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What is the emotional process that leads to the purchase of a new vehicle? It begins with a new development in the buyer's self-image. That is, the buyers see themselves in a new way — as the owners of that new car, truck, van, or SUV and all the status it affords them.
If the projected vehicle purchase is small in relation to the buyer's income, the self-image change need only be small. But if the purchase is a large one, the change in self-image that makes the purchase possible will be large. Such a change can come about very quickly. It can take place within a few minutes, or even within a few seconds.
Champion automotive salespeople are adept at spotting these changes in self-image as they occur during sales presentations. They are quick to reinforce the buyers' realization that they can have, enjoy, deserve, need, and are worthy of the marvelous new vehicle they like. Do that, and they won't just like it; they'll want it, need it, and realize they can't get along without it — then they'll buy it.
First, be genuinely interested in doing your best for them. Once they see that you're on their side, they'll begin to like you and trust you. Then, they will tell you what they're seeking to accomplish. Rise above the limitations of your own tastes and preferences. Recognize that what's right for you isn't right for everyone, and make an intense effort to see the world through your customer's eyes.
Second, use your expertise to guide your customers to the best solution, which your inventory provides, for them.
Third, wait for positive stimulus from your customers. If you believe they've found something that helps them satisfy their needs, reinforce their image about that purchase. Avoid worn out phrases they've heard a thousand times. Stay away from the words clients stopped believing years ago.
Concentrate on your customers. Say sincere and positive things that reflect their uniqueness, and you'll not only make sales, you'll create clients who'll send you referrals and buy from you again.
The key is to be disciplined to wait for positive input. Unless you do that, you'll find yourself going on and on something they don't like, and before you know it, you're caught in a web of obvious insincerity. Stick to the facts.
The mere fact that you're a salesperson will arouse their negative emotions and they'll want to emotionally fight you. You need to get their emotions focused on their own needs and desires in relation to the vehicle they're interested in. Then, you'll build their emotions to where they will have convinced themselves of the decision to own.
To get a thorough education in the emotions that sell, watch television commercials, especially those aimed at children. Logic in sales is a gun without a trigger. You can twirl it all you care to, but you can't fire it. Emotion is the trigger. You can hit the target with it. Every time you generate another positive emotion, you're pulling the trigger on another accurate shot at closing the sale.
No skill that you can acquire in sales will enhance your earning power more than learning how to arouse emotions in your buyers in ways that are positive to the sale. The exact words that you use will depend on your offering, your personality, your buyers, and market conditions.
Some clients will see a new feature such as the GPS systems or USB ports and find no reason to have it other than the fact that suddenly they want it. It's the latest and greatest. None of their friends have it. They start to feel excited, important and "rich" in thinking that they'll be ahead of the crowd by being the first in their group of friends to own it.
Or, they might be feeling the pull to get it because their friends already have it and can't stop talking about how cool it is or how much time it has saved them.
As you work at developing the skills to evoke emotions in your customers, always keep that concept in mind. You can destroy sales as rapidly as you can create them through the clumsy use of, or the lack of control over, the emotional setting. Also remember that your actions, manners, words (how you say them), your grooming, and your clothes are all things that trigger emotions in your future clients — whether you want them to or not.
There's no way around it. People will react emotionally to you. It is important not to have them react with fear, anger, or disgust. To see some salespeople approach clients as though they had just fallen off the garbage truck, you'd swear that they don't realize that future clients have feelings, too. Clients suffer the effects of fear when a salesperson comes on too strong; clients get angry when a salesperson patronizes them; clients feel disgust when a salesperson is non-professional. Play the odds. Always be professional and keep their emotions in mind when meeting new people. Do that and you'll close more sales.
Copyright Tom Hopkins International, Inc. For permission to reprint this article, contact Judy Slack (email@example.com).


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In 2003, brutal ethic warfare in Darfur put the vast Sudanese desert region on most Americans' radar for the first time. It was the second half of George W. Bush's first term, the War on Terror was in full flight, and the US invasion of Iraq was still fresh—which made it that much more impressive for human rights activists and journalists to successfully convince large swaths of the American public to pay attention to war crimes in Africa. But convince they did—"Save Darfur" was among the first social-justice campaigns to truly go viral, if only briefly.
The stakes were high. From 2003 to 2008, Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir's government allegedly collaborated with Arab militias in a genocidal campaign targeting the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa people, according to International Criminal Court prosecutors. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were forcibly moved, and an estimated 300,000 people lost their lives. Phil Cox, a British documentary filmmaker who teamed up with Zaghawa local Daoud Hari, was among the journalists who took enormous risks to document the suffering.
Last fall, as Donald Trump was on his way to becoming president in America and the world's attention moved onto the threat of ISIS and the refugee crisis in Syria, Cox decided to go back to Darfur. Hari, whom he discovered was now a cab driver in New York City, joined him once again. But this time, Cox and Hari themselves became the story, after discovering a bounty had been placed on Cox's head. After his phone was tracked, Cox said, he and Hari endured a lengthy period of captivity during which they were tortured extensively. We spoke to Cox by phone ahead of the release of his extraordinary new film about this harrowing experience, Captured in Sudan, for a sense of why he wanted to return to Darfur in 2016—and how it went so horribly wrong.
VICE: Before we get into the film, which is almost entirely about what happened to you this last time in the Sudan, I wanted to talk about what you were setting out to do here. I know that, as recently as a few weeks ago, the UN announced plans to pull additional peacekeepers from the area, and the United States was said to be considering the end of sanctions against Sudan. But you'd also done a lot of work there already. What did you hope going back in 2016 would really achieve?
Phil Cox: Well, my first [visit] was in 2004, at the beginning of the crisis. I hadn't been back there for around ten years. Darfur was a media hole nobody had been in for a number of years. A lot of things were developing quite fast politically—geopolitically. To bring Sudan back into the international fold, the European Union, Britain, and Germany [were] sending taxpayer money to Sudan to help with immigration. You had sanctions being lifted and sort of the topping off were strong allegations of chemical weapons use by the government against civilians in the mountains, which is where we were heading to [at the time of the incident].
So from the jump, what was the security situation getting into the country from Chad compared to a decade ago?
My first trip was when the Sudanese were bombing on the Chadian side, and the Chadian and Sudanese governments were in conflict. So the border was very porous. There were tens of thousands of refugees crossing. It was very chaotic. The rebel forces, the Sudanese Liberation Army—the SLA rebels—were fighting against the government. It was very difficult to cross a very large desert border. And that was very different from the situation now, where the Sudanese and Chadian government work in tandem, and generally people are not allowed anywhere on that border. It's really a field zone with both forces working in harmony.
Which is why at one point when you might have otherwise fled back to Chad, you couldn't?
That's right. When we realized the bounty [on me] was real, [one option was to] return to Chad, but then Daoud and I would shortly be arrested because the Chadian government had informed the Sudanese government. I also couldn't move north into southern Libya because there were notable divisions of militias roaming across that border.
How do you approach making a documentary about a long-term conflict like this differently than journalists might in other films set in, say, the domestic United States? You sort of need to really approach it with a reportage rather than a character basis [and ask] specific questions. The questions were: Are there chemical weapons being dropped? And what are the voices and the testimony of the people of Darfur? Can you bring their testimony to a wider audience, so it's no longer a politician and diplomat or official institution speaking for them, but can you the journalist let people speak for themselves? Which means you need to be on the ground, and you need to be up close.
Obviously things can turn very different very quickly in this situation, and I realized that the story was becoming myself, and I wouldn't have the possibility to really reach out to find Darfuris on the ground—it was too dangerous for them and for myself. Besides that, I had a Sudanese Darfuri (Hari) [with me], so I started to let our story unfold in case that was the only one I could get. I realized that showing what that means and how far this new Sudanese government was willing to go to stop an independent journalist would somehow shed a light on what was really happening inside Darfur.
You expressed some surprise in the film—understandably, of course—after learning about the bounty on you. But given what you said just now and your experience there, was it really so shocking they would put a target on your back?
It was the bounty, but [also that they] even turned off the cell network to southern Darfur. That's like turning off the cell network for Texas for a single journalist. You're in a desert. It's quite hard to get much [reception] anyway. But the reaction from the Sudanese government—I didn't believe it at first. I really didn't believe it.
Even when you had seen so many horrors perpetrated, you were shocked they would go to such lengths to stop you?
Yes, to stop an independent journalist with a camera is just really—it shows the pivotal [reason] that Daoud and I saw when were there, which is still happening, which is the US and Sudanese sanctions are in the balance. That's right now. There is still a decision pending from the US on sanctions against Sudan. The Sudanese government is paying lobbying groups in the US. To have the possibility of Daoud and Phil Cox—a British citizen—potentially exposing chemical weapons abuse is something that they were not prepared to have.
You went in knowing that, to some extent, maybe more than films you've made in the past or more than some documentaries generally, that your very attempt to make the film was going to be a big part of the story, though, right?
I don't think so, no. Darfur is a huge place and the strength, the card we had, is that we were very small and very quiet. It was absolutely possible to reach those mountains [where chemical weapons use was alleged]. The problem was the new alliance between Chad and Sudan and being picked up. It's about sort of waking the sleeping dragon. What I hadn't estimated was the extent the sleeping dragon [would] go to once it was awoken. But just the ability to mobilize and the amount of money they put up, we couldn't trust anyone. We got close. We got to a few kilometers [from] those mountains, and then it was about trying to hide.
Was there a single moment when you realized you weren't going to reach those mountains, and you were not going to be able to make the film you set out to make—that you had become the subject?
There does come a moment where you realize your original story is up—you are in the hands of other people, and you've lost all power. [But] there was a moment on the first morning of our kidnap, which was Christmas Eve, I think, [when] I [wondered if] somehow, we could turn this around. I think I just didn't want to become a passive victim totally. I was always looking for a way to come back with a story.
And you found one by surreptitiously filming—pretending to teach your captors how to use the camera but actually recording.
[When you're freelance], there's great responsibility to the people who supported us—we have to get out alive. That's what motivated us to try and connect with our captors, connect with the kidnappers, and get through the prison time and that sort of thing.
Did you ever feel a pang of regret for bringing Hari back?
We talked a lot about it. I think my greatest fear was his capture and what they might do to him. Daoud was under no illusion. He was prepared to take a risk. He wanted to, I think—each man has to make his decision. Daoud knew what he was returning to. All our plans and prep plans were developed [for him to] be looked after best in case the worst happened—and we never thought anything would happen to me, being the British white guy. Both of us were fully aware of what we were getting into.
You were tortured with cattle prods, among others things—both alone but also in a sort of social way. You were in proximity to each other, right? You heard him cry out and recognized his voice?
We went through a set process of breaking down psychologically and physically. We were held together in a black site, and Daoud was beaten beside me. We took it very differently then. I shouted a lot, and he internalized it a lot.
You become very animalistic in your survival. If you find yourself showing fear and weakness, they enjoy that, and they stop beating you. Then you keep doing that as a way to survive that beating. There's no pride. You're just trying to survive basically.
Did it help to be in the same situation as someone you'd been there with before—in maintaining hope, psychologically?
The problem with our joint capture is that they were interrogated separately. The real problem was how our stories would differ, and they would torture based on that. Daoud had obviously been through it before, and I asked for advice, and he said: Just tell the truth, and if you hide things, try to keep it completely hidden. But try to tell the truth as much as possible. The problem is when the truth is not believed.
You concealed a memory card of footage in your anus throughout this process. Did you ever come close to giving it up?
No, because it became the one thing—I was still a filmmaker, and I still had all my troubles and my toil in my ass. It was like... it was something that I still managed to have that kept some degree of identity, of purpose beyond being a passive victim and something I felt like I held over them that they didn't realize. That was what kept me going. It was a great strength. It became a very important thing. I think if I had lost that, I would have felt a complete failure and loss of purpose. You sort of hang on to anything that can keep you having a sense of being and identity when you are in those situations because they are very good at breaking you down.
There were a few moments you seemed to come very close to being killed. But perhaps the closest seems to have been when they bound you and said they were going to throw you off the back of a plane.
That was the most terrifying moment I had. I was also blindfolded. When you're blindfolded, your imagination races. I just really suddenly thought they were going to throw me from the plane. I realized I had been hidden [from passersby] up until that point. That would've been convenient if I needed to disappear.
You were in mid-air at this point?
No, we were taxiing very fast. I was about to take off, but I was out on the ramp at the back.
You were at the rear cargo entrance of the plane.
The ramp has webbing, and I was being forced to lie on the webbing.
It seemed for a moment they would just take off and shove you out?
That's what they told me.
After terrifying minutes or even half an hour, they brought you into a seat, though, right?
I was actually begging for my life. The guy came down and told me to be a man. His words.
Was it your pleading that got through, or that they just never intended to kill you?
Now I look at it with hindsight, which is different. I didn't know they were taking me to interrogation. There was a lot they weren't telling me. I think I was a trophy. There was a lot I had done in 2004 and 2005 that had come to the attention of the United Nations. Being on 20 to 30 news channels, the UK Parliament, the EU parliament. It was all over the internet. They knew who I was.
Let's talk about the prison. I know you mentioned in the Guardian piece that one of the men in there was someone who had punched a general and stolen officials' vehicles. But were these, by and large, political prisoners? What united your fellow inmates and you?
They had a separate prison for what you call your average criminal. In the caged cells where we were, everyone was political or had some [special] reason that the security forces had them in there. They refused to collude with them. Many people didn't know why they were there. They were academics, businessmen. It was a political prison. What you saw is that none of us knew how long we would be there.
They took you under their wing, the other men**?** In the beginning, it was just one man. He helped me unceremoniously. He told me to get out, brush my teeth, [practice] hygiene, and learn the path down to my cell.
Was there a moment when you realized to yourself, as awful as it must have felt, you were sick, stuck in prison, and didn't know when you would get out—but you had yourself a scoop, of sorts. Did you still have the journalistic rush, even then?
Absolutely. It was helping me navigate day to day. Here were men from all walks of life—this is the hidden Sudan. This is the place a journalist could never access. This is really the firsthand account of inside an oppressive state regime in a political prison. It was pretty gruesome. The town, the cities, the countryside. Young men, old men—men in their 80s. Young boys trying to organize a football league. This is the pivotal part of sharing what the government was doing to people. I realized that. I would always try to talk and hear each man's story as important.
Were you able to record anything?
No. Nothing was allowed. You just remember. Memories are very important things in Sudan. You remember each other's phone numbers, you remember each other's names, you remember each other's wives in case you get let out. You just remember.
Let's zoom out a little bit. How bad do you think what is going on now in Darfur is compared to, say, 14 years ago? Do you have any regrets at all about the extent to which you weren't able to shine a light on the story you set out to cover—alleged chemical weapons use? Does that still loom over you?
I think the government has won the war in Sudan, in Darfur. The Sudanese government has won the war against the rebels. They essentially control Darfur now, and that's the major difference from 2005 and 2004. Obviously, what I saw and say to people [is]: The government operates with complete impunity. There are still rapes. There are still killings. The case in point is Daoud's sister, Noi, [who] was killed two weeks ago by a member of the group who was hunting us, the Rapid Support Force militia.
I think my first mission failed. We didn't reach those mountains. But I think we had to be nimble enough to adjust ourselves to where we were then taken, which was in and of itself an interesting story. Being a white person who was tortured is not a label I relish at all. I find it humiliating in a certain way, but if it's a way to then open up discourse and get a wide audience and debate about reactions to the Sudanese government regime, then so be it. And if I came back with some testimony with people speaking about the mountains, maybe the story wouldn't have gotten as much attention that this one has. [So], yes, our mission failed, but then I think we also succeeded in some way of keeping our [duty] of being journalists and getting a story out, although it became a personal one, which is never what I thought it would be.
Captured in Sudan is directed by Phil Cox, Daoud Hari, and Giovanna Stopponi. The film is a production of Field of Vision and is co-produced with Channel 4.

subset: commoncrawl


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Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul is an action fighting video game developed by Dimps and Bandai Namco Entertainment featuring the characters and story of Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya manga. Announced on April 12, 2015 and released on September 25, 2015 for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan and Europe and October 6 in North America, the game serves as an updated version to the 2013 Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers.
Similar to the previous title, Soldiers' Soul is a 3D fighting game, it retains all the features from its predecessor and they've also been enhanced. PC and PS4 versions will run at 1080p 60fps with better graphics and textures, while the PS3 version will run at 720p 30fps with slightly lower graphics.
Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul Game Trailer
Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul System Requirements
- OS: Windows Vista/7/8
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.4 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+
- Memory: 1 Gb
- Hard Drive: 12 Gb free
- Video Memory: 512 Mb
- Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3870
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- DirectX: 9.0c
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- OS: Windows Vista/7/8/8.1
- Processor: Intel Core i3 @ 2.9 GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 @ 3.0 GHz
- Memory: 4 Gb
- Hard Drive: 12 Gb free
- Video Memory: 1 Gb
- Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 470 / AMD Radeon HD 5870
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- DirectX: 9.0c
- Keyboard
- Mouse
Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul Download Link
file size: 3.83 GB
Saint Seiya: Soldiers' Soul Free Download
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Lansdowne update: Public consultation before talks on transferring control
Thanks to the mobilization of the community and the work of Councillor Shawn Menard's office, there is some good news coming out of the City of Ottawa's Finance and Economic Development Committee on November 5, 2019.
Instead of passing a motion directing the City to enter into negotiations to transfer control of the Lansdowne urban park to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), the committee is asking City Council for public consultations to precede any discussions of the transfer of management. Also, it is possible that the public consultations and discussions with OSEG will lead to a recommendation that OSEG's offer to take over control of the public parts of the park be rejected.
Stay tuned to find out how you can have your say.
The motion, passed by the Finance and Economic Development Committee, will go to City Council on November 27:
"WHEREAS response to the potential change in operator for the public realm components of Lansdowne Park has underscored the value that the community places on the current approach to the programming direction and plan of the Urban Park, and that Lansdowne Park has become the people place that Council envisioned; and
WHEREAS, on February 22, 2012, City Council approved the "Lansdowne Urban Park, Aberdeen Pavilion and Horticulture Building Programming Plan" report (ACS2012-COS-PRC-0004), which was based on significant community consultation and the results of an international design competition, providing overall guidance on the programming of each element of the Urban Park (public realm components), specifically the Aberdeen Pavilion, the Horticulture Building, Aberdeen Square, the Great Lawn and outdoor plaza spaces and the Outdoor Rink; and
WHEREAS the Council-approved programming approach is designed to make the Urban Park, "a world class attraction, open to the public and programmed by the City on a year-round basis….[and to support] the vision of Lansdowne hosting a variety of activities that attract residents and visitors alike, and are complementary to activities in the Stadium, Civic Centre and mixed-use sections of the site", including the retention of the Ottawa Farmers' Market on the site;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Finance and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council approve that Recommendation 4 be amended to read as follows:
4. That the General Manager, Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services be directed to undertake exploratory discussions related to the day-to-day booking and coordination of operations of the Lansdowne site to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), to be preceded and informed by public consultations on the community programming aspects of the proposal to be undertaken by the City with the Ward Councillor within existing budgets, as described in this report, and that, in addition to consideration of the results of the facility users and stakeholder consultations, these public consultations and exploratory discussions with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group related to booking operations of the public realm components of Lansdowne Park will be based on the following principles, in keeping with the Council-approved programming plan:
- That the Aberdeen Square and Aberdeen Pavilion will continue to be used as the outdoor and seasonal indoor venues for the Ottawa Farmers' Market in accordance with existing agreements;
- That the Lansdowne Urban Park will continue to play an important role in supporting municipal special events such as the Canada Day Senior's Breakfast, United Way events, Remembrance Day Ceremonies, support space for Winterlude related winter events and community flea markets;
- That the level of community events, bookings and programming will not decrease, or increase in cost, as a result of any policies or decisions of the operator; and
- That the Horticulture Building will continue to provide access for community use in accordance with the City-established rental rates, including the differential rates for not-for-profit organizations and events; and
- That there will be no cost increase to the City of Ottawa beyond inflation and no change in the ownership status, as outlined in the Lansdowne Partnership Agreement; and
That the results of these exploratory discussions and consultations be brought back in a report to the Finance and Economic Development Committee and Council for consideration by the end of Q2 2020, including any recommendations, up to and including a rejection of the offer or a negotiated agreement regarding the transfer of booking operations for the Lansdowne Urban Park; and that the report contain a notional overview of benefits to the City and of costs that may remain with the City (such as those associated with the preservation of public and community programming)."


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Sweet Almond Intensive Hand Treatment
An intensive hand treatment specially formulated for dry, overworked hands. If you have to wash your hands frequently during the day due to working conditions, you will love the transformation this will bring to your skin health. This is a richer cream best used overnight to gain the maximum benefit.
Main ingredients:
Illipe Butter is a saviour for dry skin. It has regenerative properties and can help bring long lasting moisture and protection to dry, cracked skin. It is, however, not suitable for people with tree nut allergies.
Shea butter* hydrates and softens skin, soothes irritation, and helps prevent and reverse aging and scarring of the skin.
Evening primrose oil nourishes skin, treating and preventing dry and sensitive skin conditions, and also works to prevent and reverse aging of the skin.
Olive oil* is intensely rich and moisturising.
Soya oil* conditions all skin types and can also help reduce aging of the skin.
Almond oil* moisturises and hydrates all skin types, and soothes sensitive skin.
Fruit acids provide deep hydration into skin layers by attracting water. They also work on a superficial level by removing dead skin cells, revealing softer healthier skin.
Green tea extract* is an anti-oxidant, used to prevent damage and aging from free radicals.
Vitamins A and E are antioxidants which are vital in keeping skin young and healthy, and which prevent skin aging from free radicals.
Hyaluronic acid (vegan) is a substance naturally produced by the body, giving skin its fullness and hydration. It is safe and beneficial for people of all ages. Applied to the skin it will prevent it from becoming dehydrated by the elements and for more mature skin, it will also help to fill out wrinkles and fine lines.
Allergen-free fragrance makes this suitable for people with sensitive skin.
*organic ingredients


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Career Seeker
We ensure individuals are tackling their challenges with confidence while pursuing their goals. If you are unemployed, underemployed, or concerned about obtaining employment, Career Consultants are at your service! Global Apprenticeship offers a variety of professional development services to enrich and empower you.
Learn a trade and obtain an industry-recognized license and/or credential, in as little as four weeks to one year.
Train and work with small businesses by participating in one or more of the following programs.
Skills Enhancement Training & Development
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Soft Skills
- Resume Workshops
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- Basic Computer Training
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Forecast Snow!
When the snow begins to fall, winter sport enthusiasts delight in the glistening rural landscapes of Columbia County, New York. Located just two hours north of New York City, the county offers miles of cross country and snowshoeing trails making for an invigorating and visually breathtaking experience. Trails meander through the grounds of the internationally known sculpture garden, ART OMI, and through the captivating terrain with spectacular Hudson River views at the Olana Historic Site.
Catamount Ski Area provides thrills for snowboarders and downhill skiers of all ages. With over 30 downhill runs — easy for the kiddies and double back diamond for the more experienced — a day on the slopes is a fun family affair.
If frosty weather gives you the chills, relax and rejuvenate yourself at one of county's day spas or yoga classes or cozy up with a good book at one of the many charming B&Bs. Top the day off with cocktails by a roaring fire and a sumptuous meal at one the Zagat rated restaurants and you have the perfect winter getaway.
Find out more at columbiacountytourism.org.


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Denny Hamlin made a great start to his Round of 8 campaign from pole position having won at Kansas the previous Round.
Hamlin's able to shut out Aric Almirola in the No.10 Stewart-Haas Ford Mustang at the start of green.
But mostly the bid to punch his ticket in Homestead will have to wait at Texas on Sunday thanks to the domination of Martin Truex Jr. & frustrating battle with Joey Logano where Hamlin finished in 4th.
Hamlin, though, has won a few races under his belt in 2019 and well ahead above the cutoff line just behind Truex right now in the drivers' standings.
That way, he will have another chance to redeem himself as long as there's a win.
Another way Hamlin can keep his Championship 4 spot as long as he finishes inside the Top 5 in Texas & Arizona.
Then it will be enough for Hamlin to keep his hopes alive of winning the Championship at Homestead-Miami.
One man who has punched his ticket for the Championship is Truex.
He has the better race car all day in the No.19 Toyota Camry.
It's the same team that was struggling over the last two seasons in the hands of Daniel Suarez.
Since then, Truex lifted the No.19 Team from strugglers to race winners.
With a fantastic lead in the standings with three races to go in 2019, Truex will want to make sure that he keeps this race car stable before giving his full best of adding another Cup title to the Truex trophy cabinet.
I am looking at Texas, who will join Truex for the second spot in the Championship 4?
Hamlin is one driver who has a high chance of punching his ticket as long as the No.11 Toyota Camry remains speedy.
Kyle Busch may have felt disappointed in 14th, which isn't a good start to his semi-final bid.
But he can come back out of nowhere and strike gold.
He has done that before last year during the second final race at Arizona with the win to race for the title in the last minute at Homestead.
Though, he didn't win that race as the whole crown belonged to Joey Logano.
So not too late just yet from Kyle Busch and the No.18 JGR Toyota Camry Team.
What about Ryan Blaney? He, too, had a decent outing in 5th behind Hamlin.
A right race car within the Top 3's reach conveys that Blaney can usurp Ky. Busch or team-mate Logano for the 3rd & 4th Championship 4 seats.
But again, it will depend on how he goes in the next two races as a win does give Blaney extra protection to keep his hopes alive in case of some backup plan.
Kevin Harvick seemed to slip away with the slow start that Stewart-Haas experienced through most of this year, so he's under pressure to keep himself above the cutoff line.
So is Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, the two Chevys languishing in 7th & 8th in the semi-final spots, respectively.
Larson finished okay within the Top 10 in a tricky paper clip type track.
Though having secured one win compared to the other guys ahead of him with multiple wins, the pressure is still on Larson.
Two Top 5s + a win is a must.
Larson has got the motivation & talent with his famous high line to trick drivers, which is his strength.
But repeating just average outside the Top 5 won't help him too much if he wants the title so bad.
For Elliott, he's so unlucky not to finish where he wanted on Sunday due to issues relating to the No.9 Hendrick Chevy.
It did hurt so much as there's still catch up to play over the next two weeks.
Though, Elliott has hope having secured two Top 10s in the last three races.
So he's pretty much got the outside chance of shocking the entire semi-final competition.
Should Larson or Elliott win in either of those next two rounds, then a Chevy will be able to compete for the ultimate goal since Jimmie Johnson in 2016.
For now, October will go, and November will step in as another intense week of Cup racing continues when they head to Texas Motor Speedway later.


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A Golden Transaction Awaits Customers of UAE Exchange
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Promotion period: 1st June to 30th September 2016
London, 1 June 2016: With an aim to bring excitement and luck to their transacting customers this festival season, UAE Exchange, the leading global remittance, foreign exchange and payment solutions brand, today unveiled its new promotion 'Win Gold Bars' across its branches in London, United Kingdom. The promotion will witness a total of 19 winners, with one winner each week winning a 10 gm gold bar and one mega winner winning one Ounce bar of Gold at the end of the promotion.
Customers who send and receive transactions through the UAE Exchange UK Branches, money2anywhere.com, retail foreign currency exchange transactions or avail Gold Loan during the promotion period will automatically get qualified for the lucky draw. Customers who send and receive transactions through Xpress Money and Western Union are also eligible for the lucky draw.
All draws will be computer generated and the winners will be announced through the UAE Exchange website http://www.uaeexchange.com/gbr.
Speaking on the occasion, Lakshmi Narayanan, Regional Head-Europe, UAE Exchange said: "Customers are the nucleus of every activity at UAE Exchange and we always challenge ourselves to explore new ways of exciting and enhancing customer experience. The 'Win Gold Bars' promotion is one such step in that direction. We are confident that this initiative will further strengthen our relationship with the customers and add a golden value to their transactions."
The promotion ends on 30 September 2016.


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The Confederation of British Industry wants young adults in England to be entitled to an extra year of education, BBC is reporting.
Director general Carolyn Fairbairn says this move could benefit further education colleges, but any cut to university tuition fees to compensate would cause them "profound harm".
The intervention by the CBI comes amid growing pressure to achieve a better balance of funding between the almost half of 18-year-olds in England who go to university and those who do not.
In a speech at Cambridge Regional College, she will argue that further education colleges have "politically been neglected", leading to historic underfunding.
As part of the solution, she suggests young adults should have an extra year of education entitlement beyond the age of 18.
This might be to take a course at a college or a foundation year at a university, leading to a qualification above A-level, but below a degree.
There has been speculation that the independent panel reviewing post-18 education could recommend a reduction in the headline tuition fee for at least some university courses in England.
The Association of Colleges said the CBI intervention was welcome, because much of the focus has been on the 60% of 18-year-olds who get A-levels and go on to university.
In December, Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the government recognised the need for more new technical qualifications at a level just below a degree.
Read more CBI calls for extra year of education
Do you agree? Please tell us your thoughts in comments or via Twitter ~ Emma
Are you a trainee teacher, NQT, teacher, headteacher, parent or just someone who cares about education and has something to get off your chest in a Schools Improvement Guest Post? Follow this link for more details at the bottom of the page.Don't forget you can sign up to receive our daily email bulletin (around 7am) with all the latest schools news stories. Your details will never be given to anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any stage. Just follow this link.
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The 2013 Wörthersee Tour GTI Treffen has sure kept the Volkswagen Group busy. SEAT will be showing off its wild Leon Cup Racer concept, Skoda has its Rapid Sport Concept and Volkswagen, traditionally the main attraction of the show, will have the Design Vision GTI and this, the Volkswagen Amarok R-Style concept to keep the crowd entertained.
This sports truck concept based on a single cab Volkswagen Amarok looks fit enough to be a Mopar show star with its 22-inch wheels, custom bodykit, slammed looks and blinged-out lights. If Volkswagen ever releases an Amarok R, the design sketches released earlier this week is not a bad start.
There's some go to match the show, as there's a tuned turbocharged 3.0 litre TDI engine with 272 hp and 600 Nm under the hood, connected to an eight-speed automatic 'box and a permanent 4motion system. The 0-100 km/h sprint is over in 7.9 seconds.
It's just too bad that leaked photos of the real thing show a much more restrained concept. The sporty interior is all bespoke though, and it looks mighty good. We've also included pictures of the standard car in double cab guise below for you to compare. Too extreme for you? Then maybe the Amarok Canyon is more your style.


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Considering Corel's (Nasdaq: CORL) recent financial results and statements concerning its cash position, its merger with Inprise/Borland Corp (Nasdaq: INPR) may not be a fair deal for Inprise investors.
Inprise/Borland said Thursday it had asked its financial adviser for an updated opinion on the fairness of the exchange ratio for its pending acquisition by the Canadian software developer.
Corel/Inprise: Raw deal for Inprise?
The company said it made the fairness request after taking into account Corel's first quarter financial results and statements regarding its cash position. Earlier this year, Inprise/Borland agreed to a deal to exchange each of its shares for 0.747 of a Corel common share. The merger was going to create a "Linux powerhouse," according to the companies.
Inprise/Borland has every right to second guess its Corel marriage. Shareholders have been against the deal because of Corel's recent problems. Meanwhile, the value of the stock-swap merger has plunged from its original terms. On Feb 7, Corel was paying $1.07 billion in stock. By March 20, the deal was valued at just $718 million. Based on Corel's closing price Thursday, Inprise is valued at just $371 million.
Shares of Inprise/Borland closed at 5 5/16 Thursday, well below their 52-week high of 20. Corel's bad news has also been a drag for Inprise investors. When Corel reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss of $12.4 million, Inprise shares took a tumble. Corel closed at 6 27/32 Thursday, down from a 52-week high of 44 1/2.
The ever-optimistic executives at Corel maintain the Inprise/Borland merger is on track, but they've been wrong before -- especially with Wall Street guidance.
Inprise/Borland also reported its first-quarter results Thursday. Net loss was $1.15 million, or 2 cents a share, on revenue of $46.50 million. Revenue was up slightly from $43.4 million in the same period a year ago. Loss narrowed from $25.6 million or 54 cents a share in the first quarter of 1999. No estimates were available.
Earlier this month, Investor Management Insights Inc. sued to block the proposed merger, calling the deal inadequate.
Inprise competes with Computer Associates (NYSE: CA), Compuware (Nasdaq: CPWR) and Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW). Corel battles Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT).


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5 Mistakes Marketers Make When Integrating Social Media and Email Marketing
Email and social media can be a powerful combination. In order to really get the most value out of both channels, it's important to look at them as complementary elements that speak to each other, creating a whole picture that's greater than the sum of its parts. Cross-channel marketing is about aligning your branding, messaging, offers, and timing across multiple delivery points; for many brands, the two most effective channels to align are email and social media.
Start with the Basics
When you start integrating social media and email marketing, you'll likely want to include links to your social networks. But what kind of links? There's a difference between sharing and connecting on social media.
- Sharing: These links make it possible for your subscribers to share the email or (or a part of it) with their social network. For example, if you included a surprising statistic in an email, you could include a link to "Tweet this fact!" This is a good way to get more visibility for your brand and possibly acquire new leads as well. According to SocialTimes, adding social sharing buttons to email messages increases click-through rates by more than 150%.
- Connecting: This is where you ask your email recipients to follow your brand on LinkedIn, follow you on Twitter, Like your Facebook page, subscribe to your YouTube channel, and so on. For example, if you send an email with a link to an educational video, you might encourage your readers to subscribe to your YouTube channel to get more valuable videos. It's a great way to deepen your relationship with your customers and prospects.
No matter what type of social link you're providing, you need to make sure the value of sharing or connecting with your brand is very clear right up front, and that you're using the social media platforms that make the most sense for your audience.
Avoiding Email + Social Mistakes
Of course, it can be easy to go wrong with social media – and when you do, the word spreads quickly. Companies just getting started with social often make mistakes that are easy to avoid, but the important thing to remember is to be honest and open about them, very quickly, instead of trying to cover up. Because, somehow, that rarely seems to work.
Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when combining social media with email marketing:
- Driving to a Facebook (or other) page that doesn't reflect the branding and design of your company. If a recipient clicks on a link in your email and lands on a social media page that looks entirely different from your website, they may think the link misdirected them to the wrong page. It will be a jarring experience, and they'll likely just click away. Some marketers think that Facebook is the place to go crazy and really let their personality shine. But does your type of crazy actually reflect your company? If you want to do something entirely different, make sure your email design reflects it as well, so it's a smooth, predictable transition between your message and social media.
- Always using social media to sell something. Your customers and prospects aren't on Twitter because they're shopping. They're sharing. They're learning and connecting. So if you spend all your time on social media shouting about how great your products and services are, you'll alienate people pretty quickly. If someone has signed up for your promotional emails, that's great. But once they click the link over to a social site, they're probably not expecting the hard sell. Use that opportunity to give them content that's useful and interesting, and gradually lead them to your website for deeper engagement and the chance to buy.
- Not listening or responding to customers. This is a common problem because most companies like to handle problems or complaints quietly and quickly. But sometimes that's not possible, and if someone is airing a legitimate issue with your organization in a public social forum, it's up to you to respond fast and do it in a transparent way, in the same channel. Email marketing is (usually) a one-way communication channel, and people expect to listen to you when you send them a message. But social media is a dialog, and it needs to be an interactive one. If you use it to broadcast messages and you tune out every response, your audience will start to tune you out as well. You want to be remembered for customer service like Zappos, not United Airlines.
- Letting your social site become a ghost town. The only thing worse than a company with zero presence on major social media sites in one with an out-of-date presence. A Facebook page that hasn't been updated since they added pictures of the company picnic … two years ago. A Pinterest page with a few product photos from last year's catalog. A LinkedIn page where the HR manager still posts job openings – and that's about it. Once you've decided to invest in a social media presence, continue to do it, and make it a priority. If you find that your customers aren't actually using Pinterest, that's fine; stop posting. But don't keep linking to your now-silent board in every email you send – the customers who click through will see how little effort you've put in to maintaining your presence.
- Starting too many places at once. Once you decide to integrate social media with your emails, it's tempting to try to jump into every channel at the same time. But there are hundreds of social media networks around the world, and trying to join all of them (or even 10 of them) at once is a recipe for disaster. Rather, focus on one or two as you get started, and go where your customers and prospects already are. Be sure to do your research before you dive in. Ask your customers where they spend their social time. Coming on strong on Facebook won't do you much good if most of your target audience is hanging out on Pinterest.
Once you get it right, social media can be a powerful ally for your email marketing campaigns. For example, it's often a great way to introduce strangers to a landing page on your website where you invite them to sign up to receive your emails. Or you could direct people to a new infographic or quiz, taking them another step along a lead conversion path.
- Use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and other social sites to announce discounts and special offers. When you ask visitors for their email address, provide the opportunity for these potential subscribers to opt into your list. (Just don't use a pre-checked opt-in box.)
- If you have a regular newsletter, post a link to it on your social sites to drive traffic (and subscriptions).
- Repurpose content from your newsletter on social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, then link back to a newsletter archive as well as a landing page where visitors can sign up to get the email.
- Whenever you provide a subscription page or preference center to your email subscribers, be sure to include the opportunity to follow and connect with your brand through social channels as well.
Remember to include the benefits of signing up for your email or connecting with your organization through social media. Because if you can't think of a benefit, your audience won't be able to either – and that means they'll unfollow, dislike, and unsubscribe in a hurry.
Just getting started with email marketing?
Get the jump on it with this free toolkit:


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Caitlin Johnstone
Contributing Writer at Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin Johnstone is an uncouth heretic and unapologetic rabble rouser writing out of Melbourne, Australia. A prolific writer. Rogue journalist. Bogan socialist. Anarcho-psychonaut. Guerilla poet. Utopia prepper. You will disagree with her sometimes. That's okay.
Latest posts by Caitlin Johnstone (see all)
- 25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish on Russia - November 19, 2019
- Corporate Media Studiously Avoids the Word "Coup" in Bolivia Reporting - November 11, 2019
- Power Worshippers: Mainstream Journalists Who Refuse to Defend Dissident Journalists - October 31, 2019
Juan Guaido: I would like to be regarded as the interim president of Venezuela because the current president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, stands opposed to the interests of the political bodies with which I have aligned myself. Also, he stands opposed to my own personal ambitions of becoming powerful. Washington, DC: We too would like for Juan Guaido to be regarded as the interim president of Venezuela, because the current President of Venezuela is too cozy in…


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"Greece is constantly sending Turkey the message that its arbitrariness will not be accepted and that, with the support of the European Union and the International Community, we will fully defend our sovereign rights with regard to borders, continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece and the European Union," the President of the Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said on Sunday from Kozani, while also stressing the need for unity.
Addressing the EU, US, and NATO, Pavlopoulos said: "Greece's international alliances in our region are already bearing fruit."
He added that "if Greece alone needs to fulfill its role as a guarantor of European and international legality, it will do so."
Regarding the European Union, Pavlopoulos said that it must be aware that Greece's struggle also concerns its own vital issues, in particular with regard to its territory, borders and its Exclusive Economic Zone and is obliged to defend them."
He also called upon the US and the NATO to act when Turkey violates International Law, with the most recent example the Law of the Sea.
Pavlopoulos stressed the need for unity among the Greeks in order to effectively address provocations and dangers, particularly to defend national issues and national rights, and more specifically those concerning relations with Turkey.
"Greece has shown that it is so consistent with its European obligations that even its national issues, particularly those concerning its relations with Turkey, are defended solely on the basis of the European and of international law, and in this context it also favours Turkey's European perspective, provided that it fully respects international and European law, but unfortunately Turkey is undermining every aspect of its European perspective by strongly and clearly violating international and European law.
source athens news agency


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The annual index of investment risk is calculated for 196 countries since 2009 Top 10 ranking places occupied countries with critically high risk and volatile business environment: Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia .
Related article: The yield from investments in real estate of the Czech Republic more than 10% per annumPrepared according to the report, over the past year in Ukraine deteriorated performance of corporate governance and macroeconomic stability, human rights in law enforcement and critically reduced the level of education. In addition, the country has increased the degree of government regulation of business and political stability, increased the overall stress of citizens and reduced the level of terrorist threat.
Thus, in the ranking in 2010 Ukraine has improved compared with 2009 its investment appeal and moved from 62 th to 74 th place, caught between Burkina Faso (Africa, 73 th) and the Republic of East Timor (Indonesia, 75-th place).
In addition, according to Maplecroft, in Ukraine, as well as almost the entire territory of the CIS, a high risk for investment of private business.
As head of the department of communications Maplecroft Jason McGowan, in the preparation of a report by experts used data from international organizations and media and information sources of the company.
Ranking of Political Risk Atlas compiled exclusively for the evaluation of investment attractiveness of the country, and not to be used for political purposes, "- said McGowan.
Recall that in the study in 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, prepared by U.S. think tank The Heritage Foundation, says that the index of economic freedom of Ukraine belongs to the category of repressed countries. For example, among European countries Ukraine is the last place, Kommersant-Ukraine.


text: Paul Preston is regarded as the leading historian of twentieth-century Spain alive today. Among his many works are The Triumph of Democracy in Spain (1986), Franco: A Biography (1993), A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War (1996), Comrades (1999), Doves of War: Four Women in Spain (2002) and Juan Carlos (2004). He is Principe de Asturias Professor of Contemporary Spanish History and Director of the Canada Blanch Centre of Contemporary Spanish Studies at the London School of Economics.


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About Churchill's Secret Bunker
Churchill's Secret Bunker - also known as Paddock - was designed to be used as the nerve centre of the British government during WW2 in the event of Britain being unable to defend itself from air attack.
Far more fortified than it's Whitehall equivalent, the Paddock Bunker was built in the late 1930s in Neasden, north-west London, and would have been able to survive a direct hit from the Luftwaffe. In reality, the complex was never fully employed as the RAF proved able to negate the worst of the threat from the German air force after victory in the Battle of Britain.
Today, this relatively unknown underground complex is still very much as it would have been at the end of the war. Located 40 ft below ground and comprising over forty rooms on two floors, the Paddock bunker is now in a semi-derelict state but still boasts abandoned and rusted original equipment still in place. Inside can be found the original map room, kitchen, and Churchill's War Cabinet room - where he held a Cabinet meeting on October 3, 1940.
Abandoned after the war, the site passed to the care of a local housing group after they were granted the rights to develop the area above ground. While closed to the public for much of the year, Churchill's Secret Bunker is open twice a year for guided tours which are run by the Subterranea Britannica group.
All that remains above ground is a small modern brick enclosure within which a concrete staircase runs down to the complex - indeed passers-by would never imagine what lays beneath their feet.
Related Places
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park was Station X, the central location of British code cracking operations during World War II.Explore
Cabinet War Rooms
The Cabinet War Rooms are part of the underground bunker complex in London where Winston Churchill and his government operated during World War Two.Explore
The London Royal Air Force Museum
The London Royal Air Force Museum offers a great overview of the history of aviation in combat as well as housing over 100 aircraft from around the world.Explore


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Moving from Philadelphia to Brooklyn
Moving from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, New York with Cross Country Movers Group
Do you want to change the address? Moving from Philadelphia to Brooklyn can be complicated, but you have decided to start a new life there. Brooklyn is an excellent destination, and you will have a chance to live in one of the most advanced cities on the entire globe. But, before you can start the new chapter there, you need to go through the relocation process, and Cross Country Movers Group is determined to help you.
Cross Country Movers Group has been in this industry for a while, and our well-trained moving crew is going to show up in front of your house on a moving day eager and ready to get started. We are going to pack your belongings, plus, you don't have to worry about the moving supplies and materials because we will bring everything you need to ensure a safe move. After everything is safely packed, all of the boxes will be loaded into the truck and our movers will unload everything upon arrival.
Besides the moving services mentioned above, Cross Country Movers Group can also provide assembly and disassembly, as well as vehicle transportation. A lot of people who move to another state choose to have their car shipped by the professionals because driving can be more expensive and time-consuming. Last but not least, besides residential moves, Cross Country Movers Group offers commercial relocation, so if you have a company you would like to move to another location, we are the ones you need to call. All of your office equipment will be transported safely and quickly to the new location, and you will be able to continue doing your job without wasting time.
What makes Cross Country Movers Group unique is the fact that we can move you from and to any location in the United States. Just point at the map and give us a call to schedule your moving day! But before that, make sure you ask for a free price estimate. If you have any questions, Cross Country Movers Group is going to clarify anything that needs further explanation. Now, let's check out some things about Brooklyn that will motivate you to move immediately.
About Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of Big Apple, and it is the most-populous one. A lot of people from different backgrounds live in Brooklyn, and just like other parts of New York, Brooklyn is an ethnically diverse area. In case you are home-hunting, follow this link. Brooklyn has numerous things to offer to its residents, and you don't have to go far to enjoy yourself. You can spend a nice sunny day with your family by visiting Coney Island, or if you want to get away from the city noise and you cannot afford to lose the entire weekend, you can go to Brooklyn Botanic Garden. We have just scratched the surface, and we are confident that you will discover some other amazing sites once you arrive there.
Cross Country Movers Group is ready to start working on your long-distance move! Call us today!


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Pandora's response to COVID-19. Read more.
Pandora safety chains are used to protect your charm bracelets from accidental damage in an elegant and stylish way. Available in 14k gold, sterling silver, Pandora Rose and Pandora Shine, add a special touch to your bracelet and complement the beautiful charms you already own.


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Patrick "the other half" is the General Manager and co-founder of the Sound Relief Hearing Center with Dr. Julie. Patrick earned his bachelor's degree in history from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He spent the previous 16 years selling pipe and fire hydrants.
Patrick, Julie, Ethan, Hanna, their two dogs, and
22 21 17 16 12 24 chickens live in Sedalia. He enjoys swimming, mountain biking, snowboarding, and family time in the beautiful Colorado Rockies.


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Force of Will
Lion's Eye Diamond
Sensei's Divining Top
Phyrexian Dreadnaught
Goblin Lackey
Natural Order
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
The thing that people don't seem to get is that Oko is a Flametongue Kavu vs pretty much any other existing source of recurring value source which sits on the battlefield, particularly other PWs. Any 1-drop trinket that cantrips without going to the graveyard makes the previous statement all the more true - Oko gets to turbo down enemy PWs without any fear of summoning sickness coming into the equation. The card doing the job of Council's Judgement is now a 1-card combo that takes over the game; a barely watered-down highly undercosted 3 mana Apex Predator.
Gotta stop mentioning cards that aren't anywhere near Oko's league. Ban Astro = really, we need to buff RUG Delver do we? Ban Veil = ban yet another card to protect Hymn to Tourach [Cruise, Dig, SDT, Breach, Lurrus, Wrenn]? Ban Uro/Dreadhorde = maybe don't ban DRS next time?
Yes, let's have both astrolabe and DRS in the format.
Who needs mana management anyway.
The one biggest factors to the reduction of diversity in the format is not only the printing of stupid cards, but the minimal opportunity costs for splashing stuff.
Until they print playable 1 mana removal that can also hit PWs, Oko should be banned.
3 mana and potentially 6 starting loyalty binds too many resources getting rid of him if he doesn't take over the game completely anyway.
Veil of Summer is going to be banned at some point because it does both, the thing it's supposed to and the opposite.
It's fine to try to give green/creature based strategies a tool to combat control but they forgot to make it only creature spells that are uncounterable.
Even though that is still crowbar design, it's better than a card that can also be used to protect combo from almost any kind of interaction.
I tend to agree that Oko is the main problem, just because it's able to answer onboard answers to it, like for instance Tombstalker (not that anyone else plays it) or a big Knight on an empty board. With that said, even if Oko was banned this weekend would that make the format appealing again?
- Astrolabe & Vista letting people play 4-5 colour decks with Back to Basics is kinda dumb but not the end of the world;
- Uro/Arcanist create snowball games (and when Uro stabilises it tends to just take over games all by itself) but again, not the end of the world by themselves;
- Plague Engineer punishes those stupid enough to *checks notes* play a tier 2 Tribal deck;
- Veil of Summer is supposed to help out non-blue fair decks like Jund or adjacent type decks but I don't even know what non-blue decks are playing it. I know TES did well recently playing 4 maindeck though and that my most favourite deck of all time, Sneak and Show is also splashing green for it (among other things also mentioned on this list). Turning off discard as an angle of attack hurts the decks without Force of Will more, no?
The problem IMO is not limited to just one card or even two. In a vacuum none of these cards are really all that annoying but put together they make legacy kinda tiresome.
I don't even know how one would fix the format at this point to make it more enjoyable, if that could even be measured to everyone's standards - there are just so many cards that can make one's magic experience miserable, starting at Delver and Griselbrand and ending at whatever was most recently printed, and by that I mean cards that absolutely *have* to be answered or just either kill you on the spot (Dark Depths) or effectively win the game most of the time once they land (Oko/Uro/Dreadhorde).
I only post the above to ask this question: does anyone else feel this way?
At this point, there is so much degenerate garbage around, even if you ban something, the next slightly less/different degenerate card is there to take it's place.
For legacy, I really think banning all fetches would make the format vastly more enjoyable.
Brainstorm would be shit.
Mana bases would be a lot more vulnerable and you couldn't just easily play 15_color_goodstuff.dec.
Strategies that rely on a filled GY would also be a lot weaker.
As long as the reserved list still stands, this is highly unlikely/undesirable, as the prices would get even more astronomical.
This is also likely the reason stuff from the reserved list like Earthcraft, Yawgmoth's Bargain, and Wheel of Fortune are still banned.
Unbanned it would either be garbage and meaningless or playable, expensive and format warping so there is little to be gained.
As for the other cards, I think it's important to separate between cards that are bad and cards that are really bad for format diversity. W6 was really bad, and so is Oko, imo. Cards that make archetypes obsolete are not welcome, imo. Plague Engineer does have some such effect but much less powerful, again imo, like Elves is still a very successful deck even if PE is heavily played, Thalia and Mother of runes are losing a lot of play which is partly due to PE but probably more due to Oko (or equally, I think equipment being bad is worse for those decks than losing a few x/1 humans). I think the format benefits from PE leaving but we can still have a good format with it around, while Oko is on the wrong side of that border. I think Arcanist and to a lesser extent Uro don't make the format or gameplay more interesting but they can both be handled rather easily. If Oko wasn't around then Chalice would easily neutralize Arcanist, similarly if Astrolabe didn't exist then Uro would not be a problem since Wasteland would limit its use. Which illustrates that the problem is with Oko and Astrolabe primarily. I even think that without Oko and Astrolabe, Uro can be spawning a unique archetype which actually benefits the format.
Astrolabe seemingly enabling 5c goodstuff is why we can't have it around, imo.
And again, Veil is frustrating to play against but it's a worse card than Pyroblast and it perfectly balances Hymn to Tourach decks like no ther card can. I think the format benefits from it, it adds an interesting layer in the deck building decisions about whether you run discard or counterspells or permanents to interact with your opponent, it's a net positive for format diversity and health buuut it's frustrating to play against.
I've been thinking about this for a while, ever since The Rock and Jund became essentially unplayable because the best GBx shell is Dark Depths. Notice a correlation? I'm not saying those decks can't steal a tournament, but they are vastly less powerful than the combo-spectrum of Dark Depths. Zoo is replaced by Delver, Rock is replaced by Dark Depths, control variants become 3-4 color monstrosities because they can.
Maybe I'm way off, but this is how I see the format. I see people wanting to have it the same as what everyone wanted Modern to be: a format where anything is playable. Modern went through the transition from open-ended to only-busted-decks way faster than Legacy will, simply due to the lack of format police (Wasteland, Daze, Force of Will.) However, I still see Legacy getting there eventually.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
Another observation contradicting this view of aging formats becoming degenerate, Legacy was by several people considered to be perhaps more healthy than ever before just before War of the Spark was released, at least I read several people state this at the time. A format can clearly improve.
Another observation is that it was actually a rules change about legendary permanents that made Depths replace The Rock, so it was actually the rules change that increased the power level of an old card rather than a new printing. So, I guess that makes it an exception.
it really depends on how people want to innovate with the format. there are definitely some strong cards and you can even say optimal cards for each given archetype. it is possible that many synergies have been overlooked.
until the average skill level of legacy players is very high, you can play more or less whatever you want if you know what you're doing. it's possible that the modo metagame is a bit more hostile for this kind of approach to the game, but i can speak from experience for tabletop that i play whatever deck i want and my records are pretty consistent regardless of deck choice.
There is no incentive to break Legacy, otherwise the degeneracy would be more obvious (although probably not to the extreme Modern has been historically).
I also said this:
Modern got there quicker due to a lack of widely played, powerful 'policing' cards.Modern went through the transition from open-ended to only-busted-decks way faster than Legacy will, simply due to the lack of format police (Wasteland, Daze, Force of Will.) However, I still see Legacy getting there eventually.
I didn't mention degenerate in my statement, you're introducing that as a definition. I didn't say degenerate, I said 'busted'. Both are vague terms, so let me define my perspective: busted means it's a tier zero deck, basically the best thing to be doing in the format. Whether that means a ban should happen or not is open for another debate, something I'm not really addressing. I already stated if anything Oko is the one ban I would support. Looking at Oko it's even more compact than Tinker + Time Vault/Blightsteel Colossus, or Oath of Druids + Best Beefy Dude (I'm assuming it's Griselbrand, but again I don't want to misrepresent a format I don't play. If I'm full of shit I'm sure someone will correct me, which I welcome.)If it was, then Legacy would always be more degenerate than Modern, but we all know that Legacy has been much more healthy and varied than Modern at many points of time over the past years.
My understanding of 'degenerate' is more akin to something like Underworld Breach, or in the old days Flash. Not only is it tier 0 but everyone is incentivized to either play it or play only strategies that beat it. Legacy is not at this point right now, which is why I don't advocate for a ban. I'm just saying the win conditions of Legacy are getting more compact, more efficient. Eventually they will push strategies out of the format, just like in Vintage.
New or old, Oko is a one-card combo of efficient answer + threat to most of the format. It is obviously pushing powerful cards out of the format, look at Jace the Mind Sculptor. I don't think it will be long before Jace is essentially unplayable, and it sees very little play now. Liliana of the Veil was once incredibly good, now is seen in only fringe decks like the occasional Pox or Jund. The format is narrowing. I'm not arguing about format health, that is much too subjective to ever nail down (just look at this thread's history.)My understanding of format health has been that it's the balance of the power of the best cards (including answers, removal etc, but that's a separate discussion) that influence the format health, so in my previous post I argue that Oko is overpowered relative to other cards that fair decks use, it's not an inherent property of the age of the format or card or the amount of cards available in the format but rather it is a problem because of the power of Oko relative to other legal cards and banning this single card will level out the playing field again.
Again, not arguing about degeneracy, that was introduced by you. I can see the argument about pre-Spark Legacy, it even makes sense, but it's a different point.Another observation contradicting this view of aging formats becoming degenerate, Legacy was by several people considered to be perhaps more healthy than ever before just before War of the Spark was released, at least I read several people state this at the time. A format can clearly improve.
It is true that a rules change made Depths better than Rock, but other factors in the format helped push the Rock out as well (and Jund.) Maybe I'm making a false comparison there, it just seems so clear to me that if you want to play BGx that the combo deck of Dark Depths is better than the mid-range Rock or Jund. This could possibly change, but I am skeptical. Rock/Jund were always tier 2 anyways, whereas Depths goes in/out of DTB regularly. I would also argue that cards like Assassin's Trophy and Veil of Summer are newer cards that make Depths even more powerful, whereas it's just a replacement effect in Rock/Jund. Protecting a 20/20 that wins on the spot is more powerful than protecting a Dark Confidant/Tarmogoyf/Liliana of the Veil.Another observation is that it was actually a rules change about legendary permanents that made Depths replace The Rock, so it was actually the rules change that increased the power level of an old card rather than a new printing. So, I guess that makes it an exception.
I could also add that Storm is an example of the format narrowing. There is really only one competitive Storm deck right now, and that's TES, which has been completely re-tooled to use Veil of Summer instead of discard. There used to be ANT, Solidarity, and Doomsday for other storm variations.
I've really blown a lot of hot air here, but I think my point is clear: Legacy isn't getting more degenerate, it's getting narrower in competitive strategies. I believe it will eventually become like vintage where you're always playing the best cards in the format alongside your combo of choice.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
There's no point in banning fetches. They already created a format for that.
Legacy is the only format to play 4xBrainstorm + fetch into dual. It is perhaps the most defining feature of the format. Overpowered or not, it's what makes Legacy most distinct from other formats and retains the player base. Banning fetches or Brainstorm essentially creates a new format and invalidates the reason WOTC lets Legacy exist.
There is nothing wrong with having a Brainstorm format, until they do dumb things like make Maverick creatures in blue (Delver, TNN) and the best planeswalkers in blue. Brainstorm decks used to be more balanced before they gave blue all the best tools with little drawback for playing them.
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I think this song is about 2 friends who became "more than friends" by accident and now they realize how awkward the situation is and how things can't go back to the way they were...
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The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed a Supplementary Agreement with Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt) Ltd on 11th February 2019.
Mr. Thirukumar Nadarasa, Chief Executive Officer, Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Mr. Hemasiri Fernando, Chairman, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka signed the Agreement. Mrs. Champika Malalgoda, Director General was present at the signing ceremony at BOI Head Office, Colombo.
Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., has been operating in Sri Lanka for over two decades and is a subsidiary of C K Hutchison of Hong Kong, which is a Fortune 500 Company based in Hong Kong.
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Speaking of the Company's expansion, Mr. Nadarasa stated "By integrating the two networks, the combined business will provide Sri Lankan customers with a major boost in both rural and urban network coverage and a renewed commitment in offering superior communication services to all customers."
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From Left: Ms. Sharmini Jayasuriya Head of Legal Hutch, Mr. Lalith Fernando Chief Financial Officer Hutch, Mr. Bandhunath De Alwis Advisor Finance & Operations Hutch, Mr. Thirukumar Nadarasa, CEO Hutch, Mrs. Champika Malalgoda Director General of BOI and Mrs. Shama Herath Senior Deputy Director Legal BOI, at the Supplementary Agreement signing ceremony held at the BOI Head Office, Colombo.


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Business and IT often have troubles understanding each other. Whether they are using in-house teams or third party service providers, those who work on the business side tend to see IT as completely cut-off from any business sense. IT teams in turn view business as oblivious to the current trends in business IT. Business might say that IT has problems with delivering on its promises, while IT might say that business doesn't allow the freedom it needs. Business will claim that IT can actually halt growth, and IT will say that they're still not allowed a chair at the grown-up table.
This kind of a gap wasn't as difficult and dangerous just a couple of years ago. Today, however, innovations have started leveling out the playing field, and cloud-based applications have made the advantages of IT available and affordable for businesses of any size. Being able to closely align business and IT has become one of the important differentiators, and the companies who can't catch up risk being left behind.
The Root of the Problem
A recent global CIO survey performed by Deloitte outlined some of the problems areas where business' expectations didn't meet IT's capabilities. According to the survey, innovation and security were some of the areas where expectations and capabilities didn't align. More than a half of CIOs reported that they're expected to assist in innovation and to have cyber security as a top priority. At the same time, more than a half of them said that they don't currently assist in innovation, and only one in ten said that cyber security is their top priority.
But the same survey also showed that IT is ready to tackle these problems from their end. Three-quarters of respondents noted that aligning IT with business strategy and performance goals is a way towards success. One of the most important takeaways from the survey is that CIOs need to be able to juggle between being operators, innovators, and business co-creators. The expanded role given to CIOs show that bringing IT into the fold when it comes to business requires adjustments from IT professionals, and would likely require the same from those who operate on the business end.
How Does ITSM Fit In?
IT service management is shaping to be one of the most promising responses to the problems of business and IT alignment. ITSM frameworks are developed to ensure that the services provided by the IT service providers have value to their users, and also to bridge a gap between the two parties.
But that gap is not exactly the same gap that's driving IT and business sectors. IT service management principles and frameworks have been around since the mid-1990s at least. While they did concern themselves with how IT services are brought to the people who need them, and how lay people communicate their needs with IT professionals, ITSM on its own wasn't able to address the alignment issues companies are facing.
The ITSM Shift
ITSM is undergoing a change of its own. It has to constantly adapt to new dynamics created by emerging technologies such as cloud storage and computing, the bring-your-own-device practices, the Internet of Things, and augmented and virtual reality. Data-powered automation is also one of the horizons ITMS is moving towards. IT service providers can now provide instant access to their services using a simple service management app. They can also harness the usage data of their clients and use it to increase efficiency. At a time when the capabilities to capture, store, and process data at an unprecedented level, IT service management is gearing up towards providing more value to their clients.
IT teams can leverage their data-analysis capabilities not only to make companies more efficient and cost-effective but also to point out the areas where innovation is needed. Discovering areas where improvement is overdue could help IT service providers to fulfill their new role as innovators. It can also give them insights that could help with business co-creation.
The client-centric approach to IT service management is bridging the gap between expectations and the ability to deliver, and IT teams can benefit from the procedures that were traditionally a part of ITSM frameworks. If business expects IT to be better at addressing security issues, there are provisions under ITSM framework that can help service teams preempt security breaches, or act faster and more efficiently when they happen. Actions as obvious as regular patching of systems can decrease security risks greatly. While bridging the gap between business and IT requires both parties to make an effort, IT already has some of the tools they need to make sure that it becomes better at meeting business' expectations.


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Out-Law News
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Out-Law Analysis | 12 Jan 2018 | 11:52 am | 6 min. read
To date, just over 500 out of an estimated 8,000 employers that will be subject to the new duty have published the required information on the government's gender pay gap reporting portal. More than 90% of employers are still to report.
In general, explanations provided by reporting businesses for their gender pay gap focus on the lack of female representation at senior management level, compared to higher numbers of women in lower-paid administrative and similar roles. There is also a focus on historical cultural issues, for example construction and engineering firms struggling to recruit women due to a historical lack of women studying the so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. Conversely, many of the businesses that have reported a zero or negative gap have been in care-related sectors, where women have traditionally been hired in senior positions.
A particularly interesting trend is that companies reporting a large pay gap are coming under considerable scrutiny from the media regardless of their size or relative prominence. Fashion retailer Phase Eight, which has reported the largest mean gender pay gap to date at 64.8%, came under intense media scrutiny even though it does not employ many people and is not a particularly well-known brand.
"This indicates that companies with large gender pay gaps who thought they might be able to fly under the radar because the glare of media scrutiny would be on large PLCs and household names appear to be mistaken," says Susannah Donaldson, a gender pay gap reporting and employment law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "For these companies, detailed narratives providing additional context and action plans setting out how they intend to narrow the gender pay gap will be essential."
What is required?
The gender pay gap reporting regulations apply to private and voluntary sector employers with 250 or more employees. Public sector employers are subject to a similar duty under separate legislation.
The regulations require you to publish your overall mean and median pay gaps based on gross hourly pay for men and women, expressed as a percentage; as well as your mean and median gender bonus gaps. You are also required to publish the proportion of male and female employees within each quartile of your pay distribution, ordered from lowest to highest pay, as well as the proportion of both men and women that have been paid a bonus in the preceding 12-month period.
Gender pay gap information must be reported annually. The first reports must cover gender pay gap information as at 5 April 2017, and must be reported by 4 April 2018.
The information must be published on your own website, as well as submitted to the government portal. The information that is displayed on the government portal is standardised. However, you can provide a link to more detailed information on your own website. This is where you can go on to contextualise the data, place it in its historical context and set out your action plan to tackle any problem areas.
You will have to consider who to include in and exclude from the definition of employee, as well as what elements of pay you will include and exclude. The regulations define 'employee' as anyone in a contract of employment, a contract of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do work; and therefore potentially includes those with 'worker', rather than employee, status, and the self-employed. Acas has provided some guidance about what is included in the definition of 'ordinary pay and allowances' and how certain bonuses should be dealt with, but questions remain, particularly if your business has a more complex remuneration structure in place.
What do the figures show so far?
Public sector employers are the largest group to report to date with 107 reports; compared to 17 in the construction sector, 15 by financial and insurance employers and 18 reports from the arts, entertainment and recreation sectors.
Of the 536 employers that have reported to date, 29 (5.4%) have a gender pay gap of more than 30% and 60 out of 536 employers (11.2%) have a gap of more than 25%. Some employers have a zero gender pay gap or a negative gender pay gap. This means that their female employees are, on average, paid more than their male employees.
What additional information are employers providing?
It is not obligatory that employers further contextualise their pay gap data with a link to supporting information. However, the majority will choose to do so. Reasons given for large gender pay gaps to date include:
You may also wish to order a legally privileged equal pay audit to provide assurances that any gender pay gap is not indicative of an unlawful equal pay issue, or to help you establish any problem areas and take corrective action.
You may also use your supporting information to set out an action plan on how you will address your gender pay gap now and in the future. Most of the employers who have reported to date have provided full details of planned initiatives and interventions to demonstrate their commitment to making progress on this issue. These may include targets for increasing the number of women in senior management roles or as with easyJet, which has one of the widest pay gaps reported to date at 51.7%, setting a target for 20% of new entry pilots to be female by 2020.
Recruitment initiatives which encourage more women into STEM subjects at school or university will go some way to improving the pipeline of female talent in traditionally male dominated sectors such as construction, energy and financial services. Putting agile working arrangements in place and implementing 'returnship' initiatives will enable women, who still bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities, to remain at work or return after career breaks to look after children, and to climb the ladder to more senior and well-paid positions.
However, if you commit to an action plan you must be transparent and carry through with any commitments made. Gender pay gap information must remain on your website for three years, and it will be obvious if plans have not been implemented or have had little or minimal impact.
How should you communicate pay gaps to employees?
Along with considering how best to present any gender pay gap externally, a strong and positive internal communications campaign is essential. Imagine the impact on staff morale if your workforce was to be first alerted to a significant pay gap by reading about it in the press.
Communicating effectively with staff ahead of time can pre-empt concerns, and it may be that you can share more confidential business information with employees about the reasons for the gap that is not appropriate for wider consumption.
What consequences are there for non-compliance?
Employers that do not comply with the requirements by the 4 April deadline can expect pressure from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which recently launched a consultation on appropriate enforcement actions. Options are likely to include naming and shaming on social media of these businesses which have failed to report, and requiring them to commit to an action plan. Failure to comply with an EHRC action plan can lead to court action and, ultimately, a significant fine.
In addition to EHRC enforcement, it is clear from the press attention to date that businesses that fail to comply with the regulations face the prospect of significant reputational damage – not to mention the negative impact on current employees and the recruitment of prospective employees.
"It is clear that the gender pay gap reporting requirements have strongly reinforced the need for business leaders to scrutinise their workforce demographics and talent pipeline, and to 'get behind the numbers' to see what can be done to accelerate progress and close the gender pay gap," said Lesley Brook, a diversity and inclusion expert at Brook Graham, which is owned by Pinsent Masons. "While there is no simple 'magic bullet' solution that will fit every organisation, it is clear that it needs careful, detailed analysis and planning to identify those specific demographic gaps where improvements can be made. And, of course, the performance management and reward cycle needs to be closely reviewed to ensure it is working as intended, in all parts of the organisational structure."
Susannah Donaldson is a gender pay gap reporting and employment law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. Lesley Brook is a diversity and inclusion expert at Brook Graham, which is owned by Pinsent Masons.
Out-Law News
UK Pensions Regulator publishes DB superfund 'gateway principles' guidance
Out-Law Analysis
Compulsory independent scrutiny of pre-pack sales to connected parties


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Archive for October 2016
Presidential Elections and the Stock Market
Next month, Americans will head to the polls to elect the next President of the United States. While the outcome is unknown, one thing is for certain: There will be a steady stream of opinions from pundits and prognosticators about how the election will impact the stock market. As we explain ... Read More


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In my most recent marketing strategy, I discussed 31 ways you can become a thought leader – how to deliver your message.
Now, let's get to the second part of the lesson.
Thought leaders are always creating and teaching, but what exactly are thought leaders creating and teaching? What's the "thought" behind the thought leader?
That's what we will discuss in this week's marketing strategy.


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Gavin Matts thinks that people shouldn't live past the age of 40 and recalls how uncomfortable he felt making out with his girlfriend while she used a sex toy.
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