text:
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- How Amazon Uses Merchants as GUINEA PIGS to see what sells: I was an Amazon Merchant for 1 year, sold thousands of items and received 99% positive feedback. My items are all legitimate and authentic and personally purchased from stores and official studio distributors. I sell mostly books, CDs and DVDs.
I sold this DVD title on Amazon in June 2009. It's a rare title and to my surprise received a lot of sales. On my 2nd week of selling, I moved about 100 pcs of this title and then I got a notice from Amazon stating I was under review but I could still sell and ship--although no money will be disbursed. That was fine as I know there is no problem with my items- I sold and shipped all orders with tracking.
When my account got released, they blocked that specific DVD title from my stocklist and there was a yellow circle with the slash in the middle at the side of the title meaning I cannot sell that item. I had the inkling something is not right and lo and behold, I searched the site and saw that AMAZON IS NOW SELLING THE SAME DVD which they did not even carry before. The item is NEWLY LISTED in the Amazon Catalog 2 days before my suspension. Apparently its a new product they are carrying.
So basically, smart @ss Amazon "STOLE" the item I discovered to be a great one and is now blocking me from selling it so as not to compete with them! HOW UNPROFESSIONAL and MONOPOLIZING! I would not mind if they let me sell it but NO, they are the only ones who can because its such a GREAT selling item!
Needless to say, they suspended my account 1 month after stating that my item was suspicious and COULD BE recopied media. I emailed them my receipts from the distributor with the proper business info but no, they insist that the DVD I AM SELLING COULD BE FAKE. Oh really??? Could Be Fake??? What the heck does that mean? It's either fake or real, nothing in between! SO why the heck did Amazon get the exact same item from the same distributor I do business with to sell on their site under THEIR ACCOUNT??? They discovered it to be a fast seller because of me and has now double-crossed me and kicked me to the curb to monopolize the sales.
I researched and discovered they have been DOING this with ALL SELLERS. They let you sell, and when they see an item selling like hotcakes, they get the item and sell it for themselves and kick the original seller to the curb accusing them of selling recopied media -- it's a MODUS OPERANDI with Amazon and they will keep doing this because they get away with it. This is illegal because they are trying to monopolize sales when they are supposed to provide a VENUE for sellers and not USE sellers to research what sells FOR AMAZON's BENEFIT.
I hope that Amazon will someday get slapped with a CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT. What they are doing, using sellers as guinea pigs to research what item is good to sell then kick them when they have the item for themselves is VERY, VERY UNPROFESSIONAL, UNETHICAL and WRONG!
If you carry an item that is 100% Authentic and Sells like hotcakes, PREPARE TO EXPERIENCE THIS. Amazon is like a mafia syndicate which aims to monopolize the market and they will use you to give them ideas what to order from distributors. Once they have your item--prepare to get kicked in 1 month's time. IT HAPPENED TO ME and TO MANY OTHER SELLERS.
Amazon must be stopped and sanctioned just as Microsoft was sanctioned for billions regarding trying to monopolize software market. Don't Give your sources to Amazon, don't give them any info on your supplier. You will get suspended either way, once they acquire the item for themselves because they don't like competition on a hot-selling item.
If you are one of Amazon's victims, try to contact a lawyer and a media company in your area and get this information out. This tactics must be stopped as it is UNETHICAL BUSINESS and ILLEGAL because they terminate your account over FALSE accusations and an INVENTED reason given you can prove authenticity of your products which I can.
One day, Amazon will have to answer for all the injustice they did to honest sellers they kicked after unknowingly using us as guinea pigs and I hope they will PAY BIG TIME! Attention to lawyers out there who wants to take on this case, there are THOUSANDS of former Amazon Merchants who have this exact same story to tell and this class action case is going to win if brought to courts. Contact me anytime if you need a plaintiff.
SEATTLE, ARIZONA -- I have resorted to online complaints because Amazon refused to post my warning to customers. Amazon's Miss Beauty storefront is selling a counterfeit of the US Patented Fullips product and is blatantly displaying the trademarked Fullips logo changing Fullips to Miss Beauty. When Amazon didn't post my first warning, I posted a second more strongly worded comment. Not surprisingly, Amazon did not post that, either.
SEATTLE, VIRGINIA -- I have worked with Amazon Simple Pay in the past and have had to inquire several times about their sketchy business practices. In fact if you have a little time on your hands, just do a simple Google search for "Amazon Simple Pay complaints". I am sure that it will take more than just a little time to peruse the results, much less open and read each one.
There is no doubt that complaints about such a large company will fall on deaf ears. After all, who wants to take on Amazon? Who do you go to, and I am just guessing that they will have a swift answer for you when you do inquire and then the case will be closed, so why waste your time right?
As part of Amazon's customer verification practices, when a seller opens a business account, they must submit a bank account for fund transfers. When a customer enters their bank account information, Amazon makes two small deposits into the account. The two deposit amounts must then be entered into Amazon's system so that they can "verify" the bank account before funds can be transferred.
In the meantime a seller is allowed to collect funds from their customers for products, services, etc. After a few weeks and after you have accumulated a rather large sum of your customers funds, you will find that you are still awaiting the two small "deposits" into your bank account from Amazon. You will make several attempts to contact Amazon about the deposits and you will receive a response, usually within 2-3 days.
The response will undoubtedly be "We were unable to verify the two deposits into you bank account". This is a scripted answer, as I have found from perusing others complaints from around the world. The sad fact is that Amazon never makes the two small "deposits" into your bank account. This will leave you in quite a predicament for quite a while.
You will most likely continue using the credit card processing service as you do not want to disappoint your customers. However those two small "deposits" will never come and you will be unable to withdraw any of your funds. I personally submitted 3 bank accounts, even opening one of them solely for the purpose of collecting my funds from Amazon. The first two bank accounts were completely valid. I have had them for several years without a single problem. However for reasons only known to Amazon, the two small "deposits" that they submitted never found their way into any of my bank accounts.
I was forced to cease using their service because I was unable to collect my customer's funds from Amazon. I am sure that this is a routine complaint for you guys and if a human ever reads this, it will simply be dismissed as an "isolated case". I can assure you however that I am not the only one that has experienced this issue.
As I stated earlier, please take a few minutes to search the internet for complaints about Amazon Simple Pay. I am sure you will be surprised. Please take the time to investigate this issue in detail. If you do decide to contact Amazon, please do not accept the first response that you receive. Please take the time and initiative to actually investigate Amazon Simple Pay.
VARIOUS LOCATIONS, VIRGINIA -- This is worth a 1 time read for anyone looking to sell on Amazon or expect to have a great experience dealing with Amazon.
I am a seller on Amazon and pay a subscription fee to have a professional type seller account with them. I recently logged in to my account to find all my listings have been wiped off their website in a hold status and informed I didn't meet a certain criteria to sell until the first week in Jan, about 6 weeks away until the holiday season is over with. I of course being shocked that I only had 1 issue with my account because of a buyer putting in a hotel temp address and didn't receive their item from the hotel thief.
I wrote a nice well thought out email to their seller support dept only to met with a brick wall and a dept that had no sense of being flexible with my situation despite the fact there were over a dozen items sold in my store in the few days prior. I just couldn't believe that someone who pays to have a upgraded subscription and in a desperate situation to make money being unemployed couldn't make an exception as sometimes have to be done on a case by case basis especially when a customer is making a very strong complaint......
Now the juicy part..... The only way myself and others in my situation can even have a hope to get back to supporting their households are to enlist in Amazon's own FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon) warehousing system. I have to pay and provide boxes, packing material etc. to have my items shipped to their warehouse to sell them or else I cannot sell them. Hmmmmmmm. What a strong-arm tactic.
Selling collectibles - this isn't a good option as in a massive warehouse items aren't handled with care or concern and are stacked on shelves and possibly mixed with others and confused and result in a loss of a sell by return. Oh and I also have to pay an additional charge to have by their carrier to have the items picked up... What a crock!!
So to sum up all the hours I've spent loading hundreds of items on their website and the special care and attention I can give the items that sell and the extra special care I give my customers has to be extinguished for???? Not to mention paying money for a service not rendered as a professional seller account. What a joke!
What a poor business decision to cut off the hand that feeds. Obviously if I'm not selling they aren't making their cut of my sells and of course this hurts me also. I don't see the logic in this move but I guess if your a big fish then you can swim however you want to but I can't share how vexed this has made me. I'll be spending the holidays broke and trying to figure out how to mail hundreds of items to their local warehouse so I can try to keep it all together...
The Merchant program that Amazon.com offers is absolutely deplorable and shockingly unprofessional. It has turned out to be a nightmare for our small business. We wonder how they have been able to get away with their mistreatment of merchants for so long. There is no support or protection for merchants at all and you are left defenseless against Amazon, as well as scam artists who make a living off of purchasing items and claiming they "never received" them to get refunded.
Amazon has a very lax and customer-friendly refund policy. I am all for customers who legitimately did not receive something they purchased or are unhappy getting refunded, being that I have been a consumer myself numerous times myself. Amazon, however, refunds customer even in situations when the merchant can substantiate that the claim is untrue. We recently had a situation where a customer was refunded for an item that they initially claimed they never received, and tracking confirmed that the item was "delivered", and the customer recanted their story.
We urged them to inform Amazon that they received their package so the claim could be dismissed. We also forwarded the A to Z Guarantee department and the Seller Guarantee department (because it was affecting our sales statistics) a copy of an email from the customer stating that the item was received and asked what we should do. We did this repeatedly five times. There was no response. We then tried to get the situation resolved by contacting the only help by phone that they have available, the tech support department. We were told by them that they couldn't assist us with any areas other than technical issues.
We attempted to get a number from them to contact the Seller Performance and A to Z Guarantee department. The customer service rep's response was that they could only be contacted through email and they did not even have a number to contact them. So essentially, we had to wait for someone that was not responding to us and that we had no contact number for, to contact us at their convenience about money that was rightfully owed to us. Finally, we were contacted by the Seller Guarantee department SEVEN DAYS LATER, stating that the claim was dismissed and we would be credited for the refund!!
The next day later, we finally received a response from Seller Performance as well, which was not what we expected. The email said that our account was suspended, all of our listings removed, and any disbursements to us withheld. It did not mention how or when we would get paid the money they owed us and instead referred us to another department, the Payments department, which also has no contact number. The email also was very vague as to why our account had been suspended.
This mysteriously followed an email sent to us two days before from the Merchant Approval department after being notified that our account was under review. The email did not state the reason why we were under review and actually said that the review was a common practice. They also said they needed tracking information for all items we had already shipped so they could confirm that they had been mailed out and encouraged us to submit "a plan for improving your selling performance" if review was due to poor performance.
We gladly complied and gave them tracking information. We were unaware why we were under review but submitted a plan for performance improvement just to be safe. In the letter that included the outline for seller improvement, we stated that we strongly believed we had been targeted because of the A to Z claim filed against us that was reversed and that we tried to contact them numerous times so that they could prevent the claim from affecting our seller performance. The response from them was suspension of our account.
They also implied that a factor in suspending our account was order cancellation (we cancelled three orders and notified customers in advance). We pointed out to them that we had not cancelled one order since four days before they sent us the first and only notification that order cancellations could affect seller performance. Otherwise we had no negative feedback, late shipments, or other warnings from Amazon.
The outcome of all of this is that we only sold on Amazon for a month and had the worst selling experience with them out of all selling platforms. We are out of around $400 and are considering legal action so we can recover the money owed to us by Amazon. We will share our story will as many merchants as we can to make sure that they are educated about the dangers of selling on Amazon. We will also never encourage anyone to sell nor buy on Amazon again!!
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- I placed two separate orders for two different items in December of 2014 that were expected to be delivered in December of 2014. The items were never delivered, despite the tracking information for both of the packages showing that they were delivered - I never received the items. I tried multiple times (I ended up contacting Amazon customer service 6 times regarding this issue) to resolve this issue with customer service.
Each time, I was told that I would be contacted by somebody within (blank) business days (usually 1-3 business days). However, I was NEVER contacted by the team that I was supposed to be contacted by, nor was I followed-up with by the customer service rep, even though they said they would follow-up by a certain date.
When I contacted the company for the final time, again they tried to make me wait (blank) business days, which I wasn't going to settle for, because I knew I would not receive a response; instead, I chose to turn to my credit card company for help, since I knew I would not get any progress made with the Amazon customer service team. I filed transaction disputes with my credit card company for each of the two charges on my account, stating that the items were never delivered.
Several weeks went by and I thought everything was settled, but I then was contacted by my credit card company saying Amazon had rebutted the dispute, with their response being that the tracking information showed the packages were delivered - this was already known. I fully understood what the tracking information showed, but I still never received the items. Now, my dispute with my credit card company, which I was forced to go through because Amazon made no efforts to help their customer, is at a stand-still due to Amazon's lack of clarity, lack of support, and lack of care for their customers.
Additionally, after many years of being a loyal, paying customer to Amazon.com's Prime membership, I received an email early this morning saying that the company has closed my account on the basis of me requesting too many refunds. However, this is nowhere near the truth. The only source of refund requests comes from a fault in the company itself. Amazon.com did not take appropriate measures to ensure that I would receive the items that I paid for, such as is the case above. Obviously, since I paid for the items, I expect either the item I paid for or my money back so I can order the item from a merchant who WILL ensure that the item gets delivered to me.
When I contacted Amazon.com's customer service department, they offered to provide me a refund for the items that the company did not ensure successful delivery of, and I accepted the offer. For the company to now say that I am at fault for accepting these offers is completely ridiculous, and it truly shows how little they care about their customers, even the loyal Prime-paying customers who have dumped thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars into their company.
SEATLE, WASHINGTON -- We were selling our products on Amazon for about a year. Then the Seller Performance Team (or Merchant Approval Department) emailed us that they suspended our selling privilege. They told us that they would consider reactivate our account if we submit a detailed business plan so that our defective order rate would meet 1% as the standard set out by Amazon. That means if we sell 100 products, only 1 is allowed to be returned. Anything more than that is unacceptable.
Due to the technical complexity of the products we sell (we sell point of sale hardware for retail stores), that standard is probably unattainable. 2 big reasons are responsible for that. One is the lack of pictures and description. On most items, there're only representative pictures so the customers do not know how the item they order look like. There are only conditions of the item such as "like new" or "very good", "used good", and "used acceptable". The description of the item are filled out by sellers, and extremely user unfriendly. It asks many technical details that are totally irrelevant.
The 2nd reason is Amazon follows the philosophy that "the customer is always right". They refunded the seller's money in a heartbeat without listening to the seller's side. They even refunded the money before buyer returns the item. After doing business with Amazon for sometimes, I find that they only like to do business with other big businesses.
The prices are about the same as if you order from other retailers. Good bargains are hard to find on Amazon. It's fine if Amazon just want to do business with certain merchants. I just wish they make it clear from the beginning what kind of expectations they have and give you enough warnings before they shut you out permanently. As a customer, I would stay out of Amazon as much as possible. It's not because they are not customer friendly, but because the prices and selections are suck.
UNKNOWN, WASHINGTON -- I ordered a portable generator from amazon.com recently. The order was placed with no problem and I received a confirmation. Then I got called out of town on business and was to be away during the window that Amazon estimated for delivery. I called CS. After the CS agent put me on hold multiple times (apparently to find out what to do), I was told that Amazon would not work with me on the shipping/delivery date. Even though the item was fulfilled by Amazon and I was only asking that they delay the shipment by a few days to allow me to be home for delivery.
My only option at that point was to cancel the order which the CS agent did. She told me that Amazon had only pre-authorized the $1000 for the generator so they would simply release that and the funds, which she said had never been taken out of my account, would be taken off "hold." I checked the account every day for several days. No funds appeared. I called the bank. They stated that Amazon had not pre-authorized but had charged me for the generator. I called Amazon CS again. This CS agent didn't seem to know what to do either so his solution was to submit a refund investigation ticket with some department or other.
Meanwhile, still no funds in my account. Almost a week later I received an email from the mysterious refund department stating that they had no record of a current pre-auth on my account nor did they have any processing records that I had ever been charged for the generator. I called the bank again. The bank insisted that I had been charged and the money had been taken out for the generator by Amazon.
I emailed CS. They wanted me to fax my bank records and a number of other items. I don't have a fax or access to one. I called CS again. The person I reached this time stated that I had actually been charged, that because it was a pinless debit card, the other CS agents probably hadn't had a clue. He further told me that they would refund me, BUT that they wouldn't refund the card, they would process a check and I could expect to receive my money in 2 weeks. This will be about 6 weeks after I cancelled my order. I didn't have much choice so I agreed to this.
I subsequently received an email that they were going to process a check for me and that it was being sent to my shipping address which is not an address at which I can receive mail. Instead of sending it to my billing address which they also had, they sent it to a non-deliverable address. The check will now go into the pit that is the un-deliverable mail process at the USPS and eventually, weeks later, turn BACK up at Amazon or, get lost in that pit and have to be cancelled and reissued.
I emailed CS again about whether it was too late to send the check to the correct address and they have not responded. By the time I get money back for an order that was never actually placed, it will be months down the road. I can't see how this is even legal and certainly a horrendous way to treat a customer (especially one who was making a fairly substantial purchase).
Beware before placing any orders with Amazon.com. Prices might seem nice and low but heaven help you if you have any issues and need to deal with CS. They are inflexible, have no knowledge of their own internal procedures and their processes/policies are not remotely consumer friendly.
There are many, many reviews about Amazon Payments throughout the web. If you happen to come across this one before signing up with Amazon Simple Payments, please pay attention. I have been an Amazon Simple Payments customer as a merchant for nearly 2 years now. Of course you never know what to expect when signing on as a merchant with any financial institution.
For the most part, as can be expected you will not always agree with the merchant provider in just about any aspect of the agreement. Amazon Simple Pay may act the same as any merchant provider as anyone would expect from any type of this service. I am here to speak from several years of experience with this service provider. I will spare the details of how I ended up using Amazon Simple Pay and will get directly to the point of why I am writing this article.
Amazon Simple Pay is very easy to use. Anyone can sign up by simply providing some simple details of themselves and their business and begin using the service immediately. However you will very soon discover that once you begin bringing in sales, Amazon takes on a split personality.
While maintaining a "professional" front, you will soon discover that you may have made a "not so smart" decision. Amazon is extremely "customer friendly", as opposed to merchant friendly. I am not exactly sure why this is because the merchant is where Amazon makes their money with this particular service. I will give a few examples to stay within the maximum characters that I can use in this article. I have very many transactions on a monthly basis, so I am guessing that Amazon may or may not use this as a tool to their ways. For example, I will receive an order for say $100.
A month later the customer may file a "dispute" stating that they were not satisfied with their order. Amazon will immediately refund the customer the entire amount of the customers order, including shipping/handling (to the customer). I (the merchant) will be out the entire cost of the product, etc. You are entitled to appeal the dispute but Amazon does not respond in any of these situations. You are simply out the entire cost of the product(s) and shipping/handling.
I have personally lost thousands of dollars due to these practices. The merchant will NOT Win a dispute with a customer, even supplying shipping tracking numbers, etc. If there happens to be a chargeback by a customer, Amazon will send you an email giving you instruction on how to battle the chargeback, including their fees for battling the chargeback o your behalf. I have personally provided tracking information, email details, etc to Amazon and have never heard a word back from Amazon as to the outcome of the battle. However my account will conveniently be charged a$10 fee for doing so.
When receiving a chargeback, Amazon will immediately deduct the chargeback amount from your account. Then after a certain amount of time Amazon will then again deduct the chargeback from your account once more. You can inquire about the double chargeback as often as you wish but you will not receive a response. In short, for every chargeback you receive, such a a $100 chargeback, Amazon will deduct $200 from your account. This cannot be appealed.
They will also generously deduct the $10 battle fee as well. Amazon claims that there is a 6 month "probation" period once you sign up, meaning that they will hold every sale from every customer for a total of 14 days after the sale was imitated. However this is not the case. Amazon will hold your customers funds for anywhere from 14 to 21 days after the initial sale...with no explanations or response. This makes it almost impossible to ship goods within a reasonable time frame.
There are many, many reviews about Amazon Payments throughout the web. If you happen to come across this one before signing up with Amazon Simple Payments, please pay attention. I have been an Amazon Simple Payments customer as a merchant for nearly 2 years now. Of course you never know what to expect when signing on as a merchant with any financial institution. For the most part, as can be expected you will not always agree with the merchant provider in just about any aspect of the agreement.
Amazon Simple Pay may act the same as any merchant provider as anyone would expect from any type of this service. I am here to speak from several years of experience with this service provider. I will spare the details of how I ended up using Amazon Simple Pay and will get directly to the point of why I am writing this article. Amazon Simple Pay is very easy to use. Anyone can sign up by simply providing some simple details of themselves and their business and begin using the service immediately. However you will very soon discover that once you begin bringing in sales, Amazon takes on a split personality.
While maintaining a "professional" front, you will soon discover that you may have made a "not so smart" decision. Amazon is extremely "customer friendly", as opposed to merchant friendly. I am not exactly sure why this is because the merchant is where Amazon makes their money with this particular service. I will give a few examples to stay within the maximum characters that I can use in this article. I have very many transactions on a monthly basis, so I am guessing that Amazon may or may not use this as a tool to their ways. For example, I will receive an order for say $100.
A month later the customer may file a "dispute" stating that they were not satisfied with their order. Amazon will immediately refund the customer the entire amount of the customers order, including shipping/handling (to the customer). I (the merchant) will be out the entire cost of the product, etc. You are entitled to appeal the dispute but Amazon does not respond in any of these situations. You are simply out the entire cost of the product(s) and shipping/handling. I have personally lost thousands of dollars due to these practices.
The merchant will NOT Win a dispute with a customer, even supplying shipping tracking numbers, etc. If there happens to be a chargeback by a customer, Amazon will send you an email giving you instruction on how to battle the chargeback, including their fees for battling the chargeback o your behalf. I have personally provided tracking information, email details, etc to Amazon and have never heard a word back from Amazon as to the outcome of the battle.
However my account will conveniently be charged a$10 fee for doing so. When receiving a chargeback, Amazon will immediately deduct the chargeback amount from your account. Then after a certain amount of time Amazon will then again deduct the chargeback from your account once more. You can inquire about the double chargeback as often as you wish but you will not receive a response. In short, for every chargeback you receive, such a a $100 chargeback, Amazon will deduct $200 from your account. This cannot be appealed.
They will also generously deduct the $10 battle fee as well. Amazon claims that there is a 6 month "probation" period once you sign up, meaning that they will hold every sale from every customer for a total of 14 days after the sale was imitated. However this is not the case. Amazon will hold your customers funds for anywhere from 14 to 21 days after the initial sale...with no explanations or response. This makes it almost impossible to ship goods within a reasonable time frame.
After the 6 month "probation" period has ended, Amazon will not release all of your funds to you. They will still hold a certain amount of your funds indefinitely. In my case they seized over $1000 and are still holding it to this day. I could continue but in summary, Amazon is not a law abiding merchant provider. They do not hold their selves to their own standards and will breach their own contract with no remorse or explanation. They do not abide by their own written rules and your rights will be violated and laws will be broken.
However this being said, you may complain to everyone in sight but realistically Amazon Payments is not regulated by anyone. It will take an extremely large class action lawsuit to bring down a company like Amazon. I wish you the best of luck when using this company. The do not obey the law and they will steal from you without remorse or fright of consequence. Best of luck if you decide to go with Amazon Payments!
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- With the slow but steady demise of BillMonk, my friends and I turned to other means of debt tracking and bill sharing for our nights out. Ultimately we turned to Amazon Payments and their 'TextPayMe' service. While many of them may rant about how cool this is, I'm not going to.
Here is how it supposedly works. You give them your credit or debit card number, or alternatively your bank routing number and bank account. They supposedly from then on will magically deduct the texted amount from your bank and automatically drop it into your friend's Amazon Payments account. No need to split bills anymore, no need to settle up later. It's all done with a quick, flashy text from your cellphone to Amazon's number. You just text them the short "Pay $$ 'Account Name Here'" and tada! No muss, no fuss. Nuh uh.
Here are the massive hiccups involved in this service, and the inducement of what is at least a 5-7 business day headache... it not much much longer, because one then must undo the damage done.
Okay, well... you know there's plenty of money in your account. Why was it declined? Meanwhile your friend wants his money and you look a bit like a deadbeat. You apologize and say you'll try again. Cue the annoying slew of 'call your banks' from your friends. Yes, that's exactly what I want to do - sift through a phone tree of computer automation.
What Amazon's very vague text that literally says, 'your credit card was declined' actually means is its been 'temporarily declined.' That is the exact wording given to me by the person on the other side of the 'Contact Us' link. But they don't tell you that in the text. It's just declined. In the rest of the world, that means it's over. Try again. So what does it really mean?
This charge has been put into a review, which they claim takes 24 hours. I assume business hours. Unless you go onto their site and figure this out yourself by clicking on the right thing, you would never know. But why was it put into review? I wish I could tell you this. They have a box you can click SOMEWHERE that says, 'call me above a certain payment amount.' I had this unchecked. But they still called.
More confusion before we go on. They bounced certain charges, but let others go through. Back to the meat of it. Tired of dealing with them pulling directly from my credit card because they didn't seem to like it, I decided to dump my 'going out' budget into Amazon Payments so they could directly pull from there. The TextPayMe system is supposed to pull from your balance with Amazon Payments first, and if you don't have enough there, it pulls from your credit card or account. Reasonable. But then we enter the 1990s.
Depositing AND withdrawing money into your Amazon Payments account takes 5-7 business days. That is 5-7 business days that it disappears from one place, reappears in another but isn't actually usable until then. Didn't we dispose of this (I believe by law) way, way back? This is not a money transfer where physical tender is being moved from place to place, this is electronic information. This is two computers talking to one another and saying, "Got it?", "Yep, got it.", "Give me.", "OK." Done.
So your budget for going out is in limbo, your Amazon Payments balance is still nonexistent, they are still reviewing your 'temporarily declined' payment and your friend wants his money. So what do you do? Try again? No that would be silly. But I did it anyway. Result? The exact same. The card was declined, the payment shunted to a reviewed status and I now have two payments and a balance transfer hanging in limbo. It's like the sword of Damocles. When and where will the payments strike, further depleting your weakened saving account.
I had finally had enough. I contacted Amazon and they told me all of this 'temporarily declined' nonsense and they assured me that my poor limbo'ed budget would eventually arrive. And oh, they reviewed the first declined charge and its going through. But the other charge is still pending. When its deemed successful, it will be charged too... whenever that is. Twenty hours has passed, I'd like to note. Fantastic! Except I asked them to cancel them both so I could just pay my friend in cash! Now he must pay ME back for the duplicate charge.
So here I sit. Officially complaining about a product for the first time in my life. Let's add one last insult to injury. When I finally get my balance that has been floating unusably through cyberspace until then, I still either have to use this service to get it back, or else wait ANOTHER 5-7 days for them to transfer it back into my account. 10-14 BUSINESS days that I have not had my budgeted funds available, and have had to dip into other budgets to fulfill demands made. That is 2-3 weeks to those who are counting... business days after all.
A double payment that was supposed to come from my Amazon Payments account has been pulled out of my savings account, and I won't be getting that back until it is all settled. I did kind of want to go buy some groceries this week, but here's a fun fact - the money you have in your AP account can only be used with Amazon, and even then only on certain products.
I don't think an ATM (or a kind, apologetic smile and a request to split the check) has EVER looked so good right now. I ask you: who would do this to themselves? How is this convenient to have a reserve of difficult to access, difficult to replenish, difficult to use money that is not doing anything useful but sitting there possibly a good thing? Even in an ordinary savings account, its use or movement is near-instant, and in the meantime it's making tenth of cents in interest.


text:
No minimum purchase. First time buyers only. Click here to activate.
PLEASE NOTE: Please click the Shipping Info tab for important information regarding the shipping policy for this product.
Give your dog a comfy place to relax anywhere you go with the Ruffwear Highlands Packable Bed.
Lightweight and abrasion resistant, the Ruffwear Highlands Packable Bed can easily be set down on any surface to give your dog a relaxing spot all his own. Made from 40% recycled material for the water resistant, durable outer and 50% recycled material for the high-loft Thermore insulation, this eco-friendly mat protects your dog from the ground.
Featuring an included stuff sack for easy storage, the 5"x26" bed can compressed down to a 12"x5" sack, allowing it to fit in every size of the Ruffwear Palisades Pack. It also features four stake out loops allowing you to stake it to the ground in windy conditions or hang it out dry.
Ruffwear Highlands Packable Bed
Let your dog live in the world while taking slumber on the Ruffwear Highlands Packable Bed.
Available in Granite Gray and measures 5"x26" spread out and 12"x5" packed.
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Manufacturer: Ruff Wear
Shipping Weight: 1
This item will ship separately from other items:
The reviews below are presented for informational purposes only and are not intended as an endorsement of any product. The information is not intended to be a substitute for visits to your local veterinarian. Instead, these testimonials offer the reader information and opinions written by pet owners and/or veterinarians concerning animal health and products that they have used.
Be the first to write a review.
© 2015 Only Natural Pet LLC - All Rights Reserved

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hello Everyone,
I am newbabie for PHP. I have installed php in my fedora 15 system by using tarball, it was installed successfully. When I created a sample page for testing, it executed on the command prompt but not on the browser. I will tell you what I have done.
1) Download the tarball php-5.3.9.tar.bz2 from the recognized site of php.
2) Then I have extracted it in home dir. by creating folder /php/php-5.3.9
3) After that [root]# cd /php/php-5.3.9 then it look like that [php-5.3.9]#
4) I have excuted the command along with different options
[php-5.3.9]# ./configure enable-maintainer-zts disable-cgi enable-cli \
disable-pear disable-xml disable-sqlite \
without-mysql enable-embed
I have executed all the option one by one
5) Then I have executed the command
[php-5.3.9]# make all install
this command install php in my system.
6) Then I executed command service httpd restart to restart the server.
After php installation , I created the php page by using phpinfo(); like that <? phpinfo(); ?> and save it index.php and put this file into /var/www/html/ location but when I was access it by typing
http://localhost/index.php it retured blank page but when I executed phpinfo(); from command prompt it work fine.
I have again executed command service httpd restart to restart the server but doesn't effect.
I am sure I have done a blundder mistake because lack of knowlege. Is anyone is there to help me to out of this??? Please help me.
Thanks and Regards,


text:
7 U.S. Code § 361g - Duties of Secretary; ascertainment of entitlement of State to funds; plans of work
(a) Duties of Secretary
The Secretary of Agriculture is charged with the responsibility for the proper administration of sections 361a to 361i of this title, and is authorized and directed to prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its provisions. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to furnish such advice and assistance as will best promote the purposes of said sections, including participation in coordination of research initiated under said sections by the State agricultural experiment stations, from time to time to indicate such lines of inquiry as to him seem most important, and to encourage and assist in the establishment and maintenance of cooperation by and between the several State agricultural experiment stations, and between the stations and the United States Department of Agriculture.
(b) Ascertainment of entitlement
On or before the first day of October in each year after the passage of sections 361a to 361i of this title, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain as to each State whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriations for agricultural experiment stations under said sections and the amount which thereupon each is entitled, respectively, to receive.
(c) Carryover
(1) In general
(2) Failure to expend full allotment
(A) In general
If any unexpended balance carried over by a State is not expended by the end of the second fiscal year, an amount equal to the unexpended balance shall be deducted from the next succeeding annual allotment to the State.
(B) Redistribution
(d) Plan of work required
(e) Requirements related to plan of work
Each plan of work for a State required under subsection (d) of this section shall contain descriptions of the following:
(1) The critical short-term, intermediate, and long-term agricultural issues in the State and the current and planned research programs and projects targeted to address the issues.
(2) The process established to consult with users of agricultural research regarding the identification of critical agricultural issues in the State and the development of research programs and projects targeted to address the issues.
(3) The efforts made to identify and collaborate with other colleges and universities within the State, and within other States, that have a unique capacity to address the identified agricultural issues in the State and the extent of current and emerging efforts (including regional efforts) to work with those other institutions.
(4) The manner in which research and extension, including research and extension activities funded other than through formula funds, will cooperate to address the critical issues in the State, including the activities to be carried out separately, the activities to be carried out sequentially, and the activities to be carried out jointly.
(f) Research protocols
(1) Development
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop protocols to be used to evaluate the success of multistate, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary research activities and joint research and extension activities in addressing critical agricultural issues identified in the plans of work submitted under subsection (d) of this section.
(2) Consultation
The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop the protocols in consultation with the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board established under section 3123 of this title and land-grant colleges and universities.
Source(Mar. 2, 1887, ch. 314, § 7,24 Stat. 441; Aug. 11, 1955, ch. 790, § 1,69 Stat. 673; Pub. L. 86–533, § 1(22),June 29, 1960, 74 Stat. 249; Pub. L. 94–273, § 3(2),Apr. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 376; Pub. L. 105–185, title I, § 103(f)(2), title II, § 202(b),June 23, 1998, 112 Stat. 528, 532; Pub. L. 107–171, title VII, § 7202,May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 437.)
2002—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–171added subsec. (c) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (c). Text read as follows: "Whenever it shall appear to the Secretary of Agriculture from the annual statement of receipts and expenditures of funds by any State agricultural experiment station that any portion of the preceding annual appropriation allotted to that station under sections 361a to 361i of this title remains unexpended, such amount shall be deducted from the next succeeding annual allotment to the State concerned."
1998—Pub. L. 105–185, § 202(b), inserted section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsecs. (a) to (c), inserted subsec. headings, and added subsecs. (d) to (g).
Pub. L. 105–185, § 103(f)(2), struck out at end "If the Secretary of Agriculture shall withhold from any State any portion of the appropriations available for allotment, the facts and reasons therefor shall be reported to the President and the amount involved shall be kept separate in the Treasury until the close of the next Congress. If the next Congress shall not direct such sum to be paid, it shall be carried to surplus."
1976—Pub. L. 94–273substituted "October" for "July" in second par.
1960—Pub. L. 86–533repealed provisions which required the Secretary of Agriculture to make a report to the Congress of the receipts, expenditures and work of the agricultural experiment stations in all the States under the provisions of sections 361a to 361i of this title.
1955—Act Aug. 11, 1955, amended section generally to prescribe the powers and duties of the Secretary of Agriculture, to provide for the determination of the amount of entitlement, to authorize deduction of unexpended balances, and to require reports. For provisions which stated that the relation of the college to the State was unaffected, see section 361h of this title.
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
Amendment by section 202(b) ofPub. L. 105–185effective Oct. 1, 1999, see section 202(c) ofPub. L. 105–185, set out as a note under section 344 of this title.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of all officers, agencies, and employees of Department of Agriculture transferred, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Agriculture by 1953 Reorg. Plan No. 2, § 1, eff. June 4, 1953, 18 F.R. 3219, 67 Stat. 633, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


text:
Circa 1950
A pair of Blenko charcoal crackle glass decanters with clear crackle stoppers. Due to the antique nature of this item, there may be some nicks or imperfections in the glass as well as variations from piece to piece.
Overall: 16-1/2" h. x 4-1/2" diameter
1 pair total available.
On display at our 28th Street showroom.


text:
(based on 10 reviews)
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Ratings Distribution
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Stars
Best Uses
Reviewed by 10 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-10
Back to top
just right
By jesus sierra
from san jose, California
About Me Casual/ Recreational
See all my reviews
Comments about Nashbar 300mm Seatpost:
This seatpost fit my mountain bike just right, almost was too short but it works, now that I got a new saddle, I decided to get a new seatpost cause the one I had was too heavy (Bontrager ssr), it was very easy to adjust.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- You may also flag this review
Comment on this review
Seatpost extends life of daughter's bike
By Commuter
from Clinton Township, MI
About Me Commuter
Setting the seat angle is limited by the number of notches, but the notches do keep the adjustment in place while the binder bolt is tightened.
Best bang for the buck roadbike seatpost
By Baby Boomer
from Covington, VA
About Me Avid Cyclist
This holds my Brooks B.17 Saddle on my roadbike which travels about 100 miles a week. Quality. Easy to install. Great price. Looks good. What's not to like?
Great price, good design.
By Trail Rydr
from Lewiston ID
Perfect fit. Does all a seatpost needs to do.
Seat post
By Billy
from Nutley, NJ
Great buy for the price. Some troubles with Customer service but resolved w/o problem. Sent the wrong size at first had to return. They tried to charge me for the shipping back but when I explained the Tech Service suggested the size they credited me.
By Ricky
from Papillion, NE
Put this on a single speed franken-bike I put together, and pulled it off to use on my "good" bike to resolve a problem with a name brand seatpost. Now this is my go-to seat post when I replace or have issues with any other seatpost. Adjusts very easily, very stiff. No creaks or popping under heavy use. Don't let price fool you, you won't get better for twice the coin.
Worked perfect for my needs
By Cannondale Jim
from Pepperell, MA
I needed a very short 27.2mm post for the stoker (back seat) on my Cannondale tandem. My 7-year old son grew enough over the winter that he could actually reach the pedals comfortably if I could lower the seat nearly to the bottom.The stock seatpost is a suspension model, and you automatically lose 4-inches of length to the suspension part. The other challenge is one of the water bottle braze-ons keeps a longer seat post from sliding down into the frame all the way.The short length of this post allowed me to set the seat height super low, and now I have a new riding buddy on those days when my wife doesn't want to come along.The 1-bolt head on this post adjusts easily and securely.
Good value
By joninsteamboat
from Steamboat Springs, CO
Well built post, lightweight, nicely finished in black powder coated paint.
A decent seatpost
By jcatfood
from Miami fl
[...] It was much cheaper than its equivalent products at my local bike shops. It works great in my mid-eighties japanese road bike.
(4 of 5 customers found this review helpful)
cheap, long, and strong
By teo
from Boise, ID
About Me Casual Cyclist
Great seat post overall. I ride here on the rough roads of idaho and it absorbs more of the rough road than a typical steel seat post (which is what i had) not to mention it just looks good and for the price its a deal. don't have anyhting bad to say about after having it for 6 months now with constant riding throughout the week ...ride on
Item No. »
We Make Shopping Safe, Secure and Easy
© 2015 Nashbar. All Rights Reserved.
Return to Mobile


text:
- Overview
- Specs
- Reviews
Magura Storm Brake RotorThe lightweight Magura Storm brake rotor delivers high-performance braking power with excellent modulation and cooling. At a full 2.0mm thick, the Storm resists flex and high-temperature warpage.
- 2.0mm thick rotor resists flex
- Rotor geometry optimized to resist extreme temperatures without warping
- Perfect friction balance between brake pad and rotor for maximum braking power in all conditions
- Wider brake surface prevents tipping of brake pads and improves brake modulation
- Exclusive design eliminates squeaking and brake pad shudder
- Larger surface area with more cut outs for optimum heat dispersion
Magura Storm Brake Rotor
- fluid type:
- mount:
- 6-bolt
- pad type:
- rotor size:
- 160, 180, 203mm
- weight:
- 114g (160mm), 177g (203mm)
- rating:
- 4


text:
- Homepage
- Media Solutions
- Services
- Our Network
- Media News & Events
- About Publicitas
Publicitas' global sales force has unrivalled experience in the media world. Our teams have extensive local knowledge across all media platforms as well as a proactive and entrepreneurial approach to sales.
Global network, local knowledge
We have a global presence in more than 20 countries.
Through our network and local sales teams we have forged close and longstanding relationships with key advertisers and media agencies - keeping up to date on the latest local insights.
Premium media sales – our sales professionals will convey the value of your brand to international advertisers and media agencies. These sales deliver a win-win outcome that benefits our media owner partners and advertising clients.
Sales and marketing tools – our media experts use leading market tools and research data to provide a thorough understanding of media in local markets and to create compelling sales campaigns.
Marketing and events – we run bespoke marketing events and roadshows on topical and relevant issues. Additional exposure is provided through bespoke marketing, mailings, our weekly media news publication and media factsheets.
Online media and real-time advertising – we are at the forefront of developments in this rapidly emerging market. The fastest growing sector of online display media sales is automated trading.
With the Publicitas SSP, we are offering an exclusive real time advertising (RTA) marketplace, connecting premium brands with premium publishers.


text:
This ad or listing is pending approval or has been deleted.
Newest Georgia Classified Ads
Georgia Mountain Association of Saddle Clubs - We are the Triple F Group...Family, Fun & Fellowship!
Commerce, GA
Georgia Western Dressage Association - Western dressage-blend of horsemanship, harmony and western tack!
Statewide, GA
Gordon County Saddle Club - For all types of Horse Enthusiast
Calhoun, GA
Atlanta Regional Polo Center - United States Polo Association Regional Polo Center
Atlanta, GA
Oglethorpe County Saddle Club - Horse Club, whose members compete for End of Year Awards. Members are also eligible for GMASC!
Stephens, GA
Georgia Horseback Riding - Whether it is your first or 1000th ride, Georgia Horseback Riding GHR is the place to enjoy horses
Alpharetta, GA
Gilmer County Saddle Club - Open / fun shows
Ellijay, GA
Fitzgerald, GA
Chattahoochee Trail Horse Association - Dedicated to the Future of Horses on Trails
Augusta, GA


text:
First Workshop on EU metalworking and Metal articles industries Pubblicato il: 08/06/2010
|Data dell'evento:
|23/06 > 24/06/2010
Bilbao exhibition Center
|Aggiungi al tuo calendario
The European Commission and the Basque Government are organizing, under the Spanish Presidency, a first workshop as a follow-up to the Report on the Competitiveness of the EU Metalworking and Metal Articles Industries (MMA).

The Report casts light on one of the biggest industrial sectors in Europe and the largest employer in EU manufacturing.

The European Commission wants to analyse together with decision makers from the most prominent industries, clusters, technology parks, universities and stakeholders, including union representatives, the possible strategic options that could be implemented into a political framework for the benefit of these industries.
Attendance to the conference is on invitation.
You may request an invitation by sending an e-mail with a motivation letter (please see the links below)


text:
Shop By Product
Character Stickers
- Sticker Samplers
- Frozen Stickers
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Stickers
- Disney Princess Stickers
- Minions Stickers
- Inside Out Stickers
- All
Pencils for Kids - Draw up some fun!
Pencils are the perfect prize for the classroom or the office, and at SmileMakers you can get them at an economy price. Fun pencils are a great way to keep children excited about writing! Choose from a great selection of cool pencils for kids including Birthday, Character, Motivational, Holiday, Teacher, and more!
With fun character pencils, sports pencils and others, learning can be fun and exciting for kids. Keep your students and patients smiling with fun pencils for kids from SmileMakers!


text:
Today is October 9, 2015
Front Page
March 1, 2011
Carbon County News
Eldon Miller completes book on Hiawatha
Published 1,683 days ago
Eldon Miller completes book on Hiawatha
Print Page
Email Page
Get Reprints
Eldon Miller of Helper has been hard at work for 24 years collecting stories, pictures and history from and about Hiawatha. Thanks to him, these memories have now been published as a book. Miller has interviewed Hiawatha folks and has added recollections of his own. The Carbon County Historical Society recently featured Miller as their guest speaker, and all in attendance recalled fond memories of neighbors, friends, acquaintances and places. This book is a compilation of "special memories of a special town filled with special people". Copies of this book are available at the Sun Advocate or by calling Eldon at 472-8253.
Print Page
Email Page
Get Reprints
Top of Page
Article Photos
Browse / enlarge – (1 total)
Print photo(s) with article
Get photo reprints on CD
To print only the article and included photos, use the
print photo(s) with article
link above.
Carbon County News
March 1, 2011
Shotgun blast wounds deputy:Suspect captured, faces 5 counts of attempted homicide; fire bombs found
ATV enthusiasts, land users gearing up for battle against wild lands closures
Donors dis-tressed at 'Locks of Love'
Local writers in Authors Month at Price Library
Simple steps can avoid fall injuries
Eldon Miller completes book on Hiawatha
Kathy Hanna-Smith leaving travel bureau to manage AJB Broadcasting stations
Recent Local News
October 8, 2015
October 6, 2015
October 1, 2015
September 29, 2015
September 24, 2015
Quick Links
View Archives
View March 2011 Archives
Related Articles
Related Stories
Eldon L. Miller
Eldon Miller comes full circle after a long career
Letter to the Editor: is progress a bad word?
Letter to the Editor: is progress a bad word?
Irish film crew comes to Helper
About this feature...
Best viewed with
© Sun Advocate, 2000-2013. All rights reserved.
All material found on this website, unless otherwise specified, is copyright and may not be reproduced without the explicit written permission from the publisher of the Sun Advocate.
Legal Notices & Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Advertising Info
Contact Us
RSS Feeds
News on Your Site
Staff Information
Submitting Content
About Us


text:
Moderator: All Things Mods
-VoltaireI disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Auntie Dee Dee wrote:Quarters.
For non-US College Guys...it's a drinking game.
Goat Starer wrote:As you will all be aware the Christian god is an avid supporter of Scottish Football (that is Soccer to you dastardly Americans!) team Queen of the South...... look up Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31.
Does the FSM have a sporting preference?
Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 2 guests


text:
Endorphin Corporation has been a manufacturer of rehabilitation and fitness products for over 20 years and provides high quality, competitively priced products that are the mainstay for hospitals, rehabilitation and long term care facilities. Our products are especially designed to meet the special, adapted needs of users with physical limitations, physical disabilities or mobility impairments. The primary applications are to strengthen the muscles utilized, to provide aerobic exercise for the user, and improve balance and stabilization.
Choose from a variety of chiropractic tables including Benches, Flexion, hylo tables and more.
Check out our large selection of Analgesics including Biofreeze, Cryoderm, Prossage, Sombra and more.
We offer a wide variety of portable tens units to help with your electrotherapy.
Flexible payment schedules and lease terms available. Contact us today!
ScripHessco tables are completely reconditioned by our factory trained technicians and guaranteed. Click here for a list of available tables.
We are dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about the products you purchase.
Near one of our regional offices? Then you are close to a factory trained service representative. ScripHessco service is guaranteed.
Sign up to get our latest product information, promotions and news right in your mailbox!
We live by the philosophy that our customers are like family. Excellent customer service is our priority!


text:
Our TV Shows
Enter your Zip Code
Got a Tip?
Call TMZ at (888) 847-9869 or
Click Here
Sign In
Hikers Narrowly Escape
Death After Foot Bridge Collapses
Bella Thorne's 18th
Birthday Celebration ... Tastefully Done, Of Course
TMZ's Funniest Celebrity 911 Calls
Drink in 10 Thirsty Shots of
Ian Somerhalder to Quench Your 'Diaries' Cravings
Adorable Golden Retriever
Excited To Fetch ... The Family Groceries
Marc Maron -- Selfie With Obama ... In His Garage
Kendall Jenner -- Still Calling Caitlyn ...'He'
Andre Berto -- If Mayweather Wants to Fight ... Let's Fight!
Bear King of the Dead Thread Heads (and he means it)'s Profile
Bear King of the Dead Thread Heads (and he means it)
1083 days ago
My Comments
Around The Web
Lance Bass clarifies NSYNC molestation claims
Randy Quaid ordered release from Canadian detention center, still faces deportation
John Boehner cancels 'Tonight Show' appearance
I see your Bastion Yotta and raise you Dan Bilzerian (25 Photos)
18 bizarre sexual fetishes that you might not have known existed (18 Photos)
Birthday cards that are more interested in being a troll (21 Photos)
Rachel Barnes Bikinis In Black And Other Fine Things To Ogle
Brenda Song Bikini Hotness Sizzling in the Ocean
Capcom Tell Us To Prepare Our Butts for Resident Evil 7
MTO EXCLUSIVE: Rapper Makes A SELFIE Video . . . Just SECONDS After He's SHOT IN…
Fraternity Has Been SUSPENDED . . . After Forcing Pledges . . . To Give ORAL SEX To…
Rapper FUTURE Got A Sneaker Deal With NIKE . . . And Check Out His NEW LINE OF…
Man Found in Pile of Doritos, Other Snacks After Calling Police to Say He's…
Matt Barnes Confronted Knicks Head Coach Derek Fisher at Estranged Wife Gloria…
Alec Baldwin Teases Daughter Ireland About Reports She's Dating Olivia Wilde's…
OMGorgeous: Taylor Swift's Sexy GQ Cover
Watch Blake Lively & Ed Westwick's Gossip Girl Auditions
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton — More Than Just Innocent Flirting?
Watch Emma Stone Eat Money in Will Butler's 'Anna' Music Video
Khloe Kardashian's BFF Malika Haqq Arrested for DUI
Justin Bieber Favorites Tweet About Full Frontal Paparazzi Pics
Here's What That One Horrifying 'AHS' Scene Was All About
Confronting Cancer, the Niche Media Market
James Franco Takes On 'Game Of' Thrones'


text:
Portable Audio
- Cut the Cost, Not The Quality When You Buy Open Box Or Refurbished At Tech For Less
- Buy With Confidence: 30 Day Return Policy & Manufacturer Warranties
- Shop Now - Get More For Less & Join Over 2 Million Satisfied Customers Since 2001
Shop Portable Audio Accessories:
What Our Customers Are Saying
Shipping was fairly quick and the 30-pin to lightning adapter looks to be (and acts like) a genuine Apple part...only difference is the money saved ordering it through techforless.- Fred H. (Rome, NY)
Extremely fast shipping, cheap, and headphones as described.- george i. (seattle, wa)
The Tech For Less Promise:
Join the over 2 Million satisfied customers we've been serving since 2001. We inspect and test all of our products to ensure it meets the manufacturer quality standards. We have a 30 Day Return Policy and every product has the Manufacturer Warranty against defects. If there does happen to be an issue, we will work with you to make it right!
Contact Us
1610 Garden of the Gods Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80907
Sales: 1.866.880.1230
Operating Hours
Monday — Friday
Outlet Store:
9:00am to 6:00pm MT
Phone Inquiries:
8:00am to 6:00pm MT
Email Us
Sales/Product Questions
After Sales Support
Customer Service Request Form
Stan B. - Sep 30th 2015


text:
It has been finally announced that Nokia Siemens has indeed purchased Motorola's network equipment division. $1.2 billion is not bad considering the fact that they will now be in quite a good position in North America to steadily grow in the market. The purchase will raise a few eyebrows as it really puts them in a really strong position.
New York Times ran a story saying that this purchase was not a sudden decision but the conclusion of a long drawn out effort to compete against the likes of Unlocked Ericsson phone and Huawei of China. They have been repeatedly thwarted in their effort to be able to claim a position such as this and finally they have succeeded by buying the Motorola network equipment division.
The acquisition might prove to be a very valuable one as it gives Nokia Siemens a stronghold in the market of North America. It had failed on two auctions in the past and this acquisition ends that drought. Although, the two companies who had beaten Nokia Siemens in the past are having to pay more annual revenue than Nokia Siemens has to pay for the Motorola business. Nokia Siemens has really met tough competitors in North America but this move will hopefully be crucial for them. A separate venture might be just the perfect choice for Nokia Siemens after this purchase. The competitive market in North America is really not the place for the way to do business which is conducive to Nokia Siemens. So, a split would be advisable after they have purchased the Motorola division.
This purchase may catapult them to new heights but they have to be cautious in the way they approach this move. They can have steady influence in the market but it has to be well planned out. Only time will tell how influential would this purchase be.


text:
The parades, the titles, the trophies, the glory, and of course, the football. Bowls are the cherry on top of the college football season. Here's a look at the winners in the 2012-13 College Football Bowl season.
Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images
Outback Bowl, Jan. 1: South Carolina 33, Michigan 28; Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.; Payout: $3,500,000 PHOTO: South Carolina wide receiver Bruce Ellington (23) grabs a 32-yard, game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against Michigan in the Outback Bowl.


text:
Where to Go
Search Where to Shop
Shopping Pattaya
As in all Thai tourist destinations there is no shortage of shopping options in Pattaya, including malls, supermarkets, bazaar-style markets, and thousands of smaller, stand-alone shops at various street markets. In addition to these tourist-oriented markets and shops that sell souvenir goods, beach supplies, and handicrafts, there are shopping malls and department stores that sell groceries and household products, such as furniture and electronic appliances.
Highlight Shopping
Silk products


text: Quick! The humans aren't looking! This fun-filled musical comedy brings to life Annabelle, a Victorian China doll, and her new all-plastic, all-modern neighbor, Tiffany Funcraft. The two make a pact to search for missing Auntie Sarah Doll, who has disappeared! But first, they must find the courage to leave the Doll House, hide from humans, escape the cat and be kind to spiders. The performances are in the Dewitt Studio Theatre.more »


text:
Well damn.
Recently, the Debian Project has lost two members of its community.
Manuel Estrada Sainz (ranty) and Andrés García (ErConde) were killed in a tragic car accident while returning from the Free Software conference held at Valencia, Spain.
Well damn.
Thats not cool
the gnome people also lost 2 developers this year
it's a bad year for open source developers :/
I count 3 down for GNOME: Chema, Ettora and Finlay.. the last one I personally miss very much since I considered him a friend and ally.
Either way, I didn't know the two people in question, so it doesn't affect me personally, it is still sad when the open source community goes i-- though. Maybe they rest in peace.
My condolences to their families. :'(
AAAAHHH!!!! The one of the guys middle name is my last name!!!


text:
- Northern New York Newspapers
- Watertown
- Ogdensburg
- Massena-Potsdam
- Lowville
- Carthage
- Malone
- NNY Business
- NNY Living
- NNY Ads
Frontier League teams won't have to make that long trip to the Oswego County village of Parish anymore after the spring sports season is concluded.
That's because Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, the southernmost team in the Frontier League, is leaving to return to its roots in the Onondaga High School League for the 2013-14 academic year.
APW, which left the Onondaga League to become the 18th member of the Frontier League in 2006, was readmitted to the Onondaga League at a business meeting on Jan. 3. A Class B school, APW will become members of the Liberty Conference, which is currently composed of 12 Class B teams.
Frontier League executive director Bob Kowalick said the Rebels' exit was not a total surprise.
"We've heard rumors over the years that they were considering moving back,'' Kowalick said. "I guess in this day of tight budgets and spiralling expenses, it makes sense for them to play teams closer. But I also think our teams kind of got used to playing them, and making that trip down there. We're sorry to see them go.''
When APW came to the Frontier League, many people surmised it was because they couldn't compete with the powerful Onondaga League teams and that the Rebels would have more success against the mostly rural Frontier League schools.
That did not turn out to be the case. APW teams struggled in most of the major sports, with the exception of baseball and girls softball and basketball.
APW competed in the Frontier League "B" Division against South Jefferson, General Brown and Lowville until this season when the Rebels moved down to Class C. APW also crosses over against the league's biggest schools — Watertown, Carthage and Indian River — as well as Immaculate Heart Central in most sports.
Coaches at the school support the return to the OHSL, said athletic director Bert Conklin. And parents, many of whom work in the Syracuse area, wanted to cut down on travel to see their kids play.
Commutes to such schools as Indian River, Beaver River, Carthage and Lowville were bad enough, even in good weather. During the sometimes dicey winter weather, it often became treacherous.
"Transportation and geographical issues spurred this,'' said Conklin. "And it will save the district money.''
APW will be able to compete in modified sports and possibly nonleague varsity events against their closest neighbors such as Mexico, Phoenix, Pulaski and Hannibal.
The Liberty League is comprised of Chittenango, Phoenix, Marcellus, Westhill, Solvay, Cazenovia, Skaneateles, Hannibal, Jordan-Elbridge, Syracuse Institute of Technology, Syracuse Academy of Science, Bishop Grimes and Bishop Ludden.
APW's loss means the Frontier League has some options going forward.
With Lowville moving back up to Class B status next season, that leaves a four-team "A" Division, a three-team "B" Division, a four-team "C" Division and a six-team "D" Division.
This season, in soccer, basketball and baseball, the "B" and "C" Division playoffs have been scrapped because teams have too many league games, and not enough room for two playoff games under state guidelines.
That will be the case again next year and in the foreseeable future if the current alignment continues.
"The three-team division is not an ideal situation," Kowalick said. "There's been some talk of a three-division set-up, but I haven't heard any concrete proposals on how to divide the teams up. The bottom line is not everybody will be satisfied no matter what we do.''
One thing that may spur a possible realignment is South Jefferson's status. The Spartans have been classified as a B team under state enrollment guidelines for years. But with enrollment declining at most schools throughout the state, the figures (called BEDS numbers) that the state uses to classify its teams have kept going down.
The new cutoff for Class B will be 480 students in grades 9-11. South Jefferson, according to Kowalick, is projecting numbers around the 475 mark next year.
"If they ever go up to Class A, that would leave just two Class B teams and it would not work, schedule-wise," Kowalick said. "We would then be forced into doing something."
Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.
You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:


text: If you've been looking for the perfect pre-owned vehicle at a price you can afford and in a condition you can accept, Walser Auto Group will alter your search parameters by raising your expectations. At our dealerships, you'll find that perfect vehicle, but at a low price that you will absolutely love and in such great shape, you won't believe your eyes. Just browse the exceptional vehicles within the pre-owned inventories at our various Minnesota car dealerships to get started. We have a huge lineup of used Toyota, Mazda, Buick, GMC and Nissan models sold at the respective dealers, plus plenty of top-shelf pre-owned vehicles built by other automakers like Ford and Honda.


text:
AKRON -- What was expected to take the better part of one day will now take at least two days.
It began at 9:30 a.m. Monday in U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi's courtroom in Akron and, with only two short breaks and a one-hour lunch break, ended at 5:52 p.m. without Lioi sentencing convicted former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora.
She is expected to pronounce his sentence sometime Tuesday but not until after hearing more from character witnesses for Dimora and, possibly, Dimora himself. However, any witnesses on his behalf are subject to cross-examination by the prosecution.
Dimora's family and friends packed the courtroom all day Monday as U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon and the father-daughter team of attorneys for Dimora -- Bill and Andrea Whitaker -- sparred back and forth for most of the day over assigning how much of a dollar amount would be assesed to Dimora for his part in the various Cuyahoga County corruption schemes.
Dimora, 57, of Independence, was found guilty of 33 of 34 counts on March 9 and was immediately taken into federal custody. On July 18, Lioi dismissed one of the counts as redundant so sentencing is now going to be done on only 32 counts.
Except for spending three days in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown following a fall, he has been in the Northeast Ohio Correctional Institution since then.
At the end of court on Monday, the amount being ruled upon by Lioi had already reached just over $451,000. Just before court ended for the day, several character witnesses who were unable to return to Akron on Tuesday took the witness stand to testify under oath in support of Dimora.
The last to take the stand before court adjourned was Dimora's daughter, Lisa, an x-ray technician at University Hospitals. Lisa Dimora said the most memories she had were from the father-daughter dances they attended and that her father gave her the best advice.
She said the extended family came to their house a lot, both in Bedford Heights and in Independence. She said her father cared and supported his wife Lori and cared for and supported his family.
Before that, about 5:30 p.m., Andrew Getner, a police officer for Cleveland and North Randall police departments, took the stand and said he's been friends with Dimora since childhood.
He said he has never heard a bad word ever said about Dimora.
Preceding him was John Theron, Dimora's neighbor on Forestwood Drive in Independence, and he described him as a great neighbor.
Dimora's attorneys also brought in William J. Day, an attorney who says he has known Dimora for 23 years. Day said that when he ran for judge, Dimora helped him with the campaign. Day's son has disabilities and Dimora helped him get jobs with the county.
The first character witness was Philip Saunders, the president of the Bedford Heights City Council He said he often saw Dimora with his wife Lori and his children.
Saunders said Dimora, when he was mayor, established the Bedford Heights Home Days, started numerous programs for senior citizens, the Seniors-Plus program, got the city to build playgrounds and ballfields, and that the main recreation center was built under Dimora.
Dimora first served on Bedford Heights City Council for several years before being elected mayor of Bedford Heights. In 1998, Dimora was elected commissioner and served until December 2010.
U.S. Attorneys have asked for a sentence "in excess of 22 years." The U.S. Probation Service has recommended a life sentence. Dimora's attorneys have asked for "far below" the 22 years.
Domora's co-defendant, Michael Gabor, will be in Lioi's courtroom Wednesday morning to hear the result of his restitution hearing and will also likely be sentenced that day as well.
Gabor, 52, was convicted on seven counts.


text:
Best of News
Family pictures are displayed among the rubble of a house belonging... News PhotoConflict,Family,Horizontal,Immigrant,Photography,Police Force,Rescue Worker,Rubble,War,West BankPhotographer AFPCollection: AFP 2013 AFPFamily pictures are displayed among the rubble of a house belonging to Israeli settlers that was demolished by Israeli police in the outpost of Maale Rehavam, in the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank, on February 13, 2013. The house was built without any authorization outside the larger state-sanctioned settlement. The number of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank grew by 4.7% in 2012, according to figures obtained by AFP from a settler organisation. AFP PHOTO JANOS CHIALA (Photo credit should read Janos Chiala/AFP/Getty Images)


text:
Outdoor Research
Radiant Hybrid Suit (Men's) (out-of-stock)
Out of Stock Product Number: 27970
The men's Outdoor Research Radiant Hybrid Suit is afull-body, thermal insulation for extreme conditions and expeditions with a technical fabric mix for maximum warmth and breathability where it's needed most.
* This product does not qualify for shipping to all countries.
- Radiant Hybrid™ construction
- Radiant Fleece™ torso and upper legs for maximum warmth, Radiant LT Fleece™ side body, inseam, and lower leg for maximum breathability
- Polygiene® active odor control
- Flatlock seams and no side seams
- Double-separating center front zipper
- Half moon back zipper allows drop seat
- Two zippered stretch mesh napolean pockets
- Gusseted crotch
Gender: Men's
Weight: (L) 16.9 oz. / 478 g
Fit: Trim Fit
Season: F12
Vendor ProductId: 52192
Review ProductId: 27970


text:
Classic Saint Laurent Clutch With Saint Laurent Signature In Raised Metal Letters.
Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.6 x 0.8 Inches
100% Calf-skin leather
Zip top closure
Style ID: 328517BOF0J6416
Made In Italy
Some color/size variations are shipped from our local warehouse and can be available for Next Day and Saturday Delivery.
For orders including at least one item not stored in our U.S. distribution center, you can only choose Standard or Express Shipping. ()


text:
Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Good bye...........
Don't let the door hit ya on the way out.
Good riddance
So, for the three previous commenters... is hating on government officials just an immature knee-jerk thing or do you bother to think about things before you anonymously fire off unsubstantiated nasty comments?
Of all DOT heads Roy has been the worst - hence the comments.


text:
Liquid Lipstick
Will you need to Drive people and projects into action today? Apply Drive, our pink-purple liquid lipstick to get things moving. With its hydrating base of jojoba oil and rose wax, Drive applies beautifully and ensures your lips stay soft and smooth. The richly-pigmented shimmery formula makes it easy to wear Drive any way you like: apply just a little for a subtle pink-purple look, or build intensity when you apply more generously. Drive: moving forward.
VeganThis product does not contain animal products of any kind.
Follow the outline of your lip with the tip of the sponge, then fill in. For a more subtle colour, use less and blend well.
In it for the long haul: Drive is richly pigmented, so will last all day- no touchups required!
Wear the word: When you wear Drive, allow its meaning stick with you throughout your day and Drive things into action!
Cruelty-free cosmetics: LUSH continues our fight against animal testing. Like all of our products, Drive has never been tested on animals.
Featured ingredientOrganic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis) Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis)
Fresh ingredients
Natural ingredients
Safe synthetics
- Reviews
- Questions & Answers


text:
Choose language
Find your country site
Select Country
Select Site
Global Falck websites
Falck Safety Services offers OPITO & NOGEPA accredited, basic and refresher training for the offshore industry.
For more than 3 decades Falck Safety Services is training maritime personnel.
Falck Safety Services offers basic safety training for personnel in the wind power industry, both onshore and offshore.
Overview of all courses
Split per quarter
OIM Controlling Emergencies
MoME (NOGEPA)
Formal Assessment MoME
Calamity Control Course
Beerweg 1013199 LM


text: Scott Halleran, Getty Images [ Vote For Madden '12 Cover Athlete By chs7 March 23, 2011 This year's Madden NFL videogame will rely on you to help choose its cover athlete this year. That's right, you can vote for your favorite NFL player. The one with the most votes will be on the cover of Madden '12 when it's released in August. Read More|Comment Category: NFL Tags: aaron rodgers, bracket, cover athlete, danny woodhead, Drew Brees, john madden football, jordan gross, madden, madden '12, matt ryan, michael vick, playstation, ps3, vote, xbox360 Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


text:
An island blessed with seemingly endless sun, surf and sand, to call Tenerife a beachgoer's paradise would be a considerable understatement. The largest of the Canary Islands, this famously sun-kissed vacation destination features some 350 kilometers of alluring coastline, coaxing more than 10 million visitors to board flights to Tenerife each year.
Top Things to Do in Tenerife
- Visit towering Mount Teide, a gargantuan dormant volcano and highest mountain in all of Spain, offering stunning panoramic views of the island from over 3,700 meters up
- Book tickets to Tenerife's famed Siam Park, the largest water park on the island, featuring a wealth of massive waterslides, a wave pool and attractions for all ages
- Skip across the waves or plunge into depths unknown along the picturesque stretches of coastline, with various local watercraft and diving equipment rentals, as well as classes for the inexperienced aquatic explorer
Discover Tenerife
Away from the golden shoreline, Tenerife holds many wonders often left undiscovered by the beach-seeking masses. Travel the exciting mountainous road to Masca Valley, an authentic local village surrounded by spectacular rock formations and a gorgeous bay featuring beaches of black sand lapped by cool crystal-clear waters.
Tenerife's Pleasures
Southern Tenerife is home to the island's utopian beach resorts, catering to the millions of international visitors drawn to the sandy coast. Naturally, this area also boasts a considerable collection of nightclubs, discotheques and beachside bars that electrify the evening and provide the perfect balance to a day of restful sunbathing.
Plan Your Tenerife Holiday
Tenerife features remarkably consistent and pleasantly warm weather year-round, so feel free to visit anytime. Booking accommodations just off the main coastal thoroughfare is an easy way to ensure significant savings on cheap hotels in Tenerife. Save even more money with great flight deals to Tenerife by logging on to airberlin.com. Arrive in Tenerife comfortably and stylishly on one of airberlin's modern planes.


text:
Man Ray Portraits: Exclusive chiffon silk scarf
Price: £100.00
Members price: £90.00
This exclusive hand finished limited edition chiffon silk scarf depicts the portrait of Genica Athanasiou (Man Ray's first colour portrait).
Only 100 scarves available, and all are individually numbered.
40 x 60
While we make every effort to give accurate descriptions of our products, the dimensions, colour and other specifications sometimes change. Consequently, dimensions quoted should be treated as a guide only. We charge a flat rate £3.99 for postage and packaging in the UK, regardless of quantity, size, or value. Postage and packaging to the EU ranges from £7.00 to a maximum of £20.00, and Worldwide from £9.00 to £25.00. Prices, which include VAT where appropriate, may also vary from those in our shops. All items are subject to availability at the time of ordering, so please allow a maximum of 10 working days for any item that is out of stock.
All purchases support the National Portrait Gallery
Offer of the week
Our favourites
Price: £25.00
Price: £35.00


text:
42 U.S. Code § 1441a - National housing goals
(a) Congressional findings and reaffirmation of goals
The Congress finds that the supply of the Nation's housing is not increasing rapidly enough to meet the national housing goal, established in the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.], of the "realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family". The Congress reaffirms this national housing goal and determines that it can be substantially achieved within the next decade by the construction or rehabilitation of twenty-six million housing units, six million of these for low and moderate income families.
(b) Additional Congressional findings
The Congress further finds that policies designed to contribute to the achievement of the national housing goal have not directed sufficient attention and resources to the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods, that the deterioration and abandonment of housing for the Nation's lower income families has accelerated over the last decade, and that this acceleration has contributed to neighborhood disintegration and has partially negated the progress toward achieving the national housing goal which has been made primarily through new housing construction.
(c) Congressional declaration of purposes
The Congress declares that if the national housing goal is to be achieved, a greater effort must be made to encourage the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods through such measures as housing preservation, moderate rehabilitation, and improvements in housing management and maintenance, in conjunction with the provision of adequate municipal services. Such an effort should concentrate, to a greater extent than it has in the past, on housing and neighborhoods where deterioration is evident but has not yet become acute.
Source(Pub. L. 90–448, title XVI, § 1601,Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 601; Pub. L. 93–383, title VIII, § 801(1), (2),Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 721.)
References in Text
The Housing Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (a), is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, as amended, which is classified principally to this chapter (§ 1441 et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of this title and Tables.
Section was not enacted as part of the Housing Act of 1949 which comprises this chapter.
1974—Pub. L. 93–383designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c).
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


text:
- Home
- Campus & Student Life
- Life @ Ringling
- Campus Buzz
- Campus Buzz Archives
- Ringling Students Have a Successful Spring & Win Awards
Ringling Students Have a Successful Spring & Win Awards
Ringling Students Have a Successful Spring & Win Awards
April 13, 2009 - This spring proved to be successful for many Ringling students who won awards for their artwork. These awards were in many different competitions and categories and showcases our students' versatility and success in different areas of study.
GIC major Tommy Pregiato won $1,000 in Creative Loafing's "Sensory Overload" video scholarship competition. Tommy's video, entitled "Urban Exploration," was created in Dee Hood's Time Based I class last fall and was selected as "Best in Show" by independent judges. Watch it here! Judges also cited Ringling Illustration major David Serna as a winner in the digital illustration category. Congratulations to Tommy and David!
Student Ashly Lovett won "Best in Show" in the 2009 Embracing Our Differences exhibition, which debuted in late March on the Sarasota waterfront. Her piece, entitled "Apples and Oranges" was featured as the catalog cover illustration and she will be awarded a $1,000 prize. Ashly is currently studying at Pont Aven, France. Check out her blog and view the cover of the Embracing our Differences catalog.
In addition to Ashly Lovett's piece, freshman Joanna Pilar Garra's work entitled "Live the Dream" also won an honorable mention for the 2009 Embracing Our Differences exhibition. To see all accepted artwork, 45 in total, click here.
Melanie Ratcliff and Michelle Fischer, Photography & Digital Imaging, Class of 2010, answered the Call For Aspiring Creatives and their work was chosen to be published in issue #43 of CMYK Magazine, which hit newsstands in March. Melanie's work is entitled "Dumpster Sunset: Combining Sky and Landscape" and Michelle's creatively tagged "I would tattoo your face on my leg." Both submitted as students of instructor Joyce True.
Ringling Design Center and student projects won big at the local American Advertising Federation ADDY awards taking home an impressive 43 awards. Top prizes include a Student Best of Show to senior Graphic & Interactive Communication major Brad McNally, a Judges Choice award for the Design Center and the Office of Admissions new student acceptance package, and a Student Judges Choice to Kyra Odi '10, Graphic & Interactive Communication. Read about all the winners and download the winner's book.
Ringling College illustration major Andy Espinoza's "Bellisimo" was accepted into Salon International 2009, a professional-level exhibition. Read more about Andy's win and view his winning painting. See his work: http://andyespinoza.blogspot.com/. Congratulations, Andy!


text:
We don't usually like to put all of our sartorial eggs into one basket, but if we invest in a single jewelry trend this spring it will be statement earrings. Our reasoning is simple: while certainly dramatic, these decadent baubles are also quite festive and elegant too, offering a truly modern way to elevate just about any look imaginable. Plus, there are so many unique shapes and styles to choose from! So whether you adore a fancy version bedecked with diamonds a la Nicole Richie or one featuring an of-the-moment neon hue as seen on Candice Accola, we think today's Accessory Report is worth lending an ear.
On the Runway
To get a better understanding of how this accessory trend was addressed on the runways, we would like to take a moment to discuss Dolce & Gabbana's S/S 12 collection. Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana referenced fearless Italian women in the '50s with a mix of ladylike frocks covered in painterly vegetable prints, sultry bare midriff ensembles, and plenty of hot pants. An assortment of dangling earrings adorned with cheeky Italian cuisine staples and ceramic vegetables, like the Pasta Earrings ($490) and Onion Charm Earrings ($445, 877.70.DGUSA) shown above, finished these summertime looks, offering an additional touch of whimsy and visual intrigue to each ensemble.
On the Red Carpet
As we mentioned previously, statement earrings come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, so you're almost guaranteed to find a style that suits your tastes! Readers who favor a more sophisticated and glamorous take on the trend should take cues from January Jones, Rose Byrne, and Nicole Richie, and pick earrings with a lustrous design. At the Los Angeles premiere of Mad Men last month, Jones selected Cartier's 18k yellow gold Panthere Earrings ($36,000), which provided a stunning finish to her black and white Roland Mouret Bud Cropped Cutout Stretch Top ($1635) and Guster Flared Wool-Blend Skirt ($825). Opting for a glitzier take on this accessory idea, Richie wowed onlookers at the Lionel Richie and Friends Concert in Las Vegas earlier this month with the help of Meus' Starburst Earrings ($3500). Though the earrings have to compete with the bright yellow hue and bold rose pattern of her Winter Kate F/W 12 dress, their diamond and sapphire-encrusted design, along with Richie's perfectly-coiffed updo, allow them to steal the spotlight and remain her look's focal point. We also approve of the Chanel shoulder-grazers Byrne wore to the Academy Awards back in February. The fashion house's Lueur d'un Soir Earrings (price upon request, 800.550.0005) feature a multitude of luxurious materials--white gold, black and white diamonds, and pearls, to be exact--which made a flawless complement to her chic black sequin Vivienne Westwood gown.
If you prefer your ear-wear more playful and bright in design, then consider Candice Accola your muse. The Vampire Diaries actress turned up at the ELLE Women in Music event in Los Angeles earlier this month showing off a prairie-influenced look via LeifNotes' Field Biology Maxi Dress ($198) and a loosely braided updo. Her flower-shaped, neon green vintage earrings add a refreshing punch of color, giving the mostly neutral, retro look a decidedly modern finish. Additionally, we're crazy about the multimedia H&M earrings spotted on the earlobes of Diana Enciu, the co-founder of Absolutely Fabulous. The colorful accents enhance Enciu's dynamic ensemble and act as the perfect accompaniment to her bright beauty look too.
On You
Fortunately for you, dear readers, snatching up the season's best statement earrings doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. To satisfy all spring wardrobe budgets, we've rounded up an assortment of must-try options, ranging from chic thrifty finds to investment-worthy splurges! Starting with the former, Mango's Touch Flowers Earrings ($35) are a superb choice for all your feminine ensembles and look very similar to the floral earrings from Prada's S/S 12 collection! We also approve of Juicy Couture's Fringe Earrings ($68) in Dragon Fruit, which are a striking pick for a night out with the girls, and Baublebar's Ivory Glam Drops Earrings ($26) if you're looking for something to suit your fancier fetes.
If you can afford to spend a little more, you might want to check out Lizzy Vintage Couture's Citron Earrings ($190); the fluorescent, highlighter yellow hue will liven up any outfit, while their lithe silhouette and shoulder-grazing length lend them a truly chic look. Erickson Beamon's Color Me Crazy Earrings ($486) feature a smattering of neon colors, which will complement a minimalist ensemble nicely, while Miu Miu's Plexiglass Crystal Lightning Bolt Clip Earrings ($150) are equal parts glamorous and quirky! We're also smitten with Alexis Bittar's crystal-encrusted Dark Garden Gold Bell Flower Earrings ($295), thanks to their slightly edgy, yet still romantic vibe. Of course, the options don't end there. Be sure to check out our S/S 12 Trend Guide for even more fabulous statement earrings to try this season!--Jessica Baker


text:
WEST SENECA, NY - Students at Potters Road Elementary school are celebrating the birthday of 2nd grader Breanna Raisor a month early. It's clear that she's loved by teachers and her classmates, who know they won't see her for a while.
Breanna is leaving for Boston on February 24th where she'll have surgery.
One morning back in October, Breanna woke up blind.
"She was diagnosed with cranial pharyngioma, which is a brain tumor that presses on her pituitary gland in her optic nerve area," says Lisa, Breanna's mom.
She had emergency surgery to reduce some of the pressure and save her vision, but it was unsuccessful, and now Breanna can only see light and shadows.
Now they're heading to Boston for another brain surgery to remove more of the tumor. "That won't recover her sight. Her optic nerves were damaged," says Lisa.
Although Breanna's life turned upside down in an instant, she's adjusted remarkably well.
"She's learned Braille quicker than she probably ever should have learned Braille. She breaks my heart but she amazes me daily," says Justin, Breanna's dad.
The entire school community came together to show their support for Breanna by selling raffle tickets for a large teddy bear and heart cookies and chocolate suckers.
Moira Cooley, Breanna's special education teacher says, "We were hoping for $500. We well exceeded that. The outpouring from the staff, the faculty, the kids, the parents was amazing."
What they raised was an impressive $1124.20.
Through losing her vision, Breanna is teaching everyone around her how to find beauty and light in this world.
There are several upcoming fundraisers for Brianna's medical costs. You can find information on their Facebook page: Believe in Breanna.


text:
The Delia Christmas Pudding
This, without apologies, is my Christmas pudding recipe that has been in print for 30 years, and the one I have used each year ever since. If I say it myself, it is unbeatable, especially when it has had a little time to mature. This recipe makes one large pudding.
Serves 8-10
This recipe is from Delia's Complete Christmas Magazine
Take your largest, roomiest mixing bowl and start by putting in the suet, sifted flour and breadcrumbs, spices and sugar.
Don't forget to tick everything off so as not to leave anything out. Now in a smaller basin measure out the rum, barley wine and stout, then add the eggs and beat these thoroughly together.
Next pour this over all the other ingredients, and begin to mix very thoroughly.
Now cover the bowl with a clean tea cloth and leave to soak for a couple of hours (or overnight).
To steam the pudding, first fill a saucepan with boiling water form a kettle.
It's also a good idea to tie a piece of string across the top to make a handle.
Place the pudding in the steamer and steam the pudding for 8 hours. Do make sure you keep a regular eye on the water underneath and top it up with boiling water from the kettle from time to time.
Now your Christmas pudding is all ready for Christmas Day. Keep it in a cool place away from the light. Under the bed in an unheated bedroom is an ideal place.
If you want to make individual Christmas puddings for gifts, this quantity makes eight 6oz (175g) small metal pudding basins. Steam them for 3 hours, then re-steam for 1 hour.
They look pretty wrapped in silicone paper and muslin and tied with attractive bows and tags.
To make this recipe gluten-free: Replace the suet with either gluten-free or vegetarian suet. Use gluten-free white flour and breadcrumbs made from gluten-free bread, and replace the stout and barley wine with the same amount of sherry.
|Print Page
Copyright © 2009 Delia Smith/NC Internet Ltd, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.