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25 BY 25 RESOLUTION -- (House of Representatives - October 15, 2007)
Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentleman from Minnesota, the chairman of the committee, for his leadership in bringing this resolution before the Congress again, and the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Holden, for his involvement in this as well.
The resolution, also known as 25x'25, recognizes the importance of agriculture in meeting our energy needs and sets a noble goal for American agriculture: to produce 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States from the renewable resources of our agriculture, forestry and working lands by the year 2025.
We have made significant progress in developing a robust industry using agricultural crops as well as animal waste to produce ethanol and biodiesel. In 2006 alone, the renewable fuels industry added more than 1.05 billion gallons of new ethanol to the marketplace. It is projected that without any new technological breakthroughs, the industry already has the potential to produce more than 11 billion gallons per year within the next decade.
While the domestic production of energy has been exciting, there are still many renewable energy sources yet to be explored and developed. There are a wide variety of agricultural products and by-products that can be converted to clean, renewable energy sources. In fact, there are sources of renewable energy in every one of our 50 States, including wind, solar, hydropower and biomass. The development of cellulosic technology has enormous potential to bolster the renewable fuel market inside the corn belt and well beyond.
I am particularly excited about the opportunity to use forest biomass as a component of our renewable energy supply. Forest biomass is plentiful and available in many States. Almost two-thirds of the Commonwealth of Virginia is forested, as is much of the southeastern United States. In fact, today we have roughly the same amount of forest land as we had 100 years ago. Trees are an abundant resource and are available for conversion into both wood products and biofuels year-round.
Every year we grow almost twice as much forest biomass as we harvest. This wood and wood waste has the potential to produce enough electricity to power 43 million households, or enough ethanol to increase our domestic supply by almost 10-fold. As we find more ways to use forest biomass in our energy supply, we also have the opportunity to improve forest health, removing materials that fuel wildfires and insect and disease infestations.
Renewable energy development can create valuable markets for many of the waste materials which are currently a burden on America's farmers, such as animal waste, harvest by-products and damaged crops. Farmers continue to face steep environmental regulations in handling animal waste, and converting this waste into renewable fuels is a win-win for farmers and the environment. In fact, I would like to see the word ``waste'' taken out of American agriculture since almost everything produced on our farms can be used or reused for some other purpose.
The current tax credits and renewable fuels standard, along with the phaseout of MTBE, has helped fuel investment in new ethanol and biodiesel plants, and created more markets for agriculture products. It is obvious that current policies have successfully established a thriving, renewable fuels market. We should now focus on policy that will develop commercial cellulosic ethanol and allow new markets to drive production.
New proposed initiatives are extremely ambitious and can only be achieved with contributions from all areas of the agriculture sector, including grains, plants, trees and wood waste, vegetable oil, and animal fat and waste.
The 2002 farm bill included the first-ever energy title with programs to help renewable fuel producers purchase and expand operations and purchase feedstocks and also established programs to make grants and loans to farmers, ranchers and small businesses to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements on farming operations.
The energy title of the House's 2007 farm bill builds on the 2002 bill by providing nearly $3 billion to promote the commercial production of cellulosic ethanol. These initiatives will help farmers and forest owners by creating new markets and income opportunities to keep them on the land and keep their land working. At the same time, greater focus on cellulosic feedstocks can reduce our reliance on corn for renewable fuels.
Increased development of renewable energy opens new markets for our Nation's producer; provides consumers with a safe, sustainable, environmentally friendly and renewable source of energy; and decreases our Nation's dependency on foreign oil.
25x'25 is a vision we can all get behind, as 600 groups already have, including agriculture and forestry groups, as well as business and environmental organizations. Over 20 of our Nation's Governors, along with 72 bipartisan cosponsors in the House, have recognized that this is a goal, though challenging, that is worth striving for.
I encourage my colleagues to join us in recognizing the important role American agriculture plays in domestic energy production and work with us to turn the goal of 25x'25 into a reality.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Source: http://thomas.loc.gov


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Following is the closing benediction which was offered by Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the RNC last night. With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray:Almighty God, father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home. We ask your benediction upon those yet to be born, and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life. Bless those families whose … [Read more...]
Archives for August 31, 2012
Cardinal Dolan's Prayer at the Republican National Convention
August 31, 2012 by 1 Comment

subset: commoncrawl


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Whether enjoying a leisurely family getaway or a corporate retreat, the hotel at Face Rock offers the friendly customer service, amenities and accommodation units to ensure a memorable stay on the Oregon coast. Guests will wake each morning to a complimentary full breakfast before relaxing in the hot tub or working out in the gym. The air-conditioned hotel also offers a lobby with a 24-hour check-out service.Pet Friendly hotel.Each well-appointed guest room at this beachfront Bandon hotel offers cable/satellite TV and free high-speed Internet access. Each room additionally features an en suite bathroom with a shower and bathtub, a direct dial telephone, radio and individually regulated air conditioning and heating.
From Highway 101: Turn West on Seabird Lane. Go one mile West. Turn left (South) At Beach Loop Road, go 0.25 miles. The hotel is on left side of the road.


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This is one of the nicest hotels in the world! Being brand new really helps, as the entire facility was spotless. The immense lobby is breathtaking with numerous chandeliers sending glimmering light all across the marble floor. What a great first impression! The room was equally impressive with either a huge king bed or two double beds, a chaise-lounger sofa, and a huge bathroom. The breakfast buffet was excellent with a wide variety of Western and Chinese-style breakfast choices. The staff were exceptionally helpful, even if they didn't understand English -- they were willing to go out of their way to make sure you got what you needed as quickly as possible. The housekeeping staff are always available if there are any room requests (one of our rooms had a smoky smell, so the housekeeper came back with a room deodorizer that eliminated all the odors and made the room smell of vanilla...all accomplished without a speck of English!)
My husband and I took advantage of the elegant lobby bar (we were the only ones) and its accomplished bar tender who expertly mixed an amazing Singapore Sling! This hotel is a destination onto itself and I hope more Chinese and international guests come and enjoy this new level of luxury!
- Reservation Options:
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Am I abnormal? Maybe. Am I perverted? Probably. Am I a sissy? Definitely! This blog is about those things that make a sissy swoon... at least this sissy. Topics that interest me include chastity, enemas, fisting, cock sucking, sounds, tampons, condom sucking, makeup, analingus, forced feminization, debutantes, ball gags, douches, corsets, bimboism, prostate milking, orgasm denial, fashion, erotic hypnosis, sexual humiliation, petticoats, panties, transgender fiction and a whole bunch more!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Hiding a Hand in the Rectum of a Pretty Girl
1 comment:
I have enuf problems back there with my back these days. I seriously doubt I need this. I tell you what I do need. Sum1 who can be a Mistress. That I feel Enif honor for to lay down my life for. Someone like bemine84 to take heart in me n allow me to be my true self n help her out in anyway, shape or form. Regardless whether I find sum1 else for RT at least she'll be a part of the pickings. Sissyfem in Florida sounds nice. Almost scary nice. As W/we both share a shoe. I'd marry sum1 like HerReplyDelete


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There is an increasingly strong body of Human Rights law which emerges from time to time in the context of environmental law.
The connection between human rights and the environment is now established in the UNECE Aarhus Convention which deals with access to information, public participation and access to justice in the environmental sphere.
Sometimes, principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), implemented into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), are engaged where there is some form of harm or damage associated with, for instance, environmental nuisance caused by the unreasonable interference with amenity even where those claiming compensation may have no proprietary rights (see for instance Dobson v Thames Water Utilities [2009]EWCA Civ 28).
In the public law and planning sphere, convention rights have weight both for those applying for permission for development and those parties – such as objectors - who feel their interests are affected by planning decisions.
Other sources of rights law include those relating to "protected characteristics" now found collectively in the Equality Act 2010 (EA) and which stand to be considered in the context of planning decisions.
It would seem that, however, there is also a category of case where planning policies which exist to protect the environment are pitched against rights established under the auspices of the HRA and the EA.
The recent decision in Moore saw Mr Justice Gilbart assessing the way in which policy on Green Belt interacts with policy decisions on travellers and gypsies.
Two Romany Gypsies - both disabled and both with disabled children - had applied for planning permission for single-pitch developments on their own land for caravans within the Green Belt. Both were refused permission by their local planning authorities. They appealed but the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (SSCLG) "recovered" the cases so that he could then make the final decision himself. He then procrastinated in reaching a final decision by up to a year.
Both claimants then launched judicial review proceedings supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
They argued that the secretary of state had breached provisions of the EA, in a way which had led to unlawful indirect discrimination contrary to s 19, and that he had also acted in breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) imposed on him by s 149 of the EA.
Arguments were also raised that SSCLG acted contrary to his declared policy on the recovery of jurisdiction of appeals without giving reasons for doing so, or had adopted a policy which was undisclosed and conflicted with his declared policy. The Claimants also argued that the SSCLG had acted in breach of Articles 6 and 8 of the ECHR, had acted irrationally, in abuse of his powers and with bias because the claimants were travellers.
The SSCLG countered that there had been no breach of the EA or HRA; the SSCLG was entitled to recover appeals in the way and to the extent that he did, as an exercise of his powers and discretion as Secretary of State.
Under s 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, if planning permission is refused, the applicant can appeal to the SSCLG which means that his case will be considered in practice by a planning inspector.
However, the SSCLG has the power under paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 of the Act to direct that an appeal which would otherwise be determined by an Inspector should be "recovered" and determined by him.
If that path is followed, then the inspector – rather than making the decision him/herself - will write a report which sets out his own conclusions and recommendations. The SSCLG then issues a decision letter.
In 2008 the last government produced a policy which listed particular circumstances in which appeals would be recovered. This policy on the recovery of appeals made no specific reference to travellers' sites. In July 2013, the written ministerial statement (WMS1) from the Local Government Minister stated that in the case of "traveller sites" the SSCLG was "revising the recovery criteria issued on 30 June 2008 and would consider for recovery appeals involving traveller sites in the Green Belt."
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was published by the SSCLG on 27th March 2012. The policy declares at paragraph 87 that "as with previous Green Belt policy, inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances."
Paragraph 88 of the NPPF dictates that "when considering any planning application, local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the Green Belt. 'Very special circumstances' will not exist unless the potential harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations."
The "Planning Policy For Traveller Sites" ("PPTS") was published by the SSCLG on the same date and requires that it be read in terms of the NPPF
The effect of the policies is that traveller sites (temporary or permanent) in the Green Belt are inappropriate development – so very special circumstances need to be demonstrated in order that permission be given.
Of course, traveller site policy does not impose a prohibition on such sites being located in the Green Belt. But in 2013, the SSCLG's policy began to impose new checks on what he would recover from the planning inspector through a series of two written ministerial statements.
In July 2013, WMS 1 declared that:
"The Secretary of State wishes to give particular scrutiny to traveller site appeals in the green belt, so that he can consider the extent to which Planning policy for traveller sites is meeting this government's clear policy intentions. To this end he is hereby revising the appeals recovery criteria issued on 30 June 2008 and will consider for recovery appeals involving traveller sites in the green belt.
"For the avoidance of doubt, this does not mean that all such appeals will be recovered, but that the Secretary of State will likely recover a number of appeals in order to test the relevant policies at national level. The Secretary of State will apply this criteria for a period of 6 months, after which it will be reviewed."
The effect of written ministerial statement was to revise the 2008 policy, and to "consider for recovery" appeals involving traveller sites in the green belt but without recovering all of them, and that a number would be recovered to enable a review to take place.
However, although at first SSCLG did not seek to recover all such appeals, he was doing so from the latter part of 2013, and did so until September 2014, when he reduced the percentage recovered to 75%. During that period, it came to light from evidence from the Head of Planning Casework in the Department of Communities and Local Government, that additional, unpublished, criteria were applied to such appeals.
So far as sites for travellers' pitches in the Green Belt were concerned, evidence was provided to the court that before the WMS1, 21% of green belt traveller developments were recovered – but following the statement, that rose to 100%. Of the 53 appeals recovered following WMS 1, only one had been decided by the time that the six months review period (identified in WMS 1) had elapsed. Additionally, following publication of WS1, a traveller site appeal in the green belt was 125 times more likely to be recovered than the usual residential development appeal.
In the second written ministerial statement (WMS 2) of January 2014, the minister wrote:
"the Secretary of State remains concerned about the extent to which planning appeal decisions are meeting the government's clear policy intentions, particularly as to whether sufficient weight is being given to the importance of green belt protection. Therefore, he intends to continue to consider for recovery appeals involving traveller sites in the green belt."
All traveller appeals thereafter continued to be recovered. But although the written policy did not expressly state that all such appeals should be recovered, as Gilbart J commented, "in fact, the evidence before me was that the Planning Inspectorate was understanding instructions from Ministers to recover all appeals."
By the time of the launch of the judicial review and, perhaps as a consequence, the Planning Inspectorate was told that the 100% figure should be reduced to 75% of traveller appeals.
The disparity between the treatment of other developments in green belt and those of other travellers was succinctly put by Gilbart J:
"The evidence before the court, which was unchallenged, showed that housing developments involving several houses were not being recovered and were being left to Inspectors to decide. The smallest number of houses on any of the housing appeals recovered in the period in question was 82. Thus, a traveller wanting to live on a pitch in the Green Belt, but not erect any buildings, could now expect that his or her case would be recovered, whereas a person proposing to build one or more dwellings would not. That was true even in cases where the application or permission would be temporary, so that not only would there be no permanent structures erected in the Green Belt, but the use would come to an end. One may contrast that temporary harm to the openness of the Green Belt with that caused by the erection of new dwellings, or the continued residential use of a building which had hitherto been in, for example, agricultural use."
The effect of such a disparity in treatment meant in practice that whereas the consideration of large housing developments which are "inappropriate development" in the Green Belt may be left to the scrutiny of the planning inspector, a decision on one pitch for a traveller would be recovered.
S 19 of the EA covers "Indirect Discrimination" where a provision, criterion or practice which is discriminatory in relation to a relevant "protected characteristic" putting that person or persons at a disadvantage compared with those who do not share the characteristic. The particular protected characteristic in these circumstances was race. That is because Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers, each a distinct racial group, form a racial group for the purposes of s 9 of the Act.
Section 149 of the Act which sets out the "Public Sector Equality Duty" (PSED) requires, inter alia, that a public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to – eliminate discrimination and harassment; advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.
Gilbart agreed with the claimants that the SSCLG has failed to show that the high level of recovery after the second WMS was a "proportionate way of achieving a legitimate objective" to get around the breach of s 19. He concluded, "The practice adopted since September 2014 has remained and is discriminatory within the meaning of s19 of the EA 2010."
On whether the SSCLG had shown "due regard" to his PSED, Gilbart succinctly commented that, "on the evidence filed by the SSCLG, they had no regard at all."
The claimants also claimed that their rights under Article 6 of the ECHR had been breached as they had not had a fair public hearing within a reasonable time period as the SSCLG had recovered the appeals to deal with himself – and then delayed in dealing with them.
They also argued that their rights under Article 8 ("Right to respect for private and family life") had been breached.
However, approving the Defendant's reliance on Alconbury Developments Ltd, Gilbart J commented that it was "strong authority that determination by the Secretary of State is compatible with Article 6" and that it was binding on the court.
Although holding that the process of recoveries in itself did not breach Article 6 with regard to fairness, he concluded that there had been a breach of the timing aspect of Article 6:
"To anyone with experience of development control and planning inquiries, it is remarkable that cases involving a modest amount of evidence, and typically taking two days at most, could then require consideration for in excess of 6 months, let alone the 10 months that has elapsed in Mrs Coates' case. I recognise that Mrs Moore's case has involved some complexities, but there is no evidence at all that it was anything but atypical. . . .It was not the issues raised by any of the cases which caused the delays but the Ministerial decision to recover them all for determination. . . .The pitches concerned (and certainly so in the Claimants' cases) contain their homes where they live, or wish to live, with their children. The SSCLG has failed to show that the delays caused to the determination of the appeals was a proportionate response to the issue of giving the policy "steer." It follows that the appeals have not been determined within a reasonable time."
But with Article 8, Gilbart was more agnostic:
"I do not consider it adds anything to the discussion as such, save only that it confirms (should confirmation be required) that the effect on the home lives of the Claimants (and of other travellers affected) is part of the context for giving weight to the importance of determining appeals as promptly as one can."
Commenting on the ECHR and Equality Act 2010 generally, he concluded:
"While I am satisfied that the challenges mounted on issues of bias, irrationality and abuse of power have failed, I have found that the challenges based on breaches of the Equality Act 2010 and of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights have succeeded. Both are part of the law of England and Wales. These are not to be dismissed as technical breaches. Although the issue of unlawful discrimination was put before the Minister by his officials, no attempt was made by the Minister to follow the steps required of him by statute, nor was the regard required of him by s 149 of the Equality Act 2010 had to the matters set out there."
Gilbart then went on to dismiss the arguments on bias, abuse of power and irrationality.
As for the undeclared policy, the SSCLG's blanket approach of recovering Gypsy and Traveller appeals in the Green Belt, argued the claimants, amounted to an unwritten practice that was inconsistent with his unequivocal public representations as to his practice.
However, Gilbart J was not satisfied that this meant it was unlawful:
"Although I can understand why some may cavil at the use of an undisclosed policy, my task is to determine whether a decision made in its application is unlawful. It is not for this Court to determine whether it was appropriate for the SSCLG and his Minister to have acted on a policy which had not been disclosed to Parliament. That is a matter for Parliament, not this Court."
Putting it all together, he ruled that:
"What was unlawful was the application of the policies in WMS 1 and WMS 2 in such a way as to recover all traveller's pitch appeals, which, due to the way the practice was approached, amounts to a breach of ss 19 and 149 of the 2010 Act. I have also found that the practice of recovering all appeals, or an arbitrary percentage thereof, was and is unlawful. The effect of the approach of the Secretary of State was also to breach Article 6 so far as Mrs Moore and Ms Coates are concerned.
". . .But recovery of individual cases on their merits is not unlawful, and as indicated earlier, a properly considered decision within the parameters of the 2010 Act to recover a number of appeals would also not be unlawful."
At the close of his judgment, Gilbart points to the possibility that there may be further challenges made by travellers where their appeals have been recovered:
" If, as appears to be the case, the appeals were recovered not because of their merits but because they were cases of travellers' pitches in the Green Belt, then the effect of the judgment will be to call into question the legality of many other recoveries. But it may be that when addressed properly, some of those appeals would have merited recovery anyway. No doubt sorting out which should or should not be recovered will involve some time and resources being expended, although it will no doubt be less than the time and cost spent in dealing with judicial review claims by many others should a review not be conducted."
He ordered the quashing of the recovery of both appeals.
It comes as no surprise that the process based on the SSCLG's policy has been declared to be in breach of the Equality Act and provisions of the ECHR. The judgment also is a reminder of how policies designed to protect the environment will, in their exercise, be subject to the overarching rights of individuals caught up in planning decisions.
There are now, as Gilbart J indicated, a number of traveller appeal cases which have been recovered by the SSCLG. That then leads to the question, were the decisions in each of these cases lawful? Gilbart seems to be inviting the SSCLG to review the cases to save the expense of defending judicial reviews. It remains to be seen how much litigation will follow.
Justin Neal, Irwin Mitchell
First appeared in Environmental Law Monthly – February edition. Reproduced with kind permission of the publisher.
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Greetings! Your spot in the upcoming Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event has been reserved! This Beta Weekend Event begins Friday, July 20, at noon PDT (GMT -7) and ends Sunday, July 22, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT -7). If this is your first Guild Wars 2 beta, visit https://account.guildwars2.com/download to download the client. To log in, use the same account name and password that you created when you registered your Guild Wars 2 account. Participants of previous events may be able to simply run and patch their existing client. We recommend that you begin pre-loading the client as soon as possible, periodically checking for updates, so you're ready to start playing when the event begins. Visit our Beta Forums at http://forum.guildwars2.com for more information about the beta event itself, using the same log-in credentials mentioned above. Please note that you will only be able to browse the forums for now; commenting and posting will be enabled when the Beta Weekend Event begins. If you have issues installing or logging into the game client, please visit . We'll see you in-game! The Guild Wars 2 Team
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My New Motto
If it doesn't have to be done and I don't enjoy it, I'm not going to do it.
So my grand plans to sell all of the girls' old clothes? Forget it. They are going to a charity shop unless a couple of people want some stuff. Same with the diapers and woolies. And trikes and helmets and toys. Very little that I have here is worth enough money to take me away from hanging with my girls.
Now, when I first told this to Aba, he freaked out thinking that I was just going to sit around for a year. I'm not. The girls asked me to go to the zoo. At the same time I'm trying to clean out the basement. Instead of spending months organizing and selling the stuff there, I'm going to donate most of it and head to the zoo. And Disneyland. And finishing How To Be A Pirate. And sewing clothes for Radar.
And the basement will still get cleared out. Then my sewing machine and scrapbooking supplies will have a home and there will be a couple of tables for the girls to work with me.
Because, really, I never want to find a to-do list where I've done the unimportant things and "haven't gotten around to" doing the important things.


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The best way to capture a wild, rampaging meal is to hook it with a gigantic pasta lasso. Test your throwin' arm with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of pastas, pizzas, wine, and more at La Passione Italiana.
La Passione ignites appetites with its offering of authentic Italian cuisine, made with the crucial secret ingredients of "flair" and "finesse." Embark on your epicurean boot-country tour with a starter such as two-dozen steamed mussels ($9.95) or fried calamari ($9.95) before progressing to pasta palate pleasers such as the gnocchi al pomodoro e basilico ($11.95) and homemade lasagna ($11.95). Pizzas include the margherita ($13.95 for a large) and the meat lovers ($23.95 for a large), topped with pepperoni, bacon, sausage, and ham. The tagliatelle passione ($13.95) returns chicken strips to their natural habitat of sauce and ribbon pasta, and the grilled jumbo shrimp ($18.95) makes for the most appetizing oxymoron since sliced bread. La Passione also offers a three-course prix-fixe dinner ($20.10) Sunday through Thursday.
As you feed off of the soothing energy of the dining space's warmly hued walls, gain the power of the grape through consumption of a wine from La Passione's extensive selection of labelled libations. Outdoor patio seating is also available for those wishing to wash down their pasta with a breath of fresh air.
This Groupon is valid with La Passione's prix-fixe menu but not with any other promotional or specialty menu option.
Toronto Life liked La Passione Italiana, five Yelpers give it a four star average, and 85 per cent of Urbanspooners like it.
- Upbeat bossa nova entertains patrons at this friendly family restaurant. White table linens and dark wood trim give the space an inviting vibe, while the menu offers familiar northern Italian fare. Pasta dishes include con funghi and alla vodka varieties, as well as stick-to-the-ribs lasagna and meat tortellini in alfredo sauce. – Toronto Life
- Excellent food. Great and friendly service! – Keith Leonard, Urbanspoon


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Holly Madison Debuts Lucky Pet Products in Vegas
Newly pregnant Holly Madison is not planning on slowing down anytime soon.
On Tuesday (September 11), the former "Girls Next Door" starlet premiered her pet line "Lucky Pet Products" at the Superzoo Convention at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.
Excited about her new business, the 32 year-old took to her Twitter page, writing, "So excited to launch my pet line, Lucky Pet Products, at Superzoo (Mandalay Bay) today! I'll be there at 2pm-come say hi! Xo"
Miss Madison explains the launch on the line's website, saying, "Lucky Pet Products was inspired by my work with shelter & rescue animals, animals who were "lucky" enough to have landed in a place where they were safe from harm while waiting for new homes."


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Discover a selection of top forums tuga nametages on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums tuga nametages and meet other fans of tuga nametages. Then, why don't you create your own forum of tuga nametages ?
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With today's patch release, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn players will be able to increase their PvP level from 30 to 40. In addition, the patch brings new quests, adjustments to existing content and updates to the overall PvP system.
The maximum PvP rank has been raised to 40.
New PvP gear has been added.
The following PvP gear can now be purchased from the Storm Private and Storm Sergeant NPCs at Wolves' Den Pier (X:6 Y:5)
Read the full patch notes on the Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Lodestone.


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For sale by RUKATECH COMPUTER & PHONE SERVICES - VERIFIED SELLER VERIFIED 2 Feb 2:05 pmIjebu Ode, Ogun
An american used Acer Aspire 5253 at Rukatech
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With a good charger working perfectly etc.
Specification;- Hdd;- 500gb.
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Stay safe!
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I have the above, diagnosed at 18 week ultrasound, "marginal placenta previa with a posterior placenta". I know that there is a good liklihood that it will migrate up, which is what I'm hoping for, of course. Anyone else have this? And specifically, if you did have this condition, did any of you have issues with a retained placenta after the birth of your baby? I'm slightly worried about some scar tissue that I MAY have (not from C-section/D&C-but another small procedure that I had YEARS ago-like 15 years ago, to remove a uterine polyp). I've read that the placenta can "grab onto" that scar tissue and make it less likely that the placenta will move and then increase the risk of a retained placenta. Thanks in advance ladies!
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text:
Here are six of our coolest offshore robots
The future is autonomous, but robotisation in the oil industry is nothing new. Although the first automation appeared in the 80s and 90s, today we're at the dawn of a new age of digitalisation. Here, we take a look at six of the coolest offshore robots working for Statoil.
Our quarterly results will be presented Thursday 27 July
Q2 events
Second quarter 2017 analyst conference
Latest news
Here are our latest news releases. For more news, see the link below.
July 19, 2017
Statoil's share saving plan allocates shares
July 17, 2017
Small gas discovery in the Barents Sea
Statoil and partners ENI and Petoro have made a small gas discovery in the Blåmann well, between the Snøhvit and Goliat fields in the Barents Sea.
July 17, 2017
Notifiable trading
On behalf of Statoil (OSE: STL, NYSE:STO), DNB has on 14 July 2017 purchased 605,735 shares for use in the group's Share saving plan.
This summer five wind turbines are sailing across the North Sea to their new home offshore Scotland. This will be the first floating wind farm in the world.
"There is no secret to being competitive," says Professor Stéphane Garelli, Professor Emeritus of World Competitiveness. "It takes resilience, agility and cost control—and one more thing…" We spoke to him after his presentation at Statoil Future Energy Forum in Stavanger.
In his day job, Erik Fossan manages 90 billion NOK in our pension fund. In his spare time, he plays chess. But he'd never played world champion Magnus Carlsen—until one day in February.
Current topics
Energy Perspectives 2017
Second quarter 2017
Third quarter 2017
A select group of young performers have been hand-picked to perform during Bergen International Festival. Join them backstage as they anxiously await their turn to perform for an audience of 250. But will they be able to overcome their stage fright?
Career opportunities in Statoil
Even in challenging times for our industry, we need to recruit new talent to ensure the continuing success of our company. Although the number of jobs on offer is lower than usual, we encourage you to view our vacant positions and send us an application.
Our approach to sustainability
Set for another 40 years in Norway
We see a bright future for our home territory.
After 40 years of oil and gas operations in Norway we have a lot to be proud of—but we're still only halfway! Although our industry is experiencing difficult times, our portfolio of projects is larger today than it's ever been. We have high hopes for the NCS, and we're planning for major activity for decades to come. We believe that it will be fully possible to maintain profitable and sustainable production here for another 40 years.
An international energy player
Statoil is an active player in many of the most important oil and gas provinces in the world, and our international developments are expected to account for most of our future production growth. Much of the expertise and technology we take with us abroad has been shaped in the challenging environment of the Norwegian contintental shelf.
US shale interest owners: key information
*All figures from Annual report unless otherwise stated


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03 July 2017
Tu Womenswear Voodoo Dress
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02 June 2017
Sainsbury's Spring Home & Lifestyle 2017 Lookbook
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text:
Quality building lot in Oak Ridge Estates Subdiviidion. Nicely wooded 2.27-acre lot on the end of the road with all the activities right out your door. Snowdmobile or ATV right out your door, and Lake Alice boat landing is just a mile away. Come and check out this great building lot today!!!
Features Residential
|Lot Size SqFt: 98881
|Lake Chain:
|Lot Size Acres: 2.27
|Lake Name:
|Zoning: Residential
|River Name:
|Taxes: $421
|Water Frontage (feet): 0
|Tax Year: 2016
|Lake Size-Acres: 0
|High School: LI Tomahawk
|School District: Tomahawk
|Access Road: Paved Road, Town Road
|Site Influence: Cul-de-sac, Wooded Area


text:
Apartments Sundream, Marmaris City Centre
Apartments Sundream Reviews
Add a review
24 August 2012
had a brill time staff were excellent
gill bellair, liverpool
after reading the reviews i was dreading going there but on arrival we were shown to our room it was basic but very nice. the staff were excellent and very helpful as my partner had a broken arm in plaster they couldnt do enough for him the food was excellent the maid was brilliant the room got cleaned every day fresh sheets on the bed an clean towels every other day i had a fantastic time the bar staff were all fab the reception staff were very helpful the waiters were fantastic an we had a laugh at the staff entertainment an dances. they had entertainment on every night which was very good what can i say thank you all for a fantastic holiday an see you all next year .
The best thing about my stay was ...
the staff.
30 April 2012
Jane Duffy, Burntisland
we were ment to stay at the sundream apt,from the 21st until the 28th,of april,we left the hotel within 30mins of being in it,and went to another hotel,it was that bad,there was not a single light on in the hotel,staff struggled to find the key hole,then with the door as paint was still tacky,when we finally got into the room,there was wet paint every where,the shower wasnt attatched,the table was chipped badly,and the gloss was wet resulting in my clothes getting ruined,the beds were diffrent sizes,holes in the sheets,blankets had saw better days,could keep going on,spent 2 hours looking for another hotel,wich looked better,to find out it was just as bad so keep away from the amore hotel,fawltey towers was run better.
The best thing about my stay was ...
06 August 2011
not great hotel at all!!!
not great hotel! when i arrived at 4am they told me i had only booked for 1 but it clearly stated on my booking 2 adults! they then put us in a room with 2 bedrooms but only 1 single bed! bath/shower was really small and no towels or toilet roll provided! no fridge either! we contacted reception who said we should talk to the manager in morning, so we both had to sleep in a single bed!! in the morning the manager changed us to a studio room which is smaller and cheaper but the manager refused to give any discount or even free air con! he said i gave u 1 bedroom apt but u didnt want it!!! my friend had advised they have an issue with hot water, they dont have an issue with it, it doesnt exist after 4pm!!! i had to have cold showers for 2 wks!!! the only good thing about this hotel is that it is right next door to my favourite restaurant Amore! very noisy at nite when other guests returned from clubbing etc! i wouldnt stay here again!!!
The best thing about my stay was ...
next door to amazing restaurant Amore!!
19 September 2010
More like a nightmare..........
Karen, Cleveland
Stayed last year, really enjoyed booked in Jan for sept2010. Arrived early hours to be put in attic with promise it was only 1 night..........dream on.!!!! Attic actually suited us in the end away from the idiots. Reception is dark & dirty, staff play constantly on computers. On arrival we had no towels and no kettle. Quickly rectified but as the 2 weeks went on towels were changed infrequently & became less & less. Beds changed only once in 2 weeks. Floors were never mopped. Would be impossible to self cater if you wanted 2. Manager Yusef I believe is rude and wore the same shirt 3 days running...speaks volumes. massive decline in 12 months such a shame now looking for an alternative for next time
The best thing about my stay was ...
04 July 2009
"Sun Dream" is the dream place
Zoya Winspear, London, UK
We had the best holiday ever and planning to go back in a month. The staff is extremely friendly, amazing and they made us feel like at home. The hotel manager Emin was the most helpful and kind man I've met. We didn't have any problems, but if needed anything, he was dealing with my request immediately. There was some kind of entertainment every evening in the hotel and again, the staff played different and very funny games with us. I didn't wanna leave the place and I still miss the guys. The hotel is not far from the beach, only about 10-15 min pleasant walk. If you don't feel like walking, you can always stay in the hotel's pools, which very clean and the atmosphere is great! I do recommend the hotel to whoever is planning to visit Marmaris!
26 October 2008
will go again
kerry blackburn, fleetwood lancashire
I have to agree the hotel was a bit of a let down this year. Been the previous year and it was great. Staff were ace it was just the room standard that everyone complained about. Me and my friend booked a studio and ended up on top floor in an attic where you had to crouch down or bang your head it was that bad, curtains hanging off, no water for first half a day on arrival. No bed covers, shower broke etc. Eventually after 3 days we were moved to another attic room but more space. Felt sorry for the staff they got it in the neck but because it was fully booked it was difficult to move people around. The stairs is another story - for those who have been you know what i mean lol. Going back next year, the staff made up for the rooms.
10 October 2008
may 08 and sept 08 fab
belinda dooley, scotland
it was another fantastic holiday was there in may with my daughter,and sept i took my son and he had a fab time and so did my little cousins 1 was helping behind the bar and did not want to go home,and the staff are brilliant it was even good cos some of last years staff came for a holiday and it was fun so yes we are all going back next may see you all then guys xx
31 August 2008
Absolutly Terrible
Becky, prenton
I don't know how anybody could even write it was good nevermind brill! I have just come back from there I went on the 21st August 08. The room was terrible, it was dirty, the celing was leaking in the bathroom, the toilet was leaking, the covers on the bed was not changed, the pillow was a thick blanket in a pillow case and all the plaster was coming off the walls. We complained to the manager and he did absolutly nothing so we waited for the rep to come and she changed us to a different hotel which was 100x nicer and cleaner. I wouldn't even rate this hotel 1 star but there is no zero's.
21 July 2008
???????, ???/
05 September 2007
brill holiday
jill belfield, shaw, oldham
we stayed at the sundream apartments in aug 07 first time here & also in turkey, what a great time we had the staff are absolutely great cant do enough for you, rambo what a guy good luck with your wedding day, yclif what a top man cant fault him 1 bit all other staff really good also we are looking at going back as soon as we can really looking forwward to it, thanks to you all, another mention for jimmy? the hairdresser would highly recommend his turkish shaves, thanks.the apartments have such a good atmosphere its like your all 1 big family
01 September 2007
best holiday ever
natasha, wigan
i had a brill time a sun dream all the staff were very friendly and i loved them all. very big hello to everyone there it was great and i never wanted to leave the hotel. the entertainment was great they had belly dancers break dancers staff dances witch were all mostly very good looking and very friendly with the ladies if you kow what i mean. juglers magic shows fire shows i would recomend it to anyone definatly going back.
22 August 2007
brilliant fab holiday
belinda dooley, scotland
i was at marmaris at the end of may 2007and stayed at sundream and i had such a good time and met friends that im going back on sep 3rd 2008 hopefully im gonna have more fun ,not through the resorts fault but the company i was in ,the staff where fab ,food was great and the barman ferdi made brilliant tasty cocktails so yes i would recommend that you try sundream apartments
31 July 2007
carrol, bolton
i have just come back from the sundream in june and i go back in september. this will be the 6th time at this hotel in four years. it has a big pool the cleanest i have seen in marmaris. it is also one of the only hotels i have stayed at anywhere in turkey that put entertainment on at nite thanks to rambo. the food in the hotel is excellent and if you eat there you get a full english breakfast free the following day. all the staff are great and cant do enough for you. if you are in the 18-20s age group you would probably prefer the beach front, cheers, bar x and other nightspots but saying that a few do stay for the hotel entertainment. oh and you can play bingo there as well. the rooms are adequate for sleeping and getting changed in and are cleaned daily and so is the bedding and towels. an excellent holiday. 6 of us are going in september. cant wait.
13 March 2007
hi jan....... yes i do mean u willison.
sally, scotland
I had a very enjoyable stay. The staff was very friendly.
21 January 2007
Review of 'APARTMENTS SUNDREAM'
Steve and Judith, Marske/Redcar/Cleveland
Had a brilliant holiday at Sun Dream. Staff very friendly and joined in with all the fun.Met some lovely people who we hope to see there again this year. Lovely location just on the outskirts of marmaris centre but within easy walking distance. Local facilities excellent with Jimmy's Shop over the road selling everything you need. Highly recommended. Very best wishes to Keith, Rambo, Martin, Eric and all the other staff. Hope to see you all soon.
19 January 2007
Review of 'APARTMENTS SUNDREAM'
We have never been to Turkey before but as soon as we arrived we felt welcome, the staff were great and they joined in with our family and folk that we met. We had a ball and will definitely go back, hopefully in 2007. Lovely Place.
24 October 2006
Review of 'APARTMENTS SUNDREAM'
joanne, st.helens/england
love sundream apartments stayed there before and will be staying there again its about 20 mins walk to the front if you dont want to walk the bus stops outside the hotel staff are very nice food nice rooms cleaned every day roll on next june
11 June 2006
Review of 'APARTMENTS SUNDREAM'
Sarah, Hertfordshire
Although our stay was a 5 i must admit this was not due to our apartments but meeting some fantastic people and some great nightlife!
The apartments were ok, mostly clean but basic. Our towels were not chenge during our stay and neither was the linen. The cleaning often left a lot to be desired and we often just cleaned ourselves! we also had to ask on a number of occasion for toilet roll! We only had hot water between 5 and 8 the rest of the time it was cold and on odd occasions none at all althogh we were told this was general and not only affecting the apartments.
The staff were mostly friedly although we found much better entertainment and some fantastic people on the beach front and at the restaurant next door.
The beachh was around a 10 minute walk away but this was good as the beach front was quite noisy at night so the distance helped with sleeping.
Marmaris was a fantastic place and definatley worth a visit although i think you could probably find better accomodation!
24 October 2005
Review of 'APTS. SUNDREAM'
laura, Bolton England
This is our second trip to the sundream apartments and we are booking to go back in september next year, the sundream is a fantastic hotel for familys, couples, etc. Rooms are of a good size, very clean, the staff are very nice and try to make your holiday as enjoyable as possible. The adjoining restaurant Palm Corner, the food is excellent, the staff in the restaurant are very friendly and will do anything to make ur meal more enjoyable. Cant wait till we go back next year!
17 August 2005
Review of 'APTS. SUNDREAM'
Andrea Naylor, Bolton, England
Stayed here Srpt 04, and we are returning in just over two weeks, can't wait!! Had a very enjoyable stay. The hotel is spacious and clean, the rooms are variant in size in accordance to your party size, and are clean and appealing. The staff last year made us all welcome. The distance from the beach was, irrelevant to us as we spent most of our time at the hotel however, there are dolmus passing regularly and taxi's are always on hand, if not just ask a member of staff and they will help you.


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Sitter in Pensacola
We are offering after school, on call, summer and overnight care 7 days a week, 24 hours Childcare/babysitting for all ages. This includes well balanced meals/snacks, homework help, and even Spanish lessons if requested. During the summer we will also offer supervised activities which will include but not limited to skating, and movies. There will be multiple responsible adult caregivers on site. We even offer a bilingual/multicultural environment. Se Habla Espaol !!!! We have affordable hourly, daily, weekly and monthly rates. If needed a pick up/ drop off service is available at an additional charge. Discounts offered for multiple children...... CPR and First Aid certified. Regular Hours 5am-8pm Per Child 3 years and under rates $3.50 Hour $25.00 Day $80.00 Week Per Child 4 years and over rates $2.50 Hour $20.00 Day $65.00 Week ** $5.00/per child discount off weekly rates with multiple children. Extended Hours and Overnights Hours 8pm - 5am 3 years and under $5.00 Hour 4 years and over $4.00 Hour * If extended hours are only needed weekly rates can be arranged in advance. Pick up / Drop Off Rates ** rates are per destination Pick up or Drop off $5.00 Daily $20.00 Weekly Pick up and Drop off $10.00 Daily $40.00 Weekly * Weekly rates are 9 hours a day 5 days a week anything after is charged hourly * Short Notice/On Call Fee $5.00 extra 3 hours or less notice * Weekly rates are 9 hours a day 5 days a week anything after is charged hourly * Short Notice/On Call Fee $5.00 extra 3 hours or less notice
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|12-20-2011 04:37 PM CET - Leisure, Entertainment, Miscellaneous
How to House-train Your Puppy
Press release from: Rolf C. Hagen (UK) Ltd.
PR Agency: The Words Workshop
Dogs learn best by repetition so it's important to get him into a routine. First decide where you want him to go and make sure you take him to that same spot every few hours especially after eating, drinking and immediately after he wakes up.
Remember that very young puppies can only hold their bladders for 2 to 3 hours - including during the night. Be sure to praise your puppy when he performs in the right place and resist the temptation to scold him when he makes a mistake. Dogs respond well to praise but will not understand if you lose your temper or rub his nose in it, all that will do is to encourage him to do it out of sight, like behind the settee. One way of encouraging your puppy to return to the right place is to use a training aid such as Hagen's Dogit training mats. These are scented to attract your puppy and at the same time reduce odours, they're also useful when travelling or staying in hotels.
If you take him to his training mat or special place outdoors after he eats or drinks he will develop the habit and eventually become accustomed to where and when to go.
It's important not to let your puppy turn house-training into a game; a trip to his toilet area shouldn't be an opportunity to go wild in the garden. If after visiting the area he decides not to perform take him back in doors immediately and try again later. Keep a careful eye on him to make sure he doesn't wander off into another room or go behind the furniture.
When the inevitable accident does happen clean up as soon as possible and spray the area with a pet deodoriser such as Hagen's Dogit BUST-IT stain and odour remover, this will get rid of unpleasant smells and stop your puppy being attracted to the same area again. A dog's sense of smell is many times better than our own and conventional cleaners will not remove the residual scents that are still detectable by your dog's highly sensitive nose.
If your puppy continues to have accidents it's probably because he does not really understand what is expected of him. Try going back to the beginning and show him what you want him to do. Don't get cross; just persevere until he gets it right.
Even when house-trained some dogs have little accidents when greeting visitors; every time they get excited a little puddle appears on the floor. Again it's no good shouting or chastising the dog; that will only make things worse. Try to keep things calm and if possible warn your guests about the problem before they arrive. Greeting your friends outside the house rather than in the hall is another option, but in any event keep things low key and avoid getting your dog too excited.
Finally, in rare cases medical problems can cause a form of incontinence in young dogs, so if your puppy is continually having accidents despite your house-training efforts it may be worth taking him to the vets for a check-up.
Rolf C. Hagen is the largest independently owned pet supplies company in the world manufacturing a vast range of products for almost every kind of pet.
Further editorial information:
David Jordan
The Words Workshop Ltd
26 Swanwick Lane
Milton Keynes
Tel: +44 (0) 1908 695500
Fax: +44 (0)1908 690099
Business enquiries:
Rolf C. Hagen (UK) Ltd
California Drive
Whitwood Industrial Estate
West Yorkshire
Tel: +44 (1977) 55 66 22
Fax: +44 (1977) 51 34 65
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text:
Our Impact
At Benetech, we harness the power of technology to drive positive social change. Technology that can have a dramatic, positive impact on the lives of real people. This includes software solutions for global literacy, human rights, and the environment. Our highly scalable solutions enable the social sector to make better use of data to inform decision-making and evaluate performance—we call that data for action and impact.
To date, our solutions have:
- Empowered a half million people with disabilities to read and access information
- Delivered over 10,000,000 accessible ebooks
- Enabled thousands of human rights defenders in over 50 countries to more safely document violations
- Enhanced conservation data and project management to protect habitats in more than 170 countries
To see more information on the social impact we've had through our multiple initiatives, please check out the case studies from our programs:


text:
Kittencal's Banana Cinnamon Snack Cake or Muffins (Low-Fat)
READY IN: 30mins
Recipe by Kittencalrecipezazz
A wonderful lower-fat cake/muffin recipe that's easy to make as everything is mixed by hand --- this recipe was tested and developed using low-fat yogurt although I would think that low-fat sour cream may be substituted with good results --- visit www.kittencalskitchen.com for more low-fat recipes!
Top Review by CIndytc
fantastic recipe Kittencal! I doubled it and put it in a bundt pan. I also used splenda and used vanilla yogurt...It turned out great! Thanks...
See Discussion:73 Reviews 10 Tweaks
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2-3⁄4 cup sugar (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt (can use low-fat yogurt)
- 3⁄4 cup mashed ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 egg
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions See How It's Made
- Set oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan or line muffin tins with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, banana, oil, egg and vanilla.
- Pour over dry ingredients, and gently stir with a spatula until JUST blended (do not over mix).
- Spread the batter into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top of the cake is light brown, and edges begin to pull away from sides of the pan (bake slightly less time for muffins).
- Cool cake in pan on rack for 10 minutes.
- Loosen sides of cake with a dinner knife or a spatula.
- Invert cake right side up and cool completely.
- Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.


text:
Added to Shopping Bag
Mixed Makeup Lot Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Mott, Be A Bombshell etc.
Listed by Amanda Stiver
Price: $180.00
Returnable for site
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Mixed Makeup Lot Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Mott, Be A Bombshell etc.
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3 people saved this item
This item has original tags and shows no visible signs of wear.
UPDATED WITH MANY NEW PRODUCTS!! 36 pieces with a total retail value of over $370..FS=Full Size SS=Sample Size, retail price included for reference.
I would prefer to sell the lot as a whole but will sell in smaller lots with a minimum of 5 pieces per lot. We can come to an agreed upon price as some pieces have a much higher value than others. Please contact me with which pieces you would like and I can create a separate listing/invoice for you to purchase through.
Bella Pierre Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Celebration FS $15
Peony Shadow Trio in Gilded FS $17.95
Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Lounge SS
The Balm Cosmetics Meet Matt(e) Trimony Matt Moskowitz Eyeshadow SS
Starlooks Cream Eyeshadow in Rose Gold FS $12
Trestique Mini Shadow Crayon in Aspen Pine FS $16
Jelly Pong Pong 2 in 1 Eyeliner and Shadow in Bronze FS $15.95
Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer SS
OFRA Eyeliner In Green Go FS $13
The Balm Cosmetics Mr. Write (NOW) Eyeliner in Jac FS $17
Pencil Me in Cosmetics Eyeliner in Amethyst FS $7
Elizabeth Mott You're so Fine Waterproff liquid Eyeliner in Glitterati FS $18
Urabn Decay 24/7 Glide on Lip Pencil Primer in Ozone with samples of Failbait and Bittersweet Revolution High Color Lipgloss
Shea Moisture Shea Butter Lip Crayon in Sarah FS $10
TreStique Mini Matte Lip Crayon in Chile Red FS $14
City Color City Chic Lipstick in One Night Stand FS $5
KCO Colors Lipstick in Natural Born Beauty FS $8
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Cargo Cosmetics Lipgloss in Anguilla FS $16
Bath & Body Works Liplicious Lip Gloss in Cotton Candy FS $7.50
Be a Bombshell Lip Balm in French Kiss FS $4
Malin + Goetz Lip Balm in Mojito FS $12
Estee Lauder Translucent Pressed Powder in Lucidity FS $33
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Hikari Shimmer Bronzer in Radiate FS $17
City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon FS $5
Be a Bombshell Blush in Beach Please FS $16
Hikari Blush in Tango FS $15
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Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil $5
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Global Power Cord Industry Market Research 2014
The report firstly introduced Power Cord basic information included Power Cord definition classification application industry chain structure industry overview; Then introduce North America (United States Canada Mexico etc) Europe (Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain etc) Asia (China Japan India Korea etc) Rest of World (Australia South America Middle East and Africa etc) Key players 2009-2014 Power Cord Capacity Production Price Cost Gross Production Value Gross Margin etc Data and information.And the report also listed North America Europe Asia Rest of World regional 2009-2014 Power Cord consumption and different regions trading business and regional import export and location regions consumption, and also listed global total data.Besides supply and demand side data by regions, the report also introduced different technology product output and different applications consumption (2009-2014).After market data by players by applications by regions, the report also introduced product picture and specifications, different product type selling price, regional average selling price and global average selling price (2009-2014). And also introduced global average cost (2009-2014) and 2014 cost structure.And then, the report also introduced product technology development and market data (production price cost etc) 2014-2020 forecast.In the end, the report introduced China Power Cord new project SWOT analysis and Investment feasibility analysis and also give related research conclusions.In a word, it was a depth research report on Global Power Cord industry. And most of the report data source from directly interview and industry association or public companies finance reports etc official and reliable data source. And also thanks the support and assistance of related technical experts and marketing engineers during Research Team survey and interviews.


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By Gilbert M. Gaul and Mary Pat Flaherty
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, August 21, 2009
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. Shortly after midnight on a storm-swept October night in 2004, Tom Palcic, a medical helicopter pilot, started across Choctawatchee Bay to pick up a hospital patient and transport him to a facility 60 miles away.
Such flights are common in the highly competitive multibillion-dollar air-medical business. Although the public profile of medical helicopters has them swooping to crash scenes at the edge of highways, most flights, like Palcic's, involve shuttling patients between hospitals.
The director of the helicopter program for which Palcic flew called these lucrative patients "golden trout" and pushed pilots to reel in as many as possible. When pilots balked at flying in bad weather, he called them sissies and second-guessed them, records and interviews show.
Palcic, 63, was just two minutes into the flight of AIRHeart-1 when his crew radioed a dispatcher that he was turning back because of the thunder and lightning.
Moments later, Palcic's helicopter banked in clouds and plunged 700 feet into shallow waters, killing him, a flight nurse and a paramedic. A woman who lived nearby recalled that the vibration shook candlesticks out of their holders.
For the medical helicopter industry, it was the fourth fatal crash that year -- part of a legacy that has claimed the lives of 211 crew members and 27 patients since 1980 and injured many others, The Washington Post has found.
The number of fatal flights has risen sharply, closely tracking the rapid growth of what is now a $2.5 billion industry. Nearly half of all deaths have occurred in the past decade. In 2008, the deadliest year ever, 23 crew members and five patients were killed.
Some calamities were the result of pilot errors. But many were predictable, pilots and safety experts say, and could have been prevented with stronger oversight and better technology.
"We've been killing ourselves the same way for 20 years," said veteran pilot Ed MacDonald. "There's not a whole lot new about these crashes."
What began almost four decades ago as a way to save lives is now one of the most dangerous jobs in America -- deadlier than logging, mining or police work -- with 113 deaths for every 100,000 employees, The Post found. Only working on a fishing boat is riskier. The rate for airline pilots is 80.1.
In the 37 years helicopters have been used to transport patients, pilots and crews have died in an almost unfathomable array of crashes. In the past two years alone, medical helicopters have dropped into pitch-black oceans, plummeted to the ground after losing rotor blades, smacked into mountains and collided in clear blue desert skies.
Yet as crashes and deaths have mounted, top executives at the Federal Aviation Administration and its parent agency, the U.S. Transportation Department, have acted as partners with the industry, issuing reams of voluntary safety advisories with little follow-up. The FAA has sent poorly trained inspectors to monitor operators and used fines and penalties as only a last resort.
"I'd rather use a carrot than a hammer," said John M. Allen, the FAA's director of flight safety standards. "It's not like we do nothing and then smack them with a rule."
Allen said the agency has to balance business and safety. "Even one crash is too many," he said. "But there's a fine line on how far does government go to impact business."
Private, for-profit companies dominate the industry, with about 830 medical helicopters vying for patients. The number of aircraft has doubled every decade since 1980, leaving some firms with fleets as large as those of US Airways or JetBlue. Yet medical helicopters are permitted to operate without basic safety features that commercial flights must carry, such as black box recorders, collision-avoidance systems and radar altimeters.
Unlike an airliner, a medical helicopter does not fly a direct route from one airport to another, seamlessly tracked by radar. Most flights are at low altitude. There might or might not be an established landing zone.
Because of their low flight paths, helicopters are especially vulnerable to rapid changes in weather. Most flights are made under visual flight rules, with the pilot using his eyes to pick through clouds and around obstacles, and often are to out-of-the-way accident scenes. Unlike commercial airline trips, only a fraction of helicopter flights are conducted under instrument flight rules, which make it easier to travel in inclement weather.
More than half of fatal crashes occur at night, but only one-third of medical helicopter pilots are equipped with night-vision goggles to help them avoid power lines, towers and other obstructions.
Industry officials are well aware of the risks, noting in public statements that medical flights are inherently dangerous. They emphasize the thousands of patients they safely transport each year and the many lives that have been saved. They also say helicopters are critical in rural areas.
Although the industry has not advocated for a specific federal safety requirement, companies have made individual improvements and supported voluntary guidelines, said Christopher Eastlee, a spokesman for the Air Medical Operators Association.
The accidents last year "lend themselves to safety concern in the industry, but I don't think that translates into a safety problem," said Eastlee, whose group represents more than 90 percent of the industry, which is dominated by five private companies and dozens of smaller programs.
Industry officials have been slow to adopt safety technologies until recently and urged more studies, citing the expense and readiness of the equipment. Operators also have successfully sued state regulators who tried to restrict the number of helicopters in their areas based on a community's medical need.
In effect, the FAA and Transportation Department treat the companies the same as low-fare carriers to Disney World, contending that a deregulated, unfettered market will drive down costs through competition.
The model hasn't worked.
Costs keep increasing, with a one-way trip running as high as $20,000. Medicare alone spends $220 million yearly to ferry patients -- 20 times higher than a decade ago, adjusted for inflation. Air Methods, the largest firm, has revenues of $500 million.
The unchecked growth has saturated some regions.
In Kentucky, "all of a sudden, the skies were almost black with helicopters," recalled Brian K. Bishop, a former regulator.
With a population of 4.2 million, Kentucky has 26 medical helicopters -- more than many nations. Canada, which is about nine times as large with a population of 33 million, has 20. It has never suffered a fatal crash.'Like Flying Billboards'
The idea that helicopters can be used to swiftly transport critically injured patients to trauma centers and other hospitals grew from the experience of surgeons and pilots during the Vietnam War.
"What we learned was if we got to them quickly enough and got them to the right people, we could save lives," said MacDonald, a Dustoff pilot in Vietnam who flies a medical helicopter in New Mexico. "When we came back, we took a look around and said, why aren't hospitals doing that here?"
It didn't take long for hospitals and private operators to catch on. In 1980, there were about 40 medical helicopters in the United States. In 1990, there were about 225. Today, there are more than 800. Texas alone has 67. Arizona has 54. Pennsylvania: 45.
Virginia has 24; Maryland, 17; and the District, 5.
Operators say the extraordinary rate of growth reflects "pent-up demand" for the services, especially in rural areas without trauma centers. But as with many expensive technologies, the increase appears to have as much to do with making money as with medicine. Complaints about overuse are common, with patients walking off helicopters with sprained ankles or being discharged within a few hours from emergency departments.
"A patient flown in by helicopter can mean thousands of dollars in downstream revenue" once the patient is admitted to a hospital, said Paul A. Taheri, a doctor who co-wrote a 2003 study on the subject. "That fact is not lost on hospital administrators."
A helicopter also helps to burnish the image of a hospital as a lifesaving facility.
"They're like flying billboards," says Thomas P. Judge, executive director of LifeFlight of Maine, a statewide program with two helicopters. "It's the equivalent of a medical centerfold. It's sexy advertising."
In the late 1990s, Congress prodded Medicare, the nation's largest insurer, to change its formula for paying for helicopter transports. In 2002, Medicare boosted its reimbursement rates and started paying a 50 percent premium for rural flights. The spigot of new money expanded the market for private operators, who responded by opening scores of free-standing bases miles from hospitals. Medicare payments soared, increasing 434 percent in seven years, to $220 million last year.
Today, programs charge thousands of dollars for a flight, billing records show, and compete ferociously in heavily populated cities and suburbs. To shore up support among local fire, emergency medical service and hospital workers -- who often control which helicopter team is requested for a patient -- marketing teams have offered NASCAR tickets and hosted riverboat cruises, company e-mails and interviews show.
Some helicopter crews pass out T-shirts and bottle coolers at accident scenes. "I like to look out at a scene and see a Wings cap out there," said Steve Lewis, a base manager for Wings Air Rescue in Johnson City, Tenn.
To fend off competitors, companies add more helicopters than are needed.
"If I had no competition in the United States, I could probably reduce the number of bases by 30 or 40 . . . and still have adequate service," Air Methods chief Aaron Todd told investment analysts in November.
Medicare pays ground ambulances based on the level of care they provide; the more sophisticated the care, the higher the reimbursement. But when it comes to paying medical helicopters, the government insurer assumes all helicopters and crews are alike.
"It's crazy," LifeFlight's Judge said. "It doesn't matter if you are flying a refurbished helicopter with an inexperienced crew or a helicopter that costs millions of dollars and is equivalent to a flying ICU. They pay the same."
Private investors have also poured millions of dollars into the medical helicopter industry, helping to fuel its rapid growth. In 2004, Brockway Moran & Partners, a billion-dollar private equity firm in Boca Raton, Fla., added Air Evac Lifeteam to its portfolio. Two years later, it acquired Med-Trans, another large operator. It picked up a third last month. Several other firms also jumped in.
The influx of private money transformed the industry, said Christine M. Zalar, a consultant. "A lot of money was going into this thing, and it started to feed on itself," Zalar said. "I think a lot of business people were sitting in a room saying, 'Hey, look at all of the places we can put these things and make a lot of money.' " Companies operate under a simple formula: The more they lift off, the more they earn. "It's pretty easy math," Zalar said. "If you aren't flying, you aren't paying."Fishing for 'Golden Trout'
Keeping up the numbers was on the minds of pilots and managers during the 2004 AIRHeart-1 crash. Investigative records obtained by The Post depict a program divided by pressures to lift off, even in bad weather.
AIRHeart-1 was part of the Sacred Heart Health System, a $600 million hospital network based in Pensacola, Fla. Sacred Heart provided the nurses, billed the patients and stationed Randy Layman as program coordinator in Santa Rosa Beach. Metro Aviation, a private company in Shreveport, La., received a fee to provide the helicopters and pilots.
After the crash, lead pilot Wayne Weir told investigators that pilots complained that Layman pressured them to fly. If pilots refused flights, Weir said, Layman "would check the weather. It would be obvious that he was looking over the pilots' shoulder."
Weir added: "He says every patient is a golden trout. We need to go get those trout."
James E. Light, another pilot, told investigators that Layman "joked about me being a sissy" for turning down flights in bad weather. "He shouldn't kid about that," Light said. "This could affect pilot decision making in an insidious way, on an unconscious level; I think pressure to fly describes it."
Still another pilot, Thomas Dunn, said: "There is a veiled hostility between the pilots and the program director. That was true prior to the accident. He overinvolves himself in stuff he's not supposed to maintenance- and flight-wise. He creates a very uncomfortable situation and working environment."
Layman said it was "disturbing and disappointing" that pilots accused him of interfering and name-calling. "I don't think there is any evidence that there was pressure placed on the pilot," he told a Post reporter.
He said he was terminated by Sacred Heart a few months after the crash. He declined to provide details, saying it was a "delicate question. By mutual agreement I received a very heavy severance from them [Sacred Heart], and we moved on." Sacred Heart officials declined to discuss his comments.
Layman said the term "golden trout" was his way of emphasizing to pilots the importance of being ready to take missions.
Asked whether he was expected to meet flight quotas, Layman said, "You don't have to be a math wizard to understand that missions equal revenue, and revenue equals survivability in the air business."A Hands-Off Approach
In July 2008, Federal Aviation Administration officials hurriedly arranged a meeting with industry leaders to discuss a spike in fatal medical helicopter crashes. Only days before, two medical helicopters had collided in daylight over Flagstaff, Ariz., killing five crew members and two patients. A spate of earlier crashes had claimed 17 lives.
But instead of ordering changes, regulators asked companies to "refocus" on safety, according to a summary of the meeting. Stricter regulation was quickly ruled out.
That hands-off approach is typical of the FAA's history of deferring to the industry on safety matters, The Post found.
During the past five years, the agency has issued civil penalties totaling less than $90,000 to the medical helicopter companies that account for most of industry. There were no suspensions or license revocations. Fines arise only in "the more egregious cases," FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere wrote in an e-mail response to Post questions. "Our goal is to achieve compliance, rather than hit the operator with a fine."
The FAA does not require companies to report their total flights and flight hours, which other federal agencies said is needed for effective monitoring.
The FAA also has been slow to push for new safety systems -- including night-vision goggles and terrain-awareness and -warning systems -- saying they need more study and could drive some operators out of business. "We have to be careful," Allen said. "We might be doing a disservice to the public."
Gary Sizemore, a medical helicopter pilot who was based in Perry, Fla., said goggles would improve safety. "I'm hoping we will get them before long. Because a lot of the areas we fly are dark, it would be a great help."
One reason for the lag is a shortage of FAA inspectors to certify the use of goggles for thousands of waiting pilots and crew members. The FAA has nine inspectors for that task. In June, an FAA official said the agency doesn't have enough goggles for its inspectors. Before a roomful of industry representatives, he suggested the agency could rent them from operators when its inspectors arrive for "check" rides that test pilot skills.
In an interview, Allen quickly ruled out that idea. "I don't want them renting from industry," he said. "That wouldn't be good."
Eastlee, the air operators spokesman, said his members hope to be equipped with night-vision goggles by the end of next year. "There's no way to really enforce that," he said. "But that's what the commitments are."
Pilots also complain that FAA inspectors lack experience in helicopters -- an accusation FAA managers do not dispute. An inspector checking pilots in Nebraska last year had flown in a medical helicopter only three times.
The FAA has about 280 inspectors "qualified" in helicopters, but they are generalists who also handle airplane and other duties. Recently, the agency started a program to hire former helicopter pilots to beef up its inspections. As of last month, it had hired six. Allen said it will take 18 months before they "got traction."
Inspection reports obtained by The Post depict inspectors bogged down in check lists and minutiae, including the color and neatness of files. In Maine, an FAA inspector cited an operator because its duct tape was too old. "We didn't know duct tape had a shelf life," LifeFlight's Judge said.
If FAA inspectors find a problem, "we empower them [the operators] to fix it themselves basically," said Jon Prater, an FAA regulator who explained the process at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing. "Predominantly everybody does want to follow the rules."
Allen said that regulators and the industry work closely to sort through safety questions but that the industry pushes back over cost and control. He cited flight recorders and attempts by the FAA to regulate pilot flight hours and scheduling.
When the FAA looked at pilot fatigue, it proved to be "very, very sensitive with industry, and we really didn't get anywhere to making substantive changes," Allen said. And when the agency "starts asking for data from the industry, they get very nervous."
"I'm not aware of those issues," Eastlee said, "but if that is his perception I'd like to work with him on addressing it."Summits and More Summits
When crashes first spiked in the mid-1980s, industry officials and regulators held a summit to discuss what they could do to improve safety -- the first of many such meetings held over the past two decades.
Some victims' families say that is the standard government-industry response: to hold another safety summit whenever the glare of unfavorable publicity rains down.
Last year, amid a record number of fatal crashes, two summits were held: one in Washington and one in Dallas. They followed summits in 2000 and 2004, as well as a 2004 government task force.
Allen said the FAA issued "numerous" voluntary safety advisories in 2005 as a result of the task force's work. "The first thing we do is awareness," he said. "The safety equation is not unilateral. It's industry and us."
In February, Allen told the NTSB that the FAA's safety advisories resulted in a "drastic reduction" in fatal crashes between 2004 and 2007. "The numbers prove it," Allen testified.
In fact, the numbers show that fatal crashes jumped sharply in 2004 and 2005. And after dipping in 2006-07, they spiked again last year, with seven.
Questioned about his testimony, Allen said in an interview: "I should probably not have not said drastic. Drastic was an overstatement."
The cycle of crashes followed by meetings and studies is not new, said Gerald L. Dillingham, a Government Accountability Office investigator and author of a 2007 report critical of medical helicopter safety reporting. "The pattern we are seeing is a pattern we have seen before," Dillingham said. "As time passed and attention waned," interest in the safety issue faded.
In 1987, after a cluster of fatal crashes, the FAA conducted a 60-day review of medical helicopter operations, followed by more voluntary advisories. A year later, the NTSB issued a 130-page report that found a "significant rise in the number of accidents."
Problems identified by the NTSB in 1988 continue to affect the industry: poor communications, competitive pressures to accept risky missions, pilot fatigue and a lack of equipment to help pilots flying in dark, unfamiliar settings.
FAA officials said they work closely with their NTSB counterparts. However, as a separate agency, the FAA is not obligated to accept the NTSB's findings -- and sometimes doesn't.
In 2006, the NTSB issued another long report on medical helicopter crashes. It recommended that the FAA require operators to add terrain- awareness and -warning systems, supply their crews with night-vision goggles and implement formal programs for pilots to evaluate risks before flying in bad weather. FAA officials balked, saying several recommendations were impractical or costly or required more study.
Last year, the NTSB upped the ante, adding four of the recommendations the FAA had not implemented to its Most Wanted List -- a public catalog of the NTSB's most pressing safety concerns.
There is a natural tension between the FAA and the NTSB, said James E. Hall, a former NTSB board member. "The NTSB is the investigator. The FAA is the regulator. The FAA isn't going to accept everything the NTSB says, nor should it."
At the same time, Hall said, "Many people in the bureaucracy of the FAA still feel their mission is as much to promote aviation as to provide for safety." As a result, the agency is slow to push new rules. "It's tombstone technology," Hall said. "You have to have enough deaths to justify a rule change."
Allen said: "The FAA never shies away from issuing rules. However, our main focus is on getting immediate results when there is a safety issue -- by whatever means is fastest."
Patricia Schroder of Pittsburgh, whose brother, flight nurse John Stumpff, died in a December 2007 crash in snow and mist near Whittier, Alaska, said the FAA should have had stricter rules in place requiring night-vision goggles and other equipment. "It's one thing to be completely oblivious to certain weaknesses within a system," she said. "But how tragic is it when you have recommendations from the NTSB several years earlier [2006] and no apparent action? It's extremely frustrating, and it makes me angry."
Allen said that before the FAA could write a regulation requiring helicopters to use night-vision goggles or terrain-warning systems, it would need industry buy-in. "We have to learn what would be acceptable," he said. "We're studying the heck out of these things."'Helicopter Shopping'
Under federal law, the FAA and Transportation Department have responsibility for fares, routes and safety. That includes the type of helicopter, avionics equipment, pilot training, routes and acceptable weather conditions for flight. State health officials are responsible for licensing the nurses and paramedics and approving the medical equipment used on the helicopters.
Eastlee and his trade group contend that the two-pronged regulatory model works well and has resulted in numerous "safety enhancements."
But a growing number of state regulators and some hospital-based helicopter programs counter that the approach is confusing and that federal law prevents them from making medical helicopters even safer. They point to a practice known as "helicopter shopping" as an example.
Helicopter shopping refers to hospitals or EMS dispatchers calling companies until they find one willing to take the flight. The practice is considered dangerous when dispatchers don't tell the pilots that other operators have rejected the same flight or aborted because of weather.
A July 2004 incident spotlighted the practice, when a medical helicopter in South Carolina crashed into trees shortly after liftoff from an accident scene, killing the pilot, flight nurse, paramedic and patient. The pilot hadn't been told that three pilots had rejected the flight, including one who turned back because of fog.
But helicopter shopping continued, and investigators have singled it out as a contributing factor in fatal crashes in recent years in Utah and several other states.
Chris Waters's 27-year-old wife, Stephanie, was a paramedic on a helicopter operated by PHI Air Medical that crashed in a dark forest in June 2008 near Huntsville, Tex. Earlier, another helicopter had aborted a flight while trying to pick up the same patient.
PHI said its pilot became disoriented because of the dark terrain. The pilot was not wearing night-vision goggles, and company said it has since installed them throughout its air-medical fleet.
The night of the crash, Waters called his wife's cellphone and was surprised when she answered during her flight.
"It was strange," Waters said, "she usually didn't pick up when she was on a flight. I got one last chance to say I love you. In my case, it was 'Good night, see you tomorrow,' and she's gone forever."
FAA officials decry helicopter shopping, but they add that it is not their responsibility. "That's an economic issue. We cannot do anything specific," Allen said. "It's not something we can get into a regulation."
In April 2006, the agency wrote to state EMS directors, asking for their help in reducing helicopter shopping. The FAA suggested that state regulators send a memo and establish a "standard for EMS dispatch in your state which prohibits" the practice.
Some state EMS directors were taken aback. "If it's an economic issue, which is what they appear to be saying, we can't touch it," because of recent court decisions, said R. Shawn Rogers, the EMS director for Oklahoma, where the number of helicopters soared from four to 34 in eight years.
The legal battles have turned on the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which was meant to spur competition among major airlines. A provision of the act prohibits states from interfering with airline prices, routes or services. The provision has helped medical helicopter operators pry open markets and boost business even as Rogers and others decry its impact on safety.
State regulators contend that health planning and emergency care have traditionally been state responsibilities. They say they should be able to regulate medical helicopters the same way they do ground ambulances. They want to require operators to obtain Certificates of Need to justify why an expensive service should be added in a region. They also seek to require them to use specified safety equipment and be available round-the-clock.
But providers and federal regulators argue that the deregulation act gives the FAA exclusive power over commercial aviation, including medical helicopters. They reject calls for an increased state role, contending the division of powers between the states and federal officials works well.
"We are concerned that fifty separate State regimes addressing the economic regulation of air ambulances could unnecessarily complicate the industry and hinder interstate operations," Christa Fornarotto of Transportation, the parent department of the FAA and NTSB, testified to Congress in April.
That means Oklahoma "can't require air conditioning" on helicopters even though it reached 105 degrees this summer or "enforce radio frequency coordination," Rogers said. "Any rule the air ambulance industry objects to is subject to lawsuit."Voluntary Compliance
The FAA's voluntary approach to oversight relies in large part on trust.
In 2005, the agency issued a series of "Best Practices" to operators, recommending training, risk assessment for pilots and equipment such as flight recorders and collision-avoidance systems.
Agency officials made clear that they were not issuing mandates. One FAA official told operators that they should continue to police themselves, auditing their safety programs.
Records show that the agency didn't track its 2005 recommendations to see whether operators were voluntarily complying until this year, and only then when it faced increased scrutiny over the dramatic increase in fatal crashes.
In January, agency officials ordered their lead inspectors to go back and survey medical helicopter companies to gauge compliance. The memo was issued three weeks before FAA officials were scheduled to testify at an NTSB public hearing in Washington on the crashes. Inspectors were required to return their forms two days before that session.
In an interview, Allen acknowledged that the impending hearing prompted the survey, adding that the FAA had no system for tracking compliance in the interim. "Not formally," he said, "no."
The inspectors checked paperwork at their offices rather than visiting helicopter companies. Nevertheless, at the NTSB hearing, FAA officials enthusiastically pointed to the surveys as evidence that voluntary initiatives were working.
FAA officials at the hearing said voluntary measures were just as effective as rules, which take years to approve.
Shortly after the hearing, FAA officials abruptly reversed their position. Allen announced in April that the FAA was preparing to propose new rules requiring many of the same technologies singled out by the NTSB four years earlier.
"We recognize that relying on voluntary compliance alone is not enough to ensure safe flight operations," said Allen, adding that the rules could take several years to draft.
In the interview with Post reporters, Allen said the shift was not a policy reversal. "Nothing really changed," he said. "We were working up to it. Our voluntary initiatives were a precursor to rulemaking so we know what works well."
For Stacey Friedman of El Dorado Hills, Calif., the FAA's shift is bittersweet. Her sister, flight nurse Erin Reed, was killed in 2005 when her helicopter plunged into Puget Sound.
"The sad thing is, it took all of this time and all of these crew members who died for them to announce this change," she said. "It felt a little like a triumph, I guess, but it also felt like a stab in the heart in the sense that they were years too late."
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