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You Can't Live Your Life Backwards
by Carlton Pruitt
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"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
When I was younger I remember my great grandmother and I engaging in various conversations and even though my great grandmother had but a sixth grade education she had what is called horse sense and she had more than her fair share at that.
If something significant were happening in my life or I got a job promotion or a new opportunity came along we would discuss it with some excitement and anticipation of further progress. These kind of conversations made sense to both of us.
We had good communication and that fairly regularly.
I recall over the course of several years, when I had taken a wrong course of action, the voice of wisdom that echoed from her lips would reprove me with these words:
"You're going backwards instead of forwards."
Now common sense tells us nobody wants to go backwards if you are in a race and the Christian life is compared to a race (Hebrews 12:1). Your goal is to move forward with fast action so as to win the race. Sometimes we are to "walk circumspectly" (Eph 5:16-17) Hearing the words "You're going backwards instead of forwards" from a significant relative can be nothing short of humiliating and even disheartening to one who was as proud as I was at the time. Imagine after trying to better yourself over many years and thinking you are making some progress you hear from your father, mother, sister, brother or a friend that "You're going backwards instead of forwards." How would you react?
The Bible has another word for this backward motion. Do you know what it is called? It's called backsliding and backsliding isn't a good thing. Backsliding is what the nation of Israel did many many times. They repeated this process and got so good at it that God turned them over to their enemies into who took them captive and eventually after Jesus arrived during His first advent God destroyed them in A. D. 70 by having the Romans under Titus burn Jerusalem thus destroying their city but not before warning them through the prophets God sent to them. Because of Israel's continued disobedience and rebellion the Lord had to rebuke His people over and over again with such words at these:
"And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah" Jeremiah 3:11
Backsliding takes place in the heart (Proverbs 14:14) and may manifest itself in various ways such as cursing, drinking, lying or other forms of disobedience to God's laws. This is why it is vitally important to guard our heart as God commands us for "out of it are the issues of life." Indeed memorizing the following verse can help remind you of this terrible sin and to avoid it by God's provision of grace. Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to "Keep your heart with diligence for out of it are the issues of life."
If you want to live your life forward then always, always keep in mind the dangers of backsliding or going backwards. When you run a race you must run it in a forward motion. Even the fastest runners who can run backwards are no match for the runners who run forward. This is obvious from an anatomical perspective. God designed humans to move forward and put eyes on our faces and not in the back of our heads. Try running forward and looking backwards often enough and you'll likely stumble or run smack into something that doesn't feel so good. Yes, God wants us to keep our eyes straight ahead and not look back to the sinful pleasures of the past. What happened when Lot's wife looked back after being told not to do so? She became a pillar of salt which was a picture of God's judgment upon her failure to obey God's word. This is serious brethren. Let that phrase "Remember Lot's Wife" echo loudly in your ears. God doesn't play games with us or lead us astray. We are lead astray when we fail to know and believe God's word. If we do not obey God's word then we do not believe it. To believe is to obey when understood in the light of the Bible.
Now here is something to take note of in this matter of backsliding. You do not normally backslide quickly but rather slowly over a period of time so that it is practically unnoticeable until you reach a point of almost complete apostasy.
You become like the proverbial frog in the pot. The frog doesn't know the he is being boiled alive at first because the temperature is cool but gradually as the water heats up the frog stays in until it is cooked alive. Satan is clever and if he can gain a stronghold in your heart or life then he will take more and more ground gradually. That's the key...gradually. Before you know it you are a defeated foe and ripe for God's judgment. This is a most serious matter brethren and I pray you take this matter seriously too if you love your soul.
A backslider's condition can be hidden behind a facade of religious teachings or a lifestyle of hypocrisy which so deceives the backslider that he slays himself unknowingly by his deceitful heart which is desperately wicked. "For the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9
Turn to 2 Kings 17:1-23 and you will discover the wickedness of ancient Israel and God's warning and testifying against this wicked people.
17:13: "Turn you from your evil ways, and keep the commandments and my statues, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets."
vs 14 "notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks
vs 15 "they rejected his statues, and his covenant...they followed vanity and became vain
vs 16 "they left all the commandment of the LORD their God, and made them molten images
vs 17 "they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire... used divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil..."
Many Christians who read the Bible think that King Saul was a righteous man but there's an abundance of evidence that proves otherwise, for example we read in 1 Samuel 15:10-11
"Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night."
Solomon is a case that is curious to ponder. Solomon is never mentioned in the Hall of Faith chapter of Hebrews 11 but this in itself is no reason to think he wasn't a child of God who entered heaven. While Solomon started out on the right path we know that his many strange wives caused him to worship other gods which was a sin. Only God knows for certain if Solomon died a true believer.
In the New Testament we are warned to "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Hebrews 3:12 From this and many other scriptures we know it is possible to backslide or go backwards in our walk with God. At the end our your life do you wish to be walking with God or walking contrary to God's law? To walk contrary to God's law means we are in rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ and so must expect to hear those frightening words
found in Matthew 7:23 "Depart from me ye that work iniquity."
Iniquity is rebellion or lawlessness.
We find that Demas who was once a fellow laborer in the gospel with saint Paul had forsaken his ministry in the gospel for we read of him "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia." 2 Timothy 4:10
For many years I loved the world and didn't even know it. Never do I even recall a pastor preaching on 1 John 2:15 which exhorts us "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15
Here we are told that if any man or woman loves the world then the love of the Father is not in him. This means they are lost and are not doing the will of God. Clearly the will of God is to not love the world so to love the world entertainment such as circuses, amusement parks like Disneyland, soap operas, situation comedies, professional sports (idolatry) bodybuilding contests etc which all glorify the creature rather than the creator is a violation of the will of God.
You can be certain you are backsliding and falling back on a slippery slope if you fail to obey scriptures such as Romans 12:1-2
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
We are commanded to be holy and perfect which means to be set apart to God and set apart from this evil world which Christ came to deliver us from.
"Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Galatians 1:4
Yes, to love the world is a indication we are not born again. I know this sounds harsh and judgmental but it is from the world of God and we must listen and obey God's word or we are in danger of hell fire.
"For this is God's will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality." 1 Thess. 4:3
In summary backsliding is a perilous condition of heart which leads us to transgress God's commandments and is an act of high treason against the most holy Lord of the universe who died that we might have life and peace in Him.
Carlton Pruitt ministers the gospel to the Los Angeles area. Formerly a Hollywood actor (SAG member)and junk removal expert he now spends most of his time studying the scriptures, writing articles, hymns and poems and doing street preaching.
See his videos on http://www.youtube.com Type LAStreetPreacher in the search bar. CONTACT at Carlton2061@gmail.
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East of Tampa and Brandon, the 6,000 acre Alafia River State Park has 20 miles of multi-use trails designed with mountain biking in mind. As the property was all once phosphate mines and has since been reclaimed it offers terrain not usually seen in Florida. The trails run through swamplands and dense hammock forest. The sheer elevations of the narrow bike trails are very exhilarating and similar to bike trails in North Carolina.
To reach the trailhead from US75, use Exit 51 (SR60). Head east on SR 60 through Brandon for 12 miles to CR39. Head south on CR39 for 13 miles to the park entrance on the left.
There are three major loops - BLACK LOOP is very technical with steep drops and strenuous climbs and is for the advanced rider. BLUE LOOP, Requires the skills of an intermediate rider on short sections. GREEN LOOP, the easiest of the trails, but still challenging, for experienced beginners. Helmets are required on the trails. Trails are indicated by markers with colored symbols on them. There are two sublevels of the BLACK LOOPS identified by a differing number of black diamonds; one diamond is an advanced trail, if you see two diamonds it is an expert level trail. The trails at Alafia River State Park were constructed and are maintained by volunteers from the Southwest Association of Mountain Bike Peddlers (SWAMP).
For more riding, the Boyette Park is also nearby.
Overall, Alafia River State Park is the 26th most popular mountain bike trail of all 58 mountain biking rides in Florida.

subset: commoncrawl


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December 2010 was a sad month for QUB Dragonslayers: we learned of the untimely death of one of the society's founding members Alistair "Al" Darragh.
Al was always a familiar and enthusiastic member of local Sci-Fi and Gaming community in Belfast, and constantly helped to promote and run conventions around the UK. He was a familiar face to those who have attended Q-Con and Mecon and to those who remember his time in QUB Dragonslayers and QUB Sci-Fi.
Q-Con XVIII winner, Andy from Beasts of War, receiving the Al Darragh Shield at the closing ceremony
Al was a prolific writer of scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu RPG and produced many legendary casual and competition games for previous Q-Con events.
At Q-Con XVIII, Dragonslayers introduced the "Al Darragh Call of Cthulhu Memorial Shield". With many thanks to Al's widow Joanne, we are happy to announce its return for Q-Con XXI. As with previous years, the Al Darragh Memorial Shield will be presented to the winner of a special Call of Cthulhu competition game.
Details of this year's Al Darragh Memorial Shield scenario are in the RPG blurbs and timetable.
The Al Darragh Memorial Shield


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A Dual Flush Toilet Kit Saves Money and Water
Every drop of water counts in South Florida. Water restrictions place limits on how much and when homeowners can irrigate their gardens. People are expected to go to car washes instead of washing their vehicles in their driveways. Conscientious folks take quick showers, flush only when necessary, and don't let the water run when they brush their teeth. Water is both expensive and a scarce resource. That's why dual flush toilet kits are so popular in the sunshine state.
The retrofit dual flush fits into the tank of any two-piece toilet, converting it into an efficient dual flush toilet in less than 30 minutes. The full conversion kit includes a dual flush valve, a water fill valve, and stainless steel nuts and bolts. With the complete instructions that come with every kit you don't even need a plumber to revolutionize your toilet system. But if you prefer to hire a professional to do the job, you won't have to pay for much of the plumber's time because the retrofit is so easy to do.
In addition to saving money on water, dual flush conversion toilets save money on maintenance. By using the conversion kit you replace all working parts in the toilet with new state-of-the-art parts and materials that are resistant to rot, decay, bleach, disinfectants, and corrosion. And there are more advantages: by reducing water usage you reduce wastewater and sewage or septic tank overload.
Converting your existing appliance rather than buying a new dual flush toilet means your upgraded toilet has the same color as your old one-no worries about matching the color of the toilet to the sink and tub. And because you are not replacing the bowl the converted toilet has the same footprint as the old one, which means you don't have to be concerned with exposed flooring. If that's not enough to convince you of the benefits of using a dual flush conversion kit, consider this environmental benefit: you won't be adding another old toilet to the landfill.
Exactly how much water and money each household will save by changing to a dual flush toilet depends on local water rates and household water usage. With water prices expected to rise 27 percent over the next five years, your investment will pay for itself in no time. Plus, you'll be doing your part to keep drought from drying up our water supplies.
To learn more about subjects like dual flush toilet kit please visit the web site at: http://www.smarterflush.com
For more information and informative related articles and links about this subject matter and content, please visit Majon's Home Improvement directory: http://www.majon.com/directory/home-improvement.
About the Author
+Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2014 (Tue Mar 30 2010) Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource internet marketing web site at: http://www.majon.com


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Alcatel set to replace NZ phone network
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Telecom will announce tomorrow that it has signed a deal with Alcatel to replace the public switched telephone network with an internet protocol network at a cost of about $NZ200 million ($A184 million), according to sources in Wellington.
The move heralds the biggest architectural change ever made to the phone network, the fundamental design of which dates back about 100 years.
Spokesman John Goulter confirmed the telco had briefed Communications Minister David Cunliffe on its next-generation network investment plans last week, following a call from Mr CUnliffe last month for more information.
He says the briefing set out Telecom's "next-generation story" and "gave a picture of what the next few years will hold".
Mr Cunliffe says it is "an important investment for Telecom and New Zealand" and that he is looking forward to hearing more detail about the timeline for the overall investment in the next-generation network.
Telecom signalled its intention to replace the PSTN as part of its investment in its $1 billion next-generation network last year following a recommendation by the Commerce Commission, accepted by the Cabinet, that it would not have to give competitors access to the new infrastructure.
The telco is understood to have finalised the details along with a timetable, which is likely to see the work stretch out over several years.
It has already spent about $130 million upgrading its six core telecommunications switches and revamping its billing systems, partly in preparation for the move to IP.
The deal with Alcatel is expected to see Telecom do away with about 600 of its 700 telephone exchanges and run fibre optic cable from its remaining 100 exchanges right out to roadside cabinets. These are the first point of aggregration for home phone lines, typically supporting a few hundred households.
Equipment in the roadside cabinets will also need to be swapped out to deliver IP telephony, possibly with remote concentrators that will allow Telecom to deliver "triple play" services - on-demand video, broadband internet and IP-based voice services.
Telecom customers will need new telephone handsets or adaptors to attach to their existing phones in order to make phone calls as and when the PSTN is finally retired. Telecom has not ruled out subsidising this cost, but has signalled it will support traditional switched circuit phone calls till at least 2012.
The move to a managed IP voice network will pave the way for Telecom to introduce a raft of new, intelligent phone services.
The traditional fixed line "phone" number - typically shared by a number of people in a household - could disappear. All customers are likely to be given the option of having one or more contact numbers which they will be able to allocate to any phone at any time, and over which they will have individual control.
The Dominion Post
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Black Ops 2, Minecraft Vs Pokemon & More – Videos of the Month
May was a great month for gaming trailers and YouTube videos. Black Ops 2 was the month's biggest trailer reveal, showing everyone a glimpse of near-future warfare and kicking off a month of superb gaming videos.
Doing the exact opposite, Ubisoft took us back to the past with its first Assassin's Creed 3 gameplay reveal trailer. We also interviewed Black Ops 2 developer Treyarch on camera in LA, caught a glimpse of Diablo 3's secret world and saw what happens when you cross Minecraft with Pokemon.
Prepare to be amazed and entertained as we run down the best videos of May.


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Music game developer Harmonix says they are collaborating with rock group Green Day on a standalone Rock Band title featuring the band's work.
The game, Green Day: Rock Band, will be available on the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
"This game will feel like a natural extension of Green Day and their music that will deepen the fans' connection to the band and their history," said Alex Rigopulos, CEO and co-founder of Harmonix, in a statement.
Harmonix did not say how many songs from the band's eight studio albums would appear in the game. However, the developer did say all tracks from Green Day: Rock Band can be exported into either the original Rock Band or Rock Band 2, a feature absent from their last standalone project with The Beatles.
Readers, what do you think of Green Day: Rock Band?
By Brett Molina
Mike Snider began covering the video game industry during the Super Nintendo-Sega Genesis clash in 1992. An original pinball wizard, he eventually was seduced by Robotron: 2084 and Tempest. These days he is a fan of action/shooters and lives out his Keith Moon fantasies playing a mean drum kit on music games. More about Mike.
Brett Molina has been writing about video games for USA TODAY since 2005. He is well-versed in Madden NFL, the fighting genre and first-person shooters. The first video game he played was Asteroids at a local arcade. He has been hooked ever since. More about Brett.


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South Shore is Regus office space located at 2600 South Shore Blvd. Our center is located on the marina with scenic views of Clear Lake. Financial advisors, insurance and oil and gas professionals frequent the center.
The clientele enjoy the large offices, free parking and the many conveniences within walking distance of South Shore. Commuters have easy access to our center via taxi service and a boat docking area.
Everything you need to make meetings run smoothly.
Reception team
There to greet you and your guests on arrival
Free WiFi
Secure, business-grade WiFi
Presentation tools
Flipchart, whiteboard, markers and projector if needed
Admin services
Access to support for document printing and copying
Make arrangements for tea, coffee and catering if needed
To find out more about South Shore speak to our team on 1-855-400-3575
There are three simple steps.
Register on our site or via our app to create your free Pay-as-you-go Regus account
Find an ideal place to meet – add everything you need from lunch to videoconferencing and send instant invitations
Input your credit card details, book your space with just a few clicks, and show up!
Whatever your business, whatever your budget we'll help find the right workspace.
Whatever your business, whatever your budget we'll help find the right workspace.


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The centre, will be held as the single asset of the Sentinel Rutherford Homemaker Trust.
Sentinel has bought, and syndicated, four bulky goods retail centres in recent years as institutional investors have quit the sector.
The Hunter Supa Centre was in an unlisted fund now being wound down by Centuria Capital.
The property is in a precinct of bulky goods retailers on the New England Highway at Rutherford, near Maitland.
It has three six-year-old buildings, with a total area of 19,768 square metres on a site of 50,000 square metres and parking for 438 cars.
National tenants, such as Fantastic Furniture, Petbarn and Betta Electrical underpin 85 per cent of the income.
The initial yield, with vacancies, was 11.5 per cent net. Sentinel has already signed another national tenant and is in negotiations with two others.
The sale was negotiated by Philip Gartland and Carl Molony of Stonebridge Property Group. The trust will have 55 per cent gearing and deliver a first year cash distribution of 12 per cent.
The managing director of Sentinel,
"The Lower Hunter region has been one of the strongest residential growth areas in NSW over the past decade and is set to experience continued population, housing and economic growth, with a forecast 160,000 additional people by 2031," he said.
He added that the exit of institutional investors from the bulky goods sector had created "once in a generation" buying opportunities for Sentinel and successful retailers turned property investors like Brett Blundy.
The Australian Financial Review


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Australia's reputation for quality has helped baby-food makers Bellamy's Organic and Sphere Healthcare crack China.
Tasmania-based Bellamy's revenue has soared from $3 million in 2007 to $29.5 million in 2013 after a 2008 Chinese food safety scandal in which infants died from locally made products adulterated with melamine.
Sphere chief executive
"The opportunity for continued expansion is huge because we've been constrained by the lack of ingredients," Bellamy chief executive
Because of demand, the product does not remain in Bellamy's distribution facility for long. There have been reports of Australian retailers rationing sales of Bellamy's baby formula, and other brands, as Chinese buyers hunt stock.
"It is a good news story for Australian manufacturing," Mr Riley said. "It is not as if we are selling infant formula cheaper than the Chinese competition." Sphere's product is about 30 per cent pricier than Chinese equivalents.
"Consumers buy our product because Australian produce has a trusted reputation."
Sphere has received $11 million from an overseas investor to fund expansion. It operates in what it knows as the complementary healthcare industry, which covers multivitamins, fish oil capsules and other tablets.
Wary of speed
Along with protein and weight-loss products, it manufactures on behalf of sponsors – including Blackmores, Sanofi-Aventis, Healthy Life Group, Swisse Vitamins and Sigma Pharmaceuticals – moisturisers and sunscreens.
Sphere's factory in south-west Sydney can turn out 650 million capsules a year – enough to supply more than just infant formula to China. But Mr Riley is wary of moving too fast.
"There is enough demand for infant formula to keep us occupied," he said.
Though Sphere's manufacturing will stay in Australia, it is opening a Shanghai office. Bellamy's has also established an office in Shanghai. Ms McBain admits it has not all been smooth sailing. Finding good people and understanding local business practices can be difficult; the company had a shipment turned back because "not all the boxes were ticked".
Bellamy's Shanghai office is now run by a Chinese-born executive who studied in Australia. It's a model Ms McBain says more Australian companies should look to emulate.
"Tap into those Chinese alumni that have studied here," she said. "They are able to bridge that cultural divide between how the Chinese do business and how we do business."
The Australian Financial Review


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the Center
The Financial
Institutions and Markets Research Center (formerly the Banking
Research Center) seeks to promote scholarly research and stimulate
dialogue between the academic and financial communities. The
FIMRC sponsors a variety of educational and research activities.
The Center supports research by both faculty and students.
Research results are disseminated through the Working Paper
Series and the Center Web site. The Center also sponsors programs
aimed at a wider audience such as academic conferences and
practitioner programs.


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April 25, 1999
Its about nine oclock at night here. Were down in Base Camp just taking a bit of R & R and letting the boys, the Sherpas actually, do a bit of work up high, getting our upper camp stocked while were down here.
We just welcomed Chris Metcalfe, Matt Lau, and David Mencin, who will be helping us tomorrow morning. Well be getting out the weather probes and some of the other GPS-related equipment that will be going with us to the very top of the mountain. So were pretty excited about that- obviously getting everything tested so that we dont carry up a bunch of equipment that doesnt work. Were all pretty excited about learning about all that stuff and actually getting on with the business of climbing the peak.
The Icefall is in kind of critical shape right now. It almost feels like its a month ahead of schedule, chiefly because its been so warm. There have been some beautiful arches forming, actually right in the center of the Icefall, that we thought would last for quite awhile. Fortunately Jeff was able to get some good photographs of it on videotape and it will be part of the NBC program that will come in early 2000. But unfortunately theyre obviously very ephemeral and dont last very long. By the time we were on our way back down, the arches had completely collapsedobviously another one of those transient moments in life and in the Khumbu Icefall, it makes things very dramatically clear sometimes.
But Im really thinking much more about our climb of Nuptse. We can see the ridge right here from Base Camp quite well. We see the profileits a beautiful mixed ridge. It looks like about 1,500 feet (458 meters) of ice climbing, 500-600 feet (150-180 meters) of mixed climbing, and then some very beautiful ridge climbing as well. It was a very unique moment for me to go over beneath that ridge with Bill Crouse. We were just looking at the southwest face of Everest, which loomed incredibly huge over our headsit was just an amazing moment. You know this is the (obviously some of you already know this) 13th time Ive been here. It leaves me, to go back to that double couplet from T.S. Eliot in the Four Quartets:
We shall not cease from exploration
For me, that was certainly the feeling I had there in the Western Cwm. Obviously Ive been there hundreds of times, but taking on a completely new perspective, I felt that I truly knew it. Well thats probably not much for tonights conversation with you all, but I hope youre all well. And thank you for spending time with us. Well be going to the top with you all real soon. Good night for now.
Pete Athans, Expedition Leader


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Visual Learning: "Out of many, one"
by Katelin CarterSep 22, 2011
- This Visual Learning lesson will get your students thinking about the growing number of organizations dedicated to making this world a better place, and how art has a magical, powerful way of making bold statements.
Horses as Healers
by Lorna ShepardsonJun 09, 2011
- What do you do with a teenager who's angry, depressed, disconnected, or all of the above? Lorna Shepardson knows a magical gift horses possess that can help bring young people from the depths of darkness to a glimmer of self-confidence. This is Lorna's story.
You Can't Ignore Me Any Longer
by Jing FongApr 14, 2011
- Street artist JR brings art to improbable places, creating projects that force us to really see each other.
Waiting (or Not) for Superman
by Jing FongFeb 09, 2011
- The documentary "Waiting for Superman" has stirred up conversation and debate about one of our nation's biggest concerns—the state of public education. A follow-up campaign is under way to fix education. NOT Waiting for Superman, initiated by Rethinking Schools, says the film got the message all wrong.
YES! Recommends: Centre for Child Honouring, and Voices Education Project
by Jing FongFeb 06, 2011
- If we made children our top priority, would we create a better world? The Centre for Child Honouring and Voices [Education Project] are helping create peaceful, sustainable societies.
YES! Recommends: Global Oneness Project
by Jing FongOct 13, 2010
- YES! recommends the Global Oneness Project for their inspiring and richly produced resources that explore how the radically simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in our increasingly complex world.
YES! Recommends—Zinn Education Project
by Jing FongApr 28, 2010
- The Zinn Education Project helps make sense of race and the role it has played in shaping society.
Words That Inspire: A Mix of Books (finally) on Mixed-Race People
by Jing FongApr 28, 2010
- Multiracial persons are the fastest growing demographic group in the country, but still gaining recognition. Now mixed race people can see themselves in books and be proud of who they are.
Understanding Multiracial America
by Jing FongMar 26, 2010
- By the midcentury, people of color will make up the majority in the U.S. These resouces will help students understand race and the experiences of multiracial people.
YES! Recommends: Teaching Diverse Students Initiative
by Jing FongMar 26, 2010
- How can teachers effectively teach diverse students when they struggle with their own understandings of race?
Americans Who Tell the Truth
by Jing FongDec 28, 2009
- Robert Shetterly's remarkable collection of portraits reminds us of the dignity, courage and importance of America's truth tellers. Here we offer curriculum tools to support the series.
Connect and Engage: Making History
by Jing FongJan 16, 2009
- To teach happiness, be happy. Teachers, in particular, need support to be passionate and content in a challenging profession. The Center for Courage and Renewal's "Courage to Teach" supports this belief with essays, articles, and a retreat program.
Connect and Engage: Addressing Fear
by Jing FongOct 27, 2008
- Here are lesson plans and how-to resources forcoming to terms with false assumptions about immigrants, the current economic crisis, and walls that separate important relationships. Simply put, it's about addressing fear with clarity and calmness.
Equality Ride :: Photos from the 2007 Tour
by Adam Britt, Amanda HarrisJul 29, 2008
- Photos from the 2007 Equality Ride, bringing 50 riders to conservative campuses to show the humanity and spirituality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Connect and Engage: Foreign Policy
by Jing FongJun 03, 2008
- As a teacher, helping your students understand foreign policy requires that you explore other cultures and nations and how they relate to the United States. Here are a couple of curriculum options to help you make that connection.
Social Justice & Human Rights
How do we help students to build a fair and just world?


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By Chrissie Thompson and Greg Gardner
USA TODAY and the Detroit Free Press
CEO Dan Akerson's patriotism led him to seek a position on General Motors' board and has driven his first year at the automaker's helm.
During GM's recent negotiations with the UAW, the Republican and former U.S. Navy officer endorsed the union's desire to add American jobs.
"We are not a jobs bank. We are not an extension of the federal government. But we are an American company," Akerson said last week in his first on-the-record discussion as CEO with the Detroit Free Press' editorial board.
Since he took over in September 2010, Akerson has launched GM's public stock offering and its flagship Chevrolet Volt electric car. He capped off his first year with a four-year UAW contract that adds more than 6,400 U.S. jobs, but more could be around the corner.
Akerson envisions a GM that, after decades of subpar small cars, likely will soon need more U.S.-built Chevrolet Cruze compacts and, he hopes, more Chevy Sonic subcompacts. More production, and potentially more jobs, could come in Orion Township, Mich., or Spring Hill, Tenn., he said -- and, "if need be," in Mexico.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Free Press, Akerson spoke of monitoring GM's break-even point on a monthly basis. He imagined a world where electric vehicles and tiny subcompacts are common -- and where GM has a lead in both segments.
In a few years, "I think people will go, 'Wow, I'm glad we invested in GM.' I'm talking about the American taxpayer," he said.
Akerson's GM is wearing its game face
After a year at General Motors' helm, Akerson has become almost as comfortable with automotive engineering terminology as he has with his favorite naval and sports metaphors.
Akerson, 62, became GM's CEO in September 2010 after a career in telecommunications and private equity. In the interview last week he spoke as easily about next-generation electric-vehicle technology as he did about the woes of the Washington Nationals, his hometown team during his years as a metro D.C. executive.
And his pitching strategy advice to manager Jim Leyland hours before the Tigers clinched a spot in the American League Championship Series showed he's adopting more than just Detroit's automotive lingo.
On the new UAW contract
"I tried to establish a relationship with (UAW President) Bob King and (Vice President) Joe Ashton. To put it in nautical terms, if you're at sea, there are very defined rules of the road. And as long as everyone follows them, you'll avoid a collision. I didn't want to have that metaphoric collision. So I thought that if we met frequently, got to know each other on a personal level and expressed what our goals were, so we could identify areas of potential conflict, we could potentially avoid them.
On future labor costs
Increasing the number of lower-paid, tier-two workers "is important in relative terms. We've got to feather this in. It can't be a flash cut -- that wouldn't be fair to our employees. But over time, we've got to feather this in and have a comparable cost of labor with transplants in the U.S., or else we're not going to be competitive.
"There has to be some trust on both sides of the table. We're not trying to hurt anybody. We're trying to stay strong. So over time, as part of the labor contract, we would buy out some of our more senior employees and some of the skilled trades. We don't need to get there tomorrow. ...
"We'll get there, but we don't need to be punishing. We need to recognize that our employees have a right to a certain set of expectations, and we will be competitive over time."
On the competition:
"We have become inveterate bench markers. I want to know: What is the competition doing? Because you can't just say, 'We're a lot better than we were last year.' Because, gee, if I were the Washington Nationals, and I said, 'Well, I only finished 24 games out of first place last year, and now I'm only 22 games (back)' -- still, you're not really making it. ...
"I do think that we've made progress in accepting an outside perspective on everything we do. Look, with all due respect to our domestic competition, that's where our focus was. That's not what got GM in trouble."
On American brands overseas
"If you visit Brazil, they actually believe Chevrolet is a Brazilian brand. They know it comes from an American company, but it's been there for 86 years.
"Chevrolet is one of the top five American brands in the world. Parenthetically, it's the only one of the top five who grew market share last year. We sell a Chevrolet in the world every 6.35 seconds. We're proud of that, too -- it used to be 7.5! When we sell one every second, I'll be happy. ...
"We came out with a Baojun (Chinese brand), which is a product which might not sell in Europe, it might not sell in the United States. But it is very cost-efficient, and it's designed for (developing China). So you have to mix and match, and that's an element of the transition from being an engineering- and manufacturing-based company to saying, 'How do we reach the customer, wherever that customer happens to reside and whatever are their buying cues?'
On GM's lead in China
"When you play not to lose, you generally lose. You have to play to win. Yes, we have a great business franchise and footprint, not only from a manufacturing but a distribution standpoint, that will be tough to overcome. I'd hate to play against us.
"When you look at what we're doing (in China), we're running our plants full steam, three shifts, six days a week, sometimes we do a half day on seven.
On the Chevy Volt
"The Volt is going to see significant cost reductions. We look at (battery) cost per kilowatt-hour. There are 16 kilowatt-hours on a Volt. When I first came, it was over $1,000 per kilowatt-hour. The number is roughly half that today. We are going to make about 10,000 this year (for sale in the U.S.). ... We overproduced on our track by 30 in September. I'm watching this. ... And we hope to hit 60,000 next year (for the U.S. and overseas markets).
"The real cost savings begin to hit next summer, early fall. ...
Chris Woodyard is an auto writer for USA TODAY who covers all aspects of motoring. He revels in the exhaust note of a Maserati and the sharp creases of a Cadillac CTS. Chris strives to live a Porsche life on a Scion budget. More about Chris


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(July 1996)
Hi All: I'm new to this list, so if this has been discussed to ad nauseum, please forgive. I need to install an NT v3.51 server as a clients primary web server and incorporate it into their existing Internet access structure. That being a firewall to protect the corporate intranet and a proxy server for allowing internal access to the Internet. I'm wondering if there's any documentation that I can get that explains, in detail, how to setup a server to provide external access to the web server form the outside and access to the SMTP server while allowing internal access to the server for maintenance. I believe the web server should reside on the outside of the firewall. Internal access to the Internet in general is provided by a proxy server. My thinking is that externally speaking, I should be able to access the web server, fill out a form and send it to the SMTP gateway just like any other external mail coming in would routed. BTW, the internal mail system is Lotus's cc:Mail. What would be the best solution to allow external access to the server AND allow internal access to the server for maintenance while allow access to the SMTP server for sending processed forms, such as feedback forms. Thanks, Mark -- ========================================================================== Mark Stout | The Village Potpourri Mall: http://www.vpm.com/ ---------------+---------------------------------------------------------- VPM Enterprises; P.O.Box 6427; Folsom, CA 95763-6427 Secured Web Hosting and Secured Discussion Groups Secured Internet Sales, Marketing and Advertising Specialist ==========================================================================


text: Team Logo. The El Paso Diablos are a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The Diablos play their home games at Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas. External LinksEdit Official team site Retrieved from "http://baseball.wikia.com/wiki/El_Paso_Diablos?oldid=31615" Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you've made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. Categories: Independent baseball teams American Association teams Teams in Texas Add category Cancel Save


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Media largely ignored CNN's legal victory over government restrictions on Katrina coverage
Research ››› ››› ANDREW SEIFTER
In response to restrictions placed on the media covering the Hurricane Katrina disaster by New Orleans emergency operations chief Terry J. Ebbert and Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, CNN successfully filed suit against the U.S. government to protect the right of the press to photograph the deceased victims of the hurricane. But aside from CNN, most major media outlets have given scant coverage to, or ignored entirely, CNN's legal victory or the subsequent reported violations of the federal court order by government personnel on the ground.
On September 9, Honoré, who leads the hurricane relief effort, reportedly declared that the media would have "zero access" to body-recovery operations, stating that it "would not be good to have pictures of people, the deceased, shown on any media." Also on September 9, Ebbert stated that the process of recovering the deceased would be "done with dignity, meaning there will be no press allowed." Their comments followed reports from earlier in the week that the FEMA allegedly asked the media to not photograph those who died in the disaster.
Later on September 9, CNN filed suit against Michael D. Brown -- who recently resigned as FEMA's director -- alleging that "[t]he government's total ban on coverage of the victim recovery process is an unconstitutional prior restraint on publication in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution." CNN's suit quoted Honoré's September 9 "zero access" pronouncement and noted he was "acting on behalf of FEMA." On the evening of September 9, CNN host Anderson Cooper reported: "CNN has obtained a restraining order to allow access to the search and recovery of the dead from Hurricane Katrina." The restraining order was issued by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison. At a September 10 hearing over which Ellison presided, U.S. attorney Keith Wyatt, representing the U.S. government, read a statement from Honoré's assistant chief of staff affirming that the government would not impede the media's efforts to cover any aspect of the Katrina disaster. According to a court transcript posted on CNN.com:
WYATT: Your Honor, my name is Keith Wyatt. I am with the U.S. attorney's office. This morning, about five minutes ago, I handed to counsel for the plaintiffs a statement from the assistant chief of staff who reports directly to Gen. Honore, in which the statement says the following: "This memorandum is to confirm that Joint Task Force Katrina, commanded by Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, has no plans to bar, impede, or prevent news media from their news gathering and reporting activities in connection with the deceased Hurricane Katrina victim recovery efforts, including access to the sites, photographing or reporting." Signed by lieutenant -- signed by Col. Christian E. DeGraff, assistant chief of staff, J-3.
CNN has devoted significant coverage to this story. The cable network's legal victory, however, has gone largely unnoticed by most other major media outlets, according to a Nexis search*. Aside from CNN, United Press International was the only outlet to report on September 9 that CNN had filed suit.
On September 10, the Associated Press reported that because of CNN's lawsuit, "the Bush administration agreed on Saturday not to prevent the news media from following the effort to recover the bodies of hurricane Katrina victims." A September 10 Los Angeles Times article mentioned Honoré's comments and CNN's lawsuit in passing (Slate.com wrongly claimed the Times "scoop[ed]" the story). UPI ran a brief follow-up piece; and the September 10 Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a short article on CNN's court victory and published another short follow-up piece on September 11.
A September 11 Washington Post article devoted two sentences to the lawsuit, while the Los Angeles Times again briefly mentioned it. On September 11, the Chicago Tribune published a 200-word item on the lawsuit that was based largely on wire service reports. USA Today editor Peter Johnson mentioned the suit at the end of his September 12 "Media Mix" column.
The September 13 San Francisco Chronicle reported that soldiers in New Orleans were not abiding by the court's decision or the government's assurance of unrestricted media access. According to the Chronicle: "On Saturday, after being challenged in court by CNN, the Bush administration agreed not to prevent the news media from following the effort to recover the bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims. But on Monday, in the Bywater district, that assurance wasn't being followed. The 82nd Airborne soldier told reporters the Army had a policy that requires media to be 300 meters -- more than three football fields in length -- away from the scene of body recoveries in New Orleans." The Chronicle further reported on September 14 that in response to the Chronicle article from the previous day, "Army Lt. Col. John Cornelio, spokesman to Lt. Gen. Russ Honoré, said no restrictions are being placed on members of the media who are working independently of the military in the hurricane disaster zone." CNN's NewsNight with Aaron Brown similarly reported on September 12 that reporters and photographers were blocked by officials on the ground from witnessing or filming the removal of bodies and that again the Pentagon had reiterated to troops on the ground not to block press access. Media Matters for America has previously noted the lack of media coverage of the restrictions placed on journalists covering the recovery effort. Aside from the Chronicle and NewsNight, Media Matters could find no other coverage of the government's alleged continued obstruction of journalists covering the hurricane recovery effort.
A number of major newspapers that ignored or gave scant attention to the government's actions -- or to CNN's lawsuit -- published fawning profiles of Honoré, whose comments initially sparked CNN's legal action. These papers include: The Washington Post ["The category 5 general," 9/12/05]; USA Today ["Honore in charge, refusing excuses that slow cleanup," 9/12/05]; and The Christian Science Monitor ["A native son takes charge in Gulf Coast," 9/9/05].
*Nexis search was for "CNN and (suit or lawsuit or sue!) and (Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA or government)" for September 9-14.
- Posted In
- Government, The Judiciary, Justice & Civil Liberties
- Stories/Interests
- Hurricane Katrina, Natural Disasters
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Perhaps because of a cooling housing market, new product introductions at this year's International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla., were short on excitement. But green products had a strong showing. Valley Forge, Pa.-based CertainTeed Corp.'s (www.certainteed.com) new fiber-cement siding is now made with 30 percent recycled flyash, resulting in boards that are lighter and require less energy to produce.
Kohler's (www.kohler.com) 1.28-gallons-per-flush Cimarron toilet, shown below, saves up to 3,200 gallons of water per year compared with standard models. It also meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense High Efficiency Toilet qualifications, making HET-owning consumers eligible for rebates of up to $175 from local utility companies.
Because energy-saving lighting is important, too, Sea Gull Lighting Products (www.seagulllighting.com) of Riverside, N.J., served up the Metropolis brushed-nickel pendant, which uses a self-ballasted pin-base 13-watt bulb and is Energy Star-compliant.
And Trane (www.trane.com) introduced the 93-percent-efficient XV90i variable-speed gas furnace, which has an integrated CleanEffects whole-house air-filtration system that removes up to 99 percent of airborne allergens.


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McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
Q1 2006 Earnings Conference Call
April 21st 2006, 11.30 AM
Mary Kay Shaw, Vice President, Investor Relations
Michael Roberts, President, Chief Operating Officer, Director
Matthew Paull, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Senior Executive Vice President
David Palmer, UBS Warburg
Mark Kalinowski, Buckingham Research Group
Steven Kron, Goldman Sachs
Jeffrey Bernstein, Lehman Brothers
John Glass, CIBC World Markets
Larry Miller, Prudential Equity Group
Joe Buckley, Bear Stearns
Rachael Rothman, Merrill Lynch
Andrew Barish, Bank of America
Peter Oakes, Piper Jaffray & Co
John Ivankoe, JP Morgan
Hello and welcome to McDonalds; April 21st 2006 investor relations conference call. Operator instructions. I would now like to turn this conference over to Mary Kay Shaw, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.
Mary Kay Shaw, Vice President, Investor Relations
Thank you. Hello everyone and thank you for joining us today. As many of you know, we like to give you the opportunity to hear from various members of our management team on these calls, so with me today are Chief Operating Officer, Mike Roberts, and Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Paull. Jim Skinner is traveling on business. This conference call is being webcast live and recorded for replay. As always, the forward-looking statements which appear in our earnings release and 8-K filing also apply to our comments. Both the earnings release and the 8-K with supplemental financial information are available on our website, at www.investor.mcdonalds.com, as are reconciliations of any non-GAAP financial measures mentioned on today's call with their corresponding GAAP measures. With that, I'd like to now turn it over to Mike Roberts.
Michael Roberts, President, Chief Operating Officer, Director
Thanks, Mary Kay. Good morning and welcome. I'd like to being by saying that I'm very pleased with our progress in Q1. YTD global comp sales were up 5.2% with more than half of that comp attributed to increased guest counts. Additionally, margins improved across all geographic segments of the business, the first time this has occurred on the company margin in two years. That said, we know the opportunities in front of us and we're intent on building on our momentum. This momentum continues because our plan to win is working and because our system is more aligned than ever before, our operators, employees and suppliers. This alignment will continue at our upcoming worldwide convention where our entire system to come together to talk about how we can create even more success in our future.
In the United States, YTD comps sales are up 6.6%. Results are being driven by new food news, like spicy chicken, premium coffee; conveniences like extended hours, Arch Cards , Cashless. Our ongoing reimaging work, which continues to create a more relaxing, relevant and modern experience for our customers and of course Monday we launched the Asian salad. We're also laying a solid foundation for the future with the continued development of a food pipeline, which includes the exploration of even more chicken options, additional beverage choices like juices and flavored water and more breakfast variety, like a Big Burrito.
Breakfast continues to be a big driver for us, and our improved coffee is adding to the momentum of our breakfast strategy. Additionally, we're adding more fun, excitement and buzz to our restaurants, through promotions that touch our customers passions, including our Pirates of the Caribbean online game and a fitness CD that comes with the purchase of our new salad. Also, this quarter, Canada is building momentum in sales and margins, with comps up 8.5%. With the leadership of Ralph Alvarez and Louie Mele, the Canadians have placed a greater emphasis on quality, service and cleanliness, the promotion of our core food and an overall review of the ownership mix of our restaurants. In Europe, YTD comp sales are up 2%, which is progress given the fact that the QSR market there is down. That said, we're intent on enhancing our customers' experience by improving QSC, by strengthening lines with more chicken and premium beef sandwiches, by continuing our leading-edge reimaging work through new décor, enhanced lighting, decreased kitchen noise and music by (date party?) and by solidifying our pricing strategy with a combination of everyday low price, core products and premium products.
Now a little more detail on our big three markets in Europe. First, momentum continues in France, with some of the highest margins in the world. Results are being driven by a combination of Le Petit Plaisir, their value menu, premium burgers like the Big Tasty, and chicken products like their Mythic Sandwich and through ongoing reimaging that enhances both the inside and the exterior of the restaurant. Additionally, France remains our best practice as it relates to telling our story. Jean-Pierre Petit, CEO of McDonalds France, holds live internet chats with our customers and with our crew. He conducts open doors so our customers can see how our food is prepared and served and he dedicates a significant amount of his advertising spend to print ads on quality, opportunity and our charity. The good news is this model is now spreading to other parts of the world.
Related to Germany, Einmal Eins, their value menu, continues to drive results and shows that the power of a value menu and the power that that can have when balanced with premium burgers and chicken. Additionally, our team continues to respond to customers taste buds with ethnic flavors in sandwiches like Chicken Cordon Bleu and the TexMex Burger. In the UK, while we continue to face challenges, this is a very profitable market. In 2005, our operating income was well over $200 million, representing almost 6% of McDonalds' total operating income. There, we're focused on premium burgers like the Quarter Pounder Deluxe, increasing relevance by reimaging an additional 100 restaurants this year, enhancing the Pound Saver menu and offering relevant promotions, like the World Cup Ticket competition that customers play via their cell phones, beginning next week. As we previously announced, we are reviewing our ownership structure in the UK. We closed 25 high street restaurants where the lease costs were so high it not longer made sense to operate there. In addition, we've already refranchised 25 restaurants and planned to refranchise another 25-35 between now and the end of the year. The owner-operators there are very excited about this opportunity to own more restaurants.
Looking at Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, YTD comp sales are up 4.1% and momentum continues in this part of the world. I was just there, in fact, and saw some of the great progress we're making first-hand. We're connecting with customers there by continuing to improve our quality, service and cleanliness with the most improvement in the area of friendliness and accuracy. By offering new food news, including the expansion of the successful Rice Burger from Taiwan to other markets including Singapore, Hong Kong and testing in China. Espresso coffees in Australia and additional kid's choice like corn in china and breakfast like the thick toast in Australia. And by delivering innovative promotions. This year, Hong Kong continued their momentum, with Jack the Dipper, a character they've created to build buzz around our McNuggets. China continues to represent enormous opportunity for McDonalds, with comps up YTD. We're growing the business there through food relevance, with the chicken burger and the spicy chicken filet. Drive Thru expansion, compelling everyday value and telling the story of the quality of our food, where we're running quality print ads in the recently launched askme.com, a public information website dedicated to food safety and the quality education of all of our guests.
Finally, in Latin America, YTD comp sales are up 15.3%, driven by a comprehensive quality service improvement plan, the launch of the Big Tasty and continued focus on everyday affordability. Related to marketing, Mary Dillon is making significant progress on improving the relevance with the next generation of i'm lovin' it, on media innovation – which includes looking at different ways we reach our customers – and on building relationships with moms, including innovating around the future Happy Meal. While we're focused on driving results today, we also have our eyes firmly fixed on the future as we continue building even deeper relationships with our customers and greater alignment with our operators, suppliers and employees.
Thank you all, and now I'd like to turn it over to Matt Paull, our CFO.
Matthew Paull, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Senior Executive Vice President
Thanks very much, Mike, and good morning everyone. At McDonalds, our business strength is tied to brand strength, making our brand and the restaurant experience more relevant to our customers is essential to building the business, and we believe we are doing just that. We had a solid first quarter, reinforcing that our strategy of growing by improving our existing restaurant and focusing on the five Ps continues to be the right strategy for McDonalds. The global comp sales numbers we delivered this quarter contributed to improved margin percentages across all segments, both franchise and company-operated margins were up 100bps and 70bps respectively. Franchise margin dollars neared $1 billion in Q1, making up almost two-thirds of worldwide margin dollars. McDonalds company-operated margin dollars increased $53 million over Q1 2005.
In the United States, company-operated margins as a percent of sales increased 40bps to a strong 18.3%, driven by positive comparable sales. We had some help in Q1 from relatively flat commodity costs, partly offset by higher utilities, labor costs and increased promotion costs, specifically relating to our launches of coffee and spicy chicken. For the year, we expect costs for beef and chicken to be relatively flat and cheese to be down. Overall, utilities are anticipated to increase for the year and labor costs will be up slightly due to a higher average hourly rate.
Returning now to Europe, company-operated margins were up 10bps in Q1. Strong sales in France and Russia and improved performance in Germany helped offset performance in the UK and labor pressures throughout Europe. Labor pressures are expected to continue. Beef costs were relatively flat in Q1 and are expected to be flat for the year. France, Germany and Russia all delivered company-operated margins, however Europe's company-operated margin was reduced by about 70bps due to UK results. Mike just highlighted our initiatives to improve performance in the UK and we are confident we will get there over time.
Moving now to Asia Pacific, this segment generated a 140bp improvement in company-operated margins. This was driven by strong results in Australia and improved results in Hong Kong and China. Australia continues to drive transactions with locally-relevant menu options like Espresso Pronto Coffee and a range of seven deli-choice sandwiches. Regarding China, I was just in China three weeks ago and was very excited about what I saw. We are offering customers locally-relevant menu options like the ones you heard Mike describe, and we're also excited about the current test of products like the rice burger, which features spicy chicken or beef, with red cabbage and lettuce on toasted sticky rice instead of a bun. We are becoming a more convenient option for our Chinese customers, through better site selection and Drive Thru expansion.
Adding Drive Thrus the way we at McDonalds do Drive Thrus has brought a unique convenience to the market. Although building a restaurant in China with a Drive Thru costs 30-50% more, or about $200,000 more, we are achieving 50-80% higher sales volumes, clearly a very good investment. In 2004 alone, there were 2 million more cars on the road in China than in the prior year. Both car ownership and traffic are growing in China at explosive rates, with plans to add many more Drive Thrus in the next few years, we are poised to capture the opportunity.
G&A for the quarter increased at a rate which is much higher than the rate we project for the full year. Some of this is due to the timing of certain expenses like the Olympics. In Q2, we expect G&A to increase mostly due to the timing of our biannual operator convention. For the year, we continue to expect G&A to decline as a percent of revenues and system wide sales. Now I'd like to discuss quarterly EPS. Q1 2005 EPS was $0.56 including a $0.13 benefit from a favorable tax settlement. Q1 2006 EPS was $0.49 including several items that on a net basis cost us about a penny in EPS. The charges in the quarter total $86 million on a pretax basis, or about $0.045 per share. They include $42 million, or about $0.02 per share related to our previously announced review of restaurant locations in the UK resulting in the closing of 25 high street restaurants. $29 million, or about a penny and a half per share related to the buyout of certain franchises in Brazil. $8 million, or less than $0.005 per share related to the sale of a small market in Europe to a developmental licensee, and $7.5 million or less than $0.005 per share from asset right-offs in Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
On a constant currency basis, without these items, operating income was up 14%. On the income side, we reported a non-operating gain of $0.035 per share from the IPO of Chipotle and the concurrent sale of a portion of our Chipotle shares. In our January call, we described our developmental licensing, or DL strategy, which we planned to implement over a three-year period in some 15-20 countries representing about 1,500 restaurants. Remember, DLs as we call them, has been a successful part of our international strategy for 15+ years, and we already use a DL structure in 32 countries.
In 2005 alone, two countries representing 325 restaurants were moved into a DL structure. In a DL ownership structure, the local entrepreneur uses his or her capital, real estate and local knowledge to build the brand and optimize results. In a DL, unlike with a conventional franchise, McDonalds collects only a royalty, investing no capital. We are making progress on this strategy, in Q1 we signed a letter of intent to DL one of our smaller markets in Europe. As previously mentioned, we recorded a small impairment loss to developmentally license this market. As we have said, our goal with the DL strategy is to optimize sales and profitability in the long run, not necessarily to maximize proceeds in the short run.
The strategy puts restaurants in certain overseas markets in the hands of local entrepreneurs, who can keep them locally relevant and growing without the use of our capital. We are making progress in other countries as well, but it will take time to find the right candidates and to negotiate and finalize arrangements. Though we are aggressively pursuing this strategy, accounting rules on impairment do not allow us to record possible future losses on asset sales until we conclude we are both likely to complete a sale within 12 months and have a reasonable idea of the final sales price. With the signing of the letter of intent for the small market in Europe, we crossed the accounting threshold for that DL market in Q1.
In closing, the year is off to a good start. As always, you can expect this team to take absolutely nothing for granted. We will continue to work our plan to win for the benefit of our customers, our shareholders and the McDonalds' system. Now I'll turn the call over to Mary Kay.
Questions and Answers
Mary Kay Shaw
Thanks, Matt. I will now open the call up for questions. Please press *1 if you have a question, and *2 to remove yourself from the queue. To give as many people as possible the opportunity to ask questions, please limit yourself to one question. We'll come back to you for follow-ups as time allows. Our first question is from David Palmer at UBS.
Q – David Palmer, UBS Warburg
Hi. Matt, and Mike, congratulations on the quarter. I wanted just to ask kind of a theoretical question. I was thinking, it seems to me you have four options with every restaurant these days. You can operate them, you can franchise them, you can license them and of course you can just simply not own them. You can just sell it. I was wondering if you could give us some insights into your decision process about these options, in particular I was wondering about hurdle rates and when you think about the returns for a restaurant, you may be considering for ownership or perhaps even refranchising or licensing, do you consider regional overhead and even a market-rate return for the real estate in assessing the earnings of the restaurant? I realize you're a global company, if you want to use an example that would be fine too. Thanks very much.
A – Matthew Paull
David, I'll take the first crack at it, then Mike will probably want to comment. First of all, when we're deciding how to own and operate restaurants, staying locally relevant is very important. But I want you to know that we have different hurdle rates for different parts of the world, which are a function of risk. We look at borrowing costs in different countries, we look at the environment we'd be operating in – what kind of legal system is there, are property rights respected, can we execute our brand the way we want to. We assess that risk, and the people in Oak Brook assign a hurdle rate to every market we do business in. Obviously, in some parts of the word the hurdle rates are much higher than in others. We also consider regional overhead and so we definitely have different hurdle rates for different parts of the world. In looking at different markets, we also look at how much risk is there relative to the upside in the market. So we've gone on record as saying we're extremely bullish in China and even though we're not earning the kid of return there that we earn in the US, we're very optimistic that returns which are probably high single/low double digit today are going to grow very fast. We see a lot of potential and so we're not applying an overly drastic hurdle rate to the situation in China. In other parts of the world we have a very high hurdle rate to justify further investment.
A - Michael Roberts
The only thing I'd add, David, is that you look at the markets that we're going to be growing in, as Matt said, their hurdle rates are high here but the bulk of our openings this year will go to Australia, China, France, Russia, Spain and the US. In those markets, we're showing significant movement in margins.
Mary Kay Shaw
Our next question is from Mark Kalinowski at Buckingham.
Q – Mark Kalinowski, Buckingham Research Group
Hi. I just wanted to ask about the share repurchases and their effect on the diluted share count. I was disappointed that the diluted share count in the Q1 income statement wasn't down more from the Q4 levels given all the money that was applied to share purchases in the quarter. I just wanted to understand better why that was, and perhaps going forward, maybe if the share repurchases aren't having a meaningful effect on the diluted share count, it might make more sense for McDonalds to meaningfully raise its dividend yield to the 3%+ range. I just want to get your thoughts on that. Thanks.
A – Matthew Paull
Mark, it's Matt. We don't think that you nor we will be disappointed by the time we get to the end of the year on the share count issue. We've said last year at our analysts' meeting and we're still committed to it; that we're going to return $5-6 billion to shareholders in 2006/07, we have reserved the right to be flexible on how much in each year and how much takes the form of dividend versus share repurchase. None of that has changed. Let me comment a little bit on what's going on. We used to grant options to employees at a much higher rate than today. If you looked at 2004 and 2005 together, our employees exercised options and turned them into shares for a total of 60 million additional shares out there in 2004 and 2005. The annual grant we did in 2005 was, I believe, 7 million shares roughly, six tenths or seven tenths of a percent of the outstanding share base. We've brought down the grants. Employees are exercising options that were granted many years ago. We're starting to be much more aggressive about share repurchase and I think by the end of the year, this will come together and you'll see some meaningful reduction. We bought back $1 billion worth of stock in Q1, we were a little bit disappointed ourselves about the sequential decrease in the share count. Part of what you're seeing is driven by Q4 activity on the part of our employees, we're going to continue to be aggressive in Q2 and again by the end of the year, we don't think you'll be disappointed with what happens to the share count. Thanks.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from Steven Kron at Goldman Sachs.
Q – Steven Kron, Goldman Sachs
Great, thanks. Good morning. A quick question on the developmental license agreements. Matt, you mentioned and you wrote in the 8-K that you don't expect a material impact in 2006 and I'm just wondering, he emphasized that it's going to take time, wondering whether kind of progress to date in identifying these candidates might be proving to be a bit more difficult in some of these regions, or is this kind of tracking as you planned?
A – Matthew Paull
Steven, it's definitely tracking as we planned. Just for perspective, we mentioned that we DL'd two markets in 2005 that had 325 restaurants. We began that work about 2.5 years ago, a full two years before we got the market DL'd. It takes some time to find the right partner, we're on track, we believe we'll get this all done within the three years, and we have other countries that are moving along rather quickly. We think it's absolutely on track. If we were in a hurry to do this, we would end up with the wrong partners and in the long run the business would be hurt. The people doing this work have done it in 32 other countries, they know very much what they're doing and in the long run we think this will be a good thing for our shareholders and for brand McDonalds. Thanks.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from Jeff Bernstein at Lehman Brothers.
Q – Jeffrey Bernstein, Lehman Brothers
Great, thank you very much. Specifically on Europe, I know we've heard on a number of occasions, it's difficult to come up with a timetable for the UK turnaround. I'm just wondering what kind of targets you've set, or what measures you look at to assess your ongoing turnaround efforts, especially if you look to 2006. I'm just wondering if you could talk about the balance between driving traffic, perhaps through discounting, versus tolerance in terms of potential margin deterioration? Thanks.
A – Matthew Paull
Well, Jeff, in terms of our comps in Europe, they were some of the strongest we've had in 2005, well over 2%. I think the strongest in 10 years. And to begin the quarter up 2% is very encouraging. France continues to lead the way with all of their activities related to the five Ps. Germany now has made a major move with the Einmal Eins and new food news and the UK is back focused on Quarter Pounders with Cheese, the relaunch of their pound saver as well as their reimaging work, including some refranchising of restaurants. And so, the overall margin in Europe improved QoverQ, and we're optimistic about that area. Russia continues to outperform all of our expectations, so the combination of France, Germany and Russia and the movement that we're seeing as well in the UK now with their focus on improving QSC and their calendar related to new food news gives us optimism about the rest of this year.
A - Michael Roberts
Jeff, the measures we look at, they wouldn't surprise you. We look at our F-Trex(?) scores from polling customers on their experience at McDonalds and their impressions of the brand, margins, returns, growth and guest counts. We like what we see in all of Europe and we see the beginnings of some progress in the UK, but we still have a long way to go. And the issue of couponning, the two markets that probably did the most of that back in 2004 and 2005 were the UK and Germany. The UK will be couponning about half as much as it did in the prior year and Germany maybe not at all in 2006. So we're relying less on couponning, we're trying to build loyalty the right way. Thanks.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from John Glass at CIBC
Q – John Glass, CIBC World Markets
Good morning. My question is on the US product pipeline. This year it seems that the new product introductions are front-end loaded, at least the ones we know about today: coffee, spicy chicken etc. I guess, is that accurate? And why did you choose to cluster them that way? Mike, are you suggesting that maybe some of the new products you're testing now may be available for rollout in the second half? Or are they maybe 2007 events?
A - Michael Roberts
John, as you know, we've got a very robust pipeline that we've been working on there for four years. We probably have 20 products in test now in the US and I'm very encouraged with all the movement they've had on chicken. You're absolutely right, John, we launched the spicy chicken, our new coffee and our breakfast platform, and Monday we launched the Asian salad. Three very, very important products for us and we continue to look at Q3 and Q4 and our test sells, to see what's possible. But, John, you know, with all the new food news, with extended 24 hours, Cashless now, gift cards, the dollar menu, our reimaging, there's a lot of reasons to visit McDonalds in addition to all the new food news. Lastly I tell you, part of what we're doing I think much better there now is that we're relaunching. We're reintroducing products that we launched a year ago, so you know, we just launched premium chicken. It's hard for us to understand this, but even after three years, some 40% of our customers don't know we have salads with Newman's Own dressing, which tells us there's a really important thing that they need, which is the continual mentioning in our marketing plans of the products we already have. Looking at the rest of the year for the US, they have products in test. We'll see what develops here, but they've got a lot of products they launched the last two years, that they can re-hit.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from Larry Miller at Prudential.
Q – Larry Miller, Prudential Equity Group
Thanks very much. First, if I could just follow up on the share count. Maybe you seem to imply the actual share count at the end of the quarter might be much lower. Do you have that number handy?
A – Matthew Paull
Larry, I'm not going to get into a discussion on numbers. The message I'm trying to send is that some of the things that show up in the Q1 numbers might be the result of things that happened in Q4 2005. If we had employees exercise options in Q4 2005, on average, those new shares were only outstanding for a part of Q4 2005, but they were outstanding for all of the Q1 2006. It's a very complicated computation and I don't want to, over the call, try to get into the details. But I assure you, by the end of the year, you will be satisfied with the amount by which we've reduced the share count.
Mary Kay Shaw
The next question is from Joe Buckley at Bear Stearns.
Q - Joe Buckley, Bear Stearns
Thank you. A couple of questions on the US. In the quarter, US operating income was up 17%. It looked like your margin dollars were up about 11% or so. It sounds like you spent a little bit more on SG&A, so I'm wondering if you could close that gap? And maybe at the same time talk about the US check experience, and if you would maybe some of your product mix experience over the past six months or so?
A - Michael Roberts
I'll deal with the SG&A issue. Joe, we were a little bit concerned at the growth in SG&A in Q1. We went back over our plans for spending, we're very satisfied that by the end of the year, the relationship of our SG&A increase to our sales increase will be healthy. We target that we don't want our SG&A to increase more than 70% of our sales increase globally. We think we're on track to have that kind of a year. We were very concerned by the front-end loading of the SG&A this year, but it's mostly driven by the Olympics and when our convention is taking place. So I think you'll see a good relationship there.
A – Matthew Paull
Joe, I'd just add, our average check is up. As you know, over 50% of our comp the last two years is derived from our chicken play now, the coffee that we launched along with our breakfast platform, not only its increased coffee sales but our breakfast day part is increasing, so the combination of all three is very good.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from Rachael Rothman at Merrill Lynch.
Q - Rachael Rothman, Merrill Lynch
Hi, good morning. Can you just remind me, because I've forgotten, what percentage of your stores in the US are currently operating with extended hours? What percentage have been remodeled. And I believe you have Cashless everywhere – is that correct?
A – Matthew Paull
Yes, Rachael, we have Cashless everywhere. We have over 13,000 now, almost all of our restaurants are on some form of extended hours. Nearly 4,000 of those are on 24 hours, either 7 days a week or at least Friday and Saturday nights which in some markets is a really important play for our operators. By the end of this year, we will have reimaged in the United States over 5000 restaurants.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. The next question is from Andy Barish, at Bank of America.
Q – Andrew Barish, Bank of America
Going back to the UK and its potential improvements, you actually saw in the way you guys talk about the margin impact, about half the impact in Q4. You mentioned about 70bps of an impact on European margins overall and it was about 150bps in Q4. Was that purely the actions you've taken that showed up in Q1, or have those not really shown up in terms of store closures and refranchising yet?
A - Michael Roberts
The actions we've taken really haven't shown up yet. And you're right, the drag on Europe's results from the UK has lessened fairly significantly. We're encouraged by that, but we're still not anywhere close to being happy with what we're producing.
A – Matthew Paull
Andy, we're excited about their focus on our core menu in the UK. We've got the double cheeseburger, we've got the double QPC, combined with the Pound Saver menu, they just finished Monopoly, it's the first time they've run it in about 11 years. We're encouraged by the progress there on the calendar and they've got a very assertive calendar for the rest of the year, with a bigger Big Mac, some 'I'm lovin it' desserts over the summer, free Coke glass promotion with an EVM in August and this is our core menu. And I'm really encouraged by this.
A - Michael Roberts
Andy, one last thing, in the UK we've seen some very nice activity surrounding opportunities at McDonalds. We've received some nice coverage and it's a part of making sure that we position the brand in the right place.
Q – Andrew Barish, Bank of America
A quick follow-up on toasted deli over there, you didn't mention that, Mike?
A - Michael Roberts
Well I think delis are doing reasonably well over there, Andy. I'm not overly impressed with how well we've rolled that out there. The UK consumer you know loves sandwiches, we made modifications to our delis in Canada and I'm excited about that possibility. The UK is focused now on our core menu, including breakfast. And breakfast is doing better over there.
Mary Kay Shaw
The next question is from Peter Oakes at Piper Jaffray.
Q – Peter Oakes, Piper Jaffray & Co
Mike, you mentioned up front when you were discussing Europe, that the QSR market as a whole is down there. That's something that's been discussed quite a bit, at least as far as Germany for a number of years, but you characterized Europe as a whole QSR market being down. I'd be curious, if you could delve into that a little bit more as to what other geographies you're seeing that kind of macro pressure in? Is it weather-related etc., that can distort Q1. Also, Matt, I think you mentioned you're starting to get better coverage in the UK – can you add a little more color what you mean as far as some of the media support and how that's swinging in that direction?
A – Matthew Paull
On the media issues, in all of our restaurants now, there are posters that describe the kinds of flexible schedules and opportunities we give our crew. We've seen a lot of favorable coverage of that. Coverage that we might not have received a few months ago because the media in the UK was looking to find a negative story. So we're encouraged that we're receiving a little bit fairer treatment on some of these issues. We still have a very long way to go.
A - Michael Roberts
Yes, and Peter, I would just tell you that globally, the IEO is growing, roughly in the neighborhood of $35 billion per year. Overall, the QSR market is growing. In my mind, we're competing more and more in the IEO market, vis a vis our products, and on the look and feel of our restaurants. I would tell you that Germany is a great example, even in a very difficult market with unemployment high and inflation high etc. They're posting very solid results, which is an indication to everybody in McDonalds that when we do what we can do best, which is focus on our plan to win and our five Ps and our customer with a very solid, everyday low price platform, plus new food news, plus reimaging plus McCafé, that we can do very well.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. Our next question is from John Ivankoe at JP Morgan.
Q – John Ivankoe, JP Morgan
Thanks. I know you mentioned extended hours, which great, but I mean could you talk about other speed of service or operational initiatives that might be out there to increase throughput at the stores or traffic at the stores from an operational perspective? Thanks.
A – Matthew Paull
Yes. One example certainly is that the Cashless is helping speed service. Mike taught me this. The Cashless transaction takes maybe four seconds to ring up, making change with cash takes on average 15 or 16 seconds. As that piece of our business grows, our service will speed up, that's one example.
A - Michael Roberts
John, I think you know in our plan to win we have measures against every one of the things we've spoken about: quality, service, cleanliness and value. In Latin America, Europe and AMPA(?) we are making a lot of progress. North America is making progress as well, not as much as we'd like on fast and friendly, but a lot of progress there. The program internally is called shift into overdrive. It's a program whereby leadership from around the region can visit each and every restaurant and discuss all of these attributes with our management and with out crew, and work to help them do a better job with hiring and with retention, and with training. I would tell you there's no secret here, it's just every day effort around the world in terms of improving our customers' experience.
Mary Kay Shaw
Next question, we have a repeat question from David Palmer at UBS.
Q – David Palmer, UBS Warburg
Hi. Just a follow up on that Mike, I was just reviewing that article from QSR, a magazine where they have their Drive Thru survey and it looks like McDonalds, among others, continues to go the wrong way on Drive Thru speed and I think McDonalds continues to have some struggles here on Drive Thru accuracy. Could you maybe address that, it seems to be an ongoing issue, but meanwhile your sales are telling, obviously, another story about consumer satisfaction. How should we interpret this stuff?
A - Michael Roberts
First of all, David, what's really important is that our Drive Thru business as a comp is growing. We're doing the right things. We're attracting guests to our restaurant. In terms of speed, you know, this is something that, with our customer order display, with our new POS system, we're making it easier for our crew people to take orders. A significant percentage now of orders in Drive Thru are using Cashless, as Matt said this is about a four second transaction. That really helps our crew people execute in the Drive Thru. We've got a lot of initiatives that we're working on related to accuracy in terms of positioning of equipment and having all of the right product at the presenter's booth, which is important. I would just tell you that, you know, related to our mystery shops, we continue to make progress there. All of our teams are incentivized to improve where we are today. We're making progress here. I'd like every order to be fast and accurate and friendly, and that's what our areas of the world share as well, as with our operate leadership around the world it's a major focus for 2006.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. Our next question is from Larry Miller at Prudential.
Q – Larry Miller, Prudential Equity Group
Thank you very much. I think in some of the recent sales releases, you've talked about improved coffee results. I was just wondering, are you seeing therefore incremental sales and incremental margin? Or is it a swapping from other beverages like soda and juice? I also have one other question if you could let me do that?
A - Michael Roberts
Larry, our coffee business since we launched is up significantly, double digits in fact. Our breakfast comp is up in Q1 as well. What we learned here is that, you know, we have some breakfast rejecters if you will, who didn't think our coffee was as good as it could be. Now that they know it's better they're coming to McDonalds, so coffee combined with our breakfast sandwiches is leading our breakfast comp. The opportunity here I think is enormous. Related to other plays with coffee, we've got a very competitive price point at about a dollar for the 12-ounce cup, with the new packaging and the new lid and a robust cup of coffee, I think we've got a pretty compelling offer for our guests.
A – Matthew Paull
The breakfast business is really nicely positioned for us. It's very large, we get very good value scores for our customers and it producers a very attractive margin for us.
Mary Kay Shaw
The next question is from Joe Buckley at Bear Stearns.
Q - Joe Buckley, Bear Stearns
Thank you. I want to go back to my first question, I phrased it badly. What I was asking is how the US operating income was up so much, 17%. You know, given the margin dollar increases of maybe 11-12% and it sounds like higher SG&A? Then, as a second question that I'd like to ask, how far back has China come? Do you think your business there is back to a normalized level, or – put some parameters around the improvement that you're seeing?
A – Matthew Paull
Joe, this is Matt. We're probably going to have to have you talk to IR one on one about the US question, because I'm afraid – it's not you, it's probably me, I just don't understand your question. On China, we've not come back as far as we'd like to, you know, our margins are improving, our comp was positive, we love what we see from the Drive Thrus, we love what we see in terms of future opportunity, we're growing into the economies of scale that we enjoy in a lot of other markets; we're not all the way there yet. We are very positive, you're going to see a lot of movement in building Drive Thrus in China from us. We think we can do it better than anybody. So China's going to be a big investment and a big opportunity for us. Having said all of that, I have to remind everybody that we can build a restaurant in China with about one fourth of the CAPEX it takes to build a restaurant in the US. Once in a while, you know, we're not perfect, if we make a real estate mistake in China, you can get out of a lease at no penalty at 95% of the locations we have by giving three months' notice. So we don't expect to make mistakes, but we can afford to be a little bit more aggressive than we've been in the past.
A - Mary Kay Shaw
I can add on to the G&A question, Joe, this is Mary Kay – you know, we don't give you the G&A by segment for the quarter, but keep in mind one of the things Matt talked about that drove the increase was the Olympic cost in Europe, so that was a big part of the increase and corporate was higher. So US G&A was more in line as what you would expect, so that's probably why operating income looks that way that it does. Thank you. The next question is from Steven Kron at Goldman.
Q – Steven Kron, Goldman Sachs
Great, thanks. Just a follow up on the UK and the refranchising that you've done so far and that you plan on doing on a go forward basis. Are these refranchised stores going to existing franchisees or new franchisees, and I guess given the negative comp pressure that you have there and other cost pressures, are you giving any kind of concessions to that rent and royalty which I think, on average from the 10-K, was around 17% in the European region?
A - Michael Roberts
Steve, the bulk of these restaurants will be franchised to existing owner-operators, and our leadership there, Peter Beresford and Steven Easterbrook and I and Denis Hennequin, our President in Europe, we've all discussed this. The operators there are very excited about growth. We haven't opened many new stores there, or many new restaurants in the last couple or three years, and on a case by case basis we're looking at pre-debt cash flow and sales and the opportunity in front of us to make it right for those operators to be able to compete in that market place effectively. We're going to look at those P&Ls on an individual operator to operator basis, but the bulk of those restaurants will go to existing owner-operators.
A – Matthew Paull
Steve, I'm pretty sure that we covered this on the January call, but if we didn't I'll say it here. You know, we look pretty carefully at the differences in P&Ls between us running a restaurant and an operator running a restaurant in different parts of the world, and we described in great detail what those difference look like in the US. We commented back then that the part of the world where we saw the greatest difference was in the UK, where our operators seemed to do a much better job of running the restaurants than we could. They did a better job of making the restaurant more locally relevant. I think in the area of concessions, I think it's much less likely to be necessary there because our operators simply run better stores there than we're capable of running.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you. It looks like we are out of questions, so thanks everyone, and I'll turn it over to Mike for a couple of closing comments.
Michael Roberts
Thank you again, everyone, we appreciate your interest in McDonalds. In closing we're pleased with the quality of our Q1 earnings and through our intense focus on building relationships with our customers and through the execution of our locally relevant plan to win. We intend to build on the momentum we're currently enjoying. Thanks so much.
Mary Kay Shaw
Thank you.
This concludes today's conference call, you may now disconnect.
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text: Each member of the Undergraduate Student Senate is a part of one of six committees: Academic Affairs, Business Affairs, Campus Life, Communications, Finance, and Internal Development. The committees meet weekly to address various campus issues and projects, ranging from assessing the budget of organizations that request special allocations to creating new academic policies. For more information on issues tackled in the past and current projects, feel free to visit the committee pages.


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Spiritual DNA: The Most Powerful Knowledge About the Potential of the Human Soul and Spirituality Ever Described By Science, Philosophy, Ancient Cultures and the Law of Attraction
Paperback, 76 Pages
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Since ancient times and for thousands of years, from Mesopotamia, Babylon, Egypt and China to Europe, much was the knowledge found and developed to promote a better lifestyle and health. But, for some reason, we have abandoned this path and entered another, of emotional turmoil, physical pain and diseases. Building itself from the premise that, regarding the meaning of life and purpose of each individual on Earth, spirituality represents the beginning and end of each life-cycle, this book combines the most important words of wisdom from different sources and historical periods, not leaving any important perspective aside. Here, religion and science, among other studies and ancient traditions with thousands of years, are interrelated in an obvious, efficient and practical approach.
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aha teez em loving the character and the tezem is nice too
aha teez em loving the character and the tezem is nice too
ill looks a lot diffrent then the sketch though, the internal lettering looks a lot more spacious
Bazell- I'm not feeling the A, but the details inside the letters are pretty fresh.
Seti- The Beuty piece is dope. I like the watercolors.
Fight And Win Klique/Word Trafficking Nightly/ThrillSeekers
cezr wat caps did u use for the black?
Stock... Hurry the fuck up BS store!!!! I ran out of germans New Years Day!
Fight And Win Klique/Word Trafficking Nightly/ThrillSeekers
thats pretty good if u used stock on that then
baze that E is dope as fuck. and i know exactly what your sayin about seein where you will be and what progression will happen. its pretty funny to look at my old shit, haha
Last edited by unknown...; 01-05-2008 at 10:36 AM.
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u 2 bazer why u so bleh its dope
can only go up from here eh
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teezem throw is sick
im that nice
i cut a guy twice
thats tough
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Herbal LOVE
Off the record - Hieroglyphics
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some pen freestyles
new name - Fate