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Contact Info / Websites
Entry #237
MLP FIghting is Magic *non-profit fan game - Canceled by Hasbro
2013-02-08 22:29:38 by JakBaronKing
Read the article here on Equestria Daily
Obviously Hasbro thinks too strongly on the lines of copyright protection and censorship.
*By censoring a made-up fan word, you've officially made it sound offensive.
Sure they allow little things to slide by like comics, and all the uploads you can easily find on youtube *(cause you know it'll only promote the series) - but I have bad feelings about why Hasbro placed a 'cease and deceit' lawsuit on a 'non-profit' fan-game.
The biggest tick for me is that this game is full of amazing works of game programing, animation, and music.
Does Hasbro or any other Big Name company really have the right to control our fan work?
If they did that, they might as well take down Tumbler sites, Deviantart comics, Newgrounds all that jazz. But then who are we to be? Just slaves to mediocrity?
They already took down "Friendship is WitchCraft" by Shereclop. They even had to make their own site. I don't know why, it was specifically disclaimed to be non profit fan-work.
It's a real shame. Because I was really looking forward to playing this game.
A similar game even featured on Newgrounds called "PPGD: Battle in Megaville" was featured and gone un-threatened by their big name company Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
Because people knew that the game was fake and not part of the franchise. It was based off a fan-work comic.
But since Hasbro is being kinda a bunch of but-holes *scuse my language - that means they can essentially sue this guy's work too.
And look how fantastic it is! Would you really want that to be gone?
Copyright sucks sometimes. Sure we use it to protect our ideas from being 'ripped off'.
But that's the whole point of a real copyright lawsuit. Shameless rip-offs and fake merchandise, etc - stuff that makes others money at the expensive and creative effort of others. That's what copyright laws are SUPPOSE to do.
Not to halt fantastic non-profit fan-work. Those only serve as a tribute to their greatness. That's the opposite of what is suppose happen. You WANT FAN-WORK.
It's really stupid. Especially since 'some' companies only really care about money and not the creative drive that it could produce.
Can't we just live in a world where it's the ideas that are important. Not necessarily who owns them. Ideas build on top of each-other.
If this copyright "Protection" gets too out of hand, then we'll never move forward and are always staying within the boundaries of what we can and cannot take from inspiration. Because our inspiration could be claimed as 'theirs'.
That's like a Caveman suing Thomas Jefferson for "light". We'd still be in the dark ages.
Or the Earl of Sandwich suing every restaurant that sold 'HIS' meal. But even the Earl didn't make the Sandwich. One of his cooks did. The cook couldn't name it, but the king declared it for himself.
Bottom Line....it's the difference between Greed vs Creativity.
MONEY owns you. It owns your ideas. And puts a restriction on your capabilities of working with inspiration.
Hasbro may own a piece of paper of a franchise they bought out from an old woman in the 80's.
But they are seriously making people upset and halting all this creative freedom.
They were not the creative force as to why people like the franchise.
It was artists. Artists who care nothing more than the heart of animation magic and the talents of fantastic story telling.
They shouldn't get so offended by fan work. Nor do I believe they really have any right suing "non-profit" artwork.
Also - Fighting Games are very socially popular and very competitive.
But I've seen good sportsmanship emerge from a simple video game.
And nothing is wrong is friendly sparing.
If you are a Brony or an activist of Non-Profit Creative Freedom and want to write a letter to Hasbro.
Here is the address.
Hasbro, Inc.
1027 Newport Avenue
Pawtucket, RI 02862.
But be polite and constructive.
How can fans express themselves if the Franchise owners put the thumb down on everything that even hold a likeness to it!?
- 5 comments
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2013-02-09 21:31:04
Wow, that game would've been a big hit here at NG. Really great music video too.
And it was all fan worked on.
No money, no contracts, no profit gained.
Just fans expressing themselves.
2013-02-10 03:07:13
y'know, i didn't read your whole post but i have to say that companies (especially those in the entertainment industry) need to be more flexible. Cable might be a good example, as much of what I see here on NG is 10x as good as what's on [Adult Swim] or Comedy Central.
Indy games are a great example of how you really can still make something of yourself with your own hands. That said, there may be a deeper investigation following this "proactive" solution by major manufacturer Hasbro, Inc. which could result in a long chain of blows to the self-made developer. Key example being that while "Fighting Is Magic" is innocent and not-for-profit, there is a large number of Hentai that is largely plagiarized from popular media originally intended for children.
The targeting of "Fighting Is Magic" is strange, considering the large volume of anthro-hentai based on MLP. Goes to show that these large companies are probably too bloated to stay very clued in for long.
You're right, there are FAR WORST THINGS that Hasbro could be bashing against.
But what right do they really have anyway? It's like saying you cannot say or write or draw bad things about our President.
Isn't this "Amu'rica" - sure there are copyright laws sure, but those things are really meant to protect the product from getting ripped off for shameless profit. Say the whole "Fake Apple Store" in China for example.
Hasbro is so 'protestant' and 'politically correct' sometimes it makes me sick. They don't want the 'fighting game' because they think it promotes violence.
2013-02-11 00:48:04
of course they don't want Fighting Is Magic! Other MLP stuff isn't really worth the effort, because it's usually fairly poorly done...but this one must've caught their eye because it DIRECTLY spinned the catchphrase "friendship is majik" and was garnering a lot of support.
I suppose they were concerned that the game would take away from any video game enterprising Hasbro had in mind...
Fair use is a pretty sticky thicket, and it can be easily burnt to the ground.
Now...if they were smart, they'd know that the "young adult" audience (between 16-24) would eat up a top-of-the-line MLP game for Xbox 360, if it was done right. You don't have to compromise franchise integrity OR that of the fans by going too extreme one way or another. I think "fighting is magic" caused personal offense, because it's what the franchise currently stands against.
for the record: i am actually against anything MLP.
Hasbro is basically being Protestant and gender steryopical.
The ponies obviously are capable of martial arts and fighting.
Rainbow Dash herself is a blackbelt in Karate.
Even Rarity can hold her own against against a Manticore.
They could easily imply that this game is all in good fun.
Sportsmanship and Sparing.
They could even do an episode based off it.
A Ponyville Martial Arts competition.
Sparing is fun. Just as long as no one is really getting hurt and good sportsmanship is kept in mind.
My point is....
Hasbro thinks Transformers should only be for boys and Ponies for girls and that there should be different expectations of gender behavior.
2013-02-12 02:49:59
i see what you mean, and that of course goes WAYYY back to dollies and BB Guns.
At our core, we are just two halfs of the same coin.
Men and Women's roles in society are purely based on what society makes of it.
But really, it can be anything we want. And boys and girls are equal so there shouldn't be any discrepancies towards any particular behavior.
What matters is how well we treat each other.
2013-02-13 11:39:42
The justification they'd use in this case, is that by producing non-profit wan works such as this they are somehow 'evaluating' the value of MLP products produced by Hasbro; ie MLP games, either past or present. If a bunch of fans start playing a flashy video game that is on par with commercial products by Hasbro, they would argue that they'd be less likely to buy official licensed games.
In fact, the very fact they put out a C&D should attest to the quality of the project and determination of those involved. Hasbro is either embarrassed, or feels threatened by this fan work. Either way, sucks to be a MLP fan.
It's unfortunate, because those who need IP law the most are smaller companies or individuals, whilst larger firms have the corporate muscle and funding to exploit it. There has been talk of using OC material, and I think that's a far better way to respond to this than either putting the project on ice of playing tag with Hasbro's lawyers.
But parodies are totally legal.
And technically, all fan art is essentially parodies.
Especially when they don't turn a profit away from the franchise.
And I'll admit, the fan work is better than Hasbro can make, and it's to be expected because at least artist put their heart into it. Not that lack of love from a Chinese assembly line.
Hasbro doesn't care about their fans, they only care about money. But doing this was a BAD decision in my opinion.
Because it could very well go beyond the boundaries of stepping on freedom of expression vs a trademark lawsuit - since the game was essentially non-profit.
But Hasbro shouldn't have any right to shut down artists who've done nothing but express their love for them.
And unfortunately, it can't be OC ponies.
It can't be ponies period says Faust.
People argue that if it wasn't for Hasbro, we wouldn't get MLPG4.
No, it's because of loving heartfelt artists like Faust that such wonders came into existence.
Money makes it move, but they shouldn't "own" it. The artists should. And generally artists are more welcoming of fan art.


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Eschalon: Book II - Question of the Week
After skipping a week, Basilisk Games has returned to the fray with Question #6 in their "Question of the Week" feature on the content of Eschalon: Book II, presently in development.
It's a short one so I'll quote it in full:
Question #6:
[realmsmaster] Since there will be weather and climate effects, will the type of weather or climate have an effect on the character? Example, I am in a desert. I should roast in full plate armor. Will I have to switch my armor to something more appropriate?
As of now we have no plans of doing this type of statistic tracking (i.e. comfort level of character based on temperature or climate).
However, it has been mentioned that climate will affect your hunger and thirst bars, if you have the hunger/thirst rule turned on. Specifically, the desert region will make you consume water more quickly and the arctic regions will make you consume food more quickly.
Information aboutEschalon: Book II
SP/MP: Single-player
Setting: Fantasy
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC
Release: Released

subset: commoncrawl


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Three finalists have been picked for 2013 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The $5,000 prize, named after author James Thurber, honors an "outstanding book of humor writing" for the year.
The finalists include Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel (Lunatics), Dan Zevin (Dan Gets a Mini-Van), and Shalom Auslander (Hope, A Tragedy). Past winners of this award include David Sedaris, Steve Hely, and Calvin Trillin. Here's more from the release:
Now celebrating its 29th year, Thurber House is based in the boyhood home of author, humorist, and New Yorker cartoonist, James Thurber, in Columbus, Ohio. The award is an annual prize and will be presented with the support of the Greater Columbus Arts Council at a ceremony at Carolines on Broadway in New York City on September 30.


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Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have engineered E. coli with the "key molecular circuitry that will enable genetic engineers to program cells to communicate and perform computations." It's a way to program biological activity the way computers are programmed. All those 1's and 0's that make up programs for the software we use are the same logic operations in cellular computation. Researcher Christopher Voigt says:
"We think of electronic currents as doing computation, but any substrate can act like a computer, including gears, pipes of water, and cells," Voigt said. "Here, we've taken a colony of bacteria that are receiving two chemical signals from their neighbors, and have created the same logic gates that form the basis of silicon computing."
"The purpose of programming cells is not to have them overtake electronic computers," explained Voigt, whom Scientist magazine named a "scientist to watch" in 2007 and whose work is included among the Scientist's Top 10 Innovations of 2009. "Rather, it is to be able to access all of the things that biology can do in a reliable, programmable way."


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UGA to present art exhibition on 'Reflections of the Latin American Natural Environment'
April 18, 2013Print
- Writer:
- Elisabeth Setten Winstead
Athens, Ga. - The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute at the University of Georgia will present its first exhibition on "Reflections of the Latin American Natural Environment," a national juried exhibition of contemporary art, from April 22 to May 17 in its offices at 290 S. Hull St.
An artists' reception will be held April 26 from 4-6 p.m. in the UGA Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden behind Baldwin Hall on UGA's North Campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The exhibition's focus—on painting, drawing, textile, sculpture and photography—is designed to help the public develop an appreciation for Latin America's wealth of biological diversity and its variety of land, water and cultural resources.
All artwork will be for sale, with 30 percent of the profits benefiting the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute.
Artists selected for the exhibition include Becky Jaffee, Charles Winstead, Kathy Parker, Lois Correa-Diaz, Waheeda Mumtaz Persaud, William Hudson Temples and Neca Dantas.
Jurors for the exhibition are visual artists Stanley Bermudez and Valerie Aranda, who chose works based on quality, craftsmanship, strength of visual appeal and relation to the artists' statements on how the work connected to the theme. They looked for pieces that best represented the Latin American natural environment and, to a degree, how humans interacted, changed or influenced the Latin American environment.
"Shows like this one are very important because they demonstrate the rich diversity found in Latin America—diversity of ethnicities, languages and dialects, foods, cultures, flora, fauna and, most of all, natural environments," Bermudez said.
Bermudez was born in New Orleans to Venezuelan parents, raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and now lives in Athens. He has been a painter for 28 years and an adjunct art instructor at UGA, the University of North Georgia, Texas Tech University and Lone Star College. Aranda is an artist, educator and cultural activist. She is a professor of art at Georgia College and State University where she teaches courses in drawing, painting and community murals.
UGA Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute
LACSI at UGA brings the influences of Latin America and the Caribbean to the state of Georgia and beyond by sponsoring educational activities, artistic performances, interdisciplinary research, training and public service projects. For more information, see www.lacsi.uga.edu.
Filed under: Culture / Living, Arts and Entertainment, Recreation and Leisure, University News, Diversity


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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
LEADERS: Azerane Bam BinkyBunny JerseyGirl LBJ10 LittlePuffyTail LongEaredLions RabbitPam
Hi! I'm new here and wanted to revive this thread since I'm going to be bringing home a baby Flemish giant next month!
I love the idea of the wood grain foam panels...
I was wondering if this pen would work ok? Is there any concern about the rabbit chewing off the coating?
Thanks for reading, and nice to meet you all!


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12 Comments
nice :) +1
check out mine!
Nice one Jon. +1 ;D
Cozythrias Artist from United States
thanks for the support, hoping this 2nd submission does well :)
Strange and appealing. Cool work!!!
nc pajo
2 thumbs up
Retro-Jeff Artist
I don't know what it is, but I LIKE IT. Great job! +1
Very nice glows and lighting effects. I like how you merged line art with some photo retouch.
Not sure if I would wear something like this, but I'm gonna vote anyway cuz I can see the effort in this one.
Keep it up! cheers :o)
Cozythrias Artist from United States
thanks for voting :)
and yes, i did gave that much effort on that piece :)
great colors,awesome…+1


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- 1⁄2 c
- butter or margarine
- 1 1⁄2 c
- onion, chopped
- flour
- 9 c
- cleaned and chopped watercress leaves, packed
- 8 oz
- heavy cream
- 4
- eggs (or egg replacer)
- 3 t
- lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
An elegant opening for your next dinner party.
In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the onions until they begin to color. Stir in the flour to form a roux and lower the heat. Cook a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the broth, stirring all the time, until the soup base begins to thicken. Add the watercress and simmer about 10 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender and return it to the pot. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream and eggs; beat in 2 cups of the hot soup. Stir this mixture back into the soup pot. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Heat thoroughly, but do not boil. Garnish each boil with a watercress sprig if desired.
For a vegan soup, use margarine or oil instead of butter and omit the cream. Instead, add 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced, with the broth and cook about 7 minutes before adding watercress. Use egg replacer instead of eggs.


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SELKIRK -- Legendary curling broadcaster Bob Picken once referred to Jeff Stoughton as a "pretty good mixed curler."
That was, of course, before Stoughton became a four-time provincial men's champion, two-time Brier champ and captured a world title.
Stoughton's gradual success is inspiring to Brandon's Terry McNamee, who is a pretty good mixed curler himself, but is still trying to establish himself as a contender at the men's level.
McNamee won the last two provincial mixed championships and led Manitoba on the national stage, compiling 7-4 and 6-5 records.
Now he's competing in his seventh Safeway Select and would love to add a provincial men's curling championship to his collection.
"I've had some success at the men's but this year it would be nice to win it, and the mixed sure helps with our confidence," McNamee said yesterday after stealing two in the 10th to beat Richard Muntain 9-7 in his Safeway Select opener at the Selkirk Recreation Complex. "After going to the national championship a couple of times, I'm a lot more optimistic."
McNamee, a 40-year-old maintenance man, could be a bit of a dark horse at the Select.
His team includes former junior men's champion Geordie Hargreaves (with Mike McEwen in 2001) at third and features a skip who has curled in a lot of big games.
He's not exactly being compared with Stoughton, who won two Canadian mixed titles before tasting success at the men's level and is the favourite here this week, but he certainly would like to follow in the footsteps of the Charleswood skip.
"That's not bad company to be in, I guess," McNamee laughed.
The Brandon skip showed some mettle yesterday in his opening game, building a 6-2 lead, blowing it after gassing a draw against three in the eighth to fall behind 7-6, then playing a brilliant extra end to steal two for the win.
McNamee's last rock in the extra end was a double takeout, with the shooter rolling behind cover to get a piece of the button. That left Muntain only a slight chance to skinny a guard and play the tap back and the St. Vital skip's shot wrecked.
"It would have been a heartbreaker to lose that," McNamee said. "I don't know why he left me the shot he did in the extra, but it was good for us and I made a good shot. I feel good out there and a lot of it comes from playing games at a high level. It just makes you concentrate more."


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Early results show that when AVI4658 is delivered system-wide through the bloodstreams of boys with DMD, it's safe and increases dystrophin production.
Interim results from a human clinical trial of the exon-skipping compound AVI4658 in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) show that when the compound is delivered to the whole body via the bloodstream — rather than simply injected into a foot muscle as in a previous trial — it appears safe and leads to production of the missing muscle protein dystrophin.
Exon skipping is among the most promising strategies for treatment of DMD, and the AVI4658 results bode well for this compound and others of its type. Restoration of dystrophin, a key component of muscle, theoretically could restore muscle function or halt its deterioration in DMD.
AVI BioPharma of Bothell, Wash., announced the results in a press release on Dec. 22, 2009, based on a clinical trial held in the United Kingdom. (See Systemic Treatment with AVI4658 Demonstrates RNA Exon Skipping and Dystrophin Protein Expression in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients.)
A U.S. trial of AVI4658 will begin in spring 2010 at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, under the direction of neurologist Jerry Mendell, who co-directs the MDA clinic at that institution. (See First Human Exon Skipping Trial in U.S. Planned for 2010 and Exon Skipping - AVI BioPharma Trial to Skip Exon 51 in DMD.) In the U.S. trial, the compound will be delivered either intravenously to the whole body or by subcutaneous (under the skin) injection to a small region of the body.
About AVI4658
DMD is caused by a mutation in the gene for the muscle protein dystrophin. Without dystrophin, muscle fibers are abnormally fragile and break down under the stress of contractions.
AVI4658, which is based in part on MDA-supported basic-science research, is designed to coax cells to skip (ignore) the part of the dystrophin gene called exon 51. It's estimated that approximately 13 percent of DMD patients have a genetic mutation in the exon-51 area of the gene and potentially could be helped by AVI4658. (To find the location of a mutation in the dystrophin gene, it's necessary to undergo DNA testing.)
About this trial
The newly announced trial results reflect an ongoing phase 1b/2 clinical trial of AVI4658 for the systemic (whole body) treatment of DMD. (See AVI4658: Dose-Ranging Study to Induce Dystrophin Expression.)
The interim results are for participants in the first four of six dosage groups who have completed 12 weeks of treatment with different doses of AVI6458 (0.5, 1, 2 or 4 milligrams per kilogram of body weight) and have undergone muscle biopsies.
The post-treatment muscle biopsy samples reveal that the three trial participants who received 2 and 4 milligrams per kilogram of intravenous AVI4658 showed final instructions (messenger RNA) for dystrophin that reflect skipping of exon 51, accompanied by production of dystrophin protein.
One trial participant, in the 2-milligram dosage group, showed significant production of dystrophin with treatment, encouraging the investigators, who said that they expect even greater levels of dystrophin production with higher doses.
No dystrophin was seen in the biopsy samples from patients who received 0.5 milligrams or 1 milligram per kilogram of AVI4658.
Nineteen patients are now enrolled in this trial, with some receiving dosages of 10 and 20 milligrams per kilogram of of intravenous AVI4658.
Implications for people with DMD
At this time, the strategy only applies to people who can benefit from skipping exon 51. However, if this approach proves successful, other exon-skipping compounds can be developed targeting other dystrophin mutations.
See the clinical trials section of the MDA Web site for news about exon skipping trials and opportunities to participate in them as information becomes available.


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Answer: First, you need to grow a spine. Then you have to set some limits. By continuing to respond to your nosy colleague, you are rewarding the very behavior that you wish to discourage.
Busybodies typically prey on people who worry too much about being polite. These timid souls feel obligated to engage in any conversation that someone initiates, no matter how irrelevant or inappropriate.
To extract yourself from the clutches of this meddlesome woman, you must stop fretting about being rude and start standing up for yourself. The following "escape lines" may help.
At the office, work provides the perfect excuse for ending any conversation. When cornered by a gabby co-worker, you can always extricate yourself by saying, " I have a lot to do today, so I need to get back to my desk."
However, if she starts prying into personal matters, you must establish clear boundaries. For example: "I appreciate your interest, but I'd rather not talk about that." Or "Sorry, but there are some things that I prefer to keep private."
When she asks where you are going, just reply "I'll be back soon" or "I have to be out for a while." Then leave quickly, without responding to any follow-up questions.
To preserve office harmony, you should deliver these lines with a pleasant tone and a friendly smile. If you keep this up, eventually your intrusive co-worker will learn to ask fewer questions.
Some co-worker conflicts grow out of basic personality differences. This Quick Quiz looks at one of them: Are You a Taskmaster or a Socializer?


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JMS: Making message Reliable beyond JMSExpiration expiry (0 messages)
In the event of a consumer being offline beyond the JMSExpiration of the message [i.e expiry of message], how can we still make the message reliable so he gets it whenever the consumer comes back on. I need a solution for PTP [not durable subscriber].. Wondering if this can be handled through a combination of acknowledgements and persistence. Not sure.. Can someone help ? Raj
- Posted by: Rajarsi Sarkar
- Posted on: April 08 2009 17:30 EDT


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The Labour Relations Commission has been asked to intervene in the dispute between the ESB group of unions and the company over pension-funding guarantees.
The request for the intervention was made by the Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte.
There has been no response from either side so far. Industrial action by the unions is due to take place from next week.
Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has said the ESB has a contingency plan if industrial action takes place.
Responding to the Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary during Leaders' Questions, the Mr Quinn said negotiations were ongoing and measures would be taken to safeguard supply.
He said he shared the concern of disruption and supply but he said it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter while talks were ongoing ESB management and workers.
Mr Quinn said there is a responsibility on unions and the company to put in place contingency plans to deal with any emergency which may arise during an industrial dispute.


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Photo Gallery
(201) 330-8899
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Mon-Sat: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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text:
Guardian Pipeline, L.L.C.
Original Volume No. 1
Contents / Previous / Next / Main Tariff Index
Effective Date: 12/01/2002, Docket: RP02-534-000, Status: Effective
Original Sheet No. 111 Original Sheet No. 111 : Superseded
3. QUALITY (Continued)
(c) Liquids. The Natural Gas shall be free of water
and hydrocarbons in liquid form at the
temperature and pressure at which the gas is
received and delivered.
(d) Hydrogen Sulfide. The Natural Gas shall not
contain more than one-fourth (1/4) grain of
hydrogen sulfide per one-hundred (100) cubic
(e) Temperature. The Natural Gas shall not have a
temperature of more than one-hundred-twenty
degrees (120§) Fahrenheit, nor less than forty
degrees (40§) Fahrenheit.
(f) Total Sulfur. The Natural Gas shall not contain
more than twenty (20) grains of total sulfur,
including Hydrogen Sulfide and mercaptan sulfur,
per one-hundred (100) cubic feet.
(g) Non-Hydrocarbon Gases. The Natural Gas shall
not contain more than four percent (4%) by
volume, of a combined total of non-hydrocarbon
gases (including carbon dioxide and nitrogen);
provided, however, that the total carbon dioxide
content shall not exceed two percent (2%) by
(h) Water Vapor. Natural Gas received into
Transporter's system and delivered by
Transporter shall not contain in excess of five
(5) pounds of water vapor per million cubic
(i) Liquefiable Hydrocarbons. The Natural Gas shall
not contain hydrocarbons liquefiable at
temperatures warmer than thirty-four degrees
(34§) Fahrenheit and normal pipeline operating


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Alpspitze is a very popular ski hike in winter and spring. There are two main ski routes leading to the summit and they use both the east face of Alpspitze and the east ridge.
Normally the ski hikes are done with the aid of Garmisch cablecars because the altitude difference between the valley (740 m) and the summit (2620 m) and the distance which has to be overcome is very much for one day. Moreover you mainly have to use the Garmisch ski slopes for your ascent in the lower parts of the mountain, which might be not very satisfying.
Nevertheless mountain purists will start the hike at Garmisch and spend a night at Stuibenhütte, which normally is open in spring during the weekends.
I will describe here the two main ski routes:
Schöngänge ascent
Grieskar ascent
starting from the cableway summit stations of Garmisch ski region:
Osterfelder Kopf
Stuibenhütte will be mentioned, too.
Getting There
See the SummitPost Alpspitze page for some further informations.
The cableway stations are signposted at Garmisch, you will not miss them. There is a huge parking area around them.
Kreuzeck cableway and Osterfelderkopf cableway are starting nearby.
See this page for the schedules and the prices of the cableways. There are other useful informations about the Garmisch ski and cableway region on this webpage.
From Osterfelder Kopf (2050 m) use the ski slope down to the valley. This ski slope passes a rock notch (at about 1950 m) and enters the cirque below Bernadeinwände, the northeast arete of Alpspitze.
For Schöngänge ascent leave the ski slope here and traverse below the col between Alpspitze and Bernadeinkopf; normally you will see the track up Schöngänge.
For Grieskar ascent follow the ski slope to the summit station of Bernadein ski lift. The ski slope to the Garmisch valley branches off to the left. Go straight on down to Bernadein valley station (1500 m); the ski slope is normally closed in spring. About 100 m before you reach the valley station the ski track branches off to the right.
From Kreuzeck summit station (1650 m) follow the ski slope, called "Hochalm Skiweg" to the south up to Hochalm and to a notch south of Hochalm with a mountain rescue service hut. This hut is adjacent to the Bernadein ski lift summit station.
For the Grieskar ascent (and for Stuibenhütte) ski down the Bernadein ski slope to the trailhead for Grieskar, mentioned above. After about 300 - 500 m, depending on snow conditions, the skitrack to Stuibenhütte branches off to the left, traverses Gassental and overcomes Stuibenwand, the eastern limitating rock face of lower Grieskar. The final ascent to Stuibenhütte is quickly done.
For the Schöngänge ascent follow the ski slope to the right until you reach the cirque below Bernadeinwände, as described above.
Route Description
I will describe Schöngänge ascent and Grieskar ascent separately to the point, where they meet. Both routes use the same summit route and the same downhill route.
Schöngänge ascent
Ascend the steep snow and avalanche (!) slope (in summer a steep scree slope) on the left part of it in the direction of the bottom of the nearly perpendicular Bernadein rockface. The route traverses these upper parts of the slope on a snowcovered ledge. The track leads steeply up to the beginning of a rock chute where iron ropes are fixed. Attention: you will not see this chute from the lower parts of the slope !
Follow the chute and the ropes from below right diagonally up to the left. It is an easy scramble on snowcovered rocks which can be sometimes iced. It is a very exposed ascent though ! You have to carry your skies attached to your backpack for the whole Schöngänge ascent !
You arrive the lower parts of Alpspitze Oberkar and the Bernadeinkopf at the end of the chute. This is where the Schöngänge route meets the:
Grieskar ascent
About 100 m before you reach the Bernadein ski lift valley station the ski route starts to the right. The track enters the woods and traverses nearly level below Bernadeinwände and enters so the lowest parts of Grieskar.
Soon you arrive the timber line. Depending on the snow depth the dwarf pines which grow abundant in Grieskar are covered under the snow.
If so you have several possibilities for your ascent: the left, center or right part of the Grieskar are equally good. Normally there are several ascent tracks to choose.
If the snow cover is bad the left part of Grieskar is best for the ascent (and the descent, too).
If you ascend on the right part of Grieskar you reach the meeting point with Schöngänge ascent directly.
If you choose the center and the left part fpr your ascent, you have to traverse the Grieskar below the rockface of the Alpspitze east ridge to the right to reach the routes meeting point.
Summit Route
From the routes meeting point follow the slope between Bernadeinwände and Alpspitze east ridge into Oberkar. You soon can see a snow covered part of the east ridge to your left. Leave Oberkar and ascend to this level part of the lower Alpspitze east ridge.
You then have to attach your skies on your backpack and continue by foot. The route follows exactly the ridge line; in the middle part there is some easy rock scramble involved. If the conditions are good you can finish the final ascent on your skies again after having passed the rock part of the ridge. Most climbers prefer doing this on foot.
Downhill ski descent
Follow the summit east slope, which becomes gradually steeper, down to Oberkar. The steepest part with some huge rocks can be tackeled directly or partly bypassed to the left. This normally depends on the snow conditions. This part is very, very steep !
The descent route now follows the Grieskar ascent route down to Bernadein ski lift. Normally the slopes are very good for skiing and in Grieskar you can widely choose your downhill line. But don´t miss the level traverse to Bernadein ski lift !
You then have to ascend the Bernadein ski slope up to the Bernadein summit station. This is about 300 m of altitude difference and no problem, when this part of the ski region is closed in spring.
You then arrive the ski slope to Kreuzeck. From Kreuzeck choose the ski slope, called "Kandahar" to reach the cableway valley stations. As this ski slope is used for the famous ski world cup races it is perfectly groomed and the snow lasts very long on this slope. Eventually you have to carry your skies for the last 100 m / 200 m altitude in late spring.
The Nordwand Ferrata is now very popular in winter / spring.
Alpspitze northface is nowadays popular, too, for excellent skiers.
Instead of traversing into Oberkar you can follow Grieskar up to its end (Grieskarscharte 2465 m) between Alpspitze (north) and Hochblassen (south). Follow the southwest arete up to Alpspitze (easy rock scramble).
From Grieskarscharte Hochblassen can be reached via a snow chute, passable only in late spring and early summer. Hochblassen normal summer route starts at Griesscharte, too, but traverses the northwest slope of Hochblassen into the notch between Hochblassen and Vollkarspitze and uses the exposed west arete (UIAA grade I, II).
Essential Gear & Mountain Conditions
You need full ski hike gear and avalanche gear.
For the Schöngänge ascent crampons are highly recommended because of the danger of iced rocks in the upper parts of the ascent.
The ski ascents are mainly done in spring starting from end march to mid-may, depending on the snow conditions and the snow heights. The days are longer, warmer and you often will find good corn snow conditions for you downhill fun. As there are many eastern exposed slopes the snow can become soon very deep in spring.
Nevertheless Alpspitze is becoming a ski aim in winter, too. Avalanche danger is much higher in winter and a tragic accident in Oberkar with a huge avalanche and several dead shows that Alpspitze should not be underestimated although it is a very popular ski hike and on good weekends you will not be alone on top of the summit.
Be aware that the summit slope down to Oberkar is very steep. At the steepest part there are normally some rocks poking out of the snow. You need to be a good skier, a fall in this part of the slope is not advisable at all.
Maps & Links
As map I would recommend:
scale 1 : 25.000
Wetterstein und Mieminger Gebirge
Mittleres Blatt, Nr. 4/2
The bavarian avalanche bulletin can be checked here.
Use the austrian weather forecast for Tirol; it is effective fo Wetterstein, too.
DifficultyDifficulty: Advanced - Difficult
Reasons: The ascent route via Schöngänge must be rated "difficult" - you need ice axe and crampons, there is some rock scramble in exposed terrain and you carry your skies.
The ascent route via Grieskar is much easier. The downhill descent from Alpspitze to grieskar is in some partes VERY steep so this is advanced to difficult terrain
easy ski-hikes with moderate altitude difference, easy routes and simple downhill slopes
Ski hikes for the more experienced, due to higher altitude differences and/or longer and more demanding routes including steep or exposed parts and steeper downhill slopes
Only for experienced ski hikers and mountaineers; high altitude differences (> 1.500 m), long and demanding routes including steep and difficult route parts and/or rock scrambling and/or parts with crampons / ice axe to get on a summit; steep, exposed and / or narrow downhill slopes
The difficulty rating shall give you a first advice about how demanding the ski route is. It is my personal rating. The reasons for the rating are given in the description. They are effective for "normal conditions" like good weather, Normal snow conditions and a moderate avalanche danger. Due to bad conditions (weather, snow, avalanches) a lower grade can tend to be more difficult.


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UKIP has selected its candidate to fight for the Rotherham seat in next year's general election.
Jane Collins, MEP for Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire, will stand against Labour MP Sarah Champion.
She said: "I will work hard to gain this constituency from Labour and become one of the first UKIP MPs."


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Here's the scenario: You invite a date over to impress them with your cooking skills. The house is tidy and you look sharp. You're slaving away in the kitchen when your date innocently asks to check their email and you absentmindedly oblige. Then it hits you… You left your download folder open! Yeah, that dreadfully unorganized file that looks more like your trash bin. You run to try and save your dignity, but it's too late; you have been exposed and the date is a solid block away in a dead sprint.
Don't worry, we've all been there before. Lucky for you we have a download manager that is here to put your worries at rest so you can move on with your life once and for all. Folx Pro packs a ton of nifty features to get you on the fast track literally and figuratively. Here is what you can get for 3 bucks:


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I used to spend a lot of money on groceries. In University, my fiance and I would spend hundreds at the grocery store, and still hundreds more at the farmer's market. We loved eating, and we loved to eat well. We'd buy expensive cuts of meat, locally sourced yogurt, and tons of fresh veggies – every week.
Needless to say all of that awesome food didn't come cheap, and when it came time to start chopping my way out of debt, our food bill was one of the first things on the chopping block. Month after month we'd fine tune our shopping habits, developing techniques for lowering our grocery bill, figuring out what worked for our household.
One of the best things we figured out how to do was to shop our pantry. I'm sure you've been there, you open up your cup boards and even though there's tons of cans and packages of food in there, you feel like there's "nothing to eat". So you go and get groceries, loading up on your favourite perishable food, while those cans and packages sit in your cupboard, uneaten. This was one of our bad habits that caused us to spend a lot of extra money every week.
These days, when we're a little low on groceries, instead of running over to the store for a quick refill, I sit down in front of my cupboards and take stock of what's available. Often there will be remnants of some unsuccessful recipe left behind, a half package of noodles, or a partial box of lentils. Instead of mentally hoping over these items, I focus in. I take whatever it is that has been sitting there uneaten for awhile, and I make it my priority to use it up. After all, unused food is just dollars sitting on the shelves – or worse – in the garbage.
I use websites like allrecipes.com to search for recipes that include that specific ingredient. I try and avoid complicated recipes that will require me to purchase extra ingredients (after all the point is to use up food not create more half used packages) and I get to work putting that food to good use. I've made some interesting meals this way, and a few of them have stuck, making this rarely used food into a staple of our diet.
This happened to me just last week. There have been dried kidney beans sitting in my cup board for ages, the result of my sister moving away and gifting me a bunch of ingredients I don't normally use. So we decided to finally use them. After soaking way too many (rookie mistake) we made a giant pot of chilli and a strange let's-just-wing-it concoction that was supposed to be soup and ended up being burritos. We'd never made either of those recipes before but they both turned out really good, used ingredients we already have, and fed us for a combined five days (including left over lunches!).
So the next time you look into your pantry and think that there's "nothing to eat", look again. What about those dried kidney beans? Or that random jar of soup your Mom gave you last time you visited? Can you make a meal out of that? Shopping your pantry will help you save money on groceries, waste less food, and discover new recipes, what's not to like?
$100 Give Away
As the title mentioned, this post is part of a Give Away Series that I'm participating in. Entry is simple, just follow the instructions in the widget below for your chance to win either a $100 Amazon gift card or $100 via PayPal.
So, what ingredient is sitting at the back of your cupboard, lonely, unused and just waiting for it's chance to shine? I want to know!


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iPhone: How to Use OpenSSH
September 14, 2008
You will need to use OpenSSH if you like to access what's inside your iPhone.
Here are the steps:
- Install OpenSSH in your Cydia App (This is free so no worries)
- Click Settings in your iPhone and choose Wifi
- Choose your wifi network. As for me, I chose my personal home network (Roch Network)
- Take note of the IP address field (e.g. 220.127.116.11)
- Download Cyberduck on your Macintosh Computer
- Open Cyberduck
- For Hostname, enter your iPhone's IP address
- For username, enter "root" (without the double quotes)
- for password, enter "alpine" (without the double quotes)
- don't forget to choose SSH in File Protocol
- Press connect & you're all set
why "alpine"? Is there something you know which we dont?


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The Obama administration seems to have decided that the downgrade, the first in U.S. history, is both a personal affront and a political disaster. It's gone on the warpath against S&P, with the president, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other top officials denouncing the rating agency as ill-informed, inept and irresponsible. The fact that the Dow Jones industrial average plunged 5.5 percent on Monday, with the downgrade as a proximate cause, surely deepened the White House's outrage.
Can we get a little perspective here?
First, although the downgrade is a possible explanation, it's not the only cause — and maybe not the main cause — of Monday's market sell-off. Remember, stocks had been dropping since late July. On July 21, the Dow closed at 12,724. On Monday, it closed at 10,810, a 15 percent decline. Most of that preceded the S&P action.
Possible explanations for the two-week slide include: fears of a much sharper economic slowdown than had been expected, hurting corporate profits; disillusion over the partisan struggle to raise the federal debt ceiling; the release on July 29 of revised figures on gross domestic product, showing that economic growth had been overestimated in the first quarter of 2011 and also in 2008 and 2009; more debt problems in Europe, especially last week when Italian and Spanish bonds encountered heavy selling.
Next, let's try to understand S&P's $2 trillion "error" that's received so much publicity. What did S&P do wrong? Well, the Budget Control Act — the legislation with the budget deal that raised the debt ceiling — specified that one category of spending ("domestic discretionary spending") would grow at the rate of inflation over the next decade. By contrast, S&P's analysts assumed incorrectly that this spending would grow at the rate of the economy (gross domestic product). GDP almost always grows faster than inflation, and the difference — when compounded over a decade — came to $2 trillion.
That's a lot of money, even in Washington. This is a serious mistake, and once the Treasury pointed it out, S&P might have paused to see if its rating conclusion warranted rethinking. S&P didn't pause, but it does have a rejoinder. Despite the revised spending, prospective budget deficits — the annual gaps between spending and tax revenues — remain so large that government's debt burden keeps rising. It goes from 74 percent of GDP in 2011 to 85 percent of GDP in 2021. The basic trends, S&P argues, don't change. (Under the original assumption, the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2021 would have been 93 percent.)
People can argue whether S&P exercised good judgment in making its downgrade. My own view is that it was influenced by its disastrous performance in the housing bubble. Overly optimistic ratings of mortgage-backed securities fed the real estate boom and seriously tarnished the reputations of all rating agencies. With its Treasury downgrade, S&P was trying to refurbish its reputation by showing it could stand up to the world's biggest borrower. This institutional impulse is what I meant, in part, when I argued above that the rating was more about politics than economics.
There is another sense in which this downgrade is mostly about politics — a sense in which S&P is undoubtedly right. Five years ago, no one imagined that the U.S. government might default on its debts or its obligations. It was a non-issue. People didn't dismiss it; they didn't think about it. It was inconceivable. Now, it is conceivable, even if (as Warren Buffett and others argue) the possibility seems so remote as to border on the impossible. Logically, that's true; the United States has the economic capacity to service and repay outstanding debts. But logic isn't the only thing at play. Politics has intruded, and it's fickle. However certain it was five years ago that the United States would always repay on time, it's a little less certain today.
The message: Even if Standard & Poor's had kept the AAA rating (as two other major rating agencies have), that label no longer conveys the absolute predictability that it once did.


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Warning: By law we cannot sell this product to anyone under 18, by placing an order with us you are confirming that you are over the age of 18.
House of Paws Polka Dot Gilet Navy
This is a specialist veterinary product. We will ask you a simple set of questions to confirm that you are buying the correct medicine for your pet and know how to use it safely
Order by 3pm for Express Courier Delivery Some of the items we sell are a bit too bulky to fit on our delivery vans so we offer our customers Next Day Delivery via courier. Deliveries are made from 8am - 8pm Monday to Saturday and 9am - 5pm on Sundays. Your delivery slot will only be confirmed once your order has been placed.
A lightweight, cosy, faux sheepskin lined polka dot gilet, complete with removable fur trimmed hood.
We are totally dotty over this new gilet. Polka dots and a fur hood will ensure your dog looks the peak of fashion.
The velcro belly fasteners aid convenience whilst brass effect button caps have been added for style conscious pets. The hood can simply be removed by the zip giving two styles for one fantastic piece of apparel.
Key Benefits
Velcro fastener
Removable hood
Adjustable toggles at the base
Measure your pet from the base of the neck to the base of the tail.
1. Place harness over dog's head
2. Thread strap between front legs
3. Fasten and adjust to fit. Ensure you can pass two fingers between harness and dog
4. Attach lead to 'D' ring
Size Guide
16" 40cm
14" / 35cm
12" / 30cm


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"Filthy Faggots" - A Song About The Redemptive Love Of Jesus Christ
Good As You tips us to the latest musical entry from one of God's Gentle People™ who uses images from Porno Pete's site to illustrate his tune about "Filthy Faggots" who are all going to die from bleeding rectums. Or something. (Hey, yours truly is Filthy Faggot #1! Whee!) Wanna bet Porno Pete doesn't disavow this usage of his material?
RELATED: The song's author is a regular poster on Free Republic (of course) and in typical chickenshit fashion has cloaked the ownership details of his URL: GodGunsGutsGlory.com. But here's his YouTube channel, if you wanna have some fun over there.
Labels: AFTAH, bigotry, hate speech, Peter LaBarbera, religion


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21 January 2014
Category: News, Asia, China, Taiwan
By Asia Asset Management
Capital Securities Corp (CSC) will become the latest Taiwanese securities brokerage to tap into the Mainland market through forming a joint venture (JV) when it joins forces with Munsun Asset Management (Asia) in Qianhai, Shenzhen's special economic zone.
Alex Wang, president of CSC, told local media that the registered capital of the JV will be somewhere between 100 million RMB (US$15.8 million) and 120 million RMB. CSC will have a 49% stake in the new entity.
Mr. Wang revealed the two parties have already signed a strategic partnership memorandum. The company will submit its application to Taiwan's regulatory body once the Legislative Yuan passes the "Cross-Strait agreement on trade in services" bill.
Shenzhen-based asset manager Munsun has total AUM of around US$1 billion and is mainly engaged in equities and private equities.
In January 2013, former China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) chairman, Guo Shu Qing, said the regulator is opening up the Mainland market to Taiwanese securities brokerages, and will be allowing them to set up JVs in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Fujian. Taiwanese firms will be permitted to hold a stake of up to 51% in the JVs. A number of Taiwanese securities giants such as Fubon, Yuanta, and KGI have paired up with Mainland partners already in anticipation of establishing a foothold in China.
Just fill in your profile with login ID and password and you'll be all set.


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If you're an active or retired military member looking for a vacation that won't break the bank, consider Orlando. It's a destination where a family can have a great time at a great price, and I consider it to be one of the best places for a military member's vacation.
Military members can get discounts not only at Disney and Universal, but also at other Florida theme parks and attractions. You can get free admission for you and up to three dependents to SeaWorld or Busch Gardens in Tampa if you are active duty, activated or drilling reservists or National Guardsmen. You are allowed one free single-day admission per person, per year, to your choice of participating parks. (The SeaWorld offer is also available in San Antonio and San Diego.) Visit herosalute.com.
Active and retired military members can qualify for discounts at Universal Orlando when you purchase tickets through a base Leisure Travel office. Visit universalorlando.com/military.
Military members can stay at the Shades of Green Resort, an Armed Forces Recreation Center on Disney property. The resort is only available to active or retired military. Rates start at $95 per night. Rates are tiered, based on rank and pay, so if you are an enlisted person, you'll pay less than officers. There are periodic specials, including a 30 percent discount Aug. 12-31. Visit shadesofgreen.org. Military discounts are also available at other Disney resorts, and for vacations through Sept. 30, you can save 40 percent off rates. Disney is also offering a special 4-day park hopper pass for $138 per person for military members for use through Sept. 30. Nonmembers of the military are charged $313 for a 4-day park hopper pass. Visit disneyworld.com/military for details.
Other hotels and resorts in Orlando offer military members. Nickelodeon Suites Resort offers 20 percent off stays, plus 10 percent off food and beverage, cabana rentals and the Ultimate Sliming Experience through Dec. 31. Find details at nickhotel.com.
Universal Studios offers military packages with hotel stay and tickets (universalorlandovacations.com) and many other hotels offer military discounts, including chain properties such as Choice, Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, etc.
There are many other Orlando attractions that offer military discounts, including Legoland, Kennedy Space Center, Gatorland, Wet n Wild and Ripley's Believe It or Not. When dining out, don't forget many chain restaurants such as Applebee's, Denny's, Sizzler and Pizza Hut may offer military discounts; just ask.
Military members can get perks and discounts on car rentals. Alamo offers active or retired military members discounts and a free day or a one car class upgrade when you use Contract ID GOVRNR. National offers military discounts with the same Contract ID GOVRNR, plus you can double dip by adding coupon codes. Hertz offers discounted rates and perks like complimentary Gold Plus Rewards membership, no fee for additional drivers, free upgrades and double dipping by adding other coupon codes when you use CDP # 1910993. Visit alamo.com, nationalcar.com or hertz.com.
Military discounts aren't limited to Florida. If you love the great outdoors, military members can get a free annual pass for entrance to national parks and federal recreation sites. Visit www.nps.gov. Active military members and up to five family members can get free entrance to participating museums across the U.S. through Sept. 3. Museums include the Orlando Museum of Art and Orange County Regional History Center. Visit www.nea.gov for details.
Tom Parsons is CEO of bestfares.com.


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AFP reports: Arab foreign ministers are to meet in Cairo on Monday to discuss the escalating conflict between Hamas militants in Gaza and Israel which has already killed more than 120 Palestinians, a diplomat said.
Kuwait, which holds the rotating leadership of the Arab League headquartered in the Egyptian capital, had demanded the "urgent" meeting, the diplomat told AFP on Saturday.
There has been no coordinated Arab response to the conflict which erupted on Tuesday when Israel launched waves of air strikes against Gaza aimed at halting rocket fire across the border.
Arab foreign ministers slowly convene for 'urgent' meeting on Gaza
Assad expresses respect for the West and contempt for Arabs and Hamas
The Lebanese Al-Akhbar English interviewed Bashar al-Assad:
Assad is bitter. "Not one Arab official has contacted us with a plan for mediation or for an Arab solution," he says. The Arabs, he says, were always only an echo of their Western "masters," if not worse.
The Syrian president adds that the West, despite all its flaws, "Always dealt with us more honorably than some Arabs." Kofi Annan was honest and resigned, he remarks, while his Arab aides were not.
The conversation moves to Hamas when the president is asked about the reports regarding Meshaal's visit to Tehran, and whether Damascus, specifically the presidential palace, would be his next stop. But Assad is keen on clarifying everything in this regard, ending all equivocation.
First, Assad says that the Muslim Brotherhood, for 80 years, has been known for its opportunism and betrayal, but stresses that Damascus did not treat Hamas in the beginning as being part of the international Islamist organization. "The Europeans would come to us and ask what Hamas was doing here, and we would say that it was a resistance movement," the Syrian president says, adding that only that capacity made Syria welcome and sponsor Hamas.
Assad says, "When the crisis began, [Hamas officials] claimed that they gave us advice. This is a lie. Who are they to give Syria advice? Then they said that we asked for their help, which is also not true. What business do they have in internal Syrian affairs?"
Later, the president of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, made his insulting statements about Syria. Assad says, "Yes, we demanded that they take a stance. A while later, they came and said that they spoke with Qaradawi. We said that those who want to take a political stance should do so publicly. What value does a stance have if taken in closed rooms?"
Estrangement between Hamas and the Syrian regime ensued. Assad holds that Hamas ultimately decided to abandon resistance and to fully merge with the Muslim Brotherhood. He adds, "This was not the first time they had betrayed us. It happened before in 2007 and 2009. Their history is one of treachery and betrayal." Assad then wished "someone would persuade them to return to being a resistance movement," but says that he doubts this will happen. "Hamas has sided against Syria from day one. They have made their choice," he adds.
Video: Arab League meeting in Iraq shows deep divisions over Syria
Syria's Bashar Assad says he won't step aside
Atlantic Wire: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad delivered a defiant televised address on Tuesday saying that he will not step down and will not institute new democratic reforms, insisting that unrest in his country is the work of a foreign conspiracy. According to Al-Jazeera's translations, Assad said that there are no real revolutionaries in his country, just terrorists carrying out a plan that was devised "tens of years ago" to divide Arab countries. Assad also claimed that he still had the support of Syrians and he will only leave office when it is "by the will of the people."
During the rare 90 minute address, his first speech to the nation in more than six months, Assad also criticized other Arab League governments, which suspended Syria from the League and sent a team of monitors to attempt to oversee a peace plan. Assad says that Arab monarchies telling Syria how to institute democracy is "like a doctor who smokes and recommends to his patient to give up smoking while he, the doctor, has a cigarette in his mouth."
Assad continued to insist that demonstrations taking place in Syria are merely the work of "terrorists" and "thieves" and that he will continue to hit them with "an iron fist." However, he claims that "there are no orders for anyone to open fire on any citizen," despite reports by the U.N. and opposition leaders that well over 5,000 Syrians have been killed by the military since the unrest began last March.
Syria's protesters are on their own
Brian Whitaker writes: The Arab League's much-heralded meeting to review the "progress" of its monitoring operation in Syria came and went on Sunday with barely a whimper. A few more monitors will be sent but unless Syria agrees to an extension, which seems unlikely, the mission will end on 19 January with the presentation of a report.
It's difficult to see where the league can go from there, except by admitting failure and passing its files to the United Nations.
When the Assad regime accepted the league's peace plan last month, after weeks of prevarication, it agreed to end the violence against peaceful protests, withdraw the army from towns, release political prisoners and start a dialogue with the opposition. The ill-prepared monitors were then sent in to assess its compliance.
The regime's insincerity about this was never in much doubt. Apart from some token gestures it has made no real effort to comply, and the killings and arrests have continued. At the same time, though, the presence of monitors does seem to have emboldened the protesters and helped to keep Syria in the headlines.
Despite all that, the failure of the Arab League's initiative may be preferable to its success. Had there been more progress, the result would have been protracted talks about political "reform".
Inside Syria: Has the Arab League failed in Syria?
In Syria, another Friday, another Damascus bomb
The Daily Telegraph reports: At least 25 people were reportedly killed or wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up in central Damascus on Friday, the second such attack on the Syrian capital in a fortnight.
The bomb was detonated at a set of traffic lights in the historic district of al-Midan, just south of Damascus's ancient walled city, state television reported.
Video footage indicated that a police bus had borne the brunt of the blast. Reduced to a shell, its seats were soaked in blood and covered in shards of glass.
The television station claimed that the majority of the casualties were civilians, saying that the attack took place "in a heavily populated working-class neighbourhood near a school". More than 46 people were also wounded in the attack, it added.
There was no independent confirmation of the number of fatalities. The regime was quick to blame the attack on "terrorists", which it says have been at the forefront of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that erupted last March.
The attack came exactly a fortnight after two booby-trapped cars, allegedly driven by suicide bombers, exploded in front of government intelligence buildings in Damascus on December 23rd, killing 44 people.
Friday's attack, like the one before it, coincided with mass protests called to demand Mr Assad's overthrow and opposition officials claimed the blast was planned by the government to distract attention from the demonstrations.
Protests after noon prayers on Fridays have traditionally drawn the largest turnouts of the uprising, and organisers said they expected hundreds of thousands to take to the streets.
Once again one needs to ask: whose interests appear to be getting served by these bombings?
The regime claims it is not being challenged by a popular uprising but by "terrorists" — low and behold we get a universally recognized demonstration of terrorists at work. Not only that, but both performances have occurred during the period in which the audience includes Arab League observers present in Syria.
And since Friday is the easiest day on which mass protests can be organized, how could bombings on that day possibly serve the interests of the protesters? The bombers seem to be more interested in providing protesters with an incentive to avoid the streets and stay at home.
Inside Syria – Is the Arab League mission doomed to fail?
Arab body says monitors should quit Syria promptly
Reuters reports: An Arab League advisory body called on Sunday for the immediate withdrawal of the organization's monitoring mission in Syria, saying it was allowing Damascus to cover up continued violence and abuses.
The Arab League has sent a small team to Syria to check whether President Bashar al-Assad is keeping his promise to end a crackdown on a nine-month uprising against his rule.
The observer mission has already stirred controversy. Rights groups have reported continued deaths in clashes and tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to show the observers the extent of their anger.
The Sudanese head of the mission also infuriated some observers by suggesting he was reassured by first impressions of Homs, one of the main centers of unrest.
The Arab Parliament, an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from each of the League's member states, on Sunday said the violence was continuing to claim many victims.
"For this to happen in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission," the organization's chairman Ali al-Salem al-Dekbas said.
"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," he said.
The Arab Parliament was the first body to recommend freezing Syria's membership in the organization in response to Assad's crackdown.
An Arab League official, commenting on the parliament's statement, told Reuters it was too early to judge the mission's success, saying it was scheduled to remain in Syria for a month and that more monitors were on their way.
Activists hold mass rallies across Syria
The New York Times reports: Tens, and possibly hundreds, of thousands of people defied a continuing government crackdown to fill the streets of several Syrian cities on Friday, intent on showing visiting monitors from the Arab League the extent of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
As thousands marched in Idlib, Homs, Hama and in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, violence flared at several of the rallies. By day's end, activist groups said that more than two dozen people had been killed by security forces. The large crowds, while not unprecedented, underscored the resilience of the protest movement despite United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have died since opposition to the government galvanized in March.
A protester in Dara'a, who reported huge demonstrations, said: "We want to show the Arabs and the world that we are peaceful protesters, not criminals or armed gangs. The coming days and weeks will prove our statements, not the regime's story."
The government's supporters also held rallies, according to witnesses and the Syrian state news agency, SANA, which posted photographs of large gatherings in Aleppo and Damascus. The news agency said the protesters were "demanding the Arab League observer mission to be credible and professional in conveying the facts of what the terrorist groups are perpetrating."
The arrival of the observers has been one of the most closely watched developments in the nine-month-old Syrian conflict. For days this week, their role was heavily criticized by opposition activists, who complained about the paltry number of observers and about the mission's leader, a former Sudanese general. The military intelligence branch he oversaw has been accused of crimes by human rights groups.
Many feared the mission was another stalling tactic by the government. Even so, everyone seemed to want a minute of the observers' time.
By week's end, after four hectic days of visits, the observers seemed to have ushered in a new phase of the conflict, or at the very least, altered its dynamic.
Arab League approves Syria sanctions
Armed groups on the rise is Syria as fear of civil war grows
The New York Times reports: For the second day in a row, deserters from the Syrian Army carried out attacks on symbols of the Assad government's centers of power, targeting the youth offices of the ruling Baath Party on Thursday after firing rocket-propelled grenades on a military intelligence base on Wednesday, activists said.
The attacks, along with fraying relations among Syria's religious communities, growing international pressure and a relentless crackdown, prompted Russia, Syria's closest ally, to say that the country was moving closer to a civil war.
The attacks may have been more symbolic than effective, but could mark the increased ability of a growing number of defectors to publicize their exploits. Attacks on government installations — in the southern town of Dara'a and the central city of Homs, for instance — have been reported since the start of the uprising.
The attacks themselves paled before the bloodiest episodes of Syria's last uprising in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Then, insurgents stormed the office of the Aleppo Artillery School, killing 32 cadets. It was unclear whether anyone was killed or wounded in these attacks, but the constituency of armed strikes and the bold choice of targets has heightened the profile of Syria's armed insurgency.
The Syrian government did not mention either attack, which activists reported, citing the accounts of local residents. But even without a firm picture of any damage, the attacks were, at a minimum, indicative of determination on the part of military defectors in the face of a crackdown that the United Nations says has killed more than 3,500 people.
Tony Karon writes: [While] the regime is unable to crush the uprising, the opposition still appears to lack the power to topple the regime. The core of Assad's military remains intact, and willing to carry out the regime's plan to shoot its way out of the crisis. In the major cities, much of the Sunni urban middle class has remained on the sidelines, while Assad maintains a substantial support base primarily among Syria's Allawite and Christian minorities, many of whom accept the regime's portrayal of the opposition as a sectarian Sunni lynch mob.
To the extent that Assad's repression has pushed the opposition towards an increasingly militarized response, that actually reinforces the regime's narrative that Syria is in the throes of a sectarian civil war, with Assad casting himself as the protector of Allawites and Christians. On that basis, the regime also appears to have divided the region, with Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen — countries with significant Shi'ite populations, and in the case of Iraq, substantial Iranian influence — having declined to back the original Arab League suspension of Syria. Also, many key leaders of Christian communities in other Arab countries appear to have come out in support of Assad.
Assad can also count on solid backing from Russia, for whom Assad's Syria is a key geostrategic asset because it provides the Russian navy's only Mediterranean port, and also from Iran, for which Syria has been the key Arab ally.
But other regional players are raising their pressure on Damascus. The Arab League, with Turkey in attendance, on Wednesday gave Syria three (more) days to act on a deal it claimed to have accepted two weeks ago — but ignored on the ground — to halt repression, withdraw its army from restive towns, and accept Arab monitors. The League suspended Syria's membership, and sanctions should Damascus fail to comply. Al Jazeera's Rula Amin reported that last-minute diplomacy by Russia and Iran averted harsher and more immediate measures by the League.
Turkey had a more menacing message ahead of the summit, with officials warning that Syria would "pay a heavy price" for continue killing of its "oppressed people", and threatening to cut off electrical supplies following an attack on its embassy in Damascus by a pro-Assad mob. Officials in Ankara have begun to speak openly about creating a "buffer zone" inside Syria where it could protect refugees from the crackdown without having to admit them to Turkish territory. That, of course, would mean sending Turkish troops into Syria, and might presage a territorial breakup of Syria into rebel- and regime-controlled areas. But Turkey is waiting for international authorization to take such a step. "It seems out of the question for us to do that on our own," said an adviser to President Abdullah Gul.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once counted Assad as a personal friend, is now sending a message that the Syrian leader can't be trusted. "No one any longer expects [Assad's regime] to meet the expectations of the people and of the international community," he said Tuesday. "Our wish is that the Assad regime, which is now on a knife edge, does not enter this road of no return, which leads to the edge of the abyss."
Syria: Arab League suspension threat illegal
Al Jazeera reports: Syria's foreign minister has condemned the Arab League's threat to suspend the country over its crackdown on protests, saying the move would be "illegal" and a "dangerous step".
"The suspension of the Arab League membership is illegal," Walid al-Muallem told a press conference in Damascus on Monday.
Al-Muallem also criticised the Cairo-based regional bloc's relations with the United States, calling the US an "unofficial member" of the league.
"The Arab League said it worked for stopping the violence in Syria and said the US is not a member of the Arab League… but they are an unofficial member," he said.
Al-Muallem added that he was confident Russia and China, who have rejected calls for tougher international action against Damascus, would not change their stance on Syria at the UN Security Council.
The foreign minister also apologised for attacks on foreign diplomatic missions over the weekend. Government supporters raided the Qatari and Saudi embassies in Damascus on Saturday night. On Sunday, the Turkish embassy and consulates were attacked.
The New York Times reports: Turkey sent planes to evacuate its diplomats' families from Syria on Sunday after a night of attacks on foreign embassies in Damascus, the capital. The events seemed sure to deepen Syria's most pronounced isolation of the four decades of Assad family rule.
Several thousand Syrians attacked the embassies and consulates of Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and France on Saturday evening, shortly after the Arab League announced its surprising decision to suspend Syria's membership for failing to end the bloody crackdown on antigovernment protesters.
Turkey's evacuation, and denunciations of the attacks by other countries, set the stage for a tumultuous week in the uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which began in March.
The Arab League has invited Syrian opposition figures to Cairo on Tuesday in what seems to be a bid to close the ranks of an unwieldy group. If Syria does not relent in its crackdown, which the United Nations says has killed more than 3,500 people, the suspension will take effect on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Times notes the growing influence of Qatar which currently chairs the Arab League.
Little Qatar, far away in the Persian Gulf, doesn't have the physical or military presence of Turkey. But it does have outsized ambitions, diplomatic dexterity, extreme wealth — and the populist force of its Al Jazeera network. Qatar stoked the early days of the Arab Spring and became a leading and sometimes controversial voice for government change in Libya, a role it has now assumed in Syria.
The emirate's leaders have keenly understood — and certainly benefited from — the changing dynamics reshaping an Arab world unbound from autocrats and suppression.
Qatar is capitalizing on, and Assad is in danger of succumbing to, the most transformative moment in the region since the doomed specter of pan-Arabism of the 1960s. The powers that made up the core of that world have steadily diminished over the years while the oil nations of the Persian Gulf have assumed larger roles in diplomacy, finance and media.
In some respects, Qatar's influence is eclipsing even that of traditional powers, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Riyadh has been accused of hypocrisy in its vociferous support for dissidents in Syria while simultaneously helping to crush protests in neighboring Bahrain. Egypt, meanwhile, is consumed with its own political turmoil in the wake of President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
Qatar's ambitions are often larger than regional conflicts and dalliances. To the envy of its neighbors, Doha won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup soccer championship, based partly on an audacious promise to install high-tech air conditioning to cool stadiums during the sweltering gulf summer.
The emirate is adroit at playing all sides: It is home to a U.S. military base, yet it keeps close to the passions of the Arab street through Al Jazeera and maintains cordial relations with Iran, the regional giant just across the gulf.
Inside Story – Can the Arab League end bloodshed in Syria?
Arab League votes to suspend Syria over crackdown
The New York Times reports: The Arab League moved to suspend Syria's membership on Saturday, accusing the government of President Bashar al-Assad of defying an agreement to stop the violent repression of demonstrators, and it threatened economic and political sanctions if he did not comply.
In acting against Syria, a core member of the Arab League, the group took another bold step beyond what had been a long tradition of avoiding controversy. Alarmed by the region-spanning upheaval of the Arab Spring demonstrations, league delegates said they were trying to head off another factional war like Libya's, in which the group took the unprecedented step of approving international intervention.
Syria's formal suspension is to start in four days, offering what senior Arab League officials described as a last chance for Mr. Assad to carry out a peace agreement his government had accepted. The plan called for the Syrian government to halt the violence directed toward civilians, to withdraw all its security forces from civilian areas and to release tens of thousands of political prisoners.
Throughout the meeting, the Syrian ambassador, Youssef Ahmed, kept shouting that the move was illegal because such a decision had to be unanimous, participants said. He later repeated the claim on state television and accused the league of being "subordinate to American and Western agendas." Nabil el-Araby, the Arab League's secretary general, pushed the initiative to a vote, with 18 of the league's 22 members supporting the action, Yemen and Lebanon opposing, Iraq abstaining and Syria not voting at all.
"We are hoping for a daring move from Syria to halt the violence and to begin a real dialogue toward real reform," said Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, as well as the current league chairman.
Arab League parliament urges Syria suspension
Al Jazeera reports:
An Arab parliamentary body has called for the suspension of the membership of Syria and Yemen in the Arab League in a bid to put pressure on the two countries to heed popular demands for reforms.
The call was put out on Tuesday following a committee meeting of the Arab Parliament, a body to which members of the Arab League send representatives.
The head of the committee, which met at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said that "mass slaughter" was taking place in Syria and Yemen and called on the league to deal with the countries in a similar way to how it dealt with Libya.
After a crackdown by the government of Muammar Gaddafi on pro-democracy protesters, the Arab League suspended Libya's Arab League membership in February.
"We call on the Arab states to freeze the membership of Damascus in the Arab League and urge the Arab leaders to take more active stands in that regard if the Syrian leadership did not … stop violence and withdraw its security forces and army … and form a national unity government from all political powers," said Tawfik Abdallah of the Arab Parliamentarians Political Affairs and National Security Committee.
Top ten ways that Libya 2011 is not Iraq 2003
Juan Cole writes:
Here are the differences between George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the current United Nations action in Libya:
1. The action in Libya was authorized by the United Nations Security Council. That in Iraq was not. By the UN Charter, military action after 1945 should either come as self-defense or with UNSC authorization. Most countries in the world are signatories to the charter and bound by its provisions.
2. The Libyan people had risen up and thrown off the Qaddafi regime, with some 80-90 percent of the country having gone out of his hands before he started having tank commanders fire shells into peaceful crowds. It was this vast majority of the Libyan people that demanded the UN no-fly zone. In 2002-3 there was no similar popular movement against Saddam Hussein.
3. There was an ongoing massacre of civilians, and the threat of more such massacres in Benghazi, by the Qaddafi regime, which precipitated the UNSC resolution. Although the Saddam Hussein regime had massacred people in the 1980s and early 1990s, nothing was going on in 2002-2003 that would have required international intervention.
4. The Arab League urged the UNSC to take action against the Qaddafi regime, and in many ways precipitated Resolution 1973. The Arab League met in 2002 and expressed opposition to a war on Iraq. (Reports of Arab League backtracking on Sunday were incorrect, based on a remark of outgoing Secretary-General Amr Moussa that criticized the taking out of anti-aircraft batteries. The Arab League reaffirmed Sunday and Moussa agreed Monday that the No-Fly Zone is what it wants).
5. None of the United Nations allies envisages landing troops on the ground, nor does the UNSC authorize it. Iraq was invaded by land forces. [Continue reading…]


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IOWA CITY, Iowa, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The head of the union representing workers at American Crystal Sugar in Iowa says the latest contract offer was rejected because it "puts our jobs at risk."
"Today our members sent a loud and clear message to American Crystal executives," Local 167G President John Riskey said Tuesday. "We want to work, but we will not accept a contract that puts our jobs and the entire community at risk."
In Tuesday's vote, 92 percent of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union members voted and 90 percent of those voting said no to the contract. The union has twice rejected the contract that Riskey said is a rehash of the first offer that was rejected, The Iowa Independent reported Wednesday.
"If company executives are serious about getting us back to work, they should return to the negotiating table immediately with real compromises, not just repackaged versions of a contract that has now been rejected twice," he said.
Union workers are focused on concerns about rising healthcare costs and the company's request to hire more subcontractors. The company has locked out its union workers since the beginning of August.


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Equinox Labs-Consultancy
The Food Safety Standards Act was passed on 23rd August, 2006, by the parliament. The Government of India on notification set a body known as the Food Safety Standards Authority of India that formulated the Food Safety Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011 that came in to effect from the 5th of August, 2011.
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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued an advisory notification on applying for product approval before seeking a licence to import or manufacture foods.
According to the Authority, the product approval would be based on categories prescribed by FSSAI in the Indian Food Codes as on June 25, 2012.
The notification explained that applications from manufacturers and importers of products and ingredients could be sent for approval in format that has been prescribed with the fee of Rs 25,000 payable to the FSSAI.
Other specifications include submission of documents such as notarised Rs 100 stamp paper affidavit, copy of the label and safety data, according to a source from FSSAI.
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Ladyville Commercial Building – US$205,000
This property, currently operating as a successful glass and window business, offers excellent commercial potential due to its high-traffic, roadside location in the village of Ladyville, 11-1/2 miles north of Belize City. It's proximity to the International airport, the British military barracks and the Bowen & Bowen Brewery, all add to its commercial appeal.
Sunset Pointe Condo – US$342,000
With 3-sided ocean views, and a location near the tip of Belize's, beautiful Placencia peninsula, this exceptional property overlooking the Caribbean Sea is not to be missed. Set in the exclusive, award-winning, Sunset Pointe development community, the property is just a short stroll away from Placencia Village, which offers a variety of shopping and dining opportunities.
Chunox Waterfront Lots – US$34,000
These 2 prime waterfront properties, located on the main street of Chunox village, would be suitable for a variety of commercial endeavors such as those related to hotel, resort, restaurant, or retail. The area offers many eco-tourism opportunities from day trips to the Shipstern Nature reserve, birdwatching, and kayaking – which can be done right from the property itself.
Grand Belizean Lot – US$12,000
This affordable building lot offers an excellent opportunity to live the island life on Belize's ever-popular, Ambergris Caye. Located only a 20 minute Golf cart ride away to the North West of the bustling, main town of San Pedro, this property has been cleared, sits high, and is only a short distance to the Caribbean shoreline. An opportunity not to be missed!
Santa Elena Estate – US$799,900
This beautiful 1/2 acre, 4 bedroom, riverfront property on the east side of the Macal River is located in the town of Santa Elena. With the shopping and dining opportunities of Western Belize's largest town, San Ignacio, just a few minutes away, and the international airport, less than an hour, this property offers a rare combination of seclusion and accessibility.


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Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
A Las Vegas organization is making sure homeless teens have shelter and gifts for the holidays.
Just A Touch Of Love is a nonprofit organization that partners with HELP of Southern Nevada and other programs throughout the valley. It was created by Shonna McKnight-Polk last year to provide teens help, including medical care.
The organization also helps pregnant teens find low-cost prenatal care.
McKnight-Polk said she decided to name the organization Just A Touch Of Love because so many teens do not receive unconditional love from family members.
"I love working with youth and showing them things they've never seen before," McKnight-Polk said. "There aren't a lot of programs that do what we do."
After spending five years as a foster parent, McKnight-Polk said she decided to develop the program. She said she networked with local apartment complexes and now provides apartments to teens at no cost for 30 days. During that time, she said, she helps the teens find a job so they can afford $200 a month for rent.
McKnight-Polk said she will be handing out gifts to the teens and spending time with them on Christmas Eve.
"A lot of them are excited because if it wasn't for the program, they wouldn't have anywhere to be," McKnight-Polk said.
Last year, the organization hosted a dinner for the teens, but this year it has expanded to more than 50 clients, so gifts and necessities will be given out instead, McKnight-Polk said.
For more information or to donate, visit the group's Web site at justatouchoflove.com.


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The image manager Apple forgot
Screenie 1.1
So, what makes Screenie so special?
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Our app QuickShot, which Screenie is mostly based off of was on the App Store for some time, but we had lots of trouble with Apple's review process and have recently decided to remove all our apps from the Mac App Store. This allows us to make better products with more features for our users, as well as push out updates immediately without going through Apple's review process.


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Carroll brace seals Hammers win
Andy Carroll inspired West Ham to an impressive 3-1 win over West Brom which eased any lingering hopes of relegation at Upton Park.
The towering striker brushed off his marker and thumped a header past Ben Foster to put the Hammers ahead and then powered home a well-taken volley after Gary O'Neil had made it 2-0.
The visitors' only consolation came through Graham Dorrans' penalty at the death and Youssof Mulumbu saw red in the dying seconds for needlessly booting the ball at O'Neil.West Brom had the ball in the net in the first half but Gareth McAuley's header was ruled out for bundling over Jussi Jaaseklainen.
Carroll then began to exert his influence on the game and West Ham all of a sudden looked far more threatening and the England striker broke the deadlock after 16 minutes, rising above the Jonas Olsson to thump O'Neil's corner past a stunned Foster.
West Ham continued to pile on the pressure and their dominance paid off with O'Neil's goal just before the half hour. Ricardo Vaz Te charged at the West Brom defence before laying the ball off to O'Neil, who clipped the ball over a diving Olsson and Foster to make it 2-0.
The Hammers thought they should have had a penalty just before the break when Matt Jarvis went down in the box under a challenge from Billy Jones, but Andre Marriner waved play on.
Substitute Peter Odemwingie provided West Brom with more energy when he came on after 71 minutes, but Carroll put the game beyond doubt with a marvellous volley which he dispatched past Foster from Collins' long ball.
West Brom pulled one back three minutes from the end when Dorrans beat Jaaseklainen after Matt Taylor tangled with Romelu Lukaku in the box.
Mulumbu ensured West Brom's afternoon ended on a low, though, when he picked the ball up after becoming annoyed at not being awarded a foul and stupidly blasted the ball at O'Neil's back. Marriner had no choice but to show him red.
A late injury to George McCartney, who had just returned from a four-month lay-off, failed to dampen the spirits of the Hammers fans, who greeted the final whistle with a loud cheer.
Press Association


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World super bantamweight champ Steve Molitor has been a knockout with boxing fans in Ontario since turning pro in 2000.
But now he wants to be a knockout in the record book.
The one knock against Molitor, who defends his IBF title tonight at Casino Rama against Ceferino Labarda of Argentina, has been his inability to send most of his vanquished opponents down for the count. In his 27 undefeated fights, the Sarnia native has only 10 knockouts.
Molitor is considered a proficient boxer, who defeats his opponents with speed and combinations and excellent defence. But boxing fans love knockouts and Molitor's new trainer, Stephane Larouche, believes that KOs will soon start piling up for his fighter.
"This is my goal, for him to be able to crack at the right time," Larouche said. "He's really powerful for a 122-pound fighter. But he's not using (his power) properly."
Larouche, who also trains world super-middleweight champ Lucian Bute and an assortment of other world-class fighters in Montreal, said Molitor is "too tight" in the ring, and has to loosen up.
"He tries too hard. He's tight. And he wants to knock out the guy with every single punch," Larouche said. "But you cannot throw a fluid combination when you're tight. You have to get looser and then you crack, and that's what we're working on now."
Larouche believes that Molitor will surprise some people as he continues his quest to unify for the super-bantamweight division.
A victory against Labarda tonight will set up a unification bout against WBA champ Celestino Caballero of Panama, probably on Nov. 21.
"What he has achieved in boxing so far is a result of his physical ability," Larouche said. "This guy could win a medal in track and field. But he has a lot of power sleeping in him."
Molitor said he already has felt himself punching harder in sparring since joining Larouche's gym last month.
"I've always known I was strong," he said. "And when push comes to shove, and I can bang it out with anybody."
John Ruiz will face Nicolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight belt in Berlin tomorrow. The 35-year old Valuev and the 36-year-old Ruiz were given a title fight after the WBA declared Ruslan Chagaev "champion in recess," following an Achilles' tendon injury that forced him to cancel his rematch with Valuev.
Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao confirmed they will meet Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, after Pacquiao, the dynamic Filipino lightweight, agreed to move up 12 pounds to welterweight.


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We're on a mission to simplify the software process. Our all-in-one solutions include everything your department needs; even hardware.
Created by Public Safety professionals, CAPERS® innovations are driven by direct customer feedback.
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Porsche Design Form, LaCie Function
Out of a collaboration born in 2003, a trailblazing tech firm and an iconic design house have forged another functional showpiece. The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive welds forward-thinking technology from LaCie with immaculate style from Porsche Design.
Melding advanced functionality and iconic minimalist design, the LaCie Porsche Design USB-C Mobile hard drive delivers speeds of up to 5 Gbps for rapidly transferring your Mac files. All it takes is a simple drag and drop to store your movies, photos, music, and data. The drive also ensures compatibility with Macs and PCs that have USB 3.0 ports.
5 Gb/s (maximum theoretical bus speed)
USB 3.1 | USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible
84 mm (3.31 inches)
10 mm (0.39 inches)
128 mm (5.04 inches)
190 g (6.70 ounces)


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This skirt has been a long time in the making and is probably my most thought out, planned make yet. I first pinned this Michael Kors' skirt over a year ago. It is the colour that I love most about this skirt, I kept my eye open for over a year for just the right fabric. But, I came up empty handed. When I saw this skirt I knew the Sewaholic's Crescent skirt pattern would be the perfect pattern for this project and my resolve to make this skirt amped up! I went down to my local and bought three meters of beautiful white rayon batiste. I ordered some Amazon Green Dylon dye. This stuff is amazing, I threw the fabric and dye in the washing machine, turned the machine on and out came the exact fabric I was looking for!
I ran into a little snag when I went to make the skirt, two of the pattern pieces for the skirt were missing. If you had a look at my sewing studio you would understand why! I decided to use the lining pieces for both the inside and out. To create the maxi-ness, I just measured from my hip down to the floor and added a few inches. I then just extended the skirt pieces straight down to that length.
Here are some photos. We went over to Government House yesterday evening and had a little photoshoot in the gardens overlooking the Juan de Fuca straight.
photographs courtesy of Hez