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Here's what doesn't make sense: The season that gives us the biggest bang for our food bucks is the same one in which we attempt to flee the kitchen — all because of the heat? C'mon, people. Install a fan or become bakers and canners of the night. Learn how to wrangle a recipe by prepping in the cool of the morning or by placing a griddle on a gas grill for long simmers.
Because the cookbooks of summer will tempt you. They are handsome and charming and informative. They manage to offer blendings of flavors and cultures you might not have thought of on your own. I'd wager you'll be inspired to make more than three recipes from any one of them.
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These are listed in order of preference within their categories.
"Home Made Summer," by Yvette van Boven (Abrams; $35, 130 recipes) » This pleasant collection of recipes lends a certain European sensibility to seasonal cooking, and it could be just the ticket for shaking up a standard rotation of grilled this-and-that with salads on the side. Look for carrot pie with apple and goat cheese; rolled up feta and garlic bread with radicchio and mint; and stuffed, marinated zucchini blossoms with lavender salt.
"Fresh Food Nation: Simple, Seasonal Recipes From America's Farmers," by Martha Holmberg (Taunton Press; $22.95, 125 recipes) » No reason to keep hounding your produce provider. This is a comprehensive self-help guide for the farmers-market community-supported-agriculture-member set, with mini profiles of CSA farms nationwide.
"A History of Food in 100 Recipes," by William Sitwell (Little, Brown; $35, 100 recipes) » What food lovers will be reading at the beach; the format delivers culture in fascinating, digestible chunks. The inclusion of Rice Krispies' Treats signals the absence of culinary snobbery.
"Smoke & Pickles: Recipes and Stories From a New Southern Kitchen," by Edward Lee (Artisan; $29.95, 130 recipes) » I believe he can fry: The cheftestant we came to know as the Snarly One on Season 9 of "Top Chef" brings new ingredients and technique to the kitchen art that tends to scare off home cooks the most. His flavor combinations are compelling, and his tips read like a mentor's blessings.
"Fresh Happy Tasty: An Adventure in 100 Recipes," by Jane Coxwell; $35, 100 recipes) » The adventure comes by way of the South African author's work as a private chef to the yachted rich and famous â€" most recently, for power couple Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller. Seafood's the largest chapter, naturally; recipes are written simply, with some techniques highlighted by process photos, such as cleaning squid.
"Bakeless Sweets," by Faith Durand (Stewart, Tabori & Chang; $29.95, 100 recipes) » Those would be puddings, custards, mousses, individual jellies, icebox cakes and whipped-cream desserts. And I would be remiss not to mention the Salted Caramel Risotto. Many good variations on baked items, too, including brownies, Meyer lemon bars and creme brulee.
"The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook: Recipes and Reflections From a Small Vermont Dairy," by Diane St. Clair (Andrews McMeel; $27.99, 100 recipes) » Recognize the author's name? She supplies butter and buttermilk to the likes of chefs Thomas Keller and Barbara Lynch. The book's small history lessons go down as smooth as a creamy, cold glass of the stuff in summertime. With this on the shelf, you'll never again wonder what to do with the rest of a bottle.
"Gluten-Free Girl Every Day," by Shauna James Ahern with Daniel Ahern (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $29.99, 120 recipes) » Cooking and eating like this Seattle family proves there's joy in "living without," to refer to a regrettably named magazine. Nobody could work their way through this book and feel gustatorially deprived.
"Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook," by Joe Yonan (August, Ten Speed Press; $24.99, 80 recipes) » In a follow-up to his 2011 "Serve Yourself," The Washington Post's Food editor steers his singleton focus away from the animal kingdom. He walks the walk as a new vegetarian. The book offers strategies of math and examples via nicely drawn essays.
"Cooking With Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes With Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers," by Miche Bacher (Quirk Books; $24.95, 100-plus recipes) » They offer more than pretty petal power; flowers contain nutrients, health benefits and complex flavors. This compendium will persuade you to put nasturtiums in your corn and black bean salad and day lilies in your cheese biscuits.
"Bake It Like You Mean It: Gorgeous Cakes From Inside Out," by Gesine Bullock-Prado (Stewart, Tabori & Chang; $29.95, 70 recipes) » Although these creations are some of the most stunningly visual we've seen, they seem possible to re-create and almost irresistible. If assembly steps look too steep to climb, keep in mind that you are concocting works of edible art. Be sure to visit the compilation of book errata on the publisher's Web site, which involves a larger-than-usual number of recipes.
"Flour, Too: Indispensable Recipes for the Cafe's Most Loved Sweets & Savories," by Joanne Chang (Chronicle; $35, 100 recipes) » You don't have to visit either Massachusetts location of Flour Bakery + Cafe to appreciate the chef's hand. And you won't necessarily be baking your way through the book, either — the hot and sour soup, the winter paper salad (go ahead, make it in the summer) and the cantaloupe-mint seltzer being three savory recipe reasons why.Next Page >
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Wed Jun 27, 2012, 09:32 AM
kpete (44,200 posts)
Exclusive: Northrop Awards Lobbyist $500K Bonus Wks Before Becoming Low-Paid Congressional Staffer
Source: Republic Report
Exclusive: Northrop Grumman Awards Lobbyist $500K Bonus Weeks Before Becoming Low-Paid Congressional Staffer Shaping Military Policy
Northrop Grumman, the fourth largest weapons maker in the world, follows the actions of Congress very closely. The F-35, which may cost over $1.45 trillion because of unprecedented cost overruns, an expensive surveillance drone program criticized as unnecessary, and even a new fleet of nuclear bombers are among the Northrop Grumman products that may be in jeopardy as the Pentagon is forced to trim fat from the military budget. But luckily for Northrop Grumman, which made $2.12 billionin profits last year, the firm essentially has a man on the inside of Congress with wide sway over how the government spends money on national defense.
In 2011, after Republicans seized the House of Representatives in a landslide victory, the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees the military, gained a new chairman, Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA). As with most leadership changes, McKeon and his committee hired new professional staff. Thomas MacKenzie, a vice president at Northrop Grumman, was tapped to work for the committee beginning in March of 2011.
There are many examples of lobbyists burrowing into government to work in policy areas that impact their former employers. These lobbyists, as Public Citizens Craig Holman, an expert on lobbying, has explained, seem happy to accept low-paid public service salaries, perhaps because they can expect extremely high pay once they return to K Street.
In MacKenzies case, Northrop Grumman made sure he had extra cash before he went to work writing policy on the defense budget. Republic Report viewed a recently filed ethics disclosure form, and found that Northrop Grumman paid MacKenzie a $498,334 bonus in 2011, just before he went to work under McKeon as a committee staffer. The bonus was almost the size of MacKenzies annual salary at the firm, which was $529,379 in 2010.
Read more: http://www.republicreport.org/2012/grumman-500k-mckeon/
8 replies, 2180 views
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Exclusive: Northrop Awards Lobbyist $500K Bonus Wks Before Becoming Low-Paid Congressional Staffer (Original post)
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Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 09:42 AM
closeupready (23,135 posts)
1. Typical. From today's Congress' Standard Operating Procedure Manual.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 09:56 AM
harun (9,984 posts)
2. The Corporate Representative Republic. What could possibly go wrong?
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 10:13 AM
Overseas (11,378 posts)
3. K&R. Glad this example is out there.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 10:15 AM
barbtries (15,980 posts)
4. in-your-face corruption.
it's depressing.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 10:23 AM
tanyev (23,418 posts)
5. Gosh, that was awfully nice of them.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 11:06 AM
Plucketeer (7,518 posts)
6. Northrup-Grumman: Ever mindful
of the taxpayers they gleefully rob.
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 11:21 AM
nanabugg (2,198 posts)
7. Take his name and keep the information flowing...Time to fight back...hard!!! nt
Response to kpete (Original post)
Wed Jun 27, 2012, 12:12 PM
riverbendviewgal (3,337 posts)
8. My Teacher in NJ said that Empires implode from within from corruption....So it is.
This does not shock me one bit.
I thank you for bringing this website to my attention. The article on sugar in the same site was astounding..
Eliminate sugar from your diet
Stop eating sugar, other than in fruits and veggies. Better for you and it is a boycott that could work like the grape boycott so long ago....
"Its not a coincidence that the poor who do not have well-heeled lobbyists at their disposal lost while the powerful Sugar Lobby maintained its government favors. As The Washington Examiners Tim Carney explained last week, Big Sugar has all sorts of deep connections to Washington:
But the lobby for the sugar program is strong. Most famously, the Fanjul family in Florida, owner of Florida Crystals, are deeply embedded in Washington politics. Over the last three elections, the Fanjuls have given more than $1.8 million to federal candidates and political action committees, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
Alfie Fanjul is a longtime Democratic fundraiser (Bill Clinton once interrupted a liaison with Monica Lewinsky to take a call from Alfie). His brother Pepe is a Republican booster. In January, Pepe and his wife hosted a $2,500-a-head Palm Beach fundraiser for Mitt Romney."

subset: commoncrawl


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Shipping Weight (lbs):0.1 Warranty:Lifetime Replacement MPN:JEN-1990 Model:10-12100 UPC:034411112915 EAN:0034411112915 ASIN:B000NCWOKE Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days Features: 8-ply construction ? 500 PSI burst strength Resists kinking Polished surface resists minor abrasions, stains and mildew Flow Guard Plus protective collar on 5/8 inch and 1/2 inch hoses, resists kinks at faucet Heavy-duty, crush resistant, Full-Flo machined metal couplings on 1 inch, 75 inch, 5/8 inch, with built-in washer for tight sealing Accessories: Midwest MWC-0003 3-Piece Homeowner's Shovel Kit With Round Point Shovel, Square Point Shovel & Scoop... Midwest MWC-0002 3-Piece Homeowner's Outdoor Cleanup Tool Kit With Poly Leaf Rake, Poly Shrub Rake &... Wildwood YardBuddy Biodegradable/Compostable Lawn & Leaf Bags - 10-Pack 16000 Midwest MWC-0001 3-Piece Homeowner's Garden Tool Kit With Poly Leaf Rake, Bow Rake & Round Point Sho... Genova Products 31481CP 3/4-Inch by 1/2-Inch Female Iron Pipe Thread Reducing PVC Pipe Tee - 10 Pack Similar Items: Gilmour 10 Series 8 Ply Flexogen Hose 1/2 inch x 50 Feet #10-12050 Green Viking 912600 8-Way Heavy Duty Spray Nozzle Gilmour 10 Series 8 Ply Flexogen Hose 1/2 Inch x 75 Feet 10-12075 Green Gilmour 01RW Rubber Hose Washers Suncast Swivel Hose Hideaway with Smart Trak Hose Guide CPLSSM200B Editorial Reviews: SynopsisThis Gilmour Flexogen all-weather hose is exceptionally strong and durable. With its 8-ply, polyester cord reinforcement and its high burst-strength construction, this hose is built to last and has long set the standard for quality in garden hoses. The Flow Guard Plus protective collar helps to resist kinking at the faucet to give you peace of mind that you will not be dealing with those annoying kinks. The Flexogen hose has metal, heavy-duty, crush-resistant, Full-Flo machined metal couplings with built-in washer for a tight, leak-free seal that will last for a very long time. This Flexogen hose features a polished surface that resists minor abrasions that can collect dirt, reducing the possibility of mildew that would leave your hose looking dingy, dirty and old. When you're tired of dealing with hoses that crack, leak, kink and are difficult to attach because of insufficient couplings, then make the switch to Gilmour Flexogen hoses. This heavy-duty garden hose is made in the USA and backed by lifetime guarantee. If you don't already own one of these quality hoses, you should add it to your summer gardening shopping list. You will be happy that you did. CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. 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Hey, hey, we're back from lunch. It was warm and delicious and everything box lunches wish they were. Many thanks to SMX for that. We're short on banter because I spent a whopping 30 minutes trying to get my Internet to work. Ah, fun. How long til Outspoken provides me with a traveling IT boy? I think it should be tomorrow.
Up on stage we have Greg Sterling moderating Mike Blumenthal, Mary Bowling, David Mihm, Will Scott, and Andrew Shotland. It's like the greatest local search panel of all-time. Ready?
Greg starts off saying that local helps connect the Internet with the real world – where most transactions take place.
David Mihm is up first. He's probably one of my favorite people in search. Definitely top ten.
What does local search look like? It's the 10 Pack mostly driven by the maps.google.com and local.yahoo.com algorithms. When you're talking local, it's not just about Google. "Other" is the third largest local search engine. He says that local search is a bit more complex than traditional search where it's just Google and Bing/Yahoo.
Stay with me…this next part gets a bit confusing.
There are THREE major local search engines – Bing, Google Maps and Yahoo Local. They collect their data from business owners, AS WELL as other sources like Localeze, InfoUSA and Acxiom. In turn, the big three feed a whole bunch of other providers. That's the danger of not controlling your information. If you let incorrect information stay on Google, it can be fed into a whole number of different providers and be wrong everywhere.
Local search does have its own set of ranking factors and requires a different mindset than SEO.
- Verified Local Business Listing
- Off Page Criteria
- Reviews
- Traditional On Page SEO
Consistency: Name, Address, and Phone Number are absolutely crucial. Don't use tracking phone numbers or try to stuff keywords into your business name. Think of your local business listings as a thumbprint for your business, not as a place to advertise. With traditional SEO you're focused on optimizing Web site content. Things like Title tags, architecture, social media, etc. With local search you want to talk about verification, making sure you claimed your listings, getting citations and off-site references, reviews, etc.
Your mindset with local is a lot closer to PPC. It requires a specialist to be done well. It can be up and running in less than 24 hour. There are highly trackable clickthroughs. You should be using A/B testing of landing pages.
[I was having some technical issues through a bit of David's presentation. For clarification on the above, you may want to check out A Closer Look At The Local Search Data Providers. It's a great resource provided by the folks at GetListed.]
Up next is Mike.
Ranking factors in Google Local:
- Web page title in Maps
- Business Title
- Reviews
- Categories
Ranking was NOT dependent on inbound links or other traditional SEO metrics. They knew Google was using Web references, they just didn't know what. He went back and pulled out their patent on location prominence and they layered the patent over their research. It matched up pretty well. Location prominence is the new PageRank.
How Google Scores Your Website
- In-bound links from documents that mention the business with full or partial name or address
- In-bound links with business name in the anchor text
- Business name in your title tag
- All or part of your business name in your domain name
They're more about ranking the location than ranking the Web site.
- Choose your business name and domain carefully for use in Local
- Think about gaining inbound links with your business name as the anchor text
- Be sure your Title tags reflect your name
- Strike a balance in optimizing your site for both organic and Google Maps.
Mary Bowling is next. She's addicted to it and works on it every day. She's going to talk about how to rank in the Google 10 pack.
Her clients are obsessed with the Google 10-pack. Even if they rank well organically, they still want to be in the 10-pack because it pushes everything down. Sometimes the 10-pack is a 3-pack. If you can get in there, it's even better because you have the same real estate but there's less competition.
The local and regular algorithms are very different. She shows a color-coded chart of how sites ranks differently based on if its a Map, 10-pack or Universal search. Because those are all different too. [Geez, no wonder SEO is a recession-proof career.] You can't be in the 10 Pack if you don't have a Google Maps Local Business Listing. That's where you start. And even if you didn't create one yourself, you may still have one if a customer created it for you. You need to check it and optimize it.
Optimize Your Maps Listing
- Use your main keyword phrase and complementary terms in your profile description
- Grab the long tail by including your products or services, the brands you carry, the locations you serve and anything else that is important in your niche.
- Choose or create the right category. Google lets you pick 5. For the first one or two use pre-established categories that they let you choose from. With the other ones try using your best location or product keywords. But you have to keep an eye on this. You should look at it several times a week.
- Create attributes: Don't keyword stuff. You want a human to want to do business with you after they've read this. You can find things that will work for you when the bots crawl your profile.
- Create Citations: Look at competitors and see where they're getting citations. Citations are Web mentions that include your business or Web site. They don't have to contain a link. Look at this information with a critical eye.
- Get Reviews: Reviews are exactly what people are looking for when looking for a local business. Google pulls reviews from all across the Web. It doesn't matter where customers are leaving reviews for you, as long as you're getting lots of them. According to Yahoo, once you start getting lots of reviews, they start figuring out if the reviews are good reviews or bad reviews. [Interesting] You should come up with a system to encourage happy customers to leave reviews for you.
Use your Web site to build trust and reinforce your LBL listing by linking to your Maps listing, getting links from your local trust sites and using location terms in your on-page optimization.
Use on-page optimization to make your location clear. Place your full street address and local phone number on all pages of your Web site. Optimize your Contact or About page for your business name and location. Use the hcard microformat to make your location unmistakeable.
Use the same name, address and phone number everywhere online. Go to the source of business data and standardize there. Use a local database directory – check out UniversalBusinessListing.org and GetListed.org.
Check For Location Trust
- Check the data providers first
- Search for your biz name
- Search for your biz address
- Search for your biz phone number
- Look at citations
Will Scott is up next. He's adorable.
Barnacle SEO is attaching oneself to a large fixed object and waiting for customers to float by in the current. The most important thing in business is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made. [insert giggle here] Even the most trusted can be bought. Yahoo and Best of the Web both have local-specific directories and you can buy into them. Local Web references equal trust. You don't need to have a Web site to rank locally. You can't ship a lube job.
Local Listing/Review Sites
- Yahoo Local
- CitySearch
- SuperPages
- InsiderPages
- Yelp
- YellowPages
- BrownBook
- Merchanct Circle (though you'll get cold called for the rest of your life}
A good starting point is GetListed.org.
- Maximize local listings with SEO. Using keywords in your title and copy. Link to local profiles.
- Local Search isn't always about the map. Out of major cities states + service works.
- Examples show "citations" can rank unto themselves.
- Great for franchise and weak sites.
Andrew Shotland is finishing things up for us. He has no presentation and claims his dog ate it. I don't believe him. I don't think you should either.
The Top SEO'd IYPs (in order)
- SuperPages
- CitySearch
- Yelp
- Yahoo Local
- Insider Pages
- YellowPages
- BizJournals
- AreaConnect
- Magic Yellow
- Switchboard
A lot of the big branded IYPs are nowhere to be found. Biz Journal and Match Yellow are his favorites on the list. There are a lot of companies doing local search SEO/directory search SEO very well.
He looked at the different type of sites types to see what kinds of sites ranked for different queries. Local business sites showed up more frequently (32 percent). IYP followed with 27 percent, vertical sites 17 percent and article sites got 6 percent. Come up with your keyword set for your client, do the queries and see what types of sites show up for that query. Those are the sites to go after if you're looking to buy a site or get an ad.
Pick one: Optimize a site for local or regular SEO?
Mary: If she had a truly local business and other drew customers in from one area – local
Andrew: Why do you have to choose? Do whatever you want.
Will: Google's actually carrying your location data into non local queries. If you're previously typed in "New Orleans dentist", "New Orleans plumber", when you type "chiropractor" you're going to get New Orleans results.
Chris Winfield is in the audience and asks what social networks are best for local search?
Will: If it's a low-dollar business? Twitter. You can own Twitter on a local level. If it's a relationship-type business? Facebook. If it's a professional-type service it's LinkedIn.
Andrew: He thinks Facebook pages rank fantastically well. So do YouTube pages.
avid: If you're in restaurants, Yelp and Urban Spoon are critical. If it's travel, TripAdvisor is critical. It depends on the niche.
How will Google Pages affect business listings?
Mike: It's going to be a useful landing page for many uses.
David: Agrees.
Final Thoughts:
- Mary: Location trust. Build it.
- Andrew: People are lucky to be doing local search marketing right now.
- Will: Anywhere you can get listed is worth being in.
- David: Get your data straight at the major data providers or it will go out wrong everywhere.
- Mike: Don't necessarily believe us. Test, test, test.
9 thoughts on "Ranking Tactics For Local Search"
Thanks for the great writeup. I always love a chance to be on a panel with such strong skills, personalities and odors — just kidding!
I'm so glad you published the audience comments. In this panel I think the audience brought out some of the best information of the session.
And thank you for calling me adorable — my turn to blush!
Glad I got to meet you in person, finally!
gosh….wish I could'a been there but a family thingy kept me off the plane and that's that! however, great blog here Lisa and muchly appreciated! Seems like I got some work to do too, eh!
Great write up! Very thankful as not everyone from across the pond is able to visit SMX East.
Excellent overview with great information and tips. Thank you!
Thanks for a great source. I checked the list twice for my site and found a couple of improvements I could make.
Hi Lisa,
Excellent. Thanks for the summary. I was at SMX but missed this.
Is it Golden Spoon? or Urban Spoon?
Great post! I personally noticed from my testing to get your Google Maps Listing to show up the 10 Pack in the SERPs (or now the 7-pack and sometimes 3-Pack & occasionally the 1-pack) you need the following things:
1. Pick your category correctly.
2. Have your keyword in your business description.
3. Get more citations then your competition (steal from you competition sources, they list it right there).
4. Get loads of reviews – preferably good ones ;) (At our company we have a pretty awesome way of getting loads of reviews for our clients)
5. Have some user content created about your biz on Google Maps (get creative and always add value, don't be spammy with this).
Oh and the obvious, pimp out your listing to its full capacity. Photos, video and the whole nice yards!
DO NOT's:
1. Keyword load on your business name, only put your DBA (doing business as) name. It's against Google's terms to do anything else.
2. Do not use local keyword modifiers in your categories section – again against their terms, even thought it helps on rankings. If you do be prepared for someone to flag your listing and to have it suspended.
3. Use different phone/numbers and/and or when getting citations. Being "Consistent" is the name of the game here and key to building trust on your Google local listing.
That's my story and I'm sticking with it!
I noticed this post was 2009. Do you think there are other providers now that shoudl be included in that list? Dexknows for example is a very popular and growing.
THE Traffic Pack: social media, local marketing, SEO, aricle marketing, submissions and more… All In One? http://mindyourowndata.com/trafficpack/


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How should the county solve its budget crisis? Should the police unions and the Civil Service Employees Association make contract concessions? Should county services be cut? Should there be a tax increase? Should the County eliminate its guarantee to refund other taxing districts' (including school districts) share of property taxes paid in error due to County assessment errors?
The New Hyde Park/Garden City School Board meeting, scheduled for 8 p.m., did not start until almost 8:30 p.m. due to the board's late arrival. They apologized profusely due to the executive session that they would have to resume after the meeting ended.
Because of the nature of the executive session, Superintendent Robert Katulak said he was not able to discuss the topic of the session with the public.
How should the county solve its budget crisis? Should the police unions and the Civil Service Employees Association make contract concessions? Should county services be cut? Should there be a tax increase? Should the county eliminate its guarantee to refund other taxing districts (including school districts) share of property taxes paid in error due to county assessment errors?
Prior to the start of the last Williston Park Village Board meeting, the mayor and trustees honored the 11-12-year-old girls baseball team for its second consecutive season winning of the District Championship for their age category.
The girls presented Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar with a signed ball and with a trophy to put in the village trophy case. All of the girls were present with village trustee Kevin Rynne, who is one of the coaches, along with Dennis Gannon and Steve Gilhooly.
The candidate submitted the following statement.
"Jon Kaiman brings to his office as Town of North Hempstead Supervisor a distinguished record of public and private sector accomplishments. His four terms in office have been underscored by his continuation of the town's tradition of sound finances and good government.
"Under Kaiman's administration, CNN Money Magazine ranked the town one of the "Best 100 Places to Live in America." In addition, CNN rated North Hempstead as the Second Best Place to Live for a healthy retirement in the United States of America. Since taking office on Jan. 1, 2004, Kaiman has spearheaded a series of bold initiatives to promote accountability and transparency, to better the quality of life for seniors, to maintain sound finances and to protect the town's environment.
Residency Investigator Joseph Wendling was at the last Herricks School Board meeting and spoke to residents.
Prior to introducing him, superintendent Dr. Jack Bierwirth said, "You asked that Joseph Wendling be brought back to talk to the board. First, let me get you up to speed.
"We brought Joe over to the Town of North Hempstead and introduced him to the official that we have contacted. So, we have now established an official working relationship with them. We have taken him around to various organizations. He came to the administration meeting recently so they all know who he is so that if he is doing surveillance they don't call 911 and have him carted away.
Jason Watson issued the following statement:
"Jason Watson is the Democratic candidate running for the Nassau County Legislature in the 9th District. He has been working with children and adults with autism since his graduation from Quinnipiac College where he received his Bachelor of Arts in sociology in May of 2000. Since July of 2000, he has been employed by Nassau Suffolk Services for Autism where he currently holds a position as Coordinator of Adult, Vocational, and Family Support Services.
"Mr. Watson is also a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst. He is a member of NSSA's Human Rights and Peer Review Committees and a participant in the Long Island Task force for Aging Out, the National Town Hall Meeting for Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism, the LI Family Support Advisory Council, and the LI Quality Assurance Task Force.
The candidate issued the following statement.
"Charles Berman was originally appointed to the office of Receiver of Taxes in 2003 and January 2010, and was elected in November 2010.
"Berman is a proven government affairs professional with a solid administrative background in business. His career in public service began when he was appointed Deputy Town Clerk for the Town of Oyster Bay in 2000.
(A statement from Democratic challenger Jason Watson has not yet been received.)
Legislator Richard J. Nicolello, a resident of New Hyde Park, is seeking another two-year term in the Nassau County Legislature, 9th District. He is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines.
He issued the following statement announcing his candidacy.
The entire memorial ceremony was under the direction of Town of North Hempstead Town Clerk Leslie Gross. Gross announced at the introduction of the program that a piece of steel that had been at Ground Zero, had been delivered to her home at 3 a.m. that morning. This particular piece has been all around the country as a stark reminder of the horror of that day.
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1School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
2Now at: Department of Experimental Physics, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
Abstract. The concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) was estimated from dimethyl sulfide (DMS) flux, seasalt (SS) emission, and aerosols entrained from the free troposphere (FT). Only under clean air conditions, did the nucleation of DMS derived sulfur (DMS CCN) contribute significantly to the MBL CCN. The accommodation coefficient for sulfuric acid mass transfer was found to be a very important parameter in the modeling the contribution of DMS to MBL CCN. The relationship between seawater DMS and MBL CCN was found to be non-linear mainly due to the transfer processes of sulfuric acid onto aerosols. In addition, seasalt derived CCN (SS CCN) and entrained CCN from the FT (FT CCN) affected the MBL CCN directly, by supplying CCN, and indirectly, by behaving as an efficient sink for sulfuric acid. The SS CCN explained more than 50% of the total predicted MBL CCN when wind speeds were moderate and high. Seasalt and FT CCN may often be more efficient sources of MBL CCN than DMS.
Citation: Yoon, Y. J. and Brimblecombe, P.: Modelling the contribution of sea salt and dimethyl sulfide derived aerosol to marine CCN, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 1, 93-123, doi:10.5194/acpd-1-93-2001, 2001.


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Reimold, Orioles Agree To $1 Million Deal
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BALTIMORE (AP) — Despite missing most of last season, outfielder Nolan Reimold more than doubled his salary when he agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 29-year-old hit .313 with five home runs and 10 RBIs last year, when he didn't play after April 30 because of a herniated disk in his neck. He made $490,500.
Reimold's agreement, announced Friday, avoided salary arbitration. Baltimore has eight players still eligible to file Tuesday: catcher Matt Wieters; right-handers Tommy Hunter, Jason Hammel, Jim Johnson and Darren O'Day; left-handers Brian Matusz and Troy Patton; and infielder Chris Davis.
In addition to his salary, Reimold would get $50,000 if he's an All-Star and $50,000 if he wins a Silver Slugger Award.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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SOUTH BEND, Ind. The planes, trains and busses are still moving at the South Bend Regional Airport.
But officials would definitely like to see more, departures, when it comes to bicycles.
For instance, some of the bikes chained to this bike rack by the South Shore train platform have been there for months.
The airport board Thursday approved a new policy stating any bikes that haven't moved 30 days will be removed and disposed of.
Any bicycles that are suspected of being abandoned will be tagged first, giving the owner 14 days to move it, or lose it.


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Protesters in New Delhi against the Indian governments response to the brutal gang rape of Jyoti Singh Pandey
Rape culture, the pervasive, unchecked, beast that has created the conditions for rape to occur with the horrifying, disgusting frequency and grotesqueness with which it occurs, guides the way people think about women's bodies, women's autonomy and who is responsible for sexual assault. A fundamental piece of rape culture is the belief that women's bodies should be protected and kept hidden so as to deter the lustful gazes and uncontrollable actions of men. Rape culture assumes a set of ideas about gender, nature and behavior–ultimately, men can't control their desire and urge to rape if faced with possible access to a woman's body. According to some people–a woman walking down the street is enough to set off this compulsive and uncontrollable behavior.
While the US refuses to accept our own culture of rape–there is a concurrent thread in India–an inability to see exactly how slut-shaming or putting the onus on women's bodies and behavior as the cause for rape is not just perpetuating rape culture, but limiting women's lives, choices, mobility and ultimately allowing for rape to occur.
Trigger Warning
From the–we can't make this shit up files–comes a list of advice from prominent thinkers and leaders in India on how women could avoid rape:
Abu Asim Azmi, state president of the Maharashtra Samajwadi Party says, "I support death penalty for the Delhi rapists but there should also be a law that women should not wear less clothes and roam around with boys who are not their relatives. What is the need for roaming at night with men who are not relatives? This should be stopped."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee: "Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is so open. It's like an open market with open options."
Dr. Anita Shukla, scientist at the Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya: "When a group of men intend to rape, they will do it. The victim should save herself for bringing the perpetrators to book… Had the girl simply surrendered (and not resisted) when surrounded by six men, she would not have lost her intestine. Why was she out with her boyfriend at 10 pm?"
MP Rajpal Saini: "Why do housewives and school going girls need mobiles? It encourages them to make futile small talk and get connected with people outside their homes."
Asaram Bapu, self-proclaimed "godman": "She should have taken God's name and could have held the hand of one of the men and said 'I consider you as my brother', and should have said to the other two 'Brother I am helpless, you are my brother, my religious brother.'
The list has more, from as silly as "women shouldn't carry cell phones," to damning, horrifying advice on holding the hands of the perpetrators and begging them not to rape you.
We don't actually know what happened the night that Jyoti Singh Pandey was violently sexually assaulted and as a result lost her life–what she was wearing, her relationship to her friend, if she was on her cell phone, if she fought back. And none of that matters, because in a culture of rape–there is never a way to be pure enough, hidden enough or less woman enough. The only way to see less instances of sexual assault is to push for a culture where rape is not considered a legitimate and natural behavior by men and where women are empowered and able to walk the streets in comfort.
Reading this list and writing this post makes me sick to my stomach and it's not the first or last time we've seen shaming advice thrown on women to carry the burden of a culture that refuses to recognize where the fault truly lies when it comes to rape. Even in death, victims are questioned for their dignity, and their behavior–as though on a fundamental level our hatred of women goes as far as to believe that when a woman is brutally raped and as a result murdered–she somehow deserved it.
My hope, our hope, is the thousands of women hitting the streets demanding justice and freedom to push past a belief that rape is natural and a woman walking the streets is unnatural. The logic just isn't there and it's time for the culture to reflect that.


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The experts cannot yet explain the Newtown shootings and maybe never will be able to. But there are questions all of us can ask and actions we can take. Read More
Please see first blog entry for "Science Isn't Golden" introduction.The Comment section of this blog is to be a place for open, respectful discussion or debate, raising of issues, and telling of personal stories. If your comment is deleted, please either assume that it was a glitch in the system (I keep losing comments seemingly at random when I go to respond to them) or that your comment was removed for a failure to be civil. If you will remove the vitriol and disrespect for honest debate from your posting and resend the rest, I will repost it.
When and how should we open up to loved ones?


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the pousada is really very clean and confortable: the room booked (with patio) was fully equipped ((except the wardrobe, my room did not have it, probably beacause it had 1 queen and 1 twin bed and there wasn't enough space)., ensuite bathroom with shower. Good breakfast, kind and helpful staff. Security 24h. The wifi is free and available wherever in... More
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More than 200 soldiers are suing KBR for knowingly exposing them to toxic chemicals in Iraq, whose effects started with nose bleeds and could end with cancer. KBR says that didn't happen. But even if it did, the company isn't responsible. Taxpayers are.
Rocks Off combs through Craigslist's postings hoping to find the genesis of some great musical endeavor. So when we saw a posting looking for Arabic singers, we were intrigued. After all, this is a time of mosque burnings and our upstairs neighbors passing anti-Sharia laws. It must take a he ... More >>
And then Cheney proceeded to shoot the reporter in the -- ah, that's just too easy. So the Brits are going to start pulling out of Iraq. Somehow this is a good sign to Dick Cheney, or at least that's what he says in an exclusive interview with ABC News. (You gotta love the way ABC trumpets it as ... More >>


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So if you read my post the other day you know that I've been going through an "interesting" time to say the least. What better way to diffuse negative feelings than to go out to a good restaurant with a … Continue reading
Why Are "We" Acting This Way?
There's something that has been on my mind lately. So much so that I felt compelled to write about it. I just can't shake the way that I am beginning to resent how "us" females are acting nowadays. It is … Continue reading


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Ascot, United Kingdom October 4 - 5, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay UK
We are excited to attend JoomlaDay UK taking place at the beautiful Sunningdale Park in Ascot on 4th-5th October! The event will gather web developers, designers and Joomla enthusiasts for two days filled with knowledge and fun.
SiteGrounders will be attending and have prepared special games and treats at the booth throughout the weekend. Make sure you attend sessions from one of our Joomla gurus - Daniel Kanchev who will give valuable tips on how to speed up and protect your site(Administrators Stream).
We'll be attending
We are speaking
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We'll have a booth
The SiteGrounders on the event:
Kristina T.
Daniel KanchevWeb Apps Engineer@dvkanchev
Houston, United States September 20 - 20, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay Houston
JoomlaDay Houston will be on September 20 this year and we are happy to support it again! The event taking place at the 4th largest city in the US, famous for so many things (NASA's largest research facility, Technology & Manufacturing, Healthcare & Biomedicine, to list a few), guarantees to be a great chance to meet other Joomla enthusiasts – and who knows, maybe discover a new star ;)
We won't be able to attend, but we have provided some cool Joomla swag for everyone and have one ticket to give away. Just click "Apply for Tickets" on the left and follow the instructions.
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Warsaw, Poland September 20 - 21, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay Poland
We are happy to support JoomlaDay Poland again this year. The event will be on 20 – 21 September at one of the most beautiful and culture rich cities in Europe, the capital of Poland, Warsaw.
Enjoy this weekend full of Joomla fun and be on the lookout for the special SiteGround Raffle and some cool swag we have provided. We won't be attending, but we have one ticket to give away – just click on "Apply for Tickets" and follow the instructions.
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Köln, Germany September 12 - 13, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay Germany
We are happy to support JoomlaDay Germany again this year. The conference will take place at the beautiful Maternhaus in the heart of Köln, on 12th and 13th September. Don't miss out on the great Joomla talks scheduled in four tracks over the weekend and be on the look out for some great swag and giveaways provided by SiteGround.
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Chicago, United States August 9 - 9, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay Chicago
SiteGround is happy to support yet another JoomlaDay – this time in the Windy City of Chicago! Enjoy a day full of knowledge and networking with other Joomla enthusiasts and be on the look out for some SiteGround swag and giveaways.
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Minneapolis, MN, United States July 19 - 19, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay Minnesota
The first JoomlaDay Minnesota will be on July 19th in Minneapolis. This event will gather Joomla! community stars and enthusiasts for a day filled with valuable knowledge divided into 3 tracks – Business & Marketing, Developers and Beginners. We will be attending as well – so make sure to stop by our booth and say hi!
We'll be attending
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We'll have a booth
The SiteGrounders on the event:
Ivan AlexandrovSenior Sales Representative
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Königstein, Germany May 30 - June 1, 2014Visit Official WebsiteSee Event Photos
J and Beyond 2014
J and Beyond is the annual gathering for the core Joomla developer community from around the world. We've been actively supporting JAB and 2014 marks our 3rd year being a sponsor.
We'll be attending
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The SiteGrounders on the event:
Lily YakimovaMarketing Director@LilyanaYakimova
Kristina T.
Tenko Nikolov
Paris, France May 23 - 24, 2014Visit Official Website
JoomlaDay France
JoomlaDay France gathers the French Joomla community for 2 days of Joomla fun! We are proud to sponsor the event and though not personally attending, we'll be sending cool swag for all attendees!
As a host that cares for our customers, we're also giving away 2 free tickets for the event. To learn how to win one, just click on the Apply for tickets button.
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This week's four tips include suggestions in each of the four elements you need to work on in order to achieve your health, fitness, wellness and weight loss goals: (eating right, exercise, support and accountability). 1. Good Eating Tip Next time you order pizza (or make one at home) ask for half the cheese. You will barely notice any taste ... Read More »
Halloween Xtreme Cardio Workout. [Video]
Boooooo! Happy Halloween!!! In this episode my friend/trainer Vicky Garcia and I, we will show you a great Tabata style workout to burn off the extras from Halloween. Tabata style is the best type of workout to do in a short period of time, but still feel the after burn. Please leave a comment about how intense was this workout ... Read More »
How to Snack Without Getting FAT
Do you eat when you are bored, upset or angry? Do you find that every day requires a chocolate bar to get you through the afternoon? If you are trying to lose weight, you may feel guilty about snacks. As a fitness nutrition coach, I find some people (particularly women) laugh nervously when I ask them what happen to their ... Read More »
100 Ways to Lose Weight, Get Leaner, and Stronger. [Video]
Hi everybody, this is trainer Marcelo, and I am pleased to introduce you my new fitness book: 100 Ways to Lose Weight, Get Leaner, and Stronger! If you are a busy parent, a business traveler, or you just need to lose a few pounds… Then this book is for you! As Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is Power." In this book, ... Read More »
October "Fat Burning" Workout Challenge. [Video]
Hi there! In this episode Coach Kelly and I, we want to challenge "you" for the entire month of October to do at least one round every day. This challenge is to HELP YOU burn fat one day at a time. If one of your goals is to get rid of the unwanted fat, do the following workout every day ... Read More »
Fast Weight Loss
There are many reasons why you may wish to lose body fat. Among the top are to simply look better, and improve your overall health. Losing weight should always be considered as a long term proposition. Quick weight loss plans can help you lose weight, but will not give you the longer term results you crave and deserve. Fat will ... Read More »
Protein Smoothie Post Workout. NO Supplements. [Video]
Hi there! In this episode I will show you how to prepare a super healthy protein meal to recover your muscles after working out. Also, I will be using my favorite mixer, a NutriBullet. It is very critical that you do not pass more than an hour before you decide to feed your muscles after working out. Your muscles need ... Read More »
Full Body CrossFit Workout
Hi there! In this episode my friend and CrossFit Coach Kelly with http://crossfitmidtown.com/ will show you 3 great moves to improve your power and strength. CrossFit Coach Kelly will begin with a set of single arm snatch using a 30 lbs. dumbbell, then box jump, and finalizing with kipping pullups, with minimum rest in between exercises. What is CrossFit? CrossFit ... Read More »
Homemade Electrolyte Drink for Rehydration
Sports drinks can help you stay fit and active during intense exercise. Sports drinks are comprised of the elements that the body needs in order to function after heavy sweating. Anyone can improvise their own sports drink and even adjust the contents to suit their own personal health. Some people do not need extra salt, even when sweating heavily. For ... Read More »
In this episode Fitness Trainer Courtney Stone will show you a great core workout to help you build your six-pack. You only need a small space, and a mat or a beach towel. These 2 exercises will target your upper, middle and lower section of your abdominal muscles. Routine: 30 seconds each exercise Plank Scissors *Repeat 2-3 rounds for ... Read More »


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Latest News
apr 11
Randy Rocks Out with Hatebreed
Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe recently joined fellow metal heavyweights Hatebreed onstage for a knock-out performance of their song "Doomsayer". It all went down at the Sonice Metal Fest in Santiago, Chile on April 4th, which was headlined by Lamb of God with supporting acts Hatebreed and Lacuna Coil. Check out footage from the killer show!
Comments for this News article
by LAMBOFGOD1366 April 16, 2012 - 12:20
I dont really care for hatebreed,so i bet Randy made it a better show.


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Vinotemp Compact Wine Cooler
Wonderful unit for those who are beginning their wine collection or as a show piece in your kitchen. Features a black cabinet with stainless steel door and trim, digital controls, an LED readout and wood-trimmed metal shelves. Front-vent design makes this unit suitable for built-in or free-standing installation.


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You get a lot for your buck at Gorinto, the occasional Wednesday-night, outside-the-box performance series at the Mercury Cafe. And tonight's edition, the first Gorinto in 2013, will be pouring it on and turning your ears and eyes inside-out with a program called Piano Mutations Live! See also: - ... More >>
Joel Haertling is one of Boulder's more unusual fixtures: a globetrotting advocate for experimental film and music, over the years he's worked with Stan Brakhage and toyed with noise as Architects Office, all while curating the Boulder Public Library's free film series. See also: - Architect's Off ... More >>
The Boulder Public Library
Boulder's Joel Haertling uncovers the roots of MTV.


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Graduate of The University of Texas. Hook 'em horns! \m/ Certified pharmacy technician. Hugs are my favorite. Addicted to coffee. Music is what keeps me sane.
Hold hands firmly, hearts gently, and laugh until your heart overflows ♡
Follow @LackieJee
Excellent point!
Gunna set my mind to living this way. Worrying is so taxing!
my stress free life starts tmrw. forreal this week was so taxing on my body that it's starting to rebel against me....
If only, if only….


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Nationwide, a home selling slump seems to be in the news. For months we've heard it was a "buyer's market" but that doesn't mean a seller is out of luck. Experts say you just have to be a little more creative to get your house off of the market.
The Hart family is surprised at how difficult it was to sell their home. They say when they moved five years ago, they had to move quick because their house sold in a day.
This time around, it has taken much longer, seven months longer and counting to be exact. It's a frustration that is shared by homeowners around the nation.
Rita Hart says, "it's a desirable house in a desirable neighborhood. I think its just those circumstances of the market and we just got caught up in that."
In St. Joseph County last year, the home sales fell 8 percent from 2006.
While 8 percent is a noticeable drop in home sales in our area...it's certainly not as bad as the national average...which was a 22 percent drop.
When the Hart family home didn't sell last summer, they couldn't wait. With a new job waiting in Virginia, the family of four moved, leaving behind an empty house.
That's where Joyce Williams comes into the picture. She is a home stager brought in to help the house sell.
Joyce says, "I'm here to stage it, bringing in furniture, accessories, and arranging them so that the house shows as well as possible. I think it's important to keep the furniture neutral. You don't want people walking in the front door saying 'wow, that's a really unusual sofa!' You want people to walk in and say 'this is a really nice house.'"
Williams says a "lived-in" look is important. Realtors agree saying a home with furniture sells better than one without. Williams rents attractive, but basic furniture and supplements the look with things from her inventory.
She even recalls, "there have been times that we take things right off the wall at my house. Take this rocker that was in my living room, so I really didn't need it so when I did need it in a staged house I bring it."
Around Michiana, a furnished, lived-in home usually costs a few hundred dollars to stage.
Staging a vacant home will cost you between a thousand to 12-hundred dollars, including the rented furniture. It may sound like a lot, but Williams says "staging" costs less than your first price reduction.
She says "if you are going to knock the price down because it hasn't sold, it's going to be more than a thousand dollars."
Rita is hoping her house staging investment will pay off. She recently saw the pictures online and she's pleased with the changes.
She says, "it looks just beautiful. It's very nice without being intimidating."
If you have questions about staging your home, you can contact Joyce Williams at 574-273-5214 or by visiting the Home Staging Michiana website.


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Cultural awareness and body language: the secrets of a flourishing business
What comes to mind when you hear the word "communication"? Languages, speaking, writing, phones, internet…? Communication is possible through different ways: there is verbal communication and then nonverbal communication such as body gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. Research has shown that 80% of messages are portrayed through body language rather than the words that come out from your mouth. As non-verbal communication is not universal, you have to be very careful. Indeed, each country has its own "body vocabulary" and if some gestures are misinterpreted, these can be as serious as verbal communication mistakes.
The way we communicate varies with culture. In 1871, the concept of "culture" was defined by Edward Tylor as a "complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society". This "complex whole" means that we do not perceive the world in the same way.
For instance, smiling does not have the same meaning around the world; for example, after business negotiations it is common to take a picture of the two teams that came to an agreement and American people would smile while Japanese would not due to it being a serious situation. This is one example, and most cultures do not smile during serious situations however in India for instance, people smile when someone dies in the family.
The use of silence is also perceived differently in each culture. Some value it, like Japanese or African people who say "those who know do not speak, those who don't know speak", while others consider silence as a lack of participation.
The amount of gestures used and the interpretation of these gestures are significant too across cultures. For instance, Asian people do not use a lot of gestures unlike European people, especially in Southern Europe where people frequently use hand movements to express themselves. Furthermore, Japanese people perceive the fact of crossing legs as offensive and impolite.
As you can see, it is very easy to misunderstand a gesture and one facial expression or gesture that has no meaning in your country can be very significant in another. Nowadays, and especially in business it is more and more important to be aware of these codes. Our countries depend on each other for international trade and business and it is therefore overriding to be culturally aware in order to keep good relations.
Cultural Awareness in International Marketing
Let's take some concrete examples to understand the possible consequences of a lack of cultural awareness in marketing campaigns:
- A toothpaste brand Pepsodent tried to market a product in South Asia which would whiten the teeth but it failed… Why? The company failed to do any research into local culture and if they had, they would have realised that local people in South Asia actually chew on betel nuts to blacken their teeth as they think that having black teeth is more aesthetically pleasing.
- An American cosmetic brand tried to market an underarm deodorant in Japan by showing an octopus applying the deodorant under its arms. This may have been a great marketing idea to the American company, but again they failed to research into Japanese culture and therefore missed the fact that in Japanese culture, an Octopus is known to have legs and not arms.
As you can seem cultural awareness is important, however, try to stay away from the clichés. We have to keep in mind that nothing can be simplified; each person is different even within one same culture.
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Bruins sign Andrew Bodnarchuk
|09.09.11 at 10:20 am ET
WILMINGTON — The Bruins announced Friday morning that they have given defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk, who played the last three seasons in Providence with the club's AHL affiliate, a one-year deal. He will be in camp when it opens next Friday.
Bodnarchuk is definitely a depth guy, but he's a good guy to have in the fold. Now 23, he has five NHL games under his belt, all of which were played in the 2009-10 season. Last season in Providence, he had 15 goals and 16 assists in 75 games.
Bodnarchuk was drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.
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- Bruins Prospects Look to Preserve Their AHL Playoff Run
- Complete Guide to Bruins' 2014 Offseason
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- Game 6 Keys for Bruins, Canadiens
- Takeaways from Canadiens vs. Bruins Game 5


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Bonner, Irene M. (nee Szabo), 84, Portage
Fuller, Theresa R. (Ross), 55, Richland, Mich.
Garzelloni, Nancy E. (nee Nardoni), 90, Calumet City
Grilly, Alverardo R., Formerly of Lansing
Knopic, George, 92, Lake Station
Lindsey, Bobby L., 81, Griffith
Lopez, Matilde G. (nee Guerra), 99, Lowell
Mayner, Margaret (nee Bozich), 90, Valparaiso
Persic, Frank J., 76, Calumet Twp.
Pirtle, Cheryl C. Tyler, 65, Gary
Riffett, Cody M., 17, Valparaiso
Rizzitiello, Morris L., 89, Highland
Shadowens, Geraldine B., 94
Sourounis, Tom, 78, Valparaiso
Walden, Jimmy, 57, Sauk Village
Williams, Edwin E., 86, Valparaiso
Zelencik, Lorraine G. (nee Gall), 86, Hebron
Garzelloni, Nancy E. (nee Nardoni), 90, of Calumet City, formerly of Chicago Heights. Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home, Chicago Heights in charge of arrangements.
Knopic, George, 92, of Lake Station, passed away June 19. Rees Funeral Home, Hobart assisted with arrangements.
Pirtle, Cheryl C. Tyler, 65, of Gary, passed away June 24. Guy & Allen Chapel, Gary in charge of arrangements.
Shadowens, Geraldine B., 94, passed away June 25. Burial of ashes at Calumet Park Cemetery will take place at a later date. Moeller Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.


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My Name is Bijan and I want to help you!
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I attended and graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in International Affairs.
I am currently attending University of Colorado at Denver for my Master's in International Business.
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text:
EU widens lending benchmark research to Swiss franc
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union's antitrust regulator has widened its research of suspected unfair fixing of lending benchmarks including Euribor plus Libor to rate of interest goods for the Swiss franc. Following a latest fine for RBS by U.S. authorities, Joaquin Almunia mentioned the European Commission's enquiries were focused about a quantity of instances of suspected cost manipulation. "We think the existence of cartels between certain stars inside the marketplace for derivative treatments – banks, and brokers," he mentioned. …
Business News Headlines – Yahoo! News
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text:
This video has been making it's way around the web and I have to thank New York City interior designer, Steve Adams to sending this to me. He said he can't wait to do this with his son, and I agree! It is seriously one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.
Long live dreaming!


text:
From hero to zero – this is going to cost money
Via the tipline:
As seen yesterday at Manukau event movies. Do you think he still qualifies ?
Via the tipline:
As seen yesterday at Manukau event movies. Do you think he still qualifies ?
Daniel Newman is the local board chair in Manurewa, and he has run into problems with the Auckland City Council trying to reef money away from his boardŌĆÖs budget to fund dumb stuff. So he has taken a stand. Here is some of what he has said.
2. The Manurewa Local Board is given an assurance that all budget lines have been mapped correctly, although several are now engaged in butt-covering due to "mistakes" in mapping budgets between the regional body and the local boards. Local Boards are told that their budgets will not be touched, that the funding envelopes will be honoured.
3. Auckland Council cuts $1.75m out of the Manurewa Local Board budget to fund the Botanic Festival and Southside Gig, two events that Manurewa said were not necessary and unaffordable given the budget situation.
4. Manurewa goes and readjusts its (reduced) budget in order to balance. Cuts such as a reduction in operating funding for the Nathan Homestead Arts Centre are proposed. Auckland Council officers go wobbly at the knees but the Board stands firm on the basis that building community and sporting infrastructure for poor children in south Auckland must take precedent. I declare my intention to stand full-square behind its cost-cutting measures, and invited the Mayor to join me.
That will piss off the pinkos like Len Brown and Brian Rudman. Refined arts always take precedent over uncouth sports in the eyes of local government, maybe because so many people in local government are utter spastics and would have always been the last kid selected in pick up games at lunch time.
So the council tell Daniel that they have things sorted as long as he trusts them.
6. The Chief Executive of Auckland Council phones me at 11:27am on Saturday, 23 June to request that I withdraw my deputation on the basis that ŌĆ£ŌĆ" we want Thursday to be a celebrationŌĆØ and that ŌĆ£ŌĆ" we can fix up your boardŌĆÖs budgetary problem during next yearŌĆÖs annual plan roundŌĆØ.
Anyway, hopefully the poor of South Auckland wonŌĆÖt be sacrificing their sports grounds to fund Brian Rudman's theatre because Daniel has told the council to stick it.
It is quite apparent that Auckland CouncilŌĆÖs leadership would like this unsightly stand-off to go away so they can get on with the ŌĆścelebrationŌĆÖ. That wonŌĆÖt be happening. Next stop will be a complaint to the Ombudsman. A petition to Parliament requesting an inquiry into Auckland CouncilŌĆÖs handling of its local board budget negotiation is also in order.
Having watched Daniel in action when he was a Manukau City Councillor, Len Brown would be well advised not to piss him off too much as he has a reputation for standing his ground and causing pinkos a lot of problems.
Well of course they will. Their proxy┬Āmouthpiece┬Āin the NZ Herald, Bernard Orsman took 5 days to write about exactly that in his attempt to smear Jami-lee Ross.
The Botany by election could well end up with a subsequent by election for Auckland Council if Cr Jami-Lee Ross is selected for National and wins the by election.
As a friendly warning to the Labour Party, if some of your more small minded or stupid supporters start attacking Cr Ross, this blog will be forced to remember all the recent incidences of Labour MPs or councillors forcing by elections. Just to give you a small sample:
2010 – Mana – Winnie Laban got out of politics a year early forcing a by-election
2009 – Mt Albert ┬Ā– Helen Clark lost an election and refused to continue serving the ungrateful wretches who so cruelly rejected her at the ballot box.
2008 – SuŌĆÖa William Sio – Manukau City Council ┬Ā(Efu Koka won), Resigned his council position mid-term after being elected to parliament forcing a by-election
2006 – James Papali'i (Sylvia Taylor won) – Manukau City Council ┬Ā– he was no longer able to serve due to issues with the law
2003 – John Kerr ┬Ā(Alf Filipaina won) – Manukau City Council ┬Ā– no reason given but readers are willing to use the tip line if they know
Unlike Jim Anderton, Su'a William Sio, Alf Filipaina and numerous other labour candidates and elected officials at least Jami-lee Ross has signalled that he won't be a double dipper.
Meanwhile it looks like Len Brown's sensible spin weasel, Conor Roberts, has convinced Len Brown to make a nice statement rathe than risk ┬Āa rehash of Len's credit card issues.
Mayor Len Brown, who has a history of clashes with Mr Ross going back to their days at Manukau, said he would prefer not to lose a councillor so soon after the inauguration of the Auckland Council on November 1.
"However, after having worked with Jami-Lee for a number of years, I know he will continue to be a strong advocate for his community, whether it is here or in Wellington," Mr Brown said.
I hope Conor gets a good secret Santa at the ratepayer funded Christmas lunch Len Brown is throwing all his staff today.
Two more names have been added to the Botany selection race. Perennial loser Ken Yee and bitter outsider Michael Williams.
Ken Yee personifies average and was previously beaten by Pansy Wong in standing for selection in Botany. It has been a long time since Ken Yee had a drink at any public trough after being tossed out as a councillor some time ago, by Jami-Lee Ross. I doubt, given the number of people coming forward that Ken will even make it through pre-selection.
Michael Williams is another wanna-be politician who is a legend in his own mind. he is the current Howick Local Board chairman, and his main attribute seems to be that he thinks it will cost les for a Community Board by-election than for a Council by-election. He is pompous and has a stunning ability to turn people off the moment he opens his mouth.
Meanwhile Auckland's resident nutter Penny Bright has conformed with me that she will be putting her name forward for the by-election as an┬Āindependent. That should make candidates meetings┬Āextremely┬Āentertaining. I hope she brings her "dead cat" hat along.
The Standard provides some commentary on Botany, as well, with an interesting aside that Winston might have a crack. I hope he does, then I can needle him at every candidates meeting about his corruption and interesting.
Like Mediatart who comments here they make the same mistake is assuming the Botany of today existed in its current form anywhere past 3 years ago.
Will Winston stand? I think he might. ItŌĆÖs worth remembering that his first seat was Hunua, which he won in 1978. Now, three electorates called Hunua have existed three times with very different boundaries. The modern Hunua electorate borders Botany to the south but the 1978 Hunua was extended further north, and only included the Hunua ranges to the south, whereas the modern Hunua goes right across to the west coast. Most of the voters in the 1978 Hunua that Peters won lived in what is now Botany. Sure, it was 33 years ago, and it was a tight race against LabourŌĆÖs Malcolm Douglas (RogerŌĆÖs brother), with Peters losing in 1981 to Colin Moyle. Nonetheless, there would be a certain sense of grandeur, so typical of Winston, to returning to the political scene by fighting in the area that first elected him to Parliament.
When Winston was creeping through broken windows in Huna it is safe to say that there was nothing but farm land in Botany and Ti Rakau Drive ended in a compulsory stop sign and the back road to Howick. Talk of Hunua and Winston is just nostalgic tosh. Botany as an electorate was only formed for the 2008 election, until then it had been part of Pakuranga and Manukau East. It was formed by the taking the blue┬Āparts┬Āof Manukau East and melding them with parts of Pakuranga. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell of Labour winning this seat. It is safe National and for that reason the person National selects must not be a fly by night candidate.
Further to my post on Botany last night, as expected Jami-Lee Ross has announced his intention to seek┬Āselection┬Āin botany for National.
Auckland Councillor Jami-Lee Ross has announced he will be seeking selection for the National Party candidacy for the Botany by election.
Mr Ross says he is saddened that his local MP Pansy Wong has decided to resign from Parliament. ŌĆ£Pansy was a good electorate MP who cared deeply about her community and it was a pleasure working with her in my capacity as a city councillor. I respect her decision to retire, but I never expected to be seeking selection under these circumstances.ŌĆØ
First elected to the Manukau City Council in 2004, Mr Ross was returned to the Council in 2007 with an increased vote. He was successful in gaining election to the Auckland Council in last yearŌĆÖs local government elections and serves as Co-Leader of the Citizens & Ratepayers Team. Mr Ross currently represents the Howick ward which encompasses Botany, Howick and Pakuranga.
Mr Ross says he has strong links to the Botany electorate. ŌĆ£My wife, Lucy, and I have called this community our home for the past four years. I live in Botany, I work in Botany, and I represent Botany.
ŌĆ£As a local representative I have fought for funding for local sports clubs, developed and purchased land for new parks, and seen this growing community expand. Botany people know me as someone that asks the tough questions and speaks his mind on important local issues. Botany will be well served by my leadership.ŌĆØ
If successful in winning the National Party selection and the Botany by-election, Mr Ross will step down as a member of the Auckland Council. ŌĆ£It would not be possible to do justice to both jobs, especially with the expanded role for new Auckland councillors.
ŌĆ£The public expect politicians to do one job, and do that job properly. I will not try to juggle two full time positions. If I had have known my local electorate was going to need a new candidate so soon after the council elections I would not have stood for council.ŌĆØ
Good to hear he won't be a double dipper. Jami-Lee would┬Ādefinitely be the front-runner and so far is the only local.
Also as predicted by this blog, Denise Krum has put her hame┬Āforward. She is an outsider, living in Ellerslie and also has the stigma of once being the president of United Future.
Within an hour of Ross announcing, Denise Krum, a former president of United Future also announced she is seeking the National Party nomination in Botany.
Krum stood for United Future in 2008 but switched to National after the election 2008 and is now the deputy electorate chair for National MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga and Deputy Regional Chair for the Northern (Auckland) region of the National Party.
Krum, 40, is the daughter of former National MP Graeme Lee and is co-founder and director of the Tableside Charitable Trust, which works with charities in Auckland communities.
Krum lives in central Auckland with her husband and their three children.
Krum said she is expecting, and welcomes, a vigorous selection process.
She also acknowledged the work Wong carried out in Botany.
Good to see she acknowledged Pansy's role, like Jami-Lee Ross in her announcement, that is stark contrast to the me, me, me┬Āannouncement┬Āof Aaron Bhatnagar. Unfortunately she has also played the gender card without realising that National doesn't do quotas and selects the best candidate irrespective of their gender, race or sexual preference. If she wants to play that card she should join the Labour party.
With the membership┬Ādefinitely┬Āover the 200 members threshold there will be a contested selection, not a board selection. I look forward to blogging how the selection meetings go.
The story isn't online but was printed in the DomPost this morning. The Auditor-General has announced that her office has launched an investigation into the murky dealings surrounding the "donation" to the Len Brown campaign.
The story clearly dis-abuses the notion that the Trust wasn't or isn't a Council Controlled entity.
Comments that the Trust was independent of Len Brown's now defunct Manukau City Council were mis-guided she said.
"According to us, it is a council controlled organisation. It is counted as a public entity and audited by us."
The spin by David Lewis, Trust Chair Sir Noel Robinson and Trust CEO Richard Jeffrey, all key Len Brown campaign flunkies, is coming un-done very quickly.
With the news that John Key supports the action of his Loal Government Minister in getting the Audtor-General to look into the murky dealings at the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust, which runs the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, we now have another Brown campaign person sticking his oar in and raising his head above the parapet.
The spin and lies that are pouring out of the Brown camp just raise more questions than they are supposed to be hosing down.
Trust chief executive Richard Jeffery last night denied that the trust was a council-controlled entity.
"We are a community charitable trust," he said.
Yeah, well the facts say otherwise Richard, and anyway you owe Lenny big time for that cushy job you landed. Good journalists would ask Richard Jeffery to produce evidence to counter the evidence I published as to the legal status of the Trust.
Trust chairman Sir Noel Robinson said no costs were incurred or revenue lost by providing Mr Brown's campaign with billboard space, which his board had made a decision to provide free to any mayoral candidate who approached it.
"As a trust we support the democratic process and are more than happy for candidates to use the billboard as long as it doesn't interfere with our business and that we incur no cost," Sir Noel said.
"A legal opinion said we are well within our right to do so."
Oh! Lookie, another Brown supporter sticking up for their shonky process and dodgy practices. I wonder if Sir Noel Robinson told the reporter that the Woolf Fisher Trust of which Sir Noel Robinson is chairman of also donated to Len Brown's 2007 campaign. I bet he didn't. The number of people associated with or involved Len Brown's campaign team that were either employed or controlling the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust is astounding.
I also bet that that some hasty retrospective minutes are being drafted right now to support the lie that they were happy for other candidates to use the billboard. I wonder too if they will produce the letters communicating their decision to other mayoral candidates to use the billboard or was this another secret decision that was only passed onto Len Brown so he could take advantage of it.
I note that they have rapidly obtained a legal opinion. I wonder perhaps if that was from the pallid, little man masquerading as Mayor, or perhaps his missus.
The Night-Mayor, Len Brown, says he is unconcerned by the investigation. I'll bet he is. He has the Chairman of the trust deep in his anonymous pockets, he has the CEO of the Trust paid off and he has David Lewis bullying editors and spinning out-right lies just like he did for Helen Clark.
The only problem with the Night-Mayor's unconcern is that I'm all over him and his dodgy dealings and I'll tell the truth about Len Borwn even if he won't. In fact I think I might ask for some billboard space at Manukau to do just that.
Len Brown's donations are causing a stink.
The Auditor-General may well be looking closely at the donation from the┬ĀCounties┬ĀManukau Pacific Trust. One of the things the Auditor-General would need to look at is the commercial value of the rental of the billboard. They have claimed that for the last 3 months of the campaign that the value is $3375 or just $1000 per month plus GST. This is farcical in the extreme. The billboard is right beside the Southern Motorway with thousands of eyeballs passing it by each day.
I know how much it costs, David Farrar and I spent far more, for our much smaller, and poorly located, billboards, than what Len Brown and the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust have ascribed to it. My understanding of the law is that commercial value for donations of such things must be attributed.
Of course there are the murky relations between the now revealed Volare diners, the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust and the Len Brown campaign team, all sharing members.
Now too there is an up-roar about Len Brown accepting a donation from Sky City.
Hapai spokeswoman Zoe Martin-Hawke said Mr Brown had been very supportive of a "sinking lid" policy which meant poker machine licences could not be transferred from venues closing down to new premises. But she was sad he had taken money from a casino operation.
"We … hope he would find alternative money both for himself in future campaigns and for community groups in general," she said.
"I think it highlights again the need for people to practise what they preach and for the Government to help us find alternative sources of funding – as they did with tobacco funding."
Once again Len Brown said something on the campaign trail and did another thing behind peoples backs. The man really has no honour or integrity.
Another interesting thing to note is the amazing alacrity of the demolition of the Chows building, just across the road from Sky City and the direct involvement of Len Brown and the City CEO in the swift decision to drop the building. It's probably nothing, but with the donation from Sky City a┬Āquestion┬Āthat may well get raised.
One thing for sure is that day by day we are seeing the real Len Brown being┬Ārevealed, not the one who campaigned, but rather a dirty, crooked version.
I think I might start a campaign like I did against Andrew Williams of telling the truth about Len Brown, since he won't tell the truth about himself unless forced to.
Finally after months and an appeal to the Ombudsmen challenging Len Brown's refusal to name his dinner guests as required by the rules of Manukau City at the time I have had a victory. The Ombudsmen have ruled that Len Brown must disclose the names of those present.
And we now know why Len Brown was prepared to die in the ditch over revealing the names.
Among those exalted people who Len Brown wanted to keep secret were Leigh Auton, his patsy┬ĀChief┬ĀExecutive, and his missus, and Richard Jeffrey and his missus too.
Both Leigh Auton and Richard Jeffrey have been given CCO board positions in a secret meeting this week. Richard Jeffrey is also the CEO of the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre which is now embroiled in investigations surrounding donations of ratepayer funds to Len Brown's election campaign.
Leigh Auton, you will remember was too busy to answer the Ombudsmen's request to name the people at the dinner. He was too busy to name himself and his wife and he was too busy to name the others who he must have known well because they were at the very same dinner s him. His reward for his silence was a CCO Board seat.
Richard Jeffrey is also the person who got the now infamous Volare opera singer,┬ĀGeoffrey┬ĀKnight, his kick-start with funding. Bizarrely they are still insisting that Geoffrey Knight was "a young singing artist from the community." His own website proves that is a lie.
Based on the Gold Coast, Geoffrey has been specialising as a Classical Singer┬Āsince 2001,┬Āhis career has been very diverse since┬Āhe began performing professionally in 1994 after working as a stuntman for US TV shows Hercules and Xena.┬Ā During 1995 and 1996┬Āhe completed a diploma in performance art at the National Academy of Singing & Dramatic Art.
Since when has the Gold Coast been local Manukau? He is also 40 years old, hardly young, though that depends on where you are looking at it from.
Len Brown tried to keep this secret and even said he would resign if forced to reveal the names. Well now he has been forced to reveal the names, but I seriously doubt whether he will honour his word to resign.
The man who campaigned on transparency is nothing short of ┬Āa secretive, furtive ,sad little liar. The pity is that we may well┬Āhave┬Āto put up with him for three years.
There is certainly something very, very wrong with the CCO board apppointments that Len Brown secretly rammed through, especially when one of the appointees is the CEO of a council funded organisation that donated ratepayer funds to Len Brown's campaign. The fact that he was one of Len's previously secret, diners at the infamous Volare dinner just makes matters that much worse. No wonder Len┬ĀBrown┬Ātried to hide it. No wonder he tried to hide it from the other councillors making board appointments.
Just as well this blogger never gave in and appealed to the Ombudsmen. Now we can all see who Len Brown was ┬Ātrying to keep secret and rightly ask even harder questions about just why he insisted on dying in the ditch to keep the secret until I forced him to reveal it by going to the Ombudsmen.
Len Brown was elected promising to open the books, but he has kept his own books on campaign donations firmly shut. The Herald headline is "Mayor relies on secret war chest" and the Dominion Post headline is "Auckland Mayor hides names of┬Ācampaign┬Ādonors"
Auckland's first Super City mayor was elected using largely anonymous donations, despite promising to lead an administration of openness and accountability to the public.
Of Len Brown's total campaign war chest of $581,900 in donations, $499,000 was folded into a single trust to protect the identity of those who gave money to help elect him but wished to remain nameless.
Only 15 donors were named in his returns yesterday to Auckland electoral officer Dale Ofsoske, the largest of $17,708 attributed to an entity called Fuqing, with $15,000 from casino operator SkyCity.
The Maritime Union gave $2000 each to Mr Brown and Auckland Council transport committee chairman Mike Lee, who listed no other donations in his election returns.
Mr Brown's campaign also received $3375 from the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust, whose chief executive, Richard Jeffery, was appointed this week as a director of the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development council-controlled organisation.
Now I guess we know why the Chow brothers building was pulled down with alarming alacrity. We also know now how John Robertson and Richard Jeffrey scored their CCO jobs. John Robertson is a trustee if the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust and Richard Jeffrey is the CEO, but more on this in a moment.
Len Brown campaigned on openness, he even gets his lickspittle, tame repeater Bernard Orsman to print stories about how open Len Brown is. Yet when it comes to┬Āopenness┬Āwith his own election finance and donation we find that like almost everything else about Len Brown it is a stonking great secret. The hypocrisy of the man is astounding.
The secret trust, strangely called "The New Auckland Council Trust", is an enigma. Questions need to be asked about this secret trust. When was it formed? Who are the trustees? Where is the trust deed?
It's all very murky from "Labour's Mayor". Phil Goff and Phil Twyford really need to answer some questions about their Mayor's use of big money secret trsuts to fund his campaign. They are on record being against such secret trusts and even passed a law to prevent such things happening.
"What I would like to see is a system where democracy works but doesn't rely simply on the power of the dollar and you don't have some clandestine funding which was the real concern that lay behind the Electoral Finance Act,"
Let's see if Phil Goff and Phil Twyford have anything other than weasel words about Len Brown's secret trust. Phil Twyford was especially concerned about the influence of big money in elections earlier in the year.
Since then, there has been the rather unhappy progress of the Electoral Finance Act, and to my mind the really unfortunate failure of this House to build a lasting consensus about the need to limit the influence of big money in our political system.
Quite apart from Len's secret trust account used to hide his big money corporate backers there is a real problem surrounding the donation from Counties Manukau Pacific Trust.
Fors a start the trust is essentially part of the new city structure, and previously was, by definition a part of Manukau City Council (pdf pg 11.). The same trust now owes the new Auckland Council (previously Manukau City Council $7.5 million (pg 29).
Worse the Trust's audited statements show an annual operations grant of $385,000 and the $7.5million loan from Manukau City Council: (pg 10)
But the real problem is that Richard Jeffrey is the CEO and John Robertson is a trustee. They are in control of what can only be described as ratepayer funds and they have donated some of those ratepayer funds to Len Brown's campaign. The same person who pushed through council the funding in the first place and also the same person who secretly appointed the two of them to CCO board positions.
On the surface it would appear that Richard Jeffrey and John Robertson used ratepayers funds to donate to Len Brown's campaign in order buy themselves cushy jobs on CCO boards. The only thing that could make this story worse would be if Richard Jeffrey also attended the still secret Volare dinner.
No wonder Len Brown was being very furtive and secretive over his board appointments and no wonder he wanted to rush them through in secret before the election donations were revealed. I seriously doubt whether even his supporters on the secret council committee would have┬Ācountenanced┬Āthe appearance of bribery in their decisions.
Certainly I think there is enough here for the Auditor-General to have a look see, especially around that massive secret trust of big money, but more importantly around the┬Āapparent┬Ābuying of CCO board positions with ratepayer funds. Len Brown campaigned on opening the books, he campaigned on honesty (but with limits) and he campaigned on being straight with us.
So far he has shown that those were just tawdry lies designed to hoodwink voters into thinking he was honest.


text: Suey, I know what you are going through. A year and a half ago I was hospitalized for Pancreatitis, and my liver was shutting down. I was on the verge of dying from Alcoholism. After 8 days in the hospital and tubes coming out of every area in my body I was told that I could never drink again. I was so bad durring my drinking time that I couldn't walk down stairs, I litterally had to go down on my butt, So to be able to sit there and not have the shakes was a gigantic monkey off my back. I also was a smoker, and in the time that I was in Rehab, I put myself in outpatient rehab, even though I am and have been resolt on never touching alcohol again, I wanted to have information on how to live a productive life without it. I was told on a regular basis that I needed to quit smoking. I felt I have given up enough, that I needed one joy. Well fast forward to now. I quit caffine-worst headaches EVER. Do not do this unless you enjoy head splitting headaches, and now I quit smoking. it has been 3 months and boy oh boy I still have awesome urges to smoke, but everyday gets a little better, I used the patches for 2 months and they did help curb, now my worry is eating too much LOL. I swear you can't win LOL. I wish you all the best, I suggest that you try the patches!! I know it is hard, but think of your daughter who loves you, that should help the urge, cause she wants you to LIVE!! Best of Luck!!!=o) ~Stephen In a message dated 2/11/2008 7:28:10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, lordhunt at gmail.com writes: At 4 am my husband took me to emergency. We arrived two minutes before my kidneys stopped functioning.l I spent 5 days in the intensive care unit and five days in a normal room. Then I came home and resumed smoking but much less each day. My daughter wrote HANG IN THERE- keep your purpose as to why it is so important to quit smoking- you finally have the life you want and deserve to live it without being on an oxygen tank. pablos grandma lived on an oxygen tank the last years of her life bc of emphysema. ademas, be compassionate with yourself, a lot of anger will come up now because everytime you had a cigarette you pushed that anger down for YEARS AND YEARS, so maybe you can look into releasing ways. quien sabe, you need to figure it out for yourself but it is soooooo worth it. My friend Diana came the other day. She was so anti-smoking that when she left it was all I could to to not look for a cigarette. I am taking 15 pills a day to stop smoking. My husband finds me lunar. I am floating in the air. We think I should stop taking so many pills but we don´t know how to do it. Suey _______________________________________________ Sca-cooks mailing list Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. Go to AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)


text: When we saw 35 year old Michaela Stonisova's red printed dress sweep its glamorous way across Sloane Square we just had to stop her and find out just where she'd bought such a summery show-stopper. It's from a vintage store on Fulham Broadway, which is a total bummer for the rest of us, but you have to appreciate the cool way she's simply styled it up – red-rimmed aviators and espadrilles from French Connection are all that's required. What do you like about her outfit? We simply MUST know your thoughts! Remember, the most fabulous comments could get printed in Grazia magazine. And don't forget to check out Style Hunter's other ladies here.