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Review by sfcalimari
"Whoa, an action game with an actual decent story?"
Yakuza's gameplay is kind of hard to describe, I suppose you could say it's like a beat-em-up like Final Fight mixed with some GTA-style free-roaming (though without cars), along with some rpg-style aspects.
The game takes place for the most part in a Japanese neighborhood (obviously Tokyo's Shinjuku area) which is portrayed quite realistically. You can wander around all you want, and there are a variety of stores you can visit, like pawn shops, bars, ramen shops, and so on. The city very much feels alive, with colorful neon displays everywhere, a constant urban hum, and crowds of people wandering around or standing around hanging out. The city really has a great atmosphere that feels truly real and lived-in, much more than almost any other game I've ever played. It's too bad you can't leave this one neighborhood.
For the most part, though, you'll need to complete different story missions to advance the plot. Long cut-scenes, which are generally interesting and worth watching (but sometimes a bit tedious), play frequently during these missions. Generally you will be told to meet someone or pick up an item, then get into a fight with some enemies. Beat them, and the story moves on a bit.
Combat in this game is somewhat odd because it is separated from the rest of the game. As you wander through the city, enemy thugs will randomly appear and challenge you to a fight; it's rather reminiscent of a turn-based RPG game where you'll be wandering around a map and enemies randomly attack you. After a loading screen announcing your opponent, you'll fight the enemies in 3rd person view, in a rather small and constrained area. Beat them, and you go back to wandering around the street. It's not like most other brawlers where you explore and fight in the same environment. During story missions, you generally are also forced to fight enemies in small areas, though there are a few where you move through a building fighting enemies and roaming around. Overall the action has a nice feel to it, though I don't see why they didn't integrate the fighting and free-roam parts rather than separating them. The constant load times before fights can really get annoying, and defeating some weak enemies takes less time than the loading screen before the fight!
Besides the main story and the free-roam, you can also complete different side-missions that generally involve finding a specific person and then being asked to defeat a bad guy or retrieve a lost item, though these side-missions take many forms. They aren't necessary to complete, though they are generally pretty entertaining and give you something extra to do, as well as extra money and experience; and if you complete all 72 side-missions you can fight a special opponent.
Lastly, you have a leveling-up system. By defeating enemies or completing side-missions, you gain experience points, which can be used to raise your levels. You have soul, mind and body, and raising them gives you different new attributes, such as new attacks or a larger health bar. It's a nice feature that adds a bit more of an rpg feel to the game.
Considering how much money was supposedly spent on this game, and how late in the PS2's life it was released, the graphics really could have been better. Most everything looks nice and clean, and there is kind of a nice clean-lined SNES feel to the menus, and the city certainly looks cool, but it's a bit of a downer to realize how mushy most of the npc's wandering around the city look. The cut-scenes are decent but look rather dated, and characters' arms and hands often look really unrealistic, and faces often look just plain weird. Another issue is that in the free-roam part of the city, every time you move from one area to the next the framerate drops dramatically while the next section loads up, which is kind of annoying and seems like it could have been fixed.
The controls and fighting system in the game are kind of the weakest part of the game. The combat system generally feels pretty clunky because when you start a combo, you can't really stop it, and you can't change direction in the middle of it, causing you to punch at air if your enemy moves position, which is often. This is quite frustrating, as is the inconsistent lock-on system. During battles you generally automatically lock-on to a nearby enemy, and you can control the lock a bit by holding down R1 to strafe-walk, but often the system gets confused, especially when several enemies gang up on you. Also frustrating is how frequently you get knocked onto the ground, and then 5 or 6 enemies will spam you with attacks before you can even get back on your feet (which takes forever). Generally the combat in the game is not terribly difficult, and most of the challenge comes from the often-frustrating controls, which isn't a good sign.
You can however unlock special moves, either by gaining experience or by undergoing training. These moves generally make combat less frustrating and more fluid because they allow you to hit enemies behind you, or quickly knock enemies over so you can take revenge by spamming them. Most of the best moves aren't available until late in the game, though, long after you've suffered numerous deaths-by-spam.
All that said, once you get used to the combat system, it can usually be quite fun and satisfying. You have a "heat gauge" that fills up as you land hits on enemies, and when it is full you can perform special moves that have a cool little cut-scene, such as smashing an enemy against a wall or smashing a bicycle down on an enemy.
Lastly, I really found myself annoyed with the camera in the game, so beware. When you are running around the free-roam part of the city the camera is static and can't be controlled, and when you run from one block to the next the camera angle shifts dramatically, causing some confusion as to which direction you are headed in. In other areas or during fighting scenes, you can control the camera by pressing L2 to center it in the direction you are facing, but it constantly gets blocked by walls or auto-corrects itself wildly, causing you to walk in the wrong direction or to get spammed by some enemies you can't even see.
I am not the sort of gamer who plays games for their stories, because honestly the stories of most video games are pretty lame and badly told. However, I was pretty impressed by the depth of Yakuza's story, as well as by the way it is told. Apparently a Japanese novelist was hired to develop the game's plot, and I guess it paid off, because I really found myself drawn into the game's world, as if I were watching a movie or reading a good novel or manga.
I won't really spoil the plot at all, but it really does give you a glimpse into the world of the Yakuza (or at least into the way it is portrayed fictionally in Japan), and develops the characters enough that you usually end up caring about them.
The plot kind of veers too much at times into the gossipy internal politics of the Yakuza, and much of the plot gets sunk into "annoying small tagalong child syndrome" territory, although in the end the characters are not nearly as annoying as those of, say, Onimusha 3. But despite these faults I found that overall the game is very much worth playing to see the story play out and to see what happens to all the characters. Yakuza is definitely the most cinematic game I've played in a long time.
When you are wandering around the city, there is always a constant murmur of street noise, and people call out to one another in Japanese (which is kind of weird considering that when you talk to people, everything is in English); the background noise really helps to deepen the game's realistic atmosphere.
There is some music in the game, most notably during fight scenes. The music is okay but not great, and early on it the game the same rather annoying track plays every time you get into a fight, which is about every 2 minutes.
The voice-over work, which is important in a game this cinematic, is mostly good but not perfect, and characters' voices steer too often towards being corny. My biggest complaint is the ridiculous amount of accents in the game; sometimes it's like you're in New York City or something. Some characters have southern accents, one sounds like Humphrey Bogart, and several street punks sound like gangsta refugees from San Andreas or something. There should have been a Japanese audio with English subtitles option. The English voice-overs in Yakuza are pretty decent, and better than a lot of other games, but I wish they had left out the maddening variety of inappropriate and corny-sounding accents.
Basically, this game is a must-play. I don't think that everyone would like this game, but I can see it being loved by fans of Metal Gear Solid, the Legend of Zelda, Final Fight, or other series. I have never seen a game that portrays a city so atmospherically; the unnamed neighborhood in Yakuza puts San Andreas to shame. And the storyline of the game, as I said, is definitely both better told and more interesting than that of any other video game I can think of.
As I've noted, the game isn't without its flaws, but for the most part the few bad aspects are more than outweighed by the delightful story and the (usually) fun action.
Reviewer's Rating: 4.0 - Great
Originally Posted: 11/17/06
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Obituary & Guest Book Preview for June Louise Nelson
June Louise Nelson Obituary
Published in Hillsboro Argus/Forest Grove Leader/Beaverton Leader on Jan. 18, 2013
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: Nelson, June Louise 95 Sept. 16, 1917 Jan. 09, 2013 June Nelson was born Sept. 16, 1917 in Portland and passed away Jan. 9, 2013...
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By Suzanne McGee | April 4, 2012 | Food & Drink
A Bacardi rum promotion in Havana, circa 1920s
Bacardi company headquarters in Santiago de Cuba, 1930s
Party at Edificio Bacardi in Havana, circa 1930s
Bacardi employees in Santiago de Cuba, circa 1940s
Rafael "Pappy" Valiente and guests at the Edificio Bacardi de La Habana bar in the 1930s
Facundito Bacardi Gaillard (Don Facundo Bacardi Massó's grandson) pours rum from a blending tank, circa 1920s
The iconic Bacardi building in downtown Miami served as the company's US headquarters from 1963 to 2010
Gloria Estefan at the Bacardi anniversary party
Ryan Phillippe was among the celebrity guests mingling with family members at Bacardi's 150th anniversary party in Miami
Bacardi employees in Santiago de Cuba, circa 1940s
To reach the front doors of the "Cathedral of Rum"—the Puerto Rican distillery where Bacardi Corp. manufactures about 85 percent of the rum it produces each year—you have to walk or drive around a circle of grass surrounded by flowers. At its center stands a head-and-shoulders bust of a middle-aged man, sculpted in bronze; behind that is a fragile sapling, barely recognizable as a tiny coconut palm. Those two items are what some 600 members of the Bacardi clan left behind after their three-day gathering in San Juan in early February to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their family-owned company's founding in the port community of Santiago de Cuba, 675 miles away as the crow flies. The bust is of the founder of both their family and the business in which they all still have a stake. It was crafted by one of those descendants, Helena Kiely Bacardi, in the image of Don Facundo Bacardi Massó, the Catalan businessman who revolutionized the global spirits industry by transforming rum from a rough beverage suitable for serving to sailors as "grog" into a lighter-tasting, clear spirit. The coconut palm sapling? Family members planted it in memory of another coconut palm put into the ground at the time Don Facundo opened his first distillery a century and a half ago, and around which later premises were carefully constructed. "El Coco" died at the same time Cuban dictator Fidel Castro nationalized the Bacardi operations, a year after seizing power, and triggered an exodus of family members into exile around the world.
By the time they fled Cuba and ended up in some 18 different countries, the Bacardi clan had owned their rum business for nearly a century, watching it grow from a tiny distillery in a tinroofed building into a company employing about 6,000 people and shipping 1.7 million cases of rum around the world annually. In the years after leaving Cuba, both the company and family who owned it were forced to regroup and move forward. Ironically, Facundo L. Bacardi, the company's chairman since 2005 and great-great-grandson of its founder, attributes much of Bacardi's successful transformation from a single-product business to a global player that can compete with the likes of publicly traded entities like Diageo and Pernod Ricard USA to the very fact of its exile.
"The drive and endurance to survive and overcome such adversity that would have caused others to give up is in our DNA—the family's and company's," says the 45-year-old Bacardi. Going into exile "really enabled us to accelerate the expansion of Bacardi," to the point where the single- brand rum company has become a global spirits player with top gin, vodka, whiskey, vermouth, and tequila brands in its portfolio of 200-plus labels. At the same time, exile has only reinforced the family's shared Cuban heritage. Although the number of family members may have doubled in the last 60-plus years and many Bacardis have never set foot on the island where the business was born, they all "have this common thread, that Cuba is where we started and where we want to go back to," Bacardi explains. "In our souls, we are all owners of a Cuban company in exile."
The family's ability to survive and thrive in today's ruthlessly competitive global spirits business may well have its roots in the company's history and the constant high-wire act of its family members and managers—a history that Tom Gjelten masterfully chronicled in his comprehensive account of the ties between the Bacardis and their homeland, Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause, first published in 2008. When the Bacardi clan first arrived in Cuba, it was a Spanish colony, with rigid class lines that put the Spanish rulers in the elite. The Bacardis, originally a Catalan family, quickly came to identify themselves as Cuban rather than Spanish and to support reformist causes. Even as the Bacardi family's rum became popular in Spain—the company won the right to provide its liquor to the Spanish royal family— Don Facundo's eldest son and heir, Emilio, a member of Santiago's town council, was imprisoned twice for supporting Cuban revolutionaries.
When the Americans showed up after the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana's harbor during the Spanish-American War in 1898, the Bacardis originally welcomed them as liberators. But idealism didn't blind them to a great business opportunity even then. When a Cuban bartender decided to add some light Bacardi rum to a favorite drink of the American soldiers—Coca-Cola—the resulting cocktail became known as the Cuba libre—"free Cuba."
The Bacardis quickly lost some of their enthusiasm for the American interlopers after their adopted homeland was entrusted temporarily to the United States to govern. But they loved American tourists, who flocked to Cuba in ever-growing numbers throughout the first half of the 20th century, with the biggest spurt in growth coming as Prohibition shuttered bars and made drinking alcoholic beverages illegal across the US. That ill-conceived policy simply spelled opportunity for Bacardi and the nascent cocktail culture: "Fly with us to Havana, and you can bathe in Bacardi rum two hours from now," suggested an ad by Pan American Airways, promoting its flights linking Miami with Cuba.
By 1928, some 90,000 tourists a year were doing just that, double the number who had made the trip a decade or so earlier, and bartenders able to mix some of the new cocktails—the daiquiri, pioneered by American mining engineers near the town of Daiquiri, Cuba, and the mojito, a Bacardi version of a 16th-century drink with light rum replacing the heavy aguardiente of old—became celebrities. A bartender at Havana nightspot La Floridita was famed for his ability to prepare six cocktails at once, filling each glass to the brim without spilling a drop or having a drop left over. Ernest Hemingway quaffed daiquiris at a steady clip and mentioned Bacardi by name in his work; when the author won the Nobel Prize, the Bacardi family threw a party in his honor.
When Fidel Castro arrived on the scene, he seemed more of a savior than a threat. Much like the Americans had at the beginning of the century, Castro promised reform and democracy and an end to repression, in the form this time of a domestic dictatorship by Fulgencio Batista rather than Spanish colonials. The Bacardis, now under the leadership of Pepin Bosch, the grandson-in-law of Don Emilio, feared Batista more than Castro, and even supported Castro's revolutionary forces financially, funneling cash to the uprising's "treasurers" in Santiago. As Bacardi workers took off to join Castro in the final months of the struggle, family members promised their jobs would be held until their return; for their part, the revolutionary forces deliberately spared Bacardi's facilities from damage and even ensured that Bacardi's brewery was able to make scheduled shipments. The alliance between the new regime and the Bacardis went further still: The daughter of a Bacardi executive, Vilma Espín, married Raúl Castro and became unofficial first lady of Cuba until her death in 2007.
Wary of Batista, Bosch had sent Bacardi's trademarks and patents out to the Bahamas in the late 1950s. That move would form the basis of the company's survival when Castro decided he no longer wanted or needed capitalists—even former supporters like the Bacardis—and nationalized the firm's Cuban assets in fall of 1960. Within two years, a majority of family members had left the island; the company's current chairman, Facundo L. Bacardi, was born in Chicago.
Irate at the seizure of the family's assets, Bosch became as fervent an opponent of Castro's new regime as he had been a supporter of the former's revolutionary movement before it swept into power. Castro, he concluded, had taken a progressive ideal of Cuban political identity and distorted it by adding Communism to the mix. Bosch became a leader of the anti-Castro resistance. As the years passed, his activism waned, but the iniquities of the Castro regime remained his primary focus.
In another piece of serendipity, Bosch oversaw the construction of distilling operations in Puerto Rico from the late 1930s to the late 1950s in order to get Bacardi rum into the United States on a tax-advantaged basis. Now that facility began producing the majority of the company's rum, even as its head office was still in Santiago de Cuba.
"When they were exporting from Cuba prior to 1960, they were a small player," says Ray Herrmann, chairman emeritus of Charmer-Sunbelt, a major distributor of spirits. "But over the last 40 or 50 years, Bacardi and rum became synonymous; for most restaurants, buying Bacardi goes along with having a liquor license. It's the default decision."
Still, navigating its way through the consolidating global spirits industry has been anything but simple, and the question became how to balance its heritage as a rum producer with the need to compete with bigger and more diversified players that had more clout with distributors. "The Bacardi brand would have prospered, whatever happened," insists Robert Furniss-Roe, president of the company's North American operations. "But in order to survive as an independent company, you had to have scale." That was a tradeoff that Bacardi was finally ready to embrace by 1993, when it made its first acquisition, buying Martini & Rossi, an Italian family-owned company. "It was the mirror image of our own business," says Facundo L. Bacardi. "We understand what running a family business is about, and so the transition went well."
To industry analysts, this move is seen as a pivotal point in the company's history. Had Bacardi not branched out the way it did, the brand name might have survived, but the family likely would have been forced to see it take a back seat to other global brands, or to sell out, as the owners of Martini & Rossi were doing. In 1998 came the purchase of Dewar's Scotch and Bombay Sapphire gin; in 2002, it was the premium tequila brand Cazadores tequila. The most recent (and quite costly) acquisition was Grey Goose vodka in 2004. "When we bring in a new product that has nothing to do with rum, it's all about making sure that we understand the culture of the brand and its heritage," Bacardi says. All these transactions were executed without the company having to resort to an initial public offering of stock, although Bacardi has come to rely on investment bankers to drum up outside debt financing of some transactions.
Of course, the game goes on. While Bacardi has navigated its way through political storms and economic crises, it is firmly in fourth place in the global spirits business, behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard USA as well as India's United Spirits. Facundo L. Bacardi insists, "The industry will likely further consolidate, and Bacardi will be a key player."
A big part of growth is keeping customers excited about Bacardi products: No buzz, no sales. The revived interest in classical cocktails—many of which feature Bacardi rum—is a boon. "But people like to experiment," says Furniss-Roe, recalling a time that he sampled a cocktail in San Francisco containing Bacardi and 132 other ingredients.
For now, there are no new acquisitions on the horizon; Bacardi will have to wait until a brand it considers iconic enough to join its roster becomes available to purchase. The onus will be on the company to find internal sources of growth in a business in which standing still spells trouble. Facundo Bacardi says the fact that the business remains in family hands is an advantage, enabling the company to "act quickly and efficiently as soon as we identify opportunities" rather than being confined by "an unwieldy operating system or quarterly dividends." That also means taking a long-term view and setting up a governance structure and financial controls that are "best of breed."
Having that kind of system in place means keeping family members happy. As the generations have passed and the ranks of those family members have grown, the proportion of them involved in the business has shrunk. Only 19 work for the company in any capacity today, including Facundo Bacardi, who describes his own situation as a bit of an exception. While most Bacardis join the family business after beginning their careers elsewhere, Facundo did so on the death of his father, when he was only in his 20s, after inheriting a stake in the company that made him one of its largest shareholders. He went on to play a major role in some of the company's largest and most significant recent acquisitions, including Dewar's and Grey Goose.
Still, Bacardi is surrounded by non-family members, like Furniss-Roe, who are focused not just on preserving the company's rum-making traditions but finding new ways to expand. "There are many possibilities in terms of geographic markets, market segments by product, and flavors that I'm very optimistic," says Furniss- Roe. He cites that Bacardi has become an in-demand brand in Russia and is now the top-selling white spirits brand in India.
Bacardi's new markets may be increasingly far-flung, but since fleeing Castro, the family has relied on three locations from which to run its businesses. While Cuba is its spiritual home, Bermuda remains the company's legal headquarters, and Puerto Rico the site of its main production facility. Miami has always served as an important corporate and familial nexus. At the center of it all are the company's former office buildings on Biscayne Boulevard (most of the operations once headquartered there have shifted to a new Coral Gables edifice) that the city has designated historic landmarks. The complex, including a tower block built in 1963 in the iconic Miami Modernist style and featuring two massive ceramic tile murals on its reinforced concrete exterior, long has been a gathering spot for exiled members of the Bacardi clan. In the late 1960s, a dapper 90-year-old Emilito Bacardi, grandson of the company's founder and former guerilla fighter for Cuban independence, would show up and insist on taking his younger relatives for a drink in the building's bar.
The Bacardi name well-known in the city. A number of family members still live here, several of whom are employed by Bacardi USA. The late Tito Argamasilla Bacardi, who died last October, hosted the annual Bacardi Cup that concludes Miami's weeklong regatta every March; he also founded the Bacardi museum. Casa Bacardi is part of the center for Cuban Studies at the University of Miami, and is funded by the family's foundation.
Every February 4 is Founder's Day, when local employees and any Bacardi family members in the area gather at the Miami office to hold a mini version of the more family-oriented festivities that took place in San Juan for the 150th anniversary. This year, more than 500 gathered a week earlier than usual to celebrate, followed by a big-name event at the historic downtown office building, which had been transformed into a tropical lounge for the evening. "It was quite a show," says Charmer-Sunbelt's Ray Herrmann, "particularly when the extended family arrived, some several hundred members strong." Family members and top executives mingled with celebrities (actors Minka Kelly and Ryan Phillippe, singer Gloria Estefan, and New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez) as well as local leaders (Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Joe A. Martinez) to ogle the display of rum barrels and vintage Bacardi ads from the early 1900s, as well as quaff mojitos and daiquiris made from the inexhaustible supply of rum. "It was a tribute to this company's history and its soul," says Furniss-Roe.
photograph courtesy of Bacardi archive (black and white); bill kearney (bacardi building); seth browarnik/worldredeye.com (estefan, phillippe)


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LONDON (Sep. 5)
Israel plans to absorb at least 150,000 immigrants in 1950, Dr. S. Levenberg, head of the Jewish Agency information office, today told a press conference here.
Dr. Levenberg said that some observers believe it will be possible to absorb as many as 200,000 persons next year. He also revealed that 170,000 were absorbed between January 1 and August 15 of this year and that another 65,000 will probably arrive before December 31.
In reference to emigration of Jews from Poland, he said that it is still not known exactly what the regulations governing the exit of Jews will cover nor how many persons will be affected. Estimates of the number of Jews who will leave that country for Israel very between 15,000 and 65,000, Dr. Lovenberg declared.
He cautioned against considering the countries of Eastern Europe as a unity in relation to their emigration policies, pointing cut that practice varies from country to country. He cited the example of Czechoslovakia which 18,000 loft since last February, and Rumania from which loss than 1,000 persons have emigrated during the last three months.
Dr. Lovenberg also announced that a small group of Jews was ready to leave Spain for Israel and that a ship was being dispatched to India to pick up some 2,000 Jews including many refugees from Moslem Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is expected that 2,500 will be transported this month from Tripolitania, whence some 2,000 have come in each of the last two months.
He assailed a "whispering campaign" aimed at the Jews of North Africa who, he said, were encountering much lese difficulty in accustoming themselves to Israel than was anticipated.


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Kiddie car thieves in Waikato crime spree
A group of Auckland teenagers face a raft of charges in court today following a crime spree in the Waikato over the weekend.
The five 14-year-olds allegedly stole a car in Auckland on Saturday afternoon and travelled down to Hamilton, Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson of the Hamilton CIB said.
"They have then stolen a number of cars and taken them back to Auckland taking property from these vehicles in the process,'' he said.
Officers tried to stop the group in one of the vehicles in Hamilton as it headed north on Saturday night but the driver refused to stop and fled at speed.
Mr Patterson said the pursuit was abandoned due to the driver's high speed.
A Huntly unit spotted the vehicle a short time later and followed it until the offenders ran out of petrol.
"Additional staff were brought in and the group were apprehended without incident,'' Mr Patterson said.
Three of the group were placed in secure care while two were released to their parents.
All five will appear in the Hamilton Youth Court today. All five are facing seven charges of unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, four thefts from car charges and one of attempted unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. One boy also faces reckless driving and failing to stop charges.
Mr Patterson said further investigations are continuing and police haven't ruled out further charges.
"At this point police would like to reiterate the need for parents, guardians and caregivers to be aware of where your charges are at all times and if you need help to seek it before young people come to the attention of police."


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Columbus Man Sentenced To 15 Years For 'Sexploitation' Of Minor
A Columbus man will spend nearly 16 years in prison for striking up a relationship with a minor online and coercing her into illicit sexual conduct, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Randall V. Roberts was sentenced on Wednesday in connection with contacting a 14-year-old victim on a social networking site in December 2011.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said that Roberts, 42, pressured her into engaging in sex acts with him.
Officials said that Roberts threatened to expose her if she did not comply with him, after she told Roberts that she wanted to stop their relationship.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, one of the child's relatives found text messages from Roberts and notified law enforcement officials. Roberts was arrested on May 16.
He pleaded guilty in connection to one count of coercion of a minor in May.
U.S. Attorney's officials called the case one of "sexploitation."
"Sexploitation means threatening to expose someone's sexual activity in order to keep them quite or to keep them engaged in the activity," said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart. "It adds fear to the indignity and humiliation a victim is already facing."
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.
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June 19, 2012: Man Accused Of Having Sex With Teenager, Growing 120 Marijuana Plants


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Wanting to open a gun shop
Anyone on here own their own sporting good and firearms store? If so what all went into getting it started and what advice do you have?
Get into car repair business, it's cheaper and easier.
Become a mortician, there is no shortage of customers.
Not only do you have to know firearms, but other sports as well.
A few years ago, AKs and SKSs were hot. Today, the ARs. Tomorrow, who knows what the public wants.
Look at stores like Academy. They have a diverse inventory. To run such a store without the resources that Academy has is asking for ruin.
The money is in the accessories, not the guns.
If you want to know the secret of how to make a small fortune, you start with a large fortune and open a gun shop. Then you'll have a small fortune.
As the former owner of Wild Gesse Gun Shop in El Cajon Ca.(san diego area) id say hold off...our commie is busy now but soon will be trying everyway he can to put gun shops out of bussiness..Black guns where 75% of my sales.....not to discourage you ill state a few things to be concerned about.......ATF gestoppo.....obomba....horrable economy only going to get worse....most either have what guns they need or to poor to buy them...a huge break in target for crooks...like cars money not in new cars its the used ones or parts/repair........id carry a gun brand and id buy every item one would want to go with it and related items...i fig each black gun sale was $1,500-3k over all in time plus...vs funky sporting that might buy a bx or two ofammo each year my people buy a case or two...accessories can bring in 35-60% mark up vs laying out huge $ for a gun..id carry real govnt gear or clothing to the good paladan press books ets..plus.........you will devote un real hrs to make it go....gotta fig your compation out and most of all know your products or your toast..i was a combat vet and had a great background and they knew it...getting there respect is it..my 4 strong points was...1 id not bs you...2/id treat you well what ever you bought..3/id keep up with the state of the art..4 give you the best price i could......it took me 3 years working 7 days a week at 16 plus hrs a day before store paid overhead..profit in my pocket came later.......after the fed gun law and calif one and resession i lasted 9 years and lost over $400,000.-....homeless 4x ....im on my feet not thanks to a 100% T+P Disability....ok pick anything you know well rescreach it very well..with obomba laws its going to kill most bussiness...its a huge gamble .i wish you well....
As a gun store owner I make approximately -$15 an hour right now :D
Opening a new store would depend on what state you reside in?
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text:
Avg.Rate: BRL 80.00 - 250.00
Rating: 0 stars
Featuring free WiFi, Aotearoa Surf Casas de Aluguel offers pet-friendly accommodation in Camacho. Imbituba is 45 km away. All units include a flat-screen TV. There is also a kitchen, fitted with an oven. Aotearoa Surf Casas de Aluguel also includes a barbecue. Gravatal is 38 km from Aotearoa Surf Casas de Aluguel . Повече информация
Rating: 0 stars
Casa com deck is a holiday home set in Camacho, 44 km from Imbituba. Guests benefit from terrace. Free WiFi is available throughout the property. The unit equipped with a kitchen with an oven and microwave. A flat-screen TV is provided. Other facilities at Casa com deck include a barbecue. Gravatal is 39 km from Casa com deck, while Laguna is 14 km away. You can engage in various activities, such as fishing and hiking. Повече информация


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ALL ZI & ZI SW production stopped
Hi, ZI lovers.
I share you a bad news that ALL ZI & ZI SW are discontinued.
Today, Fujiya Camera, a famous shop in JAPAN tweets (*Japanese only) like below.
It says:
[Finally discontinued!]
Carl Zeiss Zeiss Ikon & Zeiss Ikon SW are discontinued!
Hurry up for limited stock!
After seeing that tweet, I telephoned COSINA about this news.
COSINA says:
- Production is stopped.
- There's no specific production timetable at this moment.
Keep watching the official information.(Not released now)
# Sorry about my poor English
Funny, the thought that this would happen occurred to me earlier this week. Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long, but it sure is a shame. I had a ZI that was terrific, though sadly it's in someone else's hands now. I wonder what this will do to used prices?
I've always thought the Ikon was in a difficult place price wise ... a fair bit more than a Bessa and pretty much on a par with a user M7 or really mint M6. Fantastic camera though and a shame to see them ceasing production.
The rumor is that they are retrofitting the production lines to start building digital ZI's. ;)
I am not really surprised. I wonder which rangefinder to get for a while now, and I would never consider a new ZI when for the price I can get a used M6TTL with recent CLA and 6 months warranty. Even used ZIs are around €700 to €800 depending on condition.
It made sense new as a price point between the Cosina RF's and the M7, as a good camera with a lovely bright finder. People buying new at that price point now seem to be buying from among the many digital offerings recently available. The ZI will certainly be missed.
Great camera, nothing lasts forever. Unlike digital, film cameras must compete with cameras made 50 years ago, always going to be a tough market. I wonder now what Cosina will do (if anything). Nobody could have predicted they'd have made a 6x7 folder, so who knows what they'll get up to. Interesting times.
Fortunately I have managed to get mine ! ! !
I wish this end will be the beginning of ZI digital ERA...
and will not stop the production the awesome ZM lenses...
...bad news...guess teh economy is not helping...
Have you any news about the line of lenses???
someone said in a previous ost that zeiss was about to launch a new lens for the M mount cameras...did it happen???
Zeiss is known to be a optical company, not a camera maker. They haven't made a camera in decades (the M-mount Zeiss Ikon is made by Cosina after all).
I get the impression that selling lenses for SLR's and for the M-mount is profitable for them. I doubt they'll seize production of the ZM line.
Although sad at first, i'd be interested to see what happens from now.
Production stopped and being discontinued are completely different things. Production is done in batches, it's not like they are making them all the time. The frequency of production batches is determined by how fast the stocks are exhausted, which in case of the ZI, is very slow. Anyhow, all film cameras will be discontinued sooner or later.
Not really surprised it was discontinued. Introducing a rangefinder (guaranteed low production) just when the digital market was catching fire about guaranteed it's demise. Like any discontinued film camera, it will be missed.
Jim B.
The SW, surely, was discontinued some time ago. Linking the ZI and SW in this way makes me slightly suspicious...
And as EdwardKaraa says, Production stopped and being discontinued are completely different things.
They stopped making the Silver ZI about nine months ago. I would be surprized if they were still selling many of the black ones.
Yeah, and they stopped production of the SW cameras around April of 2011. They can be had for cheap new these days, seems like many retailers are pricing the remaining SW's at retail price.
can you say F-A-C-E-T-I-O-U-S ??? ;););)
Nice design and best VF ever. Too bad they were not very robust though. MY RF would slip out of alignment every few months (vertical but still irritating).
Great design effort by the Zeiss/Cosina team overall. If indeed it is a goner I guess those on the market will become a bit cultish.
I lifted this directly from a guy's post on APUG, who is a Zeiss dealer:
"Dear Zeiss Photo Dealer,
Please note, a decision has been made to discontinue the Zeiss Ikon Camera. There is a limited amount of stock on hand, after which the product will no longer be available. We will continue to provide spare parts and service on the camera for the immediate future. This decision also effects the various spare parts for the camera body, such as the camera strap, side grip, camera case and the diopter lenses. These accessories are only available while supplies last.
This decision reflects the ongoing transformation from film to digital capture. While sales of the camera have remained steady over the last several years, it is no longer feasible to continue manufacturing the product.
Carl Zeiss remains committed to manufacturing the ZM lens series and as indicated at Photokina, we will develop at least one new high speed, prime lens during 2013. More information about this product will be announced in the coming year."
Jim B.
I've two.. so my question is how long will they be able to supply parts? After all, that is one aspect of the Leica production.. great long term parts and service support. I'm not so sure of the Zeiss policy.
"That is one aspect of the Leica production.. great long term parts and service support."
Well, except for the LCD screen on the M8.
I've handled one and the VF was indeed nice, but I never understood putting it on the market. It seemed to me that it was in-between the Bessas and Leicas quality-wise and maybe 10 years too late.
I wonder if they made any $$ out of it?
On the other hand, a digital one makes a lot of sense.
BTW, they should have said "This decision AFFECTS ... " . I'm surprised that Zeiss used the wrong word.
Lens sales, on the other hand, is probably a growing (and attractive) revenue generator.
Zeiss is probably stating (indirectly) that it is simply not worth their while to produce film bodies, and instead, will focus on increasing lens production.
With regard to a digital ZI body, I doubt it. The upfront (and ongoing) investment required to produce and market a competitive body is enormous.
Likely, Zeiss is going to stick with their core competency and produce more lenses, for more body types, end-of-story.
Also, I'm not quite sure how you 'tape it shut', or for that matter, what you mean in this context by 'break'.
1 Attachment(s)
I think he was joking about turning it into a film camera.
Anyhow: I suppose dealers will sell out their stock at good prices. I'm glad to have acquired one last week – the silver/chrome one that looks so retro. Popflash had it for about 1/2 price. It's one of those incorrectly called a 'demo,' when it really should be called 'refurbished.' (Leica does that, too.)
With 1938 Sonnar, mod by Brian Sweeney:
shame to see this happening.. it was nice to see Zeiss made (or branded) rangefinder camera made a comeback least for a while tough, after so many decades.
I have a Leica MP, a Leica M9P and a Zeiss Ikon. My heart belongs to the Ikon, clunky as it might be.
I do enjoy using my Zeiss Ikon. I shoot 4 rolls of film in it to every one I shoot in my M6. I am trying to figure out what makes it "clunky"?
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Hi all. I am Blakkmonk and I will be running a Halo game ( based more on the fluff) using the Shadowrun 4e, 20th anniversary rules set.
I am looking for at least 8 players to split into two teams of 4. Each team will contain one Smart AI and Spartans. I am willing to take a few more, depending if I get that many apps of course. Please refer to the information listed below and into the game forum itself. If you have any questions after that, please ask.
The current in game month and year if March, 2548. The Spartan PC's have been in MJOLNIR IV armor for years now. They are all combat veterans and all will know each other through the Spartan II program.
AI characters have been online less than 6 months.
When the game begins, the Spartans will be introduced to their new armor and to the AI's. They will not no each other prior to this. For the rest, please refer to below or two the forum.
Shadowrun 4e, 20th Anniversary Edition
Runner's Companion-for AI players.
All other books will be used and will be able to add more options for your pc's but are not strictly needed for play.
Players submitting an AI application please refer to the following link. This will be used for all "matrix" encounters.
The PC's will be of one of two types. Either a Spartan II or a Smart AI. No ODST or other types allowed. Please don't ask. The rules for building the pc's in the shadowrun system are in the game forum.
Spartans, you should think of roles that you would like to forfil. Examples include, but are not limited to, Heavy Weaposn Gunner, scout, sniper, CQB specialist, riflemen, intelligence, electronics warfare, squad and assistant squad leads. I encourage multiple roles. Spartans are the best trained warriors in the human military.
Smart AI's are the hackers and riggers of the game world. You can be a generalist or specialize in one or the other, for example.
Applications can be submitted in the game forum. All characters will have the same two contacts. You will meet them in game play, so its not an important issue. Any more than the two will have to be bought with BP's as normal and approved by me. All apps will be ran through Hero Lab by me and I will upload the accepted apps a pdf from their for their use.
Please remember that Spartan's, ONI and the AI that are a part of them use Navy ranks and terms. I will help you out with all of that.
Completed apps will need to include the crunch for their pc's following the outline given in the game forum.
The game forum has information to assist in building your pc's background. Additional inspiration can be found at the following. http://www.halopedian.com/Main_Page
All augmentation information will be given to the accepted apps and will be added to the character sheets of the accepted Spartans.
Equipment will be given out on a case by case basis.
I am expanding the in game universe as far as equipment is concerned. Drones will be a factor, with a wide selection available. There will be a separate equipment thread for all weapons and gear.
I am putting this in its own section for clarity. These suits are prototypes, being in-field tested by your squads. They lack a later development (shields) although they and other improvements will happen as the game goes along.
Each MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/(P) will consist of the base suit. You will be able to select add-ons to help you in your mission roles. All MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/(P) suits have the ability to intergrate with the Smart AI's. You will learn more about your gear as the game gets started.
The current date the game will start is March 10th, 2548. Spartan pc's will have previously fought the insurrectionist outer colonies prior to the Convent invasion. They have been combating the Convent on all fronts as part of NavSpecWar for years now. Recently, due to the PC's operational record and ability to think independently, they have been transfered to an
|Office of Naval Intelligence


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MOSCOW, December 7 (RIA Novosti)
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Russia to Get Back at US for Magnitsky List
The US Senate's adoption of the Magnitsky Act has angered Moscow. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov promised reciprocal action against American "human rights abusers."
Moscow will respond by barring US citizens who violate human rights from entering Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"I reiterate that we will close entry to Americans guilty of breaching human rights," Lavrov said, commenting on his meeting in Dublin with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. That was how Lavrov replied to a question about the US Senate debate on the Magnitsky list.
Lavrov did not, however, give the names. Perhaps he was referring to those who are involved in the criminal persecution of convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, or pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.
In both cases the only evidence against the Russians comes from the US secret services coercing the Russians to confess.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the US Senate decision as a "performance in the theater of the absurd."
"We do not want to give up the positive things we have gained over recent years through great efforts. But one should realize that the act approved by the Senate will have a negative impact on future bilateral cooperation. Responsibility for this certainly rests wholly and entirely on the US," says a comment on the Ministry's website.
The US Senate on Thursday passed a bill on visa sanctions against Russians involved in what the Congress believes were violations of human rights (the so-called Magnitsky Act) while at the same time lifting the trade restrictive Jackson-Vanik amendment introduced against the Soviet Union in 1974.
The bill was adopted by 92 US Senators, with four voting against. US President Barack Obama will sign the bill into law soon. A "stronger" version of the bill was adopted even though a "softer" option was proposed.
The document commemorates lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow pre-trial detention cell in November 2009. He worked for the Hermitage Capital Management investment foundation and exposed a multi-billion ruble tax swindle by Russian officials. His death caused a widespread response in Russia and in the West. This Congressional act is intended to penalize those blamed for his death.
Experts Forecast Medvedev's Resignation Next Spring
Dmitry Rogozin would be the most probable successor, if Medvedev resigns next spring, say experts at the Moscow-based Institute of Globalization Studies.
Mikhail Delyagin's institute has prepared a political forecast for Russia in 2013 which includes the surprising suggestion that Dmitry Medvedev's government will likely resign in a few months.
"The inter-clan war under the facade of fighting corruption has grown to such a scale and become so unpredictable as to pose a threat to Russia's ruling class," experts write.
This clan conflict will subside early next year, but it will leave Medvedev's team, and the liberals, greatly weakened and nearly defenseless. This implies that the government could be forced to resign in March or April 2013, the experts say.
The scandal around former Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik is an aggravating factor, because she is believed to be a close friend of Medvedev and thus her case could have loud political repercussions.
According to a survey, Dmitry Rogozin is the most likely candidate for Medvedev's post. However, the situation could still swing back and forth several times, Delyagin said.
Gleb Pavlovsky, head of the Effective Politics Foundation, who previously consulted the presidential administration, believes that Medvedev will likely resign.
"The Kremlin has made no secret of its desire. It's only a matter of timing and what Vladimir Putin can offer Medvedev in return for his resignation," Pavlovsky said.
Igor Yurgens, head of the Institute of Contemporary Development, where Dmitry Medvedev chairs the Board of Trustees, admits that Medvedev may have to resign, but does not share Delyagin's view on the timeframe.
"Only very serious developments could force the president to reshuffle the government," Yurgens said.
He said Russia's financial reserves and expensive oil, which costs $100-$110 per barrel, are weighty arguments in favor of a less radical solution to the country's problems.
Medvedev's press secretary Natalia Timakova said Vanga (a blind Bulgarian clairvoyant who died in 1996 – Izvestia) was better at forecasting the future than these experts.
"According to the Constitution, the issue of (a government) resignation can only be decided by the President and the State Duma," Timakova said.
Alexei Mukhin, head of the Center for Political Information, does not think the cabinet will resign next spring. Judging by Putin's usual personnel policy, only an extraordinary event could lead to such an outcome.
He said many of the experts have negative attitudes toward Medvedev and his team, "but this doesn't mean the government will resign."
Moreover, Mukhin believes that Medvedev has a special agreement with Putin.
"Medvedev will not resign, but some cabinet members might be replaced," he said, adding that a government resignation is possible only in the event of major social failures, for example in healthcare, which have not happened yet.
This is not the first forecast of Medvedev's imminent resignation. When the parliament approved Medvedev as prime minister in May 2012, some experts said he would not last more than six months.
European Commission Targets Offshore Schemes, Affects Russian Businesses
European Commission Tax Commissioner Algidras Semeta has unveiled a plan targeting large corporate tax avoidance through tax havens. The plan is pending the approval of the EU finance ministers.
Under this plan, the member states will be able to introduce, for one month, a so-called reverse charge mechanism, under which the taxable recipient is subject to a VAT liability instead of, as a general rule, the supplier of goods or services.
The plan also aims to intensify the exchange of tax information within the EU.
Finally, the European Commission proposes a series of important changes to the member states' tax legislations. They will be able to compile "black lists" and forego the double taxation agreements in cases of lower tax rates in countries on the list. At the same time, national tax regulations must be proportionate and specifically aimed at preventing "purely artificial arrangements," which lead to tax evasion, while "minimizing one's tax burden is a valid commercial process."
The European Commission also plans to enforce the 1997 Code of Conduct for Business Taxation more strongly, which will enable the authority to require a cancellation of tax privileges for non-resident companies in EU countries.
These harsh measures have been provoked by a series of tax scandals involving large international corporations such as Google, Amazon and Starbucks. Google avoided taxation in countries where it actually provided its services through a scheme with a headquarters in the Bermudas and operations in Ireland and the Netherlands. The French authorities alone are now claiming 1 billion euros in back taxes from the Internet powerhouse in addition to the 5 million euros it already paid, according to Le Monde.
Ireland may become one of the European Commission's targets, FT wrote. Semeta said in September that the measures could affect other tax havens including Austria and Luxembourg.
Russian companies that have affiliates in the "blacklisted" countries may be affected by the plan as well, said Alexander Zakharov, deputy head of the consultancy DS Express. If a Russian company minimizes tax paid in Germany, where it turns a profit via an affiliate in Jersey, it could face a tax claim in Germany on the grounds of a "lack of corporate responsibility" in the country where the company actually makes a profit, he added.
RusAgro head, Maxim Basov, does not believe the planned crackdown would necessarily affect Russian companies or their European subsidiaries. The campaign is aimed at businesses that are registered in tax havens but have sales operations in Europe, mostly in the IT sector, he said.
In Russia, similar measures are in the works. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved an anti-tax evasion plan on Thursday. The Ministries of Finance and Economic Development and the Federal Taxation service are to draft a relevant bill by the fourth quarter of 2013.
RIA Novosti is not responsible for the content of outside sources.


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July 28, 2008 Approval Letter - FluLaval
July 28, 2008
Our STN: BL 125163/79
ID Biomedical Corporation of Quebec
Attention: Ms. Mary Beth Ebert
2301 Renaissance Boulevard
P.O. Box 61540
King of Prussia, PA 19406-2772
Dear Ms. Ebert:
We have approved your request to supplement your biologics license application for Influenza Virus Vaccine, to include the 2008-2009 United States formulation.
Please submit all final printed labeling at the time of use and include implementation information on FDA form 356h. Please provide PDF-format electronic copies of these labels. We will include the information contained in the above referenced supplement in your Biologics License Application file.
Sincerely yours,
/Jerry P. Weir/
Jerry P. Weir, Ph.D.
Division of Viral Products
Office of Vaccines Research and Review
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Attachment: Approved Final Draft Labeling


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Churchill charges past O'Connor
Published 10:56 pm, Friday, November 2, 2012
Churchill sophomore setter/outside hitter Karley York was in bed a day earlier, sideswiped by a sinus infection.
In between coughs, watching some television and sleeping, York was hit with a revelation — the Chargers had a Class 5A second-round volleyball playoff match the next day.
"I was definitely going to play, whether I was sick or not," she said. "I was hoping it wouldn't affect me.''
Illness, nor much else, seemed to bother the No. 5 Chargers on their way to a 25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16 victory over No. 4 O'Connor on Friday at the Alamo Convocation Center.
Sports Channel
Churchill (32-11) advanced to the third round for the first time since 2008 and will play No. 2 New Braunfels.
"We know that we had to step it up and all play together," Churchill senior outside hitter Katy Gustafson said. "We all have so much heart, and we all care about each other so much.''
It showed throughout Friday's match. While freshman Abby Buckingham pounded 22 kills, Katie Pope dished 27 assists and libero Amy Nettles had 26 digs, it was contributions from less-heralded teammates — a block from Shelby Arnold, an ace from Megan Mendez and kills from Tori Guerra — that was instrumental in the win.
"I definitely felt like I had to step up," said York, who had nine kills, 19 assists and two aces. "I knew I had to come out here and perform even better than I ever had. I actually was surprised how I did. I got light-headed a lot during the game, but I wasn't going to let that affect my team or me.''
Three days after sweeping No. 7 New Braunfels Canyon, Churchill took charge by winning the first set against O'Connor (37-9), which was paced by Brianna Sotello, who had 13 kills and two aces.
"Starting off strong was a big factor for us," Gustafson said. "We really focused on keeping the momentum."


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One tried-and-true subsector that's been a constructive area for investment in recent years is that of medical devices and products. Typically, that phrase brings to mind companies such as Medtronic (MDT), Edwards Lifescience (EW) or Baxter International (BAX).
But some companies don't get quite as much press, as they are not a part of the S&P 500 -- yet they are definitely worth watching for their price appreciation potential.
One of these is Cambrex (CBM), which specializes in drug delivery and commercialization technologies. The stock bolted 22% Thursday, in 5x average turnover, after the company reporting second-quarter results. Prior to the report, the stock had been setting up with bullish technicals, having pulled back gradually from its July 5 multiyear high of $10.22.
After Tuesday's jump, I'll be watching for Cambrex to pull back again. The five-day line will rise; if the stock pulls back and meets that line, it could offer a new entry point.
Another overlooked name is Cyberonics (CYBX), which makes implantable treatments for various neurological disorders, including depression and epilepsy. Yet it's an example of a stock getting potentially constructive moving-average support. Cyberonics, similar to Cambrex, has a good fundamental track record, and analysts expect continued double-digit income growth in the next two years.
The company is expected to report its fiscal first quarter later this month. Analysts have pegged income at $0.36 a share, and revenue at $58.53 million, which would mark increases over the year-ago quarter. Earnings are expected to grow 19% in fiscal 2013 (its current fiscal year), and 19% in fiscal 2014. Cyberonics beat earnings views in each of the past four quarters.
Last month, Cyberonics stock came within striking distance of its July 2005 all-time high of $47.77. Since then, it's retreated back to its 50-day moving average. When I'm looking at trades -- and not longer-term holds -- a pullback to the 50-day line is often too much to sit through, unless I have quite a cushion in the stock.
With Cyberonics, the five-day exponential average is hovering below the 15-day. When the shorter line crosses above the 15-day, that may offer a buy signal.
Another small-cap medical-gear maker that's showing a good mix of price movements and earnings growth is Vascular Solutions (VASC). The company's devices are used in procedures performed by cardiologists and vascular surgeons.
The stock is up nearly 24% year to date. In Thursday's session, it retreated to its 15-day exponential moving average, where it found support before rebounding. Shares closed 0.8% above its five-day line. That put Vascular back in buy range, below its July 25 multiyear high of $13.85.
Last week, the company beat earnings and revenue views for the second quarter. That spurred the July 25 4.7% move in triple average volume.
The biggest reason to be cautious about this stock is the company's size: Vascular Solutions' market capitalization is at just $218 million. It trades only 54,000 shares a day, definitely placing it in the "thin" category. Thin stocks carry extra risk, because one or two big investors can exit their positions and send shares sharply lower. Given the small number of U.S.-based mutual funds and hedge funds that own shares, this can't be called an institutional-quality stock.


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Discussion in 'Tickets, Memorabilia and Gear' started by Heath Shuler, Oct 25, 2009.
Anybody know of a store with one in stock?
I found the "Black" Cushing jersey at wal-mart. I am now looking for the chinese cushing.
If you are not going to be helpful at least be funny
Separate names with a comma.


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#1: What to put on my second day waves?
My hair always looks nice the first day I do it, but on the second day my hair looks like a rats nest! My hair hates when I try to re wet it the second day! so I was wondering if I should just put in some type of sealer/curl cream on the second day on my dry hair? does anyone have any recommendations because I hate washing my hair everyday! thanks!


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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Amman, Jordan, 2011/07/04 - Meeting in Amman taking place to discuss key issues in regional energy security (ACIS) - ACIS.org.
Geo-politics, Security Challenges and Sustainable Supplies
Energy security has become increasingly important and involves the stability of energy resources, sustainability of energy and the non-proliferation of nuclear energy. The Arab Institute for Security Studies (ACSIS) is organizing an international forum on Energy Security. Forum activities will commence in Amman (Jordan) for a period of two days starting on July 6th, 2011.Through this forum, ACSIS is aiming to promote regional cooperation in the fields of securing energy supplies, devising alternative oil supply routes, the effect of the regional security situation on the oil market as well as maintaining the physical security of energy infrastructures and resources against emerging threats. The meeting will witness international participation, speakers and audience represents more than 15 nationalities. A number of renowned institutions and think tanks will be present in this meeting including, World Bank, ECFA, ICCS, IEA, USAK, ECSSR, HCST, KAS as well as others. The meeting will focus on critical topics in energy security such as: analyzing security threats in the Middle East, devising new fuel distribution and transportation alternatives, promote intra-state cooperation in the field of energy security, alternative energy resources, impact of growing piracy in the horn of Africa, and many other topics of interest.
For more information on the upcoming Energy Security in the Middle East and Gulf Region Meeting please contact the Arab Institute for Security Studies at: info[.]acsis.org
Important Meeting on Nuclear and Water Security in the Middle East and Gulf Region
Written by / Agency / Source: Arab Institute for Security Studies
Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)
Traffic Booster: [/] Quick Newswire Today Visibility Checker
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Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai
Aa Gaya Hero
Dirty Politics
By Aditi Seth�
Hands clapping, gruff and hoarse voices singing in unison, this is how transgender or eunuchs are depicted in Bollywood. We list some actors who played the role with utmost perfection, we accidentally fell in love with them.
Sanjay Dutt – Hindi Version of �Kanchana
Latest we hear is that Sanjay Dutt might play the transgender role which was enacted by Sarathkumar in the Tamil/ Telugu version of Kanchana. After seeing Sanjay Dutt with his beefed up dreaded villainous look in 'Agneepath', it would be quiet a ride if he says yes to play a eunuch. We are anticipating!
Mahesh Manjerekar – 'Rajjo'
Stepping out in bright salwar kurtas and sarees with loud make-up and gaudy baubles seemed to be an easy task for Manjrekar. �Being a the versatile actor that he is, the role required a lot of preparation and he didn't complain! Voila. Mahesh plays the role of 'Begum' in his upcoming film titled 'Rajjo'. The director-actor is endearing patience, really it is time to get his acting skills to test, also getting done with all the make-up and costumes could take a while! But we are waiting!
Ashutosh Rana – 'Sangarsh'
Ashutosh did it twice! Ashutosh played a true-life eunuch politician Shabnam Mausi. Dressed in cotton sarees, Ashutosh wore little makeup but depicted the life of the politician brilliantly, so say the critics. This wasn't the first time that Rana got into drag. In Tanuja Chandra's 'Sangharsh', which catapulted him to heinous fame, Rana had dressed up as a woman to outwit the law.
Sadashiv Amrapurkar – 'Sadak'
Mahesh Bhatt assigned Sadashiv Amrapurkar as Maharani in 'Sadak', an eunuch who was the villain of the movie. The portrayal fetched the actor the coveted filmfare award in 1992. Maharani in 'Sadak' came across as a vile, inhuman specimen.
Paresh Rawal – 'Tamanna'
Once again the maverick Mahesh Bhatt decided to direct a movie on the life of eunuch Tiku, however this time with a difference, it was a real life story. Titled 'Tamanna' played by Paresh Rawal was an eye-opener to the Indian audience.
Prashant Narayanan – 'Murder 2'
Terror was redefined in MURDER 2 as the Bhatt's were attempting to re-launch Prashant Narayanan. From a sadistic slasher to an amnesiac actor, Prashant Narayanan switched shades in his character like a chameleon - credibly and effortlessly.
Ranbir Kapoor
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Salman Khan
Deepika Padukone
Shah Rukh Khan
Bipasha Basu
Saif Ali Khan
Ranveer Singh
Vidya Balan
Emraan Hashmi
Kareena Kapoor
Aamir Khan
Sherlyn Chopra
Sanjay Dutt
John Abraham
Sunny Deol
Priyanka Chopra
Kangna Ranaut
Ali Zafar
Amitabh Bachchan
Hrithik Roshan
Sonakshi Sinha
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Shahid Kapoor
Chitrangada Singh
Abhishek Bachchan
Esha Gupta
Prachi Desai
Neil Nitin Mukesh


text:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today issued a final rule for plans to move forward with implementation of its proposed Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (e-APIS), which requires general aviation pilots to file passenger names and other information to government officials before crossing a U.S. border. While the final rule becomes effective December 18, private aircraft pilots or their designees will not have to comply with the rules' requirements until May 18. Specifically, the final rule requires electronic submission to U.S. Customs of passenger manifest information for each individual traveling on board an aircraft arriving in the U.S. from another country or vice versa. Under this rule, Customs must receive the data no later than 60 minutes before the aircraft departs. "We have expressed significant concerns about this program with DHS officials, and we're disappointed with this decision," said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. "International GA flights are already subject to the same security requirements as the airlines, and it seems the DHS doesn't recognize that." The DHS has also issued a fact sheet to help clarify the new rules.
DHS Finalizes e-APIS Rule
- November 18, 2008, 10:44 AM


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Welcome to E-Books Directory
This page lists freely downloadable books.
E-Books for free online viewing and/or download
e-books in this category
The Death of Sex and the Demise of Monogamy
by Sam Vaknin - Narcissus Publications , 2013
Sex is dead and so is monogamous marriage. What will replace them? Read about alternative lifestyles, sexual preferences, sexual paraphilias, and the role of malignant narcissism in the disintegration of relationships between men and women.
(4327 views)
Private Sex Advice to Women
by R. B. Armitage - Defiance Publishing Co. , 1917
This book was written so as to give enlightenment to those entering into wedlock so their married life will be one of happiness and pleasure. Important information which all women should possess, but which few are given the opportunity of acquiring.
(8233 views)
Sexual Health
- Wikibooks , 2011
This book is intended to be an expository companion for a comprehensive sexual education class for school students between 7th - 12th grade. Contents: Anatomy and Sexuality; Sexual Activity and Risks; Birth Control; Problems and Issues.
(8282 views)
Emotion, Seduction and Intimacy
by Rory Ridley-Duff , 2010
In this brilliant book, author Rory Ridley-Duff proposes a new framework for appreciating both potential benefits and harms of workplace relationships, and a new, constructive, and non-confrontational approach to sexual relations in the workplace.
(9498 views)
Emotion, Seduction and Intimacy: Alternative Perspectives on Human Behaviour
by Rory Ridley-Duff - Sheffield Hallam Universit , 2010
In this brilliant book, author Rory Ridley-Duff proposes a new framework for appreciating both potential benefits and harms of workplace relationships, and a new, constructive, and non-confrontational approach to sexual relations in the workplace.
(7457 views)
A Problem in Modern Ethics
by John Addington Symonds , 1896
In this work, Symonds argues against the belief that homosexuality is acquired. The book includes an historical survey of homosexuality, various modern theories as to its cause, and a section dealing with suggested amendments in legislation.
(8010 views)
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana
by Vatsyayana - Project Gutenberg , 2009
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sex.
(65705 views)
Sex, God, and Marriage
by Johann Christoph Arnold - Plough Publishing House , 2002
The book goes to the root: our relationship with God, and the defining power of that relationship over all others in our lives. Includes chapters on sex, alternatives to dating, parenthood, singleness, homosexuality, abortion, divorce and remarriage.
(14398 views)
Office Sex Survival Guide
by Nicole Williams - Tango Media , 2008
Let's be honest. We're all doing it… and if we're not, we're thinking about doing it. In this book I'm giving you everything you need to know about navigating office nookie. From sex at work to your other other, it's time to get down and dirty.
(18577 views)
Sex and religion
by Marie Carmichael Stopes - G.P. Putnam's Sons , 1929
This text may be useful to all teachers and parents whatever their religion, social tradition or country may be. Our sex life is our link with the Divine life, and therefore an enquiry into all facts about sex are essential to anyone.
(10020 views)
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text:
We're Going To Galveston On The Classic Double
Today we begin our "Country Classic Double" at 11:30 a.m. with the number one country song on this day back in 1969, "Galveston" by Glen Campbell. "Galveston" was another Jimmy Webb song that Glen Campbell made a big hit on both country an pop charts.
Here's a video of Glen Campbell singing "Galveston" on the "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" way back when on CBS TV.
Subscribe to Big Frog 104 on
Enter Glen Campbell as the first artist of today's "Country Classic Double" in our Rewards Club for a chance to win tickets to the Isaacs Bluegrass Show at the Oneida Arts Council on April 21st.


text:
Availability: In stock
One pair of new cufflinks made of silver tone base metal featuring a novelty photo inlay as shown in the photo. The cufflink setting is made of brass. The tops of the cufflinks measure 3/4 inch in diameter and the total finished weight of the cufflinks is approximately 1/2 ounce. The photo has been printed on premium photo paper and is protected by a thin plastic film overlay.
denver artist paul moschell has been producing his signature small and imaginative works on paper for over a decade now. moschell has been represented by various galleries across the united states, europe and shanghai. his paintings, assemblage works and tiny delicate hand painted matchbox portraits hang in hundreds of private collections around the world and his clientele range from the budding young art collector to well know celebrities. a man of leisure, mr. moschell spends most of his time painting, napping and talking to his plants. moschell currently works and shows in his denver arts district studio and deals mainly with private clients.


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Research Topics
Anat Brunstein Klomek
Affiliation: Columbia University
Country: USA
Detail Information
- Peer victimization, depression, and suicidiality in adolescentsAnat Brunstein Klomek
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
Suicide Life Threat Behav 38:166-80. 2008..It is important to assess depression and suicidality among victimized students in order to develop appropriate intervention methods...
- Childhood bullying behaviors as a risk for suicide attempts and completed suicides: a population-based birth cohort studyAnat Brunstein Klomek
Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University NYSPI, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 72, New York, NY 10032, USA
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 48:254-61. 2009..The aim was to study associations between childhood bullying behaviors at age 8 years and suicide attempts and completed suicides up to age 25 years in a large representative population-based birth cohort...
- Suicidal adolescents' experiences with bullying perpetration and victimization during high school as risk factors for later depression and suicidalityAnat Brunstein Klomek
New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA
J Adolesc Health 53:S37-42. 2013..Preventive efforts in high school should target those children who are characterized by both psychological disturbance and bullying, especially the frequent bullies. ..
- Childhood bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidal ideation among Finnish malesAnat Brunstein Klomek
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
J Affect Disord 109:47-55. 2008..Little is known about the predictive association between childhood bullying behavior with depression and suicidal ideation at age 18...
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP): treatment model, feasibility, and acceptabilityBarbara Stanley
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University New York State Psychiatric Institut, New York, NY 10032, USA
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 48:1005-13. 2009..To describe the elements of a manual-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP) and to report its feasibility in preventing the recurrence of suicidal behavior in adolescents who have recently attempted suicide...
- Quality of depression among suicidal inpatient youthAnat Brunstein Klomek
Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Arch Suicide Res 12:133-40. 2008..The distinctive quality of depression among suicidal adolescents suggests assessment and treatment strategies for these individuals...
- Interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescentsAnat Brunstein Klomek
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 772 West 168th Street, Box 72, New York, NY 10032, USA
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 15:959-75, ix. 2006..Efficacy research and effectiveness studies of IPT-A are discussed. The limitations of the current knowledge and directions for future research are highlighted...
- Stressful life events and major depressive disordersNetta Horesh
Feinberg Child Study Center, Schneider Children s Medical Center of Israel, 14 Kaplan Street, Petah Tikva, Israel
Psychiatry Res 160:192-9. 2008..There are specific kinds of SLE that occur in childhood and in the year preceding the first episode. SLE has a less significant role in the maintenance of this illness...


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Watch This Bachelor Party's Cruel Bungee Jump Prank [VIDEO]
So your best friend is getting married and he asks for you to stand in his wedding, it will happen basically to all of us. However, once the bachelor party comes together and brainstorms how to make the moments leading up to the wedding unforgettable, that's when things get interesting. Watch as one young bachelor thinks he is being escorted towards a bungee jump, blindfolded, yet it's nothing close to what he expected. Watch as the young man, who by the way has purple hair, itches closer and closer to the edge of the platform. He thinks that he is about to take the leap of his lifetime, and then suddenly….HE'S UNDERWATER!!
How frightening must it be to think that you are about to be free falling and suddenly SPLASH!!
I personally don't know what I would do or what I would say if I were in this guy's position. Sure, I'd be glad to know that I didn't just jump off of a cliff of sorts, but to land in a POND!! Either way, I think this guy was a better sport than me. I can promise you one thing, there would have been no smile on my face if I were the guy in this video climbing out of the water. Good Sport!!


text:
|12 Oct 2012
Windows 7 Ult. x64
Use Partition Wizard to delete all the partitions you do not want. From the resultant unallocated space, create a single Primary partition. Now merge this new Primary partition into the existing System partition.
The tutorial shows clear examples of how this is done.
|My System Specs
|13 Oct 2012
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
Reinstalling Windows was the Only Option
Hi Guys,
Apparently, my HDD was too far 'fragmented' to fix. I tried the PW steps in the order you gave them, but then my system would no longer boot into my C: Windows partition.
So, I reinstalled Windows, which was a blessing itself, because it fixed a problem that had gone unfixed by a prior re-installation of Windows: The blasted "RED X" on the Speaker Icon in the Task Tray, with 'No Audio Device Installed' error message.
I am in the process of reconfiguring my new setup, and it seems that the sound is now working. I am just hoping that it continues to do so.
Take good care, and thanks again for all your help!
|My System Specs
|14 Oct 2012
Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
Maybe you should do a HDD test, fragmentation should not matter.
Hard drive(s):
Pick one for your HDD brand or use Seatools.
7 Free Hard Drive Testing Software Tools
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SASEBO, NAGASAKI PREF. – The Sasebo Summary Court has ordered that the 16-year-old girl held on suspicion of killing a classmate last month and dismembering her body remain detained for psychiatric evaluation, her lawyers said.
The court granted the prosecution's request to detain the first-year high school student for three months of psychiatric tests.
The tests will start Monday and continue through Nov. 10 to examine her confession to the gruesome July 26 murder and determine whether the teenager is mentally fit enough to be held criminally responsible for her actions, her lawyers said Friday.
In cases involving minors, psychiatric tests are usually conducted after the suspect is sent to a family court. This time, however, prosecutors asked for psychiatric tests to be held at the investigative stage.


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|Re: ext3 + xfs + jfs + reiser
|Derek Glidden <dglidden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
|Mon, 22 Oct 2001 13:43:07 -0400
|<firstname.lastname@example.com> <email@example.com>
Eric Sandeen wrote: > > Dunno about a single patch, but the latest Mandrake has all of those > filesystems co-existing. On a slight tangent, I was at an expo last week and a SuSE guy was also there. A brief discussion popped up about journaling filesystems and we determined that XFS was *not* going to be in SuSE 7.3 while Reiser, ext3 and JFS were. His explanation was that XFS was not stable enough but had no more technical information. Can any SuSE guys around here comment more on that? (My suspicions are really less that it's unstable and more that it touches pretty deeply into the rest of the VFS layer that made them unhappy and not want to use it for whatever reason. Some of the same stuff I've seen Alan Cox mention here.) > On Mon, 2001-10-22 at 12:21, pac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: > > Anyone know of a super-duper-all-in-one patch for > > xfs+ext3+jfs+ (reiser is already in the kernel) ? -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- #!/usr/bin/perl -w $_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;$t=255;@t=map {$_%16or$t^=$c^=($m=(11,10,116,100,11,122,20,100)[$_/16%8])&110; $t^=(72,@z=(64,72,$a^=12*($_%16-2?0:$m&17)),$b^=$_%64?12:0,@z) [$_%8]}(16..271);if((@a=unx"C*",$_)[20]&48){$h=5;$_=unxb24,join "",@b=map{xB8,unxb8,chr($_^$a[--$h+84])}@ARGV;s/...$/1$&/;$d= unxV,xb25,$_;$e=256|(ord$b[4])<<9|ord$b[3];$d=$d>>8^($f=$t&($d >>12^$d>>4^$d^$d/8))<<17,$e=$e>>8^($t&($g=($q=$e>>14&7^$e)^$q* 8^$q<<6))<<9,$_=$t[$_]^(($h>>=8)+=$f+(~$g&$t))for@a[128..$#a]} print+x"C*",@a}';s/x/pack+/g;eval usage: qrpff 153 2 8 105 225 < /mnt/dvd/VOB_FILENAME \ | extract_mpeg2 | mpeg2dec - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery/ http://www.eff.org/ http://www.anti-dmca.org/ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/293/5537/2028
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text:
Hello, when the "View Filtered Rows..." modal dialog window is open, switching to another application and back to pgAdmin will (seemingly) freeze pgAdmin. You can reproduce this behaviour by: * Start pgAdmin3 and some other programm * Connect to a database and choose a table * Select Tools -> View Data -> View Filtered Rows... * Switch to an other application * Switch back to pgAdmin Now the main window of pgAdmin is active but will not react to any input. It seems the input focus is still in the modal window which is unfortunately inactive and cannot be closed or changed into. Since other modal dialogs seem to be working fine (e.g. Tools -> Reports -> Properties report), I think there is a bug in the creation of this dialog window and not a bug in wx. I've tested and reproduced this bug with 1.6.3 and 1.8.0 beta3 on Windows 2000 SP4 and XP SP2. Kind regards, Michail Bachmann -- ZE Computer- und Medienservice (CMS) der Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin phone: +49.(0)30.2093.2191 fax: +49.(0)30.2093.2704 Raum 1065, Unter den Linden 6, D-10099 Berlin, Germany
Next: From: Dave Page Date: 2007-08-28 14:53:55 Subject: Re: pgadmin 1.8.0 beta3 bug Previous: From: Erwin Brandstetter Date: 2007-08-28 14:25:16 Subject: Re: pgadmin 1.8.0 beta3 bug


text:
If you are just finishing your undergraduate degree and are itching to get out into the workforce, further study may be the last thing you feel like contemplating. Or, if you've already entered the workforce, you may feel deterred from undertaking postgraduate study because of the sacrifices of time, income and lifestyle involved. But the costs and sacrifices are temporary and can be well worth it. Think of it as an investment in your future that could open up a whole new world of opportunities – and possibly more lucrative ones.
There is a clear association between level of education and employment, as well as salary. With job roles becoming increasingly complex, higher levels of skills and qualifications are needed, especially if job candidates are seeking a competitive edge over those with undergraduate qualifications. As of May 2015, only 5.6 per cent of the Australian population had a postgraduate degree, compared to 17 per cent whose highest qualification was a bachelor's degree. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of people who completed a postgraduate degree increased by 52.8 per cent.
In 2009, almost one in five new bachelor degree graduates went on to continue some type of full-time study after their undergraduate degree – and this proportion is likely to rise.
Bruce Guthrie, Acting Executive Director of Graduate Careers Australia (GCA), says, 'As the proportion of the workforce with bachelor degree qualifications continues to grow, candidates are increasingly undertaking postgraduate study to add a vocational emphasis to their initial qualifications or upgrading their qualifications to establish a competitive edge in the labour market.'
In 2010, the median salary for all postgraduates was $70 000, as compared to $49 000 for bachelor degree graduates. This is according to statistics published in Postgraduate Destinations 2010, a report based on the annual Australian Graduate Survey (AGS) of new graduates from Australian higher education institutions.
In some industries, postgraduate qualifications are almost a necessity. For example, a Master of Accounting is required to become a Certified Practising Accountant of Australia (CPA Australia). Postgraduate qualifications are also highly favoured in industries such as engineering, education, health and science, and finance and banking.
Postgraduate qualifications can also provide a valuable way of getting ahead in the arts and media industries. Jordana Rooz, Advertising Coordinator at Cosmopolitan magazine, says, 'I don't think my undergraduate did so much in terms of teaching us how the journalistic world works, but my postgraduate studies definitely did. My master's (in Arts/Journalism) taught me how to write to deadline and how to write my own stories – things like that. I guess I had the best of both worlds in that I learnt the theory as well as the practical.'
Postgraduate qualifications are becomingly increasingly sought-after in the corporate world, especially for senior executive positions.
Stephen Scheeler, Director of Strategy and Innovation for Inchcape Australia, returned to postgraduate study as a mature-age student to complete an MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM). He believes that postgraduate qualifications definitely boost a person's employment and earnings potential.
'Increasingly, postgrad qualifications are becoming mandatory for most C-level (corporate title) and Director-level positions in major companies. If you don't have the qualification, it's harder to get the job, and therefore harder to earn that higher salary.'
Scheeler is mindful of candidates' postgrad credentials when recruiting for his own company. 'We place a lot of emphasis on postgrad qualifications, especially for more senior leadership roles. However, we are also interested in the quality of the degree, not just that somebody has a piece of paper.'
After completing his MBA at the age of 30, Scheeler worked as a strategy management consultant and went on to become Business Development Director for Lion Nathan and then Westfield, before landing his present position at Inchcape. It has been a stellar run for someone who studied history and East Asian studies for his undergraduate degree and then did a variety of jobs, including English language teaching and running a couple of small businesses.
'I was interested in doing a postgrad degree of some kind but I wanted something that would be practical and useful, not just theoretical. Eventually, I settled on doing an MBA because I thought it would be something which would be both intellectually stimulating and practical at the same time.'
Improving employment and salary prospects is not the only reason to pursue further study. People also undertake postgraduate study to specialise after doing a more generalist undergraduate degree, to gain professional registration, and to increase their depth of knowledge and expertise in their chosen field – so they can go on to do high-level work that is stimulating, challenging, and ultimately more rewarding.
Julia Isbister did a postgraduate medical degree after completing an undergraduate arts degree. 'I never wanted to do undergraduate medicine. I was too interested in other things as well, like languages and politics, so I decided to do an arts degree. I got to do a bit of everything: chemistry, philosophy, maths, economics, politics and languages – Spanish, Chinese and French. It didn't really lend itself to a smooth transition into medicine, but then again the people in my course now come from all sorts of fields.'
For Stephen Scheeler, doing an MBA wasn't just a means to getting a high-paying corporate job – it was about learning and self-improvement. 'It was very intellectually stimulating and opened my mind to disciplines which I hadn't formally pursued before – like organisational behaviour, marketing and statistical analysis. I just found that interesting from a purely learning perspective.'
While doing your postgrad studies, you will probably also make some great professional and personal contacts along the way, with like-minded people who are all equally ambitious and passionate about what they do.
Bill Birtles, a news presenter at Triple J, used his postgraduate studies to make valuable industry contacts. 'I have a media and communications degree from UNSW and I studied a Graduate Diploma in Journalism at UTS. I chose to do postgraduate studies primarily because I knew UTS has strong links to the industry, in particular the ABC. During my postgrad studies I put my head down and worked really hard, and made it very clear to the people at UTS who had a bit of sway that I was very keen to be in broadcasting and get to the ABC.' And that's exactly where his postgrad studies took him.
Keep in mind that it's important to maintain a balance between study and practical work experience to maximise your opportunities.
Graham Doyle, Director of Hays Recruitment, warns that those who complete their postgraduate studies assuming they'll be able to easily walk into better and higher paying jobs can be in for a surprise if they have no practical work experience. 'You risk becoming too academically qualified without the relevant commercial acumen and experience to make your classroom study pay off in practice.'
Advertising guru Siimon Reynolds concurs. 'Qualifications aren't enough, the world's full of unemployed people with university degrees – that's not what gets you a job. What gets you a job is standing out and looking good.'
Jordana Rooz also discovered the importance of on-the-job experience at Cosmopolitan, despite the valuable skills she learned while doing her master's. 'There's a lot you have to learn on the job too.'
Even while conducting postgrad studies, you can gain valuable work experience by working part-time while you are studying, applying for an internship or work placement, or even doing unpaid work experience. As Doyle advises, 'On-the-job training, mentoring and volunteering for additional duties can also be beneficial. Hands-on experience gained from being involved with a specific project or team work can be invaluable.'
Postgraduate qualifications include postgraduate certificates and diplomas, master's degrees and doctoral degrees.
Postgraduate study is particularly accessible now that many universities offer their courses by distance and online, as well as part-time, so you can study from the convenience of your own home, at your own pace and around your other work and family commitments.
Some employers will support their employees to undertake postgraduate studies by allowing flexibility with working hours and even, in some cases, offering financial aid.
It is also worth investigating postgraduate scholarships from the educational institution where you wish to study.
So whether you do it to advance in your chosen field, jump in at a higher level, change to a completely different career, or just out of sheer interest and passion, postgraduate studies can be a more than worthwhile pursuit. Don't wait until it's too late, or spend your life regretting that you never went for it.
As Stephen Scheeler says, 'I think for most people a postgrad degree is an investment that they will have to make at some point in their careers. My advice would be to not wait too long to pursue one – from my observations, the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to really focus and benefit from it. I would also suggest that people think very hard about the program they choose – definitely try to get into the very best program you can. A poor-quality program won't reflect well on you and your investment of time and money is better made with a program that is high-quality and of high repute.'