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Submitted by BeachwoodBison.org
Beachwood's indoor track team is nearing the midway point of its winter season.
On Saturday the Bison traveled to Youngstown State University and turned in a strong performance. According to head coach Willie Smith, the Bison are nearing their goal of getting as many athletes as possible qualified for the indoor state track meet, which will be held at the University of Akron on March 16.
"The most important thing people are trying to do is get into position to qualify for the indoor state championships," Smith said. "You're trying to be in the top 16 of each event to ensure yourself to be in the tournament."
Senior Gabrielle Perryman was the Bison's top performer on Saturday. Her 15-foot, 11.5-inch long jump was the best at the competition and she was second in the triple jump with a mark of 32-feet, 10.75 inches.
"That's her best so far," Smith said. "I think she's hanging around 10th in the state now in (the long jump). She's excited about her jump events. Triple jump is her best of the two. She's in good shape qualifying for both events."
Former Bison Olivia Mayfield dominated the two jumps the past four years. She was fifth in the state last spring.
It's now Perryman's turn to see what she can accomplish in the jumps.
"She's been on relays, so this is her first attempt and best chance at jumping," Smith said. "We had Olivia Mayfield the past four years, who has placed in the state tournament in indoor and outdoor the last 3 years. Gabby is trying to step into her shoes and those are big shoes to fill, but she'll be our best alternative to replace Olivia. She'll do a good job and has done a good job thus far."
Perryman, along with senior Alexandria DeVaughn, were part of Beachwood's 4x100 meter relay team that finished fifth at last spring's state tournament.
DeVaughn ran an 8.37-second 60-meter dash to finish 10th. She was even faster in her preliminary heat with an 8.24 run.
Freshman Hannah Kahn finished 12th with an 8.44-second time.
"Alexandria has been sick but she's battling through it," Smith said. "They both made improvements from the last time they ran, so that's a little better. Their goal is to at least get better each time they compete. That's what they're doing."
Kahn also ran in the 200-meter dash. Her 29.22-second time was good for 29th place.
"She's got amazing potential," Smith said. "I'm looking for great things out of her. That's the first time she ran that competition, so she just has to learn the event."
Samantha Tall and Jessica Tall competed in the 800-meter and 1600-meter runs, respectively.
Samantha, a junior, finished 30th with a time of 2:50.15.
"She was running with a migraine," Smith said. "She's one of our veterans, a middle distance girl that's going to do some good things for us."
Jessica, a freshman, ran in her first competition. She posted a 7:13.16 time in the 1600.
"We got some jitters from her," Smith said. "She's a cross country girl so the 1600 is a little fast for her. She's not ready to run the longer distance race yet so we put her here to get her feet wet."
DeVaughn, Perryman, Kahn and Jaelyn Pounds combined to finish fourth in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:50.43.
"That was a big improvement right there," Smith said. "Our two freshman and two seniors did an excellent job. That's our best event right now. That's our best chance of getting a medal in the state tournament."
Samantha Tall, Pounds, Hannah Richardson and Perryman ran a 4:29.40 in the 4x400 meter relay to finish eighth.
"That was our first time running it and we're in the top 15 right now," Smith said. "That's an event we'll get better in and will probably be our next best relay."
Richardson, a junior, and Pounds, a freshman, finished 21st and 31st, respectively, in the 400-meter dash.
Richardson ran a 1:05.87 and Pounds finished with a 1:08.50.
Both are dual-sport athletes.
"Pounds is a basketball player and we've only had a couple people that tried to double in sports since I've been coaching," Smith said. "That's a tribute to her and she's going to be a help to us.
"Richardson is a cheerleader and when cheerleading is done we'll be able to get more from her. This was the first time she ran in a competition so that's a good start for her."
Senior Charles Thomas was the boys' team's top performer.
He finished 22nd in the long jump with a leap of 16-feet, 6 ¼ inches and 23rd in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.14.
"He's still learning the (long jump)," Smith said. "He's got a little ways to go but he's getting comfortable. He's got the hard part out of the way, getting his marks and not fouling. In other words, his steps are very good and that's usually the hardest part. You have to hit the board without landing on the board for a foul. His steps are fine and his speed is good, no he has to learn the execution of the event."
Thomas also finished 33rd in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.72 seconds.
Sophomore Tamir Yankevich, a transfer from Michigan, finished 53rd in the 60 with a time of 8.22 and 38th in the 400-meter dash with a 59.28-second score.
"He's getting his feet wet to Ohio track and field," Smith said. "(The 60) is not going to be his best event, but we're trying to get his speed up. He'll compete in the long hurdles, but we're trying to get him in shape. He's going to help us in an event we really need."
Senior Jordan Rose set a new personal best with a 5:19.66 in the 1600-meter run.
"There's a long ways to go but for him it's about improvement and getting his confidence up," Smith said. "He hasn't enjoyed a lot of success up to this point in his career but he's a battler and being a senior he's figured out some things."
All in all, Smith saw a lot of improvement out of his team and he's confident the Bison will continue their streak of competing in the indoor state meet.
"Every year we've had people in the state meet and our goal is to get representation there again, as a way to get kids to look to the highest level of achievement and work toward it," he said. "Our goals are pretty lofty. We want kids to dream big and think big."
Smith has been at Beachwood for 14 years. He started the indoor program about 12 years ago and has competed in the indoor state championships for seven years.
The Bison return to action next Sunday at Oberlin College.


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A. If Moses was speaking literally and not figuratively of the "three day journey" he requested of Pharaoh (Exod. 3:18; 5:3; 8:27), that was not a long enough time for them to get to the traditional site in the southern Sinai peninsula. Therefore, some scholars place the mountain near the oasis of Kadesh-Barnea.
B. The traditional site called "Jebel Musa," in the Wilderness of Sin, has several things in its favor.
1. A large plain before the mountain.
2. Deuteronomy 1:2 says it was an eleven day journey from Mt. Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea.
3. The term "Sinai" (BDB 696) is a non-Hebrew term. It may be linked to the Wilderness of Sin, which refers to a small desert bush. The Hebrew name for the mountain is Horeb (i.e., wilderness, BDB 352, cf. Exod. 3:1; 17:6; 33:6).
4. Mt. Sinai has been the traditional site since the fourth century a.d. It is in the "land of Midian," which included a large area of the Sinai peninsula and Arabia.
5. It seems that archaeology has confirmed the location of some of the cities mentioned in the Exodus account (Elim, Dophkah, Rephidim) as being on the western side of the Sinai Peninsula.
C. The Jews were never interested in the geographical location of Mt. Sinai. They believed that God gave them the Law and fulfilled His promise from Gen. 15:12-21. "Where" was not the issue and they did not intend to return to this site (i.e., no annual pilgrimage).
D. The traditional site of Mt. Sinai was not established until Pilgrimage of Silvia, written about a.d. 385-8 (cf. F. F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of the Acts, p. 151.
Copyright © 2013 Bible Lessons International

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C-level Perspectives on How HR Can Take on a Bigger Role in Strategic Planning
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), on behalf of IBM and Oracle, recently surveyed a number of C-level executives in North America and Western Europe to understand how HR can take on a bigger role in driving growth. The EIU took a look at whether the HR function is managing to forge the close and robust relationships with the two most important decision-makers in the organization--the CEO and the CFO. It also investigated the precise nature of these working relationships, how they have been affected by the recent economic downturn and how they vary across industries and regions.
The resulting reports highlight the actions senior HR leaders can take to place themselves at the heart of the debate on a company's strategic direction. In this session, IBM and Oracle HCM specialists will review the findings of the EIU research reports and provide guidance on how technology innovation can help to align talent strategies with long term business goals.
Participants will gain an understanding of the following:
• Results of the Economist Intelligence Unit study around "Executive Perceptions of the HR Function"
• Differences in perspective between CEOs and CFOs
• Identify how the HR professional can take a bigger role in driving business growth
With the growth of the modern knowledge economy, the quality of an organization's people has never been more critical to its financial performance. Consequently, the HR function has sought to broaden the purely transactional responsibilities it conducted in the past--such as administering the payroll and employee benefits--to play a more central role. HR directors are striving to prove that they have the necessary commercial perspective and experience to make the desired transition to valued strategic partner.
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News & Events
February/March edition of Free out now!
January 28, 2013
In the February/March 2013 issue of Free:
So, are you a Hobbit? What a strange question! Of course, you're not! You probably don't live in a hole in the ground, smoke a pipe and have hairy toes! Believe it or not, there's a lot that Hobbits can teach us about life. CHRIS NICOLSON looks at the things we can learn from our small, furry-footed friends and invited you to take Free's quiz, to find out just how Hobbit-like you are!
GOING VIRAL (Or What to Do When You Suddenly Find Your Name All Over the Internet)
Your friend posts a photo on Facebook showing a challenge he's set you and suddenly you find that the post has gone viral. All of a sudden, complete strangers are clamouring to be your friend and are judging your actions. Not every comment is accurate; not every comment is pleasant; and some are just plain weird. So what do you do? How do you react? CHRIS STONE tells Free what he did − because that's exactly what happened to him.
'It's not you …' You might have heard that expression in films or on TV, you might have heard people using it in real life, you might have had it used on you, or you may even have used it yourself. DAVID 'FERG' FERGUSON asks how many of you have heard that line before ...
'Please, God, send us a hot water bottle.' DR HELEN ROSEVEARE heard the ten-year-old girl's prayer and tried to hide her dismay. For who would ever think of sending a hot water bottle to the Equator …? Read what happened next, and then find out why Bible verses Helen had memorised were to give her hope during the most terrifying experience in her life …
SING! SING! SING! Songs from the Past That Last
How would you feel if someone knew absolutely everything about you? Embarrassed? Ashamed? Seriously worried?! IAIN MACASKILL reminds us that God knows all there is to know about us − but rather than freak us out, knowing that He sees all and still cares for us, should be one of the best feelings in the world!
Have you ever seen the general knowledge board game called 'Where is Moldova?'? Apparently it's 'fun for all the family'. But why does it have this name, and what does it have to do with two lads from Lewis? STEPHEN CAMPBELL will tell you …
Read SPAGHETTI BLOG by the totes amazeballs, ML STONE, catch up with COLIN ROSS as he goes Coolly Rambling for the very last time, and find out why the campers at Kincraig 1 & 2 barely had time to draw breath … There's all that − and more − in the latest issue of Free.
If you want to make sure you receive a regular copy of Free, simply send a cheque for £12.00*, made payable to 'Free Church of Scotland', to: Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH1 2LS.
(* £9 per annum for six issues, plus £3 post & package. £18 for overseas subscriptions.)
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"You can't really pick up too much from watching that show, but I got their snap count," Watt told Erik Kuselias during an interview on "Pro Football Talk." "It's something you can really pick up (from) just about any TV copy. But I watched that, and that's one thing I picked up. I used that a little bit." (via Blacksportsonline)
Really? He actually did that? That's pretty cool I guess, right? I don't think it mattered thought because Miami is awful. Might be the worst team in the NFL. Their rookie QB played atrocious, but his wife is still very hot.


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If you are looking to purchase debt, or are wanting to sell debt, then you are invited to debt buyers of America. Where sellers and buyers can come together and grow their businesses through networking and discussions.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Members: 225
Latest Activity: Jul 23
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Tru-Debt,LLC is selling portfolios for $1500 please contact me @ (404)610-0527 or email me @ email@example.com
Updated the RSS feed to pull in the latest portfolio sale opportunities.
I am new to this site but I am not new to the business, you can visit our website at www.buydebtonline.com or send us an email at email@example.com Most brokers or sellers won't allow the buyer to test the paper by making a smaller first purchase but here, we are confident in our product. We offer a $500 Dollar start up deal for new clients. We assure that your business will repeat. Contact us at anytime 1-855-901-DEBT
Good Morning folks. Last week was pretty awesome. We are firm believers that if it isn't broke do not fix it. Last week we asked that you email us with what file you are looking for, specs, and your budget nice feed back. so again any interest you may have send an email to email@example.com. No matter the file or budget. Thanks have a blessed day.


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Panjo is rapidly becoming the anti-eBay. It's a place where you can find nearly anything for any bike or adventure you've got your heart set on. We gathered four great Panjo finds just in time for the weekend. Each up for grabs at considerably reasonable prices.
Four Items For Sale On Panjo Right Now
Fast pro circuit national bike with lots of spare parts available $2,900.
FZ6R Frame Sliders – No Cut – Shogun
These sliders are $25 under ebay MSRP.
Great condition for only $50 shipped.
Excellent condition, looking to trade for a Magura 13 or 16. The owner was wise enough to keep the original packaging and paid $239.74.
Check out Panjo and let us know what you find.


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By CRISTIN REECE
Palestine Herald-Press
Palestine Regional Medical Center's EMS teams recently got a leg up on every other emergency healthcare organization in the country.
Thanks to a grant earned by the efforts of Emergency Medical Task Force Texas Director Beth Powell and Regional Trauma Advisory Council Director Sheryl Coffey, local emergency healthcare professionals have added the Cheetah NICOM monitoring system to the ever-growing collection of cutting-edge technology used in patient care.
Cheetah's monitoring system (NICOM) is a non-invasive cardiac output monitor now used by many leading medical centers around the globe, according to hospital officials.
The new system allows EMS technicians to better monitor intravenous fluid responsiveness and pinpoint exact amounts of fluids a patient may or may not need.
"I can't tell you how jazzed we are to have these," PRMC EMS Director Chuck Skinner said. "Before, we really could only just guess, but now we're able to determine exact amounts of IV fluids a patient needs. It also tells us exactly when to stop, too. That's extremely important because too much or too little fluids can be the difference between life and death."
Better hemodynamic monitoring enables "a tailored approach to fluid management, which in turn implies providing better oxygen delivery to the tissues in patients...," states promotional information published by the device's developer, Cheetah Medical Inc.
"We've been told this is a sort of 'holy grail' in the field," Cheetah Medical representative Jake Allred said. "This provides a very different, much more accurate approach to patient management and Palestine Regional's EMS are the only ones using this technology in the nation right now."
According to Cheetah's website, aggressive fluid administration is considered one of the main factors that determine survival, along with early antibiotic treatment. The devices can also be used when treating critically ill patients and during surgeries and operations.
"Fluid optimization in critically ill patients is a strong and compelling unmet need, currently determination of fluid responsiveness is addressed either by "gut feel" or by usage of technologies that are suboptimal and/or invasive," the site states.
The company's website, cheetah-medical.com, states Cheetah Medical is a leader in non-invasive Cardiac Output and Hemodynamic monitoring. Cheetah Medical was founded in 2000 and focused on the development and commercialization of an accurate non-invasive solution for the monitoring of critically ill patients. Cheetah Medical is a private company based in Tel Aviv, Israel and Vancouver, Wash.


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Ideal stopover hotel
Close to Bugis Street Junction. Comfortable rooms. Good value for money, popular for those having a stopover or wanting a business hotel at a reasonable price. Good location and pleasant staff. Good value for money.
4 Reviews
Once again I stayed here last week and I really love this hotel. Nothing flashy but a great place to stay. The Allson Hotel is situated between 2 MRT's and easy walking distance to Bugis Street and Funan. The hotel has the standard pool and gym and it also has a laundromat coming off the pool area. The buffet breakfast was a great way to start the day - continental or asian style. The rooms are very clean with private safe and cable TV. It was fantastic to see that the staff were the same from my visit 2 years ago. The concierges Mano and Suilami will do anything to help you during your stay. They know the city and are very friendly and they actually rembered us from our previous visit, particularly my son who is a tall, blonde and talkative Australian. I will definitely stay there on my next visit.
Unique Quality: Beautiful dark asian furniture gave a very exotic feel to the hotel.
Directions: Several blocks from Bugis Street.
We stayed 3 nights and were quite pleased with our room. Exceptionally clean and a fabulous breakfast . The staff are quite friendly and helpful with directions etc. The tour desk is helpful as well.
Unique Quality: Wlking distance to Bugis Village for shopping.
Directions: Within Central Business District
We organised this accommodation at the airport and paid $125 Singapore dollars for a double room.
The room itself was of good quality, and the hotel has a gym and a pool. The service was good as well as reliable. I will be recommending this hotel to my in-laws when they visit Singapore later on this year.
The Allson Hotel Singapore provides travellers with modern facilities with the best of traditional oriental charm.
It is strategically located within the Central Business District and is within walking distance to Suntec City, the City Hall MRT, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Bugis Junction and Village, Marina Square, the Singapore Art Museum and the Civic Art Centre.
From the hotel, there is also easy access to Singapore Changi International Airport (only 20 minutes drive away), the Orchard Road shopping belt, Little India and other places of interest.
You can try the food court which is just beside the hotel.
Directions: 8 mins walk to City Hall MRT Station
Close to Bugis Street Junction. Comfortable rooms. Good value for money, popular for those having a stopover or wanting a business hotel at a reasonable price. Good location and pleasant staff. Good value for money.
The location of the Hotel is just walking distance to a few interest sites. Further to that the bus services is plenty and convenient (just across the Hotel there is a bus stop to take people to some of the famous shopping centers in Singapore and Chinatown).
The staff are friendly and is always ready to help or assist in anyway they can. Also I noticed that the Hotel is very accomodative when extras is needed for the room.
Food serve is ok but could be better if there are more varieties in the Buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, it is somewhat balance by restaurants or hawkers stalls situated at the side of the Hotel who serves fantastic food for lunch and dinner only.
Overall, I think my stay in Singapore's Allson Hotel is well worth it and I don't mind going back to stay at the Hotel in my next trip.
This hotel is nicely located to the famous Raffles Hotel. As a result it is also well located to restaurants, malls, and the river. This hotel is a good balance of price, location and facilities. The room was a nice size but the decor was a bit dated. The bathroom was also a nice size and clean. One minor problem I had was that when you left the room the power was cut, which meant you couldn't recharge batteries for you camera etc. On the whole I would stay again. It has internet access in each room via ethernet. And it is well located to restaurants, malls etc.
Unpleasant, unpleasant and unpleasant.
First class business hotel my ass!!! Be warned - this hotel looks nothing like what it does on the website. I would never recommend anyone stay here and am very upset that I subjected my Mum to 4 nights in this hotel.
Except for the two receptionists, the staff were rude. The doorman even snapped at us when we went to take our own bags to our room. Extremely noisy room floor - it was as if the walls were paper thin. The person in the room next to us seemed as though he lived there and we had to listen to his daily routine (including morning pee and doorbell ringing when someone came to collect him - just what you want when you are on holidays and trying to sleep in!) Smelt very musty. One temperature in the room - freezing. No laundry powder provided in the laundrette - which would have been fine if we were told that when we asked reception to change our notes into coins so we could use the laundrette - not impressed at tracking our bundles of laundry down the windy stairs only to find no powder, then had to take the laundry back to our roooms, go and get powder from the 7-Eleven and then track the clothes back down to the laundry. Very expensive too (especially given we had to provide our own powder). One day, we had no replacement toilet roll and no hand towels. Internet prices were daylight robbery
The location was good - its only good redeeming feature. None at all.
I stayed at the Allson for 2 nights on the way home to Australia from the UK, and was very pleasantly surprised!! This hotel provides excellent value for money!! The room I had was spacious and spotless, plus there was a very nice pool area. The breakfast was much better than I had expected, nad the hotel is very centrally located with Orchard Road etc , Chinatown and Little India within easy walking distance. All in all a great experience and I would recommend to anyone looking for good value accomodation!!
Nothing flashy but a great place to stay. The Allson Hotel is situated between 2 MRT's and easy walking distance to Bugis Street and Funan. The hotel had the standard pool and gym and it also had a laundromat coming off the pool area. The buffet breakfast was a great way to start the day - continental or asian style. The rooms were very clean with private safe and cable TV. The staff were fantastic, especially the concierges. They knew the city and were very friendly. I will definitely stay there on my next visit.
I have narrowed down hotels to Allson (Marina Bay) and Tristar Inn
Both have got good reviews from asia rooms and both have a pool.
Allson is A$95 Tristar is A$56
Does anyone know these hotels and whether one is twice as good as the other ?
I would say for for Allson Hotel becos it is situated in Bugis area which is very convenient for shopping and it is in town. With Bugis MRT station nearby and many food nearby, this will be a better choice.
Tristar is located in the red light district and does not have nearby MRT Train station.
It pays to pay a few more dollars for the mor pleasant environment.
I agree with imstress. Go with Allson, which incidentally is not really in the Marina Bay area. Try to avoid any hotels in Geylang because I think the area is getting more seedy lately.
Besides the good proximity (10 minutes walk) to MRT station, there is this 24 hours food court to the right of Allson hotel that serves some really delectable hawker fares and Bugis Junction Mall as well as Raffles City Shopping Centre are close as well.
Just my 2 cents.... :-)
Thanks for answers
Allson it is
The Allson Hotel is located on Victoria Street in the heart of the city. It is certainly better than Tristar Inn in Geylang, which is a sleazy red-light district.
1 Beach Road, Singapore, 189673, Singapore
7 Raffles Ave, Singapore, 039799, Singapore
22 Orange Grove Rd., Singapore, 258350, Singapore
7 Raffles Blvd, Marina Square, Singapore, 039595, Singapore
Latest Singapore hotel reviews
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We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
Address: 101 Victoria Street, Singapore, 188018, Singapore


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|dewan or diwan (dɪˈwɑːn)
|(formerly in India) the chief minister or finance minister of a state ruled by an Indian prince
|[C17: from Hindi dīwān, from Persian dēvan register, book of accounts; see
|diwan or diwan
|[C17: from Hindi dīwān, from Persian dēvan register, book of accounts; see
in Islamic societies, a "register," or logbook, and later a "finance department," "government bureau," or "administration." The first divan appeared under the caliph 'Umar I (634-644) as a pensions list, recording free Arab warriors entitled to a share of the spoils of war. Out of rents and property taxes exacted from conquered farmers and landowners, hereditary pensions were assigned to warriors entered in the divan. Later the term came to signify a financial institution, and, by the time of the caliphate of Mu'awiyah (661-680), it meant a government bureau, e.g., the chancellery or the postal service. Iranians used the term divan until about the 19th century to mean the central government in general, while in Mughal India, from the time of Akbar (1556-1605), the term was chiefly associated with government finance, the chief finance minister being the divan, with provincial dawawin under him. In the Ottoman Empire the divan became the imperial chancery headed by the grand vizier, though a consultative assembly of senior officials summoned by Selim I in 1515 was also called a divan. The term was early extended to mean the audience chamber of important government officers, whose offices, furnished with mattresses and cushions along the walls, account for the extension of the meaning of divan to sofa. In modern Turkey a divan is an administrative unit in rural areas
Learn more about dewan with a free trial on Britannica.com.


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Edie Lutnick, author of "An Unbroken Bond," joins Alisa Parenti with an update on the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund. The group's annual Sept. 11th Charity Day, in which celebrities work with brokers, has raised $75 million for victims' families.


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FARMINGDALE, N.Y.—The grim discovery of an infant's body in a Farmingdale backyard has sent shock waves across the Farmingdale community and made headlines near and far.
State Police unearthed the body of a child from a Farmingdale man's back yard Friday. The resident of that home has been identified as a "person of interest" in the ongoing investigation.
At a press conference Saturday at Troop L Headquarters, State Police said an investigation that began in upstate Orange County revealed the death of a Justin Kowalczik, who was born in 2009 and would be about 3 years old now. The child was unaccounted for and his death had gone unreported for about a year and a half.
The interview with the child's mother, Heather Kowalczik, also revealed a possible location for the remains of her son, said State Police Major Patrick Regan, commander of Troop L in Farmingdale.
Police obtained a search warrant Friday for the home occupied by Kowalczik and Robert Rodriguez at 1 Hallock Road in Farmingdale.
Regan said the search and extensive dig of a portion of the yard produced the remains of a child in a shallow grave.
Regan identified Robert Rodriguez as a "person of interest" in the case. There was no additional developments in the case since the state police announcement Saturday. Several news outlets, including the New York Daily News, reported that Rodriguez was not cooperating with the investigation.
Rodriguez and Kowalczik have not been charged with any crime.
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The Medical Examiners Office is conducting their investigation and the State Police are waiting for confirmation of the identity and cause of death of the remains found.
Events began to unfold quickly Friday as Suffolk County Child Protective Services began an investigation in the health and welfare of the couple's 6-year-old child.
State police in Orange County were also involved in the investigation. The couple had lived in Middletown, about 65 miles northwest of Manhattan.
Then, as the Suffolk probe continued, an Amber Alert was issued for the couple's 9-year-old child, who was missing from school, Regan said. A short time later, police found Rodriguez and the 9-year-old unharmed on Long Island and the Amber Alert was cancelled.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Editor's note: This article originally was published by Farmingdale Patch on Long Island.


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This is my 3rd try to grow a Elatior begonia. Any suggestions?
I put the first 2 on my back porch in the summer, my porch is covered and faces the North. I am going to try the house this time. Any particular soil, besides regular potting soil?
All Begonias require soil that drains well. If you think about it, Begonias have succulent stems that hold a lot of water. Plants of this type are equipped to absorb and store water. Providing a planting medium that stays too moist will quickly cause problems. Sunlight is also important. While they cannot tolerate our hot, direct sunlight, they do require bright indirect light. I fear that by having them indoors that you'll experience spindly, thin plants that will not bloom well because the sunlight will not be sufficient. Making matters more challenging is our nighttime temperatures. This time of year is ideal for all Elatior Begonias and other Tuberous types because our nighttime temperatures cool off nicely. However, once the evening temperatures hover in the upper 70s to 80s, this does not allow for these types of Begonias to carry on the nighttime processes that they require. It's a fine balancing act to maintain these Begonias during these times of year.
Thanks for your inquiry.
Happy Gardening!
The PlantMaster


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Music: Chemikal Christmas
by admin • December 13, 2012 • music • 0 Comments
Friday 14 December | Woodend Barn, Banchory | 8pm | £12/£10adv
Another last-minute post, this time to draw your attention to this show out at the rather-nice-indeed Woodend Barn in Banchory.
We've featured Chemikal Underground and their artists Emma Pollock, RM Hubbert and Adrian Crowley a few times on this site (here, here, and here for example), so if that's not a marker of quality I don't know what is. Genuinely don't. I mean, if you haven't been on here you're nothing. Nothing. Honest.
There's more information and ticket details on the Woodend Barn site here. It's going to be good..


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32-year-old Irish artist Marianne Keating creates site-specific, interior and exterior installations, incorporating hand screenprinted wallpaper that covers both the ceiling and walls and multiple animated digital projections onto architectural facades. These digital projections often feature text, and we're big on text at Art Wednesday – one of the reasons we wanted to find out more about Marianne. She even made a projection for this year's Nuit Blanche in Paris: "through this use of language and social engagement, I explore parts of everyday life not often discussed, which opens a dialogue, allowing me to explore the use of private emotions in an open and public way. This text-based body of work explores different aspects of society's private emotions by taking undisclosed private voices and projecting them back into environment from where they came. By giving these concerns a voice it can empower both the viewer and the viewee enabling a freedom unattainable in regular situations. It also connects with a public audience by investigating our private intimate thoughts and restoring ownership to the viewer by unmasking these private considerations in an open and public way."
She grew up on the top of a mountain in Co. Tipperary, Ireland, so her head has been in the clouds from an early age – perfect for working as an artist. But her head didn't stay there too long, as she soon hot-footed it to Limerick to study at Limerick School of Art and Design. As soon as she'd finished her course, she began exhibiting extensively throughout Ireland and internationally, including exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Melbourne, Shanghai and Blundez, Austria. And after graduating in 2002 with a BA in Fine Art, she jumped over the pond to the UK, to study an MA in Printmaking at the Royal College of Art, London.
Over the years she's cleverly balanced her practice by working part-time in galleries, teaching art, working as a Print Technician and on various commissions, one of which included being shortlisted by the Beastie Boys for the art campaign for their last album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two: "being shortlisted by them was a pretty amazing feeling – to think that someone you had grown up listening too and admiring was aware of who you were and considering using your artwork for their album cover – these opportunities allows you to believe that dreams can come true and the hard work is always worth it." And she didn't stop there, she's won awards including the Royal College of Art, Paris Residency Award (2012); Arts Council Ireland, Travel & Mobility Award (2012, 2011, 2007); Culture Ireland Award (2011 & 2010); South Tipperary County Council Individual Artist Bursary Award, (2011); Cork City Council Individual Artist Bursary Award (2011); Cork Printmakers Residency Award (2007); Art Trail Emerging Artist Award (2005) and the Jim Gilligan Award (2001). She's also participated in residences at The Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France (2012), The Centre for Fine Print Research UWE, Bristol (2010), Druckswerkstatt, Kulturwerk des bbk, Berlin (2009) and Lower East Side Printshop, Manhattan, New York (2007). That was a mouthful – check out her work below.
For Marianne's website [click here] and for her Vimeo [here]


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Thursday, Sept. 6
2:08 a.m. – Alarm central reported a master motion alarm at the on Lexington Road. The responding officer reported the caretaker was on scene and the interior and exterior both checked OK.
9:23 a.m. – A Concord woman called to report a moving van nearly struck her while attempting to back into a Main Street driveway, just west of the in West Concord.
10:57 a.m. – A Boxboro resident found a ladies wallet near the District Court on Walden Street and brought it into the station.
11:07 a.m. – An officer radioed in to report a disabled motor vehicle in the area of Commonwealth Avenue and the Route 2 rotary.
12:17 p.m. – An officer related a report of a possibly suspicious motor vehicle on Hubbard Street. Police checked the area, but were unable to locate the vehicle in question.
12:41 p.m. – A Lexington woman came into the station to report losing her $200 necklace a few days earlier on Keyes Road.
2:12 p.m. – As a result of a motor vehicle stop in the area of Route 2 and Old Road to Nine Acre Corner, a Windsor man was summonsed for operating a motor vehicle after his license was suspended.
3:20 p.m. – A Bedford Street resident called to report an older man had backed into her vehicle earlier while pared at the Emerson Umbrella on Stow Street.
4:02 p.m. – A Buttrick's Hill Road resident reported two unknown dogs in her yard. Their owner called police to advise he lost his dogs, and the dog officer planned to return the man's pets to him.
7:14 p.m. – A 911 caller reported she was just in an argument with her van driver, who left her on Lexington Road by the . The caller made arrangements for a ride home to Bedford.
7:16 p.m. – Police responded to a complaint about political signs posted too closely to the . The signs were moved back 50 feet.
10:22 p.m. – A Silver Hill Road resident reported a suspicious motor vehicle parked in the area for the past 30 minutes. According to the incident report, the vehicle was dropping off another Silver Hill Road resident.


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L'Artisan du Chocolat
I received two boxes of their chocolate recently. After immediately popping a few into my mouth, I realized that it was going to bother me that I couldn't definitively identify the flavors. I knew one was "sweet and fruity" and the other was "sweet but with a spicy kick."
I took a picture and emailed the store and they very kindly (and promptly!) responded with a list of all the flavors that were included in my boxes. They're attached here since I noticed many people wished that L'Artisan included a key or other photos on their website. Hope this helps!
Whoops, in case it's hard to read, here's the list
Hibiscus, ??, Lemon mousse
Kalamata Olive, Plain Dark ganache 72%
Fleur de sel (sea salt) Caramel
Box of 16
Rose Petal, Plain Milk, Lemon Mousse, Raspberry heart,
Pistachio, Pomegranate, Japanese Green Tea Matcha, Plain dark72%
Basil, Passion Fruit, Aztec (3 Chili with Apricot),Vanilla
Chestnut, Thyme, Hibiscus, Classic Truffle.


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Super Duper!!
Reviewed By Jeremy M (WEST COVINA, CA) Reviewed for a 1986 Toyota Celica —7/16/2014 9:03 PM
Description said it would lower the front and rear by 1.4 inches. My back dropped 3 inches, and my front dropped 2.7 inches. Was very happy with this drop, and product. My ride isn't too stiff, since these are soft springs. Overall, I am extremely satisfied.
S2 Springs
Reviewed By Mark M (JERMYN, PA) —6/17/2014 4:13 AM
I just installed the S2 Springs on a new set of Koni Street shocks and struts last weekend. The install went well, Its a little early to tell, from what I can tell they're great. I want to replace the rear sway bar next the stock gt one seems a little light.


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After hitting a respectable .289, with a solid 15 RBIs as a junior last year for , senior third baseman Blake Besancenez realized he needed to work on a few things if he was going to become the hitting star he always knew he could be.
Besancenez never really considered changing his stance or anything about his approach or what pitches to swing at.
What he did decide to change was his mannerisms and activity at the plate.
"I just knew I had to work on staying more calm at the plate, and not have so much motion," Besancenez said. "The first thing I did, and really the only thing I did, was slow it down and try to see (the ball) deep. And that ended up working out for me."
Boy, has it ever.
This season, the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder came into this, the final week of the regular season, with an incredible .568 batting average, which is nearly 300 points higher than what he hit last year, and ranks as the second-highest hitting mark in the entire St. Louis area.
Needless to say, that's why even with the fractured right wrist he's been playing with for the last two weeks, Besancenez is the O'Fallon Patch Spotlight Athlete of the Week.
"Things have been going good," Besancenez said. "I made the changes last summer, and they worked. So I decided to keep them for this year, and they still work."
Factor in the 14 walks Besancenez has taken this season, and the .704 on-base percentage he had coming into the week, was the best in the area.
For those not totally in-tune with what baseball stats mean, Besancenez's .704 OBA means that by basehit or walk, he gets on base 70 percent of the team.
That basically means seven out of every 10 times head coach Jason Theodorakos sends Besancenez to the plate, the coach might as well send the next guy up too, because unless something unique happens, the Southeast Missouri State University-recruit is going to get on base.
"I'm just seeing the ball real well," Besancenez said.
At the rate he's hitting, many are speculating that Besancenez would be the easy choice for Most Improved Player in the area this year.
That selection almost seems like a moot point now. The new talk is if he can keep hitting at a near .570 clip, and keep reaching base at a .700 pace, Besancenez could put himself into the Area Player of the Year discussion.
"I'd be completely surprised," Besancenez said. "I'm not really expecting any awards."
What Besancenez clearly has concerned himself with is getting his team ready for the district playoffs, which begin for Barat on Saturday, when the Eagles (13-8) will take on Crossroads College Prep, at 2 p.m., at Brentwood High.
Should the second-seeded Eagles win that game, they would advance to the district semifinals, again at Brentwood, on Monday, May 16, against the winner of Saturday's Maplewood Richmond Heights-Cleveland NJROTC first-round game.
The winner of that district semifinal will advance to the district championship game, Thursday, May 17 at 5 p.m., at Brentwood.
"The way it's turning out right now, I feel real good," Besancenez said. "The way we're hitting the ball, fielding the ball, we're doing everything right. We're executing, and that's what it takes."


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Vini, ooooooooooooooo vini bre
me keqardhje po tkallxoj qe e ki gabu adresen.
Na, skena baker me sh i t e jooooooooooo, nese je i interesum me ble germa po, te shesim sa dush, se po te mungojkan do, a baker jo valla skena.
lalja po bon biznis wrote: ku kuuuuuuu qyyyyyyqea pa martu tu kokshe a?ta gjon lalja ni qik te shpis
ku kuuuuuuu qyyyyyyqe
a pa martu tu kokshe a?
ta gjon lalja ni qik te shpis
Most of the information in this report is available from public sources, yet among locals and many international staff now working in Kosovo the subject of Trepca is regarded as dangerous and shrouded in secrecy. A principal aim of this report is to improve the transparency of the debate. Despite the lack of available long-term donor funding for the Trepca complex, the issue is too important to be allowed to stagnate in the hands of lawyers. Under the authority invested in UNMIK and KFOR by UNSC 1244 and the Military Technical Agreement, UNMIK and KFOR should implement a rapid and categorical takeover of Trepca complex, including the immediate, total shutdown of the environmentally hazardous facilities at Zvecan. Against an open admission that resources did not yet exist for a complete rehabilitation of the mining complex, UNMIK could nonetheless take a series of inexpensive measures to show active commitment and create a sense of progress. An initial assessment of Stari Trg has already been made: the priority now must be to produce a game-plan of measures whether easy and quick or depending on major investment of money and time, and vigorous attempts made to interest donors - Trepca featured as a separate issue neither in the World Bank's twin recent reports on Kosovo reconstruction43 nor at the 17 November donors' conference in Brussels. Yet Stari Trg, one of the richest mines in Europe, must be potentially profitable again and should be a priority for donors interested in setting Kosovo on its feet. Perhaps at this stage reliable information is needed more urgently than anything else. While the Kosovars have the expertise, they have not had access to the mine for ten years and have little information on the status of the equipment. The objective of the assessment would be to identify urgent needs, to begin at least some mining activity, and to assess any safety hazards due to neglect of the mine over the past ten years. It would be prudent not to plan on a vigorous or ambitious production schedule. A gradual process lasting at least several months should be counted on. While production at Stari Trg is starting up, the Zvecan environmental assessment team should produce its report on the status of the equipment and infrastructure and advise as to what measures must be taken. Simply handing Trepca over to the Kosovars is ruled out by the shortage of modern skills available locally, the need for internationally-verifiable standards to avoid corruption, and the sheer scale of damage and degradation at the various installations. But the people of Kosovo must be included in the process. An energetic approach should be taken during the assessment and start-up period in attempting to define a consensus amongst the Kosovars - meaning the Albanian parties and the Serb professional workforce, since the Albanians will not treat with the Belgrade-appointed management of the combine. This discussion should involve such points as the number of workers to re-employ, possible pensioning schemes for those not to be employed (out of the mine's assets, perhaps, rather than the state's), how quickly and with which technology the mineral resources should be exploited, whether and how Trepca or portions of it can become economically viable, and the areas in which there is a need for donor subsidy or private investment. The social impact of the reduced workforce would need to be balanced against the need for competitively based private investment. As some international economic officials have pointed out, much of the Trepca workforce has already found alternatives for their economic livelihood over the last ten years. Should a consensus fail to materialise the Kosovar electoral campaign planned for next year will inevitably raise Trepca as an issue. Those in the international community dealing with electoral issues and political development should accept and encourage an open and clearly defined articulation of positions by political figures and parties regarding Trepca. The workforce and management of all Trepca facilities should be selected on a merit basis only. Kosovars - living in Kosovo, regardless of ethnicity - should have preference to work at any Trepca facility.44 But no one with ties to the Belgrade regime should be considered. Finally, looking beyond Kosovo's boundaries, it would be better to have accomplished the first key steps of this approach before a Serbian election campaign in order that the perception of 'who lost Kosovo' falls on the rightful culprit, Slobodan Milosevic, and to avoid the perception that a new, with luck more progressive government, can be accused of 'losing Trepca'.
UNMIK should as a priority build up the staff capacity to assert total control over Trepca in accordance with the terms of its stewardship of Kosovo, take over the installations and announce a modest programme of action for a 'pre-donor phase' of rehabilitation. This programme should include detailed examinations of the measures needed before production can be started up at each of the installations within Kosovo. UNMIK should publish its own assessment of the facts concerning ownership and the legal status of the complex, as an aid to public understanding and to reduce the climate of conspiracy and rumour in which the issue of Trepca too easily becomes shrouded. A court of adjudication should be nominated for claims, in the knowledge that this court will probably act very slowly, so that the situation on the ground will either have to stagnate, or else develop independently of it. The above programme should begin before elections in Serbia.
Serb Views
The Serb approach is that the Trepca complex is privately owned. There exists a body called the Trepca Shareholders' Assembly whose chairman, Mr Branislav Milanovic, has written to Dr Kouchner proposing that the existing management of the Trepca complex (that is, the management installed by Belgrade) should be allowed to take over and run all the Trepca installations, including those now in areas of Kosovar-Albanian majority control. The management under Mr Novak Bjelic, based in its offices at Zvecan, naturally endorses the view that Trepca is a private company. Since the shareholders in Trepca all appear to be public Yugoslav companies (see section III above) this claim is not taken seriously. Further, the Belgrade-installed management is detested so heartily by all the Kosovar Albanian parties that the scope for co-operation looks unpromising. The likeliest result of current trends, if left unchecked, is that the Serbs will, to the extent possible given damage and resource constraints, run the facilities in territory they control, while the Albanians will insist on their own control over installations in their own territory, which however will lie idle for want of repair and investment. At a level below the political, UNMIK reports that Serb and Albanian technicians are succeeding in working together, for example at the mine at Novo Brdo. This suggests that there are at least some Serbs who simply want to live normal lives and are not following an agenda set in Belgrade. But it would be premature to conclude that mining can be a sector in which Serb and Albanian can co-operate side by side, in contrast to almost every other sector.
Regional Implications
While some analysts feel that Trepca contributed to the break earlier in the decade between then Montenegrin Prime Minister, now president Djukanovic and then Serbian now Yugoslav President Milosevic, there is little credible evidence to back it up. Still much of the foreign concentrates smelted at Zvecan and finished mineral products are imported and exported through the port of Bar. A short-term halt of the movement of these materials through Montenegro and hence the lack of any transit fees that Montenegro may glean from use of its territory should have only a minor impact due to the relatively small quantities being transported. Montenegro stands more to gain in the longer term as an import-export corridor should Trepca re-start in a legitimate and productive fashion.
More serious repercussions could occur in Serbia. None of the opposition leaders in Serbia has ever tolerated the idea of an independent Kosovo. On the contrary Serbian politicians compete to be 'most Serb' over Kosovo. A key issue over the next few months will be not only the developments in the relationship between Montenegro and Serbia but the possibility of elections in Serbia itself. The question arises as to what effect firm UNMIK action on Trepca would do to the chances of the opposition to weaken or topple the Milosevic regime. Making no bold moves leaves the festering wound of Mitrovicë/a to be exploited by Milosevic in claiming his ability to maintain a key economic foothold in Kosovo. Should UNMIK assume the administration of Trepca and take the Zvecan smelter out of Belgrade's hands all Serb politicians would have to react. Milosevic would continue to foster the notion of the great US-EU conspiracy against the Serbs. Vojislav Seselj would likely take a stronger line and issue violent threats as he has done on many occasions. Opposition leaders like Djindjic and Draskovic would also likely deplore the international community's action. However they could exploit the argument that the 'loss' was due to the pariah status of Milosevic himself, so that once again Serbia has lost assets due to his presence in office. So provided action were taken before any elections in Serbia it need not upset, and might contribute to, any strategy for unseating Milosevic.
Unmik's Developing Position
On 25 July Dr Kouchner issued Regulation #1999/1. Under the section titled State property, the regulation reads; "UNMIK shall administer movable or immovable property, including monetary accounts, and other property of, or registered in the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or the Republic of Serbia or any of its organs, which is in the territory of Kosovo." These few words are now being put into action. Overworked and under resourced UNMIK personnel are grappling with how to deal with such large enterprises as Trepca. Is Trepca a state-owned enterprise? Or is it worker-owned, along the lines embarked upon by the Kosovar administration between 1975 and 1989? Do any of the foreign claims have validity? What should be the role of the self-appointed provisional government of Kosovo? Two general policies were considered, and each has been advocated by different parts of UNMIK at different times. First is the 'jigsaw puzzle' approach originally preferred by UNMIK Mitrovicë/a. Under this thinking, decisive action would be premature before all the ownership, liabilities, and environmental issues are resolved, an international donor or consortium of donors or investors is found, and ethnic balancing is taken into account in determining who is employed at the various facilities. Those advocating the 'jigsaw puzzle' approach are wary of making any moves that might set precedents, which the international community may later rue. Above all they claim that no significant moves should be made without the negotiated consent of both parties. Experience suggests that this consent, as well as the need to satisfy many lawyers on legal issues, would bring a delay of several years to the restoration of production. The second possible approach would put off ownership and liability issues for the present. Meanwhile, international donors must be mobilised to fund urgent repairs, and private investors must be attracted to begin longer-term revitalisation of the aged and damaged facilities. Within this approach some believe that UNMIK does have the authority to issue a concession to an investor (predicated upon an open, transparent bidding process) that could be legally binding beyond the term of UNMIKs temporary administration.40 Some in the international community go further and believe that UNMIK also has the mandate to even privatise state owned property41 - but in the case of Trepca, with so many short-term problems to be resolved first, this question has not even appeared on the agenda. The two alternative approaches can be summed up as; the path of negotiations or the path of unilateral action. The international community has a long history in the region of the failure of the negotiating path without first having used more aggressive measures - with the effect of having to apply more decisive measures in the end, when the negotiating path finally proved to be a dead end. A policy of consent of the parties gives one or the other a veto over the process, hence deadlock. On the other hand more forceful action by the international community in the Balkans (when properly planned and thought through) has usually led to progress of some sort. The consequences are not always exactly as predicted, but pessimistic predictions of disaster (which are never lacking) have not been justified by events. A principal problem for any active approach is that no donor has yet come forward to express an interest in putting up the money needed to get the Trepca site producing again. Given existing damage, poor maintenance and deliberate sabotage, UNMIK estimates that at least USD 10 million will be required before the mines start to appear attractive to investors. This lack of a donor makes UNMIK reluctant to make promises it cannot yet keep, or start any train of action it does not have the resources to carry through to a conclusion.
The Kosovar Albanian Leaderships42
There are two views within the Kosovar Albanian community as to the future management, operation, ownership, and economic direction of Trepca. The first group, led by former Trepca and Stari Trg directors Aziz Abrashi and Burhan Kavaja, respectively, believes that the complex should (following on from 1989) rightly be worker owned, and should, at least at first, be managed and operated by the veteran Kosovar miners and technical engineers who were expelled from the facilities in 1989. They claim that after a short period in which the mine is offered low-interest credit they could not only put it on a profit making basis but also pay back the loan. The second group, led by provisional government deputy minister for Finance Safet Merovci, takes a more forward-looking, economic rationalisation approach. First, they would identify Trepca as state-owned, but while acknowledging UNMIK's influence and authority under UNSC Resolution 1244, they claim that Kosovo, rather than Serbia, is the state in question. Second, they are eager to modernise the facilities but are wary of any premature privatisation or any quick stripping of the assets that might preclude the influence of a future Kosovar state. In fact, while the negotiating postures of the two groups may seem far apart, the two views are not that dissimilar. Both groups are eager to free from Belgrade control those parts of the Trepca conglomerate within Kosovo, and get Kosovars back to work inside the facilities, to begin assessments of repairs, investment, and manpower needed to get Stari Trg up and running. Both also agree that the complex belongs to Kosovo and Kosovo alone, that all outside claims are fraudulent or at best invalid, that the claims by Rozan and Mytilineos in particular represent no more than Belgrade's crude attempt to keep its hand in Trepca by working through more presentable foreign fronts. While the Abrashi group is eager to lead Trepca's former mineworkers back into Stari Trg, they are by no means insistent upon running the complex indefinitely. And while the Merovci-led group is interested in moving forward with investment and modernisation, Merovci himself recognises the respect the miners have for their former director Aziz Abrashi. There do remain differences between the two groups. The Abrashi/Kavaja team (the traditionalist professionals who follow Bujar Bukoshi and the LDK) fears that calling the facility "state-owned" could somehow legitimise Milosevic's claim to Trepca, whereas the younger KLA group around Merovci are concerned that the Abrashi/Kavaja team itself has compromising business ties back to Belgrade. The older, more experienced team also worries that the younger group has little experience in or commitment to mining, and might therefore make ill-advised decisions or put a lot of people out of work; the more youthful team is somewhat impatient with the older group's insistence on retaining traditional techniques and a huge workforce. A thoughtful, persistent approach by UNMIK officials could bridge these differences, in the interest of moving toward the two groups' avowed common goals: breaking the stalemate over the Trepca issue, easing the security problem in Mitrovicë/a, putting people back to work, and getting Kosovo's industrial assets into the hands of people who will use them to develop Kosovo rather than enrich themselves. However, the two Kosovar approaches mirror the long running rivalry and split between the rival claims to be the Kosovar government; i.e. Bukoshi and Thaçi. This in itself is an obstacle to agreement between them. Should both insist upon being sole directors of Trepca, UNMIK could find itself in the unenviable position of choosing one over the other, or else focusing the blame of the failure of Trepca to re-start on internal Kosovar rivalries. Over the next year there will likely be more and more electoral calculus applied to the issue of Trepca. The Kosovar political parties will desire to woo the mineworkers' union and through them influence the wider electorate. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If Trepca could be extracted from being viewed only as an issue between Serbs and Albanians with UNMIK in the awkward middle, then the debate over the way forward could become a natural issue in an election campaign. The decision as to size of labour force, foreign investment, modernisation versus social assistance, are all valid issues upon which rival political parties must articulate a position. These are also issues which many societies grapple with in dealing with their own future. Any issue which gives Kosovar politicians something to talk about beyond simply agitating for independence will helpfully broaden the political debate. If handled correctly, the issue of Trepca's medium and long-term future could be a constructive point for debate rather than an unresolved security issue or part of the failures of the international community in Kosovo.
The Environmental Concerns at Zvecan
The Trepca conglomerate has had a long history of environmental problems. During the 1980s a Trepca plant that produced agricultural chemicals was blamed for producing fertilizers with such high super phosphate strength that livestock died after grazing on treated land.10 The worst pollution comes from the smelter in Zvecan, just a few kilometres northwest of Mitrovicë/a. The river Ibar runs past the smelter, before flowing through the city of Mitrovicë/a and then into the Gazivoda Lake and so into Serbia proper. Sulphur dioxide as a by-product of the metallurgical process is released into the air. With little or no investment in the plant over the last ten years the equipment has not been updated to meet increasingly stringent modern standards.11 Some Kosovar experts also fear that current smelting practices as run by the Serbs are environmentally worse than those of ten years ago. They suspect that ore concentrates coming from as far away as Colombia contain far higher levels of mercury and arsenic than is allowed by international standards.12 Both Kosovar and international officials stress the importance of an in-depth and technically competent environmental assessment of this outdated and run-down plant.
Claimants and Questions of Ownership
Throughout the 1990s the ownership of Trepca conglomerate was never entirely clear. In November 1997 Trepca was one of 75 companies slated for privatisation by the Belgrade government.13 This process stalled when a close confidant of the Milosevics, Zoran Todorovic, one of the richest men in Yugoslavia and director of Beopetrol, a state firm in the process of being privatised, was gunned down in Belgrade.14 Recently one report claimed that Jugobanka, Beobanka, and Dunav, a Belgrade insurance company, now control Trepca's ownership.15 Belgrade's general policy appears to have been to introduce maximum confusion, allowing the regime the flexibility to exploit the resources, break sanctions, disguise the money flow, and reward favoured cronies.16 UNMIK officials believe that the legal position is actually as follows: Trepca is owned 66% by the Serbia Development Fund, 27% socially, 2.5% Jugobanka, 2.5% Progress and Beobanka, and 2% by Serbian Electric Power. As a result they conclude that the complex is overall public property and therefore under UNMIK's authority in accordance with its mandate. But there do exist private-sector claims which complicate the issue.
Société Commerciale de Métaux et de Minéraux (SCMM)
In July 1999, shortly after the deployment of KFOR, with French military assigned to the Mitrovicë/a area, Mr Jean-Pierre Rozan17 appeared claiming 2.8% ownership of Trepca on behalf of the Paris-based SCMM of which he was a director. According to Rozan, SCMM had inadvertently come to be a shareholder in Trepca. This was due to an agreement with Belgrade under which SCMM took over Jugobanka's subsidiary in Kosovo as a result of Belgrade's failure to meet previous business commitments to SCMM.18 Despite these previous business dealings and Jugobanka's well-publicised claim of part ownership in Trepca, Rozan expressed surprise that his newly acquired bank branches were themselves shareholders in Trepca. SCMM's claims have not been taken seriously and have received no backing from the French government.19 Nevertheless some Kosovar Albanians, always ready to believe in a conspiracy however unlikely, are prepared to perceive SCMM as part of a wider Franco-Serbian understanding, which incorporates French KFOR acquiescence in the partition of Mitrovicë/a, French economic interests in Trepca, and even the appointment of Dr Bernard Kouchner himself as head of UNMIK and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General.20 The recent award of a GSM telecommunications concession, regardless of the transparency of the process, to French company Alcatel, has fuelled the suspicions of such conspiracy-theorists. To other veteran observers of the Balkans, however, the involvement of SCMM looks like a Milosevic-style attempt to create a diversion (including by encouraging exactly that Balkan and Kosovar propensity for conspiracy-identification outlined above), and confuse the thinking of international officials charged with working out the problem. By putting this and other claims to due process of arbitration, and meanwhile getting on with what needs to be done, the problem can be neatly sidestepped. The UNMIK regional office in Mitrovicë/a meanwhile occupies the Jugobanka building and continues to display Jugobanka insignia in the very meeting room to which Kosovars are invited to discuss Trepca - some report that they feel uneasy in such surroundings. Rozan, as 'owner' of Jugobanka and the building, is demanding rent,21 which UNMIK has refused to pay, since Jugobanka is considered a public company and therefore under UN trusteeship, like other public property in Kosovo.
Mytilineos Holdings S.A.
This Athens-based company was established in 1990. After securing predominance early in the decade in the domestic Greek market for lead and zinc,22 the company began to branch out. In December 1995, in a widely publicised agreement just days after the suspension of economic sanctions on Yugoslavia, Mytilineos began to handle the marketing of Trepca minerals, particularly of lead and zinc. This $50million contract was expanded in 1997 to a seven-year, $519 million arrangement. In December 1996, after years in the metal trading business, the chairman of the board of Mytilineos Holding, Mr. Evangelos Mytilineos, was appointed to the board of directors of OTE, the Greek telecommunications company.23 Six months later, OTE, in conjunction with Telecom Italia paid the Belgrade regime $1 billion for a minority holding in Serbia Telekom.24 The Mytilineos company also went into business with the large copper mine at Bor in Serbia. In February 1998 they signed a seven-year agreement with the potential for $1 billion of investment and trade.25 Mr. Mytilineos's business acumen has also led him into the field of banking.26 He shares with Borka Vucic, a long-time banking advisor to Slobodan Milosevic, the co-presidency of the Greek-Serb Business Council established in 1998.27 Through a subsidiary Metka, Mytilineos Holding has recently secured some large defence contracts to produce submarines and Patriot missiles for the Greek military.28 This same subsidiary Metka is also involved with the state owned Yugoslav Power Company.29 Mytilineos says it contracted with Yugoslav state firm Genex, backed by guarantees issued by state banks Jugobanka and Beobanka (run by Borka Vucic). All three companies have close links with Slobodan Milosevic and his family - Milosevic's brother is a sometime director of Genex. Genex's role appears to be mainly to accept part of the profits. In 1998 bankruptcy proceedings were initiated at the request of the Yugoslav Central Bank against Genex.30 Mytilineos expressed the importance he placed on Trepca in December 1998 saying it has contributed decisively to the further development of his company.31 Curiously only days later in January 1999, he launched a lawsuit in Belgrade due to the failure of the Trepca deal.32 In April during the bombing campaign Mytilineos was reported to be 'furious' with the regime and was claiming compensation for Belgrade's failure to deliver on their contract.33 Along with a leading hotel in Belgrade and other enterprises, Mytilineos Holding SA have also claimed that Trepca is theirs.34 On their website Mytilineos sum up their business strategy in the Balkans region: " Through these contracts Mytilineos SA is rendered, in essence, a financier and co-manager of collaborating groups . . .Companies such as Mytilineos SA, that adopt a long-term collaboration policy with local producers, enjoy special treatment and revel in their exclusive marketing rights on company products."35 The Kosovo parallel government of President Rugova (elected by Albanians who had boycotted official elections) warned foreign companies in May 1997 that these agreements were considered 'null and void.'36 Kosovars state that the strategy of SCMM, Mytilineos, and the Belgrade regime is an attempt to show that Trepca is privately owned. If proven, this would demand a different approach from UNMIK. Mytilineos is a harder problem than SCMM for UNMIK for two reasons. First, it appears to be a solid company with an international track record and many international partners. Second, it has close ties to the Greek government.37 An EU member, Greece has recently demonstrated an eagerness to make significant financial investments in the Balkans.38 UNMIK cannot simply ignore claims which may be genuine, and the UN legal advisers in New York have concluded that the rights of claimants like Mytilineos must go to adjudication. The question arises as to which court. So far that is left in abeyance, as is the nature of the legal proceedings themselves. If all other decisions are left to depend upon the resolution of this issue, it could be many years before Trepca starts working again. Finally it should be pointed out that the interest of the Milosevic circle in exploiting the Trepca facilities might go beyond the simple operation of sharing out the profits. International financial officials have long recognized the minerals industry as being prime for money laundering. The variations in quantity of ore concentrates, the varying degrees of extraction and processing costs and the price fluctuation in the final product make for the type of confusing opportunity for obfuscations that a money-laundering scheme needs. An example in point was the mid 1990's Hamanaka case where the trade in copper was allegedly used to cover the illegal funds generated from the south-east Asia drug trade.39
International Crisis Group
Trepca: Making Sense of the Labyrinth
26 November 1999
The enterprise known as Trepca1 is a sprawling conglomerate of some 40 mines and factories, located mostly in Kosovo but also in other locations in Serbia and Montenegro. Its activities include chemical processing and production of goods as varied as batteries and paint. But the heart of its operations, and the source of most of its raw material, is the vast mining complex to the east of Mitrovicë/a in the north of Kosovo, famous since Roman times. This report examines the current position of the mines, together with the associated smelting complex at nearby Zvecan. The future of Trepca cuts to the heart of the Kosovars' identity. Its great mineral wealth is the basis of the economy of Kosovo, but the complex is badly run-down as a result of under-investment and over-exploitation by governments in Belgrade. Trepca figured largely among the issues over which Albanians took to the streets in 1988/9, and the issue of control over the mines has assumed tremendous symbolic importance. Trepca, as one circumspect Kosovar observed, is Kosovo's Berlin Wall. It has long stood for Kosovar Albanians as the symbol of Serbian oppression and of their own resistance. After 1974, when Tito's new constitution accorded the province near-republic status, with its own parliament and courts, Kosovars enjoyed a period of greatly increased control over their own resources. Finally able to manage the Trepca facilities themselves, Kosovars used their enhanced authority to build factories in Kosovo that capitalised on their mineral production, created thousands of jobs, and brought some real income into the province. After Tito's death, Kosovars pressed again or more rights and greater political and economic autonomy, but with little success. Belgrade reasserted control of the mines, and in 1981-82, a sort of "Trepca-gate" scandal - in which Kosovar Albanian workers were accused of having stolen vast quantities of gold and silver - was the pretext for firing many engineers and technicians.
From 1981-89, Belgrade monopolised the export of Trepca's minerals to Russia and elsewhere, reaping the profits in hard currency and oil, while compensating the Kosovars only with electricity and other non-fungible forms of payment. This discriminatory compensation scheme was aggravated by the high inflation of the 1980s. Trepca's Kosovar management attempted to sell its products on the European market and to modernise the facilities' modes of production, only to be foiled time and again by the Serbian government, which was in the process of "integrating" Serbia's economy - that is, of tethering all economic sectors even more closely to Belgrade. By the late 1980s, with the final integration into the Serbian system of the power generating system, Kosovars had lost virtually all control over their economy, as they would over their politics and civic freedoms. 2
In 1988-89 the Albanian management and workers were summarily expelled from Trepca. The mineworkers' union organised a winter march to Prishtinë/Pristina in November 1988, followed by other marches of support within Kosovo. In February 1989 there was a hunger strike, many miners and directors were arrested and imprisoned for up to 14 months. These events are remembered and romanticised by young and old as Kosovo's own Solidarity movement - the earliest, sustained resistance to Serbian oppression under Slobodan Milosevic. 3
During the first half of the 1990s Belgrade managed to keep up only a small percentage of Trepca's production, due to lack of ongoing investment in machinery, poor maintenance and the dismissal in 1989 of experienced Albanian staff.4 The management attempted to replace this expertise with guest miners from Serbia and Poland.5 All the production plants closed. After nearly three years of economic sanctions instituted as punishment for its role in the Bosnian war, Belgrade was looking for ways to acquire large injections of cash. Exploiting Trepca seemed a likely option. In February 1995, new management was installed, and a 'program of revitalization' was undertaken. The new team claimed that by the end of 1996 all the production plants were back into operation, ore excavation had increased, modern mining equipment had been purchased from Sweden, and all the lead and zinc mines in Serbia and Montenegro had been brought under the management of the Trepca company. Again according to Serbian official sources, in 1996 Trepca had exported $100 million of products, making it the largest exporting company in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.6 Belgrade even planned to bring mineral concentrates from the Bosnian Serb controlled mine in Srebrenica, site of the notorious massacre by Serb forces in July 1995.7 The problems of Trepca are many and complex. They include its alleged liabilities, the question who really owns it and who has been profiting from it, the deteriorating condition of its antiquated machinery, its anachronistically oversized workforce, the scant field of prospective investors, the disastrous environmental impact of the Zvecan smelter, and internal Kosovo politics. Even so, it is critical that at least some aspects of the Trepca issue be addressed immediately and not await the resolution of the entire nexus of problems. Most urgently, because of its importance to Belgrade, Trepca figures centrally in the unresolved security situation in Mitrovicë/a and in its current status as a divided city. At least some of the talk of a partition of Kosovo arises from the knowledge that control of Trepca makes a vast difference to the territory's economic prospects. Reports of Serbian police in and around Zvecan, of Serb looting, rumours even of Albanian prisoners being held there - all point to a need for immediate international action.8
It is also urgent that the people of Kosovo begin to see signs of progress towards some sort of economic normality. The return to work of even a few hundred Kosovar miners would represent, for all Kosovars, the reclaiming of their patrimony. A timely, if temporary, step forward on the issue of Trepca by UNMIK and KFOR would demonstrate to the Kosovars that the international community appreciates Trepca's symbolic importance and Kosovars' need and wish to get back to work and to regain some control over their lives.
The Structure of the Trepca Conglomerate
From Mine to Factory
As already noted, Trepca is a conglomerate which includes not only its three key components - Stari Trg9 mine, Zvecan smelter and the Mitrovicë/a industrial complex - but a total of 41 installations, including some outside Kosovo. Trepca encompasses four distinct processes: extraction, flotation, smelting, and downstream processing, as well as other production and marketing units. The Stari Trg mine east of Mitrovicë/a was, in 1989, responsible for 40-50% of the mining production. Other mines in Kosovo - Hajvali/Ajvalija, Novo Bërdë/Novo Brdo, Kishnicë/Kisnica, and Badoc/Badovac - accounted for roughly another 30% of Trepca's production. Two more mining facilities, at Crnac and Belo Brdo, are in the Serb-held areas north of Mitrovicë/a, while three other mines are outside of Kosovo - these five mines are estimated to account for an estimated 20% of Trepca's total mining extraction. The minerals taken from Stari Trg are fed into the flotation facility on the Stari Trg premises, whereas the minerals extracted from Kosovo's other four mines undergo flotation at the Badoc/Badovac plant and those taken from Crnac and Belo Brdo are processed in Leposaviq/c. The resulting lead concentrates from all these flotation facilities, in addition to that coming from the mines outside of Kosovo, used to be smelted at Zvecan. The lead, zinc, silver, gold, cadmium and bismuth then go to such downstream facilities as the battery factories in Mitrovicë/a and Pejë/Pec, the FAMIPA factory in Prizren, and a hunting munitions factory in Skënderaj/Srbica. Hydrogen sulphide from Zvecan is processed in Mitrovicë/a's industrial chemical plant, and the zinc and cadmium, after being processed in Mitrovicë/a, are then sent to Gjilan/Gnjiljane for further industrial processing.
gjet viteve 1989 e deri me 1999 serbia ka mare qindra miliona euro ne emer te investimeve ne trepce. kryesist nga greqia dhe franca.
ata sot i kerkojne trepces pra kosoves te i laj borgjet. kjo eshte arsyeja e vetme pse AKM-ja e ka nxjere trepcen ne ****je.
sdot ne koha ditore po shkrun se ministri Shatri ka thene se ne mbledhjen e bordit te AKMse eshe venose se AKM-ja nuk do te merret me borgjet e trepces ne kete periudh.
po Shatri keto fore mundet me ja ****e tjeterkujt se AKM-ja ja ka koqet ne fijoke. Krejt foni i AKM-se eshte i depozituar jashte kosoves dhe i dedikuar per serbine.
p.sh.kur nje fabrike nga prona shoqerore privatizohet prej shumes se pergjithshme 20% shkojne per punetoret. nga 80% paguhet ndokush qe eventualisht ka dokumente mbi pronesine e ndermarjes(kjo ndodhe shumeeeeeeeee shumeee rralle, kurse pjesa e mbetur mbetet ne fondin e AKMse dhe eshe e dedikuar per Serbine. a po menoni se perndryshe serbija nuk kish kundershtu privatizimin ne kosove a???
a mos ju ka bo vaki me e ni noj politikan a gazetar a far shkau qe po kundershton ****jen e fabrikave ku edhe ata kan punu??????????
pse me kundershtu kur krejt paret i marin vet.
qashtu kan me i mare edhe paret e tepces.
mani ne mend qa po ju thom.
na e ****en kosoven kadal kadale.
ani qi e ****en po e ****en per pare te vogla.
fleni ju shiptar fleniiiiiiiiiiiiiii
lalja wrote:po hajt more hiqnu saj! a dini pse e kan pllavushet ballin me vreda? prej rrypit hahahah ****ne more, ****ne krejt kosoven runu po ju met edhe naj rob te shpija pa ****e
AyEshteZeshkan wrote: O . Ti [expo] bre njeri te koke kategori e veqante. Allahile kallxom n'qfar tabele e gjete Mesingun? Ne qat tabelen periodike te Mendeljevit, qe e pranon krejt bota pos teje, nuk ka mesing as nuk ka element me shkurtese Me MESINGU OSHT LEGURE, E LEGURAT NUK JON N'TABELE. EXPO-IMPO wrote: eh morre i nderuari ZESHKAN ti larg je prej POLITIKE besom me kete komentin tend ,se per me u marr me POLITIK duhesh me NOTUE ME VALE te EKONOMIs (e kjo pune e ka si DASHURIA nese din me notue PSHTON e nese nuk din FUNDOSESH ), edhe e perberjen e MAKINES apo drampes ne perqindje me metal kisha pas qef me dite prej teje ?! nese ka mundesi SHEMBULL nese deshiron se krejt cka ka edhe ne GOMA te MAKINES te tregoj sa fije te telit me saktesisht MESSING (perzirja e BAKRIT me ZINK ne tabelen kimike" Me ") ne te jan!!!! E qe tash, kqyrne ju per veti se kush o qu me ja bajt dertin privatizimit t'pasunis tukosovs. Me gjith mu e kit haverin Metalin qe qohem me ja spjegu qiftit tyne pjesmarrjen e materialeve n'prodhime...
o ti Ay. Ti ne princip e ke mire. Fabrikat duhet me i ****e edhe ka 1 euro per me mujt me e zvogelu numrin e te papuneve (keshtu tha edhe Pacolli nje dite). Por druaj se fabrikat dhe objektet e tjera te cilat po ****en nuk po blehen per te rrite prodhimin, por si objekte tragetare. rrasti ma tipik eshte Unioni i cili u **** me cmim me te larte se hoteli Iliria, se unionin e bejne qender tregetare, i japin duqanet me qera edhe fitojne ma shume dhe pa u lodhe hiq.
etj etj etj
fabrikat duhen me u ****e, pajtohem.
Per mua eshte e papranueshme te ****en pasurite nentokesore. mos me thuni nuk ka Kosova pare per revitalizim. me dite me punu paret gjinden. se pari fondi i AKMse jasht vendit, Fondi pensional, te hollat e ndermarjeve publike si PTKse ( qe ja u lan me i hannger bankat falimentuese)etj etj etj.
edhe nuk po thom me ja u marra atyne paret, por me mujt me i perdore ne forme te kredive.
me dasht mujm, po nuk po dojme!
e qata vica pa kryp
EXPO-IMPO wrote: eh morre i nderuari ZESHKAN ti larg je prej POLITIKE besom me kete komentin tend ,se per me u marr me POLITIK duhesh me NOTUE ME VALE te EKONOMIs (e kjo pune e ka si DASHURIA nese din me notue PSHTON e nese nuk din FUNDOSESH ), edhe e perberjen e MAKINES apo drampes ne perqindje me metal kisha pas qef me dite prej teje ?! nese ka mundesi SHEMBULL nese deshiron se krejt cka ka edhe ne GOMA te MAKINES te tregoj sa fije te telit me saktesisht MESSING (perzirja e BAKRIT me ZINK ne tabelen kimike" Me ") ne te jan!!!!
EXPO-IMPO wrote:AyEshteZeshkan wrote: Edhe lene vlla ekonomin kur nuk e kini zanat se nuk osht si politika e me mujt gjithkush me u marr me to. Nuk i hyp qmimi automobilit trefish nese shtrajtohet hekuri trefish se beso qe n'cmim nuk marrin pjese metalet as me 10%!!! Qikaq prej meje o "ekonomista" eh morre i nderuari ZESHKAN ti larg je prej POLITIKE besom me kete komentin tend ,se per me u marr me POLITIK duhesh me NOTUE ME VALE te EKONOMIs (e kjo pune e ka si DASHURIA nese din me notue PSHTON e nese nuk din FUNDOSESH ), edhe e perberjen e MAKINES apo drampes ne perqindje me metal kisha pas qef me dite prej teje ?! nese ka mundesi SHEMBULL nese deshiron se krejt cka ka edhe ne GOMA te MAKINES te tregoj sa fije te telit me saktesisht MESSING (perzirja e BAKRIT me ZINK ne tabelen kimike" Me ") ne te jan!!!!
qe po provoj me ta zdrit pak: 1 kerr [sh mercedes, i ka 1000 deri 1500 kilogram heker. Nese hekri kish me kushtu ka 1 ojro (qi nuk eshte po hajde po e zame qi osht) ather cmimi i kerrit kish me dal 1000 deri 1500 ojro.
Kur ta kqyrsh qi mercedesi i bon s'paku nja 30.000 ojro e merr vesh qi hekri te koka veq 5% e cmimit.
E me bo me kon naj ferrari qi kushton 300.000 ojro? Hekri i tina kushton veq 0.5%.
Pi bjen qi s'duhet mi **** hekrin e trepces ferrarit po atyne qi bojn kerre ma te lira se ata naj din ma shum per nder. A ja shesim zastaves more?
po hajt more hiqnu saj!
a dini pse e kan pllavushet ballin me vreda?
prej rrypit
****ne more, ****ne krejt kosoven
runu po ju met edhe naj rob te shpija pa ****e
AyEshteZeshkan wrote: Edhe lene vlla ekonomin kur nuk e kini zanat se nuk osht si politika e me mujt gjithkush me u marr me to. Nuk i hyp qmimi automobilit trefish nese shtrajtohet hekuri trefish se beso qe n'cmim nuk marrin pjese metalet as me 10%!!! Qikaq prej meje o "ekonomista"
AyEshteZeshkan wrote: Qe t'kallxoj une qa ka pllavushka kunder kti tipit: Si krejt shiptart, zeshkan, pllavush apo flokekuq, edhe kjo veq duhet me kone kunder! Nese nuk je kunder, nuk je shiptar po je turk, jugosllav, shka, propallic nderkombetar - respektivisht kohes. Krejt dynjeja jon qu mare e mrapsht me na shfrytezy neve popullin e shumvuajtur dhe shekullisht t'shtypun shqiptar ne trojet tona etnike! ..................................i mush mushknit pluhun per me nxjerr metale qe kur te sh iten menxi e nxjerrin ka ni rroge t'pshurrt per qata minator.
pllavushja wrote: Lakshmi Mittal, the steel billionaire embroiled ....................................................chodiev group (shef e kan Sittardin) eshte kompani e specializume per me korruptu qeverite, per me mujt me privatizu minjera me cmime qesharake.
Lakshmi Mittal, the steel billionaire embroiled in a Labour party cash-for-favours scandal, gave millions in "special commissions" to facilitate the purchase of another steel plant
ky tipi e ka ble feronikelin, e ne kazakstan i ka pagu 100 milion "komisioneve speciale" per me mujt me privatizu nje minjere.
chodiev group (shef e kan Sittardin) eshte kompani e specializume per me korruptu qeverite, per me mujt me privatizu minjera me cmime qesharake.
Une spo di ku veq e kam lexu ni raport qe nuk e di kush e ka ba, qe kosova i ka disa miliarda euro pasuri nentokesore,e Bill Gates i ka disa Biljona spo di qka po qajna kok kur munet ma ardh bill gates edhe me than qe 1.5 biljon Euro edhe qunu e lshojeni kosoven ose paramendoni me ju **** far kompanis se madhe trepqa edhe ata mi hi mar trepqes e me dal deri N'prizeren per kater a pes dit, edhe me ec ata e mbas dy dite me sharru gjysma e kosoves nen tok hahhaaahahh veq hajgare.Pernime qikjo tem eshte shum serioze, se shumë njerez i kam ni tu than se kur bahet pavarsia edhe ja fillon trepqa punes ma per kosoven nuk ka rrezik kjo normal qe nuk osht e vertet po qajo eshte diqka qe i mban shpresat e kosovarëve, e paramendoni me ba me u **** plot njerez zhgenjehen. Une mendoj se organizatat joqeveritare qetash jan ba shum qeveritare, kekrush nuk po merret me problemet e me hajniat qe po ndodhin qdo dit, krejt vlla po merren me pune madhore krejt veq per pavarsi po folin, pse vlla nuk bahen nje OJQ qe e kish marr guximin qe ish marr vetem me AntiKorrupsion, pse ska guxim kerkush?Unë po mendoj se edhe partit Opozitare jan ba Pozite krejt demek kan ra te njejtin mendim, kerkush nuk po e kritikon kerkan ata edhe ma heret jan kan te njejtin mendim te gjith jan kan per pavarsi po qetash po me duket se secili ja kan shti voet n'fjok njani tjetrit e kerkush nuk guxon me livrit, po nejse se ata per vete e kan po pe di se neve per dit po nav q* nana nga pak, e ju e dini se pika pika mbushet pusi.
Qohuni Kosovar nga gjumi qe na ka kaplu prej qershorit te 1999.
qe kujt ju ka **** feronikeli:
The Steel Maharajah
BBC News
Lakshmi Mittal, the steel billionaire embroiled in a Labour party cash-for-favours scandal, gave millions in "special commissions" to facilitate the purchase of another steel plant, the BBC's Money Programme has been told.
Mr Mittal gave $100m to the controversial Chodiev group for its help in the purchase of a steel plant in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.
Key members of the Chodiev group are said to have had business links with organized crime in the former Soviet Union.
Mr Mittal, 51, hit the headlines earlier this year when it was discovered he had given the Labour Party £125,000. The donation came just two months before Tony Blair wrote to the Romanian prime minister supporting Mr Mittal's bid to buy the country's largest steel plant, Sidex.
Mr Mittal's company, LNM Holdings, is not British and is registered in the Dutch Antilles, a Caribbean tax haven.
Dr Johannes Sittard was Mittal's number two between 1995-2001. He negotiated Mr Mittal's purchase of the massive Karmet steelworks in Kazakhstan for $310m in 1995.
He told the Money Programme that he used the Chodiev group as the go-between with the Kazakh President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and admitted paying them a huge commission.
"We paid a certain commission over a period of time... because it was very important to get help with the local authorities and the tax issues." Dr Johannes Sittard
US oil companies are currently being investigated by the Swiss and US justice departments, because of allegations that they paid bribes into secret Swiss bank accounts held by the Kazakh president and some of his officials.
German born Dr Sittard told the Money Programme: "We paid a certain commission over a period of time for the service what they have provided on the beginning of the process, because it was very important to get help with the local authorities and the tax issues."
When asked: "We've been told $100m was the figure paid", Dr Sittard replied: "It was a substantial amount."
Dr Sittard who became chief executive of the Chodiev's Eurasia group last year, added: "So, I mean everybody who hears a figure of what you call $100m is a little astonished for sure."
He was then asked again: "It's a huge amount of money though isn't it?" Speaking from his offices in London's St James's Street, Dr Sittard replied: "It's a nice bundle of money, yes."
The energy company Tractebel is being investigated by the Belgian authorities over $55m in commission it paid to the Chodiev group for acting as its intermediaries in Kazakhstan.
Those involved in brokering the deal have told the Money Programme the commissions paid were in fact bribes, although Tractebel denies this. The three leading members of the Chodiev group have also been charged with money laundering in Belgium.
In Almaty, the Kazakh business capital, local businessman and politician, Bolat Abilov, told the BBC: "The Belgian company Tractebel bought a power grid in Almaty with a turnover of $100m. And for that they paid a bribe of $50m. Mr Mittal's company has a turnover of a billion and a bit, so you can judge for yourself how much extra he had to pay."
Annanya Sarin, spokesperson for Mittal's LNM Group, told the BBC that the $100m was not a commission, arguing that the figure had been taken out of context and the money was paid to the Chodiev group for supplying the Karmet works with iron ore and energy. Lakshmi Mittal, the steel billionaire embroiled in a Labour party cash-for-favours scandal, gave millions in "special commissions" to facilitate the purchase of another steel plant, the BBC's Money Programme has been told.
Annanya Sarin, spokesperson for Mittal's LNM Group, told the BBC that the $100m was not a commission, arguing that the figure had been taken out of context and the money was paid to the Chodiev group for supplying the Karmet works with iron ore and energy.
belaxhia wrote:oj ti pllavushe leje moj trepqen qka mi bo qytetit te ndar te mitrovices se???se per trepqa marojna sa dush.
Po ty a po ta merr mendja qe shkijet e kan "okupu" mitrovicen per ndonje arsye tjeter a?
Une po ju thom qe jon ty dasht me e ****e kadal kadal me dhelperi. Ne "Economist" e kan qite shpalljen per administratore te Trepces. Ai ne pershkrim te punes e ka me e ****e Trepcen mbrenda 2006-****. Kan me ja bo ma zi se Feronikelit.
Nuk e di a keni ndi po bashkesia nderkombetare bashke me do shype tona ne bord, po planifikojne me e ****e Trepcen.
Sagllam secili prej tyne po e shef shansen jetesore me i mbush xhepat. Edhe jo veq objektet si shkritoret e qa po di une, po edhe minjeren. Arsyeja te cilen e ofrojne, mos te kishte qene tragjike kishte qene qesharake, osht se duhet mi pagu borxhet e trepces.
Privatizimi ne thelb osht proces shume pozitiv, veq kta ja kajten nonen bre, jo veq Kosoven po edhe nentoken po dojne me e ****e.
Sot u mur vesh qe menaxheri i Trepces si duket i ka mare depozitat e argjentit qe kane qene ne BPK dhe ja ka shkel te shpija. Keta menaxhert nderkombetar, po vine ketu me rroga marramendese, po nuk po ju del boll, pa ja ngjit edhe dikun tjeter kesaj Kosove te shkrete.
A ka Kosovoa Qeveri, a Kuvend a shoqerti civile dikun me ju thon BOLL MA?
A e bojne keto veq kur kan far buxheti te majme per fushate ( qe kan qef mi thon kampanje)?


text:
Ladies: Are you tired of buying mass-produced dildos that don't fit inside you exactly the way you want? Are you like Goldilocks and the Three Dildos when it comes artificial wangs? ("This one is too big!" "This one is too small!" "This one doesn't have enough ridges!") Well, rejoice, because there's a new dildo-maker in town and it's basically the Spreadshirt of sex toy retailers. These days, you can customize just about anything—stickers, mugs, sneakers… you name it. So really, it was only a matter of time before some enterprising company offered up customizable instruments of pleasure. That day has arrived, and the company is called Made to Pleasure. Their sleek, well-designed website allows users to craft their own high-end toy(s), much like one would design a t-shirt:
Now, a woman can wile away an entire afternoon crafting her very own, one-of-a-kind masterpiece dildo (we have already talked to several who have done exactly that because, much like designing a pair of personalized Nikes, creating your own dildo can be quite addicting). And just like any quality customization website, Made to Pleasure allows you to start off with a template and go hog-wild from there. It also provides helpful references of scale, i.e. you can select lipstick-size, banana-size, hairbrush-size, or toothbrush-size:
In addition, you can choose from a variety of decadent finishes—gold-plated, silver-plated or clear acrylic. When you finally finish creating your custom-everything schlong, you can enjoy a 3-D preview of it before downloading your final design and exporting it to a PDF file— you know, so you can file it away with the rest of your dildo blueprints.