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Domestic Fair Trade Association Launched
November 30, 2007: more than 50 people met in La Farge, Wisconsin, to participate in the founding meeting of the Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA). This historic meeting, hosted by Organic Valley, was the result of several years of planning by the Domestic Fair Trade working group, a small group of stakeholders who developed the draft principles of Domestic Fair Trade and spawned the Local Fair Trade Network pilot project in the Midwest this past summer. (See CG #127. November-December 2006.)
The working group included representatives from Equal Exchange Cooperative, Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative, Rural Advancement Fund International (RAFI), and Farmer Direct Cooperative. Also playing key roles in laying the groundwork for the Domestic Fair Trade Association were the Farmworker Support Committee (CATA: Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas), Centro Campesino, Peaceworks Farm, Northeast Organic Farming Association, and Florida Organic Grocers/Quality Certification Services. Accompanying this article is the 14-point listing of Principles of Fair Trade that has been adopted by the association.
The mission of the Domestic Fair Trade Association is to educate the public, to promote Domestic Fair Trade Principles, to endorse Domestic Fair Trade and social justice claims and labels, and to defend endorsed labels in the marketplace. The DFTA is not a certifier and does not aspire to own a particular label. Instead, the DFTA will provide an umbrella organization under which regional fair trade labels can flourish by vetting independent labels according to the articulated principles.
Membership in the Domestic Fair Trade Association is open to mission-based organizations in each of the following five stakeholder categories:
- Farmers and Farmer Cooperatives. Family and small-scale farmers and democratic farmers' cooperatives that serve and represent them.
- Farm Workers' Organizations. Organizations representing agricultural workers, and particularly those with an agrarian vision that includes farm labor and small producers.
- Food Processing and Marketing Enterprises. Food processors and marketers with a mission of promoting fair trade, sustainable agriculture, and social justice.
- Food Retailers and Consumer Co-ops. Retailers with a mission of supporting family farming, sustainable agriculture, and connecting small producers with consumers, and make such activities a significant part of their business
- Civil Society Organizations and NGOs. Community-based organizations that advocate for Fair Trade, sustainable agriculture, social justice, and conscientious consumption in the food system.
In the process of applying for membership in the DFTA, all potential members were asked to assess their organizational performance on each of the 14 principles. Organizations were also asked to identify goals for improvement in particular areas. This commitment to constant improvement in fair trade practices sets the DFTA apart from many social justice efforts.
Commitment to stakeholder representation is another important value for the DFTA. Last May, founding member organizations Centro Campesino in Owatonna, Minnesota, and the Local Fair Trade Network in Minneapolis hosted a conference of farmworker organizations in Owatonna to discuss farmworker labor standards for domestic fair trade food products in the United States. The conference was attended by members of Farmworker Support Committee (CATA, its acronym in Spanish), The Farmworker Association of Florida, the Farmworker Pesticide Project and Community to Community, both from Washington state. Also present were the California Rural Legal Foundation, Pesticide Action Network North America, the International Labor Rights Fund, and the Department of Chicano Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Conference participants consented on three priorities for farmworkers in domestic fair trade:
- Farmworkers must have, as much as farmers and consumers, equal representation, voice, and participation in the development process of a fair trade seal;
- Just salaries for farmworkers;
- The right of farmworkers to organize without the fear of retaliation.
In addition, healthy and safe working conditions as well as safe housing were high on the list to be included in the ongoing development of a domestic fair trade seal.
Pilot Project: Local Fair Trade Network
Domestic Fair Trade Principles got their first test in the summer of 2007 when the Local Fair Trade Network and the Agricultural Justice Project introduced the first domestic fair trade label in the Upper Midwest. The project certified four farms: Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables in Rushford, Minn.; Riverbend Farm in Delano, Minn.; Keewaydin Farms and Avalanche Organics, both in Viola, Wis. Two NCGA member co-ops, Bluff Country Co-op in Winona, Minn., and Seward Co-op in Minneapolis provided the retail testing ground. The project was well-received by consumers, demonstrated the strengths of domestic fair trade labeling, and helped to identify challenges yet to be resolved. DFTA members plan to create more regional pilot projects in the near future to continue building the movement for justice in the food system.
Co-ops and Fair Trade
Erbin Crowell, formerly of Equal Exchange Cooperative and currently of the Cooperative Development Institute, makes the case for retail co-op involvement in domestic fair trade in a brochure entitled "Building Cooperative Fair Trade in Our Region and Beyond" (for a copy, email [email protected]):
"Some of the first Fair Trade Organizations began in the 1940s and 1950s as 'Alternative' Trade Organizations (ATOs). Their goal was to give artisans in the developing world the opportunity to sell their products with dignity. By connecting these producers more directly with ethical consumers, these ATOs helped these craftspeople gain more control over the market and their own economic and social development.
"As the movement has grown, Fair Trade has impacted the mainstream business world by setting an example for how commerce can be a tool for positive social change and the empowerment of people in marginalized countries. Since the late 1990s, certification of fairly traded products through organizations such as TransFair USA has helped consumers influence the behavior of conventional corporations and even large multinationals.
"But the Fair Trade movement also has roots that reach even further back in history. The International Fair Trade Association, for example, points out that 'some people say that alternative trade began…towards the end of the 19th century with the development of the cooperative movement which tried, and still tries, to build an integrated cooperative economy right the way through from production to retail outlet.'
"As defined by the International Cooperative Alliance, a co-op is 'an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.' And the Principles of Fair Trade and of the cooperative movement have much in common. Both seek to empower producers, workers and consumers in their economic lives. Both seek to make trade serve the needs of people and their communities, rather than the other way around. As the International Cooperative Alliance and the International Labor Organization have noted, 'the principles of Fair Trade are quite compatible with the principles of cooperatives. For both the ultimate goal is to improve the living conditions of workers.'
"These commonalities help explain why cooperatives have been so involved in Fair Trade. Co-ops have been early promoters of the movement, as well as key participants and innovators in its development. Small farmer co-ops are the source of familiar fairly traded food products such as coffee, cocoa and sugar; worker co-ops are among the most successful marketers and distributors of these products; and food co-ops have been among the earliest and most committed retailers. Through "Cooperative" Fair Trade, co-ops have been able to build an international economic chain that is owned and controlled by the people who grow, process, market, distribute and consume the products that we eat every day."
Principles of Fair Trade
- Family Farming Fair Trade focuses on reinforcing the position of small and family-scale producers that have been or are being marginalized by the mainstream marketplace as a means of preserving the culture of farming and rural communities, promoting economic democracy, environmental and humane stewardship and biodiversity, and ensuring a more healthy and sustainable planet.
- Capacity Building for Producers and Workers Fair Trade is a means of developing the producers' and workers' independence, strengthening their ability to engage directly with the marketplace, and to gain more control over their futures. The resources from trading relationships are directed toward this purpose in a participatory manner by those who will benefit from them.
- Democratic, Participatory Ownership & Control Fair Trade emphasizes co-operative organization as a means of empowering producers, workers and consumers to gain more control over their economic and social lives. In situations where such organization is absent, mechanisms will be created to ensure the democratic participation of producers and workers, and the equitable distribution of the fruits of trade.
- Rights of Labor Fair Trade means a safe and healthy working environment for producers and workers and conforms to all International Labor Organizations (ILO) Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The participation of children (if any) does not adversely affect their well-being, security, educational requirements and need for play, and conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as pertinent local/regional laws. Fair Trade ensures that there are mechanisms in place through which hired labor has an independent voice and is included in the benefits of trade through mechanisms such as living wages, profit-sharing, and cooperative workplace structures. Programs of apprenticeship are promoted to develop the skills of the next generation of farmers, artisans and workers.
- Equality and Opportunity Fair Trade emphasizes the empowerment of women, minorities, indigenous peoples and other marginalized members of society to represent their own interests, participate directly in trade and to share in its economic benefits.
- Direct Trade Where possible, Fair Trade attempts to reduce the intermediaries between the primary producer and the consumer, delivering more of the benefits of such trade to the producer and connecting consumers more directly with the source of their food and other products, and with the people who produced them.
- Fair and Stable Pricing A fair price is one that has been agreed upon through dialogue and participation. It covers not only the costs of production but enables production that is socially just and environmentally sound. It provides fair pay to the producers, fair wages to laborers, and takes into account the principle of equal pay for equal work by women and men. Fair Traders ensure prompt payment and stable pricing that enables producers to plan for the future.
- Shared Risk and Affordable Credit Farmers often bear the greatest risks of agriculture and an unstable marketplace. Fair Traders work to share these risks among producers, processors, marketers and consumers through more equitable trade partnerships, fair and prompt payment, transparent relationships and affordable credit. In situations where access to credit is difficult, or the terms of credit are not beneficial to producers, Fair Traders provide or facilitate access to such credit, or assist producers in creating their own mechanisms for providing credit.
- Long-Term Trade Partnerships Fair Trade fosters long-term trade partnerships at all levels within the production, processing and marketing chain that provide producers with stability and opportunities to develop marketing, production and quality skills, as well as access to new markets for their products.
- Sustainable Agriculture Fair Trade emphasizes a holistic approach to agriculture, supporting sustainable agricultural strategies such as Organic, Biodynamic, nontoxic Biointensive Integrated Pest Management, farm diversification and small-scale farming that protect the environment, sustain farming communities, and provide consumers with quality, healthy food. Fair Trade emphasizes the biodiversity of traditional agriculture, supports the rights of farmers to their own seed, and preserves cultural diversity.
- Appropriate Technology Fair Trade supports the use of traditional technologies, which are openly and freely shared in the public domain, and excludes plants and animals, and biological processes, which have been genetically engineered or modified.
- Indigenous Peoples' Rights Fair Trade supports indigenous peoples' rights to land for cultivation, to freely exchange seeds and to retain rights to their germplasm. These rights are congruent with the Convention on Biological Diversity. We fully support the right of all peoples to food sovereignty.
- Transparency and Accountability The Fair Trade system depends on transparency of costs, pricing and structures at all levels of the trading system. Fair Traders are accountable to each other and the wider community by openly sharing such information.
- Education and Advocacy Fair Trade emphasizes education at all levels of the agricultural chain, engaging farmers, workers, traders and consumers in advocating for a more equitable, democratic and sustainable economy. Fair Traders in particular educate consumers about the inequities of the trading system and the need for alternatives, while sharing information with producers about the marketplace. Education strengthens the Fair Trade movement and empowers its stakeholders in creating a better world for everyone.


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Nearly $14,000 was recently distributed from the East Central Energy (ECE) Operation Round Up® (ORU) Trust to help local organizations meet community needs.
ECE established the Trust in 1997 as a convenient, low-cost way for members to donate to local charitable organizations. Members who participate agree to have their monthly electric bill rounded up to the next dollar. An independent board, made up of ECE member volunteers, administers the Trust, meeting quarterly to review grant requests and disburse the funds. The average annual contribution for members who participate is $6; the maximum annual donation through the round-up process is $11.88.
When the ORU Trust Board met Jan. 25, the following local organizations received grants:
• Braham Police Department, Braham, $2,780 to purchase two AED units so both city patrol cars will have them at all times.
• Family Pathways, Cambridge, $4,300 to increase food storage capacity and make food purchases for the food shelf program.
• Braham Area Kinderstep Preschool program, $2,970 to provide scholarships for 11 children to attend the Kinderstep program during the 2010-11 school year.
• Cambridge Isanti Competitive Baseball, $2,000 to help local young people with the baseball program fees so they can participate in 2011.
ECE members who would like to support the Operation Round Up program can sign up by checking the box at the bottom of their bill or by calling 1-800-254-7944. Community organizations which serve ECE members can contact Julie Johnson, 763-689-8046, if they are interested in applying to the ORU Trust.


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Judi Franco's Parents…Joe and Roz Franco! [PHOTOS]
My Dad, Joe Franco, in his Shriner's Fez. He's been a Mason for over 50 years and is SO proud of it. No he's not a terrorist. "Islam" is the name of his masonic lodge.
My parents, Roz and Joe, laughing hysterically at the "Dennis and Judi Show"
Joe Franco relaxing on his favorite chair, thinking about how everyone is a bad driver, except him.


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Medical news
Adventist partnership raises USF's medical profile
TAMPA - One of Florida's major hospital chains on Monday launched a partnership with the University of South Florida, immediately boosting the ambitious medical school's profile. USF faculty and physicians will provide hands-on care and research at four of the seven area Florida hospitals, including the Pepin Heart Institute in Tampa. Initially, expertise will be limited to cardiology, breast health, neuroscience and surgical cancer care. Adventist Health System, the Winter Park-based owner of 22 Florida hospitals, will invest $14 million over three years for faculty, fellows, medical residents and staff at USF, which has no teaching hospital of its own. In return, USF's colleges of medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy and physician's group gain access to new patients and data, said John Harding, president and chief executive officer of Florida Hospital Tampa Bay division."One of the things we have for USF is a lot of patients," he said. "We can feed them a lot of information." Just as important to USF may be a higher public profile for the 40-year-old medical school that historically partnered only with Tampa General Hospital. Monday's announcement is the second time in 16 months USF Health struck deals with private hospital chains that reach outside of the Tampa Bay area. Stephen Klasko, dean of the USF College of Medicine and CEO of USF Health, said the partnerships defy traditional, political alliances. But USF's success depends on creative private partnerships and independent ventures, he said. "We have to stop being fragmented in this community," Klasko said. "You don't become the best in the country because of (an affiliation with) one hospital." Harding said Florida Hospital isn't recruiting physicians from other local hospitals. But some have asked about the partnership that will allow some hospital physicians the ability to teach and conduct research at USF. USF Health remains a major presence in nearly every department at Tampa General, hospital spokesman John Dunn said. That includes the $33 million, seven-story USF Health South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare located at the Tampa General downtown campus. "We don't expect any diminishing of services," Dunn said Monday. "This announcement was not made at our expense." Klasko, an obstetrician with an MBA, is passionate about this aggressive business approach to medicine. It's behind downtown's new USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, and a 2010 partnership with the for-profit HCA Healthcare chain to create five trauma centers across Florida. "We believe that USF is one of the best in the country," Klasko said. "Yes, we will be talking to and participating with everybody." It's also why Monday's event featured a Who's Who of local politicians and economic development leaders from Hillsborough and Pasco counties. They learned that Klasko and Florida Hospital leaders first discussed partnerships in 2009, more than a year before the non-profit bought the former University Community Hospital facilities. "The conversation was never should we or could we come together, but how can we," said Michael Schultz, chief executive officer for Adventist Health System's Florida region. Klasko said the partnership will the Pepin Heart Institute could speed up USF's ability to break ground in research areas such as genomics, or the study of how personal DNA affects health. The partnership, however, is not officially linked to USF's proposed $7 million heart institute approved last week by Florida's legislators. Charles Lambert, medical director of the Pepin Heart Institute, said adding academic researchers and students to the hospital will only improve the level of care and quality of research. "It's always better having the fellows, the students and residents," Lambert said. "They ask questions and you have to be on your toes with these guys." email@example.com (813) 259-7365
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Apparitions in Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain
The book description is currently unavailable.
"About a dozen notarized accounts of apparitions, together with the pilgrimages and devotions they inspired in rural Spain from 1399 to 1523--the Spanish unabridged documents are gathered in appendices--form the core for William Christian's fascinating reconstruction of religious practices in Iberian villages. Astute commentary and a long and affectionate experience with the subject matter permit the author to place the reader as it were in a front-row seat to witness directly the face-to-face encounters villagers sometimes conducted with their divine personages--particularly with the Virgin Mary. A description so authentic flows from a profound knowledge both of the sources and of the people. We are all indebted to William Christian for making everyday religious life in late medieval Spanish villages as understandable to us today as would be a comparable account of a contemporary community in our own society."--Lionel Rothkrug, The Catholic Historical Review
"No summary can do justice to the wealth these books [Apparitions in Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain and Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain] offer to a wide variety of readers, not only in posing important analytical perspectives and questions but also in making available previously unpublished or untranslated primary material."--Susan Tax Freeman, Journal of Modern History
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Dollywood's Great American Summer Kicks Off June 22
Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is debuting the Great American Summer, June 22 to August 4 with extended operating hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., nightly fireworks and special shows.
"With everyone's busy schedules and so many distractions pulling us in all sorts of different directions, it's hard for families to spend good, old-fashioned quality time together," Dolly Parton said. "During my Great American Summer, we're extending Dollywood's hours to give families more fun time, more summertime, more nighttime, and more time to make lifelong memories together."


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A ponytailed Baylor art major squinted again at the Ansel Adams photograph and turned to ask, "But how did he get those beautiful silvery tones?"
Rebecca Senf, guest lecturer at Baylor's Martin Museum of Art in Waco, smiled and began an explanation of the great photographer's goal of "an ironclad negative" to the group of undergraduate students assembled in the gallery.
The 29 original, signed, gelatin silver black-and-white prints on display through Nov. 14 represent quite a coup for Baylor.
"As far as I know, this is a first for the Central Texas area," said Karin Gilliam, director of the university's Martin Museum. "This exhibition was provided by the Bank of America
through their 'Art in our Communities' program, and we are thrilled to have it."
More than 1,500 visitors have seen the exhibit since it opened Sept. 10, and that's exceptional, Gilliam said. "This is a teaching museum, a teaching tool for our students."
On a recent weekday afternoon, the adjacent space was full of students with spirit levels, extension cords and ladders hanging artwork and adjusting lights for an upcoming show.
The mounted and framed photographs include many of the American master's iconic images. Subject matter reflects Adams' favored locations: natural scenes from the Southwestern U.S. "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" is represented by a later print, in which the photographer sought deeper values in the evening sky, and the epic photographs he made in Yosemite, his home for many years, continue to resonate with viewers.
"We looked for the foremost authority on Ansel Adams," Gilliam said, referring to Senf's group sessions and lecture with Baylor students. Senf's employer, the Phoenix Art Museum, is a "dedicated gallery" of the Center For Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. The CCP was the brain-child of Adams, who laid down the ground-rules, dedicated his archives and used his considerable influence to get other major photographers to contribute their work.
Though some critics have questioned Adams' "roots and rock" emphasis, his grand landscapes, close-up details of nature and the many photographs that exclude any trace of humankind, Carlton Young, 21, had a different take. "I think his pictures were relevant when he made them, they're relevant today and they'll really be meaningful in the future when some of these places (Adams photographed) go away."
People of all ages enter the gallery, sign the visitors book and slowly make their way through the exhibit. Smiling, Gilliam reflects on the lasting appeal of Adams' work: "We're very grateful and blessed that Bank of America offered this to us."


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I have a new friend. She recently sold me a cane for Haley. When I bought the cane I didn't know who she was all I knew was that she sold customer canes and I needed something cute for my daughter to use in school. Good news is that Haley will be coming off of her walker and unly using a cane. This is very exciting and we've seen some huge progress in the last few weeks since I posted Self Pity. It's funny because even as I wrote that post I knew that we were at a wall/breakthrough.
My new friend's name is Sally and you can buy your custom cane/crutch from her at EveryKidMobility.com. (Disclaimer: This is not an affiliate link and I currently have no business relation with Sally other than purchasing a cane from her. http://cmp.ly/0)
Sally and I have been talking and it turns out she has CP herself and is quite an impressive person. On top of writing a children's book she also wrote an article form the perspective of a special needs child to her parents. It is wonderful and moved me, so I asked if I could share it with you, my readers. Sally agreed so here it is:
10 Things I Wish You Knew
a note from a special kid to special parents
You are the perfect parents for me.
I know that you did not sign up for a kid like me- I also know that you sometimes think you cannot face what it takes to raise me. I want you to know that this is not true. I believe that I chose you. Whatever you need to learn, you will learn, The strength you think you need will come from somewhere. the people you need to meet will show up when you need them.
This is the perfect life for me.
My life is a very sepecial one. I believe that I will impact the world in aa unique and wonderful way. Remember this when you heart is breaking because you want a path fo me that is so much easier than this one.
I need you to find your own spiritual path.
Sometimes you will feel tired and helpless and like you cannot care for me one more day. sometimes you will be mad because there seems to be no excaping me. That is OK- There is no way you could take care of me without having those days. Sometimes you may watch people look at me and be a bit embarressed that I am not doing better- that does not make you a bad parent… it just means you are human. Know that when you have lots of these days in a row, it is time for you to get somebody else to take care of me, just long enough for you to regenerate yourself. It is always important that you let people help you. I am depending on you to do whateveryou need to do to take care of yourself.
However I feel about my disability is OK.
Some days you will be amazed at what a happy contented person I am and you will wonder how in the world I do it. Treasure those days. Some days I will be discouraged, some days I will be mad, some days I will feel really sorry for myself. Don't panic, I will come back around again. If you let me express these unattractive feelings, they have much less power. Even typical folks feel sorry for themselves sometimes.
Let me try things I want to try, even if you are sure I will fail.
I know that you want to protect me- that is your job, I am your child. But I need you to understand that my survival is always going to depend on my determination. Part of my own process is to figure out what my limitations really are. Sometimes I may want to try to do things that seem impossible to you. Please encourage me anyway. It is the willingness to try that is importatn- succes is a bonus. Know that if I fail, I will get over it. If you make me scared to try, I am really doomed.
Don't worry about my whole life today.
Sometimes you will drive yourself crazy worring about how my life will turn out. You will lose hours of sleep trying to figure out how I will survive in the world after you are gone. This is not helpgul to me. Just help me stay in today. The more you can focus on whatever we have to face today, the more you will be helping me develop the skills I will need when it is time for me to get along without you.
Sometimes people will be mean to me or scared of me. I expect you to stick up for me but, I do not expect you to change the world.
There are lots of really wonderful people in the world. You and I will meet many of them. There are also some real jerks who will be afraid of me or not treat me fairly. They will assume things about me that are not true. They may even assume things about you tat are not true. you may want to blow their brains out. I may want to do the same. I expect you to speak up for me when you can. But I also need for you to be able to let it go. It will not help me if you are mad and defensive all the time. If you are, there are people who may not want to help me just because it is too hard for them to deal with you.
Finding good doctors and professionals is important but, you know me better than they do- I expect you to trust your own instincts about what is good for me.
The doctors and therapists that work with me are going to be very important in the quality of my life. Some of them will be amazing and some of them will be pretty crazy. Often, it will be up to you to decide which is which. Listen to them, and know that what they say is important but, also remember that you know me best. If something they suggest does not feel right to you, listen to the small voice and speak up.
I really hope we can laugh.
Ibelieve that laughing was probably God's best idea- It will be the one thing that can bring joy to our lives the quickest- If I get stuck in a mud puddle, it is probably funny. If you are lifting me and we both fall on the floor in a heap, that is probably funny too. A good joke is worth taking the time to laugh at- Help me not get so caught up in the serious problems we face every day to forget about laughing.
Sally R. Brown
Sally, Thank you so much for giving me this gift. As I read and re-wrote your article again on my blog I believe I could probably write an article about every topic you listed and I might just do that, but the last one moved me to joyful tears as I thought about my daughters infectus laugh that truly brightens everyones day who hears it. We too laugh when she is walking into a room and then just Disapears. "Haley, were did you go? You just disapeared." "Dad, I'm down here." "Oh, how did you get down there I thought you just disappeared." This conversation ends in us cracking up all the time.


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excellent Transportation by public transport
short connection to the city highway
Berlins most popular shopping street right in front of the hotel
7 multifunktional Event Halls with many options of variations
your Profi for meetings, seminares, conferences, congresses, assemblies
The Hotel is the fitting Frame for your individuell style of your candle light dinner, your birthday party or your wedding celebraty, even a big dancing ball we can arrange.
free WirelessLan (WiFi)
Business Center
Late Check-In / Late Check-Out, Quick Check-Out
"Schlosspark"-Restaurant (also for night-away guests)
daily (from 06.30 a.m. until 10.30 a.m.) abundant breakfast buffet with live show-kitchen
daily (from 12 bis 9 p.m.) perennial and seasonal menu
each sunday (from 12 until 3 p.m.) you can expect our traditional family brunch
Live Broadcast of the soccer matches of the first german footbal league, the DFB-Cup, the Champions and the Euro League and
Live Broadcast of almost all games of the World Soccer Championship 2014 from Brasil in our Sky-Cocktail Bar.
with a cosy Smokers Lounge
well chosen and exquisite selection of Whisk(e)y
Open economy regulars table"Wirtschafts-Stammtisch Berlin-Südwest"


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Orlando Bloom is a brand new man.
The 34-year-old actor, who welcomed son Flynn with supermodel Miranda Kerr on January 6, tells Us Weekly that fatherhood has changed him in ways he never could have imagined.
"All the things that you thought were important drift into the background, and the things that are really important come to the forefront, and he's one of them," Bloom said at The Good Doctor premiere in NYC on Friday. "He's my boy. He's amazing."
Kerr, 28, shares her husband's sentiments. "Every day it just gets better and better," the Australian beauty told Us in March. "Motherhood is such a miracle and the best thing I've ever experienced."


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Streetsville Derbys (HOST) 4 - Burnaby Express (PAC) 3
Round Robin
By HockeyCanada.ca
The 2006 RBC Royal Bank Cup got underway on Saturday night as the Streetsville Derbys hosted the pacific champions, the Burnaby Express. It did not take long for the referees to dictate the pace as Keith Seabrook was called for elbowing just 37 seconds into the first. Streetsville opened the scoring on their third power-play of the period when Dan Fraser tipped a point shot past Burnaby goaltender Bryce Luker. Burnaby wasted to time evening things up when Kyle Turris scored a power-play goal of his own at 14:52 of the first. In what was an almost identical goal to Streetsville's, Turris redirected a point shot from Jeff Orban. Both teams exchanged power-play opportunities for most of the period (8 in total) and came out deadlocked at 1-1. The hometown Derbys held the edge in shots 12-9.
The Express came out flying in the second period spending most of the five minutes peppering the Derbys goaltender with shots. However, Wilson was equal to the task turning away all ten shots in that span. The Derbys found their legs midway through the second playing the body and forcing turnovers down low but like the Express could not capitalize on their chances. Then, just seconds after killing a penalty, Burnaby broke out on a 2-1 and Mark Soares re-directed a cross-ice pass from Geoff Irwin past Wilson with 5:28 remaining in the second. The Express continued their offensive pressure and just 32 seconds later took a 3-1 lead when Brady Cook slid it past a sprawled Derby goaltender. At the end of the second period, the Express had a comfortable 3-1 lead and a 29-17 edge in shots.
The Derbys played Burnaby tough early in the third but could not find that all important second goal. The Express clamped down and neutralized any real attempts the Derbys had at generating any momentum. The Derbys missed a golden opportunity midway through the third when Phil Gianfransesco intercepted a cross-ice pass and broke in shorthanded all alone but fired the puck wide. That seemed to spark the Derbys who then took it to the Express and scored two quick goals to tie the game at 3-3. Jason Gorrie scored the first goal on the power-play after banging in a rebound past Luker. Then, after a clearing attempt gone bad, Clayton Windigo slid a pass to Scott Lees who made no mistake burying it in an open net with Luker out of position. The goals game 1 min. 31 seconds apart. The game took a scary turn as Felice Turano lay on the ice for several minutes before paramedics were called out and took him away on a stretcher. Turano who was tangled with another defender went crashing into the boards and left the game with an apparent leg injury. Following the stoppage, both teams had a myriad of opportunities to put the game away but both goaltenders stood strong sending the game to overtime.
Both teams were cautious out of the gate to start the overtime period with the Derbys having the best chances but once again Luker was equal to the task. Burnaby tried a few long passes hoping to send a man in alone and twice narrowly missed. It all came to an end at 12:02 of the first period of overtime as the Derbys broke out on a 3-2 odd man rush and Steve Tamaridis put away the rebound.
The Derbys, who were seeing their first action in over six weeks, carried the play for most of the game and came up big when needed. Burnaby on the other hand, showed flashes of brilliance in the second but were overmatched in the third which effectively proved to be their downfall.
Players of the Game:
NOTES: Burnaby was 1/7 on the power play while Streetsville finished the night 2/7 … In total, 14 penalties were called of which 11 were in the first two periods … After being outshot in the first, Burnaby responded with 20 shots in the second ... The announced crowd was 1, 826
For more information:
Ryan Robins Manager, Marketing Services


text:
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 12:51 PM
WilliamPitt (58,179 posts)
The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama
The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama
Hes gotten more done in three years than any president in decades. Too bad the American public still thinks he hasnt accomplished anything.
By Paul Glastris
The Washington Monthly
In mid-January, pollsters for the Washington Post and ABC News asked a representative sampling of Americans the following question: Obama has been president for about three years. Would you say he has accomplished a great deal during that time, a good amount, not very much, or little or nothing?
When the polls results were released on January 18, even the most seasoned White House staffers, who know the president faces a tough battle for reelection, must have spit up their coffee: more than half the respondents52 percentsaid the president has accomplished not very much or little or nothing.
It is often said that there are no right or wrong answers in opinion polling, but in this case, there is an empirically right answerone chosen by only 12 percent of the polls respondents. The answer is that Obama has accomplished a great deal.
Measured in sheer legislative tonnage, what Obama got done in his first two years is stunning. Health care reform. The takeover and turnaround of the auto industry. The biggest economic stimulus in history. Sweeping new regulations of Wall Street. A tough new set of consumer protections on the credit card industry. A vast expansion of national service. Net neutrality. The greatest increase in wilderness protection in fifteen years. A revolutionary reform to student aid. Signing the New START treaty with Russia. The ending of dont ask, dont tell.
The rest: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/the_incomplete_greatness_of_ba035754.php
Read the whole thing. The first four paragraphs do not do it full justice at all.
43 replies, 6853 views
|43 replies
The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama (Original post)
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Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 12:53 PM
SidDithers (41,370 posts)
1. DU rec...nt
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 12:55 PM
patricia92243 (9,238 posts)
2. It seems Repubs have always been able to get their message out, but we Democrats have trouble
with the same thing. Don't know the answer
When on when are we going to spelling check???
Response to patricia92243 (Reply #2)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:11 PM
emulatorloo (33,110 posts)
20. Because it is easier to put out sound-byte sized lies.
Which the media laps up and promotes.
Response to patricia92243 (Reply #2)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 01:22 PM
xtraxritical (3,576 posts)
39. Spelling check is only half the problem.
It is annoying and frustrating that when a comment is made the comment "parks" itself at the top of the page thereby inhibiting further scrolling down the page. To get back to page scrolling one must exit the post and reenter. I wish DU would fix this annoying problem. Also, spell check seems to be working fine. If I misspell a word it is immediately underlined in red. If I right click that word a list of possible corrections is given and I just pick the correct one. Maybe you're using and older version of DU? vote a STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC BALLOT be happy
Response to patricia92243 (Reply #2)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 08:29 PM
nvme (602 posts)
41. perception is reality.
our message of his accomplishements must be succinctly loud and clear
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:01 PM
Skidmore (35,425 posts)
3. Yes, indeed.
Now if we can just get some of the naysayers on the left to understand that, while it is desirable to get 100% of the change you want to see, some times it is not possible given the dynamics of the system and the public. I think the man has done a great job and that he is not responsible for all the ills in the nation or the world.
I just had a lengthy exchange with another FB gaming buddy who was whining about the evils of "Obamacare" while bemoaning the fact that he did not have insurance when he was shot in 1992 but managed to survive without it. I pointed out that if he had access a more comprehensive and fair system, it would be beneficial to him and all others. Why shouldn't people view the AFA as the groundwork for further and more comprehensive changes in health care affordability and the gradual phasing out of the for profit industry that has bilked people for years. Why not move it out of the purview of the employer? If people refuse to see the possibilities and will only pick up bricks to throw rather than build, then we will continue to crumble as a society.
Response to Skidmore (Reply #3)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:44 PM
Frustratedlady (11,051 posts)
8. Well said.
It appears to me that Obama doesn't want to "brag" about his accomplishments...that they got a lot done behind the scenes without raising flags for the Repugs.
Now, when they come out with long lists of accomplishments, it's too overwhelming and the RW pooh-poohs it. They need to be spoon-fed information in bits and bites, as they can't absorb too much information at one time.
If we can give him a House and Senate he can work with, he will end up one of the greatest presidents in our lifetime.
Response to Skidmore (Reply #3)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 09:26 PM
TheKentuckian (23,947 posts)
42. I don't think it can be "built on", it was designed to prop up and enrich the insurance cartel
from the roots up and isn't even substantively market based reform but rather a scheme to perpetuate our "uniquely American" clusterfuck and to keep existing profit centers rolling and to prevent any actual reform.
The Wealthcare and Profit Protection can't be seen as the groundwork you outline because it is by fundemental design the exact opposite.
This isn't a new idea, it is a generation plus old crappy one.
Our only hope is employers drop motherfuckers like hot as the sun potatoes but employers seemingly don't want out or we wouldn't be stuck with the dimwitted "employer based" system.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:05 PM
Kolesar (30,999 posts)
4. A succinct account of how his team handled the meltdown of the financial sector
Instead, Timothy Geithners Treasury Department crafted a much more targeted intervention, aimed at stabilizing the financial markets and getting the economy back on track at the lowest possible cost to government. Rather than have the taxpayers assume the risky and expensive burden of taking over the banksan expense that Congress, having already approved TARP and the stimulus, was in no mood to authorizeGeithners plan was to convince investors to come in and recapitalize them. His plan had three main parts. First, the Treasury, working with the Fed and other agencies, ran stress tests of the banks to determine the fragility of their books and how much more capital theyd need to be able to survive and lend in an even more dire economic scenario than was expected at the time. Second, it gave banks six months to raise that amount of capital from private investors, and said that, if they failed, Treasury would use taxpayer dollars to buy ownership shares of the banks at a preset price, effectively establishing a floor for private investors. Third, it created a fund, with both public and private dollars, to buy the toxic assets on the banks books, thereby giving some assurance that there would be a market for those assets.
The politics of the plan were dreadful. It looked like more mollycoddling of Wall Street. But, as Joshua Green noted in the Atlantic, it had the desired effect. Private money, $140 billion of it, flooded into the nineteen biggest banks; the lending markets unfroze; and, with the help of low interest rates from the Fed, the banks paid back the TARP funds, with interest. In 2008, the International Monetary Fund studied past financial crises in forty-two countries and found that their governments spent, on average, 13.3 percent of GDP to resolve them. By that measure, it would have cost the U.S. government $1.9 trillion. The Obama plan got the banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government, and in historically near-record time. Let that sink in.
I am amazed that we did not have another depression and "bank holidays", where we could not access our money.
Response to Kolesar (Reply #4)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 05:22 PM
Pirate Smile (27,617 posts)
27. This will be studied in the future as a massive success.
Response to Kolesar (Reply #4)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 07:19 PM
Frustratedlady (11,051 posts)
32. Thank you for that explanation.
Even I could understand it. Thanks.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:09 PM
Ninga (5,499 posts)
5. Dear Peeps.....Evangalize and forward to your address book!!
Stunning, well worth the time to read the ENTIRE piece. Thanks Will.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:32 PM
Vincardog (20,230 posts)
6. I love the way he "ended the war in Iraq" on bush the lesser's timetable because the Iraq
government refused to extend immunity to our troops.
His great health INSURANCE plan was the GOP's response to Hillary CARE.
The great advances made here have been Republican proposals BO has managed to "compromise" his way to.
To the people who think it is just messaging, they are correct. Dim Son had a press conference taking credit for ending the Iraq
misadventure (that he lied us in to). BO was forced to leave because the pentagon did not want the liability.
Afganistan should have been over as soon as OBL was taken out. That was the ostentatious reason for that "conflict" wasn't it?
But we are still there.
The great victory of cutting the payroll tax and replacing it with general revenue TAKES AWAY our best argument that
SOCIAL SECURITY HAS NEVER ADDED A CENT TO THE DEBT. How exactly is that an example of three dimensional chess?
I believe that the administrations's actions (prosecuting MM, prosecuting whistle blowers, enacting policies to protect the .01%)
as well as their lack of actions (prosecuting war criminals, allowing the drum beat for war with Iran, not taking firm action to end the orgy of financial fraud and market manipulation)
are the real reasons for the perception of "inactivity".
Maybe I just have not appreciated the great advances made to date. I am sure some of the benefits will come in the future.
In my opinion the primary reason for any misconception about the President's accomplishments is due to his inability to Clearly and unequivocally take a stand and say "HERE IS THE LINE, THIS FAR AND NO FURTHER".
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:43 PM
Old and In the Way (37,540 posts)
7. All done, in spite of the most monolythic voting of an opposition Party against anything
and everything proposed by this administration.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:46 PM
ProSense (116,464 posts)
9. Excellent article, and
the format helps to illustrate the points.
Most informative, it assesses President Obama's record in relation to the current political realities and compares his accomplishments to other Presidents, not people who stand on the sidelines and simply offer up opinion without context, especially related to the untangling of decades of unfair policies and the aftermath of the Bush years.
The piece also shows the transformative nature of many of the President's accomplishments, but points out the obstacles ahead that could determine the net effects.
I hope it's widely read. There aren't enough commentaries like this, and it's likely the reason most Americans don't know that much has been accomplished.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:48 PM
Proud Liberal Dem (16,031 posts)
10. Somebody needs to break out
THE LIST to the American public IMHO!
Response to Proud Liberal Dem (Reply #10)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 07:22 PM
kurtzapril4 (1,353 posts)
40. ROFL! n/t
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 01:50 PM
Better Believe It (18,630 posts)
11. Where's the list William? Post the list!
Response to Better Believe It (Reply #11)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 02:51 PM
WilliamPitt (58,179 posts)
13. I had it here somewhere.
Ask ProSense.
Response to WilliamPitt (Reply #13)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 02:56 PM
ProSense (116,464 posts)
14. "Ask ProSense" It's
linked to in the seventh paragraph of the OP article.
That Obama has done all this while also steering the country out of what might have been a second Great Depression would seem to have made him already, just three years into his first term, a serious candidate for greatness. (See Obamas Top 50 Accomplishments.)
Obamas Top 50 Accomplishments
Response to WilliamPitt (Reply #13)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 03:13 PM
Better Believe It (18,630 posts)
16. I'll look around and see if I can find it. I was thinking of making it into a wall poster.
with the caption: "His Greatness".
Now I wonder if some uncritical admirers of President Obama might find that offensive or do they have a sense of humor?
Response to Better Believe It (Reply #16)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:12 PM
emulatorloo (33,110 posts)
21. I have a wonderful sense of humor. But that sounds a lot ilke the "Messiah" talking point
p.s. There are only a handful of "uncritical admirers" here. About the same number of "uncritical detractors." It is just the uncritical detractors are louder.
Response to Better Believe It (Reply #16)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:33 PM
snooper2 (29,508 posts)
25. I'll frame it for you if you put that damn record out for us!
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 02:02 PM
dmosh42 (2,192 posts)
12. I give him an A+ for the auto bailout, and getting Bin Laden, but the rest....
I think may or may not get accomplished in his next term. His first term was about getting re-elected. So much compromising and not much convictions. Besides his great collapse on health care insurance, His complete lack of JUSTICE for the 99% has been the worst notable thing in my book. Lucky for him that the Repukes have their head up their asses, and will nominate some nutjob asskisser!
Response to dmosh42 (Reply #12)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 03:13 PM
Bladian (475 posts)
17. That's what I've been saying for the last year and a half.
I think he's been concerned with his re-election, and come November we're gonna see him really break out the big guns and take it to the Republicans.
Response to dmosh42 (Reply #12)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:20 PM
emulatorloo (33,110 posts)
22. Republicans have massively abused cloture since he was elected
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 03:11 PM
just1voice (1,362 posts)
15. The U.S. auto industry is greatly improved
but sadly, everything else in the article is lost in the paradigm of left vs. right rather than actual accomplishments.
Criminal banks still rule the U.S., just look at gas prices and it's obvious. 85% of college grads move back to their parent's houses so the student loan programs are only producing unemployed debtors. Dodd/Frank is a horrible Act, written for big banks, not to regulate them. For-profit health care is a disgrace to the U.S. and that isn't anywhere near changing. Torturers, WMD conspirators and felonious wire-tapping Bush admin criminals still walk free as "Homeland" security gets bigger, drone killings increase and laws are passed that allow the murder of Americans if OK'd by the POTUS.
Obama will win reelection and we can all only hope that it will lead to an actual change in our corrupt system.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 03:28 PM
uponit7771 (43,204 posts)
18. Naw, naw...Obama aint done shit the [issue MOST important to me] isn't done or hasn't been done the
...way I wanted it.
On top of that Obama hasn't been 100% perfect so ...fuck em...he aint done shit
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:02 PM
NRaleighLiberal (43,614 posts)
19. Kicked, Reccd...and the link tweeted to my followers.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:24 PM
JDPriestly (57,936 posts)
23. Face it, Obama fans. Obama is the best (the only) choice we've got.
He has done a lot, but he hasn't done what Americans really wanted him to do. Maybe nobody could, but he hasn't gotten that message out because he HAS BEEN TOO RELUCTANT TO PUT THE REPUBLICANS IN THEIR PLACE.
Obama has been too nice to big business, too nice to Wall Street, too nice to right-wing Democrats, too nice to Republicans.
The result is that the rich have gotten richer and richer during the few years of his presidency, and working people have lost out.
Democrats want to see their Democratic president show some oomph and fight and solidarity for struggling little people.
Obama is elegant, beautiful, charming, intelligent and kind, but he has not done things that show that he is on the side of working people. He thinks he has, but he hasn't.
From his policies on education to his policies on bail-outs, to his tax cuts that will inevitably weaken Social Security, Obama has failed to put up his fists and fight for working people. His speeches to American workers are energyless. They often sound more like apologies than pep talks.
Obama has a lot of work to do during this campaign -- and a lot of explaining for some of his policies.
And I will vote for him. In fact, I like him as a person and his challengers are worse than he is, but let's face it, this poll is quite accurate.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 04:29 PM
ZM90 (697 posts)
24. While I am dissapointed in his civil liberties record (ACTA, NDDA, and TPP) I do acknowledge he has
done some great things such as getting us out of Iraq, taking a step forward in healthcare, implementing Elizabeth Warren's CFPB, ending DADT.
I do however wish he would stand up to his hollywood buddies and for the free and open internet instead of making/continuing treaties behind the backs of the American people to take away our freedom online.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 05:20 PM
DallasNE (4,649 posts)
26. Obama's Very First Bill Signed Into Law
Was the Lilly Ledbetter law on equal pay so how can they leave that out?
He killed bin Laden. He ended combat operation in Iraq and is currently winding them down in Afghanistan. And these are just off of the top of my head.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 05:26 PM
Leopolds Ghost (12,875 posts)
28. Except that some of these policies were not progressive achievements, yet are touted by our leaders
Health Care Reform in particular being a codification of Republican doctrine on health care as originally articulated by Gingrich and Romney in the late 90s (the obligation of the individual to purchase private insurance for the financial good of the already-insured) -- a repulsive doctrine.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 05:37 PM
Son of Gob (1,502 posts)
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 06:04 PM
Liberal_Stalwart71 (20,450 posts)
30. K&R!! And Bookmarked!!!
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 07:02 PM
Whisp (24,096 posts)
31. interesting
Response to Whisp (Reply #31)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 11:35 AM
WilliamPitt (58,179 posts)
38. It's always a contest with you, isn't it.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 08:31 PM
progress2k12nbynd (221 posts)
33. Everything makes sense except the student aid part...
New students are still paying out the nose and student dent is still destroying lives on a daily basis. Did I and every other student and graduate miss the 'revolution' this editorial mentions or was that just hyperbole for the purpose of supporting the general intent of the piece?
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 08:42 PM
underpants (128,585 posts)
34. The author misses the element of Fox News
at least in page 1
I am posting so I can read the entire article later.
The only real oppossition to Obama is Fox News. Their viewers, believers, soak in everything the spit out as actual fact. THAT is the key element in the national discourse. The rest of the media follows them because they make the most money.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Thu Mar 8, 2012, 09:33 PM
obxhead (8,434 posts)
35. He got a ton done.
The problem was it was for a very narrow (1%) that he got it done for.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 02:51 AM
Major Hogwash (17,656 posts)
36. Great article.
I'm going to vote for President Obama this fall to re-elect the first Black President of the United States.
Then President Obama will be the first Black President of the United States to be re-elected to serve a 2nd term as the President of the United States.
Man, that's how history is made!
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 03:12 AM
Tennessee Gal (6,160 posts)
37. Good informational article. Thanks.
Response to WilliamPitt (Original post)
Fri Mar 9, 2012, 10:38 PM
unkachuck (6,295 posts)
43. "He failed miserably at his grandiose promise to change the culture of Washington..."
....too big to fail institutions are even bigger....the 1% and corporations control all of our politics....crony-capitalism is still heavily entrenched and more corrupt than even....where's the needed systemic change?
....I'm waiting for a dialog from both parties as to how the American people can regain control of their democracy and future....instead, all we hear is contraceptives and rosy-scenarios....
....you celebrate, I'm bracing for the new melt-down and limiting my systemic exposure....


text:
Beessential All Natural Grapefruit and Lemongrass Foaming Hand Soap
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Beessential All Natural Grapefruit and Lemongrass Foaming Hand Soap Reviews
My favorite soapThis is the best hand soap I've ever found. I keep it in my kitchen, but I liked it so much, I sometimes come out of the bathroom to use it, instead of the soap I have in my bathroom. It gets anything off your hands, but isn't drying. The scent is refreshing, but not overpowering. It lingers lightly for awhile, so you can smell it, but it isn't overwhelming. — 3 years, 6 months agoindiemaven | 7 reviews
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Payment Processing
Product 3/4
This Can Am Maverick Half Windshield is a great alternative to a full windshield. A half shield will deflect a lot of wind off of the driver and passenger while still allowing a full view when muddy or raining. Made from 1/4" Thick MR-10 Polycarbonate (Not Acrylic like others on the market) which is virtually unbreakable for this application. Installs in seconds with our Patent Pending Rubber "Fast Straps". Simply, wrap the rubber strap around the your cage and hook it over the plastic pins. Rubber straps will not rattle or rust.
This product was added to our catalog on Friday 29 March, 2013.


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The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) has announced a new standard : the ExpressCard. The new ExpressCard is smaller than today's standards and provides additional compatibility with strategic architectures.
Today's PCMCIA cards are roughly 85mm long x 54 mm wide. The smaller ExpressCard will come in two physical configurations, the smaller of the two at 75mm long x 34 mm wide. According to the official ExpressCard website, the advantages of the new form factor and technology include:
A Smaller & Faster PC Card Solution.
Suitable for Mobile and Desktop Systems.
Supports USB 2.0 and PCI Express Applications.
Lower System and Card Complexity.
New ExpressCard products are expected over the next several months; like any technology transformation, I expect that we'll see manufacturers provide slots for both the old and the new card. With the right products, I expect the old cards will be phased out within the next one to two years.


text:
Sunday 24 September 2017 (other days)
Our Lady of Walsingham
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
|Psalm 23 (24)
The Lord comes to his temple
|Psalm 45 (46)
God, our refuge and our strength
|Psalm 86 (87)
Jerusalem, mother of all nations
|First Reading
|Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10,11:1-9 ©
|Second Reading
|A sermon by St Sophronius
|Through Mary, the Father's blessing has shone forth on mankind
|Te Deum
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis apps, programs and downloads do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
You can also view this page in Latin and English.
Copyright © 1996-2017 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.
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text:
Welcome to Texas. Here you'll find more tragic Scotty McCreery impersonators, a woman accidentally punching Ryan Seacrest in the mouth (!), and, incredulously, not one but two delusional males attempting to sing "Unbreak My Heart." You'll also find a blue-tongued swamp creature who angrily insists he is the leader — nay, the embodiment — of a revolution, yet cannot name a single aspect of the current world that is problematic. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…an excuse to play Lady Gaga's "Alejandro." Hooray!
But a better reason to cheer last night was that in addition to some more colorful crazies than we've been used to seeing in last few weeks, last night's Galveston audition round finally had the judges disagreeing about things. And this wasn't just your typical off-the-wall banter, like Steven Tyler wailing "I love fruit wahooooo-deli-deedleedah" and Randy Jackson yelping "Dawg's allergic to berries!" This was a full-out, boys vs. girls war about some of the actual contestants! Ah, it was good to fight again.
Specifically, J. Lo liked three girls, but Steven and Randy dismissed them. I'm just gonna go with my huge, jiggly gut instinct here and guess that they weren't cute enough. Pretty in the face, hot in the body. That's right. Unless you have a decent sob story, once you've stepped onto the "can sing" landing area on the ladder, those are — for better or worse — some often insurmountable rungs to clear. I'm not saying that's fair. It's just how it is.
And yeah, we all know how it works, but it was still pretty creepy to watch this deliberately edited clip show of Steven and Randy's disapproving facial expressions as they decided whether or not they'd want to have sex with certain contestants and then deciding nahhhhhhh, not today. Maybe I'm being gross and those first three, who could sing very well, weren't remarkable for other reasons. But I'm quite certain the fourth girl, Linda Williams, was a skinny, sassy, well-dressed uberhottie who had a bitchin' leather jacket and could barely hold a note — and she's through to Hollywood. I tried to roll my eyes, but it was hard — I really wanted that jacket.
I'm very hopeful for Skylar Laine, a 17-year-old deer-killer whose family owns a restaurant that cleverly fronts as a grocery store to shield its true identity. I wanted every sandwich on that menu, by the way, and this is as good a time as any to announce that I love places that have those types of menus with the letters you have to individually stick on. That's a whole lotta love. Skylar calls her family members "Pepaw" and "Memaw," exudes genuineness, and delivered a solid country twang on "Hell on Heels" by the Pistol Annies. She even put a surprise spin on the final notes. I love her! She was so good that the bringing in of her friend, who wanted to hug Steven Tyler, was more of an awkward aside instead of the main event of the audition. The tables are turning, indeed.
NEXT: Why pay for a divorce lawyer when you could buy a plane ticket?


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Ghost of Christmas Past Rumble Winners Announcement2013-12-10 16 8 Share Tweet
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a busy body, so he's leaving us for now, but not before giving us his picks for the winners of his namesake rumble!
He's an unwelcome visitor for misers and generally naughty folk, but Lomographers welcome the sight of the Ghost of Christmas Past with open arms! We all know the value of looking back and remembering the past, given our affinity for old-school analogue thingamajigs. For the Ghost of Christmas Past Rumble, we wanted you guys to show just how exactly you celebrate the holidays. Here's what our friendly neighborhood ghost liked best and awarded 10 Piggies each. Congrats!
written by cruzron on 2013-12-10 #news #holiday #competition #rumble #celebration #feast #christmas


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New York City apartment landlords have been ratcheting up rents as the economy has slowly improved. But that doesn't mean that tenants will keep paying the increases.
High-end apartment owner Equity Residential, the country's largest publicly traded apartment landlord, reported last week that its occupancy in New York City fell 0.9% to 95.3% during the first three months of the year. Among other reasons, the company cited turnover from increasingly high rents, which were up 1.6% from the prior quarter and 6.7% from one year ago.
The company, the chairman of which is real estate tycoon Sam Zell, has seen …
Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304050304577374281660940806.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


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Solid Waste Disposal Tax
Solid waste disposal tax is imposed on the disposal of municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris in a landfill permitted under Article 9 of Chapter 130A and on the transfer of such waste and debris to a transfer station permitted under the same Article for disposal outside this State. Effective July 1, 2008, tax at the rate of $2.00 per ton of waste is imposed on waste and debris received from third parties and on waste and debris disposed of by the owners or operators of qualifying landfills or transfer stations.
For a business or person who is not registered with the Department and is required to collect and/or remit the solid waste disposal tax, submit a completed Registration Application for Solid Waste Disposal Tax, Form NC-SWR, by mail to the Department. The solid waste disposal tax is to be reported separately to the Department on the Solid Waste Disposal Tax Return, Form E-500K.
Additional Information for Solid Waste Disposal Tax
Technical References for Solid Waste Disposal Tax
- NC General Statutes - Chapter 105, Article 5G
- Sales and Use Tax Technical Bulletin Section 29-4 (2009-2017 legislative changes not included)
- Important Notices Issued by the Sales and Use Tax Division
- File and Pay Taxes
- Find Tax FAQs
- Find Tax Information
- Pay a Bill or Notice
- Request an Installment Agreement
- Understand My Notice
- Collections – Past Due Taxes
- Periodic Review of Existing Rules
- Reports and Statistics
- Resolving Disputes
- Identity Theft
- Individual Income Tax Estimator
- Individual Income Tax Rates
- Sales and Use Taxes for Real Property Transactions and Services
- Sales and Use Tax Rates
- Taxpayer Advocate
- Taxpayer Self-Help


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West Valley leaders say no rail on 5600 West
Short sidedMarch 22, 2010 5:49 p.m.
I think west valley city is being very short sighted, but whatever. Let the money be spent to make the public transportation on the east side then. I live there anyways.
Did the reporter miss something?March 22, 2010 12:58 p.m.
Isn't the Newspaper Agency Corporation located at 4700 South and 5600 West? Also, the Frito-Lay plant is just west of there. Isn't the USANA Ampitheater just a few blocks away? Imagine having a Trax line that would ease traffic congestion before and after those concerts during the summer.
Re: No WayMarch 22, 2010 12:55 p.m.
That is what Mountain View Corridor is being built for. That will be your new North-South to SR-201 and I-80 for that matter.
JeremyMarch 22, 2010 11:45 a.m.
The West Side definitely needs more mass transit options, and a north-south corridor of light rail would be great. But is 56th the best place to put it? I'm not so sure. It would be next to the planned Mountain View corridor, and if the TRAX line went all the way out to the Airport, that would be great. But it would need to connect to more east-west lines. That's will make it most useful.
Perhaps the line could run down 6400 west instead of 56th. It's not as busy, and not too far away from the main corridor. There are a lot of options, and I think they all should be reviewed.
Oh, and the bus lane down the middle of the road? Brilliant! It will save bus travel times considerably. That's where it's value comes. Fewer delays because of cars on the road mean better connections, meaning I can get to work on time. Right now it's hit or miss because of traffic in front of the bus.
No way!March 22, 2010 10:18 a.m.
I (along with half the people on the west side) use 5600 West to get from where I live (5600 W 6200 S) to get to 201. If you take that major thorofare away and put in Trax, how we I get to 201? Bangerter is too crowded and too difficult to get to in the morning! NO TRAX on 5600 West.
ClintMarch 22, 2010 10:14 a.m.
UTA spent MILLIONS to put the "fast buses" in the middle of the road! THAT WAS a complete WASTE of money (but then again, its not THEIR money so who cares)!
Having buses accessible, and running often is a big plus, but there's ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, no reason to put them in the center of the road. Saving 1-2 minutes on a 25 minute trip on a "fast bus" is not worth the millions UTA spent to re-vamp the road to make the MAX bus "look neat"!
When UTA gets enough riders that a bus arriving every 15 minutes is FULL - then and only then start talking about spending MILLIONS on TRAX!
Until then, please just leave the "construction issues" alone and concentrate on ACTUALLY IMPROVING service!
beernikMarch 22, 2010 9:54 a.m.
Considering that every parcle of land has already been platted between 5600 West and 8400 West and from 4500 South to 10800 South, I'm betting the needed density will be there.
A light rail line running on 5600 West could easily connect into the Mid-Jordan line at Old Bingham Highway and the West Vally line at either 3100 South or 3500 South and connect to the Airport line at 3600 West.
Meh, but who would want to improve transit on 5600 West or 3500 South in West Valley? Waiting five cycles to get through a light at rush hour is too much fun.
5600 WestMarch 22, 2010 8:09 a.m.
The last thing the west side needs is short sighted leaders and citizens. Once it is built people will wonder why it wasn't done sooner. Prepare for growth, don't react to it.
ughMarch 22, 2010 4:44 a.m.
last thing we need is more construction.
wickedgodMarch 18, 2010 7:34 p.m.
"surface-level light rail slows vehicle traffic and kills people."
Light rail may slow cars at times at an intersection, but the packed-full train that that goes thru the same intersection carries more people than all of the cars that may get a few seconds of delay. As far as killing people, if you look at how often there are fatal traffic accidents and compare it to how many light-rail accidents there are, you would immediately see that driving a car is much more dangerous.
No One of ConsequenceMarch 18, 2010 4:57 p.m.
Enough with the toy trains already. They just finished rebuilding 5600 West last year to 6200 South and it is working fine. It is not a good idea to mess with it now. Surface-level light rail slows vehicle traffic and kills people. There were better choices before T(r)AX was built, there are better choices now.
TRAX would kill 5600 WMarch 18, 2010 4:55 p.m.
The current north-south TRAX line for the most part runs along relatively less trafficked side streets. 5600 West is a major corridor that would be killed if the all the left turns were eliminated. Even if we need TRAX in 50 years, it is not worth sacrificing the next half century of economic viability on that street. I agree with Pyle and Winder!
5600 WestMarch 18, 2010 4:40 p.m.
Growth will happen, West Valley needs to stay ahead of it, instead of letting it explode. Expand 5600.
Build itMarch 18, 2010 3:44 p.m.
Note to West Valley:
"If you build it, they will come."
Property values around trax lines have increased and development around trax stations is booming...
build it!!March 18, 2010 3:00 p.m.
People always complain about progress, up until it gets built. Then they are the first ones in line! WVC needs to look past the next 5 years and think about the next 50. In the next 50 years, where is the SL Valley going to grow? On the west side, with 5600 west being a big part of that growth. Do it now and by the time they actually complete the project, there will be enough population growth to use it. I hate it when government (in general) waits until there is overcrowding and THEN they decide to expand/improve roads or TRAX lines and then for the next few years traffic is the biggest headache! Have any of these city officials driven on 3500 S in their own West Valley City sometime in the past 3 years? It's a nightmare! Why wait when you can do it now?!
Radical ModerateMarch 18, 2010 2:53 p.m.
Go with light rail. A west side north/south line is a fabulous idea.
Like traxMarch 18, 2010 2:50 p.m.
I have seen the rapid bus transit lanes in 3500 S. I don't know if they are being used yet. Until they are, I am not sure this is a good idea or not.
I am not sure about 5600 West yet, but I would much rather ride TRAX than a bus.
I guess the Mayor would rather have his own car and spend federal taxpayer money changing out light fixures for hundreds of thousands of our money.
I have not been impressed with "Winter" yet. When do we get Spring?
McMarch 18, 2010 2:45 p.m.
I'm not sure whether I favor Trax on 5600 West or not, but I can tell you that some things in this article are not true:
"Currently, 5600 West runs along a collection of big-box stores and a few schools and gas stations. However, the street is mostly bordered by suburban homes on single lots. It ends with a four-way stop that leads to a dead end at about 6600 South."
5600 W. dead ends about 7200 S. after connecting with 70th S. There are many homes, schools, and churches just off of 5600 W. south of 6600 S. and that includes my home. Many people south of here use 5600 W. to get to the 201 to get to work downtown.
No matter which plan is favored people ought to be using correct information to make decisions.
short sightedMarch 18, 2010 2:34 p.m.
WVC is being amazingly shortsighted on this. As long as 5600 West is being reconstructed with a bus lane - leave room for eventual light rail. Perhaps densities in WVC wont support it - but they are not the only ones on the line and people in South and West Jordan need to get to the airport and downtown.
Dont close the door to common sense.
ConcernedEMarch 18, 2010 2:24 p.m.
Wasn't there concern about the initial TRAX on the east side, that no one would use it, yet it is over-used. The west side is in desperate need for light rail - all the way to Herriman, West Valley City needs support this so very important form of transportation!


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Qtractor hangs when MIDI Master Out is connected to MIDI Master In.
Only sometimes, but I have been able to reproduce it about 80% of the time.
In the "Connections" Dialog; I make the following connection:
a repeating message that looks like:
23:00:00.500 CTL: MIDI Channel 0, value, blah blah....
To me this looks like a "midi feedback loop" in which a controller value
is "stuck" I can see Controllers 7 and 10 identified value is 128.
Why would anybody do this intentionally? they wouldn't but it happened to me by accident when I was connecting up ZynAddSubFX and clicked the wrong
thing. It does not happen when there are no tracks created in the editing window (ie. first open Qtractor with a blank session).
The only way to exit is to force quit, so be careful when making connections, and as always, be sure to save frequently.
I am using the version of Qtractor packaged for Debian 6.06:
Version: 0.4.6
Build: Jul 22 2010 21:32:46
Debugging option enabled.
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:24 PM.


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"Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi" Needs a Stronger Bond
Ai Yori Aoshi is yet another series that I had been interested in seeing, but wasn't high enough on my priority list to buy. I've seen the trailers on other Geneon DVDs and they gave me the impression that the series is a serious romantic drama. Though I'm not sure about the original series, for its sequel series, Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi (which means "Bluer than Indigo, Fate" in Japanese), this was a misrepresentation. In fact, Enishi has so much comedy that it ends up little better than the typical harem show.
Episodes included on this disc:
Episode #5: "Piano"
Episode #6: "Journey"
Episode #7: "Summer Resort"
Episode #8: "Fish and Water"
Two years have passed since the original Ai Yori Aoshi, and the mistress has officially approved Karou and Aoi's love for each other. Since Aoi is rich, she owns a really big mansion in the countryside meant just for her and Kaoru. Well, except for the fact that she rents out the place to Tina, an American swimmer, Taeko, who performs maid-like duties, and now Chika, Taeko's young cousin. As if that wasn't enough, Mayu, another rich, idealistic teen, visits almost every day in order to compete with Tina for Kaoru's heart. Unfortunately for them, Kaoru only has feelings for Aoi. And unfortunately for him, he and Aoi are not allowed to reveal their relationship, unless Something Horrible happens.
When we join the story, Mayu is receiving a brand new dress from her mother, who's in France, and is excited to show it off. And what better way to do that than to go out on a date with Kaoru? Of course, Kaoru agrees to the date, but Mayu realizes that she hasn't planned anything for the event other than wearing her dress! Later, Kaoru has to complete a final thesis before the end of the semester, so he needs complete peace and quiet. Tina and Mayu, being the harem fodder that they are, bother Kaoru every five minutes with some lame excuse such as giving him a massage or making him a protein drink. Kaoru, of course, eventually succeeds at turning his thesis in on time, so his summer is free. Overjoyed by that, Tina suggests they all go out for summer, so the gang packs up and heads out to a summer cabin. Taeko gets to show off her driving skills (it turns out she's still a lot better than Azumanga's Yukari) and Kaoru and Aoi finally get some time alone together. In the last episode on the disc Chika and her two friends are training for an upcoming swimming relay, but Chizuru doesn't know how to swim! Tina reveals that she used to be a swimming coach back in America and works fast to prep the team in the two weeks before the race. Can Chizuru overcome her fear?
This isn't the first time I've come into a series half-way in (off the top of my head, others include Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dai-Guard, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Digimon, R.O.D. the TV, and Slayers), so I don't know exactly what went on during the original series. While it would certainly clear up some questions I have (such as why Kaoru and Aoi's love is forbidden), it didn't stop me from enjoying this disc. The characters work pretty well together and have good chemistry. While it is short on slapstick humor like other harem shows such as Tenchi Muyo!, Ranma 1/2, and Love Hina, it more than makes up for it with sugary-sweet drama. Kaoru is the ultimate nice guy, and he seems physically unable to refuse a request from any of the girls or get mad at them. His emotional range on the disc is limited to that stupid grin of his and the typical anime male nervous chuckle. I know he doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings, but this is ridiculous– and boring to watch.
Of course, he's not the true focus of the series, the girls are. Tina is your typical anime American stereotype: loud, brash, perverted, cocky, and nowhere as smart as the other members. She also has this weird fascination with grabbing the breasts of the other female residents. Normally I wouldn't complain, but in this case it's just a blatant attempt to draw male viewers and nothing more. Also, the scene where she tries to feel up Chika and her friends' breasts is kind of creepy. Tina's counterpart, Mayu, is sweet and shy most of the time, though she can easily get as energetic as her friends. She's more or less your typical dreamy young teenage girl, though her focus episode at the beginning of the disc is pretty sweet, especially her piano scenes. Too bad Mayu doesn't play the piano more often.
Chika is the young girl who doesn't really know any better and she's the one asking all the questions the fans would be asking. She's not nearly as cute as the young girls in other series such as Cardcaptor Sakura or Pokémon, but she has her place, I guess. The Manager, Miyabi, is the level-headed leader of the bunch. She doesn't get much screen time during the disc, and I hope the rest of the series remedies that. Taeko has three traits discernable from this disc: she is the maid of the house, she learned how to drive from an arcade, and she can hold about three thousand gallons of beer. Like Miyabi, she doesn't get much screen time or development.
The star of the series is Aoi, and watching it's easy to see why Kaoru would choose her over Tina or Mayu. I mean, what guy wouldn't want a really cute chick with a fabulous body, tons of money, really good cooking skills and a penchant for kimonos? While I personally think Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess would make an even better girlfriend, Aoi certainly comes close. And while she herself is not a fanservice character in the traditional sense (Aoi doesn't wear many outfits besides her kimono, despite this taking place in present day), the marketers certainly don't see it that way, which isn't too surprising. Most of the DVD Covers and stock pictures show Aoi in sexy positions with her kimono falling off or in some other similar pose to show off her body. Heck, even the insert to the DVD features a piece of artwork like this. It makes quite the nice pin-up.
Unfortunately, even Aoi can't keep Enishi from ultimately seeming forced. Even when the story is flowing smoothly, it doesn't do much. Aoi and Kaoru's relationship doesn't progress at all on this disc (though that may be since the majority of the screen time is devoted to Mayu and Tina), and aside from Mayu, Tina, and Chizuru, the other characters get very little development. Aoi herself seems to be just a background character, as the only time she actually gets any kind of focus is during the "King of the Straws" game in Episode #7. When all is said and done, there's nothing here we haven't seen before and nothing to make the show truly stand out.
The animation is pretty well done. Since there's no action or anything like it, most of characters talk, walk, run, and little else. The colors are bright and soft, fitting in with the setting very nicely, and the comedic moments have good timing as well as fluid-enough animation. It's not something you'd show off your high-end plasma HD TV with, but it gets the job done. The audio gets pretty much the same grade. Both the opening and closing themes are catchy, though not mind-blowing. Both voice casts do a good job with the characters, but the Japanese cast is slightly better. For some reason, the English cast (which is mostly made up of veteran actors from BangZoom) sounds off. While the dubbing isn't quite as bad as Love Hina, it's not exactly a shining example of the medium. Still, most casual anime fans will find it adequate.
Extras barely register. Aside from the aforementioned pin-up, we get a clean version of the opening and closing themes and trailers for three other Geneon titles. Compared to Vol. 1, which includes a mini-sode where Santa Claus, who looks exactly like Aoi, pays Kaoru a visit, these extras are pitiful.
Overall, it's hard to recommended Ai Yori Aoishi Enishi. I am definitely interested in seeing the rest of the series, but I don't think I can recommend it over other shoujo dramas like Fruits Basket. If you need a way to waste a lazy Sunday afternoon, though, you could worse.


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The owners of Devizes Marina have applied for planning permission to build eight holiday lodges.
The wooden lodges are proposed to be built on land to the east of the marina, in Horton Avenue, where there is a four metre high spoil heap and an area for car parking.
The site is owned by the marina and, in the planning application submitted to Wiltshire Council, agent Robert Kann said the spoil heap was created during the construction of the marina basin.
The marina, which was built more than 15 years ago, has more than 80 recreational moorings and seven residential moorings for boaters on the Kennet and Avon Canal and hires out kayaks, canoes and a leisure boat for trips.
Mr Kann said the holiday lodges would expand the marina's income stream and create purpose-built holiday accommodation in a peaceful canal-side environment.
In the application, he said: "The proposed lodges are not to be confused with cheap static holiday park homes. The holiday lodges to be constructed are high-quality lodges crafted with excellent workmanship.
"There is a demonstrable need for new and varied holiday accommodation to serve Devizes and the Wiltshire area and this will contribute to the local sustainable economy.
"This is a small-scale, high-quality holiday lodge development that will help to enliven and rejuvenate an otherwise unattractive and unmaintained small stretch of the canal."
In all, 16 car parking spaces are planned with the lodges.


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The Drink and Click™ Show, with Michael Bonocore
It's time for another episode, so grab your drinks and come hang out and chat with us! Hosts Juan Gonzalez and I are geared up and ready to talk to guest Michael Bonocore about his photography and related projects, and life in general. Joining the discussion are panelists Mel Peifer, Eustace James, Stacy Vitallo, and J.J. Bentley, so we'll get to see what they've been up to lately, too!
We'll also be unveiling the winners of the October "Nightmares" Challenge. See the finalists here: http://goo.gl/GV3bX5 Thanks to our October prize sponsors, Adoramapix, Professor Kobré's Lightscoop http://goo.gl/CjNQAN, and Think Tank Photo!
RSVP here: http://goo.gl/w7REh4 now and then join us for the live show tonight! Remember, all of our past shows are on The Drink and Click Show page behind the "YouTube" Tab for later viewing if you miss out during Live Broadcast.
See you all soon!
Photo courtesy of Michael Bonocore, All Rights Reserved


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Northern Ireland's Coastguard headquarters was left dangerously undermanned for more than half of 2013.
An official assessment of the manpower levels at the Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (or MRCC, which – despite its name – is actually in Bangor) revealed that personnel numbers fell below a safe level for almost 57 per cent of shifts in the year.
The sheer extent of the understaffing came to light yesterday following a parliamentary question from MP Margaret Ritchie to the Department for Transport.
The department had responded: "During 2013 Belfast MRCC was staffed below risk assessed levels on 414 occasions out of 730 shifts. This represents 56.7 per cent of all shifts in 2013."
It added: "Her Majesty's Coastguard has recruited
additional staff at Belfast MRCC during 2013 to address staffing levels; as a result Belfast MRCC is now staffed above complement."
It also said a "pairing arrangement" was in place, linking two MRCCs together so they could give one another support.
Ms Ritchie, SDLP MP for South Down, said that the understaffing was a consequence of a "dangerous cuts agenda", adding: "Despite warnings the British Government slashed Coastguard services in 2011, claiming that this represented modernisation. Well the response to my Parliamentary Question shows that instead we have been left with a threadbare service that is dangerous and lacks investment."
The station had been threatened with closure in 2011, and Leslie Cree, North Down UUP MLA, said that although it was still in existence, it had to bear "considerable new responsibilities" – including looking after "a large swathe" of the west Scotland coastline – with the Government slow to increase staffing levels to match.


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VIDEO: Joan Rivers Chats CNN Interview Walk Out on THE TALK
Joan Rivers will appear on today's THE TALK to discuss storming out during a recent CNN interview after defending herself and telling the interviewer to shut up.
On the show, airing Friday, July 11, Rivers says, "I felt like Flavor Flav walking into Don Sterling's house…It's a comedy book...You have to know what to say...It was an interrogation...so I got a little upset and I walked off...never done that in 50 years."
Get a sneak peek below!
CBS's Daytime Emmy Award-nominated talk show THE TALK features a panel of well-known news and entertainment personalities discussing current events, pop culture, contemporary issues, family, celebrity and the trending topics of the day. The daily one-hour series is co-hosted by Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler.
The hosts swap stories, challenge each other on issues and engage the studio audience and viewers at home about events in the headlines and their own homes. Show segments include guest interviews with entertainers and newsmakers, musical performances, appearances from extraordinary people with stories that engage and inform as well as how-to demos, real-world advice and tips from the leading experts in fitness, diet, health, home, relationships, finance and fashion. The show was developed by Gilbert, who also serves as executive producer.


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You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image.
Bannockburn Hotel manager Tim Hanna, who has had his general manager's certificate and the hotel's on and off-licences suspended, says he is disgusted at the actions of young adults who want to "go out and get legless and pick a fight".
Cromwell police sought the suspensions on the grounds the hotel had breached three sections of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 by selling liquor to an intoxicated person, allowing a person to become intoxicated on the premises and allowing drunkeness or disorderly conduct and also on the grounds the manager had "failed to conduct the licensed premises in a proper manner".
The New Zealand Liquor Licensing Authority suspended the hotel's on and off-licences for 24 hours last Friday, and suspended Mr Hanna's general manager certificate for three weeks, from Monday, November 26.The hotel did not dispute the grounds for the application and agreed to the suspension.
In the decision, authority chairman Judge John Hole and member Judith Moorhead said following disturbances at the Bannockburn Hotel on August 3 and 13, police warned Mr Hanna that any further problems could result in a suspension of the premises' licence.
Cromwell police were called to a fight at the hotel on August 17 and had to call for back-up from Alexandra police. Mr Hanna closed the hotel early.
Police said the licensee had "significant difficulty" in controlling patrons.
Each of the incidents happened when a karaoke session was being held, the authority said.
Approached by the Otago Daily Times for comment yesterday, Mr Hanna said the hotel would no longer run karaoke evenings because they attracted "some of the wrong people".
"It's a shame, because it was rewarding and there was some real talent coming out, but what can you do if it was attracting the wrong element as well," he said.
A handful of young adults - people in their 20s, were the ones causing problems in the hotel.
"I think it's that whole culture of 'let's go out and get legless and pick a fight'. The level of behaviour of some of these people is disgusting and they need to grow up and take responsibility for themselves.
"The majority of the young people in Cromwell are great, but there's a few who spoil it," Mr Hanna said.
He was "disappointed" with the authority's decision but would not contest it.
On August 17, the hotel refused to serve and sent home about six people, he said.
"We were working very hard to keep things under control, and in fact it was us that called the police."
The hotel worked in with the majority of licensed premises in the wider Cromwell area to identify troublemakers. If someone was banned from one of those premises, they were unwelcome at the others, he said.