could be shown with the river to his back as he unveiled his plans to help salmon recovery. Now I don't want to make this a political statement but what is wrong with this picture? You cut down trees and brush NEAR the river bank so you can talk up you plan to HELP salmon runs. Hmmmm, maybe I'm just dense.
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Cooked on the grill, these five-ingredient pizzas are a flavorful entrée or appetizer.
For variety, use strips of beef, pork or turkey instead of the chicken.
Use a pizza cutter or kitchen scissors to slice or cut the pizzas into smaller sections.
Have traditional fajita toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce and salsa available to guests.
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The Cruise Association of Newfoundland and Labrador says the 2013 season saw 64 port calls to 23 Newfoundland and Labrador ports by 16 cruise operators with 20 ships.
A news release notes there were 41,376 passengers and 20,444 crew, for a total of 61,820 visitors.
The six-month Newfoundland and Labrador cruise season began May 8 in St. John's with a visit by the Silver Whisper. The season ended in Corner Brook when the Emerald Princess visited Oct. 29.
St. Anthony, Battle Harbour, Fogo Island, Hebron, Hopedale, L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, Makkovik, Red Bay National Historic Site, Torngat Mountains National Park and Woody Point are some of the ports that received cruise ships during the 2013 season.
The province is seeing an increase in the number of cruise lines that are looking to include multiple Newfoundland and Labrador ports on single itineraries.
"The cruise industry is truly a provincial affair, with visits this year ranging from Francois on the South Coast of the island to Saglek Fjord in northern Labrador," says St. John's Mayor Dennis O'Keefe, who is the chairman of the board of directors of the cruise association.
"Communities large and small benefit from the economic impact of cruise ships. Many of our ports have a distinct feel with unique charm, from small fishing towns that deliver big on cultural experiences, to bustling cities with high-end shopping and five-star dining. Our product is rich and diverse, and that creates an important competitive advantage on the global scene."
The release also noted St-Pierre-Miquelon had five port calls by five different cruise operators with five ships. The French islands hosted a combined 3,314 visits from passengers and crew.


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A toddler is dead and a 3-year-old boy seriously injured after separate serious accidents yesterday.
The 18-month-old girl died after being struck by a vehicle on a driveway on State Highway 12, Ohaeawai, in Northland about 1pm. Police said the driver of the vehicle was co-operating and an investigation was under way.
The child's name would not be released until next-of-kin were told. She was flown to Starship hospital in Auckland but could not be saved.
Meanwhile, police in South Auckland were speaking to the driver of a vehicle that struck a 3-year-old boy on Bairds Rd yesterday morning, leaving him with serious injuries.
A resident said she heard a sickening thud quickly followed by a woman's panicked screams.
"She was walking up and down the street ... you could just hear the panic."
The boy was lying on his back on the side of the road near a scooter, although there were conflicting accounts of whether the boy was walking with an adult and another child or had just stepped out of a taxi.
A police spokeswoman confirmed a male had come forward and was helping with inquiries. Earlier in the day, the police Eagle helicopter joined the search for the driver of the car, which was a dark-coloured station wagon or van.
The boy was in a stable condition in Middlemore Hospital last night.


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Never have seen Malgus or Starkiller on the pegs here. Only at the end of the year did our local TRU get anything other than more of the Episode One wave....that's when I finally lucked out and snagged a Nom Anor (why I don't know...the figure is kinda dumb looking...I think it was more an instance of "Wow! Something new! Grab it!!" than anything else), a Wedge (nice figure), the oft-mentioned Aayla Secura, Evazan and Kibatha (no red scarf one though).
Finally relented and got a few of that "online only" wave through Amazon (not the Royal Guard though...too pricey for me).
While I've liked the "Vintage Collection" offerings I did get...I'm also hard-pressed to pick one for 2012 that was just a hands-down stunner....
If I'm hard-pressed to pick a figure for a vintage "...of the year"...well, get ready to laugh folks but....it would have to be these two....the Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi with light-up sabers. I know they are not "vintage" figures, but...they're still on my desk, I still play with them and once I threw on a couple robes, well...I think they look pretty good!
As for the "Vintage" collection? I'm sorry to see it "end" (for now anyway) because I do like the retro-inspired cards and the figures have been pretty decent for the most part. But...the most surprising thing to me in the line as it stands now is...what's missing.
I'm gonna pull a "Tycho" here and end this meandering post with a list...the "MIA's" of the Vintage Collection....
Anakin Skywalker - yeah, we got the little Jedi Padawan version, but what about the "Tatooine" version? He spent most of the movie in that get-up and there was the chance to include some great accesories...most (if not all) that could have been recycled from previous versions....
Count Dooku - this one is a stunning omission to me. He's a major player in AOTC and there is no representation of him in the VC?
Padme Amidala - in the white "action" outfit, again..a missed chance to re-visit this version of the female lead and load it up with some good accessories....
Tarfful - another wookiee other than Chewie, and the figure could have benefited from an update...the ROTS one was pretty bad. Hasbro has done some really great upgrades with Chewie and it would've been cool to see that happen with Tarfful too...
Death Star Droid an upgrade would be cool
General Veers - a new "bells-n-whistles" version
Snowtrooper - same
Oola - an update on the par with "Slave Leia" would have been cool.
Anyway...I know I ended up way off topic here, but....well. I still don't have a "best of 2012" pick for the Vintage Collection....


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- 25% Recycled rubber outsole
- ISA Lite (Low impact to the environment) leather construction
- Reef Redemption Product Series - 1% of sales will be contributed to Environmental + Humanitarian Efforts
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bbTracker and Local Content warning on the BlackBerry
I've been playing with the bbTracker BlackBerry app on a BlackBerry 9000
device, running v22.214.171.1248 (Platform 184.108.40.206) firmware. bbTracker is an
open source GPS logger, which just tracks your location, but does not
include maps. Useful for very basic GPS work, or for
Open Street Map.
Anyway, when you install this application as a COD file, it is not signed like many others, and when it tries to access the filesystem on the device, the BlackBerry OS shows the following prompt message:
The application bbTracker has attempted to open local content.
But it does not contain a signature. It might not be from a
trusted source. Would you like to allow this? Yes/No
This gets very annoying, as you can imagine. And this particular prompt does not have a "do not ask me again" checkbox, so it appears every time.
I'm using a BlackBerry 9000 device, running v184.108.40.2068 (Platform 126.96.36.199) firmware.
Since bbTracker is not signed, you will need to adjust the filesystem permissions manually. Go into Options | Applications | Edit Permissions. Unsigned applications have three main groups: RIM, MIDP groups, and MIDP JSRs.
When the cursor is along the top, select MIDP groups:
Expand the Data Space, using the main menu:
I set all these options to ALLOWED:
I'm not sure what the ONESHOT, SESSION, and BLANKET options are, but allowing these permissions removes the above prompt for me.
Syndicated 2011-09-03 15:49:50 from A Pilgrim's Journal - Entries tagged advogato


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Article Archives: Massachusetts
Help for Cooperatively Owned Businesses
The Cooperative Fund of New England is a Community Development Financial Institution focused on providing financial and technical assistance to community-based, cooperatively owned businesses and nonprofits serving low-income communities throughout New England and parts of eastern New York state.
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In 2010, the Cooperative Fund made loans that resulted in the creation or retention of 616 jobs and 545 units of affordable housing throughout its service area, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. Recent loans originated by the Cooperative Fund have supported a variety of activities, including local retail food cooperatives, energy-efficiency service providers, youth services, affordable housing development, and rural and urban food production.
Loans provided to the Cooperative Fund are used exclusively as capital for its revolving loan program. Contributions and grants help the fund to provide technical and educational services that support its lending activities.
To learn more about the Cooperative Fund, including potential investment and lending opportunities, please contact Executive Director Rebecca Dunn at (800) 818-7833, or e-mail email@example.com.
Massachusetts Finances New Smart Growth Initiatives
To learn more about these programs, contact the Office for Commonwealth Development, (617) 573-1380 or visit its Web site at: www.mass.gov/ocd.
Environmentally Sustainable and Energy Efficient Housing
Financial institutions interested in investing in these developments, or supporting BCC in other ways, should contact DeWitt Jones at (617) 427-3580 or visit BCC's Web site at www.bostoncommunitycapital.org/.
New Markets Tax Credits in Massachusetts
For more information, contact David Ennius of Affirmative New Markets LLC at (617) 387-4300.
Small Allocations of New Markets Tax Credits Can Go a Long Way
Contacts: Evelyn Friedman at Nuestra Development Fund (617) 989-1202; Linda LeFever at Northside Community Development Fund (412) 322-0290.


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Anybody watch this show at all? The technology is still really rough and the robots have to have a giant t-bar attached to them to keep them standing, which totally defeats the purpose of them having legs in the first place IMO.
It does have George Lucas' daughter, Amanda, as one of the contestants, so it might be interesting to keep up with to see how far she goes. But otherwise it just feels like a giant version of Rock-'em-Sock-'em robots to me.
You can watch the first episode on the SyFy website:


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There's no place like New York! There's also no style like your style. Keep it fresh in the Brooklyn tee from Affliction. It features distressed graphics with a rhinestone overlay over a heart graphic, a deep v-neck collar and thick contrast stitching along the seams. There's no one quite like you!
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Last night there was a firefight as Taliban attacked Afghan checkpost(s). This Taliban was killed and put on public display at the "steeple," which steeple amounts to a traffic circle in a village of unpaved dust and rock. The people were thickly crowded around the body but stepped back while I made quick p...


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Welcome disc golfer! You can login or create an account.
Questions? Call us: (785) 258-2494
The Ching Juju - Power is a multi-purpose short range golf disc suitable for putting and approaching. It has a tall flat nose for chain target surface contact, and to slow it down for controlled upshots. The flight is designed to be neutral in stability with minimal fade so you'll land flat where you aim. The rim depth is similar to typical putter profiles, but is comfortably enhanced by the Excelerator contours. Perfectly balanced for steady-line accuracy.
Available in Power Line. Weights 173-175 grams. Dead-on straight, low fade.


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Why Consent Counts! is such an important initiative
Almost any day, you can find some reference to our kink lifestyle in the media. Because our choices are often sensationalized and mis-represented, it can be difficult for public organizations, our government, law officers and our courts to understand the vital difference consent makes. And within our own communities, we need to share the message that for all orientations and experience levels - Consent Counts!
Incident Reporting & Response Mission Statement
The NCSF Incident Reporting & Response Team's purpose is to provide assistance to individuals and groups within the alternative sexual expression communities who become victimized by actions of local authorities in opposition to the freedom of expression of SM, leather/fetish, or swing practices.
NCSF is not legal aid, nor do we offer specific legal advice for individuals. NCSF is a resource for the members of the kink, poly and Lifestyle communities and for people seeking information about them. NCSF provides publicly available information on kink and nonmonogamy for consenting adults. We advocate on behalf of the BDSM, swing and polyamory communities.
The issue must openly, directly, and specifically relate to BDSM, swing or poly activities between consenting adults; in other words, the problems you face must relate to or be caused from your involvement in BDSM, swing or poly without question.


text:
Finally my last semester. All I have to do is pass my little three course load and I should be off to University. Oh, yeah I also have to apply to University. I can't wait.
Anyways, back to school
Finally my last semester. All I have to do is pass my little three course load and I should be off to University. Oh, yeah I also have to apply to University. I can't wait.
Anyways, back to school
Two thousand and two, yeah, I made it through another year. I hope this coming year is just as good if not better :)
Speaking of new years, my new years resolution is to remove all microsoft operating systems from MY computers. So now I have to convert my laptop to linux when I get a chance. I am going to do it, it is now in writting in my diary.
Yay! school is finished.....oh but now I have to wait for my grades......shit.
Well school aside, it is the season to be jolly, so I am off to a great and mystical place known as Hemmingford. I shall spend the holidays there and return afterwards.
One final down, and I don't think I did too bad. Now I just have Chemistry left. Soon I can start taking things off my to do list.
I can't wait, for school to be over. I am so excited a the prospect of having my regular life back, and seeing Arianne on a regular basis.
And finishing cleaning my room, and stuff. Oh and of course computers, boy do my machines need me....or is it the other way around ?????
I am so tired,.....so much shit to do, and I am getting very little studying done......
All I want to do is hack,.... I can't wait to hack......I wish the credit card company would get off my back,.... I want to hack......
Finally finished my last test : ) I only have exams left :( Well back to studying.
I will be back to computers eventually.
I updated my site to use my advogato diary, this way I can update more frequently and with more ease.
Still studying for my next test, and then I hope to have a break, but I doubt it. Oh well, only a semester more of this stuff before I get to play with computers :)
I need to put up a book list.
So the homework paid off. I just finished my test, and I feel quite relieved. I was hoping to get some coding done, but of course the school gods will not have it. Another test for chem 2 coming up this week. Every week there is a test, oh well I can start coding over Christmas :(
Well I just created my first advogato diary entry. Now off, to real work......homework, yuck!
New HTML Parser: The long-awaited libxml2 based HTML parser code is live. It needs further work but already handles most markup better than the original parser.
Keep up with the latest Advogato features by reading the Advogato status blog.
If you're a C programmer with some spare time, take a look at the mod_virgule project page and help us with one of the tasks on the ToDo list!


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Date & Time
Friday, November 30, 2012 (All day) to Saturday, December 1, 2012 (All day)
Locations vary
Event Details
Join in this annual shop-athon, when 100-plus local shops and eateries—including Croghan's, RTW, and Sugar Bakeshop—donate 10 percent of the day's sales to Lowcountry AIDS Services. A Friday night party at Gwynn's of Mt. Pleasant and a Saturday morning brunch kick off the festivities. Locations, times, & prices vary.
(843) 747-2273, www.aids-services.com


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The tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq has produced an outpouring of retrospectives. The following is an editors' pick of discussions at CFR meetings that included debate and analysis from speakers including Richard Perle, Gareth Evans, Ahmad Chalabi, Richard Haass, Chris Hill, and Hoshyar Zebari.
Jan. 22, 2002 Getting Saddam: A Debate
Photo: Khalid al-Mousuly/Courtesy Reuters
Leon Fuerth, former national security adviser to Vice President Al Gore, and Richard N. Perle, chairman of the Defense Science Policy Board, debate regime change in Iraq:
Perle: "I submit to you that while there are risks, the risks of doing nothing, the risks of waiting and leaving it to Saddam to decide whether and when he will take action against us, are far more dangerous."
Fuerth: "I agree that we should get rid of Saddam Hussein, and since I don't agree that it should be put off indefinitely, what I am talking about is preparing a realistic path toward that goal, one that we can present to others and then proceed. But I don't believe that preparing an American oligopoly is the right way to organize it."
March 10, 2003 Is There an Alternative to War?
Photo credit: Goran Tomasevic/Courtesy Reuters
Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group, warns about the looming war in Iraq:
"I think the consequences of this particular war are potentially quite disconcerting in the sense that the risk/reward balance is tilted much more on the risk side than for any previous major encounter I can recall in the last fifteen, twenty years or so."
June 10, 2003 A Conversation With Ahmad Chalabi
Ahmad Chalabi, co-founder of the Iraqi National Congress, speaks with Tom Brokaw about the U.S. invasion:
"The weapons of mass destruction are in Iraq. The way to get them ... they've gone about getting them in, I don't think, a very impressive way. They have had very little input from Iraqis on this issue. I don't think that they have many of the scientists who were involved in the weapons program to talk to at this time, and there were thousands of people, engineers and scientists, they know where the weapons are."
Sept. 10, 2003 Remembering Arthur Helton
Senior UN official Edward Mortimer, reading a note from the UN Secretary-General, pays tribute to Arthur Helton, a CFR senior fellow and top humanitarian expert killed in the terrorist bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad:
"We at the United Nations knew him as an exceptional ally and partner, one who always asked important questions, and did not flinch from ambitious answers. We recall with affection and with sadness his gentle manner and great energy. He made a vital contribution to our debates on humanitarian action, and his writings will continue to guide us in the future. Arthur's luck ran out that awful day in Baghdad, but only after a lifetime of being in the right place, again, and again, and again."
March 16, 2004 Iraq: One Year After
Photo credit: Lucas Jackson/Courtesy Reuters
CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot reviews the Iraq campaign in the aftermath of a terrorist bombing in Madrid that prompted Spain's withdrawal from the U.S.-led military coalition:
"I certainly think that right now Iraq has become a leading battleground in the war on terrorism. And it would be disastrous if we were to run up the white flag, as the Spanish seem to be doing right now. I think that would send a message that would reinforce the message of [the 1993 U.S. withdrawal from] Somalia, reinforce the message of [the U.S. withdrawal from] Beirut in 1983, which is that we can be rolled pretty easily by a few suicide bombers."
Nov. 8, 2005 The Way Forward in Iraq
Journalist Robert Fisk, a veteran correspondent in Iraq, assesses the security situation there:
"I think all the dreams, the project of democracy, of hope for the future of new freedoms across the Middle East, is probably dead. From Mosul right down to Basra across the roads and highways and countryside are in the hands of armed men, armed tribesmen, insurgents. It's gone. There are armed men half a mile from the Green Zone in Baghdad, as we know in the Haifa Street area. Large areas of Baghdad are slowly slipping out of government control now."
May 8, 2007 Assessing the Surge in Iraq
Photo credit: Ellen Ozier/Courtesy Reuters
With the U.S. military surge in Iraq in full gear, CFR Senior Fellow Stephen Biddle offers his take on the prospects for success:
"I think a success is possible, but it's unlikely; this is a long shot. If it's going to happen, the only way it will happen is by a series of negotiated deals between the U.S. and the government of Iraq and to particular factions in which they agree to take combatants who remain armed and in the field and capable of violence, but they agree not to use that violence potential and instead to observe a cease-fire because they think it's in their self-interest to do that."
May 4, 2009 War of Necessity, War of Choice With Richard Haass
CFR President Richard N. Haass discusses his new book on the two Iraq wars with New Yorker editor David Remnick.
"People really believed that [the second Iraq war] was going to be a transforming event. They thought that the change in Iraq was going to happen, it was going to be big, dramatic, and relatively inexpensive. This was going to become a democratic model society. And this, in turn, would set in motion a cascade of copycat revolutions throughout the region."
February 18, 2010 Iraq: The Way Forward
Photo credit: Khalid al-Mousuly/Courtesy Reuters
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill gives a readout on electoral developments:
"Our interest in a long-term relationship with Iraq rests on our interests with a long-term relationship with a democratic Iraq. Our interests -- our understanding of how the Kurds, for example, play a role in Iraq is an understanding that Kurds will only be in Iraq insofar as there's an Iraq that lives up to its democratic constitution."
September 20, 2011 A Conversation With Hoshyar Zebari
Iraq's foreign minister assesses the country's trajectory ahead of the pullout of U.S. ground troops:
"Iraq used to answer this question of [national security] with Saddam Hussein through building huge armies, weapons, WMDs, attacks and threats and so on. Now the new Iraq has abandoned all this, and it has to rely on its system, its political system, its economic prosperity and the wealth it has with the good, neighborly relations with its neighbor -- I mean, with a country like Iran, where we have nearly 1,300 joint border lands, let's say, with them, and with many, many interests."
Maya Dawit contributed to this roundup.


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In a recent interview, Ben Carson mentioned visiting with Rs in DC and discussing a Republican alternative to O-care.
I can't be sure that the things mentioned in this article are the plan that Carson was referring to. This items mentioned in this article, though, certainly do cover several of the points that O-care was supposed to fix, but with far less direct involvement of the govt.


text:
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