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Behind President Bill Clinton's confrontational approach toward trade with Japan are two controversial ideas: a government industrial policy that subsidizes U.S. emerging technologies and government management of the flow of U.S. exports and imports. Inspired by these two ideas, known generally as managed trade, Clinton is using trade negotiations with Japan to secure guaranteed shares of the Japanese market for U.S. exporters, possibly at the expense of other American businesses which are already successful in Japan. Moreover, Clinton has renewed congressionally mandated "Super 301" trade authority that allows the U.S. to impose sanctions against foreign trading partners accused of unfair trading practices. By September 30, the Clinton Administration will name those countries whose trade practices it feels unfairly restrict U.S. exports and will threaten them with Super 301 trade sanctions.
Key Clinton economic advisers, including United States Trade Representative (USTR) Mickey Kantor and Assistant USTR Charlene Barshefsky, are threatening to retaliate against U.S. trading partners unless they agree to increase American imports. Specifically, the Administration wants the Japanese government to agree to specified increases in imports of U.S. goods and services.
The Administration contends that this approach has worked before and points to the 1991 U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement as a successful example of "managed trade," arguing that it established "numerical targets" by which U.S. semiconductor producers received a guaranteed share of the Japanese market. Moreover, the Administration argues that Japan agreed to these terms because of the threat of retaliation by the U.S. The Administration is wrong. Although U.S. semiconductor market share did in fact increase in Japan, this increase had little to do with numerical targets established in the Semiconductor Agreement. Instead, the agreement inspired U.S. firms to negotiate their own entry into the Japanese market without relying on government help. If the agreement can be called a success, in other words, it is not because of "numerical targets" but because it fostered private sector solutions undertaken because of business' frustration with the results of years of failed government attempts to manage the trade in semiconductors.
Because it has learned the wrong lesson from the 1991 Semiconductor Agreement, the Clinton Administration has based its trade policy with Japan on the Agreement's anti-market principles of guaranteed markets, threats of retaliation through tariffs and quotas, and subsidies for U.S. industry. Rather than basing U.S. trade policy on such self-defeating protectionism, the Administration should help open markets overseas. Specifically, it should:
- Seek rapid congressional approval of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This wide-ranging trade agreement between the U.S. and 123 other nations should be approved by Congress as soon as possible. Based on seven years of multilateral negotiations, the current GATT agreement will reduce tariffs by as much as 40 percent worldwide and expand international trade by $235 billion annually.
- Extend free trade agreements to other countries in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement to include Mexico. That agreement, or separate free trade treaties, now should be expanded to other countries, including Chile and Argentina. Moreover, the President should raise the free trade ante by offering to negotiate free trade agreements with Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and emerging market economies in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Pursue a pact liberalizing trade among the members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. (APEC members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.) The 17-member trade forum is a good foundation from which to launch a program of liberalized trade. The U.S. exports over $150 billion in goods and services to the Pacific Rim each year. (U.S. Merchandise Trade: December 1993 (hereafter cited as USMT:12/93), U.S. Department of Commerce, February 17, 1994.) An APEC-based free trade area inevitably will expand that trade.
- Foster private sector strategic alliances between U.S. and foreign firms. The best way for American companies to gain a share of the Japanese market is to form private joint ventures with Japanese companies. These joint ventures should be encouraged and made part of any bilateral trade agreements with Japan or any other U.S. trading partner.
Managed trade is government regulation of trade and international investments to achieve specific levels of imports and exports. Among the tools used by governments to manage trade are: quotas and other limits on imports, demands for guaranteed shares of sales in another country's market, demands that other countries adopt economic policies that favor imports, subsidies for selected industries or government- business "partnerships," subsidies for export industries, and some form of national industrial and trade planning.
Clinton's approach to trade with Japan reflects this philosophy. The Administration is pursuing a two-pronged approach: 1) protecting U.S. industries at home through trade barriers and subsidies while 2) negotiating numerical targets and guaranteed market shares in Japan for specific U.S. industries.
An example of the first approach is the Administration's decision to subsidize domestic development of flat panel displays used in laptop and notebook computers and related products. Under President George Bush, the U.S. imposed a tariff on the import of these displays in an attempt to give the infant American industry a chance to establish itself. The tariff was removed in 1993 after it was discovered that the U.S. industry was incapable of supplying quality displays to the U.S. computer industry. (See "Certain High-Information Content Flat Panel Displays and Display Glass From Japan," U.S. International Trade Commission, USITC Publication 2413, August 1991, and Bryan T. Johnson, "A Guide to Antidumping Laws: America's Unfair Trade Practice," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 906, July 21, 1992.) Now, however, the Clinton Administration plans to spend over $1 billion in the next decade to help U.S. businesses develop the most advanced flat panel displays in the world. (Jonathon Rauch, "The Visible Hand," National Journal, July 7, 1994, p. 1614.)
As an example of the second approach, the Clinton Administration, through the U.S.-Japan Framework negotiations begun in April 1993, is pressuring the Japanese government to accept "qualitative and quantitative" numerical targets for U.S. exports to Japan. (From "Joint Statement on the United States-Japan Framework for a New Economic Partnership," press statement issued by USTR, April 1993.) The Administration is asking the Japanese to guarantee a portion of their domestic market to U.S. automobiles, auto parts, telecommunication services, and insurance policies. The Administration, moreover, is seeking to increase these guaranteed shares by a predetermined percentage each year.
These approaches are doomed to fail. Managed trade policies require that the government decide which industry will perform best in foreign markets. Government determines which products and services receive government assistance, while other products and services not seen as worthy are left to market forces. The assumption is that government knows better than private investors which products to develop and bring to market.
If this assumption were true, managed trade would have a successful track record of picking winners and losers. But this is not the case. In fact, governments are more apt to pick losers than winners. The reason: government bureaucrats have a short-sighted view of profitable products and technologies. Bureaucrats in charge of picking which industries receive government subsidies or guaranteed shares of foreign markets usually choose existing technologies, not the more promising ones that may be profitable in the future.
There are numerous examples of failed industrial policy, including:
- In the U.S. Sematech.
One of the most successful examples of industrial policy in the United States is supposed to be Sematech, a jointly funded government- business partnership aimed at developing advanced semiconductors. (Robert S. Williams and George C. Lodge, Sematech, Harvard Business School Case Study, 1988.) However, after seven years and nearly $1.5 billion spent, Sematech has produced few marketable products; some of its biggest projects are failures. For example, Sematech funded attempts by some companies to produce advanced lithography equipment which etches the electrical circuit patterns into electronic components. The project collapsed after consuming tens of millions of dollars of Sematech's taxpayer-subsidized budget. ("Govt High-Tech Boondoggles: Clinton Computer-Screen Next Failure?," Investor's Business Daily, May 6, 1994, p. 1.)
Meanwhile, though remaining committed to Sematech's basic mission, Sematech partners like American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) and others have entered joint ventures with Japanese semiconductor firms to gain access to advanced products and production. AT&T has two joint ventures, one with Mitsubishi Electric Ltd. begun in 1990, and three different arrangements with Nippon Electric Company, also begun in 1990. While the jury is still out on just how successful these ventures will be for AT&T, they demonstrate how the company has chosen avenues other than government subsidies to enter the semiconductor market.
To be sure, Sematech may have helped some companies pay for new research and development projects. However, those "successes" came at the expense of diverting capital from companies that lacked government funding to others that received such funding. In fact, some of the companies denied government funding achieved equal or greater success. For example, California-based Cypress Semiconductor corporation is not a member of Sematech, yet it produces one of the world's fastest static random access memory (SRAM) chips, used in supercomputers to store and retrieve data. It developed this product without help from the government. Cypress Semiconductor CEO T.J. Rodgers says: "Sematech has waged a public relations campaign to claim credit for the [U.S. semiconductor industry] comeback. It is a preposterous claim. It is true that Washington spent or will spend $1 billion of taxpayer money on the Sematech boondoggle. It is true that the U.S. semiconductor industry has experienced a resurgence. It is not true that one had much to do with the other." (Dr. T. J. Rodgers, statement given in testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Technology, Environment, and Aviation, March 25, 1993.)
- Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC).
Another U.S. industrial policy failure was the attempt to develop advanced electrical circuits needed for military computers and hardware such as shipboard computer systems, mobile computer products, and a host of other products. From 1979 to 1990, the U.S. government spent over $1 billion to support the building of advanced circuits to meet the needs of future electronic equipment. What it got was computer chips for existing equipment, despite market trends toward production of computer chips that were far more advanced. The result: $1 billion for no lasting marketable product. ("Govt High-Tech Boondoggles," op. cit. See also Katie Hafner, "Does Industrial Policy Work? Lessons from Sematech," The New York Times, November 7, 1993, p. 5.)
- In Japan, High Definition Television (HDTV).
HDTVs are next-generation TVs with better resolution, movie screen dimensions, and compact disc-quality sound. Japan's HDTV project was begun in the early 1980s and by 1985 was being funded directly by the Japanese government. By the late 1980s, President Bush was considering adopting a U.S. industrial policy for an HDTV project, but he rejected it while Japan's project went forward. In the meantime, some U.S. companies joined forces to build a system with an emerging technology based on digital transmissions, an advanced way to transmit data in large quantities very quickly. Japan's government- funded project used older technology based on analog transmissions, which is a slower way to transmit data. Thus, while Japan had the first HDTV, the U.S. product is far more advanced and will become the standard for HDTV systems elsewhere. Japan's industrial policy failed where the U.S. market succeeded.
These examples show a common problem with industrial policy: it tends to favor existing technology over emerging, often more promising technology. While the market cannot always foresee future emerging technology, private investors are better able to determine how much a potential project may be worth by spending their own money than are government bureaucrats spending someone else's money.
Industrial policies fail because governments lack the knowledge, incentives, and expertise to influence markets successfully. But industrial policy is only one part of the President's managed trade agenda. The other is the pursuit of guaranteed shares of foreign markets. To justify such policies, the Clinton Administration is relying on the 1991 U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement as a model of effective managed trade policy. A closer analysis of this arrangement reveals that it has not done what the Administration claims.
In 1991, President Bush signed a trade agreement with Japan seeking to increase the U.S. share of the Japanese semiconductor market. The Clinton Administration maintains that this agreement guaranteed a 20 percent portion of the Japanese market to foreign-made semiconductors, mainly U.S. products, and argues that this guarantee, together with threats of U.S. trade retaliation, has forced the Japanese to buy more U.S. semiconductors. The Administration is wrong.
The Clinton Administration's argument actually is based on Ronald Reagan's 1986 U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement. This agreement, among other things, called for incremental increases in Japanese purchases of foreign-made semiconductors and for U.S. trade retaliation if these targets were not met -- retaliation that was applied in 1988 in the form of tariffs. The Clinton Administration points to the general rise in the share of the Japanese market captured by U.S. producers as proof of this approach's effectiveness. But what the Administration ignores is that in the 1991 agreement, Bush eliminated all references to "guaranteed market shares" and scrapped the Reagan tariffs imposed on Japan. As the chart above shows, U.S. market share in Japan rose generally through the last half of the 1980s. But it was not until well after these changes were made that U.S. companies really gained market share in Japan. The 1991 Agreement makes no reference to guarantees, simply stating that:
The Government of Japan recognizes that the U.S. semiconductor industry expects that the foreign market share will grow to more than 20 percent of the Japanese market by the end of 1992 and considers that this can be realized. The Government of Japan welcomes the realization of this expectation. The two Governments agree that the above statements constitute neither a guarantee, a ceiling nor a floor on the foreign market share.
If numerical targets and trade retaliation did not increase foreign market share in the Japanese semiconductor market after 1991, what did? A closer look at the 1991 agreement shows that market forces, sound business planning, and other aspects propelled U.S. firms into the Japanese market. (Industry and Trade Summary: Semiconductors [hereafter cited as I&TS:S], United States International Trade Commission, USITC Publication 2708, December 1993, p. 7.)
The fact that U.S. semiconductor sales in Japan increased so dramatically about a year after the 1991 agreement had much to do with sound business decisions made by U.S. companies in the mid-1980s and bad business decisions made by their Japanese counterparts. Consider the following chronology of events:
As the demand for personal computers increased during the early to mid-1980s, so did demand for components used in these computers. In the United States alone, sales of computers increased nearly 1,000 percent from 1981 to 1988 (see chart ). The main components of these computers are semiconductors, used in the form of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and microprocessors.
Because the Japanese government and private semiconductor producers believed demand would increase throughout the 1980s, Japanese companies initiated a massive production schedule for DRAMs. Many of these Japanese companies saw the expected increase in demand and their newly developed DRAM production techniques as reason enough to increase production in this crucial product area.
Meanwhile, U.S. companies like Motorola Incorporated and Intel Corporation saw an opportunity to increase production in an area being neglected by the Japanese: microprocessors. Japanese efforts to enter this market were stifled in part because Japanese firms were busy trying to out-produce one another in DRAMs. Faced with this increased competition and dwindling profits, U.S. firms walked away from DRAMs and spent their money producing microprocessors. According to Cypress Semiconductor CEO Rodgers: "Gordon Moore, the chairman of Intel, admitted that Intel deliberately walked out of the DRAM business to make more profit. Two years later they made a profit of $600 million in microprocessors, which is where they squirreled their money instead of DRAMs." (Virginia I. and Steven R. Postrel, "The New Mr. Chips, Speaking for Silicon Valley's Upstarts," Reason, July 1990, p. 31.)
By 1985, the Japanese had overproduced DRAMs, and prices began to fall. To cut their losses, Japanese companies began to sell their massive inventories at cut-rate prices, prompting U.S. semiconductor companies and the U.S. government to charge the Japanese with dumping, or selling them at below market value. (Four Years of Experience Under the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement: A Deal is a Deal, Semiconductor Industry Association, San Jose, California, November 1990, p. 59. It must be said that the Japanese were selling their DRAMs at prices below their costs of production, which did injure U.S. companies still engaged in DRAM production. However, these lower prices were the result of cut-throat competition between Japanese DRAM producers who were trying to unload their bloated inventories after the demand for DRAMs collapsed. U.S. antidumping provisions do not take these issues into account. For a full description of U.S. antidumping laws, see Bryan T. Johnson, "A Guide to U.S. Antidumping Laws: America's Unfair Trade Practice," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 906, July 21, 1992.) This led to the 1986 U.S.- Japan Semiconductor Agreement in which the Japanese agreed, among other things, to stop dumping DRAMs. The resultant cutback in DRAM production led to an eventual price increase and to higher Japanese profits, which in the end may have been all that kept some of these businesses from going bankrupt.
While many Japanese consumer electronics companies were losing money in DRAMs, companies like Intel and Motorola went on to become the world's largest producers of microprocessors, making billions in profits. In fact, Intel alone controls almost all of the world's supply of high-end microprocessors and nearly three-fourths of all microprocessors, truly a tribute to the company's foresight, investment strategy, and business planning (see chart below).
In short, one reason the U.S. began gaining more market share in Japan is that some U.S. semiconductor firms walked away from the cut- throat competition in DRAMs and invested in microprocessors. By 1991, Japan was virtually dependent on the U.S. for microprocessors, which they had neglected. For example, the foreign share of the Japanese microprocessor market is 76.6 percent, and most of this is U.S. market share. This compares to a 23.2 percent share of Japan's DRAM market.
Another reason the U.S. gained market share in Japan is that U.S. firms took advantage of language in the 1991 agreement which called for an increase in joint ventures between U.S. and Japanese firms. These strategic alliances are private sector arrangements between two or more companies seeking to increase production by taking on a partner. They can take many forms, including direct acquisition of one company by another, a joint venture partnership between two companies, and the merger of two companies to form a single entity for the desired production. These alliances are key to opening the Japanese market because they give U.S. firms unique access to Japanese partners. Moreover, these alliances provide U.S. firms with immediate access to Japanese technologies -- and vice versa -- that it would take years for them to develop on their own. (Not all strategic alliances will be successful. Even some of those mentioned in this study may end up as failures. The significance of these alliances is that U.S. companies have sought private sector means to address their desire for increased market share in Japan and access to advanced technologies.)
The real success of the 1991 Semiconductor Agreement lies in the degree to which it encouraged these strategic alliances between U.S. and Japanese semiconductor firms, leading the U.S. to ease its antitrust laws to facilitate joint production arrangements between two or more companies. (The National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 allowed two or more companies to enter joint research projects without the threat of extreme antitrust penalties. The law was aimed mainly at U.S. companies. Later, in 1993, President Clinton expanded the Act to include joint production ventures, but it was still aimed mainly at U.S. firms; foreign firms are allowed to participate, but only as minority members.) The 1991 Agreement specifically states: "The Government of the United States of America will provide support for expanded sales of foreign-based semiconductors in Japan through the promotion of long-term relationships between Japanese producers, including joint product development with Japanese customers, and other actions the two Governments consider appropriate." (1991 Semiconductor Agreement, USTR.) The Bush Department of Commerce worked closely with American businesses, giving them information on partnership and market opportunities in Japan. Partially as a result of these and other efforts, U.S. semiconductor companies today are engaged in hundreds of partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and research and development projects with Japanese firms. (I&TS:S, p. 7.)
These alliances are the result of private U.S. businesses seeking increased market opportunities in Japan, not just of the 1991 agreement, but they demonstrate that many American companies need little prodding from government to seize an overseas opportunity. The 1991 agreement created an atmosphere in which U.S. businesses could begin to consider joint ventures with Japanese firms as a realistic way to break into the Japanese semiconductor market. American companies sought new alliances or broadened existing ones. AT&T, for example, established an alliance with Mitsubishi Electric in October 1991; National Semiconductor Corporation started two relationships with Toshiba Corporation in May and December 1992; and Intel established a joint venture with Sharp Corporation in February 1992. (Dave Webb, "Intel Pulls Plug on Flash Fab," Electronic's Buyer's News, July 11, 1994.) All of these occurred after implementation of the 1991 agreement. ("Progress and Achievements Under the Semiconductor Agreement," Anderson, Hibey, & Blair and Powell Tate, Washington, D.C., February 23, 1994.)
These and hundreds of other alliances have helped U.S. companies to reduce research and development costs while gaining access to Japanese customers, manufacturing and marketing techniques, and technologies that they may not have been able to develop on their own. U.S. companies' sales in the Japanese market tripled between 1986 and 1992, rising from 7.7 percent of their world sales in 1986 to over 10 percent in 1992. (Ibid., data quoted from Dataquest.) Thus, in contrast to President Clinton's call for numerical targets, some U.S. semiconductor companies want more, not fewer, U.S.-Japan alliances.
For example, William Weber, Vice President of Texas Instruments Incorporated, told the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that "We won't urge the [U.S.] government to set market share goals. The government's intervention should be held to a minimum." (Asahi Shimbun, June 5, 1993.) Weber added, "Confrontation existed between the U.S. and Japan a year ago, but the present U.S.-Japan relationship is best characterized by trust. Foreign semiconductor suppliers are now integral parts of the Japanese users' Keiretsu." (Denpa, June 5, 1993.) (The Keiretsu system in Japan is an inter-linked group of businesses, banks, producers, and suppliers that have agreed to work together to reduce costs and maximize profits.)
In the same vein, Gilbert Amelio, President of National Semiconductor, told the Japanese press that "There is no need to set market share goals. The relationship between U.S. and Japanese companies has dramatically improved. Strong trust has been established and problems can be worked out quickly through communication. It is necessary to strengthen our business relationships further." (Nikkei Sangyo, August 30, 1993.)
Examples of these private sector relationships include:
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.-- Sony Corporation.
In 1990, the U.S. company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced a strategic alliance with Japan's Sony Corporation, which promised to help AMD reopen a dormant semiconductor manufacturing site in San Antonio, Texas. When the agreement was announced, AMD Chairman W.J. Sanders III noted that "access to [SONY's] manufacturing know-how will significantly enhance AMD's global competitiveness." (AMD News Release, February 20, 1990, p. 1.) As a result of this strategic alliance, Sony gave AMD valuable technology needed to enter the advanced computer memory chip business. Using this technology, AMD has done more business and become more profitable, selling $1.05 billion worth of semiconductors in 1990 and $1.64 billion worth by the end of 1993. Overall, AMD's earnings grew from a $35.9 million loss in 1990 to a $228 million profit in 1993. (The Value Line Investment Survey, January 28, 1994.)
- Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. -- Fujitsu Ltd.
Newer computers need faster, higher memory, but smaller chips. Developments in notebook and laptop computer technology have put pressure on semiconductor manufacturers to produce more advanced components for these computers. To meet this demand, AMD and Fujitsu have teamed up to develop a new "flash" memory chip, which is smaller and faster than similar components found in desktop machines and represents one of "the fastest-growing segments of the semiconductor market." (AMD News Release, April 14, 1993, p. 1.) These memory chips have the ability to retain information even when the power is off. According to Gene Conner, AMD's Vice President for Operations, such "collaboration between premier players on a global scale is the wave of the future" for the semiconductor industry. (Ibid., p. 3.) American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) -- Nippon Electric Company (NEC).
Many U.S. companies are breaking into new markets, especially in Japan, yet research and development costs for new technologies are extremely high. By emphasizing joint venture partnerships, these cost can be shared. AT&T, for example, teamed up with NEC of Japan in January 1992 to manufacture advanced static random access memory (SRAM) chips for computers and other products. NEC has provided AT&T with access to advanced SRAM technology, allowing it to introduce a new product line more quickly than it could have on its own because of the shared research and development costs.
- LSI Logic Corporation -- Sanyo Corporation.
Digital high definition television promises to be a profitable new technology. HDTV has better resolution, digital sound, and a wider screen; but few companies, Japanese or American, have a competitive advantage in the many components necessary for this new technology. In August 1991, LSI and Sanyo announced a strategic alliance in which the two companies would manufacture semiconductors jointly for HDTV. LSI specializes in semiconductors tailored to its partners' needs, while Sanyo has designed some of the most advanced semiconductors available. Thus, LSI can take advantage of its sophisticated production techniques and develop Sanyo's advanced semiconductor designs, making both companies more competitive. LSI also has entered similar alliances with Nippon Electric Company, Mitsubishi, and Japan Victor Corporation (JVC).
- Sun Microsystems Inc. -- Fujitsu, Ltd.
In the mid-1980s, Sun Microsystems had designed an advanced microprocessor called Sparc, but was unable to develop the chip on its own because its production techniques were not sufficiently advanced. Sun Microsystems eventually turned to Fujitsu, one of Japan's largest computer makers, for design and manufacturing assistance. Fujitsu soon became the largest Japanese supplier of Sparc microprocessors for sale in Japan and elsewhere. Today, Fujitsu sells computers built by Sun Microsytems in Japan under the Fujitsu label. Not only has this alliance helped an American company bring to market a product stuck in its design stages; according to Sun Microsytems, it also is helping the company sell more computers in Japan than it could have sold on its own. The joint venture has provided the U.S. firm with access and expertise on how to market and sell products in Japan. The alliance also has provided Sun with advanced components made by Fujitsu, which in turn have made Sun's workstations more competitive. Fujitsu now accounts for about 25 percent of Sun's Japanese sales of $700 million a year.
Because U.S. firms have joined hands with Japan's largest semiconductor manufacturers, access to Japan's market continues to grow, and U.S. market share continues to increase. Thus, the success of the U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement is not due to a guaranteed 20 percent of the Japanese market, but to the fact that private companies have reached across international borders to develop business relationships on their own without government threats of trade retaliation.
Instead of trying to manage trade with Japan and other partners, the Clinton Administration should expand access to foreign markets for U.S. businesses. Specifically, it should:
- Seek rapid congressional approval of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
After seven years of multilateral negotiations, this wide-ranging agreement between the U.S. and 123 other nations should be implemented as soon as possible. The current GATT agreement will reduce tariffs by as much as 40 percent worldwide and expand international trade by $235 billion a year by the year 2005.
There already is some debate in Congress that the current GATT round will sacrifice U.S. sovereignty and that lower tariffs will drain government revenues, causing higher taxes or spending cuts. Accusations of lost sovereignty, however, are unfounded. No international trade rule, whether emanating from GATT or from some other multilateral institution like the proposed World Trade Organization, can be binding on the U.S. Any such rule would have to be written into law and signed by the President to be binding on U.S. citizens. (See Joe Cobb, "A Guide to the New GATT Agreement," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 985, May 5, 1994. See also Joe Cobb, "The Real Threat to U.S. Sovereignty," Heritage Lecture No. 497, August 1, 1994.)
In order to maintain the momentum resulting from the conclusion of seven years of debate and negotiations, the Clinton Administration should press for quick passage of GATT implementing legislation this year.
- Extend free trade agreements to other countries in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
The North American Free Trade Agreement expanded the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement to include Mexico. It now should be expanded to include other countries like Chile and opened up to countries in Asia, such as Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, and to the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. As an alternative, the U.S. could offer free trade agreements to these countries separately. This would allow for the global expansion of free trade while avoiding the diversion of trade between blocs that occurs when regional agreements such as the NAFTA and the European Union erect trade barriers to outsiders.
The Clinton Administration has promised that Chile will be the next candidate for a free trade agreement. Chile has earned this opportunity because of economic reforms, begun in the mid-1970s, which have made it one of the fastest-growing economies in the Western Hemisphere. Since the mid-1980s, for example, the Chilean economy has grown at a rate of 5.7 percent a year. With inflation rates stabilized at around 11 percent, unemployment near 4 percent, and average salaries rising, Chile makes a good candidate for free trade with the U.S. (See Michael G. Wilson, "Building on the NAFTA: Forging A Free Trade Agreement With Chile," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 991, June 27, 1994.)
The Clinton Administration should not stop with Chile. It should begin to prepare for negotiations with other Latin American countries once negotiations with Chile are complete. The next likely candidates are Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica. The Administration also should consider offering free trade agreements to the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and even Russia. Clinton's fiscal year 1995 foreign aid budget request for Eastern and Central Europe and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union is over $1 billion, (Congressional Presentation Fiscal Year 1995, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1994.) but the U.S. does almost $10 billion in trade with that region each year. (USMT:12/93.) Bringing these countries into free trade areas could expand that trade significantly. The economic growth created by more foreign trade would improve the lives of Czechs, Hungarians, and Russians far more than foreign aid. Moreover, such a move would provide many Eastern European and Eurasian countries with the economic foundation necessary for continued and sustained growth.
- Pursue a pact liberalizing trade among the members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
If liberalizing trade with Latin America and Eastern Europe is a good idea, it is a great idea for Asia. The 17-member forum for Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation is a good foundation on which to build a free trade area in Asia. While offering FTAs to specific Asian countries, the U.S. should work within APEC to reduce trade barriers on a regional basis, while seeking to expand the APEC from an informal forum to a free trade region between the U.S. and APEC's members. Specifically, President Clinton should use the forum to pursue an aggressive strategy of reduced tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
In this forum, Clinton could urge countries like Japan to work harder to integrate their economies into the international economy. Pursuing such a multilateral approach among APEC members could result in real trade liberalization. Moreover, President Clinton should seek bilateral free trade areas with specific APEC members with the eventual goal of including all its members in a free trade area with the U.S. Clinton should start the process by pursuing a free trade area with Japan. Such a move would allow both U.S. and Japanese trade negotiators to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, much like the U.S. and Mexico have done through the NAFTA. Through this process, both countries would benefit. For example, U.S. automobile and auto parts companies could seek reforms in Japan's safety and inspection laws which restrict the import of American motor vehicles into Japan by making it difficult for them to get through the inspection process and into the showroom. Likewise, Japanese automobile companies could lobby for an end to the American Automobile Labeling Act and tariff reclassification of minivans, which raise the cost of Japanese automobiles sold in the U.S. The American Automobile Labeling Act requires all automobiles sold in the U.S. to specify the amount of domestic and foreign content of the automobile. The information must appear next to the sticker price information. This Act is a protectionist move by the domestic auto industry to portray automobiles with foreign names as "un-American" products even though many are built in the U.S. Similarly, the tariff reclassification of minivans will raise the price of imported minivans sold in the U.S. by several thousand dollars.
Both of these policies are protectionist maneuvers by U.S. industry to keep out imports. They would be targets for Japanese negotiators in free trade negotiations. Foster private sector strategic alliances between U.S. and foreign firms. Joint ventures, or "strategic alliances," between U.S. and foreign firms are far more successful in opening foreign markets than are such managed trade practices as guaranteeing a fixed share of a foreign market. They also introduce U.S. companies to technologies far more advanced than any that have been developed by government- sponsored industrial policies. These initiatives should be encouraged and made part of any bilateral trade agreements with U.S. trading partners.
As demonstrated by the 1991 Semiconductor Agreement, strategic alliances expand U.S. business's access to foreign markets, technology, marketing, management techniques, and capital. With these assets, American companies can become more competitive. The Clinton Administration should use the current U.S.-Japan Framework negotiations to develop language in any forthcoming agreement that encourages U.S. and Japanese companies to work together when they find it profitable and useful. For example, a new framework agreement should incorporate language similar to that found in the 1991 Agreement, which states that "long-term relationships between Japanese semiconductor purchasers and foreign-affiliated producers, including joint product development with Japanese customers," should be promoted. (1991 Semiconductor Agreement, USTR.) While strategic alliances may not always be successful, they remain America's best hope for breaking into closed foreign markets.
President Clinton has brought the U.S. down a dangerous path. By pursuing managed trade policies whereby the U.S. tries to strong-arm foreign governments into guaranteeing a fixed share of their market, Clinton not only raises the risk of a trade war with Japan and other trading partners, but also misses the boat on how best to open foreign markets to U.S. goods.
Much of Clinton's confusion on managed trade stems from a misreading of the 1991 Semiconductor Agreement. The President believes this agreement was successful because it guaranteed foreign firms 20 percent of the Japanese semiconductor market. He is mistaken. The real reason the agreement was a success is that U.S. companies took advantage of provisions which encouraged the growth of strategic alliances between private U.S. and Japanese companies.
Clinton would do well to re-examine the impact of this agreement. He will discover that successful U.S. companies gained access to overseas markets on their own, with no help from the U.S. government. Instead of trying to manage trade, Clinton should try to remove barriers to it. He should seek implementation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as quickly as possible and follow up on the North American Free Trade Agreement by negotiating other agreements with countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. These would do far more to open foreign markets to U.S. goods than would any threat of trade retaliation or guaranteed shares for foreign markets. Free trade will benefit U.S. businesses and consumers while expanding economic growth to all corners of the globe.
Bryan T. Johnson is a former Policy Analyst at The
Heritage Foundation.
Examples of U.S.-Japan Joint Ventures in Semiconductors Past and Present
Joint operation of semiconductor plant in San Antonio, Texas, for the purpose of technology transfer and advanced semiconductor manufacturing techniques (February 1990).
Joint design, production, and sales of flash memory chips (July 1992).
AT&T-Mitsubishi Electric
Joint development, licensing, and production of SRAMs and integrated circuits (February 1990 and October 1991).
Joint design and development of advanced SRAM memory chips (Four different ventures beginning in 1990).
Joint development of advanced memory chips (July 1992).
Joint development of 256M DRAM (July 1992).
Joint development of advanced DRAM manufacturing technologies (November 1988).
Joint development of flash memory chips (February 1992).
LSI Logic-Kawasaki Steel
Established a joint venture called Nihon Semiconductor, Inc., to produce advanced semiconductors (September 1985).
Technology transfer from Sharp to LSI to build SRAMs (March 1990).
Joint development of advanced semiconductors for HDTV (August 1991).
LSI Logic-VLSI Tech.-NEC-Mitsubishi-JVC-Sharp-Pioneer-NEC Home
Joint development of advanced semiconductors for HDTV (November 1991).
Micron Technology-Sanyo
Joint semiconductor distribution agreement (October 1989).
Micron Technology-NEC
Mutual sales of 4M and 16M DRAMs (June 1992).
Joint development of advanced semiconductors (July 1993).
Established a joint production company, Tohoku Semiconductor Co., Inc., in May 1988 which sells DRAMs and microprocessors.
National Semiconductor-Toshiba
Joint development of advanced semiconductors (May and December 1992).
Texas Instruments-Hitachi
Joint development of 16M, 64M, and 256M DRAMS (1988, 1991, 1992).
Texas Instruments-Kobe Steel
Joint venture company, KTI Semiconductor, Ltd., to manufacture semiconductors (May 1990).
Texas Instruments-Fujitsu-Sony-Hitachi
Joint development of HDTV components (August 1991).
Technical cooperation and joint R&D on advanced semiconductors. © 1995 Persimmon IT, Inc.


text:
SCROOTS-L ArchivesArchiver > SCROOTS > 2003-06 > 1055874132
From: "Elizabeth C. Simpson" <>
Subject: [SC] RE: Another try on the Odd Fellows Orphanage names
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 14:29:05 -0400
References: <email@example.com>
Over the weekend, my SCRoots digest version didn't arrive, but lots of
individual posts did. In any event, I haven't seen my post of orphans'
names come back to me and haven't had any inquiries about them, so I'm
including it below. Please forgive me if this is a duplicate. Thanks! --
Elizabeth Lee Crosby Simpson, Greenville, SC
This is a list of the "inmates" who were admitted to the Odd Fellows
Orphanage in Greenville, SC between its opening, which appears to actually
be September 21,1905, and April 18, 1915. If you have an interest in any of
these names,
please email me, . and I will give you what statistics
I have.
Bear in mind that 1) many of these so-called orphans had one or two parents
living, and generally had living family; and 2) orphans were not held in
very high regard, so no particular pains were taken to get their birthdates
and places correct. I have checked several against other data and found
them to be erroneous.
In several cases, there was "immoral behavior" going on with the orphan
girls as victims, and I see that the superintendent has altered information
on at least one girl, presumably so no one would try to contact her family.
In most cases, these children -- many from the same family -- were not from
Greenville but from more distant places like Aiken, Graniteville, York
-----------"All the Children Admitted Since The Orphanage was
Established" -----------
(This is in more or less chronological order of admission. Some family
members were admitted on different dates than others, so you will need to
read the whole list)
Beulah Dunaway, Mabel Dunaway, Della Cooper, Elsie Cooper, Albert Cooper,
Lucille Gunter, Asalee Gunter, Charles Jackson, Etta Jackson, Effie Jackson,
Blanch Fowler, Thomas Fowler, Maude Fowler, Boliver Fowler, Andy Ross, Joe
Carr, Mamie Corbin, Luther Corbin, Alma Corbin, Emma Corbin, Joseph Putman,
Sadie Craig, Betrtha Craig, Ethel Craig, Carrie Craig, Jerome Suits, Edward
Brown, Horace Brown, Walter Hilton, Germaine Hilton, Beatrice Hilton, Leland
Culberson, Pearl Hawkins, Gladys Allen, Willie Allen, Luther Craig, Mary
Sutherland, Wyatt Sutherland, Guy Sutherland, Russell Sutherland, Charles
Cowan, Willard Cowan, Hugh Liddell, Carlyle Stroup, Lucinda Stroup, Tommie
Broom, Effie Fabian, George W. Fabian, Lois Waters, Arthur Waters, Jessie
Jackson, Leona Jackson, Carrie Jones, Mattie Jones, Lucille Jones, Agnes
Strickland, James Strickland, Ethel M. Ferguson, Eva Powell, Pansy Powell,
William Powell, Addie Beacham, Lucille Beacham, Marie Waters, Fred. Waters,
Chas. O. Evans, Hoke Smith Evans, Thomas L. Brown, Alex Beasley, Jas. E.
Beasley, John T. Beasley.
My husband and I bought one of the old orphanage buildings as our residence
and are living there and busy writing a book about the orphanage and the
scandals, to pay for the rehabbing of our home. I understand there are some
orphans' graves on neighbors' property.
Elizabeth Lee Crosby Simpson
Greenville, SC
This thread:
|[SC] RE: Another try on the Odd Fellows Orphanage names by "Elizabeth C. Simpson" <>

subset: commoncrawl


text:
King's Bounty - First View @ RPG Vault
Jonric has whipped up one of their (very) short First View articles for King's Bounty, essentially summarising some basic info. Here's the "commendations" part:
It's very, very good, but I had to put it on shelf (I have Russian release), similarily to The Witcher: they have a lot of technical issues to address, and, what's worse, every week or two a patch changes unit characteristics and other balance stuff, so you have to restart, or have a miserably weak character(and that IS a pain, since difficulty is rather high even on Easy and Normal setting, their "easines" is mostly due to abundant funds). Hope they make it look a finished product when they release it worldwide.
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text:
Fulani herdsmen hack five to death in Delta communities
No fewer than five persons have been hacked to death by suspected Fulani herdsmen in two separate attacks in Abraka and Obiaruku, both in Ethiope East and Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.
It was gathered that the incident happened over the weekend in a renewed clash between herdsmen and farmers in the areas over the destruction of crops by cattle.
According to Vanguard, the latest attacks, which have reportedly stirred tension between local farmers and herdsmen in the state, claimed the lives of four males and a female as more residents in the state called for the ejection of the herdsmen from their lands.
A source said two of the victims, who were cousins, Akpovona Felix and Sunday Akpupu, were indigenes of Eku community residing at the Delta State University host community of Abraka.
The deceased were said to have refused to allow herdsmen to graze their cattle on their farms.
Akpovona, a father of five, was said to have been shot by the herdsmen while his brother was hacked to death and his fingers cut off.
The second incident happened in a farm around a forest reserve along the Abraka-Benin road, a boundary area between Urhoka-Abraka and Obiaruku. It claimed the lives of two males and a female.
The victims, according to sources, were indigenes of Obiaruku community.
"They had gone to the farm last week Tuesday and when they did not return, the next day, a search party sent to look for them found their lifeless bodies at separate locations by a river bank near their farm," Progress Aganbi, a native of the area, narrated.
The state's Police Public Relations Officer, Andrew Aniamaka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed that there were clashes in the two areas, but could not immediately confirm the number of casualties.
He said his main were on trail of those behind the devilish attack.


text:
Two Clarke County elementary schools will serve as community learning centers beginning in the 2002-03 school year.
Chase Street and Gaines elementary schools have been selected by the Clarke County School District-University of Georgia Partnership design team as the initial partnership schools.
The partnership, announced Feb. 1, involves social service agencies, churches and UGA's business and social work schools, but the prime movers are the UGA College of Education and the school district.
Individual UGA faculty members have worked with teachers and schools in the Clarke County School District for years, but the partnership represents the first time there has been a formal agreement between the university and the district.
The initiative, a five-year agreement, is spearheaded by a design team of local school principals, school district administrators, College of Education faculty members, UGA School of Social Work representatives and community members.
The team, which has now grown to include more parents and community members, selected Gaines and Chase as sites for the partnership schools, according to Jenny Oliver, director of academic initiatives for the College of Education and one of the three team leaders charged with turning the partnership into a productive reality.
The other two team leaders are JoBeth Allen, a faculty member in the college, and Norma McNair, the school district's director of instructional services.
''When we selected these two schools, we looked at students' test scores, the number of second-language learners in those schools, the number of students on free and reduced lunches. ... A lot of criteria went into selecting these two schools,'' Oliver told the Clarke County Board of Education last month. ''We feel like these schools would benefit most from this partnership initiative.''
Oliver and McNair said the partnership seeks to focus on schools with the most diverse student bodies, explaining that Chase, with a large Hispanic student population, and Gaines, with a large black student population, met that criteria.
In addition, Oliver and McNair said, the two schools were selected because standardized test scores indicate a different teaching style might prove more beneficial for the students.
Also, the two schools are in need of more up-to-date technology, Oliver said, and will benefit from the technology upgrades that will most likely be a part of the initiative.
Over the next five years, the design team will look at other schools across the country and will research and study which programs and teaching styles promote student achievement.
Possible changes at the schools include, among other things, extended school days and school years, evening adult programs and social programs.
Principals of the two schools -- Phyllis Stewart of Gaines and Jerri-Lynn Williams of Chase Street -- say they and their teachers are excited about the opportunity before them, but, at the same time, they are anxious about the unknown.
''They are nervous, they're excited, they're scared, they've got questions. ... They want to touch it but it's not tangible yet,'' Williams said of her teachers. ''It's scary for a teacher that's been teaching one year; it's scary for a teacher that's been teaching 30 years.''
Williams said the main reason the teachers are anxious is that the partnership represents ''the opposite of the way we do business in education. Traditionally, education really works like a hierarchy and control trickles down. Guidelines are given to teachers from up top and those guidelines say this is what you need to do and this is how you need to do it. Now, it's starting at this level and it's going up.''
Despite those anxieties, Williams said she and most Gaines teachers are ''thrilled to be a part of this opportunity.''
''It is an opportunity that in my professional career will never come again,'' Williams said. ''It's the proudest I've been of something I've worked with.''
Stewart, who has been at Gaines for nine years, said the partnership is in step with her plan for the school.
''When I first became principal here, I thought about my vision of what the school should be -- I had my dream of what the school should look like. This falls in line with that,'' Stewart said. ''This will give us more flexibility in curriculum development, programming and community resources -- and the university resources, of course we have those, but there will be more of a commitment on all of those areas to make the school what it should be.''
Stewart said her teachers were also experiencing a mix of excitement and anxiety.
''Of course you know with the unknown there are a lot of anxieties. But I have a number of teachers that are excited and they want to be here,'' she said. ''... This is another opportunity to refocus on what kinds of things would be best for the children at Gaines.''
Williams said while she wants all of the Gaines teachers to remain at the school, she wants to make it clear that the partnership school may not be for everyone.
''Everybody doesn't fit everywhere, and I think we're afraid to say that out loud. I will have teachers that are awesome, awesome teachers but they may not teach in such a way that they will feel comfortable in this new environment,'' Williams said. ''I need to say very loudly that it's OK if you're a teacher at one of these schools if you don't buy in. It's not OK if someone thinks you're not a good teacher because you're not buying in.''
For more information on the partnership, or to contribute ideas and/or suggestions, visit the Clarke County School District Web site at www.clarke.k12.ga.us.
This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, May 7, 2001.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


text:
The Top Seven Stories On 107.3 KFFM In 2012 – So Far
Now that we're half way through the year (can you believe it!), lets look back at a few of the stories that created a buzz in Yakima and beyond. The craziest videos, the hottest rumors, here's what has happened so far in 2012.
Memes have always been a popular subject on KFFM. When the Laina, more popularly known as 'Overly Attached Girlfriend' made this video for a Justin Bieber contest, little did she know she would turn into the talk of the Internet.
Another Internet Meme – this one that features the guy who played Nevelle Longbottom as the 'hunkier' one of the cast of Harry Potter had people second-guessing their favorite cast member.
During this year's Super Bowl, one man in the audience took it upon himself to dress up like Waldo to turn 'Where's Waldo' into a live action interactive game.
This girl caught the attention of several people, especially from conservatives who thought this picture was too racy to be featured in their high school yearbook.
The classic Yakima valley school lunch staple made at home with the original recipe now available to the world.
There was a viral buzz one what Eminem's daughter looked like today. As it turns out, they were fake.
Someone with too much time on their hands found out that if you microwave a bar of Ivory soap, it expands in a fun, fluffy mound.


text:
Current Newswire:
Krusader 2.0 Review - First Stable KDE4 ReleaseJul 01, 2009, 19:02 (0 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Dan Craciun)
WEBINAR: On-Demand
No-Size-Fits-All! An Application-Down Approach for Your Cloud Transformation REGISTER >
[ Thanks to Chris7mas for this link. ]
"Codenamed 'Mars Pathfinder', 2.0 is the first KDE4 stable release, bringing lots of new features and coming with the entire interface ported to Qt4 libraries.
Related Stories:
0 Talkback[s] (click to add your comment)


text:
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Results: 1 to 20 of 27
B&B Le Manoir De Morimont
Céroux-Mousty (1.8km from town centre)
Le Manoir De Morimont was originally a hunting lodge and now offers all you need for a peaceful and relaxing stay in the heart of the Walloon Brabant countryside. This charming bed and breakfast accommodation dates back to 1933 and is located next to the extensive Bois des Rêves and has a private park of one hectare in size. Bois des Rêves is a green paradise spread over 67 hectares in which you can discover nature, walk or just relax. Le
B&B Le Manoir De Morimont
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Hotel Chateau de Limelette
Ottignies (2.1km from town centre)
Limelette is only 20 minutes' drive from Brussels and offers free parking and free Wi-Fi throughout the property. This Anglo-Norman style hotel situated in a green park features an indoor pool and spa. Chateau de Limelette's rooms are classic in style and have a bath and minibar. There is an attractive restaurant that looks out over the peaceful garden. There is also a bar and a terrace at Chateau de Limelette. Guests can swim in the hotel's i
Hotel Chateau de Limelette
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ibis Styles Louvain la Neuve
Louvain-la-Neuve (3.0km from town centre)
Offering a restaurant and bar with an à la carte menu, ibis Styles Louvain la Neuve is located in 6 hectares of parkland within a 30-minute drive from Brussels South Charleroi Airport and Brussels Airport. It is set 34 km from the city centre of Brussels. It includes free services such as WiFi, breakfast and a lobby with coffee, tea and water. Rooms here will provide you with a flat-screen TV with cable channels and a balcony overlooking the par
ibis Styles Louvain la Neuve
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B&B La Maison de Palou
Limal (3.5km from town centre)
Set in quiet surroundings, B&B La Maison de Palou is lies in between of Rixensart and Wavre. It offers free WiFi and rooms with private bathroom facilities. The rooms are decorated with bright colours, wooden flooring and contemporary design furnishings. They have a flat-screen TV and a work desk. Guests can enjoy a continental breakfast every morning in the communal breakfast room. Walibi Belgium Theme Park and Wavre Parc des Collines are jus
B&B La Maison de Palou
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Le Goupil
Wavre (3.9km from town centre)
This guesthouse is located in a lush environment, just 3.3 km from Wavre centre. Le Goupil offers a spa & wellness centre, fitness centre and free WiFi. Each modern room is decorated with wooden furniture and has a flat-screen TV. The private bathrooms are fitted with a shower. You can enjoy breakfast in the breakfast room. During the day you can relax with a drink in the bar or on the terrace. A snack bar is available at Le Groupil as well. I
Le Goupil
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B&B La Pallande
Bousval (4.1km from town centre)
B&B La Pallande is set in the heart of Wallonia, 11 km from Waterloo. It offers comfortable accommodation with free Wi-Fi and a communal living room. A contintental breakfast is served every morning in the breakfast room. There are bikes available to explore the area free of charge.
B&B La Pallande
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B&B Château De Pallandt
Bousval (4.4km from town centre)
Château De Pallandt is set in an 18th century castle, featuring a private tennis court and a seasonal outdoor swimming pool. It offers classic accommodation with free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TV. Each room is decorated with wooden floors and historic furnishings. They have a private bathroom with a bath tub and hairdryer. Each morning, guests can enjoy a continental breakfast at the dining room. A large, lush garden surrounds the castle of De Pall
B&B Château De Pallandt
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Gîte Rêves du Monde
Bierges (4.7km from town centre)
This apartment in a restored 1930s mansion on the edge of Wavre is 10 minutes walk from Bierge-Walibi Railway Station. It features free Wi-Fi, Indonesian-themed décor and garden with seasonal pool. Gîte Rêves du Monde benefits from flat-screen cable TV in the living room and a kitchen with a microwave, an electric hob and a dishwasher. There is also a small dining area. Guests can relax at the Spa & Wellness which features sauna and spa bath f
Gîte Rêves du Monde
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Leonardo Hotel Wavre
Wavre (5.1km from town centre)
Located in Wavre, a 5-minute drive from the city centre, Leonardo Hotel Wavre is set right next to Bierges-Walibi Train Station. This hotel features free WiFi and free access to an outdoor swimming pool and on-site public parking. The property also comprises a children's playground and a restaurant. The air-conditioned rooms come with a flat-screen TV with pay-per-view channels. A bath/shower combination, a hairdryer and a toilet are provided in
Leonardo Hotel Wavre
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Domaine du Blé
Wavre (5.5km from town centre)
This hotel, set in a peaceful location on the edge of Wavre, is 30 minutes drive from Brussels. Domaine du Blé features a garden with 2 terraces and a barbecue. Domaine du Blé benefits from rooms with cable flat-screen TV. Free Wi-Fi internet is available in the entire Hotel. A buffet breakfast including a variety of breads, spreads, eggs, and juices is served in the dining room every morning. Louvain-la-Neuve is a 10-minute car journey from
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Ibis Wavre
Wavre (5.5km from town centre)
Entirely renovated since May 2017, Ibis Wavre is located just off the E411 Motorway at the edge of Wavre, less than 2 km from Walibi Amusement Park. This hotel offers a bar with 24-hour snack opportunities, a garden with a terrace and a children's playground. Guests can benefit from free WiFi, car rental services and free access to private parking facilities. Fitted with hardwood floors, all rooms come equipped with a seating area, satellite TV
Ibis Wavre
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Wildernest Tiny House
Chaumont-Gistoux (6.0km from town centre)
With garden views, Wildernest Tiny House has accommodation with a kitchenette set in Chaumont-Gistoux. Complimentary private parking is available on site. A fridge and stovetop are also provided, as well as a kettle. The campsite offers a barbecue. If you would like to discover the area, cycling is possible in the surroundings and Wildernest Tiny House can arrange a bicycle rental service. Brussels is 28 km from the accommodation, while Leuve
Wildernest Tiny House
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At Home Hotel
Wavre (6.1km from town centre)
If you are looking for a charming hotel, you're at the right place. Our hotel is situated in the centre of Wavre near everything. Our rooms are fully furnished with discrete luxury and a warm setting, in which you will make yourself " at home " !!! See you soon....
At Home Hotel
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Hotel Piano 2
Corbais (6.1km from town centre)
This hotel is situated in a rural area on the edge of Corbais. Piano II offers rooms with a kitchenette and free Wi-Fi. Brussels is 22 minutes by car. Each individually decorated room is furnished with a TV, some rooms have a terrace. All rooms have a private bathroom which is fitted with a shower or bath. You can prepare small meals in the room which contains an electric stove, microwave and refrigerator. A restaurant is located just 650 metre
Hotel Piano 2
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Résidences De Champles
Bierges (6.5km from town centre)
Résidences De Champles is a self-catering accommodation located in Bierges, a 10-minute drive from Walibi Amusement Park and 450 metres from the nearest E411 Motorway Exit. Free Wi-Fi access is available in some rooms of the apartment or studio. The living units come equipped with a seating area or living room with a TV. They offer a dining table and a kitchenette including a coffee machine, a microwave and a refrigerator. The bathrooms are fitt
Résidences De Champles
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B&B Côté Colline
Rixensart (6.8km from town centre)
Located in Rixensart, 18 km from Brussels, B&B Côté Colline boasts a sun terrace and views of the garden. Free WiFi is featured throughout the property and free private parking is available on site. You will find a shared lounge at the property. Leuven is 22 km from B&B Côté Colline, while Namur is 37 km from the property. Louvain-la-Neuve is 15 km away. The nearest airport is Brussels Airport, 20 km from B&B Côté Colline.
B&B Côté Colline
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Relais de L'Empereur
Genappe (7.3km from town centre)
Featuring free WiFi throughout the property, Relais de L'Empereur offers pet-friendly accommodation in Genappe, 35 km from Brussels. Guests can enjoy the on-site restaurant. Free private parking is available on site. The rooms feature a flat-screen TV, a kettle and a private bathroom with free toiletries and a hairdryer. Certain units have a seating area where you can relax. Guests can enjoy the 2 golf courses at an extra charge. Waterloo is 16
Relais de L'Empereur
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Martin's Manoir
Genval (7.6km from town centre)
Easily connected to Brussels via the Genval railway station, this charming Victorian mansion offers a beautiful garden terrace and romantic guest rooms. Free WiFi is available throughout the hotel. Martin's Manoir adds classic elegance to your stay, while also providing you with many modern facilities. Wake up with the extensive breakfast buffet and decide to have a walk along the wonderful Genval Lake. The stylish décor of Martin's Manoir make
Martin's Manoir
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B&B du Lac de Genval
Genval (7.7km from town centre)
This charming B&B is located in an elegant hunting lodge and offers romantic accommodation near Genval Lake. Benefit from free Wi-Fi and free private parking. Each of the suites features individual décor and contains a free minibar, free Wi-Fi and a TV. The Bed & Breakfast de Genval is located in a peaceful, green neighbourhood and adds traditional hospitality to your stay. Wake up each morning with a wholesome, free breakfast buffet including
B&B du Lac de Genval
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Best Western Hotel Wavre
Wavre (7.7km from town centre)
Best Western Hotel Wavre benefits from a location a 10-minute drive from the centre of Wavre and the popular Walibi Amusement Park. It provides functional accommodation units with free WiFi, a garden with a terrace and a restaurant. Guests can park free of charge on site. A work desk, cable TV and a telephone are fitted in each room at Best Western Hotel Wavre. The en-suite bathroom in all units feature a bath or a shower. A breakfast buffet is
Best Western Hotel Wavre
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iPhone 6s Earpiece Replacement Service
Are you not being able to hear the person you are talking to ? It makes a phone essentially useless. If you need iPhone 6 earpiece repair, our professionals are here to help you.
Mac Service Dallas
2629 N Stemmons Fwy
Dallas, TX 75207
Hours: 10:00 am — 7:00 pm (Monday – Sunday)


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View Product
Fjallraven Womens Sormland Paddded Vest£165.00 View product
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Fjallraven Lappland Hybrid Vest£190.00 View product
In 1950, a 14 year old Åke Nordin decided that the backpack market was in need of something much more comfortable. 10 years later, the Fjallraven backpack was born. The brand has released many lines of Fjallraven bags over the years, loved by men, women and children alike. The brand has now expanded to include many Fjallraven clothing lines. Fjallraven jackets and trousers are particularly popular in the outdoor clothing market due to their hard-wearing fabrics and technical features. Fjallraven shirts and Fjallraven t-shirts offer stylish and functional layers and accessories such as Fjallraven hats, belts and wallets are designed to meet the need of the outdoor explorer.


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( 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 )
Listing Expired for: 1930 Studebaker 54-coupe
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Times are tough and families are struggling to feed their children. So why are so few taking advantage of Mayor Bloomberg's free breakfast program in NYC schools? We take a look at some of the reasons why food is being wasted and only 20 percent of children are showing up for the meals. Also, see why a pilot program that offers children breakfast in the classroom is working so well.
Published at 9:54 PM EST on Sep 28, 2010 | Updated at 10:14 PM EST on Sep 29, 2010


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Product Details
- beautifully hand made product
- glass
- contemporary
- Country of Origin: The Netherlands
Product description
This beautiful decorative candlestick will illuminate your evenings with friends while adding to your cool contemporary decor. Irregular coloured glass softens the edges of a modern look, adding a charming glow. See also Yoseba.
Dimensions: Height 30 x Diameter 14cm
Questions about the Lustrous Glass Angular Candle Holder
Do you have a question about this product?
If your question isn't answered below, drop us an email using the form on the left. We'll respond to you personally by email and may also post the answer here to help others.
We're here to help! Fire away.


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- Product Overview
Short description
Blackmores Bio ACE® Excell is specifically formulated to combat free-radicals and reduce the risk of cell damage. This potent combination includes grape seed, milk thistle and an organic form of selenium plus other antioxidants.
A powerful combination of vitamins, minerals and herbal antioxidants that more effectively combat free radicals than single antioxidants used on their own.
This powerful combination helps to:
- Reduce the risk of cell damage due to free radicals
- Maintain healthy arteries
- Protect the liver against unhealthy substance
- Includes grape seed and an organic form of selenium which is more easily utilised by the body than inorganic selenium
Suggested dose
Adults - Take 1 capsule twice a day with meals, or as professionally prescribe
(per capsule)
Vitis vinifera (Grape seed) 1.2 g (1200 mg)extract equiv. to dry seed standardised to contain procyanidins 8.5 mg, Silybum marianum(Milk Thistle) 700 mg extract equiv. to dry fruit standardised to contain flavanolignans 8.4 mg , Selenomethionine (Selenium 13 µg)32.2 µg, Betacarotene (natural source) 3 mg, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine nitrate) 10 mg, Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid from calciumpantothenate 55 mg) 49.6 mg, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine hydrochloride) 25 mg, Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 50 µg, Vitamin C (fromascorbic acid 150 mg and calcium ascorbate 121 mg) 250 mg, Natural Vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol 67.1 mg) 100 IU, Zinc amino acidchelate (Zinc 5 mg) 25 mg, Folic acid 250 µg
- This product contains selenium, which is toxic in high doses. Selenium in dietary supplements should not exceed a daily dose of 150 µg
- Selenium containing products are not suitable for use by children under the age of 15 years
- Not recommended for use during pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Specifications
0.35 kg
80 capsules
Maximum Quantity Allowed per customer:
- Customer Reviews


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Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru Screenshots
2011-09-26 - Chunsoft's new visual novel launches with the PlayStation Vita. Read More »
Shin Kamaitachi no Yoru Screenshots
2011-09-06 - Chunsoft is reviving its classic adventure for PS Vita and PS3. Read More »
PlayStation Vita New Kamaitachi no Yoru Screenshots
2011-08-25 - The blue silhouettes are now polygon-based. Read More »
First New Kamaitachi no Yoru Trailer
2011-08-25 - Take a look at cross platform suspense visual novel gaming on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3. Read More »
PlayStation Vita Gets Classic Chunsoft Adventure Game
2011-08-24 - 3D visuals and crossplatform play with PS3 owners in revival of Kamaitachi no Yoru. Read More »


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HOWARD - One of the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournaments is coming to Howard.
The Gus Macker Basketball Tournament will take place May 31-June 1.
The event is expected to draw at least 200 teams to roughly 15 to 20 courts on Glendale Avenue.
Teams are guaranteed three scheduled games. The Macker is a double elimination tournament with a consolation bracket, known as the Toilet Bowl, for teams losing their first two games.
Online registration for teams will be available soon. Click here for more information.


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Our Apt owner may give us a rent reduction to be property mgmt. Have a question for you ladies.
So we live in a multi family home. We moved in a few years ago when the owner was in the apt in the house right next to us. We get along great. We are the oldest tenants here.
He ended up having to move and got a prop mgmt co. to oversee things. They have not been doing their job. The owner and I talked over the phone about DH and I taking care of things here for a rent reduction. He is coming over tonight to talk specifics.
My question for all of you are: How much of a rent reduction would be worth it and what should we expect to be doing? I am fine with calling plumbers and such but I can't do much to fix problems on my own. I don't want to chase anyone down for rent, but I don't think with the people who live here now that's a problem.
Should we just stay out of this and respectfully decline or is this a good opportunity?
I had to keep the pool clean, pick up trash on the grounds, answer emergency calls. I was on call 24/7. It wasn't too bad though. Walking the grounds was good exercise and I had 24hr access to the pool.
Try it out and see. I don't think you'll have to do that much. The property manager that he hired was probably getting 10% of the rents. He may want to do the rent collection himself and just have you show the place and do a little yard maintenance. I have a rental property and I just like having someone in town that I can call for little things.


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GLASGOW'S Dean Park, who has played panto dames with great success for nearly 30 years, is one of the stars this year in The Wizard of Never Woz at Glasgow's Pavilion.
His first dame appearance was in Inverness in the 1980s. He was sitting in his dressing room then, with full make-up, huge fake boobs and tights on when his parents came to see him. His father, of traditional West of Scotland stock, took in the scene and asked Dean: "Is this what it's come to, son?"
Sign of the times
Loading article content
GLASGOW Odeon continued. James Johnston worked as a telegram boy out of the George Square GPO when he had to deliver a telegram to legendary American singer Connie Francis at the Odeon. James put it in a priority envelope to be delivered in person, and on being shown into her dressing room he delivered said communication and waited with hand cupped at his thigh.
But instead of a tip, all he got was a "That's all mailman."
Back at the depot when colleagues asked if he got her autograph he replied: "Get her autograph? I could'nae get two ha'pennies for a penny."
Coining it in
AND Jim Thomson recalls: "I remember being serenaded by a visually-impaired busker slowly making his way along the Odeon queue. He was followed some paces behind by a down-at-heel guy with cap in hand who, before he reached the head of the queue, did a bunk with the collection."
Blue murder?
SO why should women know much about car mechanics? We only ask as a worker at Glasgow's most famous chain of car showrooms tells us a woman customer was having her car repaired only to be told by the wee Glasgow mechanic: "Yer heid gasket's blew."
She then asked him: "What colour should it be?"
Forgotten art
OUR story of the memory clinic reminds Alan Barlow in Paisley: "An old friend attended his doctor for a routine visit, and due to his age the doctor said that he would give him the standard memory test. After searching around for some time, the doctor said that he would give him the test at a later date as he couldn't remember where he'd put the list of questions."
Coffee sweetener
AS the tax affairs of big companies continue to hit the headlines, Janice Carter tells us: "I went into Starbucks today, ordered a drink, and paid the price minus the VAT.
"See how they like it."
Pregnant pause
"I COULDN'T care less about the royal baby," said a chap in a Glasgow pub last night.
"Unless of course we get a bank holiday out of it, in which case, congratulations."
Special delivery?
CONGRATULATIONS also of course to Britain's tabloid newspapers. As a reader phones to point out: "Remarkably some of them were able to tell us a year ago that Princess Kate was pregnant."


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What is in this article?:
Backed by respected European research, many parents and doctors believe food dyes are dangerous and are planning a trip to Washington, DC, to convince the FDA to either ban food with synthetic dyes or require warning labels for these products.
A culprit in hyperactivity?
Although the body of evidence may not be large, a few well-designed studies have swayed entire governments, and even the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), to reconsider the health effects of artificial food colors.
In 2004, David Schab published a groundbreaking meta-analysis looking at three decades worth of research on food dyes and hyperactivity in children.
At first, skepticism fueled his interest. "There were a lot of really poorly conducted studies out there that concluded with unconvincing and over-reaching claims," recalls Schab, PhD, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. But once he weeded out the bad studies, "Artificial food colorings appeared, in the highest quality of studies, to promote behavioral disturbances in hyperactive children," Schab says.
According to the researcher, the mechanism by which synthetic dyes impact behavior remains unclear, but they likely interfere with transmission of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays a critical role in attention.
Another lingering question: Do they impact only a certain subset of children, already prone to hyperactivity, or are all kids at risk?
Schab believes that question was answered by researchers at the University of Southhampton in the United Kingdom. They administered either an artificially colored drink or a dye-free alternative to 153 3-year-olds and 144 8-year-olds after they had stripped dyes from their diet for six weeks. Assessments from parents and teachers showed "significantly higher hyperactivity scores" in kids within hours after consuming the colored drinks.
In a 2007 study published in the Lancet, the University of Southhampton researchers concluded that "the adverse effects are not just seen in children with extreme hyperactivity but can also be seen in the general population."
The study was not without flaws. For example, it used six colors and a preservative called sodium benzoate—making it impossible to isolate which compound was to blame.
Nonetheless, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement soon after suggesting that "a trial of a preservative-free, food coloring-free diet is a reasonable intervention," for kids with hyperactivity problems. An accompanying AAP editorial added: "We skeptics might have been wrong."
Government action: U.S. vs. U.K.
In the U.K., the European Parliament asked food manufacturers to voluntarily remove synthetic dyes from food by Dec. 31, 2009. In what many see as a de-facto ban, it now requires foods containing them to sport a damning label: "May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."
Australia and Canada are now considering similar moves and at least one U.S. state, Maryland, has proposed a ban on food dyes in school lunches.
Meanwhile, parents in the United States are feeling snubbed. "There are people out there who will never even suspect this—who will never know what's wrong with their children," says Shutters, who was the first to sign up for the FDA hearing. "Our government needs to protect our kids too."
And it's not just the governments that are behaving differently on the issue of dyes. Responding to consumer pressure and the U.K.'s labeling laws, numerous multi-conglomerate food companies, including Mars Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc., have removed artificial colors from their products sold in Britain—while still selling those same synthetically colored products in America.


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Cradley Heath chainmakers festival extended to cover two days in June
11:57am Tuesday 20th May 2014
11:57am Tuesday 20th May 2014
THE Chainmakers' Festival is returning to Cradley Heath next month and for the first time will be held over two days.
The annual event, which is held at Bearmore Park, will feature a music concert on Friday, June 6, and the procession and festival on Saturday, June 7.
The festival is organised by the Midlands Trade Union Congress and commemorates Mary Macarthur and the Cradley Heath's chainmakers 1910 strike for a minimum wage.
The landmark victory changed the lives of thousands of workers who were earning starvation wages. The employers and unions agreed to a minimum wage of two and a half pence an hour - an amount equaling a 150 per cent pay increase for the poorest of workers.
On the Saturday there will be a commemoration at Mary Macarthur Memorial Gardens at 11am followed by banner procession from Cradley Heath High Street at 11.30am to Bearmore Park.
A spokesman for Midlands TUC said: "Come and celebrate the achievements of the famous women chainmakers of Cradley Heath and have some fun at the same time.
"There will be theatrical re-enactments on the day with Lynn Morris as Mary Macarthur with support from The Select Theatre Group as well as music, speeches, a circus, face painting, trade union exhibitions and Stacey Blythe will be singing The Chainmaker Song."
He added: "It really will be a great family day out."
Speakers on the Saturday include Kay Carberry, assistant general secretary of the TUC, Ruth Smeeth, deputy director of Hope not Hate,
Stephanie Peacock, parliamentary candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis and Natasha Millward, parliamentary candidate for Dudley South.
Arts collective Creative Cradley Heath are also backing the festival and will be working with local schoolchildren and artists on several local history projects before and during the festival.
There will also be documentary makers on hand during the day to take oral history testimony about chainmaking.
The High Street will be also decorated with bunting and flower baskets, with traders getting involved, this will be funded by the Friends of the Women Chainmakers.
This Saturday, Fran Wilde, is running an day of bunting making at St Luke's Church between 10am and 4pm, with free refreshments.
Textile artists Anne-Monique Stellinger and Gillian Dunkerley will also be teaching fabric printing techniques at the event.
For more information phone Fran Wilde on 07592 563 725.
© Copyright 2001-2017 Newsquest Media Group


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Katalin just arrived from Europe. Shes eager to have some fine wine and relax with Kayla. So, the wine and conversation is flowing. They kiss at one point as they feed each other cheese. Thats when they decide to take a dive for those sexy titties and nice round asses. Wow, These girls really missed each other.


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The latest news from Rogali:
At the moment our company is developing links for commercial interchange in Europe, Central America and South America. Our company delivers our merchandise to any city in Mexico and directly to your door. Ask for this service.
We can send your orders either by sea or air mail. We can utilize companies like DHL or any other company of your choice.
We can send samples to you of the different types of clothes we offer upon your request.
If you wish to receive quotations of our selection of merchandise just send us an electronic mail, a fax, or call us by telephone and make sure to include the following information:
1. The amount and type of clothes that you wish to buy.
We insist that you allow our company to assist you in the exportation/importation procedures.
Note: This assistance does not apply to countries such as Mexico.
4. Once we receive the information previously requested, we will send you by email or fax an invoice describing the total amount of the order. It will also include information on how to proceed for the deposit of your payment, address and information of our bank, banking route (ABA), our bank account number where you will deposit through a transference (wire transfer) from bank to bank. As soon as we receive your payment, we will inform you and immediately proceed with the shipment of your order to your address.
We have an account with the Chase Bank of McAllen, Texas, United States.
Other options for payments from Mexico and other countries
For our clients in Mexico, we inform you that you can make your payments at the following banks: Santander Serfin. ScotiaBank Inverlat, HSBC. Ask for our banking accounts in Mexico and deposit according to the current exchange rate for the dollar. For Mexico, or any country of Central and South America or Europe, besides using a bank transfer or direct deposit, customers also have the option to send us a money order or a money transfer to be cashed at our Western Union office of McAllen, Texas. You may also use Money Gram, a service where you can send money anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes at lower rates than those charged by banks.
Our customers in Mexico can make payments at Western Union whose offices are located at the Banamex banks, HSBC banks, Tiendas Comerciales Mejicanas, HEB stores, Elektra stores, Salinas y Rocha, Banco Azteca, closures warehouses, Telecom telégrafos (where you can directly send us a direct draft to McAllen, Texas) and in Tiendas Elektricity.
For payments in Mexico using the Money Gram service, our customers are advised to use the modules located in stores such as Walmart, Mi Bodega Aurrera, Tiendas Suburbia, Gigante, Super Maz, Banco Banorte. La Red Bansefi, Tiendas Construrama, Libertad Cooperativa de Ahorros y Préstamos, Tiendas Coppeli, Tiendas Soriana, Caja Popular Mejicana, Banco Bancomer, Autobuses Grupo Senda.
Another option for payment is through a money order (orden de pago) to Rogali New & Used Clothing by mail or by a mail carrier service to the following address: Rogali New and Used Clothing, 808 South Shary Road, Suite 5, PME #110, Mission TX, 78572, United States.


text: Johannesburg - President Jacob Zuma was asked to intervene to end the bull killing ritual of Ukweshwama in a letter released by Indian animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi on Thursday.The letter, written on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) Asia, expresses concern that the ritual, practised during the "First Fruits" festival, before crops are harvested, is exempt from animal protection laws on the grounds of "cultural liberty"."In the ritual, a group of young men torture and kill a bull with their bare hands, pulling the terrified and struggling animal to the ground, ripping out his tongue, shoving handfuls of dirt into his mouth, tearing out his eyes, mutilating his genitals and engaging in other cruel acts until the bull is finally dead," the former politician wrote.No excuse for cruelty"While I respect culture, this bull-killing ritual causes extreme suffering to an innocent creature and has no place in the modern world."She continued: "Tradition is not an excuse for cruelty, and many societies have ended or are working to end 'traditional' practices - such as slavery, cannibalism, infanticide, female circumcision, foot-binding, bullfighting and fox hunting - that cause animals or humans to suffer."She said there was a link between cruelty to animals and violent crimes against humans."Surely, this is not a 'value' that you want to instil in the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal."She concluded that traditions changed and societies evolved and that Zuma should not allow South Africa to be seen as "barbaric and retrograde by clinging to the cruel ritual of Ukweshwama".


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Photo: Doug Lay © 2007 all rights reserved
Pine Creek Dam is located on Little River, once part of the Choctaw Indian Nation, is approximately eight miles north of Valliant in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The lake extends into Choctaw and Pushmataha Counties.
Fort Towson, a few miles southwest of the lake, was established in 1824.
Pine Creek Lake is a 5,000 acre lake which offers a relaxed atmosphere and excellent boating and fishing activities.
Opportunities for sightseers and nature lovers are many at Pine Creek. The forest resources of the project are managed to improve the scenic quality of the park areas and adjoining land and create additional interest in trails for hiking, horseback riding, and exploration.
The high ratio of shoreline length to water area at Pine Creek Lake is conductive to good fish production.
Fish & Licenses
State Park
French trader Jean de la Harpe explored this area, later used by Choctaw Indians to establish small farmsteads.
Pine Creek State Park Contact Infomation:
From Idabel, Oklahoma, 18 miles west on US 70 to Valliant, the 2 miles north on OK 98, then 7 miles north on county road.
Route 1, Box 400
Valliant, Oklahoma 74764-9615
Fishing Guides
Get Listed
RV Parks & Campsites
Cabins & Lodging
Hotels & Motels
Tackle & Bait
Real Estate
Map & Directions
8 miles north of Valliant, Oklahoma.
Directions to Lake Pine Creek, Oklahoma.
Nearby Oklahoma lakes & rivers include:
North: Lake Sardis
Northeast: Lake Wister
East: Lake Broken Bow
Southeast: Mountain Fork River
South: Red River
Southwest: Lake Raymond Gary
West: Lake Hugo
Northwest: Lake McGee Creek
Weather Forecast
© 2004-2016 io media group


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Finalist, Revenue $5 Million+
Metro Lighting
Brentwood, MO
Reasoning that consumers can buy lighting in many other places, the largest lighting retailer in the state of Missouri separates itself from the competition by providing "overwhelming" customer service. All Metro Lighting employees receive ALA training. The store boasts three CLC®s, and each member of the staff is an ALA Lighting Specialist. Quarterly meetings keep the focus on customer service before, during and after the sale. Lunch-and-learn sessions, plus online training hosted by vendors, are other educational opportunities.
General Manager Matt Gagnepain writes the store's "Tip of the Week" newsletter. The publication provides employees with additional information on customer service. It is read by all employees and reviewed at the quarterly meetings. Whenever a customer sends the store a thank-you letter, it is scanned and distributed to spotlight employees who have gone above and beyond.
A monthly managers' meeting is run by Gagnepain and company President William Frisella. Positive and negative issues are addressed at this meeting, and the information is then passed along to sales associates and other employees.
A two-time ARTS Award winner (2006 and 2007), the showroom also received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's coveted 2010 Energy Star® Excellence in Retailing Award at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., in March. The Brentwood location generates 50 percent of sales for Energy Star-rated fixtures and compact fluorescent lamps, and it's also a central location for CFL and trash recycling programs for the entire company.


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Detroit, MI
Sponsored Topics
Detroit, Michigan, is a truly fascinating city: Once called the Paris of the West for its architecture, it became a beacon of the modern industrial age, home to major American automobile manufacturers and a unique musical sound. After a steep decline in population, political corruption and tax revenue in the second half of the 20th century, Detroit was hurting. Now, intrepid investors and young entrepreneurs are bringing life back to Detroit, with new neighborhoods, hotels, restaurants and more popping up practically overnight. It's an exciting time for Motown.
Must See In Detroit
For those interested in the arts, you must visit the Detroit Opera House and the Detroit Institute of Arts; the latter houses the acclaimed Diego Rivera Detroit Industry murals. Detroit is also home to the renowned Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Detroit is a crazy sports town, so catch a Red Wings game or a Tigers game and then grab a drink in the nearby trendy Midtown neighborhood.
Where to Stay in Detroit
Most of the big chain hotels are located downtown, close to the major sports venues like Ford Field and Comerica Park, as well as The Fillmore and the Fox Theatre. Consider taking the Detroit People Mover, an elevated tram, which cuts through this area of the city and stops at many of the major highlights.
Best and Worst Time to Visit Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area is the epicenter of arts and entertainment for the region. As such, from regular events like a Lions game to enormous events like the North American International Auto Show, traffic can get congested. Still, these events are when Detroit possesses a wonderful energy. Check out the annual fireworks event (usually held in late June), or one of the many music festivals that come through the city.
Where to Get Lost in Detroit
Eastern Market, with its dozens of shops, farm stands and more, is a local favorite. Love it or hate it, you should also check out the Heidelberg Project, just north of Elmwood Park. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Heidelberg is a massive, polarizing outdoor art installation: some visitors consider it an inspired contribution to a struggling neighborhood, others see it as an eyesore.
The Best Deal in Detroit
Detroit purists will say that you've got to check out their world-famous coney dog: a snapping hot dog topped with chili, mustard and onions. A pair of dogs will set you back a few bucks but are incredibly filling. Try rival (and neighbor) restaurants Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island and pick your favorite.
Transportation in Detroit
Beyond the People Mover monorail, local bus lines service the vast geographical scope of Detroit and its suburbs.
Getting in from Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Detroit's major international airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Country Airport, is located some 25 minutes outside of downtown. While very limited and indirect bus transportation is available to downtown, you're better off taking private transportation.
Local Tips for a Visitor to Detroit
Detroit is filled with gorgeous performance spaces, from the Fox Theatre to the Fisher Theatre. Make sure to take in a show if you can; many touring Broadway productions will stop at either of these places. Detroit is also going through a restaurant and bar boom, so explore outside of your culinary comfort zone.
Author's bio: Jeff Birou is an education administrator by day, travel and freelance writer by night. You can find him at his blog, Lance+Jeff, or on Twitter at @Jetsetter_Jeff.