text:
The Chinese central bank has said that mainly focusing on inflation is not enough. "China's monetary policies are aimed at achieving multiple goals, rather than just a solitary effort to control inflation," said governor Zhou Xiaochuan. Other goals include ensuring economic growth, keeping a relatively high employment rate, and securing the international balance of payments, he said.
The People's Bank of China says it will target "moderate" loan growth this year, in contrast to the extremely sharp expansion of credit last year. Loan issuance to industries facing overcapacity must be strictly controlled to avoid credit risks, governor Zhou said. Read more


text:
Mock Practice Test-9
Read each of the following passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.
What carmakers often mean when they say a car is well-designed, is that it appeals to men, particularly to their less noble instinct, 'beautiful body'. She must move like a dream. But auto-macho is going out of style. In America, 47% of new private cars are bought by women, up from 36% in 1989. Add the influence women have on a family's car-buying, and it is probable that women are more influential overall in choosing cars than men. So, carmakers are learning to create designs that appeal to them.
Women tend to buy cheaper cars, largely because working women tend to have lower income. In America, they buy 55% of the small cars, 44% of medium sized ones, but only 28% of large and luxurious models. They put more store on reliability' than men do-probably a hidden reason for the rise in Japanese imports.
American carmakers are now tailoring certain versions of their cars with women in mind. And they are learning that design can sway even normally pragmatic women, as a comparison between Ford's Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar demonstrates. The Thunderbird is a high performance car i.e., it goes fast and is styled to look aggressive. Less than 40% of Thunderbirds are bought by women. But the same car with a more sedate body, a different name (The Cougar) and different advertising is as popular with women as it is with men.
Which among the following factors contributes towards carmakers' initiatives to bring out new models that appeal to females?
A Females are fond of driving expensive cars.
B Females influence the car-buying decisions in the family.
C Females generally choose good as compared to men.
D None of these

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tat'yana (ID: 65378)
Date of birth:December 11, 1979
Height:5' 4" (164 cm)
Weight:121 lb (55 kg)
Hair color:brown-haired
Eyes color:brown
Marital status:divorced
Education:Teacher Training University
English language:beginners' level
Others foreign languages:No
Seeks partner:37 - 44 years old
Total photos:4
Bikini photos:1
Hobbies and interests:
I like to spend my free time outside. I prefer to go to the cinema. I like reading books. My summer holidays I try to go to the sea.
About me:
Self Description: I am a nice girl who is bright, gentle, and full of passion for the man I love. Soft heart, loving soul, optimistic approach, delicate nature, warm smile and sincere laughter - these are the things that make me the person I am. My friends say I have something called charm, well, some kind of zest.
Looking For Men Type:
First of all, I'm looking for a honest and faithful man, who is energetic, open, optimistic, calm, well-balanced and considerate. Who loves active life, the outdoors, nature and, surely, me. I hope my man will not focus on his work completely but will leave time for his hobby and for me.
Copyright 2003-2017 © www.city-meeting.com.
DBA: Syedyshev Group Limited. All rights reserved.
General comments or questions: Contact Us


text:
We're sorry, this listing is off the market. Try these listings instead:
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Well established Pizza Shop, serving wide variety of pizza, cold and hot subs, sandwiches, salads, baked dinners, garlic & cheese bread, sauce and much more. Very strong delivery business, strong take out and plenty of eat in. Well located in Pinellas County.
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Would you like to save as your currency permanently or for this visit only?
overall standard
The staff was very polite and helpfull without exagerating. The room was tidy and nicely decorated.
Great location; natural light throughout hotel and spacious public areas. Very modern inside, but exterior very well adapted to Spanish building style. Lovely pool and garden area with overlooking cafe. Free carparking and wireless internet. None!
Nice and spacious rooms. Good sleepover point for the Andalusian region Staff could have been friendlier. Directions to the hotel could be clearer
The hotel was located very conveniently for us virtually at the midpoint between Seville, Cordoba, Ronda, and Granada, all of which we successfully visited.The staff were very friendly and accommodating to us during our stay. Buffet breakfast not good value for money. Some room maintenance aspects lacking.
Nice large rooms. Poor buffet breakfast. No fresh orange juice, for example, and this when ornages are in season and very cheap.
All the good points noted above. Antequera itself is a most interesting town.
Very comfortable and relaxing modern hotel with lovely views from the terrace and restaurant. Great location for visiting Andalucia and only a few minutes walk into the charming town of Antequera.
A really great hotel - good location, fabulous view, plenty of style and excellent service from the staff. We had the 'taster/gourmet' dinner at the hotel - good value (EU28 pp) and a really varied selection of local dishes. One of the best hotels we've stayed at......
Just been renovated and is like a really stylish and comfortable boutique hotel.
the ambience and location were fantastic, great value for money, and wonderful spa facilities.
Location - right out in the countryside (but see comment below). Very good food in the restaurant - best roast pork we've had outside Castile, delicious olives and oil from the hotel's own olive groves. Sympathetic modernisation of a beautiful old building - the original frescoes on the ground floor are currently being restored. Location map on booking.com makes it look as though the hotel is a lot closer to the centre of Antequera than it actually is.
Superb rooms and wonderful surroundings Restaurant food & service average (1 starter was burnt but still served).
The Hotel was very comfortable the food was excellent and the staff were very helpful. The Restaurant staff were excellent both in being very helpful and the manner in which they waited on the table. I did think that there ought to be a list somewhere of the Restaurant opening and closing times,and also to explain that on the half board you only get a very limited choice in the Evening,because if we had known that we would not have booked half board for the 1st night,which we subsequently cancelled for the 2nd night,and enjoyed a lovely meal from the a la carte menu.
This Hotel is for conventions and groups. There is no terracce and far from the centre
Great facilities, restaurant, and location. Try to avoid rooms 1 through 9 - they are down low, don't have internet access.
I normally book hotel with the lowest rate but provides good facilities and services. This is the first hotel with three stars which I felt very comfortable and has very nice decoration. If people travell by car, then I recommend this hotel. It takes plus minus 30 minutes to Malaga. The breakfast was also included in my reservation. I thought it was a buffet style in which guests can choose their own drink and food. Unfortunately, only two cards were given (one for me and the other one for my husband). So, each of us was served a cup of coffee and one piece of mollete for our breakfast. My two kids shared breakfast with us.
Very good location for drivers. Good atmosphere.
Good location. Good value. Breakfast included which is unusual in Spain. Reasonable restaurant attached
All very new and clean The food
The room was spacious, clean and very comfortable. -
location exellent for stop over on route to Seville from Malaga, easy to find but not in or near town centre. Staff friendly and helpful. Food in bar and local ambience great. room very sparsly furnished and balcony covered in bird droppings
Very nice design of the hotel Included breakfast consisted of just slice of bread, box of butter and jam and cup of coffee
Very clean and the staff were nice and friendly. In an easy to find location No
Good location since it is close to the highways (for traveling to Granada and Costa Del Sol) but it's in a industrial zone. New and clean hotel. Staff did not know English. Could not get what we wanted for breakfasr and it was served in a cafeteria in which people were smoking !!!!!
Very clean staff very helpful no
1) Simple hotel, but great for what it is. We were not interested in HDTVs and hundreds of TV channels and found it perfect. Lots of lovely little touches, like an interior courtyard where you can bring your own breakfast and eat in the sun. 2) The most helpful staff I've come across anywhere. And fantastic at giving directions and suggestions for places to visit, which are underrated skills. 3) Lovely location, a pretty plaza in the centre of the town and a short stroll from the Alcazaba and the Roman ruins. 4) Fantastic value for money. Nothing really. I loved the place.
quiet rooms. Its a hotel, not a finca any more.
We liked everithing in this fabulous hotel. The staff was very attentive.The hotel is outside the village of Antequera but has a cosy authentic restaurant with a good chef. A little cold in the restaurant.
The food was excellent Yes, the room had not been heated prior to our arrival. The room was cold, and the staff unhelpfull. Wifi did not work, and the manager did not come to help when informed by the receptionest
We had the junior suite which was spacious, clean and comfortable. The food was excellent and a welcome introduction to Andalucian cuisine. The location was easy to find and useful for starting out for exploring the Natural Parks and La Ronda. This was our first stop in a 2 week city tour of Andalucia. The shower was very fancy with multiple shower jets, but it did not drain well. We would have liked more information about the sports facilities in advance and while we were there.
peace and tranquility,lovely staff ,good food.great location for a party nothing perfect
Convenient for the motorway. Pleasant building, quiet. The outdoor swimming pool was very dirty and ill-cared for.
Very pretty Moorish hotel, nice design, tranquil gardens and lovely buildings. Good car parking, pleasant hotel staff The gym staff werent friendly. No towels in the gym, no water fountains in the gym. Outside pool needed cleaning
good facilities, including restaurant not much - our bathroom door wouldn't shut, but we coped with that
relaxed friendly environment
nice staff, good location,large room A little bit noisy
Beautiful and modern. Great breakfast.
Atmosphere and rexaxed comfort No
Friendly, patient and helpful staff with good English language skills. Good room and leisure facilities and easy access to Antequera town centre.
The swimming pool The receptionist on duty on our arrival was not very friendly or helpful
Very relaxing with goodfood and excellent facilities The only complaint was that there were no tumblers in the bathroom orthe mini bar,otherwise everything was first class and we willdefinitely stay again in the future.
the friendliness of the staff
Nice location. Great pool. Used for some functions when we were there (wedding?). Near golfing if you are into that but also near mountains, prehistoric tombs and town has great old architecture (churches and castles).
Pool area, underground garage, wi-fi internet. Staff were, for the most part, somewhat distant - not rude, but little warmth. Restaurant prices high for standard of food.
I liked the facilities of the hotel (pool, spa) and the room service (great meal).
Very good facilities, including a well equipped gym and decent sized swimming pool. 20 minute walk to town centre.
It was adequate. Dinner was over priced
Being in central position in the city with easy access to places of interest. Friendly bar right next door. At times it was quite noisy just outside.
The staff were really friendly and helpful and it was such a lovely location.
This was a hotel of character with a lovely courtyard at a very reasonale rpice. The staff were very helpful in finding somewhere safe to store our bicycles.
It was convenient
Friendly staff, hotel clean and comfortable, easy access to all the points of interest in and around Antequera We would have liked a more extensive breakfast
Excellent location, good vaue for money (sustantial breakfast for EUR 5)
It was central The room was small and oddly furnished
excellent location and free covered parking next to hotel. room quite basic but adequate for short stay.
Free parking, swimming pool is nice, nice balcony view.
Traditional design/decor, secure parking, nice staff & good room facilities Outside street noise, difficult to find
Spa, food in the restaurant, situation, staff. Not really the breakfast was very simple but adequate.
the silence, lost in the nature, the beautiful place. the quality of the meals and the breakfasts, the pool, jacuzzi only for us you need a car to reach it
location, ambience and food there was no separate shower; difficult/impossible to use shower over bath without a flood as there was no shower curtain!
Ambience, food (although breakfast very limited) No hot water throughout the day of our arrival, indoor swimming pool was being emptied
Location. Staff. In the unlikely event of a fire, this hotel is a potential death-trap, as the emergency exits are locked at night, and alternative exits are barred.
the views are breathtaking, the pool is lovely and the rooms spacious and comfortable. The restaurant menu is too formal and expensive. The bedrooms have no drawers or shelving for clothes - only hanging space in a big wardrobe.
Hotel staff were nice. We spent one afternoon in the jacuzzi/sauna/indoor pool while raining outside for a fair price (12€ p.p.). The surroundings are amazing, the hotel is located right in the countryside and there are a couple of nice walks around. Antequera and the Torcal Natural Park are also close by, and they both worth a visit. Perfect for a relaxing weekend getaway. Our room was located in the 2nd floor and had beautiful high ceilings, which I believe made it difficult to heat, so it was a little bit cold in the evening.
Wonderful sent from the gardens and great food. It is a little inaccessible.
beautiful setting and tranquility the waiters did not understand english and we coould not speak spanish...so difficult ordering food but reception staff helped out.
The calm relaxing atmosphere and the kind, friendly manner of the staff. We liked everything about our stay.
The location It is a 3 stars rather than a really 4 stars
It was situated in the nice location.Very easy to find,good food & very good view.
Comfortable room. Very poor breakfast. Tasteless dinner at the hotel restaurant + lots of language mistakes in English menu.
quiet place to rest during driving around the country
convienient position
very good value for money wifi was hardly available, only in the ground and 1st floor - we were on the 3rd floor and had no connection
Food good in cafeteria and restaurant, service from staff good was suprised that it did not mention it sits beside the motorway and is approx 10/12 miles from the centre of Antequerra. Some noise from traffic and people milling around cafeteria
Hotel reception was open and business as usual when we arrived late at night. Room was quiet, clean, beds comfy.
Room accommodations were well appointed,clean, safe and all of the amenities were as described...it was a superb facility.
Poor facitilies particularly for 4star hotel .. no pool, no lounge area, room didnt have balcony - not very good when travelling with young child as we did. Choice at breakfast also very limited.
Clean and modern interior. Breakfast was not available on Sunday morning.
La cordialidad en la atención y la ubicación del Hotel, cercano a todas las actividades y atracciones de Antequera
It gave us a taste of real Spain. The bar and restaurant where always busy and full of locals and Spanish tourists
Spacious clean & quiet room in a good location. The restaurant/bar was closed for renovation so I can't comment on the breakfast, but there were plenty of bars close by to chose from and we had a good breakfast.
It was very centrally located. Easy to find...easy to get to the bus station.
Excellent restaurant rooms very good recently refurbished bathroom excellent
It is a very simple hotel, which is reflected in the price. The staff are very friendly, helpful and pleasant. It is excellenty located and has garage parking a short distance away, which is good. We liked it very much indeed.
Very clean with cleaner in every day except Sunday, clean sheets after three days, very impressed considering cost of hotel Building works directly outside window
Central, easy walking to all parts of Antequera: Railway, bars, food, sights (dolmenes), bar and restaurant under hotel. Bit noisy: had street one side and lift other side of room.
Still very much the real Spanish experience and the Hotel has very friendly people to look after you Because the downstairs is a working bar/ restaurant , there is some noise from the early start at around 7-00 am
the room stunk and the food was poor
nice staff although hard to find them, tranquil, laid back bed uncomfortable, other people using swimming pool, building works, have been in better hotels in Spain for 60 euros per night


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text:
Heike Shawl by Erica Jackofsky (Fiddle Knits)
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© Knit Picks
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Heike Shawl
This pattern is available for $4.99 USD
buy it now or visit pattern website
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Custom Dyed Yarn & Pattern Combo Available!
Baby Alpaca/BFL Yarn - $70
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Part of the Modern Sophisticate eBook – Download all 6 patterns for $9.99
Heike is a heavier weight shawl worked from the center of wingspan outward and down. Stitch pattern is an allover lace which finishes with a simple edging.
Pattern is charted and written.
For more information, see: http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Heike_Shawl___D118...


text:
Skip-Trace Tool Yields Incredible ROI
Nick Machol, Machol and Johannes, LLC
Hear what your peers are saying...
We're a debt collection law firm based out of Denver, Colorado. I oversee all of our financial operations, our collection operations and really guide our firm's overall strategy.
How Long Have You Been Working With Experian?
We've been working with them for about three years now. They've really become a rather large data vendor for us. They're definitely one of the more important data vendors in our overall skip-trace waterfall.
How Does Experian Contribute to Your Company's Success?
They provide very high-end information that we can rely upon and use to take action. We get calls every day from vendors trying to sell us data with no assurances, with no real trial or history. I feel like Experian provides us some of the best, strongest information for a very fair price. It's a great service.
What are Some of Your Biggest Challenges?
Some of the biggest challenges are around controlling costs. We have a significant amount of client demands. Everyone wants us to do a better job for them at a lower price. In order to do that when you have less revenue, you always have to control your costs better. Buying data is one of our most expensive costs, and it's where we allocate a lot of our resources. That's definitely a big challenge in our industry and in our business every single day, watching those costs and trying to stay ahead of the competition. We ask ourselves how we can liquidate better than our competition by using better data.
What Experian Products are you Currently Using?
We just buy data. We're part of the Collection Triggers program. We buy credit reports, and we also buy the Collection Advantage score.
How Has Your Business Benefited by Using Experian Products?
The Collection Triggers program has really been incredible for us because the accounts are working while we're not. We can be the first to the trough when there's new data that comes up about place of employment for a debtor. That's one trigger we use. We've experienced an ROI on that product exceeding well beyond 10,000 percent, which is one of the highest ROI products we have in our waterfall mix.
Describe Your Experience Participating in Our Collections Council.
I think the best thing about it, the reason I'm an advocate for it and I tell people back in our office how much I value it, is because you get all of these different ideas from every facet of this industry. As a collection law firm, we're just one piece of the business. Then there are the debt buyers, the networks, the direct issuers, the software providers and the data providers that all come together. You get to hear it all from people in a very candid forum. I think that people are very open, not guarded, at this meeting. When we go back, I honestly guide our strategy for the next year based on some of the things we're hearing. You can go to the NARCA conferences and the debt buyers conferences -- and they're terrific conferences, terrific organizations -- but people are very guarded. They have their attorneys there telling them what to say and what not to say. Here you can hear it straight from the source, from the top of the companies and really get a great flavor for where the industry's headed.
How Much Does Your Business Rely on Experian White Papers and Studies?
I think they're very helpful. In fact I think I saw one this morning regarding the Dodd legislation. I know the Pintos has been very important to us because we do some government work and healthcare work and fees and fines, so that's been very helpful. We absorb all of the information out there. It's definitely one piece that we really rely upon.
Why do you Choose Experian Over the Competition?
Experian's very proactive in our eyes. We deal with a lot of the competitors. I field a lot of calls from them. They're always trying to work their way into the mix of our waterfall and provide us data and they take us to lunch -- but they seem very reactionary. They go out and acquire other companies when it's too late and they say, "Here's data that people have been needing in the last year. Let's enter that market," whereas we always see new ideas coming to us. We had thought about something like a triggers program and thought that would be a great program to have. But Experian came to us and said "Here's this great program; Here's how we're going to implement it in your office," and we actually had a pretty high-level individual from Experian come to our office who did a lot of custom programming and really helped us integrate it into our database. That was just huge. I've never seen another vendor do that before.
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"We've experienced an ROI on that product exceeding well beyond 10,000 percent, which is one of the highest ROI products we have in our waterfall mix."
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Machol & Johannes, LLC
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Prioritize your debt collection efforts by identifying which accounts have the greatest recovery potential.


text:
Please note "BBC Sunday AM" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.
I'm joined my the Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis. Welcome
Good morning.
Let's start with the business then of judges. A big campaign in the newspapers about soft sentencing, and a lot of people I think are confused as to whether this is a problem with the judges or whether it's a problem with the politicians.
Well it's hardly a problem people worry about it because we've had a whole series of events in the run up to this about murderers on probation or on parole and so on which make the public worry, and quite properly so because some people are obviously being let out too soon. But actually it's really an exercise largely of governments [door slam] trying to shift responsibility.
I mean after, what, nine years in power, three enormous majorities, 54 Home Affairs and Criminal Justice Bills. There's only one Prime Minister who can take responsibility for this and it's actually this one. The laws have been set in such a way that we actually automatically let people out too early.
What is the answer? Do you think that we should have absolute clarity in plain English about sentencing so judges are told more or less exactly what they have to do when someone is convicted of a certain offence and we can all see that?
Well, what we need, I think, is certainly clarity or honesty in sentencing so that judges say ... the Americans have this thing.. you know, 15 years to life, so they give you the range in court, so the victims in particular can see precisely what it is, is happening to the person who's caused them the harm, the criminal act. So that's part of it, but you must also leave some degree of discretion to the court.
I mean we saw a very good example with this accusation that took place on the Sweeney Case earlier this week, and that was a one third discount given for a guilty plea when it was plain the gentleman, from the evidence available, was guilty, so he didn't actually accelerate the court by making a guilty plea but he got the discount anyway. The judge ought to have a lot more discretion in things like that.
Overall, do you think we need longer sentences in this country actually served I mean?
Served, yes I do. There was a big argument, I mean the government conflated all sorts of things and confused people over it, but the raw truth is we've gone from basically most prisoners coming out after two thirds of the sentence to most coming out after half a the sentence in broad terms, and I think the public don't like that, and the public ... and of course it actually.. the biggest effect of prison, the biggest effect - put aside deterrence, which is important and punishment which is important, and rehabilitation which is very important - but the biggest effect is it takes the prisoner out of circulation, the criminal out of circulation so he doesn't actually commit any more crime.
Given what we were talking about earlier on over the paper review about the fact that prisons are now full almost to bursting, does this mean that we have to build a lot more prisons? There's a story in the Sunday Telegraph, for instance, saying that you are now, as a party, committed to a major expansion of prisons and to longer sentences.
Yeah, it's slightly overstated. If you spend 15 billion you'll have a prison in every street almost. I mean ...
Which might be excessive, even for you.
Even for me, but no, I'm quite sure we need more prisons. Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, is saying in effect we need more prisons to enable the prisons to work properly.
At the moment, if you're a prisoner and let's say you can't read, you haven't got any skills, you're on crack, you know, you're addicted to crack cocaine, to sort out any of those problems takes time in the prison, it takes courses and so on, and if you're being transferred after 3 or 4 weeks to another prison, and then to another prison, you never get.. you never complete that.
So actually to do the job of a decent and humane as well as effective prison system, you need more prisons.
How many more prison places roughly do we need?
Oh I don't know at the moment. I mean I can't tell you because we'll have to make this judgement exactly, both in terms of money available but also in terms of where we are.
Now the government themselves ... I mean in one of the papers the government are saying 4,000 places, they're desperately bidding to Gordon Brown to provide the money, as Gordon Brown does not provide the money historically of course, but said to Gordon Brown to provide the money, but we'll see where we are when we get to the end of this thing.
But what we'll have to look at is: 1) how long we want people really to serve: 2) how can we run a system which will actually deliver a lower ... sorry a lower re-offending rate, a better rehabilitation rate.
Now part of this row in the newspapers surfaced from the treatment of one paedophile in particular who came out very early by most people's standards, and there's a story also in the News of the World today saying that the Home Office is going to go towards so-called "Sarah's Law".
Not necessarily the whole way yet, but they're going to study in detail the American system of having everybody ... every paedophile in the country listed on the internet and you can go in and find out where they live and so on, and also moving hostels for paedophiles away from an area around a school. How do you react to those?
Well the first one is to be astonished that there are paedophile hostels alongside schools. You would think that that was, as the Americans would say: "a no brainer" that shouldn't happen, and I understand that was raised in March.
It's taking a bit of time to respond. But in terms of Megan's law or Sarah's law or call it what you like, the idea of naming paedophiles, you've got to be very careful, and obviously we have to protect the rights and the safety of children, that's paramount, but we must also make sure we don't end up with some sort of lynch mob law.
And bear in mind we've had the Criminal Records Bureau failures with innocent people being given apparent criminal records, we've had the sex offender's register failure, got Ruth Kelly and others into trouble earlier this year. We've got to get this very ... we've got to get it right. We've got to be very, very careful about it. So actually it's one of those areas where I agree with what's attributed at least to John Reid in the paper, that he's saying sending somebody to America.
Different states do it in different ways. We can actually study it carefully and see if we can come out with a humane and safe outcome, but I wouldn't rush to it, I wouldn't dash in to say we're going to do this. I think this is one of those things where very careful consideration will pay dividends.
Sure. Now you've written in quite strong terms, it has to be said, in the papers this morning, about the condition of the Met which, as you point out, is our front line in the battle for terrorism.
And you say: "The Met is in paralysis, plagued by internal turmoil, damaging leaks and uncertainty over the future of its Commissioner." That is a pretty horrific position for us to be in.
Well the "in paralysis" phrase was actually a quote from the senior police officer about what happened after they got the first draft of the ... the first IPCC report, the Independent Police Complaints Commission report on the De Menezes shooting, and what concerns me is that we're now 11 months from that shooting.
In the interim we've had senior commissioners moved around, or deputy commissioners moved around, moved out of their jobs.
We've had threats of law suits, we've had.. we've now had Forest Gate where it looked as though the Commissioner of Police was really sort of out of play, that everything was being done by Andy Hayman, his No.2 on Terrorism.
All of this does not all go well, does not all go well for July where we've got the anniversary of the 7th July bombing, the anniversary of the 21st of July attempt, the anniversary of the 22nd July death of Mr de Menezes. All of these issues will raise the temperature.
We need to resolve this and we cannot have this as a permanent Sword of Damocles hanging over the Commissioner. Either exonerate him or replace him, it's one or the other, you can't ... you can't just leave it as it is now.
Do you yourself have faith in Ian Blair anymore?
I never ... one of the things.. I mean the newspaper criticises me actually this morning for not saying: "He must go." I never ever make judgements, whether it's ministers or public servants, without the evidence, and the evidence in the public domain.
And we have two reports virtually complete: one with the Crown Prosecution Service which could be published, even if there is a prosecution to come out of it, you could, what they call, "redact it", censor out the bits that relate to prosecution and tell the public what actually happened that day.
Another report actually about Sir Ian Blair's own behaviour which I understand is held up by senior police officers wanting to go on holiday before they give the witness statement to them. Well that's just ridiculous.
It's outrageous, yes.
This needs to be resolved. It needs to be resolved frankly in the next few weeks, both because of the¿
And then you will have all the evidence as to whether ...
And then we make the judgement and ... you know¿
... Ian Blair should stay or not.
And ... you know, I'm not known for being prissy about dealing with these issues. I mean I've had my share of ministers come and go opposite me, but I've always been very careful.
You do not say "that man must resign" before you know the hard facts of the case. It doesn't matter whether it's David Blunkett or Charles Clark, or for that matter Ian Blair. It's got to be done properly.
And just very quickly, ID cards to be scrapped to provide some of the money for prisons?
Oh yes, absolutely , I mean ID cards is a waste of money in security terms. It actually ... Microsoft think it will make security ... identity security worse, and it's probably going to cost 20 million pounds. There's no justification whatsoever. We can spend that money much better - police, prisons, other issues.
Alright. Very clear. David Davies, thank you very much indeed for joining us.
NB: this transcript was typed from a recording and not copied from an original script.
Because of the possibility of mis-hearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, the BBC cannot vouch for its accuracy
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text: I have a Lesco Z Ride spreader and sprayer for sale. I purchased it brand new last year. It now has 16.4 hrs on it. It has 125lb granular hopper, 40 gal spray tank w/8' foldable booms. 15HP Kawasaki Engine. Like new Condition. This unit is $8,200.00 new. It is located on the eastern shore of MD. 1st $6,000.00 takes it OBO. PM me or call 443-480-1786. I have pics but not sure how to post them here.


text:
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Built-up areas have been expanding throughout the world. Monitoring and prediction of the build-up is not only important for the economic development but also acts as sentinels of environmental decline important for ecologically sustainable development of a region. The aim of this paper is to model the growth of built-up and residential-commercial dwellings over the recent past and thus predict the near future growth for a popular tourist destination of the Lower Hunter of New South Wales, Australia. The land use and land cover change analysis, based on classification of Landsat imageries from 1985 to 2005 at a 5-yearly interval, indicates that built-up areas increased steadily; it was 2.0% of the total landscape in 1985 but increased to 4.2% by the year 2005. If this trend continues, the built-up area will have grown to over 6.5% by 2025—which is equivalent to growth of over 325% from the 1985 base. In order to further evaluate the residential and commercial growth, orthorectified aerial photographs of nearby periods of 1985, 1995 and 2005 were utilized to manually delineate residential/commercial dwellings, and thereby dwelling densities were derived. The results indicate that the mean dwelling density has more than doubled within a decade.
By the early 2000s, urban areas occupied only about 2%–3% of the Earth's land surface; however, they sheltered nearly half the world's population [
In Australia, land use change has accelerated dramatically since the first European settlers arrived in 1788. The initial phase of human-induced development was mainly commercial livestock ranching, which fed the colony's economy through export of beef, mutton, and wool to Europe and North America. Late in the 19th century, the increased market demand for commodities led to large-scale wheat farming. As a consequence, it is estimated that 69% of the vegetation in Victoria and 50% in New South Wales have been modified since 1780s [
Besides the sheer significance of these developments, the physical process of build-up and residential-commercial development in the urban and semi-rural regions of Australia, and their underlying economic dynamics that result in certain spatial configurations are relatively understudied. The aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate recent trends in the growth of the built-up area, including residential and commercial dwellings in Hunter Wine Country Private Irrigation District (HWCPID), and to relate those changes to the underlying economic dynamics. This is particularly pertinent because the district is one of the rapidly growing and well-known tourist destinations in New South Wales [
The study area is the HWCPID district of the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales Australia (
Location of the study area in New South Wales (NSW) and astride the two local government areas, and the study area draped with the 2005 Landsat TM image.
HWCPID, which is characterized by an undulating plain of the Lower Hunter Valley, covers approximately 379 km2 and is centered by Pokolbin—a little town known for its excellent wineries and resorts. The main attractions of HWCPID, especially as a tourist destination, are the fine wineries, aesthetic views of stretching grape vineyards, and the numerous golf courses. However, its image of a bucolic rural landscape with its varied mosaic of vineyards, pastures, scattered woodlands and wineries has been threatened by the prospects of overdevelopment [
For the purpose of this study, a series of LULC maps produced for multi-temporal steps in 1985, 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2005, as described in [
Land use and land cover (LULC) categories delineated for the classification.
|LULC Category
|Forest covers including tree cover along the creeks
|Natural and cultivated pastures, and scrubs with partial grassland
|Irrigated and non-irrigated vineyards
|Commercial, and residential areas, and other areas with man-made structure; roads, railway lines
|Farm dams, sewage ponds
|Mining areas
|Olive groves (for 2005 only)
Additionally, appropriate high-resolution orthorectified aerial photographs—acquired sometimes between 2004 and 2006—were procured from a company called Plateau Images, Alstonville, New South Wales Australia. These photographs were of high spatial resolution of approximately 0.35m within the Cessnock photo tile and 1 m for all other tiles. Also, the following data were procured from two government sources: black and white aerial photographs acquired in 1984, colour aerial photographs acquired between 1976 and 1977, in 1991, 1998 and 2000 (from the New South Wales Department of Land), and the Singleton Land Use Geodatabase (currency: 2000–2007) and digital elevation model (DEM) (from then Department of Natural Resources, now renamed as Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, New South Wales Government). The aerial 1:25,000 scale aerial photographs that were procured from the Department of Land were at the orthorectified using the above-mentioned already orthorectified aerial photographs (procured from Plateau Images acquired in 2004 to 2006). The aerial photographs for each period were mosaicked and transformed to projected coordinate system using ERDAS Imagine Ver. 8 [
The prediction of build-up was done using the Land Change Modeler of IDRISI Andes, Version 15 software [
The prediction of built-up areas depends on past land transition information and on environmental variables that might drive or explain such a change. Based on this information, a layer expressing the transition potential—the likelihood that a LULC will be subjected to transition in the future, is produced. Each transition was modeled using a multilayer perceptron neural network. One of the main advantages of perceptron neural network is that it is distribution-free,
The function,
All training pixels must go through the network before the error and weights are determined and propagated. This error is then propagated backward with weights for relevant connections corrected
The quantity of change was then modeled using a Markov chain analysis. In short, Markov model provides no information on the spatial distribution of occurrences; however, the spatial component is obtained from multilayer perceptron neural network. One basic assumption of the Markov chain is to regard land use and land cover change as a stochastic process, and the different categories are the states of a chain [
Using bi-temporal land cover data at specified periods, the Markov chain analysis can be used to figure out exactly how much land would be expected to transit from period
In this study, the 1985 and 1995 LULC maps were used for calibration of the simulation model which was used to predict built-up areas for 2005, as the 2005 reference map was available for validation purpose. The prediction variables include distance to built-up areas of the 1985 map (considered dynamic variable), distance to transport lines, distance to city center (Cessnock), slope (derived from DEM of the area), and LULC map of 1985, as these variables were considered to have most influence on future expansion of the built-up area.
To test the performance of the simulated model, the following steps were performed (
After testing the performance of the simulation model, prediction of built-up areas was done for 2025. For this purpose, LULC maps of 1985 and 2005 were used for calibration. All other variables used were the same as those used for the prediction of 2005 map. They include: distance to the build-up of the 1985 map (considered dynamic variable), distance to transport lines, distance to city center (Cessnock), slope, and LULC map of 1985. Similar to the way the prediction for 2005 was conducted, transition potential was derived using multilayer perceptron neural network, and thereafter built-up areas were predicted for 2025 using the Markov-chain algorithm.
Procedure for testing the performance of the simulated model in comparison to null model using null resolution procedure.
As the study area is largely non-urban residential area with predominance of vegetation, the Landsat images were found too coarse to derive dwelling density. Therefore ortho-rectified aerial photos acquired in 1976–1977, 1984, 1990–1991, 1998, 2000, and 2004–2006, were respectively used to manually delineate dwellings for 1985, 1995, and 2005 in an ArcMap panel (ArcGIS Vers. 9.2: Product of ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA). The kernel densities were derived using a moving window of 500 m by 500 m. The maps of dwelling densities were classified to elucidate the spatial-temporal patterns of densities. They were overlain on the suburb map of the study area to assess the growth of residential and commercial dwellings in relation to the suburbs.
To enable the interpretation of the economic implications of the spatial patterns of residential/commercial dwelling density, secondary data were collected from various publications, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), Tourism NSW, Cessnock City Council and the Hunter Valley Research Foundation. The data collected include population, family income, employment, wine and grape production and their contribution to tourism as it was hypothesized that these variables may be related to the built-up areas and residential-commercial development. It is worth noting that these data were available at the suburban division level for the year 2006 only, but were available at a greater level of spatial aggregation,
To enhance the visualization, GIS maps were constructed delineating the suburb divisions which are characterized by the following variables: population density, median income for people over 15 years of age, the proportion of workers employed in grape-wine tourism industry (for this purpose, number of workers employed in fruit growing, beverage manufacturing, accommodation, restaurants, and special food services were added up and divided by the total employment in a suburb) and the proportion of workers employed in mining. We assume that the household income level in NSW and in Australia are expected to have positive impact on tourism industry and consequently on the demand for services that require increase in the built-up area. Therefore, the relationship between state/national income parameters and build-up were also explored.
Built-up land was found to be 2% of the landscape in 1985 and then increased to 2.4%, 2.8%, 3.8% and 4.2% by the years 1991, 1995, 2000, and 2005, respectively. Thus, built-up areas had increased to more than double by 2005 in comparison to that of 1985 (
Trend in the proportion of built-up land from 1985 to 2005.
In overlaying the built-up layers of 1985, 1995 and 2005 on the suburb map (
Built-up areas as distinguished by time intervals, overlain on the suburb map. Note: Thick black line is the study area boundary while thinner black lines are the suburb boundaries.
The reference maps of 1995 and 2005 along with the result of the prediction to 2005 and 2025 are shown in
It is not particularly useful to attempt to crown a model as valid, or to condemn a model as invalid based on the validation results [
Distribution of Built-up area: (
When the percent correct of simulation model was compared with the percent correct of the null model at multiples of base resolutions (
Percent correct of reference map of 2005
The model predicted Built-up for 2025 to about 2470 ha, which is 6.5% of the landscape, an increase of 327% from that of 1985. This is found under the business-as-usual scenario when the nature of future development remains the same as it has been in the past. The predicted Built-up, as overlain over the study suburb-map to illustrate where the expansion of Built-up will likely occur is shown in
The analysis of residential and commercial dwelling density indicates that the dwelling sprawl is mainly of very low density, which meant that its detection from Landsat images was difficult partly due to coarse spatial resolution of the Landsat images and partly because of the predominance of vegetative cover in the region [
Residential and commercial dwelling density derived from aerial photos for the time steps: (
Overall the proportion of areas of between zero to 10 unit/km2 declined from 95% in 1985 to 86% in 1995 and then to 76% 2005 (
Percent of landscape under different dwelling densities in a decadal time step.
|Dwelling Density (units/km2)
The HWCPID is an important tourism destination in New South Wales, and especially renowned for wine tourism. Prior to the development of wineries, mining was the principal industrial base and source of employment until the first half of 20th century. However, the decline in mining activities by the second half of the century was paralleled by the growth of tourism due to the introduction and consequent expansion of wineries, vineyards, and the associated recreational facilities. The relative proximity of HWCPID to the metropolitan Sydney aided to this process of transforming the HWCPID to a prime weekend tourist destination. It is therefore envisaged that economic factors have been the main driving force behind the growth of residential and commercial dwellings in the study area.
The 2006 population density, median income, and some labor statistics are presented in
It is interesting to note that the high-density suburbs such as Cessnock and Nulkaba have lower (median) individual income in comparison to less densely populated and lower dwelling-density suburbs; Rothbury-Bal and Pokolbin. It might be hypothesized that this reflects the differences in asset ownership: the residents of more sparsely populated and low dwelling-density areas are likely to own valuable assets in terms of land, vineyards, and other farm related assets, and to derive most of their income as returns on their asset ownership, whereas the residents of more densely populated urban and semi-urban areas are likely to own assets of lower value, and to derive most of their income from employment. Another interesting observation is that generally, the higher the employment in the grape-wine tourism sector in a suburb, the higher is the median individual income in that suburb. So, the suburb of Rothbury has highest percentage of employment in grape-wine tourism as well as the highest median individual income, and is followed in both indicators by Pokolbin.
We note that the study area is situated astride two local government areas (LGAs): Cessnock LGA and Singleton LGA. Of the two, the study area within the Cessnock LGA (
Economic information across the suburbs in the study region: (
A temporal comparison of the level of income of families in Cessnock LGA in 1996, 2001 and 2006, reveals a clearly increasing trend of income (
Percent of families with different levels of income in Cessnock LGA [
The tourism industry has been steadily growing in Australia. One of the main reasons is the strong economic growth that the country has experienced.
Time series of disposable household income per capita for NSW and Australia [
HWCPID is the main tourism center outside Sydney in NSW and is gaining popularity as a wine tourism center due the proximity of the district to Sydney. The greater the influx of tourists to the area, the greater is the demand for accommodation and other amenities such as golf courses and restaurants. This increased demand lures investors to invest in building these amenities in the area, which consequently results with increased Built-up and residential-commercial density. In addition the newly built hotels, golf courses and other various commercial venues create jobs, which then feed into overall economic growth of the local economy and associated increase in family incomes (
In order to observe the association between build-up expansion and family incomes, the correlation between the Built-up in hectares in the study area, and the proportion of families with different levels of income in Cessnock LGA were calculated. The correlation coefficient between the build-up and proportion of families with income higher than $1000/week was found to be 0.93. In contrast, the correlation coefficient between the build-up and the proportion of families with less than $500/week was found to be −0.93. This gives a clear indication of a positive correlation between the Built-up expansion and family income. This correlation can also be conformed visualizing the
Although Built-up growth may be associated with the growth of the local economy in terms of creation of employment and increased income levels, it may also be seen as having significant impact on the environment through its ecological footprints [
Environmental Kuznets curve with build-up
One of the key reasons for the rising incomes and rising employment in the tourism industry in the study region is the rapid rise to prominence of the Australian wine industry and the associated tourism activities. Wine tourism is defined as: "
Wine sale in the Lower Hunter in 2003–2004 [
According to CRC Tourism [
HWCPID is a rapidly growing regional area with built-up and residential-commercial building densities on the upward trend in recent decades. The built-up area was 2% of the study area in 1985 whereas it has increased to 4.2% by the year 2005. Build-up growth is expected to continue with 6.5% of the landscape built-up by 2025. Similarly, residential-commercial dwelling densities were found to almost double in a decade; from 2.8 units/km2 in 1985 to 10.00 units/km2 in 2005. The denser dwelling area (
We acknowledge the support of the Australian Government for providing an Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to the first author to pursue this study and the Ministry of Agriculture Development of Nepal for granting her study leave.
This is to confirm that all authors contributed to the research conceptualization, data analysis and writing of this paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.


text:
HGTV Dream Home Giveaway
Viewers of Home & Garden Television
are by now familiar with the cable networks annual sweepstakes in
which a custom-designed luxury home this year overlooking southeast
Georgias St. Marys River is awarded to one fortunate
soul. The sponsors have tossed in a matching Doggie Dream Home and a brand
new SUV to boot. The good news: Daily entry into the 8th annual contest
is free and easy on the Web site until its conclusion Feb. 17. The site
also offers video and audio tours and a chance to buy the same products
featured in the Dream Home. The bad news: HGTV.com has collected about
700,000 entries per day since Jan. 1. Feeling lucky? SG
Family Forest: Bush and Kerry
After last weekend, political observers suspect
they've got a pretty good idea who'll be facing off in the American Presidential
election come November. We all know that the guy currently in the White
House is related to a guy who used to live there, but did you know he's
also related to the guy who wants his job? Yes, GW Bush and John Kerry
are cousins; find out how closely related they are and who else shares
the bloodline at this fun page. And please, no inbreeding jokes; we've
probably made them all already. HSS
O' Glass
For everyone tickled by the American Legacy
Foundation's cutting-edge (sorry, couldn't stop typing) anti-smoking Super
Bowl ad, the companion site's got some fun additional material along with
the original commercial. We understand why the tobacco industry grits
their teeth and puts up with the organization's clever and sustained attacks
they have to but after a look at the ad we wondered if the
frozen-snack industry wasn't more than a bit aghast. Heaven knows we won't
look at our next popsicle quite the same. HSS
The Hot Sites team is: Fr. Brian Cavanaugh
(FBC), Shannon Gazze (SG), Benny Schalin (BSch), Karen Schubert (KS),
Amanda Tyler (AT) and the Hot Sites support staff (HSS).


text:
Almost a year later and Eriksson is back in work as manager of Manchester City.
His international coaching credentials may leave a lot to be desired, but at club level his trophy collection is impressive.
Eriksson's CV contains league and cup Doubles in three different countries as well as European titles with Gothenburg and Lazio.
But how is he now viewed in the three countries where he cut his managerial teeth? BBC Sport spoke to journalists from Sweden, Portugal and Italy to find out.
"Eriksson started his coaching career at Degefors in the third division but nobody knew who he was before he got the job at IFK.
"They had a good team but Sven was also credited for this because he had a new tactic where his sides pressured the opponent high up the field, which was not common in those days.
"That kind of play was new - it was a mix between the traditional English football style and the more modern game.
"He got his big breakthrough when they won the Uefa cup in 1982. No Swedish team has done anything like that.
"We followed his progress and he continued to get bigger and bigger and when he took over the English national team and they beat Germany 5-1 he was at the top of his legendary status.
"But his profile has fallen a little bit in the last few years with the side stories outside of football - the womanising and everything.
"And now by joining Manchester City it has fallen a bit more.
"I think Swedes hoped he would pick a bigger team for probably the last club of his career.
"He has been a big coach before and we hoped he would be a big coach again. But apparently not when you see him now.
"Among football trainers he is highly regarded. The Swedish coach Lars Lagerback rates Sven as he doesn't care about his affairs.
"I think he will probably take over the Swedish national team after Manchester City as his last job in his career. Despite everything that has gone on he would be a popular appointment."
"Eriksson worked for Benfica twice and on both occasions he was loved by the people.
"He is a man of great kindness, a very quiet person who knows a thing or two about football.
"When he came back in 1989 it was after a wave of popularity demanding his return.
"The club wanted him back and he did not disappoint, although they didn't win what they all wanted which was the European Cup.
"That was the moment of truth for him but he lost it and he looked for a different future.
"Benfica won the title the following year and then he was off to Italy again.
"That was a long time ago - now it is a different world.
"Eriksson wanted to come back here this summer but the people at Benfica were not keen on him - that is when he came to the conclusion he should take a club in England.
"He couldn't give Benfica anything else after being manager of England - everyone can see his days are over and he is a man of the past.
"Obviously the hunger has gone - when he was leading England in the World Cup he had nothing to offer any more.
"He would like to go back to Italy but they also don't want him. He had no alternative but to go to Manchester City.
"At Manchester City I don't know what he will do but certainly nothing that we don't already know.
"If there is money to come from the Thai consortium that is what he is now after."
"Eriksson came to Italy with what was at the time quite an innovative 4-4-2 system.
"When he arrived at Roma he was unquestionably the new kid in town.
"He was a modern coach in a number of ways and presented himself decently - he had this aura of a professor and a niceness about him.
"He created his own image which has lasted a good few years in spite of the way it ended at Roma.
"The famous moniker that was attributed to him in his final years, before he finally won the title with Lazio in peculiar circumstances, was "il perdente di successo" - the successful loser.
"He was the nearly man in a way. He won with Lazio in his last full season but on a couple of occasions he managed to lose the title despite being in a position of favour.
"They won the title with Pierluigi Collina's help when he let that awful game between Perugia and Juventus go on in spite of the pitch being unplayable because of a storm.
"And how much did he spend? Had Roman Abramovich managed to take him away from England he is the sort of coach who would have gone along with each and every one of his whims - he would not have questioned him like Jose Mourinho does.
"With Eriksson it would have been a feast of galacticos.
"Sampdoria were the nearly club. Their owner Paolo Mantovani was a gentleman and he got gentleman Sven in as coach, and with Gianluca Vialli and Mancini they were everyone's second club.
"They had some good spells and undoubted quality in the squad. They had an appealing package but Sampdoria were not expected to challenge for the title every year like AC Milan, Juventus or Inter were.
"They were the fairytale team and Eriksson milked such advantages, any success such as a cup or playing in Europe would be a plus rather than concentrating on the failure of not challenging for the title.
"It was good enough for him to keep himself in the picture as one of top managers in Serie A.
"It always seems that 90% of his players love him - perhaps because he hardly ever loses his temper.
"He is a chairman's manager and a player's manager, they can express themselves without any dictatorial restrictions.
"Eriksson and Manchester City is a meeting of two parties that have run out of options. City wanted Claudio Ranieri or someone from Europe and he is the only one available.
"Eriksson was still hoping something would happen with Fabio Capello at Real Madrid in the false belief he would be in the picture.
"He hasn't realised everyone has their sell-by date."


text: Monday, September 17, 2007London (ANI): Rap star Kanye Wests new album Graduation has beaten 50 Cents Curtis on the music charts this week. This is a bad news for Cent who had recently declared that he would retire if Kanye beat him to the top spot. According to reports, Graduation has sold over 200,000 copies more than Curtis in the US. Kanyes album is also said to have oversold Curtis by 6,000 copies so far in the UK, reports British tabloid The Sun. The statistics have appeared just days after Kanye lost all five categories of the MTV Video Music Awards for which he was nominated. The success of Kanyes album will help him recover from the wounds he got at the award ceremony, reports the newspaper.


text:
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Food For Thought: New Food Reality Show Wants To Shame Americans
"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and British chef Jamie Oliver have announced they're teaming up for a big challenge. In their upcoming reality show that's expected to hit the airwaves next year, the dynamic duo plans to battle obesity in the U.S. Oliver is going to hit the "fattest cities" in an attempt to salvage their diets. Clearly, they've got a superhero complex, but aren't they going to give the rest of us a real complex?
Chef Jamie is hopped up on the success he's had in his homeland, where "Jamie's School Lunches" got the government to add £500 million (that's $758 million) in funding towards healthy school lunches. Jamie is hoping to do the same thing here, where he believes there's a diet crisis, since 1/3 of the population is supposedly overweight. Isn't that better than having 127 million Americans underweight?
I'm torn between my love of Oliver and standing by my people, the fat kids. Not that everyone in America has a perfectly balanced diet, but as a kid my mother always made sure I ate right and exercised. I wasn't allowed cheesy snacks or sugary cereals, and I was enrolled in so many after-school exercise programs that I got a foot injury from working out so much. The clincher: Despite all that nutritious food and physical activity, I was fat, like my mother and her mother before her. That didn't stop people from making me feel bad about the way I looked.
No matter how old I get, I still feel like that chubby child who got picked on for her weight. At least my humiliation was mostly from other children. It's quite another thing when an adult expert singles you out as a "problem," let alone a celeb like Seacrest. Aren't you boys forgetting how important a healthy self-image is?
I'm not saying we shouldn't pick our food well and be advised wisely, but perhaps the way to get people on track isn't by shamming entire American cities on camera. Chew on that, Jamie Oliver and Ryan Seacrest. Maybe I'm fat, but I'm happy without you!


text:
An ex-CIA employee has identified himself as the source of leaks about secret US surveillance programs. Britain's Guardian newspaper revealed that the US National Security Agency had monitored phone and internet records.
Edward Snowden, 29, admitted Sunday he was the source behind the Guardian's disclosures.
Snowden, who works as a contract employee at the National Security Agency (NSA), revealed his identity in a video posted on the newspaper's website. The Guardian said it had published the video at his own request.
"I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," Snowden said.
"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them," he added.
He said he was willing to lose everything "because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."
Snowden, a former technical assistant for the CIA, had been working for the NSA as an employee for various outside contractors including Booz Allen Hamilton. In a statement Booz Allen confirmed the 29-year-old had been an employee at the firm "for less than three months."
According to the Guardian newspaper, Snowden was working in an NSA office in Hawaii when he copied the last of the documents he planned to disclose. He is currently holed up in a hotel room in Hong Kong having fled the United States on May 20.
Snowden is quoted as saying he chose that city because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent."
Criminal probe into revelations
The revelations have engulfed US President Barack Obama in a controversial debate into the merits of national security versus civil liberties.
The leaks, first published in The Guardian last week, revealed that the NSA was collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers from Verizon and Internet data. Actual conversations were reportedly not being monitored.
On Thursday The Guardian and the Washington Post published a report saying the NSA and the FBI also had direct access to the servers of nine major Internet companies, including Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Apple.
The report said the NSA and FBI were "tapping directly into the central servers" of the companies under a secret program known as PRISM, which allowed them to extract videos, audios, photographs, emails and other personal data.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed on Saturday that PRISM was being used to track foreign nationals using internet outside the US who were suspected of terrorism or espionage.
In an interview with NBC News, portions of which aired Sunday, Clapper decried the information leak, saying it had caused "huge, grave damage" to US intelligence capabilities. He said the NSA had asked the Justice Department to conduct a criminal investigation into the incident.
"The NSA has filed a crimes report on this already," he said, before Snowden's identity was revealed. "This is someone who for whatever reason has chosen to violate a sacred trust for this country."
He said the programs are authorized by Congress and are subject to strict supervision of a secret court, a claim backed up by the US president.
ccp/ch (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)


text:
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Was placed on a great job that I loved for 6 days ( 59hrs) the first week, and 5 hrs. the second, driving a forklift. It was great because my co-workers were great and the job was something I love to do. The reason I only worked 5 hrs on the next Monday was because of a migrain headache and was sent home. Great job right.?
I received a phone call when I got from my client rep. stateing that she needed me to come to the office for a meeting. After I told her that I was sent home because of a bad migrain she proceeded to tell me I was terminated for a 10 YRS. old felony. When do you get to stop paying for a mistake ???
After being told that I was removed from their system, meaning terminated, I was told that They would have my final check ready after verifying my hours and would get a call when ready. So after waiting for over a hour I went to the office with a bad heead acke to receive my final check. How long does it take to print a check at your office and make a simple phone call. My client rep. had gone to lunch when I got there. Wow without any contact.
So I talked to branch manager who told me that they had 24 hrs. to have my check and that I would receive a convermation phone call in about one hour ( which was 2:00 p.m.) After not getting a phone called as promised by branch manager I called and same client rep. I was told that they had 48 hrs. to have my check ready (after I couldn't atlk to branch manager because she was on a call) and would receive a phone call in 48hrs.
Excuse me but after not getting the other call backs , how can I have faith in the same thing again.
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Standing for excellence. Reaching for justice.
Honoring Justice
Dean Mark C. Niles congratulates State Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst, who was honored at the law school's 2011 Red Mass celebration for her commitment to public service. The annual event recognized the contribution of Seattle University School of Law alumni, as well as others in the legal community and judiciary who are working for a more just world. (Photo by Jennifer Richard)
Changing the way we eat
The law school brings William Marler '87, the country's most prominent foodborne illness lawyer, and author Jeff Benedict to campus to discuss the importance of food safety on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in Piggot Auditorium. RSVP online.
Pledge pro bono
A new Pro Bono Pledge Program provide students the opportunity to help meet the needs of underserved communities and contribute to a more just and humane world, while gaining valuable experience.
Beating domestic violence
Elizabeth Tonti, a May 2011 graduate, earned a fellowship to provide legal services and advocacy to survivors of domestic violence as an AmeriCorps Attorney with Legal Aid of Arkansas.
From Dean Mark Niles
This has been an exciting and productive fall at the law school. Our faculty's outstanding conferences in areas such as domestic violence and summary judgment and our wonderful Red Mass celebration drew scholars, alumni and friends. There are more opportunities for you to become involved this month, and I hope you'll join us for a conversation with Bill Marler, the nation's leading food safety attorney.
Upcoming Events
November 11
KCBA Bench Bar Conference (CLE)
November 17
Changing the Way Americans Eat, a conversation with William Marler and Jeff Benedict
November 30
National Native American Heritage Month Commemoration
December 10
2011 Law and Development Institute Conference
December 17
Winter Commencement
Visit the School of Law website for more
Quick Links
Join the Alumni Online Directory
Office of Alumni Relations
Make a Gift
Law School News
Faculty News
Comments or story suggestions?
Contact Katherine Hedland Hansen, director of communications.
©2011 Seattle University School of Law | Contact |


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"This is my first festival. Just looking at the stage was absolutely mind-blowing," said US singer, Pink.
The two-day event continues on Sunday with The Pixies and The Strokes headlining at Chelmsford.
Dido and Muse will perform at Weston Park in Staffordshire - other artists include Kings of Leon and Athlete.
Pink, whose hits include Get The Party Started, told Virgin Radio that the experience had given her a buzz.
"It's a real trip, there were so many faces looking at me."
Mercury Music Prize nominees, Keane, were well received by festival-goers.
Rock band Jet had to pull out of the festival after John Cester, father of group members Nic and Chris, died earlier this week.
"Our sincere and heartfelt sympathy extends to Nic, Chris and the Cester family. It is regrettable that Jet will not be appearing but we and their fans will completely understand their decision," said festival organiser Denis Desmond.
More than 50 bands will perform live at the weekend festival, including New York band the Scissor Sisters, who recently performed at Glastonbury.
"We last played V in 2001 and have been looking forward to coming back since then," rock band Muse said in a statement launching the festival.
"It's a cool festival with a great vibe. The diverse styles of the bands performing always make for a really interesting line-up."
The gates opened at noon on Saturday, with London pop act Big Brovaz kicking off the music.
Famous faces in the crowd included pop singer Sophie Ellis Bextor, who brought along her baby son, born earlier this year.
EastEnders actress Scarlett Johnson, who plays Vicki Fowler, and actor Jeremy Edwards, were also at Chelmsford.


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Do Derivative Markets Contain Useful Information for Signaling "Hot Money" Flows?
This study examines whether information from derivative markets is useful for signaling "hot money" and other large capital flows in an economy where the monetary authority pursues a policy of exchange rate stability. Specifically, this study examines the information content of various Hong Kong traded derivative securities for signaling changes in the aggregate balance of the Hong Kong banking system during a period of intense IPO activity and speculation on the revaluation of the renminbi. The impact of the introduction of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) Convertibility Undertakings on the dynamic relationships among capital flows, stock market volatility and stock market turnover is also examined. Finally, the implications for monetary policymakers in potentially using information from derivative markets are assessed. The results show that derivative markets contain useful information for signaling "hot money" flows. Granger causality tests from a VAR model show that Hong Kong dollar forward and RMB non-deliverable forward (NDF) prices predict future variation in the aggregate balance. Moreover, changes in aggregate balance has a significant impact on Hong Kong's interbank rates. The findings also suggest that the introduction of the May 18, 2005 Convertibility Undertakings may have increased the credibility of the Linked Exchange Rate System by discouraging the use of the Hong Kong dollar and Hong Kong dollar denominated assets as speculative vehicles on RMB denominated assets.
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|48 pages
|Date of creation:
|May 2010
|Contact details of provider:
| Postal: 55th Floor , Two International Finance Centre , 8 Finance Street , Central, Hong Kong
Phone: (852)2878 1978
Fax: (852)2878 7006
Web page: http://www.hkimr.org
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Edison, Hali & Reinhart, Carmen M., 2001.
"Stopping hot money,"
Journal of Development Economics,
Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 533-553, December.
- Reinhart, Carmen & Edison, Hali, 2001. "Stopping hot money," MPRA Paper 13862, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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Guns for Sale - Santa Fe Deluxe Mauser MK-1 -- Model 12014 Sporterized .30-06 Bolt Action Rifle
Guns for Sale - Rifles For Sale - Bolt Action - Item# 10795621
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|Buyer Tip: Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. If you have any questions regarding this item, you should contact the Seller before bidding. You can contact the seller by clicking on the seller's nickname. The Seller is required to give the Buyer a minimum of three days to inspect any firearm sold through Auction Arms. See the Auction Arms Terms and Conditions for details.


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Etsy Find Friday: Favor Boxes
This week we have rounded up some awesome favor boxes for you!! You know gift boxes…. those things you buy to put the things you buy in them. Well, presentation is everything so check these out!
So I know I have posted these boxes before, but I kinda love them! I especially love the contrast between the dark box and the bright colored flowers. These hand made beauties are hand made and come in a variety of colors. And guess what?! Imeon Designs is going to offer you 15% off your entire order just use coupon code theaislestyle at checkout!!!
Photo Credit: Imeon Design
It's no secret that I LOVE FLOWERS, so it's only natural that I would love this beautiful favor box by Simple Taste. It is made of thick brown cardstock and features a large deep red mum right on top! They come in multiple sizes and would make the perfect addition to a fall wedding!
Photo Credit: Simple Taste
I also love owls I thought these were absolutely perfect for a fun and casual affair, and I know I'm not the only one who loves owls! The set features 3 different owls on 12 muslin drawstring bags. Check out Papermoon by Kat' s shop for other variations! Great for candy favors!
Photo Credit: Papermoon by Kat
Photo Credit: Kat Blu Studio
One Comment
6 years ago
Wow, those are gorgeous! You almost don't want to give them away!


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Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Review by Zarxrax
"This game alone makes the DS worth owning"
A few weeks ago I went over to EB Games with the intention of buying a DS system with Kirby Canvas Curse. When I got to the store, I noticed they were selling used systems for $30 cheaper than the new ones, so I opted for the used system and decided to used the extra $30 to purchase an extra game. I had heard a little bit about Trauma Center and thought the concept was interesting, so I just picked it up on a hunch, and I couldn't be more glad that I did.
Despite the rave reviews that Kirby got, I found myself bored with it very quickly. It just wasn't a very fun game to me. I was starting to wonder whether purchasing the DS had been a mistake. Then I popped in Trauma Center. From the very first surgery, I thought "this is really cool!" I kept playing. And playing. I have played the game every single day since I have purchased the DS, and I still am not bored with it. This is truely one of the best games I have played on any system in a long time. Let's take a look at how it breaks down.
Rating: T
The game involves you doing surgery, so there is obviously a lot of blood and stuff. However, the game is not overly realistic in its depictions of things, so it really shouldn't make you squeamish at all. Trust me, I have an extremely weak stomache. I couldn't even LOOK when we were disecting frogs back in high school, though this game doesn't bother me in the slightest. The back of the box also lists "partial nudity", but this is really nothing to worry about. The people's bodys are like Barbie dolls, they don't show anything. In fact, I don't believe anything below the waist is even shown throughout the entire game. As far as language goes, theres nothing too bad here. There might be one or 2 words that wouldn't be able to make it into a G-rated film, but thats about it.
Despite all of this, I am not sure I would recommend the game for younger children, because a lot of medical terminology is used, and kids might have difficulty understanding what is going on.
This game has a pretty interesting story. It's quite a bit deeper than I had expected, and it really helps to keep the game interesting and show your motivation for each surgery. A little ways into the game, it turns a little sci-fi though, so its not overly realistic.
The graphics get the job done. They aren't overly realistic, and thats a good thing. The bottom screen features 3d graphics depicting the stuff that you are operating on, and the top screen features some stats and hints from your nurse. In between surgerys, the story is told on the top screen with some anime-style characters. The characters are depicted by still images, and each character only has a few different images, so you see the same images over and over and over. It would have been nice if they had included some more variety in the depictions of the characters.
The music really gets you into the game. It's the kind of music that you really don't even notice while you are playing, but if you turn it off, you will definately notice that something is missing! It really helps to set the mood for the surgerys. In between the surgerys, while its telling the story, the music gets a bit "happier", but at this point it really starts to get on my nerves. The music during the story sections is just really annoying!
Gameplay/Replay Value:
I have never played another game that I got into so much as this one. The game is difficult, and there is a real sense of urgency to it. After some surgerys, I have literally been out of breath and sweating, with my heart pounding. Its THAT intense! This must be what it feels like for a real surgeon. There are about 37 different surgerys that you must perform, and then about 6 or 7 bonus surgerys that you unlock after completing the game. After you get through the first couple of surgery's the game starts getting more and more difficult. It was quite rare for me to complete a surgery on the first try. On some, I have to try them about 20-40 times before finally passing it! This is definately a game that will make you frustrated from the challenge. Fortunately the time limit for most of the surgerys is only 5 minutes, so the game is very easy to just pick up and try a few times, then quit for a while. A couple of the surgerys give you a 10 minute time limit, and these tend to be more frustrating, because when you lose, you have to redo a lot more of your work. In addition to the main game, there is a challenge mode where you can replay all of the surgerys and try to get better scores. The goal in the challenge mode is to get an "S" rank on each surgery, and this is extremely difficult. When I beat most of the surgerys in the main game, I would almost always pass them with "C" ranking, which is the lowest you can get. In order to achieve an S, you must play practically flawlesly. Because of the short length of the surgerys though, its lots of fun to just try them over and over trying to get the S rank. As for the surgerys themselves, there is a lot of variety in them, much more than I had expected. However, the last few surgerys in the game and the bonus surgerys are just harder versions of earlier surgerys.
I have only 1 major complaint about the game. During surgery, your nurse will talk to you, and you have to stop what you are doing and hit a box labeled "call" in order to progress the text and get it off the screen so you can continue your surgery. When you are doing a surgery for the first time, these hints can be very helpful. However, after you know what to do, they are just annoying. They make you stop what you are doing and break your flow. They even appear during the challenge mode, which I think was just completely unnecessary. There is no way to disable it either.
If you like a challenge, or innovative gameplay, then I simply can not recommend this game enough. At only $30, its a steal. If you don't at least give this game a shot, then I think you are really missing out. This might just be the best game currently available on the DS.
- 9/10
Reviewer's Rating: 4.5 - Outstanding
Originally Posted: 11/01/05
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Steel Magnolias
Before it was an Academy Award-nominated film, Steel Magnolias was an off-Broadway play. The six-woman drama about a mother, her diabetic newlywed daughter and their beauty parlor friends tackles marriage, children, widowhood and everything in between. Perfect for the intimacy of smaller theaters, Steel Magnolias' heartfelt ending is made all the more real when you're sitting up close and personal. The Stages Repertory Theatre production, directed by Kenn McLaughlin, features an ensemble of Houston acting luminaries, including Sally Edmundson as M'Lynn, Susan O. Koosin as Ouiser and Holland Vavra Peters as Shelby. Getting your hair done has never been so much fun. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Through August 19. 3201 Allan Parkway, Suite 101. For information, call 713-527-0123 or visit www.stagestheatre.com. $21 to $61.
Wednesdays-Sundays. Starts: July 25. Continues through Aug. 19, 2012
Related Location
3201 Allen Parkway
Houston, TX 77019
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The government does, however, let employers know that it champions the idea of employee diversity and encourages ways to make it happen, said Jennifer Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC also enforces the nation's anti-discrimination laws. Although these regulations do not mandate diversity, businesses can glean the government's intentions from those laws, which are:
Kaplan said there is no federal law, however, that bans discrimination because of a person's sexual orientation. Some companies, such as American Airlines, Lucent Technology and Apple Computer, go beyond legal requirements and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation within their corporations.
'Equality principles'
Grant Luckenbill, author of Untold Millions: Secret Truths about Marketing to Gay and Lesbian Consumers, said these are among the companies that meet the 10 "equality principles" of the Equality Project, a Web site devoted exclusively to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered shareholder activism. Among the principles: a company prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender expression or gender identity as part of its written employment policy statement.
Businesses define diversity in different ways.
Oscar Gomez, vice president of Verizon Communications' Office of Diversity and Business Compliance, said, "Our efforts to diversify are to create a workplace environment that leverages the diverse characteristics of our employee base, which will result in continued progress ... increased profitability and result in the branding of our company."
Fenton Soliz, a mortgage banker, is president and chief executive of Wall Street Equity in White Plains, N.Y. His ancestors were Colombian, African-American, American Indian and Portuguese. He says whites, blacks and Hispanics each make up about a third of his work force. But Soliz said he defines diversity not just in color but also in gender.
"I've learned it's not just black and white," Soliz said. "It's all the various ethnic backgrounds, but equally important it's women and women at all levels of management within the organization."
The word "inclusion" is a key part of the definition of diversity at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y., through the Bon Secours Health System, a Catholic health care system that serves 15 communities in nine Eastern states.
"Diversity embodies a philosophy of inclusion at all levels on an organization," the plan says. "Inclusion in the workplace exists when people feel valued for their contributions (and) co-workers feel that they have the same opportunities to contribute regardless of their differences."
Expanded definitions
Other companies have expanded the concept of diversity, including Stew Leonard's, the giant Norwalk, Conn.-based food retailer. The company hires workers affiliated with the Society to Advance the Retarded; Daytop, a drug rehabilitation clinic, and an employment bureau for senior citizens.
Stew Leonard's also includes working mothers in its definition of diversity. "We have a working mom's program where moms who have children can work their schedules around their children's school hours," said company spokeswoman Meghan Flynn.
Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores, which owns the Bloomingdale's and Macy's department store chains, also has its own policy to define diversity.
"Philosophically, what we believe is everybody is part of diversity," said Ann Lazarus, Federated's director of diversity. "Then there are a variety of dimensions, which really define what one person is. ... We are not afraid to notice the differences in people."
Lazarus said Federated's policy involves looking at employees through several "diversity dimensions," a system it adopted in 1995 based on work by Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe, who have written several books about workplace diversity.
The first dimension is a person's personality, Lazarus said, and the second dimension covers race, sex, sexual orientation, physical ability and age. Federated also has developed a series of external dimensions, those things over which a person has a choice, such as religion, recreational habits and marital status. Federated's last dimension examines a person's role at work, such as if they are a supervisor or manager.


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Tina O'Brien talks about Ann and being on Strictly
Ann Widdecombe is helping Strictly Come Dancing get its best ever TV ratings.
The 63-year-old's routines have proved really popular with audiences. 12 million people watched the show last weekend.
The X Factor is still ahead in the ratings with 13.5 million viewers, but Strictly has been closing the gap.
Even soap star Tina O'Brien, who was booted off the show, is a fan of Ann, saying: "She is highly entertaining, sharp and witty."
Tina added: "As long as the public are voting to keep her in, why shouldn't she be there? She's got just as much right as anyone else."
Ann got a standing ovation from the crowd after performing the Paso Doble dance on Saturday.
Strictly Come Dancing